A legal team with the backing of James Dobson is ready to file a legal suit against New York State, claiming that Gov. David Paterson illegally sidestepped the State Legislature when he declared a state of reciprocity in recognizing gay marriages ordained in other states. Dobson is the head of a ministry called Focus on the Family, which is dedicated to protecting what it views as immutable Christian social values, including the long-held human value......

The Department of Correction has begun serving New York City’s 14,000 prisoners a healthier diet of fruit, fiber-rich cereals, skim milk and whole wheat bread. Sugar-sweetened beverages are forbidden, and soon unsweetened muffins will replace sweetened ones. Fried foods have been off the menu for years, and has city has drastically reduced the amount of red meat served, placing a greater emphasis on chicken, fish and tofu. “We have no choice but to eat what......

Pictured: All City NRG designed by Vincent "Factone" Ficarra, urban artist in New York. Remember AriZona Iced Tea? Well, its made a cross-country image trip and landed in the heart of NYC with its new energy drink called All City NRG (you know, like the subway lines). As you can see, the cans are all tagged up, and their promo van is similarly decorated -- though it's sort of camouflaged when parked in the......

Photograph by forklift on Flickr An estimated three million people assembled along Broadway during yesterday's ticker tape parade to celebrate the Giants' 17-14 Super Bowl XLII win over the New England Patriots. After the many floats with Giants players (and cars with some dignitaries, like Governor Spitzer, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver) rolled up the Canyon of Heroes, Mayor Bloomberg presented the team with keys to the city. When David Tyree,......

As of 11:45 p.m., Hillary Clinton and John McCain are projected to win their New York primaries. The Democratic primary distributes NY delegates proportionally, so the final total will be important in determining how many will go to Clinton and how many to Barack Obama. McCain also did well in the Northeast, winning the whole tri-state area, while Mike Huckabee has been strong in the South. Mitt Romney has won Massachusetts, plus some in the......

Rangers 3 Devils 1: Why can’t they play like this all the time? Maybe it’s because the Devils seem to turn and run at the sight of “New York” (winless this season against the Rangers and Islanders) on their opponents jerseys. Whatever the reason, the Rangers need to replicate this effort a lot over the remainder of the season. Chris Drury had two goals, one against an empty net while Brandon Dubinsky got things started......

Nothing like a sunny Monday to start off the week. Especially when it is likely to be cloudy and wetter tomorrow and Wednesday. Clouds will roll in during the day tomorrow. Rain may begin as early as the afternoon but is most likely Tuesday night. Highs tomorrow and Wednesday should be in the mid-40s. The winds will pick up along with the rain as this is a fairly big storm approaching from the Midwest. The......

We know that Giants co-owner and movie producer Steve Tisch has been trying to ramp up the star power for the Giants sidelines. After Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz were seen at a game last fall, Tisch told the NY Times, he brings "the spices, the taste, the flavor" to the Giants (if the Giants experience were a soup; the other co-owners, the Maras, would bring the meat and potatoes). This past......

Is he hurt or isn’t he? That is the question after Tom Brady was spotted walking without a boot on his foot a day after being seen with one. Sources say that Brady is suffering from a mild high ankle sprain and will not have any problem playing in the Super Bowl. It should be noted that Plaxico Burress has had the same injury all season and has managed to play through it. Perhaps the......

Photo of Michael Strahan kissing the George S. Halas Trophy after the game by AP/David J. Phillip The Giants are going to the Super Bowl! Thanks to a 47-yard field goal in overtime New York defeated Green Bay on the infamous “frozen tundra” 23-20 to advance to Super Bowl XLII. It was a game of dramatic twists and turns and it produced some unlikely heroes. Start with Dominic Hixon who had several big kick......

Photograph of kicker Lawrence Tynes after the game-winning field goal by David J. Phillip/AP The Giants won the NFC Championship in overtime, beating the Green Bay Packers 23-20 in overtime and overcome the frigid, below-zero conditions. They are now headed to the Super Bowl where they will meet the New England Patriots, who beat the San Diego Chargers 21-12. Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes missed a field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter,......

The new season of the Apprentice premiered on Thursday with its celebrity (or "celebrity" - if you consider Omarosa from the Apprentice's Season 1 a celebrity) twist. The show received its best ratings in two years, winning the 9PM timeslot for viewers ages 18-49. The Donald said, "I was really happy. I wasn't expecting this." We missed watching it, but NBC offers episodes online - you can see the premiere here - so we......

While the United States' population grew almost 1% this year and is expected to top 303 million people at the end of 2007, New York State's population grew at less than one-tenth the rate, increasing only .08%. States in the Sunbelt, like Florida, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, experienced much faster population growth. A negative byproduct of the disparities between New York and the rest of the country is that after every Census, Congressional seats are......

Retired football great Jim Brown is the president of a new snack food and beverage company and City Councilman Leroy Comrie is not happy about it. Brown's company is called OG Nation, which Comrie says stands for "original gangster." The company currently markets "King Pin" lager and a line of mixed drinks under the brand "Party Dogg." According to Newsday, Arizona-based OG Nation is also developing a line of potato chips, pretzels, pork rinds, and......

A report released by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that foreign born immigrants living in New York are socioeconomically closer to the average citizen than elsewhere in the country. The study says that New York immigrants are more likely to be in the country legally, have health insurance and tend to be better educated. The New York Times reports that the states with the widest income gaps between immigrants and citizens are California, Texas,......

Last week, a CNN/WMUR poll with "likely Republican voters in New Hampshire" gave a snapshot of what they were thinking and Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign got the bad news that not only had his poll numbers slid from 24% to 16%, he was now in third place after former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (33%, up from 25%) and Arizona Senator John McCain (18%). Third after McCain! So, Giuliani hustled to New Hampshire to make......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, a high-angle rescue on West 18th St., in Manhattan, and a multi-vehicle accident on Farmers Blvd. and the South Conduit in Queens. Hoboken mayor David Roberts was apparently prescient to ask how many stops his SWAT team made on the trip back north--fearing more embarrassing photos of his police force as they returned from relief efforts after hurricane Katrina. Additional pictures of......

The Maricopa County medical examiner found that the death of a New Yorker in police custody at the Phoenix airport was an accident. Carol Gotbaum, who was flying from NYC to Tucson with a stopover in Phoenix, died of "asphyxia by hanging" on September 28. Gotbaum, stepdaughter-in-law of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, had been traveling alone to check into alcohol rehabilitation. When she missed her connection to Tucson, she became upset and disruptive, and......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured police officer on Queens Blvd. and Ascan Ave. in Queens, a stabbing on Nostrand and Willoughby Aves. in Brooklyn, and a large fight at Targee St. and Sobel Ct. on Staten Island. Neighbors, customers, and small investors get involved to save a local bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In order to pay off sex harassment lawsuits and under-performing athletes, the Dolans are jacking up cable rates for......

The Daily News and NY Times both look at the life of Carol Anne Gotbaum, the New Yorker who died while in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport over a week ago. She is portrayed as a vibrant woman and loving mother to three children who had become depressed in recent years. On Friday, September 28, Gotbaum missed a connection to Tucson (where she would check into alcohol rehabilitation) and become very upset......

The Phoenix police released surveillance video showing the arrest of Carol Anne Gotbaum, a New Yorker who later died in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport. Gotbaum had been upset about missing a connection to Tucson, where she was planning on entering alcohol rehabilitation, and became very upset at the gate. In the video, airline personnel are seen trying to talk to Gotbaum (wearing a white shirt at the top of the screen)......

The lawyer for the family of Carol Anne Gotbaum, the New York resident who died while in police custody at the Phoenix airport last Friday, continued to blast the Maricopa County medical examiner's office as well as question police tactics. Gotbaum, who was traveling to Tucson for alcohol rehabilitation, had become agitated when she missed the flight. Since they were unable to calm her, police arrested her and left her handcuffed to a bench in......

The family of Manhattan resident who died while in police custody at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Friday night is awaiting more details about her death. US Airways and airport police say that Carol Anne Gotbaum, who was married to the stepson of NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, had been acting irately and would not calm down, so she was handcuffed and left in an airport holding cell. Police say they checked on her every 15......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WNYW 5) All you have to know is that Ryan Seacrest hosts this years awards. Your decision to view is based on your personal Seacrest tolerance and your need to watch the Yankees vs. Red Sox over on ESPN. Plus you can find out the results on line, so you don’t really have to watch. Mystery! - The Inspector......

Betty Matas passed away in Arizona Monday after battling kidney and heart problems. She was 75 years old. Matas and her husband Bob captured the interest of many New Yorkers back in April, when the couple decided to make their move from Forest Hills, Queens to Sedona, Arizona in a taxi. Their driver was Douglas Guldeniz, a taxi driver from Turkey they met a few weeks earlier when returning from Manhattan to their home......

That wasn't much of a heat wave, was it? Two straight days with a high of 92 degrees barely rates mentioning. By comparision, the longest stretch of 90 degree days recorded in Central Park was 12 in 1953. More recently, in July and August 2002, there was a 22-day stretch in which the high reached at least 90 on 17 of those days. The extreme heat is mostly gone, but the humidity has increased, making......

The police department has launched a citywide dragnet to find suspects who fired at two police officers during a Brooklyn traffic stop early yesterday morning. 23-year-old police officer Russel Timoshenko was shot twice in the head while 26-year-old police officer Herman Yan was shot in the arm and chest. A surveillance video showed that the cops were shot before they had reached the driver and passengers in the car. The Daily News' Michael Daly......

Competitive eating powerhouses convened in front of City Hall today to be weighed in for tomorrow's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. Six-time winner and current mustard belt holder Takeru Kobayashi weighed in at 154 pounds while Joey Chestnut, who broke Kobayashi's hot-dog eating record by keeping down 59.5 hot dogs at an Arizona event last month, weighed in at 215 pounds. Kobayashi had signaled his all-important jaw muscles weren't feeling that......

Yankees 7 Arizona 1: It’s funny how baseball works. When the Yankees and Mets met in the first round of the Subway Series, the Mets were on a roll and the Yankees in disarray. When they resume the series tonight, the Yankees will be the favorites. The Yankees won their ninth in a row Thursday afternoon, beating the Diamondbacks with a great start by Andy Pettitte and another big day at the bat from Alex......

Yankees 7 Arizona 2: It took 60-something games, but the Yankees are finally playing like everyone thought they would from the beginning. A punishing lineup and solid starting pitching have finally shown up at the same time and the result is an eight-game winning streak. Wednesday, it was Mike Mussina’s turn on the mound and he provided his best game of the year. Moose threw over 100 pitches and made it into the eighth,......