The man who was taken into custody Tuesday after attacking a man with a machete and then throwing Molotov cocktails at the authorities from a Queens rooftop told police he was "having a bad day." Detective Robert Zajac explained that in trying to coax Felipe Velasquez down, "We were trying to tell him today is a different day, and we'll work it out with you.'' Velasquez, outside the home he shares with his uncle, first......

Photograph of mariachi band at Lorimer St. by daniel.gene on flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person under a train at Jamaica Ave. and 95th St. in Queens, a severed limb at Blake Ave. in Brooklyn, and a child struck at 39th St. and 3rd Ave. in Brooklyn. "Prepare to be swabbed citizen." New York takes steps forward to our Gattaca-like future. A man described as being 6'1" and 300 lbs. was spotted......

Not all is well in the Slope this evening, Gridskipper is reporting on a "hostage situation" in a brownstone on 9th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.Neighbors heard gunshots and say that a man inside the home has taken hostages. The block has been roped off and the area is swarming with police personnel including a hostage negotiation team and a bomb squad robot.Yikes! Our news map shows it's a barricaded EDP (emotionally disturbed person)......

That report of an EDP near Herald Square this morning? It turns out a man stabbed a woman - in the lobby of the Manhattan Mall! The Post says the woman was "stabbed in the back, arm and wrists" during the morning rush hour. The lobby was covered in blood, forcing the building to close the West 33rd Street entrance. The victim and attacker were both taken to Bellevue. The victim is described as the......

The second 911 call between police shooting victim Khiel Coppin's mother and a 911 operator seems to suggests some misinformation. Coppin's mother Denise Owens claimed she told the 911 operator who called her back that her son did not have a gun. Here's an excerpt (you can read the transcript here and hear it here) of the call at 7:05PM, 14 minutes before police shot at 18-year-old Coppin 20 times: Female: Hello Operator: Hi Maam......

A Brooklyn family and the police have differing views on the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Khiel Coppin on Monday night. Coppin's mother Denise Owens had called 911 because Coppin was acting irrationally. The police released the 911 call, where Owens speaks with a 911 operator and Coppin is yelling in the background; you can read the transcript here and listen here, but here's an excerpt:Background male voice: "Take that, (expletive). I've got a......

Early yesterday morning in Hell's Kitchen, soap opera actor Nathaniel Martson allegedly attacked three people. The Daily News reports that Marston, who plays Dr. Michael McBain on One Life to Live, swung a metal crate at his victims, which broke one of the men's legs. One of the victims, Salvatore Cabibo who didn't even know the actor, said Marston had been arguing with a cab driver and then charged at him, shouting, "I'm going to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An unstable building in Murray Hill; a "serious trauma" not far from Shea Stadium in Queens; a bank robbery at Avenue A and 4th Street; and at 777 6th Ave there was a barricaded EDP (emotionally disturbed person). Remember those chemicals found at the United Nations? It turns out that they were probably just cleaning supplies. Hopefully these aren't the same tests the organization uses for biological weapons. If......

After discovering in the body of a 55-year-old man bound, gagged, and castrated in a Queens apartment on Saturday, police believe that the apartment's tenant, Brigitte Harris, may be the murderer. Initially, it was unclear who the man, Eric Goodridge of Staten Island, was or why he was in the apartment, but the Daily News reports that he was Harris' stepfather and that Harris blamed him for sexual abusing her. Police believe that Harris mutilated......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a double shooting on St. Johns Pl. in Brooklyn, a collapse on Grant Ave. in the Bronx, and a barricaded emotionally disturbed person on 102nd St. in Queens. Like Robert Moses in reverse, Mayor Bloomberg wants highways to give way to housing by covering roads like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, as well as rail yards, and constructing housing above them. New York's own Big Dig? Ricki Lake's documentary, which is......

Today on Gothamist Newsmap: a barricaded emotionally disturbed person/stabbing on Parsons Blvd. in Queens, an overturned auto on Bushwick Ave. in Brooklyn, and a stabbing on Staten Island's Taylor St. City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) is a big fan of Tom Cruise's Scientology detox program that is being offered free to firefighters. He's done it and it made him feel "100 times better", which is pretty good. City Island residents contemplate life on the......

Yesterday, right during the evening rush hour, someone jumped in front of an F train at the West 4th Street station. As it turned out, Pretty in the City's Karyn was on a train and describes how the MTA handled the situation: the train came to an abrupt stop. After a few seconds, the conductor came over the loud speaker and said, "We have a customer on the track." As it turns out, someone committed......

- Oppressive tyrants beware: the Granny Bridge has been acquitted of all charges! - "Fourth New Design" unveiled for new Penn Station-- will the madness never end? - If you love your mom, and you love food, then this Mother's Day reservation list is a must-read. - Bald eagles have returned to the Meadowlands! Mobster dropping off bodies should remember their birding equipment. - Is this your cat? He was found by one of......