Since the cost of a barrel of oil jumped $11 on Friday, helping the stock market drop 400 points, gas stations in the area made sure to raise their prices, too. The Post reports that many stations were charging $4.50/gallon or more! While the AAA says national average for gas has gone over $4/gallon for the first time this weekend, many gas stations in the area have been near or above that for a few......

A Mercury Mariner hybrid SUV (leased by Rep. McNulty), a Cadillac DeVille (Rangel's ride), and a Lexus LS 460 (what Rep. Meeks leases) Representative Charles Rangel is proud of his leased-through-Congress 2004 Cadillac DeVille. And he even offers rides to constituents, so they can discuss issues. Rangel told the NY Times, "I want them to feel that they are somebody and their congressman is somebody. And when they say, ‘This is nice,’ it feels......

Playwright David Mamet (pictured) will be maintaining a blog to promote his new Broadway play, November, which stars Nathan Lane as contemporary American president Charles Smith and Laurie Metcalf as his lesbian speech writer. What’s interesting, perhaps, is that Mamet will be writing the blog – which he says he’ll update for the duration of the open-ended run – as President Smith. Sample entry from Monday:CONGRESSIONAL PAGE SEX SCANDALS It seems to me that, at......

Lawmakers are looking to toughen laws around tinted windows on automobiles. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum pointed out that police officer Russel Timoshenko was fatally shot when he approached a stolen SUV with tinted windows. And current State Senator Eric Adams (a retired police captain and a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care) summed it up, "The criminal element does not use tinted windows to protect themselves from dangerous UV rays. They use......

Car makers are flocking to the city with the New York International Auto Show opening this weekend (media previews start tomorrow) at the Javits Convention Center, and there's one particularly NYC-focused exhibit: Taxi '07. In honor of the taxi's 100th birthday, the Design Trust for Public Space has corralled many taxis "transformed" for the future to be displayed outdoors in an inner roadway at the Javits Center. There's “The World’s Fastest Taxi" (a hydrogen-powered......

CarFreeBedford, the site dedicated to removing automobiles from the main stretch of Williamsburg, has put up some pretty new renderings. The plan calls for the complete banning of automobiles on the stretch of Bedford Ave starting at Metropolitan Avenue and passing through and ending at McCarren park. The cross streets would be left open to cars and trucks in order to allow for necessary deliveries. The current traffic as well as the B61 bus......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......

Last week the owners of the cars crushed in the Washington Heights wall collapse were informed they would have to pay for the towing of their pancaked automobiles. Well, now that the dirt has been removed, Gothamist reader Bob Matsuoka went up to Castle Village and got some shots of the cars-- doesn't look like those wrecks are going anywhere without a crane and flatbed truck-- and how much is that going to cost......

It's hot, humid, and I want to go to the beach. What are my options? Well, Gateway National Recreation Area is right in our neck of the woods, extending in three New York City boroughs and into northern New Jersey. It is a good place to start your quest for the perfect patch of sand and cooling waters. Queens: Jacob Riis Park 2 to Flatbush Ave., Q35 Bus to Riis Beach Staten Island: Great Kills......

We're getting ready to check out tonight's gorgerous July 4th fireworks, the city releases information that they seized 1,442 cases of illegal fireworks. The city had announced their summer crackdown on fireworks in early June, which included a new deterrant - the seizure of automobiles if one is caught with illegal fireworks. Over 50 cars were confiscated and over 120 people were arrested. And the people were really serious this year - there were even......

Those crazy kids over at Transportation Alternatives are grumpy again! Hot on the heels of the recent EPA revelations about New York's awful air quality (a story so nice we posted on it twice) TA has come out kicking, along with the American Lung Association, Borough President Scott Stringer and a bunch of city council members, calling for automobiles to be banned from Central Park's loop drive (they are currently banned on the weekends,......

We had kicked back to watch TV the other evening - live, not TiVo'd - when we started to see an "I ♥ NY" logo on screen. Awesome, we though, as the logo got bigger. But then the NY was replaced by...a freaking Honda Accord! Honda paid NY State $45,000 to use the logo in their ad which is appearing in the NY-area, and to us, that's getting peanuts. No wonder NY State has so......

Starts and Fits has a great comparison of two photographs of the corner of E89th and Lexington-- the first was taken in 1913, the second in 1991. As you can see, the sidewalk decreased in width by about 75%, and the stoops and first-floor entrances of each building were eliminated entirely. The block used to have a wonderful, airey feel-- but with the widening of the street, it's now one of the more congested,......

The Times this morning has a story about air pollution in Los Angeles. The city and state have been very successful in reducing pollution from cars –ozone alert days reduced by half, but are growing concerned about the increasing levels of pollution from particulates. Particulates are fine particles, less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that lodge themselves in your lungs and cause all sorts of problems. Particulate pollution is increasing because the ports of Los......

The NY Times wonders why there are Automobiles > Autos on Monday / Design: Little Cars in the Big Apple: Still Only a Good Idea" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/28/automobiles/28CARS.html">such big cars in the city, as many auto manufacturers are bring teeny tiny "city cars" to the International Auto Show, like the Renault Zoe. Apparently, the Times didn't get the memo that NYers will try to find ways to maximize their space, from getting mini-storage at a warehouse to......

Tomorrow night will be the first staredown between bicyclists and the NYPD since the Critical Mass bike protest right before the Republican National Convention. The late August ride turned into an anti-Bush ride, and though it was generally peaceful, police arrested over 200 cyclists for blocking the streets. Now, bikers are claiming they will continue their effort to reclaim the streets from cars while the police will continue to crack down on riders. The Daily......

As hurricane season gets officially underway, tornadoes are stealing the spotlight. As reported by Leslita, yesterday a tornado touched down in northern New York and another one was reported in New Jersey, though may not have actually touched down. Still, it's only June and it seems like we've been getting our fair share of severe weather and wonderfully entertaining thunderstorms. Tornadoes occur all over the world, but are most frequent in the U.S. accounting for......

Now that New York is experiencing a consistent amount of decent weather, I'd like to move my workouts from the gym to Central Park. One thing I'm concerned about is the amount of traffic on the park's main loop. When is Central Park closed to cars? Running Scared, Upper West Side Here are the details from the official New York City Parks & Recreation Department's website: Central Park is closed to automobiles on weekdays......