With a military flyover and cannons firing, the U.S. Navy's newest assault ship, the U.S.S. New York, was commissioned yesterday. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus referred to the fact that 7.5 tons of steel from the former World Trade Center was used to build the chip, "No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back. America always comes back. That's what this ship represents."

To make room for the planned extension of the 7 train, the Port Authority will evict the city's largest homeless drop-in center at the end of March, according to the Daily News. The Open Door shelter — which every day provides meals and showers to some 200 homeless men and women — would have closed sooner, but the city was able to convince the transit agency to delay a part of the line extension project to keep shelter visitors off the streets during the winter. Though the Open Door shelter doesn't have beds, an average of 94 people slept there per night in September. One of the regulars, 63-year-old Lee Parker, told the tabloid he has slept in a chair at the shelter each night for the past two months. "It's better than sleeping out on the street," he said. "It's safe and warm."

A House Republican joined 219 Democrats to vote for the landmark health care reform bill last night in the House of Representatives, enabling the bill to pass 220 votes to 215. Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan), who has"> introduced national health insurance in every Congress since taking office 1955, said, "It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it."

At around 1:15 this morning a report came in over the newswire that a male had fallen down an elevator shaft at Broadway and Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A reader sent in photos shortly after, and the building the incident took place in is actually at 338 Berry, between South 4th and South 5th streets — a former noodle factory converted into various multi-use spaces, including residential lofts. The victim was at a party in the building being hosted by the Uniform Project. After the fall he was in serious condition, unconscious and unresponsive. We'll update when we get more details.

• Bucks 102, Knicks 87: Where to begin on this one? The Bucks shot 74 percent from the floor. They went on a 23-2 early to ice the game .They outscored the Knicks, 40-22, in the first quarter. Brandon Jennings, whom the Knicks passed over for Jordan Hill, had 22 points and eight rebounds. David Lee's 18 points led the Knicks, now 1-6 and losers of three straight.
Continue reading "Last Night's Action: So How Bad Are the Knicks?"

Today's end-of-day links: The House may vote on health care reform tonight, the Village Gate's founder was thinking about reviving the club before his death, Columbia gets a luxury dorm in Riverdale, and more.

Decades back, few — if any — would oppose a plan to open a concrete plant in industrial Red Hook. But today, it's a different story. Residents of the quickly gentrifying neighborhood have petitioned and picketed in attempts to stop U.S. Concrete from opening a factory this month that they fear will scatter airborne particles "to the yellow-and-blue Ikea next door, heavily used baseball fields across the street, and a 2.75-acre farm nearby on a former playground," according to the Times. Community activist John McGettrick laid it out for the paper of record: “There’s a certain irony that we have a mayor talking about no smoking in parks, but he has no problem allowing the construction of a concrete plant that would shower cement dust on children in the park,” he said.

The woman who killed eight people, including herself, when she drove her minivan the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway was a heavy drinker and frequent marijuana smoker, the woman's sister-in-law told investigators. Despite her husband's repeated claims that his wife wasn't an alcoholic or regular drug user, Diane Schuler's in-law revealed to police that the 36-year-old "was a hard drinker" who "used marijuana daily because of the fact that she didn't believe in doctors," according to an attorney representing the families of two men killed in the July accident.

The last time the Chargers came to New York the result was the infamous “Snowball Game”. While there is no snow in the forecast, Giants fans are in an ugly mood, thanks to a three-game losing streak. In many ways this team is facing its first real crisis point since Week 15 in 2007 when they had to beat the Bills to make the playoffs.

After the U.S. Department of Labor announced that October's unemployment rate was 10.2%, one thing that was left unsaid was the number of people who have been unemployed so long they've given up looking for work, not to mention the people who are working part-time but would rather be in full-time jobs. According to the NY Times, "In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous recorded high was 17.1 percent, in December 1982."

A doctor says that after surgery, the first words of the civilian police officer whose quick actions stopped the gunman at Fort Hood were, "Did anybody die?" And a medic said that Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds from Major Nidal Malik Hasan on Thursday, "was fading in and out of consciousness. She wasn't saying much," raising concerns she might not survive.

If you don't have a rooftop or illegal fire escape garden, but you crave the taste of fresh thyme and basil for your homecooking... then you might to check out the possibility of window farming. New Yorkers Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray created Window Farms since growing food inside New York apartments is such a challenge. They simply channeled the "hydroponics research conducted by NASA scientists and marijuana farmers" — now through a drip system made from recycled water bottles, they've been growing beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, basil, lettuce and kale! CoolHunting stopped by to get a closer look:

              

The prospect of seeing the World Series Champion Yankees float by during yesterday's ticker tape parade. But how did millions of people manage to take off from work or school? White lies, of course!

And they said it couldn't be done. While countless idle dreamers have fantasized about uniting the flavor of potato chips, pretzels, and cookies in one transcendent mouthful, nobody ever actually did anything to make the dream a reality, besides stuffing each separate entity into their mouths at once and hoping for the best. Until now! (Or, until recently.) Meet the Chipn'etzel, the apotheosis of the pretzel, the cookie, and the potato chip. We did it, America!