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......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin St. in Queens, a pedestrian struck off Balfour Pl. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a rescue on Bank St. in Manhattan. The Domino Sugar factory on Brooklyn's waterfront has achieved landmark status. David Chase is heading to court to face a former municipal court judge who claims he came up with an idea for a show about a northern NJ mob family. David......

Today we have illusionists like David Blaine performing "stunts" in the city, but back in the day there was the real deal stuntman, Evel Knievel. Just after making news by making nice with Kanye West (after suing him over this video), he died yesterday in Clearwater, Florida at the age of 69. The NY Times reports he had "failing health for years with diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung condition. In 1999, he......

As of last night, Pier 54 became a temporary home for the band Cartel. Haven't heard of them? That's probably why they opted for this reality show/publicity stunt thing. Through June 12th they'll be recording their second album inside a partially transparent bubble. The stunt is brought to you by MTV, Dr Pepper and Epic Records - surprisingly David Blaine had nothing at all to do with it. You can check in live with the......

The Post says that David Blaine has has lost 25 pounds (sometimes riding his bike in Central Park) as he gets ready for his next stunt. And what is the stunt? A jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, which would be a reprisal of a stunt by Steve Brodie who jumped into the East River while tied up in the 19th century. The thing is, Brodie didn't jump - a dummy was thrown off instead.......

READING: Alice Walker's daughter, Rebecca Walker, reads from her book "Baby Love: Choosing Motherhood after a Lifetime of Ambivalence". Babies, family, pregnancy...will all be discussed. 7pm // Barnes & Noble [675 Sixth Ave] // Free EVENT: Ever wonder how Shakespeare would respond to current events? Well someone did, and now there's an event series, Conversations with Shakespeare, based around what he would do if he were alive today. In other words, WWSD? This week "your......

Some of Gothamist's favorite stories in the city were about the animals of New York City. Here's how animals ruled the Big Apple in 2006: - A whippet went missing at JFK Airport after appearing at the Westminster Dog Show; a loyal group people have still been looking for Vivi since February. - A star was born when Fred the cat helped nabbed a bogus vet. He was made a (honorary) detective by Brooklyn......

If you ever thought that strapping yourself into a spinning gyroscope in 30-something degree weather for two days would be a good idea, then consider yourself David Blaine's kindred spirit. This morning, as audience members and the press anxiously waited in the cold, the illusionist-showman embarked on his latest stunt: Hanging from a gyroscope over a former parking lot on West 46th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue for two days. Oh, and he's......

We're worried that David Blaine has an eating disorder - he's planned his next stunt to take place over Thanksgiving! The illusionist, last seen submerged for days with gross skin issues at Lincoln Center, will be suspended over Times Square for three days. From E!:The challenge, sponsored by Target to kick off the holiday shopping season, will get underway at 10 a.m. Tuesday, when Blaine is slated to be hoisted by crane to his......

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.......

Holy mother of God. David Blaine is thinking about his next project (and probably the next five after that), and he wants it to be on the Brooklyn Bridge. In post-overhydration interview with the NY Post, Blaine says, "Challenging myself on this bridge has been my lifelong dream." And some people dream of finding a cure for cancer! And this would certainly be a challenge for the NYPD to secure the bridge. But we digress,......

- High school students slash each other on the Upper West Side, and local residents and business owners confirm that the kids are scary - The Brian Lehrer Show on the need for more public accountability from city agencies like the MTA - The tourist kids who threw paint cans at the police in Midtown were reprimanded by Virginia high school (one was expelled)... - ...and the Bronx high school kids finally got to......

Last weekend the Andi Warholas, dressed as their namesake, went for brunch, posed for de la Vega, took the subway and finally visited David Blaine in his giant tank of breath-holding failure. We love it! Which reminds us, have we mentioned how much we love this town?......

If you were envious of David Blaine staying under water for eight days envy no more! The weather situation is taking a turn toward the soggy. The blocking high we mentioned yesterday is going to keep an approaching storm system over us for several days. The Weather Service is euphemistically saying we will have "unsettled" weather through their forecast period. What they mean is rain, rain, rain, and rain. There will be heavy rain and......

So, we all now that David Blaine did not come close to breaking the world record for holding one's breath underwater. Here's a funny quote from one spectator to the NY Sun that sums it up, "This is not magic. If it were magic, he would have pulled it off easily." Kirk Krack, the breathing coach that dispatched the divers to rescue Blaine, said the street magician was having convulsions when rescued, so people should......

Sorry you didn't get a chance to see David Blaine at Lincoln Center? Wish you could have seen the human spectacle and had all of your important questions answered? How did he hold his breath so long? How did his skin not fall off? How did he, er, handle his business without sullying the crystal clear water he bobbed about in? Well, too bad. But another sight to behold is Steve Vaught who's been on......

If you're going to do an issue about the 100 People Who Shape Our World, you might as well have a big party, right? Time magazine rolled out the red carpet last night for people on its list, their friends, and the press. Gothamist stopped by the party just ahead of Stephen Colbert. We were not wearing a bear costume, so he wasn't that afraid of us. And perennial favorite, Rachael Ray, showed up......

Increasing the drama conveneintly before tonight's live re-entry into the air and terra firma, David Blaine is reportedly in "bad shape" while in his little 8-foot aquarium. It's the kind of bad shape that has his team recommending he stay in his sphere to be wrapped in chains, versus coming out, smelling that sweet NYC air and having chains put on him, and then being re-plunged into the sphere (there's something about a "shock......

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scenei. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorrito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagarized novel is the......

David Blaine is going totally crazy in his fish tank at Lincoln Center. His skin is falling off but the showman (huckster?) in him is detemined to continue on. Whatever, check out page 13 of the NY Post. But he will be getting medical treatment over the weekend. No matter what you may think of David Blaine, seeing these photographs that Paul Kotik took of Blaine's hands, you'll feel bad for him...or at least better......

Gothamist Health learned somewhere along the way that smoking one cigaretteis as likely to give you lung cancer as is 4 days of breathing New York City air. That's almost enough to make one want to hold their breath while walking down Broadway. It also makes David Blaine'slatest stunt sound a bit less insane (but not much). As we know, the modest, T-shirt clad street magician is back and has been gracing the Upper......

There's crazy, there's insane, and then there's David Blaine. After hearing about his latest stunt where he'd do a one-week residency in a water-filled sphere in Lincoln Center and then try to hold his breath for 9 minutes under water, we imagined people would be plotting various ways to foil his attempt. And when we headed up to Lincoln Center for his immersion today, we weren't wrong, as people around us guessed someone with......

Holy manatee! David Blaine, everyone's favorite magician punchline (think of him as the 21st century Doug Henning), will live in an aquarium for a week outside of Lincoln Center. According to the AP:The "human aquarium" in which Blaine will float is a specially built 8-foot acrylic sphere. He will receive liquid nutrition through a tube and the water will be kept at a balanced temperature to help keep his core temperature close to 98.6 degrees......

Yes! Since there are never enough things to make fun of, New York City is getting a gimme: David Blaine will be performing a Halloween high-wire act this October. The AP reports that Blaine wants to call this stunt "Easy and Fun," as "it's something that's been done in the circuses, based on the old high-wire acts. It's like family entertainment, this one." Please, family entertainment can also be throwing food and various detritus......

Deborah Schoeneman, New York Magazine...

Displaying a surprising acute sense of timing, David Blaine left the London hospital where he was covalescing post-Plexiglass-box trick without fanfare. In fact, he left in the middle of the night without telling anyone, simply leaving a note that said "Thank you" on his bed. Reports say a friend in a car was waiting for him. No, thank you, David and David's friend with a car.......

- David Blaine emerges - Best restaurants according to Zagat - NY-Florida World Series wager - The NY Times' new look - Book of Ages 30 - Celebrities secrets revealed - "Liza beat me!" - Elliott Smith dies - Potty humor on TV - Mayor Bloomberg: A little more popular, but not really popular at all - Maddona and Britney redux - Brooklyn's French restaurant scene - Of course OUR president looks the stupidest in......

David Blaine, after his 44 day Starve in a Plexiglass Box Diet, is weak, but not too weak to hold a microphone. Blaine emerged from his see-through home of the past month and a half to crowds of London spectators. Blaine lost 50 pounds during the stunt which earned him $8 million and the amused "wrath" of bored Londoners. Reuters reports "Blaine has also shown signs of delusion, dreaming of worms in his stomach......

Hey! Gothamist takes offense to this Reuters statement about David Blaine in London: "The 30-year-old New Yorker is used to drawing admiring crowds for his other feats in the United States, including being buried alive and encased in a block of ice." Not so fast. The reason why we didn't sending some huge, mutant earthworms to bug him while buried on the West Side or sending some flame throwers to the block of ice......

- Howard Dean tries to raise his street cred by "replicating" graffiti - The "Ugly One" Charles Bronson dies - The new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club CD is out - Looks like a teen magazine, preaches like a bible - Gothamist would love a Law & Order ride at Universal Studios - Jayson Blair: Plagiarist and kind of tiny - Kids with fathers who smoke pot in their presence - Movie news: Cate Blanchett in......