Dick Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and Monty Burns lookalike, really hates former governor Eliot Spitzer. See, back when Spitzer was the Sheriff of Wall Street, he sued Grasso over his ridiculous $187 million pay package. So Grasso, ever bent on getting back at Client No. 9, told a crowd at Wagner College that he'll run for mayor in 2013 if Spitzer does and if Police Commissioner Ray Kelly doesn't. more ›

Former NYSE Chairman Dick Grasso was on Good Day New York to discuss Wall Street's wild Thursday, but anchor Rosanna Scotto also got a chance to bring up Grasso's enemy, Eliot Spitzer. She asked if Spitzer, who sued Grasso over his huge pay package, deserved a second chance. Grasso replied, "On the subject of redemption, America is a country of redemption, America is a country of people fleeing from other parts of the world. If Eliot is elected, it's because the people say he deserves a second chance." more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Lenox Ave. in Manhattan, a shooting on Farragut Rd. in Brooklyn, and a home invasion robbery on 84th St. in Queens.
• The City honored Jay-Z's mom, Gloria Carter, today for her work overseeing the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund, a college-oriented educational charity that helps disadvantaged and non-traditional students.
• A Queens man, already under arrest for threatening a police officer with a gun in front of the officer's children, multiplied his troubles by attempting to hire a hitman to kill that cop before he could testify. The would-be hitman is now also under arrest.
• After robbing a bishop of $1,500 at gunpoint in his Queens church, one of three thieves returned to the neighborhood to target the pizza place next door to the church, where he proceeded to rob an old lady while beating her with her own cane. He was stopped by an off-duty cop and held for arrest.
• Stock up on or increase the use of those subway-themed condoms while you have the chance, because the city's health commissioner will stop distributing them unless New Yorkers pick up the pace and start justifying the program. Get busy people; those condoms aren't going to use themselves.
• Former NYSE chairman Dick Grasso got four counts closer to winning his court case to keep his full compensation package, after a judge ruled in his favor on technical issues.
• Organizers of PrideFest and the city are fighting over which gay-friendly neighborhood should host the post-parade bash. The city wants to keep the event in the West Village and organizers want to move to Chelsea.
• The Dept. of Education found a temporary home for the Khalil Gibran International Academy next year. The school will be split between existing schools approximately 12 blocks apart in Park Slope.

NYC Sunset by Sidewalk Story. more ›

+ If Mayor Bloomberg sells Bloomberg LP for $12B, do you think they'll change the name of the company? more ›

- Hey,an OutKast-cover! more ›

-- Aw man... somebody threw out a perfectly good white boy. more ›

Over 200 years ago people gathered under a tree near one end of Wall Street and traded securities. From those quaint beginnings, the New York Stock Exchange rose to become the most prominent exchange in the world and now you can own a piece of it. For years that privilege was only available if you had some serious coin and one of the 1,366 seat holders was willing to sell. Now, for about $72 plus fees, you can buy a share of the stock exchange, which trades under the symbol of NYX (NYSE would have been much cooler, but only stocks on the NASDAQ can use four-letter symbols... and we're not going to say that "NYX" looks like it sounds like "Knicks" and what that would mean ) - the stock has risen 13% since this morning. more ›

Even successful businessman are stupid! Edward Reiss, member of the New York Stock Exchange, was "busted" for leaving a message threatening to kill another NYSE member. And in the brilliant move, Reiss left the message on his "victim"'s lawyer's voice mail. The Daily News reports that he allegedly left a message saying, "[William Higgins] better be careful when he starts his car" (Reiss and Higgins were fighting over the NYSE's merger with an electronic trading system) and the police traced the call to Reiss. Hmm, maybe *69 doesn't work as well as rumored! While Reiss did turn himself in to the police, it really sounds like Reiss had one too many whiskeys and was watching Scarface or Goodfellas one too many times. more ›

Kudos to New York magazine for turning former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, currently laughingstock after being a September 11 "hero," into a crying, blubbering mess in their exclusive interview as he recounts the unraveling of his nomination as the head of Homeland Security. Gothamist was struck by how weepy Kerik was, like he was watching Brian's Song...Oprah producers are probably all over him to appear again, this big tough cop reduced to tear. The NY Times seemed surprised by the tear duct action as well, asking Rudy Giuliani's spokeperson if there really was communal crying. more ›

Besides taking a $139 million payout and suing the New York Stock Exchange for $50 million, former NYSE chairman Dick Grasso is also good at looking like iconic TV characters. In this instance, Gothamist was struck by the eerie resemblance between Grasso and everyone's favorite insane millionaire boss, Monty Burns. Previously, Gothamist noticed his similarity to the Brain of Pinky and the Brain. more ›