When someone mentions skyscrapers to us, our thoughts turn to the towering monoliths of midtown, or the glass giants of lower Manhattan. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has been considering creating the first historic skyscraper district in the city for the past several years, but it wouldn't be in either of those places, or in Manhattan at all—instead, it would be in Brooklyn Heights, by Borough Hall. “We have skyscrapers in Downtown Brooklyn that rival Manhattan’s. We want to make sure we don’t lose them,” Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton told the Post. more ›

Operation Fairy Dust is a New York based charity dedicated to providing prom dresses, shoes and jewelry to girls who may not be able to afford them otherwise. Yesterday they held their ninth annual dress giveaway in Brooklyn's Borough Hall, where girls from all over the city flocked to find their perfect outfit from dresses donated by designers like Oscar de la Renta. Volunteer Crystal Johnson told WCBS about the importance of prom night in a young girls life. "You wait for your prom day because you want to feel like Cinderella, and when your mom can't buy you a prom dress, it really shatters your dreams." more ›

Brooklyn-bound 4 and 5 trains were halted at the Bowling Green station this afternoon when a woman got stuck between the platform and the train in Borough Hall. An MTA Transit spokeswoman told Gothamist that "a customer slipped and they got their leg wedged between the train." The incident occurred at some time before 5:45 pm and rescuers turned off the power on the line so they could extricate the woman. She was rescued and service resumed at 6:03 pm, according to the spokeswoman. more ›

David Foster Wallace, in his essay "Authority and American Usage," spoke of a specific type of nerd: the "SNOOT." Ostracized by every other nerd group, the "SNOOT" was the nerd responsible for correcting your grammar. He knew when to use "whom" and not "who," would cringe any time you misplaced your modifiers, and complained about the grocery store's "10 ITEMS OR LESS" sign. It seems that there are few places SNOOTS may go to enjoy themselves outside of the Public Library, but Marty Markowitz is out to change that. On Sunday, September 13th, Markowitz and the Brooklyn Literary Council hosted the 4th Annual Brooklyn Book Festival at Borough Hall. Publishers, authors and readers alike converged over new books, lit mags and discussion panels to celebrate all things readable and to argue about what the Kindle is doing to society. more ›

At last night's full Community Board Six Meeting in Borough Hall, passionate outcries were heard once again arguing over the motion to recommend against the renewal of Union Hall's liquor license. However, this time the loud voices were not coming from angry neighbors, but rather Board members themselves, speaking one after the next in favor of the Union Hall's continued presence in Park Slope. The CB6 not only rejected the motion put forth last week by Board member (and Brazen Head bar owner) Lou Sones, but overwhelmingly passed a new motion to take an official stance supporting Union Hall's liquor license renewal when it comes up before the SLA on May 31st. more ›

Before the big meeting tomorrow at Borough Hall, the Brooklyn Paper weighs in on the great Union Hall debate of Aught Eight. Recently some neighbors, led by Jon Crow, rallied together to stop the renewal of the establishment's liquor license at the end of the month; one neighbor, who has since moved, told us, "This place had a serious impact on my life, on my wife's health, and threatened the health and well-being of my child. No one's fun is worth that, to me." more ›

Like the GWB and the Holland Tunnel, the Brooklyn Bridge will have LED lights installed next year, but how exactly do the bulbs get replaced? The NY Times says it only takes one man to screw in these bulbs. Okay, maybe he has some help. Ben Cipriano, the leader of a crew of electricians who maintain the four major East River Bridges for the city’s Department of Transportation, and his colleagues make about a dozen trips a year up the cables of those bridges.

The mercury vapor lamps that are currently in use on the bridge, he said, are supposed to last about 24,000 hours. At eight hours a night (the lights are turned off at 1 a.m.), that means each bulb should last more than eight years. It gets tricky, though, because workers replace the bulbs before they burn out completely, to minimize noticeable variations between them.

Newsday reports that emergency track work at West 4th Street will be causing delays on the A, E, D and F lines. Apparently Brooklyn-bound F train will be running on the E between 36th Street Station in Queens and 42nd Street Times Square, and then the F will run on the A between Times Square and Jay Street-Borough Hall. And some other Brooklyn-bound F trains will "run on the D line from 47th-50th Street-Rockefeller Center... more ›

The MTA has announced the times of public hearings where the agency will discuss the impending bus and subway fare hike. There are eight meetings across the five boroughs, Westchester, and Long Island. We've all heard about the two kinds of fare hikes - a traditional across-the-board hike and another hike that would give discounts during off-peak rides. The a single ride would be $2.25, up from the current $2. And the early mentioned off-peak fare was $1.50, but now the Daily News finds that the off-peak fare might be higher at $1.75. more ›

BEER: This one is pretty simple...there will be lots (58!) of New York beers, and a few bands to soundtrack your drinking them, at the Seaport tonight. Go, imbibe, enjoy! more ›

Two years ago, we wondered if there was a big list of all the fountains in New York City. We haven't made that much progress with the list, but at least now we have a list of the "display fountains" the Parks Department maintains. And it's interesting - Brooklyn only has three while Staten Island has eight. Of course, there are many fountains outside of the Parks Department's jurisdiction (for instance, the fountain outside the Brooklyn Museum), so if you can help remind us of others in the comments, that would be great. more ›

Councilman Charles Barron stood on the steps of Brooklyn's Borough Hall yesterday and announced that he would be running to become the first African-Amercian Borough President in Brooklyn's history. The Daily News reports that Barron wasted no time in denigrating the current Beep Marty Markowitz. "We've had a cheerleader. Now we need a real leader in Brooklyn." Barron was referring to Markowitz's seemingly perpetual sunny disposition and love of public appearances while looking faintly ridiculous. more ›

Today, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be kicking off another year of "Lighten Up Brooklyn" with a walk around Brooklyn Heights. "Lighten Up Brooklyn" was started a few years ago to encourage Brooklynites to lose weight and make their lifestyles healthier. And since he had stents put into his arteries last year, Lighten Up Brooklyn is a big deal to Markowitz. From his office's press release:

Markowitz, who underwent a stent procedure last summer, vowed to transform and lengthen his life through healthy eating and a committed fitness regimen. The borough president’s frequent energetic strolls through Prospect Park have helped him lose 26 pounds since last summer, and he kicks off the Lighten Up Brooklyn 2007 not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk!

New York's own floating pool is opening tomorrow! The concept was that of Ann Buttenwieser, founder of the Neptune Foundation and a former manager of City Parks. The water on water can be found at Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's free and open from 11am to 7pm (the beach is open from 9am to 9pm) - seven days a week. more ›

The most charming weddings article in the NY Times today is not in the Styles section, but the City section: It's about the many Queens couples who get married at Queens Borough Hall, a three-and-a-half story brick building designed by William Gehron and Andrew J. Thomas. About 9,000 couples got married there last year, and after being married by a deputy city clerk, sometimes they pose in front of a retired Redbird Subway car that is in the courtyard. The Times has a cute slideshow, too. more ›

It's getting a little easier to be green these days. There are ten new greenmarkets opening around the city, spreading around the summer bounty of fresh produce. One of the city's goals in creating the new markets is to make seasonal produce more accessible to low-income city residents. To this end, many of the greenmarkets will take senior coupons, WIC coupons, and EBT cards. The new Greenmarket locations, hours of operation and opening dates are as follows: more ›

Holy home run. Or is that holy Star Jones-style chutzpah? A couple has managed to land about $80,000 worth of sponsorships for their wedding at a Brooklyn Cyclones home game. Flowers are covered by 1800Flowers, cake by Grandma's Secrets in Harlem, Diageo will create a special wedding drink, and more. Caroline Fisher, a radio station sales manager marrying marketing consultant Dave Kerpen, told Ad Age, "It was an idea that both met our needs romantically in terms of getting married on the field and at a baseball stadium, which we love, and simultaneously doing what we love, which is putting together promotions and selling them." Well, we can only guess that the sponsors will call them repeatedly over their honeymoon to ask them about make-goods. The Fisher-Kerpen nuptials will be on July 8, at home plate when the game ends - and Tien Mao is probably available for a wedding cake eating contest. more ›

Have you noticed the sensors at certain subway stations for the MTA's "contactless payment" system? Or, are you part of the program that is actually using them? In January, the MTA announced the Lexington Line, plus Jay Street/Borough Hall A/C/F and 23rd Street Ely Avenue 2/V stops would be the pilot test stations. We wonder if the testers need the special MTA fob, plus a Metrocard, as people will probably commute outside of the test zone. more ›

Special boon for the cross section of the population that are subway nerds and Citibank customers: Select Citibank customers in the NYC area will be chosen to try out the PayPass "contactless payment" system for some NYC subways! A few months after announcing that they would conduct a $44 million pilot test, the MTA revealed that the Lexington Avenue line in Manhattan, along with the Jay Street/Borough Hall A/C/F and 23rd Street Ely Avenue E/Vstops, will start seeing the PayPass for a six month trial. Some pitfalls: The keychain fobs won't let buses read transfers from subways and there will be no unlimited rides (though every sixth ride is free, on the $2 per ride fare system). What about Transitcheks? more ›

Has anyone taken pictures of the festively lit-up Brooklyn Borough Hall, as featured in the NY Times? Gothamist is curious, because we have sort of mixed feelings on multi-colored displays. On one hand, they are beautiful atop the Empire State Building or in Dyker Heights. On the other hand, they remind us of what the Murray Street townhouse used for MTV's Miss Seventeen looked from the outside during filming - like a club. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz apparently hopes to have "lighting themes for all the major holidays, in addition to ethnic festivals for Irish, Italian, Russian and Pakistani heritage, among others," or keep it in "blue and gold, the official colors of Brooklyn." So far, there is a list of which holidays will be cause for lighting - and in which colors - but what about red and green and gold for Kwanzaa? Or red for Chinese New Year? Obviously, Gay Pride Weekend will look best - Borough Hall will be full of rainbows. more ›

'cause a strike would be damn gritty. more ›

Hmm, this is quite a follow-up to a summer story about men cruising certain subway stations for sex: An undercover cop broke up what the Post delightedly calls a "group grope orgy" at the Jay Street-Borough Hall station in Brooklyn. The Post also enjoys mentioning that the "six men outside the men's room coming and going in two- to three-minute intervals" were doing this "right below NYC Transit headquarters." Words escape us. At least two men were charged with public lewdness and indecent exposure. Is Jay Street really "Gay" Street? When the Daily News wrote about it, the main hypothesis was that dingy Bronx stations were hotbeds for hookups. Maybe it's like we learned in our gay studies cinema class - once you look for homosexuality, you start seeing it everywhere! Hello, Time Warner Center bathrooms! more ›

In case you missed our reminder last weekend, this weekend is Open House New York. Some of the sites requiring reservations are already full, but with so many sites available for touring, there's almost something for everyone. more ›

The New York Transit Museum has been a staple of Elementary school trips for as long as Gothamist can remember, but in conversation with friends we find it rarely gets the love it deserves from the average New Yorker. Absurd, we say, since where else can you see (and enter) a hundred year old train? Look at every kind of token ever used in New York (oh tokens, those were days)? Not to mention stare at old posters, turnstiles, trains and more? Obviously the answer is nowhere else. more ›

After seeing Ryan Brenzier's photograph of saw Ali G/ Sacha Baron Cohen/ Borat in Times Square (captured in this picture on the right), Gothamist has wondered where else the British comedian would strike. New York magazine reports he was spotted on the 4 train, "lunging in to kiss surprised men and introducing himself in broken English as 'Borat from Kazakhstan.'" Of course, the "Borat" part was a giveaway, as was the semi-discreet entourage ("ten men, dressed to blend in with jeans, T-shirts, and nondescript backpacks or briefcases with camouflaged cameras"). We love that one straphanger asked, "Dude, why does your briefcase have a camera lens?" which made Cohen get off at Borough Hall. But even in Times Square, that overcrowded melting pot of kids from Long Island, fluroscent backpack-toting Euros, and vendors, Borat was recognizable: Ryan reported that at least three people yelled "Kazakhstannnnnn!" at him. more ›

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The MTA and riders will be entering another new era of subway service as token booth clerks start to move outside to help customers and new unmanned token booth kiosks are unveiled. NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter said that since most riders use unlimited ride cards, token booth clerks have been selling less cards - and now they'll be able to help commuters who swipe swipe swipe to no avail. The booths are a new addition to the MTA's plans to eliminate token booths; originally, the MTA wanted to save money by getting rid of the booths, but when a man died at a station where there was no clerk on duty, they rethought things and won't end up saving money, chalking it up to providing better customer service. more ›

Learn more about Union Square from the Union Square Partnership, and Gothamist Food had an image of what the Greenmarket is like. And there are other greenmarkets all around the city; here's where they are (Gothamist Food on the Borough Hall one).
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And since we're on the subject of Red Hook, today's New York Daily News profiles the Red Hook Farm, a 2.5 acre farm providing fresh organic produce to the neighborhood along with gardening, cooking, marketing, and teamwork skills to local teens. more ›