Beloved WNBC anchor Sue Simmons was doing a promo during the 10 p.m. hour for the 11 p.m. news broadcast, when she went from describing a story about food prices going up and the weight of food products going down to saying "What the fuck are you doing?!" (See video above.) When the 11 p.m. broadcast rolled around, there was no mention of the mishap until after the lead stories were out of the way and then Simmons faced the camera:

"We need to acknowledge an unfortunate mistake that i made in one of the teases we bring to you before this program. While we were live, just after 10 o'clock, I said a word that many people find offensive. I'm truly sorry it was a mistake on my part and I sincerely apologize."

Chi'en did not realize he was on air, but WCBS 2 still fired him. A year later, an arbitrator found the station acted wrongly, saying Chi'en should have been reprimanded instead, pointed out "the evidence reveals that Mr. Chi'en did not intend for his words to be heard on-air, that this was a singular incident in which the word 'fuck' was used outside any sexual context, that the Station did not receive a single complaint about the incident."

More hilarious moments in Sue Simmons' on-air WNBC history:

Falling out of a chair

Her Groundhog impression:

If this is what a Jet Blue "buddy pass" is, we totally pass. An Inwood resident is suing the Queens-based airline or $2 million, claiming a pilot made him sit on the plan's toilet for three hours during a flight from San Diego to New York earlier this year.

Gokhan Multhu was using a buddy pass (per the AP--the "standby travel voucher that JetBlue employees give to friends") and though the flight was full, since a flight attendant had taken the last seat, he was told he could have hers and she would sit in a jump seat. Yet an hour into the flight, Multhu says the pilot told him to give the seat back to the attendant, because she wasn't comfortable.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as swapping seats, because jump seats are only for airplane crew. From the NY Post:

The pilot said no - Mutlu should just "go and 'hang out' in the bathroom," the suit says. In the meantime, the stewardess took Mutlu's seat, "closed her eyes and pretended to sleep."

When Mutlu began to argue, the pilot "became angry at the plaintiff's reluctance to go . . . to take his place in the rest room and took a much harsher tone with the plaintiff, advising him that he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command, and that the plaintiff should be grateful for being onboard," the suit says.

Jet Blue had no comment, saying it does not discuss pending litigation. It's unclear where "buddy pass" falls under the Jet Blue Customer Bill of Rights.

Remy Ma, better known for her court hearings than for her Grammy nomination, is having trouble becoming "an honest woman," as the saying goes. The rapper was supposed to be married on Rikers Island yesterday to her fiancée Papoose -- but when her groom brought a questionable gift for his bride, the wedding was called off.

The Daily News reports that he showed up with a handcuff key; they were told by a correction official that the key that was found "easily opened handcuffs that we and other law enforcement officials use."

It is believed that this was part of an escape plan, but maybe Papoose just got cold feet and was just looking for an easy out. He was promptly asked to leave and is now banned from the facility for six months. Meanwhile, his bride-to-be remains behind bars as she faces sentencing for shooting Makeda Barnes-Joseph; she could get up to 25 years in prison, which she hopes will get shortened due to fan mail.

UPDATE: Remy Ma was sentenced to 8 years in prison. The NY Post reports:

After the sentencing, a man identified by court officers as Remy Ma's fiance, fellow rapper Papoose, began screaming in a hallway outside the courtroom. "All you want is money!" he said, apparently referring to the victim.

"Lock me up! Lock me up!" he then shouted to court officers, who instead escorted him to an elevator and out of the courthouse.

Photograph of the crowd waiting for a 1, 2 or 3 train at Times Square by ianqui on Flickr

New data supports what everyone's been thinking: Ridership for the subway--and almost every other mass transit option--is up versus last year. So far, subway ridership is up almost 5% for the first three months of 2008 versus same period last year, and bus ridership is up 1.1%.

Metro-North and LIRR both have seen ridership increases of more than 5%, and many riders pointing to gas prices as why they are taking mass transit. A construction worker who lives in Long Island told the Daily News, "Gas prices are ridiculous - that's why I'm on the train. It's faster, less expensive and less wear and tear on my car."

Another interesting stat: The number of drivers going across/through MTA and Port Authority bridges and tunnels has declined 1.5-1.9&. Question: Would congestion pricing have had a fighting chance if it were up for discussion after a long summer of high gas prices?

Residents of Washington Heights and the Lower East Side may be noticing some production crews in their 'nabe this week, as filming begins for the redux of PBS's The Electric Company, which ended its series in 1977.

The NY Times reports that the the show will be "refitted for the age of hip-hop and informed by decades of further educational research on reading." In addition, it will reportedly be accompanied by interactive online elements and community outreach projects. The weekly program, scheduled to hit small screens in January 2009, also promises to be "more danceable"! Not much else will be changing, though:

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit media corporation formerly known as the Children?s Television Workshop, will once again produce. As before, when the show began in 1971, it is still directed at viewers 6 to 9 years old.

A cameo has been offered to Rita Moreno, a regular on the original ?Electric Company,? remembered for her show-opening exultation, ?Hey, you guyyyyys!?

In keeping with the original show?s ties to theater (many in the cast, like Morgan Freeman, had stage backgrounds), the new head writer is a Tony-Award-nominated playwright and lyricist, Willie Reale, with experience in children?s theater.

Announcements were nostalgia-filled this week, as reports came in that Fraggle Rock would also be returning. Variety noted that the Weinstein Company will turn the series into a live-action musical feature; Ahmet Zappa is set to executive produce.

Pictured: Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader in The Electric Company.

Roughly six years have passed since the controversial Red Hook IKEA was first proposed, further dividing an already fragmented community. Next month the 346,000-square-foot store, the first IKEA in New York City, will finally open on Beard Street, and, you guessed it, the community is still divided. John McGettrick, co-chair of the Red Hook Civic Alliance, insists IKEA is a waste of 22 acres of prime waterfront property and will create a traffic nightmare on Red Hook?s quaint back streets.

In attempt to mitigate the traffic problems, IKEA has arranged for New York Water Taxi to provide free service to and from Pier 11 in lower Manhattan every 40 minutes during store hours. The store will also run shuttle buses to the three closest subway stops, and the MTA will be extending the B61 and B77 bus routes to stop directly in front of the store. And for bigger purchases, IKEA will offer a courier service, starting at $39.99, with deliveries made by the following day.

Other community activists have favored the plan's new job potential, but how many locals IKEA?s hired is anybody?s guess because the company refuses to release its hiring numbers. Of course none of this will matter to consumers once the doors open on June 18th?some are even planning to camp out in front of the store to get their hands on unspecified ?opening morning? prizes. And Gowanus Lounge and Racked have taken tours of the unopened store, which, you know, looks a lot like every other IKEA, despite the maritime motif subtly incorporated into the design.

Photo of burned truck outside IKEA courtesy jpchan.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: person on the track at 145th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. in Manhattan, a missing patient on Clarkson Ave. in Brooklyn, and a burn victim at the Ladder 41 firehouse in the Bronx.
• Koreannovation begins tomorrow. The trade show will feature all sorts of gadgets like an amplified vest that will allow MP3 players to blast without the discomfort of users sticking headphones in their ears.
• Lindsay Campbell crosses the line from journalist to activist, to actually be a journalist and find out what's happening. Arrested.
• Cops are warning area banks about a master of disguise bank robber who has donned everything from a rabbi outfit to a Indiana Jones hat. The one constant judging from the surveillance photos: he's middle-aged, fat, and florid, with a fashion sense to match.
• All three recently hatched baby hawks from Riverside Park are feared dead after one of their bodies was found and no sign is seen of the other two in their nest.
• A 25-year-old hospital morgue worker was sentenced to up to seven years in prison for having sex with the corpse of a 92-year-old woman in a NJ hospital.
• The greatest hits of forgotten items left in cabs, although we remember some diamonds that are not mentioned.
• On the waterfront, longshoremen were recognized for their contribution to the development of NYC. The rededication of a mural at the Brooklyn cruise terminal was part of the proceedings.

The 2008 Tony Award nominees were just announced, and looking over the list we?ve got to admit that it was a pretty good year for Broadway, at least in terms of quality. The phenomenal rock musical Passing Strange picked up seven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Lead Actor (Stew, pictured). Also competing in the Best Musical category are the tepidly received Cry-Baby, the harmless Xanadu, and the underdog Latino musical In the Heights.

The rapturously received (though not by Gothamist) August: Osage County picked up five nominations on the way to its inevitable apotheosis as a Hollywood movie. It squares off for the Best Play Tony against Tom Stoppard?s Rock ?n? Roll, Conor McPherson?s The Seafarer, and the fast and funny The 39 Steps.

The riveting revival of Harold Pinter?s The Homecoming received three nominations ? Ian McShane was passed over for Best Leading Actor, but the real magic in that production came from Eve Best and Raúl Esparza, who both received nominations. Sunday in the Park with George faces stiff competition in the Best Revival of a Musical category from South Pacific and Gypsy; Grease doesn't stand a chance.

The nominations and awards are the last hope for a critically acclaimed show like Passing Strange, which has been playing to less than 50% capacity. As the Playgoer recently pointed out, this past season has been a rough one for Broadway, and it?s hard to blame it all on the stagehands? strike; currently 18 of the 37 shows on Broadway are less than 70% full. According to Crain?s, overall attendance has dropped 3.5%.

The 2008 Tony Awards ceremony will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 15th, and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Stephen Sondheim will be honored with a lifetime achievement award during the event, which will be broadcast on CBS.

Photo of Stew courtesy Carol Rosegg.

We heard there was a huge fight in Newark, with hundreds of teens involved and then a stolen police car that hit two people in the crowd. It now turns out that the situation was less crowded but still with a stolen police car.

According to the Star-Ledger, about 100 high school students had gathered to watch a fight at Park Avenue and North 5th Street. While it's unclear why the fight started, witness said "responding officers took two students into custody, but one managed to break away. Meanwhile, the other student got a hold of the keys to a marked police car, which he drove for about a half-block before ramming into two cars parked on the south side of the street." So the fight ended there.

The car hit two students, both of whom are being treated at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Photograph of Newark police cars that chased a stolen car into Brooklyn by woodendesigner on Flickr

Photograph of a Chinese couple and child in a stadium-turned-shelter after the earthquake by Andy Wong/AP

With the death toll over 13,000 and still tens of thousands missing or buried under debris, plus aftershocks near the epicenter today, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Sichuan province of China has prompted New York City's Chinese community to react. Many groups have received donations and City Councilman John Liu said:

"As always in the past, anytime there has been a tragedy of this kind of proportion anywhere in the world, New Yorkers have always stepped up to the plate. And they've already flooded my offices with offers of help and assistance. We truly thank all of New York and all of America for their offers of assistance."

Mayor Bloomberg also expressed his sympathies, "This terrible tragedy strikes close to home for many in our city, where some 450,000 people trace their origins to China. To them, and to the people of China, we express the hope that you can soon 'change your tears into strength' - Hua Bei Fen Wei Li Liang."

Soldiers have been using their hands to dig through the rubble and find victims. However, the Times of London reports that earthquake victims' distress is turning into anger, blaming contractors for shoddy construction; one said, "This is not a natural disaster - this is done by humans." And one woman told the Wall Street Journal, "We can only have one child. How can we live without them? We put all our hopes on our kids."