In June of this year singer/songwriter Aimee Mann released her sixth solo album, called @#%&*! Smilers; in August she played two sold out shows in New York, as well as a free show at Barnes & Noble. At the end of that week she told us about a quintessential New York moment she had that started at the latter show and ended at the rooftop of the Hotel Chelsea, as well as how to pronounce... [continue]

Photograph of 49th Ave in Long Island City by Genial23 on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: an overturned vessel at Sandy Hook Pilot Station on Staten Island, a missing child on Glenwood Rd in Brooklyn, and a shooting at Dekalb Ave in Brooklyn. A 20-year-old Golden Gloves champ was shot dead in the Bronx after an altercation at a bodega. The Coast Guard calls off the search for a Bronx girl lost in the Niagara... [continue]

Around 4:10 p.m. on August 14, 2003, electrical transmission lines running through Ohio disconnected--thanks to toppled trees that forced Cleveland area power lines to draw more energy--and blackouts started to cascade across the system. NYC was left, along with other parts of the Northeast, Midwest, and Canada, without electrical power. Power did come back about 30 hours later, but not after New York residents were trapped in elevators and subways, unable to make cell phone... [continue]

Photo courtesy Blondie and Brownie. Cupcakes in ice cream cones? Has the whole world gone crazy? It does appear to be the case; blogger Blondie and Brownie spotted the innovation (or perversion, depending where you stand on dessert segregation) on sale at the Treats Truck at the end of last month. Of course, to a seasoned sweet connoisseur like Brownie, this is hardly revolutionary: I haven't had a conecake since, um, my mom made them... [continue]

Cheye Calvo, mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Prince George's County police after they raided his house and killed his two Labrador retrievers. The police were tracking 417 pounds of marijuana--32 pounds had been addressed to Calvo's wife Trinity Tomsic. Calvo's mother-in-law asked the deliveryman (really an undercover cop) to leave the package on the porch. When Calvo returned home, he took the package in;per the Baltimore... [continue]

Sam the Cooking Guy -- who boasts on his website that "with no fancy equipment and by speaking English instead of ‘chef-speak,'" he's "sort of the everyman of television cooking" -- may want to tone down the "regular guy" routine next time he's on The Today Show. Which isn't going to happen anytime soon. Eater points out that his most recent appearance did not go well. Well, it's about time somebody said something. Watch the... [continue]

The Center for Urban Future has compiled what they say is the first-ever ranking of national retailers that have the most stores in New York City. Fittingly called “Attack of the Chains,” the ranking includes data on more than 160 retailers operating in the city. (The recently announced Starbucks closings will reduce the coffee retailer's presence in New York to a scant 235 locations – unless the passionate protests of one Bay Ridge man... [continue]

A number of people who saw at least six dogs were left in a sweltering car--with the windows closed-- were so outraged that they, per WABC 7 Eyewitness News, "liberated the animals and then blasted their owner" on Saturday afternoon. Upper West Side residents claimed the dogs had been alone in the car for more than an hour, and, after watching the pups pant away, finally one person let the dogs out (it's unclear... [continue]

Yes and no. The name “Polo Grounds” was originally just a generic name describing the function of the place – grounds where polo was played – and got transmogrified into a proper name. Like another Manhattan sports venue, Madison Square Garden, it was the name for several different structures, but it was only the first where polo was actually played. The original Polo Grounds, located across from Central Park on 110th Street between 5th and... [continue]

As part of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game celebrations, the DHL All-Star FanFest opened today at the Jacob Javits Center. Running through Tuesday, FanFest offers activities that any baseball fans of all ages can enjoy. There are booths where attendees can test their pitching skills against video images of Major League Sluggers, attempt to hit "home runs," take fielding practice, and other active events. Fans can also have their photo taken for USA Today's Sports... [continue]

2008 regional tap water taste-off contest. Photos courtesy of AMNH/Matt Shanley. This morning the American Museum of Natural History hosted a Tap Water Taste-off on their steps. New York City was one of five area communities competing for the title of tastiest tap water in the state during the event. Who came out on top at the 2008 regional taste-off contest? Sadly, we were robbed, with Bethpage in Nassau County grabbing the blue ribbon.... [continue]

An American Airlines flight from Miami to LaGuardia Sunday night was canceled due to the passengers' collective rudeness. Fox 5 has it that a flight crew was so late getting to the plane that upon arrival they were greeted with raucous booing from the impatient passengers. So the crew decided to teach the rabble a lesson in manners and refused to work the flight for the “hostile mob.” A replacement flight crew could not be... [continue]

The latest happening from the pranksters at Improv Everywhere – masters at getting weird looks from people as they plug in big desktop computers at Starbucks, flood Abercrombie & Fitch with shirtless average Joes, and (the best) freeze in Grand Central – is all about twins. Organizers recruited nine sets of identical twins in matching outfits to ride the 6 train uptown, sit across from each other and mirror each other's gestures. It's not The... [continue]

Photo from atop Glenwood power station in Yonkers, by nicolaitan at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 119th Ave. and 153rd St. in Queens, an abduction on East 174th St. and Southern Blvd. in the Bronx, and a serious trauma at 120 Broadway in Manhattan. The young woman who snapped pictures of boxer Oscar De La Hoya cavorting in women's lingerie was busted trying to leave the Macy's in Herald Square with... [continue]

A distressing video was released showing a 49-year-old psychiatric patient left to die in the waiting room of Kings County Hospital. The video shows the woman, identified as Esmin Green, slump and fall to the ground--and two guards and a doctor look in and ignore her. Finally, a nurse comes to check on her, but not before kicking Green, who was dead at that point. Attorney Robert Cohen told WNBC, "It's an emergency room,... [continue]

A reader sent us some photos of retired subway cars traveling by barge to their watery graves. Once hitting the correct latitude they're dumped overboard to create natural reefs. Earlier this year the reef program proved to be too popular in Delaware, where subway cars were sent on the MTA's dime. Reportedly they're adding tanks, refrigerators, shopping carts and washing machines to the ocean floor in order to expand the reef.... [continue]

The value of a switch hitter in baseball is great, but what about the value of a switch pitcher. Imagine a pitcher that can throw to hitters on either side of the dish. That's what the Staten Island Yankees have in Pat Venditte, a 22 year-old switch pitcher. Venditte was drafted by the Yankees in 2007 and again 2008 after he returned to Creighton University for his senior year. Venditte's first minor league appearance... [continue]

Last night, the Mets' game against the Texas Rangers was rained out due to the storm. However, the faithful--those Mets fans who stuck around while waiting to see if the game would be just be delayed--got a treat when some Rangers players decided to turn the tarp on the field at Shea Stadium into a wonderful Slip 'N Slide. Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler decided to slide first, followed by Josh Hamilton, Michael Young,... [continue]

Reports say that NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and host of Meet the Press Tim Russert has died. It's believed he had a heart attack. A source told the NY Post he collapsed in the Washington Bureau. NBC News now confirms Russert's death and says he was recording voiceovers for Sunday's Meet the Press. The NY Times reports that at 3:39 p.m., retired anchor Tom Brokaw went on the air to announce Russert's death.“Our beloved... [continue]