Photograph of open store doors from the NRDC The City Council voted by an overwhelming margin to pass the bill requiring chain stores to shut their doors when their air conditioners are running, leaving many small business unhappy. Cookie Falack, the owner of six Cookie's clothing stores called it "anti-business" and claimed that when they closed their doors earlier this summer, business went down almost 25 percent. But Mayor Bloomberg is expected to sign......

Photo of Adidas store downtown via Paolo Mastrangelo's Flickr. Last year City Councilwoman Gale Brewer proposed a bill that would fine establishments $200 per open door/window in air conditioned spaces (as well as heated spaces in the winter), the bill wasn't fully backed by the Bloomberg administration and never saw the light of day...until now! The NY Post reports that the environmentally friendly bill is now supported by Bloomberg and "is expected to win......

Soaring gas prices have managed to edge gas prices to nearly $4/gallon in the area. At an Exxon station in Queens, WCBS 2 found $3.99/gallon gas, while a White Plains Getty offered it at $3.69/gallon. One White Plains resident said it cost him $55 to fill up his sedan, "I used to pay by cash, now I have to use my credit cards because I don't carry that much cash on me." City Councilman James......

Photograph by Jake Dobkin Today between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., people in timezones all over the world will be turning off their lights for Earth Hour. World Wildlife Fund started the event as a way to "deliver a powerful message to the citizens and leaders of the world about the need for action." Twenty-eight cities are officially participating--in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge will go dark--others, like NYC and LA, are not.......

Yohji Yamamoto's recently opened Y-3 store at 317 West 13th Street in the West Village is upsetting some locals. One tipster writes in:The idiots at the new Y-3 store on 13th street leave the front door (a garage door) open all day long. It is 30 degrees outside, yet that strip of the sidewalk is toasty warm.While a toasty warm sidewalk may sound cozy, it shows the wasteful energy practices of the store. Council member......