About David Levine
David Levine is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, American Heritage, and dozens of other publications. He is the author, co-author, or ghostwriter of seven books, including the basketball books Life on the Rim (Macmillan) and In the Land of Giants (Little, Brown). His latest book, The Hudson Valley: The First 250 Million Years, was published by Globe Pequot Press in 2020.
Articles written by David Levine
Breaking Down New York's GPS Stalking Law
In 2012, Erie County resident Jackie Wisniewski discovered a GPS device on her car. Her ex-boyfriend had put it there to stalk her. Fearing for her safety, she removed it and reported it to law enforcement, but there was nothing they could do about it—it wasn’t a crime. She was later murdered by the man. Two years later, in October 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Jackie’s Law. It added the use of GPS devices to track another person to the list of actions considered fourth-degree stalking …
Wish Fulfillment
Make-A-Wish co-founder William Drury Jr. has created a lasting legacy of helping sick children and their familiesIn 1980, 7-year-old Chris Greicius, who had leukemia, said he wanted to be a police officer “to catch bad guys.” A group of do-gooders—including a friend of the family who happened to be a U.S. Customs Agent—jumped through bureaucratic hoops to make it happen, creating a uniform, a small motorcycle and a pad and pen. “Chris had so much fun riding up and down his street writing tickets,” says Bill Drury, whose sister-in-law was involved in the effort. Chris died soon after, and the …
New York City DUIs: Frequently Asked Questions
New York City is different from the rest of the state—and the rest of the world, for that matter—in countless ways. One of those ways is how the city deals with drunk driving. What Are the Penalties for Driving Under the Influence in NYC? There is less tolerance for drunk driving all over the country, including the city. “Penalties are more severe than ever,” says vehicle and traffic attorney Matthew Weiss with Weiss & Associates. “The pendulum has swung from a slap on the …
Teachable Moments
Karen McAndrew schools us on higher education lawKaren McAndrew is one of the few attorneys who has had lengthy discussions of English poetry. In court. The partner at Dinse Knapp & McAndrew, in Burlington, Vermont, oversees a unique practice area: college and university law. While much of her practice concerns such issues as faculty tenure, student discipline, and employment issues, every now and then she also gets to exercise the literary chops she honed as an English major at Vassar College. “We tried a case involving a faculty …
Do's and Don'ts of an Online Startup in New York
When your grandfather wanted to start a small business, he had to find a location, negotiate a lease and hang a shingle. Now it’s often a matter of opening a laptop. Take Nick Zhou. About three years ago, Zhou, a New York-based entrepreneur, had an idea for an online startup. He and some friends had all recently lost loved ones. “I lost my grandmother,” Zhou says, “and I realized I knew pretty much nothing about her.” As he started to learn more from his father, he says, “I wished …
What Happens if You Don't Pay Your Taxes?
What happens if you don’t pay your taxes? “You are in a world of pain, basically,” says Kathleen M. Pakenham of Vinson & Elkins in New York City. “The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is one of the worst creditors out there, with enormous power to collect what they are owed.” By choosing to cooperate with the IRS, you can potentially avoid the worst penalties for tax avoidance and have the option to set up a payment plan or offer in compromise to address tax debts. But by continuing …
The Details and the Big Picture
White-collar defender Karen F. Green has the rare ability to see bothOver the course of her career, Karen F. Green has moved in and out of the public and private sectors. She’s been, among other things, a deputy U.S. attorney, bringing charges against defendants in connection with the criminal health care fraud enforcement program. But no matter where she’s been working, criminal defense work has always spoken to her. “Even as assistant attorney, I kept being very drawn to criminal work,” she says. “When I returned to private practice, I handled more …
Bearing His Name
How E. Stewart Jones Jr. deals with a powerful legacyThe stately town homes that line the streets of downtown Troy rival those of the finer neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the Jones Building, which rises up in all its 19th-century self-possession, is no different. Its formal foyer leads to the reception desk of E. Stewart Jones Law Firm, where three generations of Jones men have practiced law. Abbott Jones founded the firm in 1898 and went on to serve as city court judge and Rensselaer County district attorney. His son, E. Stewart …
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