Hey, the city is trying to clear Times Square for tonight's revelry (it's New Year's Eve, if you've forgotten in the blizzard-induced haze) and the NYPD announced street closures. Here's the full police press release below—remember, no backpacks and large bags and the early birds get closest to the see the ball drop...and take mass transit: more ›

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 23 new winners of the so-called "genius awards." The recipients were notified yesterday through a phone call "out of the blue" from the Foundation; all will receive $100,000 a year for five years, no strings attached. The winners include David Simon, creator of The Wire and Treme; writer Annette Gordon-Reed, whose book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in History; jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran; and theater director David Cromer, whose terrific Off-Broadway revival of Our Town won a slew of awards. "It robs me of my greatest excuse for everything—I’m broke," Cromer tells the Times. more ›

Today is Park(ing) Day (Observed). Most banks and post offices are open, but hundreds of New Yorkers across the city are taking the holiday off of work and turning parking spaces into whimsical mini "parks." In a sort of friendly competition for the most creative use of a curbside parking space, designers install everything from geodesic domes to botanical gardens to ball pits, liberating over fifty parking spaces in all five boroughs from the TYRANNY of automobiles. And outside the Mayor's residence, activist group Time's Up! is having some fun. more ›

Remember how it snowed a lot in February and Glenn Beck issued an "Amber Alert" for Al Gore, because obviously seasonal weather patterns debunk Gore's global warming hoax? (Beck crowed, "Well, the snow is hammering Washington D.C. again. I believe God is just saying, 'I got your global warming here, eh?'") Well, those loony left-wing scientists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies are now saying [pdf] that the global surface temperature in 2010 is already hotter than any year on record. The report, which concludes that "that there has been no reduction in the global warming trend of 0.15-0.20°C/decade that began in the late 1970s," also addresses civilization's inability to deal with the crisis, thanks to demagogues like Beck: more ›

The weather was exquisite for National Bike to Work Day today, and this morning Transportation Alternatives co-hosted nine pit stops across the five boroughs to support bike commuters with breakfast, commuter kits, civic-cycling guides and friendly advice about two-wheeled commuting. Did you get any swag? Over at the Hudson River Greenway they were making bike-powered smoothies! For the Bike From Work part of the day it'd be cool if they mixed up some bike-powered Pina Coladas. more ›

The 15th Anniversary of the Gen Art Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night at the Ziegfeld Theatre with Josh Radnor’s ("How I Met Your Mother") writing/directing debut happythankyoumoreplease, which was shot here in New York and won the Sundance Audience Award. Spoiler? The movie "focuses on several 20-something relationships in the city." Other screenings during the week-long indie festival include Elektra Luxx, about a former adult film actress as she shifts her moves from the bedroom to the classroom; Tanner Hall, "a coming-of-age tale steeped in secrecy, desire and adolescent complexity" and set in a New England all-girls boarding school, and Mercy, which features James Caan and Dylan McDermott in a story about "a successful young romance novelist who doesn't believe in love—or so he thinks. When he meets a beautiful and mysterious book critic named Mercy, his theories are put to the test." Drama button! more ›

Sublime weather welcomed thousands of festively attired promenaders for the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade yesterday. The annual event isn't a parade in the conventional sense—no floats or marching bands—but it's arguably more enjoyable. Instead of massive, dangerous balloons marauding down the avenue, the space is taken over by the people, many of whom come dressed in spectacular costumes and monumental bonnets. According to Midmanhattan.com, the tradition dates back to the middle of the 19th century, "when the social elite would attend services at one of the 5th Avenue churches and parade their new fashions down the Avenue afterwards." more ›

The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival unveiled its full lineup today; this year the festival will present 85 feature-length and 47 short film selections from April 21st through May 2, 2010. Alex Gibney, whose Taxi to the Dark Side won the Oscar for best documentary in 2008, will bring My Trip to Al-Qaeda to the festival, as well as his work-in-progress, an untitled film about former Governor Eliot Spitzer. Neil Jordan's Ondine, which stars Colin Farrell as a fisherman who reels in a mermaid, will have its U.S. premiere, as will Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me, a "pulpy noir" starring Casey Affleck. more ›

If you've noticed a slight uptick in emaciated, eccentrically dressed young women hobbling toward the Hudson River, that's because it's crazy art fair week again in NYC, with several different international exhibitions happening all over town. The establishment anchor of all this is the The Armory Show, which is being held once again on Piers 94 and 92 on 12th Avenue. As usual, it's a massive, sprawling shopping mall of contemporary and modern art, featuring 267 galleries from 31 countries. We wandered the grounds in a daze at last night's packed preview, and while it's nearly impossible to give any work of art its due in the midst of such a madhouse, please enjoy these photos of what stood out from the crowd. (Our favorite piece was probably by Patrick Jacobs, from Brooklyn's own Pierogi gallery; it doesn't really translate all that well in a photograph, but it's included here nonetheless—second image.) more ›

Now that Governor Paterson is expected to drop his 2010 gubernatorial bid (though it's unclear when and if he will have a press conference) after news of abuse accusations against his aide were revealed—as well as his own and the State Police's involvement in with the accuser—the next question is whether he should remain installed as governor. The local papers are, at best, skeptical and, at worst, angry. more ›

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.) more ›

This year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to bump up the number of films eligible for Best Picture nomination from five to ten. The nominations were announced before dawn on the west coast this morning by Anne Hathaway and Academy President Tom Sherak. Some, like Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere, had threatened "a tsumani of shame" if the Coen brothers' superb film A Serious Man was left out of the newly-expanded Best Picture category. But Old Testament wrath was mercifully averted, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Now it better win, lest Hollywood feel our hurricane of hate. more ›

In case you didn't get enough idiot porn yesterday, here are some more shots we received from the 2010 Idiotarod Race—which ran from Williamsburg's Cooper Park to Astoria's Rainey Park. more ›

After much confusion and rumors that the race would be starting in Sunset Park... the 2010 Idiotarod has officially begun! The starting point is at Cooper Park in Williamsburg, where teams are awaiting the start signal and the temperature is a brisk 17 degrees! Send us any photos (or tag them "Gothamist" on Flickr) and dirty details you may have as a racer, spectator or passerby—we'll be updating as the race goes on. We're especially interested in seeing this Ghostbusters team (while throwing food is not allowed this year... we're hoping they're packing some green slime). more ›

Though it's not "officially" kicking off until tomorrow, this morning NYC & Company's Twitter followers got an early heads up on which restaurants are participating in NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010. The two-week event will run from January 25th to February 7th, with participating eateries offering three-course prix-fixe lunches for $24.07 and three-course prix-fixe dinners for $35 (excluding beverages, tax and gratuity). If you want to get a jump on reservations, now's the time—some of the more expensive and trendy restaurants get booked fast, and there are some appetizing newcomers this year, such as The Breslin and A Voce Columbus. more ›

"Negro" is pejorative, right? The ethnic classification was common usage through the '60s, and even Martin Luther King used the word in speeches and his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. But we're pretty sure that in 2010 "negro" is widely considered offensive, and the Census Bureau has caused an uproar by including it on their 2010 form. Question No. 9, which asks Americans to state their race, lists "black, African Amer., or negro" as options. But how come there's only one option for "white"? What if one self-identifies as Poindexter, Richie Cunningham, or Whitey McWhite White? more ›

Head cheerleader Bloomberg held a press conference in Bay Ridge yesterday to spin the stats on the city's 2009 tourist numbers. Although tourism was down nearly 4 percent from 2008, with the number of visitors to New York City declining by almost 2 million last year, the mayor struck a triumphant note, because those precious 45.25 million tourists defied a dire prediction that tourism would drop by 10 percent last year. "Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country," Bloomberg told the press. Sorry, Orlando! more ›

Yesterday a small but dedicated group of cyclists braved the brutal winter winds for the fifth annual Memorial Ride across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn to dedicate eleven "Ghost Bikes." The all-white bikes, a tragically common reminder of bicyclist fatalities, commemorate the estimated ten lives lost while bicycling in NYC during 2009. Linda Langergaard, whose son James Langergaard was killed biking across Queens Boulevard in August, said in a statement, "James was a wonderful part of so many lives and we miss him terribly. It hurts to know so many families are feeling the same loss as we are. It is so important that we come together to prevent these tragedies from ever happening to another family." more ›

A Washington Heights man spent 48 hours, 15 minutes and 1 second watching sports to win this year's third annual Ultimate Couch Potato competition at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. Jorge Cruz, a "public affairs assistant" for Con Ed, bested three other competitors, including two-time defending champ Stan Friedman, who stood up from his chair at 5 a.m. today after 41 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds of continuous sports watching. The contestants had taken their seats at 11 a.m. on New Year's Day and were allowed to eat and drink as much as they wanted for free, but were only allowed to use the bathroom every eight hours. Falling asleep resulted in immediate disqualification. more ›

After being sworn in as mayor for the third time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged the contentious, controversial bid to overturn term limits and his $102 million mayoral campaign and told New Yorkers, "As I stand here today, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve New Yorkers for four more years - and to be the first Independent to have the honor of taking the oath. I recognize - I understand - that this term is a special opportunity, one that comes with extraordinary responsibilities." more ›

Pass the (chocolate) cigars: Three hospitals are boasting that their patients had the first babies of 2010. Take your pick: There's baby boy Alexander Dunets, born at Brooklyn's Wyckoff Hospital; a baby boy born at Mount Sinai in Manhattan; and baby girl Thyme Eva Rogers, born at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. more ›

For those of you not nursing a hangover—or needing a hangover cure—consider tuning into this year's inauguration at City Hall. Mayor Bloomberg will be sworn in for a third time, while City Councilman Bill de Blasio will become the new Public Advocate and City Councilman John Liu will be the new City Comptroller. All three men signed their oaths of office yesterday (and paid fees to the City Clerk), but they'll give speeches today. Speeches, people! more ›

Happy New Year, New York City! We hope you had a fun, safe New Year's celebration and wish you a great 2010. Here are some photos from Times Square and video of the ball drop is below: more ›

Now celebrating its sixth birthday, the Under the Radar Festival has quickly grown up to become the most thrilling theatrical event of the year. Curated by former PS 122 director Mark Russell, a man with impeccable taste and ultra-long artistic antennae, Under the Radar gathers genre-bending performers from around the world for a twelve day envelope-pushing extravaganza. Tickets are cheap ($15), so it's worth sampling as many of these productions as you can, because most of them will never return. (This year Under the Radar is also giving New Yorkers a chance to catch some recent hits they may have missed, with work from command performances from such innovative companies as Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, The National Theater of the United States of America, and Pig Iron.) more ›

We're you worried you would have to celebrate the coming of a new decade without tacky, numerically-shaped glasses? Good news for you: NYMag reports that even though the Seattle-based maker who bestowed upon us the annual eyewear "decided to end his glorious run because of 'the aesthetic challenges of making a pair of glasses for 2010'" — someone else has found a way to make it work! Basically, just widen the 1, duh. However, from far away it just looks like 2000. more ›

After months of speculation, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani won't be running for office next year. He's expected to announce that he won't run for Senate against junior Senator Kirsten Gillibrand when he endorses former Senate candidate Rick Lazio's bid for Governor! more ›

If you want to believe the NY Post's sources, former governor Eliot Spitzer is looking to head back to Albany. But this time, it would be to oversee NY State's finances as the State Comptroller: "Spitzer has in recent weeks had discussions with some Democratic donors and insiders about the position currently held by Tom DiNapoli"—one source says, "He's seriously thinking about it," and another offers, "He wants to run if he can. He's still talking about it." more ›

What's this? Governor Paterson, who has repeatedly said he will run for governor next year, is reportedly going to "reassess" his chances of winning the race, if his approval ratings continue to suck. A Democratic source told the Daily News, "He's in it, he's planning to put the team together, but he's said if his numbers don't improve by the beginning of the year, he would have to reassess his campaign." more ›