We love Open House New York - it's a wonderful opportunity to venture into usually off-limits buildings and places and learn more about them. We tried to take advantage and managed to go to six different sites this year across three boroughs. We would have done more, but the weekend subway work threw a monkey wrench into things. Given what we wanted to see, we skipped everything that needed reservations, since we knew that......

Skip Storch isn't crazy, although you might think he is considering the feat he accomplished Thursday. Storch, a 50 year-old marathon swimmer, swam around Manhattan three times, finishing the journey in a record 32 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds. Why would anyone want to jump into the waters around Manhattan? For Storch, he record-breaking swim was to bring awareness to sarcoidosis. The N.I.H. describes sarcoidosis as "an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells......

The new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says the NYPD thinks it's the NPD - the National Police Department. The Daily News reports that Democratic Mississippi representative Bennie Thompson is critical of the NYPD's tactics that stretch into other jurisdictions. He told the News, "While I understand that chasing down leads in other locales might help keep the city safe, I emphasized that the NYPD is not the FBI, that it does......

Holly Schlesinger is the booking power behind Invite Them Up, the East Village's most popular weekly comedy show, but she's also got a flourishing career in the field of television. She's worked on Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, Home Movies, is the creator of O'Grady, and is currently working on Adult Swim's Lucy, Daughter of The Devil. And it all started with a college internship. How did you get involved with booking for Invite Them Up?......

Yesterday, Fire Department Chief Peter Hayden testified in front of the City Council and said that the current plan to have the NYPD lead any emergency situation, including the handling of hazardous materials, is "bad policy" and "makes no sense." Chief Hayden's actions have been described as "startling frank" by the NY Times and a "rare move" by the NY Post, as it's unusual for such a high-ranking official to disagree openly with City......

There's a new way (old) way to get to Coney Island: The F & Q trains are up and running again, arriving at the new $280 million renovated Stillwell Avenue subway station. Before, the subway had been diverted to Brighton Beach, and the loss of F and Q service attributed to a 50% drop in business, according to one business owner. The N will return next year when construction is complete on the station, which......

The Daily News has a subway exclusive: - The N train from Coney Island once again will run express through much of Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan, using the Broadway line after crossing the bridge. That express route was halted in April 1986. - The B train will run express from Brighton Beach on the Brighton line, cross over the bridge and run express through Manhattan to 59th St. along the Sixth Ave. line. It will......