Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin Rd. in Queens, another bank robbery on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, and a police car vs. scaffolding in Manhattan; the scaffolding has been compromised. A Queens high school was locked down this afternoon for two hours after a student's 'To Do' list was found listing seven students "To kill today." The projected cost of restoring the separate homes that constitute Admiral's Row at the......

Starting at noon, pedicab owners began a protest down Broadway to voice their opposition to a new city law that started today. Pedicab owners sued the city yesterday in state Supreme Court, claiming the Department of Consumer Affairs distrusted licenses for pedicabs unlawfully. A law passed earlier this year, which pedicab drivers protested, limits the number of pedicab licenses to 325 and preference was supposed to be given to existing pedicab owners before any......

As history tells it, in the early 1900s "the presence of 120,000 horses in New York City was declared 'an economic burden, an affront to cleanliness, and a terrible tax upon human life.'" Today the horses are fewer (there are 221 licensed horses, 293 drivers and 68 licensed carriages), and a bit more popular -- albeit amongst the tourist set. The NY Times has a piece on the New York City comptroller finally (for the......

As we mentioned, City Councilman Charles Barron held his press conference yesterday to announce his candidacy for the 2009 Brooklyn Borough Presidency. He told the crowds that his platform included affordable housing, health care accessibility, more jobs, standing up to developers who use eminent domain, ending mayor control of schools and more would help everyone. "Am I going to be a borough president for all the people? Absolutely. But I'm letting y'all know now, I'm......

Sometimes, a middling restaurant can be where everyone wants to dine - if it has outdoor seating. Last week, WNBC's Andrew Siff had a story on the rise of al fresco dining in the city and had some interesting statistics. And we also liked that al fresco diners use their laptops during dinner. The number of permits for sidewalk cafes has increased from 600 in 2002 to 900 in 2007. Tje Department of Consumer......

New York Shitty's Miss Heather let us know that this adorable cat named Julie needs a new home. Miss Heather rescued the husky and healthy adult cat from terrible conditions last December and found a temporary home for her. Miss Heather writes:Well, her temporary home (a local bodega) ended up being just that: temporary. Although the owners of this store (and their landlord) love her dearly, the decision to let her go was not theirs......

The Manhattan DA's office announced that thirteen people were indicted in a identity theft scam. Credit card information from diners in Chinatown and other areas (Brooklyn, Westchester, Long Island, Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut) would be stolen by wait staff, using handheld credit card skimmers. A list of restaurants where the scam took place was not released. One defendant, JD Kenny, would pay $35-50 per skimmed card information, and then use that information......

When David Clarke of Queens received information from a bank about a $180,000 second mortgage on his Rosedale house - a mortgage he never applied for - he decided to contact the police. And Queens authorities found a Brooklyn couple who had been using Clarke's identity to buy a home in Long Island. Yesterday, the Queens D.A.'s office charged Emerick and Donna Martin with identity theft, second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and much......

This is plain crazy. The NY Post reports that a quartet of foreigners who now live in the United States were forced to pay an 18% tip by SoHo restaurant Aquagrill. The group, who did order in "accented English," questioned the gratuity and was told by the waiter, "We do that because you're foreign, and foreigners don't tip." When Ludovic Audesson, who lives in Manhattan, spoke to the manager, who said sorry, explained he was......

Though I have my tenant's cell phone number and that of her co-tenant's she refuses to give me her work number or name of her employer. Am I not entitled to that info? According to the woman at the Attorney General's office, no, you are not entitled to that information. It is logical that you would want that before a potential tenant moved into your apartment, in order to check their credit history and......

In 1926, New York City sought to "limit interaction among the races and control public lewdness”...and in came the Cabaret Laws. This limited dancing to specially licensed public spaces serving food or drink where three or more persons congregated. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's “Quality of Life” campaign used the laws to crack down on bars and clubs without a license that allowed people to dance, and now the laws continue to be enforced under Mayor Bloomberg.......

As the city examines how to regulate bouncers, the NYPD revealed that it found 41 "unlicensed security guards" working at 42 bars last weekend. And some of the bouncers had "previous arrest records for everything from rape to illegal gun possession and drug charges," according to the Post. The City Council has been holding hearings about tougher regulation, and bar owners are cooperative, but want regulations to apply to security personnel only (so a server......

The head of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation has resigned, after months of controversy over the memorial's ballooning costs and lower-than-expected fundraising. To be fair, many of these factors seem to be out of Dykstra's control, considering how many players (we're tempted to say a cast of hundreds) bickered over the situation. The NY Times printed this excerpt from her resignation letter:There is general agreement that the multiplicity of authorities and the unclear roles......

Another signal that the World Trade Center memorial is mired in a big mess: The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, which has been raising money for the memorial, is stopping their fundraising efforts as they try to under the cost of the project. Last week's revelation that construction firm Bovis estimated the cost to be near $1 billion, and everyone was all sorts of upset. The foundation said, "It's only fair to donors to be......

Ooh, the Department of Consumer Affairs is going to allow "unenclosed cafes" to place nonpropane heaters - think sidewalk cafes! The Post gets confirmation from the DCA that they're looking to make the heaters legal, and this is good news, especially after reading the Steve Cuozzo's suggestions for sidewalk dining the other week and how restaurants jump at installing them, because they are the "cheapest real estate in Manhattan." Gothamist loves sidewalk dining - great......

While the fine only totals $135,000, the fact that T-Mobile did pony up the money to the Department of Consumer Affairs is a nice admission that cellphone advertising is terrible. The DCA claimed that T-Mobile, along with Nextel and Sprint, was misleading consumers by the way their print advertising communicated offers. For instance, the really awesome parts of the offer would be in large print, but then the fine, legal print would give the caveats,......

A judge ruled that dating service Great Expectations should refund the thousands of dollars two women paid to find the right guy because Great Expectations wasn't all that great. The service has its members create video and profiles, and claims to introduce members to each other, but for two NYC women, it came up way short. Judge Diane Lebedeff from the Civil Court said that Great Expectations was "massively overcharging" clients and that the agency......

Double-decker tour buses have in the past decade become a standard part of the average tourist's trip to the Big Apple. You see them everywhere in Manhattan and in the past few years they've even made it out to the wilds of Brooklyn. Sometimes when you're standing on a corner you can catch a snippet of the what a tour guide is telling their innocent charges, but other than that the average New Yorker has......

Updated street vending rules are, according to the Daily News, causing many vendors to worry for their livelihoods. Last month the city changed the fine schedule for street vendors, upping the maximum fine from $250 to $1,000. A Department of Consumer Affairs spokeswoman explained that "the old fine schedule had not been changed in more than 20 years and ceased to be an effective deterrent." The new rules work something like this: $50 for the......

Hilarious: As the City Council considers the bill to make sure New Yorkers know what the real movie start times are - sans previews and commercials and warnings about being noisy in the theater that people never heed - is considered, apparently some people think the bill is silly. Shockingly, some of this contigent is made up of theater owners, who would get less pre-movie advertising if less people will be in the seats. But......

This weekend brings Passover to New York City, and the City is ready: Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced a few initiatives to make sure Pesach is peaceful. First, security will be increased with more police foot patrols and security at synagogues; plus the police will patrol "sensitive" areas in certain neighborhoods. The City's Bureau of Consumer Affairs also wants to crack down on price gouging of Passover related items, so they're asking......

There was an article on Ask Gothamist about street vending a few months back in which someone asked about selling their pottery on the street. The article had links to the DCA's website, but all the site said was that watches, caps, books, and art couldn't be sold without a license. I was wondering whether or not that applies selling shirts -- not knockoffs but shirts that have my own orginal designs on them. Would......

I make pottery and I'd like to sell it. Can I just set up a table in front of my apartment building? -Tina, Inwood When the weather starts to improve, all the vendors come out on the streets. Although we'd be willing to bet that most of these guys just unfold a card table to hock their wares, the Department of Consumer Affairs says you have to have a license. There are two ways to......

If it's the 15th day of Nissan, then it's time for the NYPD's heightened security for Passover, what with the Madrid train bombings, the murder of Hamas' founder, and general terrorism worries. The Mayor emphasized, "Whether you�re Muslim, Christian or Jew, no matter your party or political bent, this is a city that thrives on openness." Mayor Bloomberg is also interested in cracking down on retailers who overcharge for various Kosher/Passover goods; complaints can be......

Well, Mayor Bloomberg may not let New Yorkers smoke most anywhere these days, but he is trying to let them dance: The Bloomberg administration is moving to repeal the cabaret law, turning the tide from the Giuliani era "quality of life" enforcement of the law. Bars and nightclubs can apply for 2 year nightlife licenses, provided they meet the following criteria: 1) Being louder than 90 decibels on a continuing basis; 2) Remaining open......

The Mayor, Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications Commissioner Gino Menchini, and Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Gretchen Dykstra want to know about your cell phone service, specifically where your cell phone's dead zones are. This initiative to improve New Yorkers' cell phone service comes as users will be able to switch providers while keeping their numbers. Some of the Mayor's remarks from the press conference: "Cell phones generally provide a great service. The......

The city wants to increase rents for restaurants with sidewalk seating by 400%. Jesus, I say we start a petitrion now. Or we email Department of Consumer Affairs.......