Last night, NYCT Subway Scoop Tweeted, "#ServAdv: Downtown #4 turning at Bowling Green due to a smoke condition. Expect delays" For the over 400 riders on that 4 train, it turned into an unnerving experience. Our own James Thilman was on the train at 9:30 p.m. and says it "suddenly stopped between Bowling Green and Borough Hall. Quickly filled with smoke, people got a little jumpy (only a few screamers). We sat for well over an hour and were then transferred to another train and sent back to Bowling Green," which is where many people decided to give up on the MTA for the evening. more ›

Won't somebody think of the tourists! Arturo Di Modica's famous Wall Street Bull on Bowling Green (technically "The Charging Bull") has been under increased security since the start of Occupy Wall Street but now it's getting serious. "Some guy said he was going to throw paint on the bull's balls," a police source told the News. As such the 7,100 pound bronze beast has received a full on police lock down—nobody is allowed near it—which is making visitors sad. more ›

Back in July the lovable Sad Panda went missing from his regular spot downtown, leaving the city traumatized by his sudden disappearance. But miracles do happen, people, and as of today he has returned! And it looks like he even got himself a new set of hands. more ›

Those likable Dutch, to celebrate the quadricentennial of Hudson's arrival in New York harbor in 1609, are busy right now building a replica colonial village at Bowling Green. It's part of the NY400 Week celebration, which officially kicks off Tuesday September 8th, and includes a massive Dutch music, art, and dance festival on Governors Island (The New Island Festival), tours of the replica of Hudson's ship The Half Moon , sailing races, the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Pavilion (a gift from the Netherlands at Peter Minuit Plaza, Battery Park), an historic walking tour co-hosted by Russell Shorto, author of the stellar book The Island at the Center of the World; and a boatload more activities! [This pdf has it all.] more ›

It has not been a good time on Wall Street, and now it's gotten even lower. Reader Adalis writes, "Someone spray painted the Wall St. Bulls balls blue. It was gone in a few hours, but I snapped some quick pics." more ›

11:27PM: We're enjoying the postgame coverage of the Giants' victory, with sad Tom Brady, really excited Michael Strahan (singing Eli's praises), Peyton Manning being thrilled with his brother's success (aw!) and thoughts from the 1972 Dolpins, secure with their undefeated record for another year (but the Patriots still won more games in a row!). While we've been inside, there are a number of large crowds celebrating the Giants' win all over the city - the police have been called to break some of them up! more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a carjacking at Tompkins and School Rds. on Staten Island, a person was killed by a 5 train at Bowling Green station in Manhattan, and an armed robbery at 51st Ave. and Northern Blvd. in Queens. Bidding closed at $2,600 for the new owner of the Seinfeld ASSMAN license plate prop on eBay. Another Mister Softee driver was busted for selling drugs out of his ice cream truck, this... 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 ›

More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting at Edwards Ave. in the Bronx, a disorderly crowd at Bay St. and Richmond Ave. on Staten Island, and a bank robbery near Bowling Green (that's why the 4/5 is passing Bowling Green).
• The New York Sun thinks the Live Earth concerts over the weekend were pompous, middle-aged and lame.
• Real estate group Pinnacle is accused of racketeering for siccing lawyers with eviction notices on thousands of tenants.
• Toys 'R' Us is being sued for $400 million by two women who were asked to show their sales receipts before leaving one of the chain's stores. They allege it is because they are black.
• Tenants sue their landlord for racketeering and corporate slumlording!
• The new bike racks at North 7th and Bedford have been installed by the Department of Transportation...
• ...and bike lanes on Tillary and Henry Sts. in Brooklyn have been painted green by the Dept. of Transportation in an effort to increase driver awareness.
• Getting struck by lightning is bad, but is even worse when one is struck by lightning while listening to an iPod.

The New York Public Library is closed today––it is a national holiday––but New Yorkers should be proud to hear that the main branch on 42nd St. and 5th Ave. has been entrusted with one of two surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson himself. The document is a handwritten duplicate of the document signed in Philadelphia 231 years ago, asserting the original thirteen colonies' indepedendence from England and starting the American Revolution. more ›

Two men died early this morning while in the city's subway system; both are believed to have been homeless. The first incident occurred around 2 a.m., when a man passing from one car to another while the train was in motion at 145th St. and Columbus Ave. fell and slipped between them. He died at the scene. The second incident reportedly occurred around 5:20 a.m. at the Bowling Green station in downtown Manhattan. Police responding to a reported stabbing found a man bleeding from his chest, although health causes have not been ruled out. He was declared dead on the scene at 5:28 a.m. more ›

• Today on Gothamist Newsmap: A ceiling collapse at Bowling Green/Battery Park on the subway's 4 line this morning, a bank robbery at 206th St. and Bainbridge Ave. in the Bronx, and a report of a missing child at Franklin Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Imminent end of an era as the actual physical floor of the NYSE gets quieter daily.
• Original "Buffy" Kristy Swanson to appear on L&O as Anna Nic a drug-addled blonde bombshell with a dead son. Link has priceless pic of Chris Noth looking for clues in Swanson's decolletage.

Around 11:30AM, part of a building at 1863 Lexington Avenue, near 115th Street, collapsed with 12 construction workers inside. All workers were accounted for, and one worker was taken to a hospital for injuries. The building was being prepared for demolition, but now the building is considered unstable and neighboring buildings were evacuated. more ›

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...[NYC Transit] has EMTs posted at 6 busy stations across the system during rush hour - Grand Central-42nd St, 125th St-Lexington Ave, Bowling Green, 5th Ave-53rd St, Queens Plaza, and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue...It has MTA spokesman Paul Fleuranges narrating, along with actual radio transmissions of conductors diverting trains for sick customers and interviews with EMTs and nurses. Pretty informative stuff. more ›

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- Five parishioners are petitioning a Judge to investigate the churches books. The Church says the charge lacks "any factual or legal basis" and backs it up by showing their audited books to the Post. more ›

" scenarios, what the the Office of Emergency Management’s Deputy Commissioner of Planning and Preparedness, Edward Gabriel, thinks of is much more crazy and, well, disturbing. In the article, he describes terror drills at Shea Stadium and at the Bowling Green subway station:

"Obviously, we 'kill' a lotta people in these exercises," says Gabriel at his desk in OEM’s bunker near the Brooklyn Bridge. "We have to imagine that any large assembly of people in New York automatically makes our major arenas, baseball stadiums, and convention centers targets. Our job is to make this play as realistic as possible, so at Shea, we had a thousand victims in the stands, we had areas roped off so there was constricted access, we had debris, we had moulage, which is the makeup for the wounds. I even had smoke machines out there. These are not clean scenes, you know."

Did you realize that DiModica and his friends had brought the 7000 pound bull to the NY Stock Exchange in the middle of the night, and the NYPD reprimanded the bull and DiModica for obstructing traffic without a permit? According to a story on Forgotten Delights, the NYSE tried to remove it, but everyone was upset so the Parks Department arranged for it to stay as a "temporary" installation. DiModica tried to sell it in 1993 for $300,000, but no one bit. DiModica told the Daily News that he will still make his "weekly late-night visits to the bull": "It's my strength. It's my life." Whenever Gothamist visits the bull, we giggle about how it's anatomically correct. more ›

Kevin Walsh, Forgotten NY more ›

With the first full week of college football now over, Gothamist Sports proudly unveils our first Top 15 ranking for college football. Ranking the top 15 this early is obviously a crap-shoot, but that's never stopped anyone before. It's difficult to rank teams early in the season, but we gave it a shot, so don't take it personally if your team is lower than you think they should be. more ›

An article about honorary street names in NYC, the Sesame Street song "People In Your Neighborhood" talks about the postman, there's the group Postal Service, and back in the day, the postman would ring twice. more ›

The Post reports that there was an incident between a police officer and firefighter (the officer threw the firefighter to the ground, claiming it was part of the drill, but that remains unclear). NYPD and FDNY agreed on a plan on how to coordinate how they respond to emergencies, such as bombings and biological attacks. more ›

Christina Ray & Dave Mandl, Psy.Geo.Conflux more ›

The city is planning an emergency drill at the Bowling Green station on May 16 ("Operation Transit-Safe). Since it's a Sunday, and the Bowling Green station is relatively quiet, emergency workers go through the paces of a simulated terror situation. There was a simulated terror situation drill at Shea Stadium in March. more ›

New York has been at a High (Orange) Alert level ever since September 11, 2001. more ›

Today, public hearings begin on a new subway line that would run along Second Avenue, from 125th Street to the southern tip of Manhattan. The Daily News lists disruptions on the streets, crazy traffic congestion, relocating residents and businesses, five construction sites along the route, 20-30 foot noise barriers, and the temporary loss of six city parks among the effects of building a new subway line. more ›