It's so hard to keep up with all the holidays lately. Today is Margarita Day and Spay Day... and we went through most of the day not even knowing it's also Lady Porn Day! more ›

So now that the guidelines for the long-dormant Seward Park Uraban Renewal Area (SPURA) have been approved (you can check them out below), what will the roughly 1,000 new apartments bring to area? A whole lot of rich people, according to some calculations from Open City. more ›

Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Knicks in a blockbuster deal. While sports columnists and fans can debate whether this deal was great or stupid for years to come, there's something else they can chew on: A new "Melo Sandwich" from the Carnegie Deli. more ›

This winter the Brooklyn Animal Foster Network was overwhelmed after rescuing more dogs than normal during the season (Penelope wasn't the only one left in the snow), including six puppies pulled from "a damp, cramped, feces-covered cellar." Bryn (pictured) is a 4-month-old pup that they rescued, but she's now on life support with double pneumonia, racking up more unexpected expenses for the shelter. They write: more ›

Smartphone owners who have ever walked curiously by a construction site but not really felt like actually stopping to read or retain any of the information on the permits posted outside, the latest announcement from the Mayor's office is for you. Going forward all Department of Buildings permits will now include a QR code (those boxy barcodes that resemble 8-bit Mondrian paintings) and each of those codes will link back to relavent information on the DoB's website—including the applicant's phone number and a quick link to 311 (try the code to the left to see for yourself). All of the city's 900,000+ building permits are expected to have QR codes by 2013. more ›

One day after the anniversary of Malcolm X's assassination, daughter Malikah Shabazz faces extradition to New York after being arrested in North Carolina on charges of identity theft. Warrants for her arrest were issued by the Queens DA office last June for obtaining credit in the name of Khaula Bakr, the widow of of one of Malcolm X's bodyguards. She was found when police came to her Asheville to ask why her 13-year-old daughter hadn't been attending school. more ›

Sure, the hipsters of the early aughts enjoyed a little retro in their daily routine... but usually it came in the form of an overpriced vintage t-shirt or ironic whatchamacallit. These modern day hipsters are taking things a little too far, however, and sending women back to the days of June Cleaver. Way to go, ladies of Brooklynburg! more ›

What do the five-alarm fire that claimed the life of a 64-year-old woman and displaced dozens of residents of a Flatbush apartment building and a police officer's accidentally shooting himself at a station house have to do with each other? Well, it turns out that dispatchers sent one FDNY engine company to the fire on East 29th Street, "not realizing the unit was already helping a cop who had accidentally shot himself at the 67th Precinct station house, right next door to its firehouse," the Post reports. more ›

Detective Ed Zigo, famous for catching serial killer David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, died on Saturday of cancer on his Long Island home. He was 83. Zigo found Berkowitz by tracing a parking ticked issued to him at the scene of his last murder. He went to Berkowitz's house, and Zigo's son said, "According to my father, he introduced himself and said, 'Hi, David. I'm Detective Zigo.' Berkowitz said to him, 'Hi, Ed. I'm the Son of Sam.' " more ›

Today is National Margarita Day, which is not an official holiday but it is observed by literally hundreds of food publicists nationwide. (Ironically, today is also Global World Thinking Day, but we haven't gotten any press releases about that, so whatever.) No doubt you've already finished all your Margarita Day shopping and are getting ready to kick back and celebrate that immortal day in 1934 when a Mexico City barman named "Willie" may have concocted the first Margarita. more ›

What if instead of rearranging New York's street grid to look more like another city you were to try and tidy it up? That's what French artist Armelle Caron did a few years ago with her tout bien rangé series which cleans up not just New York but also Berlin, Istanbul, Paris and more. And the results are surprisingly intriguing. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Strange things are afoot at Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz's office. According to some female staffers, Markowitz's office is run like a "frat house," with male workers favored over females and Markowitz nicknaming one female staffer "Tinkerbell." Former communications director Regina Weiss filed a sexual-discrimination suit, which included testimony by former staffer Bridget Geary. However, when asked if he knew of complaints from Geary, Markowitz replied "no." Which is funny, because apparently he told former chief of staff Gregory Atkins that he did. more ›

Whether you pay The Man for your cable television, or you have gone further off the grid with a Roku, Boxee, or Apple TV device... you probably enjoy your Netflix Instant. But who can keep up with all those options, especially now that Amazon has offered a competitive membership, unleashing 5,000 more movies and television shows (should you choose to subscribe to their prime program). Each week we'll bring you our instant-watch picks from both of those outlets, as well as Hulu Plus. We'll also be sure to give you a heads up on what to catch before Netflix sends it to the cyber-guillotine. more ›

Last week the House of Representatives approved a series of budget cuts which would include defunding Planned Parenthood. The funding legally cannot go toward abortion, so instead it would defund things like free pelvic and breast exams, family planning and HIV tests. And now, Bloomberg is getting in on the fight. more ›

Wasn't it Andy Warhol who said something about, "in the future everyone will have their own reality television show"? Well step right up Ted Williams! It is probably too soon to put the spotlight back on the Golden Voice, who was saved from the streets thanks to a YouTube video gone viral, but is still battling his addictions that landed him there in the first place. While he's been polished up to look good for the cameras, that doesn't mean his insides are okay, Hollywood. But alas, TMZ has learned that he's just landed his own reality television show, which will begin filming in two short weeks. more ›

[Update below] You know how the EPA keeps saying "there are dangerous PCBs in New York City schools!" And the Department of Education keeps saying "that's nice but we don't really have the money to deal with that right now?" Well, the dance continues! The results are in from the EPA's latest spot check of city schools and once again the results are not good. On Saturday, February 12, the federal agency checked out P.S. 45 in Brooklyn and found a whole mess of leaking lighting ballasts containing the suspected carcinogens. more ›

Meet Patrick Quinn, a Brooklyn man sent straight from Central Casting to the pages of the Daily News, where he appears to fulfill nearly every cliched notion of what makes a hipster. Quinn is a blacksmith who makes hand-crafted belt buckles that can hold your MetroCard—they cost $125 each and they're sold on Etsy. It's as if the News sent out a Hipster Stereotype Survey to Brooklyn residents and Quinn came back with all the right answers. But reached by phone today, Quinn shockingly revealed that his hipster credentials are less than sterling! more ›