Last summer not only was the city's sand deemed disgusting, but the water at our beaches wasn't getting a clean bill of health either. In fact, no NYC beaches rated above 3 stars on a 5 star rating system. Well, over the past year not much has changed. According to this year's report put out by the Natural Resources Defense Council, we've still got some of the dirtiest beaches in the country! more ›

As the MTA faces a crushing financial shortfall that could cause service cuts and fare hikes, the new president of MTA NYC Transit revealed his plans to repaint and refurbish eight recently-renovated subway stations that he says have fallen into disrepair. "I don't want to say that because of our budget issues, we can't make improvements," said Thomas Prendergast. "There's room for improvement, and I honestly think we can do it." more ›

There's been so much confusion over whether or not a Whole Foods will open up in Gowanus — last summer, the company stated: "the Brooklyn Paper published a story this week that inaccurately suggests we have definitively decided not to pursue the development of a store on our property at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue and further that we are planning to sell the property. This is simply not true." more ›

Over the weekend the Mormons were out in full force, cleaning up your sinful refuse at McCarren Park. The Brooklyn Paper got up early to steal some souls with their camera, bragging that they "managed to capture it on film!" They report back saying that 100 youthful members of the Church of Latter Day Saints were picking up trash and raking leaves before the rest of us woke up at the crack of noon thirty. The paper talked to some of the late-rising locals; one 22-year-old Jessica Weinschenk said, “I guess it’s not that weird because religious people do stuff like that. And hey, it’s cool if someone wants to clean our park for us." Way to go Weinschenk. Unsurprisingly, only one non-Mormon claimed to have ever cleaned up for a community, and of course it was part of Burning Man (he told them "when you leave you have to spend four hours cleaning up after yourself"). It's not surprising that the Church descended on Williamsburg, which the Parks Department identified as being the park most in need of maintenance within all five boroughs. more ›

The Bronx swamp's green water is glowing because the Department of Environmental Protection put dye in it to figure out where the water was coming from, NY1 reports. The waterway formed over abandoned freight train tracks, but it's nowhere near as glamorous as the High Line. The sanitation department has been cleaning out the trash, and the network reports that on August 22nd the city starting pumping out the water, even though they still don't know who owns the property. Locals seem to be happy with the progress, and one told them, "I am still getting bitten by mosquitoes, because as they clean it there are still mosquitoes. But it is getting cleaner now." The city is researching putting a drainage system in; as for the mystery of where the water is coming from, one man says, "There in that tunnel, I remember when I walked under there was running water on the walls. I believe it could be a river or a natural stream that actually may be running and pouring water in. The water was clean, crystal clear. As they were pumping it out, it became more and more clear." more ›

Those pushovers at the Parks Department have accepted the apology of MIHventures, who trashed Prospect Park during their annual illegal Heatwave BBQ. The Brooklyn Paper notes that everyone is getting along, and the Parks folk say they "will also ensure that they [MIH] fully comply with our rules and regulations when considering any future events at Prospect Park or any other park." more ›