Bloomberg: Crime Stat Manipulations are "Tiny"
Palin: "Absurd" Not To Consider 2012 Run
Wall Street Throwing More Money at Republicans
School Already Canceled Tomorrow for Snowpocalypse!
More Bald Eagles Spotted In Harlem!
The Guggenheim has invited creatives worldwide to come up with a way to fill the void at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum, and starting on the 12th (through April 28th) you'll be able to see what the 200+ artists, architects, and designers imagined at the Contemplating the Void: Interventions exhibit. A few options are above; our favorite is JDS Architects, who proposed a spiraling trampoline net that looks really dangerous! more ›
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add to facebookShould Misdemeanors Automatically Expel State Senators?
As the state Senate tries to decide whether to expel Senator Hiram Monserrate, a Queens Democrat who was convicted of misdemeanor assault for slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass, one lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require the automatic expulsion of senators in such cases. The measure would not be retroactive and wouldn't affect Monserrate if it's passed, but still, isn't the Senate painting itself into a corner by raising the legal bar just a tad too high? What if they create a situation where they can't find anybody law-abiding enough to fill the Senate, and then they can't get anything done in Albany?! We jest, but the real punchline here is that the person proposing the new purity law is none other than infamous Senate scofflaw Pedro Espada, Jr., who's currently under investigation by the Attorney General.
It would be charitable to call this one a mess: Two prominent Queens politicians are under scrutiny because the nonprofit they set-up to aid Katrina victims delivered barely 1/30th of their funds to evacuees. According to the ethics watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center, tax records show that only $1,392 of at least $31,000 raised to help Katrina families was paid to victims. more ›
Former Giants star Plaxico Burress swears he will return to the NFL after he is released from prison, and insists "it will be like I never left." During his first interview since being sentenced to two years in prison for shooting himself in the leg with an unlicensed handgun, the wide receiver stated: "Being in here I have time to think about how I want to be seen when I get out. I want to be better." more ›
Reports: Toyota to Recall 300,000 Priuses
Following up its sad, grayscale Superbowl ad, on Tuesday Toyota is expected to announce a recall of 300,000 Prius hybrids with faulty brakes. Japan's Kyodo News broke the news, which has not been confirmed by Toyota. In the U.S. at least 100 drivers have complained that their anti-lock breaks freeze momentarily on bumpy roads, reports the AP, and four accidents are suspected to have been caused by the defect. Last week, the U.S. Government pledged to investigate. If the recall goes through, it will affect drivers of the latest Prius model, who bought their cars after May of last year. Already this year the automaker has recalled over 7 million cars around the world.
The Royal Shakespeare Company will spend several hundred thousand dollars donated by Ohio State University to construct a full-size replica of their new theater in Stratford-upon-Avon, ship it in pieces to NYC, and assemble it in the Park Avenue Armory's massive Drill Hall, which has 55,000 square feet of uncolumned space. In an unprecedented plan announced today, the company will use the replica to stage five plays in repertory in July and August 2011 as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. (The five plays are Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and The Winter’s Tale.) more ›
Steve Phillips, the former Mets general manager and ESPN baseball analyst, appeared on the Today Show, fresh from his stint in sex rehab. Phillips told Matt Lauer, “People look at sex addiction as an excuse; it’s not an excuse. I’m fully responsible for everything that I did and accept responsibility for that... People who go [to rehab] are broken people. That’s really the essence of the addiction, that you’re broken inside. You’ve got a hole that you’ve tried to fill, whether it was with alcohol or drugs or sex or gambling with whatever.” more ›
Have you seen these shots of a shanty town set up on Mercer and Houston Streets during the Great Depression? That's right, these (first two) photographs of men in suits reading magazines, smoking cigarettes and lingering about their alternative abodes aren't from the web pages of Unhappy Hipsters—they were taken by Berenice Abbott in 1935. more ›
Missing Cab Driver Found—In Jail!
At a press conference on Sunday the president of the NY State Federation of Taxi Drivers demanded to know what had become of missing cabbie Victor Ovalles, only to find out he was in jail for pulling a knife on another driver. "I should have checked with the police before asking for help," admitted Fernando Mateo. Ovalles had been behind bars for nearly a month, according to the Daily News, but hadn't told his family. What's more, since he lacked a taxi license and had a criminal record, he shouldn't have been driving a cab to begin with. His family says police were unhelpful in their quest to find their missing relative. "They didn't get us any answers," said the jailed driver's brother. "We were surprised when we heard he was arrested. But we're glad he's okay."
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Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email us at info(at)gothamist(dot)com more ›
Today's morning linkage: MTV changes their logo, Conan O'Brien isn't coming back to New York, NYU will take away your MBA if you get convicted of a crime, and more than 23,000 city workers are getting paid $100K. Plus more! more ›
Following a barrage of exposés on the Department of Education's Rubber Room—a paid purgatory for union teachers booted from the classroom— Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx slammed the system. "New York City must no longer permit a gift of several million dollars for incompetent former teachers who sit in the infamous 'rubber rooms,' drawing full salary while the Department of Education drags its feet and refuses to promptly address allegations of teacher misconduct and incompetence," said the Democrat in an angry statement to the Post. more ›
Former Tennessee lawmaker and possible Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. claims his rival is using "underhanded tactics" to keep his name off the ballot. According to the New York newcomer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been trying to convince county Democratic Party chairs to endorse her before the May nominating convention, making it difficult for Ford to become an official Democratic candidate without initiating "a cumbersome and costly" petition drive. more ›
Winter Restaurant Week Becomes Restaurant Month
You know the drill: The Winter Restaurant Week (which actually lasts two weeks) was supposed to end Friday. But just like last year, it's been extended, giving you another shot at a three-course lunch for $24.07 or dinner for $35 at some of the city's best restaurants. The extension (supposedly) lasts through Feb. 28 at more than 190 restaurants. To guide your decision-making process, Eater has a handy roundup of some blogger reviews from Restaurant Week, when some establishments have been known to phone it in with lackluster menus and shoddy service. (We've had good experiences at Anthos, Indochine, and Crema in recent years.)
As MTA megaprojects including the Second Avenue Subway and the 7 train expansion have fallen behind schedule and gone up in cost, salaries and staff at the department in charge of overseeing such projects have increased for five years straight. Under the guidance of the MTA Capital Construction department, the price of major developments has surged and setbacks have become commonplace—yet the department has grown from 39 employees in 2004 to 151 in 2009, and its payroll has ballooned by $10.6 million. more ›
Looking at yesterday's satellite image you can see how close Snowmageddon got to the city this past weekend. Great Kills actually had 6.4 inches of snow on Saturday and about an inch fell on parts of Brooklyn. A second wave of cold air behind that storm is blowing into town today. Despite the sun it will be a cold and windy day. Look for highs a little above freezing with wind chill readings in the teens. more ›
Judging from comments on our site and a NY Times reaction piece, New Yorkers didn't seem much surprised by "shocking" new allegations that NYPD crime statistics are fudged, cooked and patched. And yet many still think the city is safe and getting safer; regardless of the stats, the Times finds quite a few people who trust the force to serve and protect. “The N.Y.P.D. lays their lives on the line for us every day,” said a senior minister at the Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in Harlem. “But they’re human. Mistakes are made. I know that people pad books. They pad books in the banking system. I’ve even known ministers to pad books in the church. It just needs to be investigated.” more ›
After endearing herself to the Tea Party faithful—and landing herself a lot of media attention—at the Tea Party Convention this past weekend, former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told her Fox News colleague Chris Wallace that of course she'd think about running for president in 2012. Palin said, "I would. I would if I believed that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family. Certainly, I would do so... I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country." more ›
Get Ready For the F Train Shuttle Shuffle
We knew F train shuttles were expected next year, but it seems whatever the opposite of Christmas is has come early! According to the Brooklyn Paper, the MTA will replace weekend train service between Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn and Church Avenue in Kensington with shuttle buses in order to work on portions of the elevated line. This starts February 20th and will last "for an unspecified number weekends over the next 11 months." The agency says they'll try to inform straphangers of the exact dates to expect the shuttle buses, and so far they have confirmed the weekend of the 20th and 27th. On the upside, maybe you can become the Mayor on Foursquare?
Fed up with name-calling and increased restrictions from the Obama administration, bankers are shifting financial support to Democratic opponents in the Republican party. Bank officials say Wall Street is sending a message: “The expectation in Washington is that ‘We can kick you around, and you are still going to give us money,’ ” one top official at a major Wall Street firm tells the Times. “We are not going to play that game anymore.” more ›
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The New York State Senate on Tuesday evening voted to expel Senator Hiram Monserrate!
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