Yesterday we noted Council Member Peter Vallone Jr.'s latest mission: putting an end to stunts. Of course, one of the best examples of this daredevil activity is brought to us by Jeb Corliss; after attempting to jump off the Empire State Building in 2006 Bloomberg wasn't too happy with this thrill-seeker. Or the judge that dropped the charges against him. But now the city is revisiting the case and trying to appeal the decision. Possibly......

Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill that would have Evel Knievel rolling in his grave. If it becomes law, stunt men are going to have a tough time working on their craft in New York, as it would outlaw climbing and jumping off any structure taller than 25 feet; daredevils could get fined and spend up to a year in jail. Alain Robert is not going to be happy about this......

An effort to get more fresh fruit and vegetables into the hands of poorer and allegedly under-served communities is being fought today by bodega and supermarket owners, who feel that a proposed 1,500 new street vendor licenses will cut into their business. Backers of the new licenses include City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg, who cooperated in introducing the "Green Cart" plan, which will issue licenses to vendors who commit to serving fresh......

Pictured: All City NRG designed by Vincent "Factone" Ficarra, urban artist in New York. Remember AriZona Iced Tea? Well, its made a cross-country image trip and landed in the heart of NYC with its new energy drink called All City NRG (you know, like the subway lines). As you can see, the cans are all tagged up, and their promo van is similarly decorated -- though it's sort of camouflaged when parked in the......

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is seeking the dismissal of a civil suit against her filed by Council Member Charles Barron's former chief of staff Viola Plummer. Quinn gave Plummer the boot when the councilman's aide refused to sign a pledge to compose herself while the City Council was in session. The City Hall drama all began when Queens Councilman Leroy Comrie refused to vote in favor of naming a street after black activist Sonny......

The MTA has been making an effort to warn commuters to watch their step going up and down the subway stairs, but it’s not just because they care so much about your safety – it’s because they can be held liable for your nasty falls. A former doorman has been awarded $7.67 million in damages resulting from a spill he took on the stairs of a Bronx subway station back in 1998. In this case......

Mayor Bloomberg, our very own billionaire mayor, is asking state lawmakers to keep the sales tax at 8.375%. Apparently the sales tax, per "Rules dating back to the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970s" (thanks for the history lesson, NY Sun!), would have dropped 1 percentage point to 7.375% on July 1, 2008, but Bloomberg wants to keep it at its current level. That extra 1 percent tax means about $1 billion in revenue for......

So much for halting the hike! Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer have both given their approval of the MTA's proposed 4-7% fare hikes for subway and bus riders. The base fare will remain $2, but the unlimited Metrocard prices will increase. The Mayor (from China apparently) said, "Based on the information that my staff and I have received and reviewed over the past few weeks, I am now satisfied that the MTA budget is a......

Citing the unsightly damage that pigeon poop does to the city, City Council Member Simcha Felder announced a bill proposal to fine people $1000 for feeding pigeons. Some of Felder's key remarks and findings: "Stop feeding pigeons!" "If people like pigeons... feed [them] in your house and let them crap all over the place in your living room." A pigeon creates about 25 pounds of poop annually. "[The pigeons] may go elsewhere. Let them......

Things got heated in the City Council yesterday as former Black Panther and Council Member Charles Barron squared off against Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who had removed the name of Sonny Carson from a list of people to be honored with having streets named after them. Sonny Carson was an activist who railed against Korean grocers and, not wanting to limit himself to an accusation of anti-Semitism, said he was anti-white in general. Quinn feels......

Yesterday afternoon, Mayor Bloomberg announced that every yellow taxi on the streets of NYC will go green under the hood in five years. His latest implementation of PlaNYC involves using requirements set by the Taxi and Limousine Commission to have cab owners upgrade their hacks to hybrid vehicles so that the entire fleet will be hybrid by 2012. Yahoo! exec Patrick Crane was on hand at City Hall to donate ten of the new......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired early this evening on Blake Ave. in Brooklyn, a homicide/suicide on 225th St. in Queens this afternoon, and a sexual assault early this morning on West 120th St. in Manhattan. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants black activist Sonny Carson stricken from the list of nominees for proposed street names because she thinks he was divisive and anti-white. Former Black Panther and current Brooklyn Council Member Charles......

Yesterday, activists attempted to block the construction crews from razing a community garden in Harlem. The city has been planning to remove the Nueva Esperanza Garden at 110th and Fifth Avenue and replace it with a new building for the Museum of African Art. But critics question whether it's really a museum or a guise for new condominiums. There are supposed to be 115 luxury units in the building, and Times Up writes the......

It was a good time to be a bill at City Hall this week as Council Members introduced stacks of legislation concerned with how we eat, speak, and party(bike) in the city. Council Member Rivera introduced his version of the calorie display law passed by the Board of Health that required restaurants to display nutritional information on menus. Rivera’s proposal would require restaurants to list the nutritional content on posters or brochures, not menus. The......

We received a press release about the closing of yet another establishment in lower Manhattan today. This time it's not a high profile venue like CBGB, but a little vegan bakery on St Marks that is being forced out due to high rent. The League of Humane Voters of New York City (LOHV-NYC) and Rev. Billy are teaming up to save Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen along with Council Member Rosie Mendez and Assemblyman Brian......

If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, get your primary shoes out. Here's a list of candidates (PDF), but the shortlist of primaries is: - Governor: For the Democrats, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer vs. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi - Attorney General: For the Democrats, Andrew Cuomo vs. Mark Green - Senate: For the Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton vs. Jonathan Tasini; for the Repubilcans, John Spencer vs. Kathlen T. McFarland - Congress, 11th District in......

Two weeks ago, we posted about a video showing how to steal a bike. Good Day New York wanted to get in on the action, so they had some people demonstrate it on the show this morning - only for it to go totally haywire in a brilliant, planned fake blood way and spook reporter Jodi Applegate away from stories on the Internet for good. Gawker has a description of the segment, which has......

Sort of makes us feel silly for actually purchasing a bike last week! UPDATE: David Snetman from Transalt wrote in: To everyone who worries about your bike being stolen: Contact New York City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, Chair of the Housing and Buildings Committee: http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=65 and ask that he convenes a hearing on Intro 38-2006, which would mandate that commercial building owners allow tenants to bring their bikes inside. It's a commonsense bill......

Name: Oraia Reid Occupation: Co-Founder & Executive Director of Right Rides, which provides free, late-night ride home service to women and members of the LBTQGNC community. Tell us how you and Consuelo Ruybal decided to start Right Rides. Why the focus on the female and LBTQGNC community? Consuelo and I started RightRides in August 2004 in direct response to an increase on sexual assaults on women walking home by themselves late at night in Williamsburg......

Christine Quinn was sworn in as the City Council Speaker during an emotional ceremony at City Hall yesterday. She said, "Let me say that I am incredibly proud that in the most diverse city in the world, that diversity is seen as a strength — not an impediment." Gothamist can't wait for regular interviews with her 79 year old dad, Lawrence; during her speech, Quinn said that when a news reporter noted she was the......

Kate Wood, executive director, LANDMARK WEST!...

Udi Ofer,
Director,
NYCLU's Bill of Rights Defense Campaign...

As we speak, the City Council is meeting with the Department of Education about supplies in city schools, namely how teacher are buying them out of their own pockets. And teachers aren't just buying paper and pencils - they are buying toiletries. Which brings Gothamist to the title of this meeting: "Paper Towels, Soap, and Toilet Paper." What does it mean when the biggest school system in the country can't even keep soap and toilet......