Sure, taxi drivers now have the option of getting a $51,000 Mercedes Benz yellow cab, but one Cadillac Escalade wasn't quite a legitimate, Taxi and Limousine Commission-licensed vehicle. According to the Post, a TLC agent trying to bust drivers who aren't licensed as taxi or livery drivers was picked up by a driver of that luxury SUV in Midtown: "He got in and told the driver he'd get a summons." Only, instead of just accepting the summons, the driver decided to drive off...with the agent in the car. more ›

Update below: Former Police Commissioner Howard Safir will not be charged for backing his Cadillac Escalade into a pregnant woman in the Upper East Side and then driving away, the Post reports. The Giuliani-era NYPD head struck Joanne Valarezo, who is seven months pregnant, on Third Avenue between East 80th and East 81st streets on Friday. more ›

Kimora Lee Simmons is often on official business...shopping! The NY Post caught her out and about with a possibly illegal parking permit recently. Their "eagle-eyed lensman" saw Simmons and boyfriend Djimon Hounsou "shopping at the swanky department store Barneys late last week while her driver dutifully stood guard outside Simmons' Cadillac Escalade, which had a New York Correction Department placard on its dashboard." more ›

Yesterday morning, two men riding bicycles were killed in separate accidents. Both occurred in Brooklyn. Around 4AM, the a 26-year-old at Union Avenue and Ten Eyck Street in East Williamsburg was hit by an oil truck. WABC reported that he was cycling in the wrong direction. The cyclist, identified as Craig Murphy [sic] who is a member of RightRides, died at the scene. The truck driver was not charged. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A hostage situation at Rockaway Boulevard and 147th Street in Queens, a train job at East 180 St in the Bronx and a pedestrian was struck at West 66th and Amsterdam in Manhattan
• The disgruntled former employee who shot and killed a former supervisors and injured two others at Co-op City is claiming self-defense.
• The Politicker finds out that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson supports non-citizen voting (but Paterson is quick to point out he didn't speak to the Spitzer administration about his views)
• The city sold less Snapple, the official drink of the city, than projected because of too much vandalism at vending machines, which perhaps proves it really is a NYC drink.
• The driver of a Volvo died during an accident on the Staten Island Expressway this morning; a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road hit the Volvo and a Cadillac Escalade.
• The Bouwerie Lane Theatre will house a residence, a retailer on the bottom floor and perhaps a hotel, according to Lost City.
• How one Hollywood couple with child likes to personalize their hotel room whenever they vist NYC (last item).
• In addition to Oprah's Book Club, Jonathan Franzen also hates the Broadway adaptation of Spring Awakening.

Remy Ma, the female rapper who was suspected in a shooting early Saturday morning shortly after leaving Pizza Bar in the Meatpacking District, turned herself in and was questioned by police. According to The New York Times, Ma and the victim were arguing inside Pizza Bar, where they were attending a birthday party, about $3,000 that was missing from the rapper's purse. Makeda Barnes-Joseph––the woman who would eventually get shot––left the party with the rest of the group and got into her Nissan Maxima while Ma got into her Cadillac Escalade. Police believe the shooter got into Barnes-Joseph's car, shot her twice in the abdomen, and retreated to the Escalade, which sped off and crashed two blocks from the scene of the shooting. more ›

An argument between two women out on the town last night devolved into gunplay in the Meatpacking District. WCBS reports that the shooter and her friend/victim were at the Pizza Bar on 9th Ave., and left shortly before 4 am. The women, who are described as being passengers in a three vehicle caravan, were arguing when the older woman (27 years old) shot her younger friend (23 years old) in the lower torso before fleeing the scene. The victim is in stable condition at St. Vincent's hospital and police are still searching for the so-called friend who shot her. more ›

Female rapper and one-time collaborator with Fat Joe on the hit single "Lean Back", Remy Ma, was arrested yesterday on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, after allegedly shooting a younger friend during an argument early Saturding morning. The shooter in question fled from the crime scene in a Cadillac Escalade, which was crashed nearby, before the trigger-happy friend ran off. more ›

In the otherwise bucolic Brooklyn neighborhood of Dyker Heights (especially at Christmas with all the elaborate Christmas setups), a man was beaten and shot yesterday afternoon in what police believe was a road rage incident. George Fattakhov and a friend were driving around in their Lexus around 66th Street and 10th Avenue when the incident occurred. The passenger told the NY Times what happened:

As the two were driving through Dyker Heights, a shiny white Cadillac Escalade abruptly cut them off. Heated words were exchanged, but after a few moments Mr. Fattakhov drove off. As he and his friend drove away, they noticed the Cadillac following. At a red light, the driver of the Cadillac — described as a white man with a dark ponytail — jumped out with a bat and swung at Mr. Fattakhov’s car. more ›

A drunk woman fatally hit a pedestrian in a Staten Island parking lot - and not only was the driver drunk, she also naked during the incident. The police say Taliyah Taylor drove her Nissan Maxima into an intersection late last night, hitting 41 year old Larry Simon. Her car then "sideswiped a Toyota, kept going west for about 300 yards, jumped a curb and hurtled an six-foot fence into a parking lot shared by Lowe's and Kohl's Department store," according to WABC 7. Witnesses say she was driving around 90-100 MPH and didn't stop after hitting Simon. And it turns out that Simon's brother had been waiting for him nearby. more ›

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