As a part of greening up the earth, Google Transit will tell you the quickest way to get from Point A to B using mass transit in the city. We tried it out, starting out at 4 Times Square and ending at 770 Broadway; one might think taking the N/Q/R/W would be the quickest route -- but that person would be wrong. Apparently the best way to do this is by using your own......

With all the alarming facts about catastrophic climate change at our fingertips, most of us know by now that every day needs to be Earth Day. And one of the easiest ways to start minimizing environmental impact is by considering what goes into our own mouths. Here in New York, Broadway East, a new “plant-based” (but not strictly vegetarian) restaurant, has made sustainability a top priority. Tables in the elegantly designed eatery are made from......

The most eco-friendly way to eat on Earth Day – and any day – is by growing your own food, eating it raw and composting the scraps. But for those of us who aren’t urban farmers, there are some good green options happening on or around April 22nd. il Buco (pictured), the Mediterranean restaurant on Bond Street, will be offering a $30 prix fixe lunch menu Tuesday through Saturday, and donating 100% of the proceeds......

The MTA will observe Earth Day (April 22nd) by stocking MetroCard vending machines with five million limited-edition green MetroCards. The cards aren’t “green” in the eco-friendly sense – they’re still not made from recycled material – they’re just, you know, green colored. So they’ve got that going for them. Oh, and some environmental factoids will be printed on the back. Governor David Paterson joined MTA officials at Grand Central Terminal yesterday morning for a......

The MTA announced today that it has formed a Sustainability Commission to create a "sustainability master plan" by Earth Day of next year. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "The MTA’s public transportation network makes the entire New York region sustainable, but in the era of climate change we have a responsibility to go even further. The commission will build on the exciting green initiatives we’ve already completed to make sustainability a permanent part of......

An ambitious plan to plant one million trees in New York is actually going to rely heavily, or primarily, on the the actions and funding of individual residents. On Earth Day back in April, Mayor Bloomberg announced one of many bold initiatives to make New York a greener city: plant a million trees by 2030. Bloomberg even said that $250 million would be devoted to the project over the next ten years to get it......

Earth Day may have passed, but there are many ways you can be eco-conscious. Take fashion, for instance. Videographer Kelly Loudenberg gives us a look a few eco-fashion approaches:Last week, the Emerging Green Builders of New York presented the “Project Earth Day” fashion show, an eco-friendly fashion event celebrating Earth Day. Designs ranged from re-worked used clothing to new clothing made from organic or recycled fibers. Runway designer Amber Nelson said, “We tried to......

As planned since a judge okay'd Forest City Ratner's demolition of buildings in downtown Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn held a protest this morning. FCR says that they own all the buildings and therefore should be allowed to tear them down, but DDDB says one concern is that the land will remain vacant if the project doesn't happen. DDDB's Ron Shiffman told NY1, "I find it very ironic that the day after Earth Day......

Wired's science blog tells us that "only two dozen people have seen our planet in its entirety from space" (most have been low orbit views where the entire planet isn't visible). The AP asked them all to describe that view for Earth Day. The first full view of Earth was from Apollo 8 in 1968. Astronaut Bill Anders took the photos during that mission that ended up on posters and pins for the first......

As part of his Earth Day address, Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce a citywide plan to plant one million trees over the next ten years. The New York Post says that plan would involve tripling New York's tree-planting budget to $37.5 million annually. They would be planted along streets, and in parks and vacant lots - "every single place where it is possible to plant a street tree," vowed Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff yesterday.......

Two companies are vying to win a $5 million contract to install a new decorative lighting system at the Empire State Building. Early this morning, Philips Electronics And Color Kinetics went head to head in a test of their systems. An article in The New York Times describes the test: From 3:58 a.m. to 5:09 a.m. Eastern time, the combatants projected a rainbow of colors from the 72nd floor parapet of the Empire, as its......

This Sunday, the Mayor will formally unveil more PlaNYC details (though the website has been up for a while now). He'll give the speech at the American Museum of Natural History, to which New York Mag says, "while we're excited to see the plan, we confess the museum's symbolism is making us nervous: dinosaurs … carcasses … oy." MUSIC: Celebrate the earth with some tunes this weekend at the Green Apple Music Festival. Musicians will......

After the Sun mentioned the Mayor's upcoming Earth Day PlaNYC speech may include mention of a congestion tax, even more details about what the speech will include have come out. The NY Times says the Mayor is "expected to advocate more than 100 proposals," from cleaning up polluted sites to making buildings more energy efficient. The most controversial part of the plan is the congestion pricing idea. The NY Times says Bloomberg administration staffers......

April 20-21: Wine Rave NYC Wine Rave NYC is an event designed to take away the stuffiness from wine events. There will be tastings galore, plus "Sips of Wisdom," brief presentations from experts, and the "Hip Sips Lounge," where you can talk to wine industry insiders. Friday, April 20 from 6 to 10 pm and Saturday, April 21 from 5 to 10 pm. $65 general admission, $100 VIP tickets, available online, by calling 212-352-9900 or......

Earlier this week, the Post reported on a new trend that even "grandparents, baby boomers and even mothers with carriages" are getting in on: not paying bus fares by using the back door. Dunh dunh DUNH! Now, bus drivers tell the Post that fare-ducking riders have become more common because more people are using mass transit. Which makes some sense - sometimes those lines just to get on a bus are insane! One bus driver......

The NY Sun is reporting that Mayor Bloomberg will unveil details of his plan to make New York City sustainable through the year 2030 this Sunday. The announcement, which will coincide with Earth Day, will elaborate more on the plaNYC outline he gave in December. The Sun says that the plan includes more than 100 initiatives, but the most controversial one could be congestion pricing, which Bloomberg's plan is expected to include. While sources tell......

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......

Eats on Seventh Avenue SouthThey might look like child's play, but these frozen cocktails pack quite a punch for grown-ups.Good food around Port Authority? Really?On Earth Day this year, eat sustainably.This weather is no good for the lobster industry.What's the best way to learn about a country's cuisine? Why go there, of course, and learn from the locals.......

Despite its size (and irrelevance in national elections), New York City produces about 1% of all of America's greenhouse gas emissions. That's as much as the entire countries of Ireland and Portugal, however considering that New Yorkers account for about 2-3% of the U.S. population, 1% isn't bad. But it's not great either, and Mayor Bloomberg said, "We can no longer deny the science and bury our heads in the sand. Climate change is......

- The Tram is running again. Without passengers, of course. - The Archdiocese has spared 6 schools, but 9 will still close. - And we quote: "Here's one garbage man who's got junk in his trunk." - In March Hillary Clinton "doled out $213,000 to fellow Senate candidates and Democratic parties in key states." - Meanwhile, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants a raise. - In other news, the Battery Park City Authority is......

Today we discovered a new level of dork for us to revel in. Which is to say, our first reaction upon hearing that the Boomerang network is celebrating Earth Day by airing 13 "lost" episodes of the late, not-quite-great, early-90's P.C. cartoon Captain Planet was "that's really nifty, thank goodness we've got our TiVo!" Then we remembered that all we ever actually liked about the show, besides CP's green mullet of course, was the theme......

Normally we run op-ed pieces on Sunday, but this one is about Earth Day, which is today! It was written by Molly Dobkin, the twin-sister of the publisher. Even though they are twins and share a telepathic bond, the opinions expressed in it belong only to her. Today is Earth Day. Usually, Earth Day is greeted with all the fanfare and celebrations of, well, Arbor Day (April 28, Peeps!). This year, however, Earth Day is......

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and there are a number of events in the city. Many are occuring at Grand Central Terminal, where there are exhibits, demonstrations, and musical perfomances with exhibitors like the Audobon Society, Google Earth and Recycle a Bicycle - check out Earth Day NY 2006. There's an Earth Awareness Festival tomorrow on Waverly Place, the events the Parks Department is organizing, and we are very partial to the events occuring at......

EARTH DAY EVENT: Earth Day isn't just for hippies. This weekend celebrate our planet at Earth Day NY. Exhibitors will educate you on how to treat Mother Nature a bit more kindly and show you how to find the nature right here in New York City. All Weekend // Friday noon to 7pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm // Grand Central // Free EVENT: Hosted by sneaker aficionado Bobbito Garcia, the Global Artists Coalition and Converse......

International cinema circles may be buzzing today about the announced line-up of films at this year's Cannes Film Festival but for those of us who won't be walking the Croisette in May, there's still plenty to be excited about movie-wise. Here's a few suggestions for your moviegoing this weekend. Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Hugh Grant yuck it up in Chris Weitz's new satire American Dreamz about an American Idol type competition and the bonehead......

Because Mayor Bloomberg is mingling with flowers, bees and other woodland sprites that made their way to Union Square! New York City is celebrating National Gardening Month with a number of events, including an Earth Day shebang in Central Park (featuring planting projects, walking tours, and entertainment at the Naumberg Bandshell) on Saturday, art exhibits at the Arsenal in Central Park, and an all-day garden festival in Union Square on Saturday, April 29 with......

Smoke Gets in Your Clothes Ah. There's nothing like hitting a bar, tying one on, getting home, passing out, and not smelling like cigarette smoke. The NY Post reports that the number of complaints of illegal smoking in bars and restaurants continued to drop last year. There are also 200,000 fewer smokers in the City compared with four years ago. Gothamist Health can't believe that it's already been almost 3 years since the smoking ban......

We've been looking for a way to discuss the newly opened Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn. The vintage chain just opened recently for all of your thrifty needs. They're also a bunch of do-gooders, teaming up for the next few months with the Humane Socieity to give the fur back to the animals! So take off that fur coat Cruella and bring it, and your faux fur apparel (including fur trims, fur accessories, hats, gloves, and......

Gothamist has been very excited for the premiere of Da Ali G Show's second season, because there is nothing like seeing bigwigs talking to an idiot - someone pretending very ably to be an idiot at that. But it was the NY Times' Virginia Heffernan's interview with Sacha Baron Cohen, the startlingly normal looking guy behind Ali G, Borat, and Bruno, that put Gothamist over the edge. Cohen describes some notable people's rapping style:And there's......

Spring showers bring May flowers and allergies. Now that April is almost finished, we are gearing up for allergy season. Even in the cement garden, there's enough pollen floating around to make your eyes look stoned and your nose drip. April brings mostly tree pollen to the area through mid-May followed by grasses until mid-July and then weed pollen is more prevalent later in the season, August through October. Pollen is tested locally at......