In just a few hours, there were five separate shootings all over Brooklyn last night and early this morning. The violence began at 10:20PM in Ditmas Park, when three people were shot at East 21st and Dorchester Road when a gunman opened fire on a man. The 25-year-old known as "Indian" died while a 23-year-old and a 50-year-old, who was shot inside his/her home, were both in stable condition. more ›

Yesterday, Transportation Alternatives held a rally at City Hall to draw attention to the recently increasing numbers of pedestrian fatalities on city streets. Last year, 163 pedestrians died, a 4% increase over 2005, and just this past weekend, four pedestrians were killed by vehicles. Relatives and friends of victims joined TA to demand that the city to make streets safer for pedestrians and "strengthen laws against motorists who kill or injure pedestrians" (Metro). Watch the video and hear them speak. more ›

Figuring out how to get where you are going, without driving, in a city with as many options as our own can be a chore. After very little time in the city your average New Yorker (imported or native) normally has a pretty good grasp of their basic routes but beyond that things can quickly get hazy. Enter the internet. Just like Mapquest and Google Maps simplified driving directions, the past two years has seen a cottage industry of municipal directions services pop up. The Times today takes a look at three of them, two of which we'd, tellingly, never heard of: HopStop, Trips123 and PublicRoutes. more ›

The Times has a good article about the traffic nightmare that occurs at the intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic, and Fourth Avenues in Brooklyn, and comes up with some great facts: more ›

Forgotten-NY has a great exploration of the Brooklyn Yards-- the streets around the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues that will be replaced by Bruce Ratner's giant Nets stadium project. Highlights include the Underberg Building, the belgian block sidewalks at the entrance to the LIRR railyards, and lots of great protest signage. A very timely piece-- given Curbed's recent reports that demolition of these buildings is imminent (others, including Callalillie, went by the area and said that it doesn't look like anything started yet.) Whatever the case, it seems clear that many of these streets are not going to be around at this time next year. more ›