Under intense scrutiny from the community and media, the trial of three police officers in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man started today. Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora face manslaughter charges while Detective Mark Cooper is charged with reckless endangerment in the 2006 death of Sean Bell, who was killed hours before his wedding when his bachelor party crossed paths with an undercover police operation. more ›

After responding to a woman's 911 call about a domestic dispute with her son, the police fired between 13 and 20 times at the son, who claimed he had a gun. The gunfire killed 18-year-old Khiel Coppin and it turned out he was only holding a hairbrush. Coppin had been arguing with his mother in their Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, and when police arrived, came out to the window ledge, "screaming and acting irrationally," according to... more ›

Through some strange stroke of Manhattan Supreme Court scheduling, Ja Rule, Remy Ma, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes all appeared in court yesterday (at different times) to face various charges. Ja Rule and Lil Wayne faced gun possession charges from separate incidents on July 22. The pair, who collaborated on a song "Uh Oh," also shared the same attorney, Stacey Richman. Richman said that Lil Wayne couldn't be guilty, because when his tour bus... more ›

Members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike today after talks between the WGA and Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed last night. WGA East members are striking outside of NBC headquarters at Rockefeller Plaza on 49th Street today - 30 Rock's Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers, and the Daily Show's John Oliver were on the line, as were many other writers for other productions - and other... more ›

Last night, an unoccupied five-story hotel at 22 West 24th Street collapsed; no injuries were reported. The former La Semana Hotel "fell into itself leaving a giant, although relatively tidy, pile of rubble," according to the Post. Witnesses said the 8PM collapse sounded like a bomb explosion and that "floor by floor, the building simply gave in." A fire official told the NY Times, "If this happened during the daytime, during a workday when there are a lot of people on the street, I think we could have had a lot of injuries here." more ›

Thanks to that miracle which is modern medicine, filled with wacky, generous surgeons always ready to provide organs to the needy, having a baby may be easier for some women. Along with hearts, lungs, kidneys, and (recently thanks to vain French doctors) faces, a doctor at New York Downtown Hospital is on his way to providing uterus transplants to hopeful mommies-to-be who lack their own. more ›

Along with the "Broken Windows" crime prevention theory, one of the big success stories of Gotham's dramatic revitalization over the past two decades has been the BID (that's Business Improvement District, FYI) where business and property owners in a designated area work with the City and make a collective effort to boost business. The most famous BID success is probably Times Square, but they're all over the place nowadays (of the 53 BIDs in New York State there are 45 in NYC), and often are quite successful. Which is why this article on the Village Alliance BID in this week's Villager is so interesting: Efforts to revitalize West Eighth Street have been an unmitigated disaster:

As anyone who has recently walked down Eighth St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves. can’t help but notice, the block resembles a retail ghost town, as if the Great Depression had hit all over again. Virtually every other store is vacant, with For Rent signs prominently posted. In all, about 20 stores were empty when a reporter walked the street two weekends ago. On Sixth Ave., the former Sam Goody space, also in the BID’s district, is vacant.

Oh, but it was only two weeks ago when we were led to believe that our collective nightmare over the proposed Washington Square Park Renovation was over. Everything seemed so much simpler back then. The fence around the park would remain low and the fountain would neither rise up nor line up with the arch (and presumably it would also not be renamed after the dread Tisch family). But that was then. This is now. more ›

business out of the dorms, as Julia Diaco found out with her drug operation. Anyway, Gothamist has this suggestion for He, at least for the lack of cash issue: Photoshop and/or a halfway decent color copier. more ›