You won't be seeing the gigantic wreath that has long adorned the Municipal Building (across from City Hall) this holiday season, the spirited decoration was cut from the budget, according to the NY Post. With that "bah humbug" news comes some interesting facts about the wreath, however. For instance: past wreaths cost around $3,500 and were assembled by city workers from live greenery ordered by officials. The festive centerpiece was around 10-feet wide and weighed a whopping 2,000 pounds! Now... to find out how much it costs to prop up that dead tree in Rockefeller Center each year (which is paid for by private funds, not the city). more ›

Councilwoman Letitia "Tish" James (D-Fort Greene) is suing a day laborer for causing "serious, severe and permanent [injuries] to her limbs and body" after she walked into a four-inch trailer hitch protruding from the back of his parked car. According to court documents cited in the Brooklyn Paper, James says she suffered "great physical and mental pain" when she brushed against the hitch and cut her leg in Fort Greene last July. more ›

Under Mayor Bloomberg's proposed city budget, the number of NYPD officers on the streets would fall to its lowest point in 20 years. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that if the Mayor's $46.5 billion budget is approved, the force would lose 892 officers due to attrition while welcoming aboard just 112 recruits—making the NYPD as small as it's been since 1990. With just 32,817 officers, Kelly told the Daily News the cuts would be felt. Because there will be so few rookie cops, the cuts might have a big effect on "Operation Impact"—a policing strategy that puts a large number of new officers in high-crime areas. more ›

Instead of cutting free student MetroCards and reducing subway and bus service, angry commuters say the MTA should stop giving retirees, employees, and their families free rides. According to Metro, nearly 50,000 MTA NYC Transit workers received a free ride this year, as well as 15,000 retired MTA workers—a policy that Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) calls "irresponsible." "They're cutting the W, which is a lifeline, while at the same time giving out perks like this." more ›

Under Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget, 20 fire companies would close, 834 city workers would lose their jobs, and thousands wouldn't get raises. The Mayor's budget calls for shutting down four more firehouses than he requested to close last year (City Council rescued them last year) and firing 299 libraries employees, 186 workers at cultural institutions, and 141 Health Department staffers. Police, firefighters, sanitation workers or corrections department workers would be spared from layoffs. more ›

Gov. David Paterson unveiled a $134 billion proposed budget today that would impose new taxes on sugary drinks and cigarettes and cut school aid and health care spending by $1.1 billion and $1 billion, respectively. "The mistakes of the past — squandering surpluses, papering over deficits, relying on irresponsible fiscal gimmicks to finance unsustainable spending increases — have led us to a financial breaking point," Paterson said. "There are no more easy answers." more ›

When fares rose to $2.25 and the state legislature bailed out the MTA in May, it was with the understanding that there would be no service cuts. But now the MTA's "doomsday" scenario has been revived in order to cover an unexpected financial shortfall of nearly $400 million. A budget plan under consideration by the authority’s Finance Committee today would slash the number of subway trains during the day, late nights and weekends. Free or discounted fares for students would be phased out, dozens of bus lines would be reduced or eliminated, the W and Z would be terminated, and service on the M and G lines cut back. And people are pissed. more ›

The fashionable UK stroller company Maclaren is going to recall all the strollers they've sold since 1999, now that a dozen children have lost fingertips in the carriage hinge. The recall, which is expected to be officially announced tomorrow, affects some 1 million strollers. But for those parents who'd rather part with a child's finger than their beloved Maclaren, the company is also planning to send owners protective covers for the dangerous hinges. more ›

This map-cut of New York City is almost as insane as the skyline being drawn from memory right now. The four paper panels are each 3' x 4' and together show the city blocks, parks and other areas in 4 of the 5 boroughs (sorry Staten Island). It's one-of-a-kind, and the artist is selling it on Etsy for $550 (Paris is only $250). more ›

So now that all these station agents have been cut, who are folks turning to when they need help navigating the subway system? The NY Times says "unsuspecting Samaritans like Mr. Hossain, a snack vendor in the Times Square station," have been lending a helping hand. He told the paper, “It’s all day long. When I get a chance, I tell them go this way, go that way. But sometimes, I’m serving a customer so I don’t say anything.” more ›

When plotting to cut off some dude's Johnson, research is everything. On trial yesterday on charges of killing her father and cutting off his penis, airport security guard Brigitte Harris, 28, told jurors she thoroughly searched the Internet for rod-cutting inspiration, finding Lorena Bobbitt's infamous attack on her husband particularly helpful. But before anyone calls for banning the Internet to save the penises, note that Harris's father allegedly molested her since the age of 3 (and her younger sister). more ›

Despite fare hikes, the MTA has cut those maroon-vested station agents from 17 Brooklyn subway stations, effective yesterday. The affected stations include the Prospect Park B/Q station, where cops allegedly sodomized a man back in October 2008. Abandoned subway entrances will have intercoms patched into the 24-hour booth, but residents are uneasy, and one commuter at the Utica Avenue station in Bed Stuy tells the Daily News, "So I'll have to phone someone at the other end of the station to let them know I'm being mugged? That makes no sense." more ›

The turf war between between rival food vendors got bloody Wednesday when a halal chicken vendor allegedly cut his rival's arm on East 37th Street. We've previously heard about the feared "Halal Mafia" and wondered how far they'd go in defending their turf. All the way, it seems: Walid Osman, 32, says Halal chicken vendor Mohamed Hanafi threatened to kill him. The trouble started in August, when Osman, who'd previously peddled hot dogs, started selling chicken. When he refused to stop, Hanafi moved his cart right up in Osman's face, where he started selling chicken for half what Osman was charging. The tension finally boiled over Wednesday, when a Hanafi employee, Farajat Yehia, allegedly slashed Osman across the arm with a butcher knife. That employee and Hanafi's business partner were charged with assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. But Hanafi tells the Post that Osman used to work for him and signed an agreement that he would never run a chicken cart. He also says Osman cut himself. Osman, who was treated at the scene, insists he signed the agreement under duress. He's vowed to return to his spot today and keep fucking with that chicken guy. more ›

While hustling to turn a 200 lbs. hog into 600 pork tacos at 3rd Ward's Pig Roast and Dance Party Sunday, Brooklyn butcher Tom Mylan cut off the tip of his finger and had to go to the hospital. According to his Facebook page, he's sorry he "bled everywhere. Pig roast 4 Eva." This was later followed by another update: "Stop freaking out. I just cut the tip of my finger off chopping up roasted pig. NBFD." (Knowing Mylan, he probably thinks that acronym stands for No Butcher Fears Death.) more ›

Jury room debates in the fraud trial of a lawyer for commodities broker Refco have gotten so heated that a court officer has had to order jurors to lower their voices. And yesterday, after six days of deliberations, juror No. 4, identified only as "Kevin," sent a letter to the judge explaining that the "frequent insults" he's endured from Juror No. 9, Abigail O'Connell, had risen to a "whole new level. Specifically, in a loud and belligerent manner Juror O'Connell threatened to cut off my finger. She made that statement twice. In the same tirade she stated, 'I will have my husband take care of you.'" Kevin told the foreman that the "threats and intimidation" would not change his vote, but he's worried that "hearing these threats may affect other jurors." The foreman, however, says, "the altercation [Wednesday] could be traced to both parties involved." Judge Robert Patterson denied the defense a mistrial and ordered deliberations to continue; Refco's former attorney Joseph Collins is accused of helping hide the company's bad debts. more ›

Details are scant on a stabbing at a Brooklyn senior center Sunday, but it merits mention as a cautionary tale for those who would confront line-cutters. According to the Post, 55-year-old Leroy Skette Sr. was displeased when 37-year-old Byron Bells cut the line at a fundraiser buffet at the Fort Greene Senior Citizens Council. But when Skette called him out, the cutter got stabby, throwing a cranberry-vodka drink in his elder's face, then allegedly slashing him with a knife. Skette needed 84 stitches on his face and neck! He tells the tabloid, "I thought he hit me. But I felt my hand, and there was blood." Other than that, the only other salient detail he remembers is "using the word 'manners.'" It's unclear whether Bells is still at large, so today might be a good day to just let civilization decline a little further. more ›

Ah, the East Village, that ever-trendy nightlife destination where visitors from Long Island and beyond flock to stab each other on the weekends. Around 1 a.m. Saturday night at Sutra on First Avenue and First Street, 22-year old Freeport resident Vivian Lee got into a heated argument with her 22-year-old boyfriend, RPI graduate Joshua Clarke. Witnesses tell the Daily News that when Lee caught Clarke flirting with another dame, she smashed a pint glass over his head and then stabbed him in the neck with the broken shards! Acting quickly, a bouncer applied pressure to Clarke's gushing wound while another employee subdued his jealous girlfriend. Clarke was rushed to Bellevue and is expected to recover, while Lee was taken to jail. But Clarke's mother was later sighted at the Ninth Precinct, and told reporters her son was "not going to press charges. She's going to be my daughter-in-law." more ›

Last night’s Coney Island Public Scoping Meeting was the place to be, as activists like political performance artist Reverend Billy turned the meeting into a carnival, leaping up on a chair with repeated cries of “Coney-lujah!” Musician Amos Wengler stood up to croon his anthem “Save Coney Island,” and Savitri D., the Mermaid Parade queen who had been on a hunger strike since Saturday to spotlight the meeting, passionately derided the city’s latest proposal for Coney Island. more ›

A nosy Post reporter may have cost Coney Island “Mayor” Dick Zugin his free apartment in a building he purchased with a 3.6 million grant from the city. Zigun runs his Coney Island USA sideshow and museum out of the Surf Avenue building, which the city helped his group buy last year. But when confronted with documents that report the address as his residence, Zigun admitted that he’s also been illegally living there, albeit humbly on a convertible sofa. more ›

Last month the city announced that the space dedicated to amusements in the latest Coney Island rezoning plan would be cut from 15 acres to 9 acres. City officials explained that the downsizing was necessary to accommodate “local landowners” – the biggest of those is developer Joe Sitt, whose glitzy plans were previously derailed by the city for the express purpose of devoting larger space for the amusement park. more ›