An international survey of metropolitan residents around the world has found that less than 10% of New Yorkers are happy with the city’s services – a far lower number than in cities abroad like Singapore, where 61% insist they’re satisfied. more ›

Museum of the Moving Image more ›

Mayor Bloomberg loves the arts and supports many arts and cultural institutions as a (billionaire) philanthropist. And yesterday, he made sure that NYC public school students get a chance to love the arts as well, by introducing ArtsCount, a way to make sure schools and their principals are offering arts programs "through accountability and quality improvement initiatives." more ›

It must be the warmer weather: there’s been a lot posted on Gothamist this week about drinks, from limey gin fizzes to detox smoothies; from aguas frescas to wine made in Queens. Today, as part of our continuing summer beverage coverage, we present some strange and fancy sodas. more ›

Saturday afternoon, a woman driving a Ford Focus swerved to avoid a bicyclist at Boston Road and 169th Street in the Bronx. But she ended up hitting a Con Ed worker who had been working on an underground feeder cable. Forty year old Yuen Mun was pinned against a building (the picture of the crashed car is pretty grisly) and later died from his injuries. The police classified the incident as an accident, but his family is angry that the 62 year old driver was not charged. His brother-in-law says, "We just want justice and for the truth to come out." more ›

New York Magazine reports that Jim Carrey is renting an apartment near Lincoln Center for the smokin' figure of $45,000 a month. The apartment is for sale - if you have $11,800,000 to spare - and has a 2,000 square foot living room! We saw Carrey on a Barbara Walters special, and he was talking about being all Zen and we think took her to his meditation retreat for the weepy part of the interview; this apartment has tons of terraces, so he can commune with Buddha there. more ›

One of our tipsters sent in this exclusive-- a recent mugshot of Darryl Littlejohn, the suspect in the tragic death of Imette St. Guillen: "this one was taken on 7/23/03 and they are typically taken from time to time by the docs when an inmate is moved to a new facility or if it has been a long time since they have had one taken or if they change their look (there are any number of reasons). but this was just gotten by the docs today from the prison he was last held at." more ›

When we woke up this morning, Gothamist hoped last night's Oscars were only a dream. Because the idea that Crash won still hurts our head so much that we haven't been able to really read all the nitty-gritty (because we know our eyes will start bleeding) - we can't believe we frigging liveblogged that shondah! Forget conspiracy theories about Jack Palance being wacked out and mistakenly reading Marisa Tomei's name as Best Supporting Actress in 1992 (maybe over Judy Davis) - this will bet he conspiracy theory to talk about for ages. Or maybe everyone in Hollywood really does love Don Cheadle, even though he wasn't allowed a producer credit at the Oscars. We don't know - and just to spite you, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Gothamist will be attempting to only watch movies on DVD whenever possible - screw you and your horrible voting tactics. But we'll see you next year, with clenched teeth, some ibuprofen and a hotline to our shrink. more ›

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips! more ›

Here we go: it's a huge weekend for year-end Oscar-bait and questions abound. Will audiences flock to see the "forbidden" love of ? (No.) Is it any good? (It's OK.) Will people be turned off by the heavy (and occasionally heavy-handed) allusions to Christian imagery? (Possibly, but we were moved more by Aslan's humiliation and sacrifice than Jesus' in Mel Gibson's biblical slasher film) more ›

The holidays are upon us. Tomorrow sees the release of two of the more eagerly awaited films of the season, and we haven't even hit Thanksgiving yet! We've been hearing fantastic things about the Johnny Cash biopic ; Phoenix sings all the songs himself. We're not really sure whether that's a plus or not, though, no matter how well he sings. more ›

which is worth seeing solely for Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliant channeling of Truman Capote. more ›

This time, the pyramid is a series of vertical color bands of varying widths. The bands of fruits and vegetables combined take up the most space, followed by grains, with the narrowest bands still belonging to fats, oils and sugars. Also new is the stick figure walking up the left side of the pyramid to match the guide's slogan: "Steps to a healthier you." more ›

Gothamist also liked this quote in the Times article:

In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, [Spongebob Squarepants] has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

From Revolution Studios, the studio producing Rent, the studio behind classics like Tomcats, the Master of Disguise, and and the upcoming Christmas with the Kranks whose previews make our teeth hurt, a letter to Gothamist about the movie version of Rent being filmed in San Francisco's manmade island:

We saw your recent story on the Gothamist website about the film version of Rent, and we wanted to take the opportunity to clarify a few points that were made.
While you state that Rent is to be filmed in San Francisco, in fact all exterior shots for the film are to be filmed in New York City. The Treasure Island location in San Francisco is where the soundstages and interior sets are to be located.
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City Review on Trump Tower and Curbed on Apprentice contest Jennifer C.'s firing. And speaking of television, some picks for the new season: Veronica Mars, Kevin Hill, and RW/RR Battles of the Sexes 2 (Chicagoist's Margaret Lyons points out Aneesa's bio: ) Plus Aaron at Out of Focus has been blogging the new season.
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If you missed the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, and BBQ NYC and Blues, BBQ & Fireworks, you can still eat your fill this weekend at the Brooklyn Brewery this Sunday from 1 to 5 pm. For a $45 donation, which supports cancer diagnostics through Patient Focus, you can enjoy unlimited beer, award-winning barbecue from Big Island BBQ, authentic key lime pies, and music. more ›

has Gothamist intrigued. more ›

In the fifth week of people testing the Gothamist Interview waters, we have our first team - Aaron Dobbs and Lily Oei:

Aaron Dobbs and Lily Oei have known each other for eight years while toiling at the same entertainment conglomerate. Raised on opposite coasts, they realized there was common ground in their Jewish Asian backgrounds, primarily on Christmas Day. more ›

The logo is very reminiscent of the black power moment during the 1968 Summer Olympics, which then reminds Gothamist of Conspiracy Brother in Undercover Brother.
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Listen to Elvis Mitchell's show on KCRW, The Treatment, via Real Player. And low culture on Elvis Mitchell's geek factor. more ›