The Polar Bears are trying to save the zoos in their own special way, with what they are calling a Naked Cruise (provided by Circle Line). Proceeds will go to the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, who are currently facing massive budget cutbacks, so get out that swimsuit! Yes, apparently by "naked" they mean "wear a swimsuit," but unless your one-piece is made of fauxlar bear fur, it isn't going to keep you warm on a chilly February morning. Still willing to bare it all for a good cause? Save the date, the cruise departs on on a three one hour tour on February 28th, shoving off from Pier 83 and heading to the Statue of Liberty. More details on the Polar Bear website, including this helpful cheat: "When polar bears passengers need a break from the cold, they can bundle up inside the vessel and receive a complimentary cup of hot chocolate." And by all means, tag your photos on Flickr with "Gothamist"! more ›

As it is the week before Labor Day, many area schools are welcoming a new class of students to New York in what is generally known as an orientation week. The New York Sun reports on various efforts schools put into shepherding thousands of 18-year-olds into NYC.

First-year students arriving at Barnard, Columbia, and New York University have many activities to choose from this week, including: yoga classes, exclusive tours of the new Greek and Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, chartered Circle Line cruises to the Statue of Liberty, mini-manicures and aromatherapy at on-campus spas, Coney Island beach parties, scavenger hunts in Times Square, walking tours of the East Village and Park Slope, shopping expeditions to SoHo, outings to popular local eateries such as Magnolia Bakery, and a chance to compete for free tickets and reservations to the city's hottest shows and hard-to-get-into restaurants.

Earlier this year the National Park Service ended Circle Line's contract to run their ferry service between lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (Hornblower will take over in October). Below you can check out some old footage of what their 3-hour boat tour had in store back in the day (with old-timey commercials played over the footage). more ›

A helicopter on an aerial tour of New York City crashed into the Hudson River yesterday afternoon. Luckily none of the eight people - seven passenger and a pilot - were injured. more ›

After reviewing a number of bids, the National Park Service ended Circle Line's contract to provide ferry service between lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The new ferry service provider will be Hornblower Yachts of California, which offers service between San Francisco and Alcatraz. Hornblower: Taking you to Liberty and lock-up. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: person under a bus at Park Ave. South and East 24th St., a shooting on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, and shots fired on East 169th St. and Tinton Ave. in the Bronx.
• As part of its 20th anniversary weekend, WFAN 660-AM will be airing four hours of old Imus shows, which used to be the morning anchor of the station.
• Queens and Brooklyn residents team up to protest eminent domain at City Hall - at stake, Willets Point and the Atlantic Yards.
• The New York highway system was ranked 48th worst out of the 50 states. Only New Jersey and Alaska were deemed worse in the survey.
• Huh: Circle Line lost its contract to run ferries to the Statue of Liberty; instead, the service that runs ferries between San Francisco and ALCATRAZ will be taking over.
• The News of the Weird reports that the growing wealth of a certain class of New Yorkers and Brits has resulted in a critical shortage of professional butlers; no word on whether there's a shortage of personal umbrella handlers.
• ArtsJournal.com is reporting that the historical validity of the 6th Century BCE Etruscan chariot at The Metropolitan Museum is being questioned.
• ABC News is issuing alerts of storm warnings this evening all over the tri-state area.

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Room Eight, the city politics blog, has a missive by Representive Anthony Weiner about ferries. Yes, ferries. Former mayoral hopeful Weiner things that ferries are the way to go, given recent transit emergencies:

'[T]he Roosevelt Island tram, the crippling transit worker strike, the terrorist attack against London’s underground, the track fire that knocked out major parts of the A and C train service reminds us that we need to begin to do what practically every other water borne major city has done – get on the boats."

A middle-aged Manhattan real estate executive, missing since the boat he and others were rowing crashed into a motorboat yesterday morning, is presumed to be dead. Jim Runsdorf and three friends, Edwin Joyce, Vincent Houston, and Jeff Ludwall, reguarly rowed around the upper tip of Manhattan. The NYPD hasn't pressed any charges against the driver of the boat, as the accident seems to have been an issue of visibility; his boat had the "required navigational lights," if not extra ones, and the driver passed a Breathalyzer test. Runsdorf had been sitting in the bow, and it's believed he drowned as he helped Joyce. more ›

Would you take a downtown ferry to the airport? If you've been taking the Air Train to JFK, how has that been working out for you? Gothamist likes the idea of going to the airport via ferry (we're pretty into any kind of public transport to the airport), because there's something romantic about it. We think it will be an idea downtown business people might take a cotton to, especially if the ferries offer Wi-Fi and they can get work done on the way. more ›

Check out what you can do on a Circle Line cruise, but Gothamist is a fan of the Staten Island Ferry. And the Real Gilligan's Island - are they kidding us? more ›

Gothamist is still pretty fond of the Circle Line and the various other bus tours (we always wave to tourists). A favorite cheap way to see the city, or at least lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island: The Staten Island Ferry. more ›

Gothamist works in a cave... the flourescent lights are off (or covered with black fabric) and the windows, which wallpaper the entire office are covered with blinds. This is all fine and good, if we were bears hibernating for the winter. And we know all too many people who are trapped in a window-less office, cubicle, or just have a crappy view of the restaurant vent with leaking congealed grease sputtering out of it. So what is one to do if they are faced with such a dismal, Zoloft-addicting existance? Open the virtual window. more ›

Jay-Z's 99 Problems video is a gorgeous, black-and-white dark ode to Brooklyn. See it here (we agree with stereogum about the Vincent Gallo part). And Gothamist admits to not knowing if it was in fact the Chicago River that runs through Chicago - we suspected it might be a canal of sorts. But thank heavens for the Internet. more ›

Wendy Mitchell, indieWIRE more ›

Circle Line beats sailboat on the Hudson River, on a foggy and misty afternoon. more ›