Police say that a 21-year-old woman was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver early this morning in Union Square. The incident happened around 1:30 a.m. when the driver, who was in a blue dump truck heading eastbound on 14th street, attempted to turn southbound onto Broadway at the same time the woman was crossing the street. "He didn't see her. It was a big truck, a dump truck," eyewitness William Cayame told the News. "The light was for her. She had the walk sign." more ›

As we reported earlier, The King Ad-Rock (a.k.a. Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz) paid a surprise visit to the MCA Day memorial gathering in Union Square park on Saturday. Here are more photos and videos from the informal memorial, which was organized by Beastie Boys superfan Michael Kearney. In the first video here, Kearney describes how "what's transpiring today is a total testament to the message of Beastie Boys, especially Adam Yauch: you do good things and put positive things out into the universe, people will gravitate toward it." more ›

Yesterday we alerted you that MCA Day was coming to Union Square this Saturday, and below the organizer, Michael Kearney, tells us more about what to expect, and why he felt compelled to create a gathering to remember Adam Yauch. The event comes just over two weeks after Yauch's passing on May 4th. In the interview, Kearney sums up why so many people who never knew Yauch personally were so saddened by his death. more ›

On May 11th a Twitter and Facebook page were set up for MCA Day, which will honor the late Adam "MCA" Yauch. The event will take place this Saturday May 19th in Union Square, and will give fans of the Beastie Boy a place to memorialize him as a group. On the Facebook page, organizer Michael Kearney has written: "Picture an NYC Subway car full of all types and walks of life... singing Beastie Boys songs in unison. That's my vision for MCA DAY NYC. I'm going to build that. Thanks for your support. That trains a coming..." We've contacted Kearney for more information on the event, and will update as more details come in. more ›

We're getting a flood of reports about problems on the L train this morning, and it turns out the cause of the delays is as dreadful as one might suspect. An MTA spokesman confirms that an unidentified person was struck at Union Square by an 8th Ave bound L train. The MTA says that as of 9:50 a.m., they're running one track operation on the L between Bedford and 8th Ave. There are currently unconfirmed reports that the person was killed. more ›

The problem with cracking down on drug addicts is that once you stop, they just come back. Take, for example, the so-called "Methadone Alley" on the east side of Union Square. Last year, after concerns arose the area was going back to the bad old days, the NYPD came in and cracked down on the drug users who had settled there. Good, right? But twelve months later grim scene was back and so, on Tuesday, the NYPD had to go back in for another taste. They walked out with 12 people in cuffs and a whole lotta pills, A Walk In The Park reports. more ›

Shortly after yesterday's May Day rally in Union Square, we witnessed what we could only assume were three plainclothes NYPD officers detain a woman and search her bag, before leading her through the crowd and into police custody. Several times the officers are asked to identify themselves, and refuse. According to the NYCLU's Associate Legal Director Christopher Dunn, plainclothes officers must identify themselves by name, rank, and shield number upon request, per the department's patrol guide. more ›

Yesterday we asked Dan Deacon to estimate the size of the crowd at Union Square for the May Day rally—a representative with Occupy Wall Street's press liaison team said "between ten thousand and a hundred million," while other estimates ranged in the low thousands. Deacon has performed his blend of breakbeat noise-pop in front of hundreds of crowds, so what did he think? "I never make crowd estimates," Deacon said. "But even if the park was packed and there were people hanging out of every window, it wouldn't be enough." The prevailing mood of the rally was more Coachella than Wildcat, as OWS protesters, students, and union members danced together in the 70-degree weather. more ›

Multiple Occupy Wall Street marches have converged in Union Square for a rally and concert by Tom Morello, Das Racist, Dan Deacon, Immortal Technique and other performers. Here's live-streaming video: more ›

Earlier this week, the NYPD asked the public for help in identifying and locating a man who allegedly masturbated on an L train while staring at a female passenger. The passenger took a picture of the pervy perp (at right) and gave it to cops; now police have announced that they have arrested a 23-year-old suspect. more ›

After asking for the public's help in locating an alleged upskirt pervert who was on a 4 train, the NYPD is now asking for help in identifying another subway pervert—this time on the L train—who is accused of public lewdness. more ›

Last week's beautiful weather meant good things, like looking for rooftop bars and shedding winter coats. But it also means the perverts are excited. The NYPD just released this photograph of a man accused of taking an upskirt photograph of a woman on a subway. more ›

Several hundred Occupy Wall Street protesters are currently on a winding march from Zuccotti Park to Union Square to protest NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, the department's stop-and-frisk program and the recent spates of violence committed by officers against demonstrators. At least three people have been arrested so far for refusing to leave the street, and while the "scooter cops" in the photo above may be a gag, the NYPD's presence at the march appears to be rapidly growing. more ›

After the NYPD again took the rare step of closing Union Square park in an attempt to silence Occupy Wall Street Wednesday night, a rowdy group gathered at the barricades to taunt the cops assigned to an obviously shitty detail. The video you are about to see is not, as they say, good optics for Occupy Wall Street, depicting as it does a group of glum, weary officers watching silently as some smug brats call them pigs and dangle donuts near them with an improvised fishing pole. From our perspective, these cops come off as not just professional and restrained but also, dare we say, rather dignified? Have you had a good cringe this morning? more ›

Yesterday's "Million Hoodie" rally at Union Square Park got a lot of media attention, as it should, with even conservative media outlets estimating there were at least several hundred protesters in attendance. But CBS 2 reporter Sean Hennessy is a newscaster, not a mathematician, dammit, and he counted "a few dozen." For this, he was heckled (perhaps by this master debater?) and heckled again, until he revised his count up to "a few dozen, maybe a hundred." But the hecklers weren't having it, and in this rather amusing video, the angry bystanders ultimately reduce Hennessy into admitting, "You're right. We lie. That's what we do." more ›

In the midst of a large march and rally last night to protest the lack of prosecution in the murder of 17-year-old Florida teen Trayvon Martin, the Union Square subway station was completely shut down for almost two hours. Between 8 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., the station was shut down, with no trains stopping in an eerily abandoned station (except for cops). An MTA spokesperson tells us the transit hub, which accommodates seven train lines, was shut down due to a suspicious package. Here's what one entrance to the station looked like from street level, as angry demonstrators taunted the police guarding the entrance below: more ›

Less than 24 hours after the police forced OWS protesters, a large group of protesters has convened at Union Square once again. This time, it's to protest the senseless death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin and show support for his family. Martin was fatally shot by a gated community neighborhood watch volunteer, who thought the 18-year-old was "suspicious" and armed, but it turned out that Martin was only carrying Skittles and iced tea while on his way to his father's girlfriend's home. more ›

A non-Occupy Wall Street protest is scheduled for Union Square tonight at 6 p.m., when a rally is planned to express outrage over the murder of Trayvon Martin, a teenager who was murdered earlier this month by a self-appointed neighborhood watch leader while walking through a Florida gated townhouse community. Martin's killer, George Zimmerman, has not been charged, and is still licensed to carry a concealed handgun. Tonight's "Million Hoodies March" comes in the wake of newly-released audio of the Zimmerman's 911 call the night of the shooting. At the 2:20 mark below, you can hear him whisper into the phone what sounds a lot like "f**ing coons." more ›

Since the NYPD's closure of Zuccotti Park on Saturday night, a growing number of Occupy Wall Street protesters have set up camp on the south end of Union Square park, some of them sleeping in the park with the NYPD's tacit permission. (According to John Knefel, as many as 100 slept in the park Monday night.) This morning, just after midnight, the NYPD moved in, forcing several hundred people out of onto the sidewalk, and barricading off the southern end of the park. At least one arrest was made—and a protester went into labor during the initial standoff, according to multiple observers. more ›

Last night about 50 demonstrators marched along Broadway to Union Square to protest the NYPD's mass arrests at Zuccotti Park Saturday night. Other Occupy Wall Street protesters also marched to Union Square along other routes, and photographer Ellen Moynihan estimates that at least 300 converged in Union Square for a rally. "Occupy Wall Street was able to set up a camp along the main set of stairs facing Broadway, as long as no tents were used or people entered the park proper," Moynihan reports. "To many, the move to Union Square is a signal of Occupy Wall Street finding a new home." more ›

Yesterday, several hundred Occupy Wall Street demonstrators gathered in Union Square to protest police brutality and the destruction of Occupy Wall Street encampments nationwide. One of the most impassioned speakers to address the crowd was former Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis, who was arrested on November 17th on the one month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. more ›