Testimony picked up again yesterday in the trial of three police officers for fatally shooting an unarmed man in 2006. The prosecution called friends of victim Sean Bell and the commanding officer of the undercover operation to the stand. more ›

The City Council voted 40-3 to end the tax breaks Madison Square Garden has enjoyed since 1982. It's estimated that the city has lost almost $300 million in potential revenue in subsidies to the "World's Most Famous Arena." more ›

We were encouraged to hear a statue would be unveiled in Central Park memorializing the racehorse Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who remained undefeated in all of his races before tragically breaking a leg in the Preakness Stakes (video). more ›

MUSIC: If you see a lot of guitar-toting ladies and gents around the Puck Building right now, that's because CMJ has officially begun. This means there is a ton of music happening (including at our own Gothamist House starting tomorrow). Tonight we suggest hitting up Brooklyn Vegan's show at Bowery Ballroom: Voxtrot, The Rosebuds, Dean & Britta...and so many more. more ›

Vynl, 507 Columbus AvenueOn three separate nights cameras caught the critters feasting "on scraps that were left on the dirty kitchen floor and climbing over crates of glassware" at Da Silvano's (pictured top left). The owner there said the problem was caused by nearby construction and recent renovations and claimed he will be throwing out everything edible in the restaurant and starting fresh. Ah, not even the celeb hot spots can escape the wrath of roaches and rodents. more ›

Something we did not realized happened on Sunday: Governor Eliot Spitzer attended a Nascar race in Watkins Glen, NY (the only NY State town that has a Nascar track, same town where the Farm Sanctuary is located) and was called "the best Jewish Nascar fan" by cable executive and race car driver Leo Hindery. The NY Times explains that his brother-in-law is an engineer at Hendrick Motorsports and that Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon is Spitzer's favorite. more ›

EVENT: Join a slew of artists, bid on their work and enjoy complimentary cocktails tonight at a benefit for the Seed Project. Artwork from Swoon, Lisa Dahl, Todd Deluca, Troy Dugas, Lee Everett, Midori Harima & Annysa Ng, Fumiko Toda, Sarah Trigg and a whole bunch more will be auctioned. The Seed Project asks that you buy basil seeds and after planting them: more ›

EVENT: "Home Buying for Hipsters" would like to help out all of you "creative non-traditional wage earners" during your quest to own a home. Buying property is an art, after all, so creatives may even have a head start! They "aim to specifically address your concerns and break down the process into steps you can understand." Their classes are free and open to everyone ("hipsters, non-hipsters, art stars, rock stars, designers, freelancers, sculptors, poets, part-time geniuses, business moguls, cheapskates, high rollers, nerds, players, winners, losers=whoever is ready to own a home!") More info at their MySpace page, of course. more ›

(directed by David Yates) more ›

Jordan Carlos first came to the attention of most as Stephen Colbert's Black Friend Alan, but he's much more than just a face. Jordan is a comedian, an Eagle Scout, a self proclaimed preppy black guy, and the host of Nickelodian's Me: TV. And if that's not enough, he also looks snazzy in a vest. more ›

Along 65th Street near Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn are a number of culinary gems: The sidewalk-sprawling Three Guys Produce, billed as “The Original Poor Person’s Friend;” Asian markets with fresh shiso and lily bulbs, and also the legendary, cafeteria-style Rocco’s Calamari. With a fledgling greenmarket in nearby Leif Ericson Park, this Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Bensonhurst interzone has quietly become a destination for inexpensive, quality provisions. more ›

If Justin Timberlake is being credited for bringing sexy back, then the Scissor Sisters can be credited for bringing disco, fun and colorful stage shows back. The (mostly) New Yorkers are back in town tomorrow night, taking the stage at MSG. Babydaddy recently took the time to answer some questions for us (he's the one in the pink pantsuit). more ›

The Umbrella, My Friend, Was Blowing In The Wind, by The Girl Who. more ›

The controversial proposal to turn the UPS lot on Spring Street and West Street into a place for 106 Sanitation trucks may align Donald Trump with critics of his planned Trump Soho Hotel. The Donald takes a break from blabbing about ladies of The View and tells the Post, "I don't like trucks, the fumes, the traffic from the standpoint of the community... If the community wanted help, I would certainly help." more ›

A young Queens boy was hit and killed by an oncoming LIRR train near the Forest Hills station yesterday afternoon. Ari Kraft and his friends had been tagging signal boxes when a train headed to Huntington hit him. The police say they had been taking pictures of their work before they crossed the tracks to leave. According to the Daily News, Kraft managed to beat one train on a third track and he thought he was in the clear, but "that train had blocked Ari's view of the eastbound train on the last track." more ›

Many people in the tri-state area have been asking the same question: “What the hell is going on at Channel 2?” The one easy answer is that it is the work of the station’s general manager Peter Dunn. more ›

READING: What do you do after you've outed Deep Throat? Well, David more ›

With the fifth anniversary of September 11 drawing near, many related books are being released this and next week. One of the most intriguing is The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon. Both have a rich history in comics: USA Today explains, "Jacobson, 76, created Richie Rich and was executive editor of Marvel and Harvey Comics, and Colon, 75, drew Casper and Wonder Woman" - but the book is a graphic interpretation of The 9/11 Commission's report on the events of Septemer 11, because they found it difficult to get through the 568-page report. Colon said, "For a government report, it was well written, but still hard to follow — lots of Arabic names, and a lot of things going on at the same time in different places." Slate has been excerpting the book, and from those excerpts, it seems to work very well. more ›

In Harlem, the guide explained that black people’s hair was different and that they all went to church in their good clothes, whereas everyone else in the city was too busy to be religious, especially the Jews. Back in midtown, she pointed out two famous “Jewish delicatessens,” the Carnegie and the Stage. “Lots of remarks about Jews and blacks,” Willard observed, “yet we haven’t even mentioned Pearl Harbor.”Sadly, there were no bloodhounds on the scene, so he could not suggest that they wear a Sherlock Holmes hat and smoke a pipe. And now Gothamist must watch Best in Show tonight. more ›

- Implementing “sting” operations where officers ride the bus and jump out to issue tickets to any and all vehicles blocking bus lanes and stops.Yes, "sting" operations! We wonder if the cops would wear undercover "regular bus rider" gear, but either way, it would be awesome to see in action, not that the bus would move any faster. Hmm. Well, one thing we know keeps buses slow is that fact that many stop every 2 blocks. However, if even the local buses could stop every three or four blocks, we might be takling a whole different game. more ›

If you're in the West Village or Chelsea today, swing by one of these happenings: more ›

This scenario has happened a thousand times. We can play it back in our minds. more ›

Come this summer, you may see a new NYPD car - the Dodge Charger, best known as the Dukes of Hazzard car. The NYPD is adding fifteen 4-door Chargers for its Highway Unit - they must really love the Hemi - and ten will be tested this summer. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "We're always looking for good equipment, including a little muscle in the car department," which almost sounds dirty. Of course, the NYPD's cars will have "fortified front seats, no rear-door handles and heftier brakes" according to the Daily News. Gothamist just hopes "Dixie" won't play on the siren. more ›

I got paid to write Kissing a Fool, and it was movie money, made from working on those types of films, that allowed me to write a book. No different than working any type of job while trying to work on something better. more ›

- Fingers' refusal to type with proper spelling and gramar more ›

Mick Stingley, Low-Rent Rock Critic more ›

CONTEST ALERT: We're part of a joint blog contest thing that we don't completely understand, but here's what you need to know: FREE iPod Nano! Filled up with the soundtrack from Elizabethtown. You can enter here, and you should. Seriously. Do it. more ›

Day 2 was significantly busier than Day 1. All in all, we made it to 12 different shows between 10:00am and 2am, we'll highlight the highlights here. more ›

Tonight is Gothamist's Movable Hype 4.0 show at Knitting Factory with Doveman, Raising the Fawn, Bravo Silva, and Langhorne Slim. In case you missed it, we interviewed Langhorne, Doveman, and Raising the Fawn. more ›

Besides filming the new Robert DeNiro-directed The Good Shepherd in New York City and becoming an honorary Cambodian citizen, and besides shtupping America's Favorite Friend's husband and being hotter than hell, Angelina Jolie is making news with the announcement that MTV will air a "video diary" of her trip to Africa. Jolie and Jeffrey Sachs - yes, that Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, the noted economist who works for Columbia's Earth Institute and advice UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - traveled to Africa with Sachs' team that is trying to stop poverty and hunger. Though Angelina gets top billing, we love how the name of the show actually is "The Diary of Angelina Jolie & Dr Jeffrey Sachs in Africa." Way to go, MTV, for trying to give world economists a higher profile - even though your audience wants to know whether Stephen will choose Kristin or LC. more ›