Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who was in charge of Economic Development and Rebuilding in the Bloomberg administration, announced he would resign by the end of the year. The Post called the news "stunning," but we'd like to call it "classic," because his new job will be president of a little company called Bloomberg LP. At a City Hall press conference, Mayor Bloomberg said, "As a result of Dan's efforts, we've allowed for the creation of......

The NY Times takes a look inside the ping-pong world of New York. Sure, it may not be as big as the US Open, but the Naked Ping-Pong tournament is growing bigger and better every week out of a loft in Tribeca. The tournament (which is actually fully-clothed) was started by three friends in their 30s who hope to bring table tennis to the forefront of urban sport. The Times introduces them as "Jonathan Bricklin,......

John D'Amato, a prominent Staten Island attorney, died of a heart attack yesterday; the 52-year-old had been jogging near his Dongan Hills home. D'Amato, a lawyer and lobbyist, had been appointed as the NYC campaign manager for Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. (He had hosted a fund-raiser for Governor Spitzer's campaign last year, though.) The Staten Island Advance writes:John D'Amato was a titan on Staten Island -- one of the most ambitious, aggressive and influential of......

For better or worse, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg's assertion of political independence, we'll be hearing about an all-New Yorker presidential race for months to come. Last week, a Quinnipiac poll found that New York State would go to Democratic front runner Senator Hillary Clinton, over former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Bloomberg. Clinton would get 43% of state votes, Giuliani would get 29% and Bloomberg would get 16%. If Bloomberg's not in the picture, Clinton still......

This is a dis on a grand scale (to NYC tourism, at least). Or it's a blessing in disguise. The U.S. Olympic Committee is not visiting New York City when it visits potential cities for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Cities the USOC is visiting: Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. One could say that the USOC already visited NYC before it selected it to be the 2012 US Olympic city bid, but, hey,......

Ouchy. As more polls continue to suggest that Mayor Bloomberg is enjoying a very comfortable lead over Fernando Ferrer in the mayoral race, and just as Ferrer is releasing a negative ad pointing out the places the Mayor went to promote to failed NYC 2012 Olympics bid, Bloomberg's team happily distributes a photograph of Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton at a speaking event at the Waldorf Astoria. Hilariously, when Clinton aides tried to push......

Mayor Bloomberg wants the city to play a "bigger role in rebuilding at Ground Zero". Oh, so a bigger role than showing up for photo ops and nodding along with whatever Governor Pataki says? Of course this announcement si totally political: By not really taking an active role in Ground Zero (aside from wanting the Freedom Tower to be safer, really), the Mayor has avoided criticism that he's helped the project go to the toilet.......

Every so often, Gothamist gets passionate emails from Christopher X. Brodeur, who is running for mayor, about Mayor Bloomberg being corrupt. And yesterday, Brodeur sent us something about how a flier that Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields put together had Asians Photoshopped into it. As Gothamist had trouble opening the attachment and needed to rest up for the bid anticlimax that was the 2012 Olympics announcement, we had to wait for today's Post story......

London will be the host city for the 2012 Olympics and millions of Parisians are muttering, "Zut alors!" and many NBC executives thinking, "Thank God, they speak the same language and the time difference isn't too bad." Newscasters mentioned previous years' failed bids from Manchester and Birmingham (seriously!), but Gothamist knows London's secret weapon: David Beckham, who appeared in Singapore. Thankfully, we already have a site set up there - check out Londonist's coverage......

The International Olympics Committee eliminated New York as a possible site for the 2012 Olympics in the second (of four) round of voting. Gothamist thought that watching the city selection process (starting at 6AM) was incredibly bizarre: The IOC Chairman comes out, tells how many votes were given, how many people voted, what the majority is, and then matter-of-factly says something like, "New York will not proceed to the next round of voting." When Moscow......

In the run-up to the 2012 Olympics location, the City of New York has a Pre-Decision Day Celebration at Rockefeller Center today at 5PM, and it almost sounds like there should be pajamas handed out: Exclusive live viewing party of New York's presentation with music, food, drinks and Olympian appearances. Open to the public. New York's presentation will be at 10:15pm. Other bid city presentations will be shown live all night, beginning with Paris......

It's less than 20 hours until the 2012 Olympics city is selected - 7:30PM in Singapore, which means 7:30AM tomorrow morning for us. And the NYC 2012 team has been doing its thing all over the world, having Mayor Bloomberg stump one last time, along with athletes like Muhammed Ali, Nadia Comaneci and Ian Thorpe, helping out. Gothamist loves the idea of Mayor Bloomberg giving "I Love NY" t-shirts to anyone and everyone he meets.......

Yesterday was an unseasonably cool and beautiful July 4th, and last night's fireworks were as spectacular as ever. There was even a special tribute to the NYC 2012 Olympics bid in the show (bronze, silver and gold shells), which Gothamist thought was a little hokey, but at least they didn't do interlocking Olympic rings - we love the smiley faces! Did you see the fireworks last night? Where did you watch them? And if......

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited NYC yesterday in order to bolster the NYC 2012 Olympics bid. Rice noted the city's diversity as well as the switch from the West Side to Shea Stadium: "This is a comeback city and New Yorkers have always been known for their unwillingness to say die, for their unwillingness to give up and they have demonstrated yet again that they put together a terrific bid. When it comes......

WNBC 4 has these pictures of a shark that washed up on Rockaway Beach. The picture of the shark is weird, because we can't tell if he's smoking a cigar or if his tongue is bloated or if it's a big sock monkey. And Gothamist likes how there's a huge crowd around the shark - we imagine lots of cameraphoning! However, we hope there aren't any more sharks in the area, because we don't......

Secretary of State Condolezza Rice will be coming to New York next week to help NYC's 2012 Olympics bid. She'll be appearing at a rally at City Hall with Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki, and colorfully dressed NYC 2012 volunteers and employees. Gothamist expects serious security, because this seems like a great opportunity for people to protest the Iraqi war and other international issues. Anyway, she is probably, we don't know, maybe the city's third choice,......

Govenor Pataki and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced plans for interim September 11 memorials. There are two memorials: One at 120 Liberty Street, where construction has already begun on the Tribute Center, which will be a storefront and basement with an information desk and exhibits; the other is a Story Corps oral history booth to be set up at the World Trade Center Path station. Victims' families and other groups are relieved at......

Except, that is, for the Jets! The Yankees reveal plans for the new Yankee Stadium today, and we can't help but wonder if George Steinbrenner is annoyed that the Mets are getting a lot of attention for being part of the city's last-ditch ammended 2012 Olympics bid. The Yankees will be recreating the old stadium in the new redesign, including features that were destroyed when the current stadium was renovated in 1976. Georgie Boy will......

Mayor Bloomberg is lucky that New York City has a ton of sports teams in the area, because now the Mets are part of the city's plan to win the 2012 Olympics, with a new Shea Stadium as the centerpiece of the plan. And Mets fans and Queens residents, don't worry: The Mayor is still lukewarm about your team and borough, saying, "This was not our first choice. But when you don't get your......

Today is a big day in the short history but seemingly endless history of the proposed West Side stadium, as the International Olympics Committee gets ready to tell the world what they think of the five potential 2012 Olympics cities and the state panel possibly voting on whether or not the stadium should get funding. With Assembly Speaker Silver in town recently, Mayor Bloomberg has been trying to charm Silver, but Silver has emphasized......

NY State Assembly Sheldon Silver told NY1 that he doesn't see a "great need" for the West Side Stadium. And as one of the the three votes on the state committee to approve the financing plan for the stadium plan, this is not sounding good for Mayor Bloomberg or anyone hoping for a NYC 2012 Olympics. What more, Silver thinks that NYC's chances for the Olympics are a "long shot." Gah! As you may remember,......

After four days in New York, the International Olympic Committee's evaluation panel has finally left. Now, all New York can do is to wait for the I.O.C.'s vote on the 2012 Olympics on July 6th. It seems as though they depart with a favorable impression of New York City and the bid for 2012. And why wouldn't they? Dan Doctoroff, the deputy mayor and the head of NYC2012, Mayor Bloomberg, and the members of NYC2012......

Oh, for the love of street vendor hot dogs: Gothamist LOVES the insanity that is the bidding process for the MTA's West Side railyards. Yesterday, the energy company, Trans Gas, bid $700 million for the railyards to build a power plant. This bid is not only $100 million more than the Cablevision bid (and $600 million more than the Jets' bid), but Trans Gas would want the MTA's help to build another plant in Williamsburg......

Unsurprisingly, builders yesterday were wary about making an offer for the air rights for the West Side railyards, which the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened up for the next month to public bidding. While "licking their chops" at the prospect of such a large parcel of land on the isle of Manhattan, it's clear to developers that dousing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's dreams of a Jets stadium (and the possibility of the city hosting the......

It is a flurry of strong and not-so strong rhetoric from Mayor Bloomberg these days, when it comes to the fate of his beloved West Side Stadium. The strong: Mayor B says Cablevision's bid for the MTA's railyards is akin to saying, "To hell with America." No, no, Cablevision is not turning anti-American, like rest of the world, but rather that Cablevision is standing in the way of NYC's bid for the 2012 Olympics (the......

Gothamist rounds up interesting movement in some of the big city development projects: - A City Council committee shot down plans for a BJ's Wholesale Club in the Bronx. The Daily News notes that labor unions were aggressively lobbying against the BJ's, as well as a potential Wal-Mart in Queens (as mentioned in yesterday's NY Times), with one lobbyist saying that this decision mean "The handwriting is on the Wal-Mart." Ha. But there are already......

The details of Monday's final submission by New York City to the International Olympic Committee were released yesterday with some interesting details. Deputy Mayor, and NYC2012 founder, Daniel Doctoroff said the Olympics will bring $7.6 billion in capital projects, cost $2.8 billion to run, but not cause any tax increases. Of course, the plan depends on a new West Side Stadium for the Jets that would set the city and state back a cool $600......

Controversy or not, the final bid for New York City's bid for the 2012 Olympics is in. The 600 page proposal covers every detail of the City's bid and is due to the International Olympic Committee on Monday. The bid, which has events all over NYC, including Fresh Kills landfill as a mountain bike site, is not without controversy. It hinges on the new West Side stadium for the Jets which would serve as the......

As if the West Side Stadium for the Jets needed more negative press, Nicolai Ouroussoff has a scathing review of the stadium in today's NY Times. While Ouroussoff doesn't criticize the design of the actual stadium, he is less than thrilled with the add-ons from Kohn Pederson Fox, the architects for the stadium. The quote that Gothamist (and Curbed too) loves so much: As if to mask its colossal scale, the stadium is dressed......

Some City officials are accusing the Mayor of doing whatever it takes to bring the West Side Stadium to Manhattan, even at the expense of New Yorkers, and wondering where the money will actually come from. Gothamist has been wondering about the Mayor's intentions, too - until we saw the Daily News. The Daily News reveals that people are angry that Mayor B got to drink from a can of beer at the Jet game......