Extra, Extra

-- According to Bruce Ratner, all the city papers are hugely in favor of the Atlantic Yards project. And why would he lie?
-- The Times has some very moving coverage of the funeral of one of the shooting victims in the Queens Rampage case.
-- The Roosevelt Island Tramway (now equiped with advanced bucket pee-system) goes back into action on Friday.
-- This shot of squirrels snuggling is redonkulicious.
-- PLG is claiming that the Prospect Park Station is the prettiest in Brooklyn-- although you've got to give Smith/9th Street respect for the view.
-- Sad but true: if you want to make your flight, it's probably best not to wear a t-shirt that says "We Will Not Be Silent" in Arabic-- or anything in Arabic, for that matter.
-- Hooker hilarity: "As I was walking along St Johns between Third and Fourth Ave, a man in a truck slowed right down, leered and then asked me 'how much?'."
-- The Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering protecting the "Crown Heights North" area-- that's around Dean Street and New York Avenue, and filled with huge, slightly run-down mansions.
-- Hart Island off the coast of the Bronx has some spooky abandoned buildings.
-- The Brooklyn Papers have endorsed David Yassky, the lone white guy in the race for the 11th Congressional District seat-- "All candidates being equal, our preference would be that the district remains represented by a person of color... But all candidates in this race are not equal."
-- The probationary firefighter who died in the Bronx this week made only $25,100 per year.
-- The judge in the Montessori boy-raping case threw out a 1-year prison offer, and laid down the law: 6 years in the slammer.
-- Speaking of boy-raping, the Catholic Church has opened a posh retreat in Westchester for pedophile priests.
-- Did you know that "smoking worsens World Trade Center-related diseases"?
-- Streetsblog has some coverage of the Houston Street cyclists rally yesterday: "Everybody who lives in this community knows Houston Street is a highway to hell. It's the death street."

"Room Service", by Jeffrey Docherty on Flickr.