Vesuvio Playground is located across the street from Gothamist HQ, on the corner of Spring and Thompson Street. Back in May, we reported that the entire half-block long playground had been entirely shut down for renovation, with reopening set for January 2007. Why it would take seven months to repave a playground was beyond us-- until we noticed that there were never more than three guys working on the site at once, and for days at a time the entire site was completely deserted. People in the neighborhood told us that the Parks Department routinely awards projects to whoever submits the lowest bid, even if they're a tiny company with no ability to finish a job on time. That appears to be the case here-- as the "updated" sign above shows, the reopening has been pushed back to May, and progress seems to be going as slow as ever. more ›

If you're a fan of Overheard in New York, you're going to love today's Google Maps Mashup. Overplot takes "2876 quotes at 1108 locations" and reformats it all as a clickable map. So now you can find quotes conviently located near your home or office. For instance, near Gothamist HQ: more ›

Tien got a new kitten yesterday. Randolph is a siamese mix. At Gothamist HQ, a fierce battle is raging-- the publisher is claiming that the new cat is cute, but he's no Thompson (compare to the picture on the right, taken when Thompson was four months old.) Please help us settle this dispute-- the winner will be crowned official Gothamist cat mascot for 2006. more ›

Is anyone else in allergy hell this week? Here at Gothamist HQ, our eyes are so puffy we can barely make out these words as we type! Our sneezes have taken on the quality of machine-gun fire, and our cat has become so fed up with our constant accusations of being responsible for the misery that he's fled for friendlier environs (the kitchen.) Thankfully, all of this stuff isn't just in our heads. Newsday reports: more ›

So, we can admit it, today has been a pretty scary day over here at Gothamist HQ. We've had tatoos, snuff tapes, gore-filled photos, a birthing Britney, Bjork, even some way overpriced real estate. After all that, we need to laugh a little, don't you? Luckily Michelle found just the thing. Watch this and try not to laugh: more ›

Lizzy Marlin, Founder of Fizzy Lizzy more ›

There was a feverish debate at Gothamist HQ about whether we should walk over to the Culture Club on Saturday night. After all, how often do you get to see Tiffany singing "I Think We're Alone Now" to a crowd of screaming 30-somethings? Eventually common sense won out and we spent the evening drinking somewhere else-- but through the power of YouTube, we can all enjoy the most important part of her performance. Question: is Tiffany lip-syncing, or is the audio just out of wack? more ›

- An off-duty cop fighting with a group of "thugs" was shot early yesterday morning by another police officer. more ›

Ever wonder how far you walk each day? Use this cool Google Maps pedometer mashup to figure it out-- basically you just hit "start recording" in the left hand menu, then double click for each leg of the walk. Be careful to drop points at each turn, otherwise you end up with diagonals that go right through buildings. In the right hand column you can calculate calories burned, elevation, and a few other things, and also get a permalink to the map for linking or putting in an email. Fun fact: our daily walk to Gothamist HQ and back, measured on the map, is just shy of two miles! more ›

Oh, yes, it's on. After 3AM this morning, the Transport Workers Union announced they would strike a couple hours after rejecting the MTA's latest offer. Thousands of subway and bus workers walked off the job, leaving millions of New Yorkers to find new ways to go to work (sneakers, meet 60 blocks of walking). Now, New York City is in a state of emergency, in its special "contingency plan," with restrictions on vehicles (only cars with at least four people inside) for most of the morning, people trying to hail cabs, and Fifth and Madison Avenues closed to traffic. Transit workers, though, did finish their routes and close up stations carefully, at the union instructed; one station's sign read, "Strike in Effect. Station Closed. Happy Holidays!!!!" The city is trying to convene an emergency court session to stop the strike, but who know, this could go on for days. more ›

Gothamist reader Janelle is reporting live from DUMBO: more ›

The Village Voice, the nation's largest alternative weekly newspaper, is excited to announce the initial line-up for the 5th Annual Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL(tm) at Coney Island on Saturday, July 16th from 12:00 noon - 9:00 p.m. Scheduled performers include Spoon, Mates Of State, Brendan Benson, VHS Or Beta, Dungen, Q And Not U, and The Dears, with many more to be announced.

Every time I leave a building and walk into the out-of-doors, I sneeze. I'm sure it has something to do with the sun. Sometimes just looking up at the sun (yes, I know: not directly) makes me sneeze. Most people I know don't have this problem (I actually rather enjoy it). Why does the sun make me sneeze? More importantly, why does the sun make me sneeze when most other people have no reaction to it other than to burn and peel? more ›

All is well at Gothamist HQ. As some of you may have noticed, we have been hard at work launching Austinist- check it out for some great SXSW music coverage today! We also have a couple of other announcements this week: more ›

My family is going to be in NYC for Christmas, and I would like to take them to a church service on Christmas Eve, which is tradition in my family (we're Lutheran). Is it insane to try to go to St. Patricks? Any idea where I can find a schedule of Christmas Eve services? more ›

A few announcements from Gothamist HQ: more ›

Why do women always complain that they are cold? more ›

implied that our living situations caused it. He lives in the East Village; I live in Washington Heights. So it's far, yes, but it's not like anyone lives in Jersey. more ›

Here at Ask Gothamist HQ, we've received tons of questions about fun summer activities, like the recent question about the New York Philharmonic Outdoor Concert Series. more ›

Interactive Art is not usually Gothamist's bag, man. All those freaknick young artists tend to seem like extras from Tron or Blade Runner, outfitted by Jean-Paul Gaultier. Still, we don't turn down free beer, so last night we dragged ourselves out of Gothamist HQ and visited two interactive art shows. The first was the Parsons 2004 Design and Technology MFA show. Tip to next year's organizers: interactive art is best displayed in large, empty rooms. Trying to shove 50 or 60 interactive art exhibits together, all beeping and malfunctioning, is just not a good idea. There was lots of typical pretentious artist fluff, and one or two genuine good ideas. The Gothamist prize for most devious project must go to Josh Kinberg and his Bikes Against Bush project [video, project overview]. Basically, he cross-bred a bike, a computer, and six cans of referee line chalk to make an automatic, mobile-web enabled graffiti machine. He's planning on releasing it just in time to disrupt the Republican Convention. Now that's education! more ›