We're told that Luna Park, the new Coney Island amusement park on the former Astroland site that's now owned by the city, will be opening this weekend as planned. Workers have been laboring around the clock to finish the park, which features 19 new rides, including a spinning roller coaster called The Tickler, a "Wild River" ride inspired by the original Luna Park ride Shoot the Chutes, a ride called Surf's Up which buffets riders with simulated winds, and Air Race, which will have riders "doing corkscrews in jets." Here are some photos taken on Tuesday, and it looks like they're really cutting it close on this one. more ›

Skip Storch isn't crazy, although you might think he is considering the feat he accomplished Thursday. Storch, a 50 year-old marathon swimmer, swam around Manhattan three times, finishing the journey in a record 32 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds. Why would anyone want to jump into the waters around Manhattan? For Storch, he record-breaking swim was to bring awareness to sarcoidosis. The N.I.H. describes sarcoidosis as "an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells in various organs in your body," with the lumps that develop affecting organ function, typically the lungs and lymph nodes. more ›

As it is the week before Labor Day, many area schools are welcoming a new class of students to New York in what is generally known as an orientation week. The New York Sun reports on various efforts schools put into shepherding thousands of 18-year-olds into NYC.

First-year students arriving at Barnard, Columbia, and New York University have many activities to choose from this week, including: yoga classes, exclusive tours of the new Greek and Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, chartered Circle Line cruises to the Statue of Liberty, mini-manicures and aromatherapy at on-campus spas, Coney Island beach parties, scavenger hunts in Times Square, walking tours of the East Village and Park Slope, shopping expeditions to SoHo, outings to popular local eateries such as Magnolia Bakery, and a chance to compete for free tickets and reservations to the city's hottest shows and hard-to-get-into restaurants.

Forbes has released the results of their 7th annual Best Cities for Singles poll, and unlike last year...NYC is in the top 3, ranking #2 overall. An unprecedented rating for us! more ›

When you're out at the ballpark this baseball season, keep in mind that it's not all fun and games when you're watching in the stands. That's what Ellen Massey found out during Opening Day at Shea Stadium on Monday. It wasn't a bat or ball that caused her injuries, but a man that fell on top of her while she was sitting in her upper deck seats. It happened between innings of the game as Massey and her nephews were discussing Ryan Howard's home run. They felt beer land on them and then Massey had the unfortunate luck of having the unidentified man land on her head and neck. One of Massey's nephews thinks that the man was drunk. There were no apologies by the other fan, as he just scurried away. For her troubles, Massey has a cracked vertebrae and is scheduled for surgery on Friday. more ›

Coney Island may be getting revitalized, but some standbys are getting hurt. lornagrl posted a photograph of Shoot the Freak damage yesterday. She writes, "They have begun to bulldoze the racetrack park and in the process damaged the Shoot the Freak attraction. It's expected to run another year on the board walk." We bet the STF will be able to get some damages to repair the site, but is it too cynical to think this was deliberate? more ›

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. more ›

Fast food may get a lot less tasty a little less unhealthy. Yesterday, our fair city's Health Department proposed measures to decrease the use of artificial trans fat at restaurants that can't seem to do it for themselves. The new law would limit restaurants to 0.5 gram of trans fat per serving. How much fat is that exactly? Well, a typical McDonald's hamburger contains 0.5 gm of TF and a yummy, yummy Big Mac contains 1.5 gm of the stuff, so its still quite a bit. This comes on the heels of a citywide yearlong campaign, which tried to reduce restaurant use of trans fats through education and awareness. Even though about 20,000 restaurants did actually did reduce or stop their usage (seems like a lot to us), the DOH feels that the program didn't do enough. So the government's stepping in to take care of you. more ›

Oh no! Two cops were injured at Critical Mass ride last night, and seventeen cyclists were arrested. The problems started when a line of cops on scooters attempted to stop the ride, and two of the cops collided with each other. The Village Voice's Power Plays blog has a comprehensive report: more ›

Today, the President goes to the U.N. amidst Secretary General Kofi Annan's claim that the war in Iraq is illegal. The Washington Post says the President is looking for a bounce; a former Reagan official says it's a "great visual" for Bush, as the other world delegates will applaud (not boo) "because they're well-mannered folks." And Senator Kerry was at Late Show with David Letterman last night; check here for a clip and the top ten list. And Kerry was walking around Midtown because his car was stuck in traffic (traffic he and the President probably caused); Gothamist liked this photo of him in front of "The Phantom of Broadway" sign. more ›

If Kim Jong Il's North Korean army is built of tiny prodigies, like the adorable three year old Mo Kin who can play the xylophone like nobody's business or mug and sing shamelessly in a creepy Shirley Templeish way, the U.S. is screwed. more ›