The C-4 explosives found at New York's Marble Cemetery on 2nd Avenue Sunday (and reported to the NYPD on Monday) were made over 12 years ago. CityRoom reports that initial testing showed the eight bricks were old (though the explosives have an indefinite shelf life), because they "lacked identifying markers known as taggants, which manufacturers were required to include in the putty-like compound starting in 1997." more ›

Yesterday C-4 explosives were discovered at the New York City Marble Cemetery, located (though practically hidden) on 2nd Street in the East Village. A detonating device wasn't found, however, meaning the blocks of C-4 could not have exploded. more ›

Relatives of Mattia Filippazzo, whose cadaver was stolen from its mausoleum under mysterious circumstances last week, put out another desperate plea for any information on the whereabouts of her body. "Her eternal peace has been disrupted by these...animals," said one relative on WABC 7 yesterday. more ›

A family is devastated and police are utterly confused after grave robbers broke into a mausoleum, stealing the remains of a woman who died 12 years ago. Suffolk County police say Mattia Filippazzo's body was removed from St. Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, L.I.—while her husband's body was left in the crypt—between Monday night and Tuesday morning. "They took her and not him? I don't understand anything," the Filippazzos' daughter-in-law, Louise, said to the Daily News, cursing the thieves in Italian. more ›

Some prime real estate in New York is becoming more and more scarce. But instead of on 5th Avenue, all these plots are six feet underground. No matter how big the check is, New Yorkers are finding they can't secure grave plots within city limits, and may be forced to spend the rest of eternity in New Jersey. Say it ain't so! more ›

A 39-year-old Montclair, NJ resident has been arrested for impersonating a police officer and raping two women in a cemetery near the town dubbed "Park Slope West" by real estate agents. Donell Anderson, who claims to be an "ordained minister, a business owner and a private eye," lured two women to a cemetery over three months, officials say. more ›

A Queens widow has won a three-year court battle with her in-laws and will be allowed to dig up her husband's remains so she can be buried with him when she dies. Debra Eirand-Herskowitz's husband, Jamie, died of a heart attack in 2007. At the time, Eirand-Herkowitz was reportedly too upset to argue over his family's decision to bury him in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale. It was only later she realized that as a non-Jew, she wouldn't be allowed to be buried there. Upon hearing the judge rule in her favor, she said, "I feel absolutely wonderful." more ›

Community activists are hoping that planned construction projects won't disturb the remains of African slaves buried in a long-forgotten 17th century cemetery underneath an MTA bus depot on East 126th Street. With the MTA planning to replace the bus facility and the city renovating the nearby Willis Avenue Bridge, locals are trying to preserve the graveyard in an effort to keep the burial ground from being desecrated. more ›

Well this is positively Poltergeisty: Williamsburg arcade game/beer haven, Barcade, was built on a cemetery! ScoutingNY researched the the area's history a little while ago — after spotting the burial ground on an 1849 map of Brooklyn — and we're here to resurrect the haunted history! more ›

You've probably walked by the Marble Cemetery on 2nd Avenue before, but have you ever dared peek inside? The Scout recently took a closer look at the pretty commonly known, yet nearly hidden space (between 2nd and 3rd Streets), coming back with some amazing photos of what can be found once you get past the gate and down the narrow alleyway. more ›

Desperate times apparently mean desperate people are robbing cemeteries for scrap metal. In this case, MyFox NY reports that the scrap metal comes in the form of grave markers' urns. At George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, NJ, the graves do not have headstones--just plaques which lie flat on the ground. Many have plaques have bronze urns which can be taken out for flowers, and robbers have been sneaking into the cemetery at night and stealing them. They can get $10 for an urn that costs $350 to replace. The police have arrested three people so far. The cemetery is increasing patrols, but MyFox NY pointed out there are still areas for robbers to enter the partially-fenced cemetery. more ›

Working his political connections to score one of the few below-ground burial plots left in Manhattan, former Mayor Ed Koch has announced that he will be buried in Trinity Church Cemetery at Broadway and 155th Street. The 83-year-old New Yorker says, “The idea of leaving Manhattan permanently irritates me.” So when the time comes he’ll be laid to rest in the company of such notables as Jerry Orbach, naturalist John James Audubon, and a slew of Astors. more ›

In 1988, the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot was renamed in memory of the Brooklyn native whose most famous role was acerbic bus driver Ralph Kramden on the classic television show The Honeymooners. In fact the logo for the depot is based on the title sequence for the show. The depot takes up several blocks on 5th Avenue in Sunset Park, across 36th Street from Green-Wood Cemetery. It is one of five that serves Brooklyn... more ›

In Charles Mee’s Queens Boulevard (the musical) the titular traffic artery is no longer the “boulevard of blood” notorious for hit-and-run collisions. In fact, there isn’t a drop of blood in Mee’s colorful fairytale, which takes as inspiration the centuries old dance-drama style of Hindu theater called kathakali, among other things. In Mee’s eyes, Queens Boulevard is the symbolic common thread connecting New York’s myriad ethnicities and cultures, with Queens as the proverbial melting pot... more ›

Anthony Marshall has not only been indicted for alleged criminal mishandling of his mother Brooke Astor's estate - he's being called a "STONE COLD HEIR" by the Post for not properly maintaining his mother's grave. Ouch! A public spat with his own son over Astor's care led to an ultimate court settlement where Marshall ceded guardianship of Astor and her estate to JP Morgan Chase and Astor's friend Annette de la Renta. But after Astor... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, a high-angle rescue on West 18th St., in Manhattan, and a multi-vehicle accident on Farmers Blvd. and the South Conduit in Queens.
• Hoboken mayor David Roberts was apparently prescient to ask how many stops his SWAT team made on the trip back north--fearing more embarrassing photos of his police force as they returned from relief efforts after hurricane Katrina. Additional pictures of misbehavior have surfaced, this time featuring the town's police chief cavorting in Louisiana.
• Brooklyn native and former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson was sentenced in an Arizona court to 24 hours in jail and three years probation for drug possession and DUI.
• The 2nd Ave. subway got a boost from $1.7 billion in federal funding earmarked for the project over the next seven years.
• New Yorkers aren't just cooler and better looking than the rest of the country, they make a lot more money. The average Manhattanite made more than $2,800 a week in the first quarter of this year.
• Former mayor Rudy Giuliani recommended securing the U.S.-Mexico border via a "virtual" system that would alert authorities of crossings.
• The Washington Post has a guide on how to get to NYC that includes more than "practice, practice, practice." It could be valuable for people wanting to get back to NYC.
• A very helpful guide to long- and short-distance runs in Brooklyn from the Brooklyn Road Runners Club.

Next week, Halloween eve to be exact, will mark the five year anniversary of Jam Master Jay's death. The murderer still walks the streets, as witnesses don't want to step forward in naming the man who ended the life of the rap legend. more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck in a hit and run at Knickerbocker and Gates Aves. in Brooklyn, a wall collapse at Cromwell Ave. in the Bronx, and an escaped prisoner at 107th Ave. and 131st St. in Queens. Firefighters had to rescue a Queens cemetery worker who was buried up to his waist after a cave-in occurred in a 20-foot-deep pit where he was working. The cave-in broke the man's leg... more ›

The police arrested the man who fired the shot that hit a 16-year-old boy who looked outside his window earlier this week. Tavin Alves, a quiet ninth grader who was shot in the head and found slumped against a wall by his 5-year-old brother, was taken off a respirator by his family on Thursday; yesterday, they held a Stop Gun Violence rally. more ›

Open House New York weekend is coming up in 7 days and NewYorkology has a handy guide to which places you'll need reservations for this (the 5th) year, check it out here. Touted as America's largest architect and design event, OHNY opens usually locked doors throughout New York City each October (and sometimes Spring). more ›

There are likely many unsolved crimes in New York City's past, but this week, one 150-year-old case finally gets a sort of closure. The crime was well-documented as the Butchery on Bond Street. Love, money, Bellevue, dentists...all the usual makings for criminal behavior are accounted for, and amNewYork spoke to Benjamin Feldman, who has written a book, The Butchery of Bond Street. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on York Ave. and Richmond Terr. on Staten Island, another pedestrian struck on 37th Ave. and Union St. in Queens, and a missing child on 12th Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Three teenagers were hospitalized after being stabbed immediately after school let out in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn yesterday afternoon. Two of the injured were also slashed in the face.
• The City is introducing a new public awareness campaign to help reduce accidents and fatalities of bicyclists in New York. "Avoiding a crash comes down to one simple action: LOOK," is the tag line that will appear on taxi roofs, bus stops, and phone booths.
• A murderer and her sugar daddy rapist victim finally receive headstones 150-odd years after being buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery. "Never in my life have heard a story that incorporated so much dysfunction and sociopathic behavior between a man and woman."
• The New York City school district won the lion's share of the $1 million Broad Prize for proving to be "a model of successful urban school district reform." The $500,000 the district won will be distributed as scholarships to graduating students.
• Home foreclosures were up 30% year over year in New York City, with Brooklyn leading the way in people losing their homes. There were 1,032 foreclosures in the borough last month.
• A state appellate court overturned a New York man's conviction after he was arrested with a large quantity of heroin in his possession because the judge in his trial interfered excessively in the questioning of witnesses.
• A freelance photographer was shooting pictures in a garbage-strewn alley in Newark for a story about illegal dumping when he discovered the body of a dead woman wrapped in plastic. After reporting his find to Newark police he was questioned about his immigration status and had his camera confiscated when he admitted that his visa had expired.

The most famous new heiress these days is Trouble, the Maltese dog who was left $12 million in owner Leona Helmsley's will. To put this in perspective, Leona Helmsley gave a chauffeur $100,000, two grandchildren $5 million each (plus another $5 million each if they visit their father's grave at least once a year), and two other grandchildren nothing "for reasons which are known to them." more ›

If you live in Washington Heights, you'll want to stay indoors tonight. The Health Department will be spraying pesticide as a preventive bid against the West Nile virus. The Post reports that the spraying (of Anvil 10+10) will be at Trinity Cemetery between 8PM and 6AM. more ›

Firefighters and elected officials were at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday for the second funeral of a firefighter killed while fighting last Saturday's Deutsche Bank building fire. Twenty-three FDNY veteran Robert Beddia was remembered by his sister, who eulogized, "You are my friend, you are my brother, you are my hero... Remember those days of playing chess, Risk and Monopoly? Remember how many of my high school friends had secret crushes on you? Remember when you walked me down the aisle? Remember when you danced with me on my wedding day?" more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Sutter Ave. in Brooklyn, a water rescue off the Breezy Point Jetty in Queens, and a missing child on East 178th St. in the Bronx.
• Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is upset that Coney Island native and Knicks star Stephon Marbury donated 3,000 pairs of his new Starbury basketball shoes to male high school basketball teams, while ignoring the female players.
• The Brooklyn Paper reports that the Lincoln Plaza Hotel, which was advertised as a bed and breakfast but in reality was a by-the-hour brothel, is being renovated into luxury condos. Well-heeled eventual residents should not be expecting a welcome wagon, because neighbors are complaining they'd rather have a whorehouse on their street than rich condo-owners.
• Leona Helmsley moved into her final residence today: a 1,300 square foot space that featues stained glass windows with skyline views and 12 granite columns. The mausoleum is located in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Westchester.
• The Dept. of Health reported that of the 800,000 smoking New Yorkers who tried to quit the habit in the last year, only 17% were successful. Quitting aids like nicotine gum and patches will be distributed at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal Tuesdays through Thursdays from 3pm to 6pm for the next five weeks.
• The Gowanus Lounge has an update on the state of negotiations between vendors at the Red Hook ballfields and the Dept. of Health.
• SPIN has a page of photos and video of this summer's McCarren Park Pool Party concert.
• The manufacturers of Krasdale Gravy dry dog food are saying that some of their 5 lb. bags of dog food may be contaminated with salmonella. They are instructing to toss the food out and bring the bags back to the point of purchase for a refund. The tainted food was sold in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and the packaging has the UPC code 7513062596.

On the edge of Middle Village sits Uvarara Vineria and Ristoro, a charming family-owned wine bar that looks and feels like it should be in the middle of an Italian village instead of Queens. This is due to the efforts of the Iadicicco's who spent nine months converting what had been a tailor shop with dowdy green walls into a cozy space with exposed brick and a dining area whose four rooms each have a different ceiling. Thankfully they did not have to do much work on the exterior. The building itself has many of the architectural elements of nearby St. John's cemetery. Ask about the renovation and in short order, you'll be shown a photo album that chronicles the family's labor of love. more ›

It's the future, now! The Daily Intelligencer posted this Skidmore, Owings & Merrill/SWIM rendering of Freedom Tower's lobby, and finds out from SOM's TJ Gottesdiener that the lobby will shed "light into the memorial pool." Notice how the way light falls in Freedom Tower's lobby mimics how light would fall in the World Trade Center's lobby. It's wild to think there's a lobby rendering - remember when Freedom Tower was just redesign upon redesign? more ›