1. Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a residential high-rise fire on upper Broadway, a "church robbery" (! - those robbers took from the poor box!) in Queens, and a shooting in Bed-Stuy.
2. Have you lost the Christmas spirit? If you have, read "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story", by Paul Auster-- it'll cheer you up. [Via OTBKB]
3. James Forbes, the controversial pastor of Riverside Church, has delivered his last sermon there. He'll be embarking on a farewell tour of the nation, and leaving behind some nasty lawsuits accusing him of misplacing $10million in Church funds.
4. If local Democrats don't raise $90 million dollars, Howard Dean is giving the 2008 Democratic Convention to Minneapolis or Denver. That bastard!
5. Worst birthday party ever: a gas leak from a faulty water heater sent 8 kids to the hospital in Bath Beach: "The father, who organized the celebration, says a few hours into the party the children started to fall to the floor."

Merry Gridlock to All, via our friends at No Land Grab.