Top News Stories in New York 2012

Construction continued on One World Trade Tower in Lower Manhattan. When completed, the 104 story tower will be the largest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The Rochester suburb of Webster made national news just before Christmas when a gunman set a fire with the alleged intention of shooting firefighters who came to the scene. The shooting happened just a few weeks after the school shootings in Connecticut and helped to continue the national policy debate over assult rifles and gun control that will continue into 2013.

The Newtown shootings happened in Connecticut but were felt in New York. Newtown is just across the state line from New York on Interstate 84 and medical examiners from New York were called in to assist. Among the victims were 6-year-old James Mattioli whose grandparents live in the Oneida County city of Sherrill and 56-year-old Mary Sherlach a native of Vestal in Broome County.

Superstorm Sandy devastated the New Jersey shore and the New York metropolitan area in October. The late season storm caused an estimated $40 billion in damage. Worst hit regions in New York were the communities of Staten Island and the coastal regions of Brooklyn and Queens on the south shore of Long Island including the Rockaways. Recovery was slow, especially power restoration - causing the head of the Long Island Power Authority to resign.