Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama made a campaign swing into our neighborhood yesterday, drawing a crowd of thousands to Yanitelli Center at St. Peter's College, and as well as supporters to a fund-raiser in Midtown last night. At St. Peter's, He told the audience, "I'm not running because of long-held ambitions. I'm running because of what Dr. (Martin Luther) King called the 'fierce urgency of now.'" Obama also complained about his opponents trying to......

If you've ever struggled to figure out which direction you're facing when you step out of a subway station (and there are no landmarks or sun to guide you), you won't have those problems at four subway stations in Midtown anymore. That's because the Department of Transportation and the Grand Central Partnership are placing temporary directional compass decals outside them. DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan explained, "Not a single person, native New Yorker or visitor, can......

Obama held his first big NYC fundraiser last night, and its being feted as a blowout success-- more than a million dollars raised, and wild adoration from his legion of fans: Barack Obama entered the heart of Hillary Clinton country Friday night and received a hero's welcome before 2,000 adoring fans. His first presidential fundraiser in the Big Apple couldn't have gone much better. "This campaign is not about me, it's about you," Obama......

Watch out for the traffic around the Grand Hyatt tonight - Senator Barack Obama will be in town for a big fund raiser. As you may know via emails and news coverage, the response to a $100/ticket Obama fund-raiser "aimed at young people" was so overwhelming that the venue had to be changed from the Grand (former Au Bar) to the Grand Hyatt. There's also a gala for $1,000+ donors, where there will be......

Score one for the Daily News for noticing UN Secretary General transportation habits. During a breakfast with business leaders, Ban said he wanted diplomats to take the subway like Mayor Bloomberg. But Ban himself was driven "the mere eight blocks" with his driver parked illegally in the "No Standing" zone outside the Grand Hyatt. His spokeswoman told the News, "You say 'illegally parked,' but I'd say 'illegally stopped.'" Ha! She continued, "He did take the......

We love NY1, it's true. But Bucky at Animal magazine might love NY1 more - specifically Bobby Cuza - as he has a Flickr set of photos titled "Stalking Bobby Cuza." Gothamist might have a photo set like that of our own, if we didn't have such bad luck with restraining orders. But the real bonus with Bucky's photos taken during the transit strike press campouts at the Grand Hyatt is that you see......

On the first day of the transit strike, we asked you if you crushed on any local news reporters while watching non-stop coverage. And according to our highly unscientific straw poll, NY1's Bobby Cuza takes the top honors. Which makes sense, since he seemed to be on the air every possible moment! Gothamist really did love scrappy NY1's one-two-three punch of Cuza at the Grand Hyatt (where the negotiations were usually taking place)Rebecca Spitz......

The MTA and Transport Workers Union are supposedly talking again at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown, after a day of threats and fines, yet no action. To summarize: Justice Theodore Jones threatened to jail union leaders for contempt (and the strike) which threw the Post into a tizzy, the Mayor called the union a bunch of "frauds," and Governor "Not Doing Nothing" Pataki said talks would only begin when the strike ends. MTA Chairman......

Are we just 46 minutes away from a transit strike? NY1 says a strike is imminent, as the union president Roger Toussaint has left the Grand Hyatt where the TWU and the MTA had been negotiating to go the union headquarters (the NY Times.com's headline without a story as yet "Union Officials Confer After Rejecting Latest M.T.A. Offer"). Basically, we won't know anything until Toussaint speaks at headquarters. And Mayor Bloomberg is getting ready for......

The MTA says their current offer is their "final offer" to the Transit Workers Union. And what's the offer? Three percent each year over a three year contract; the union wants 8% more. And benefits-wise, the MTA would ask new hires to pay 1% of their pay to go towards their health plans (workers do not do this now). Finally, the MTA wants to increase the retirement age from 55 to 62 after 30 years......

'Twas the night of the transit negotiations, and all through the big city, not a straphanger (or bus rider) was calm, 'cause a strike would be damn gritty. So, it's the end of your work day and the MTA and Transit Workers Union are still engaged in intense negotiations at the Grand Hyatt right by Grand Central. (Have you seeing rallying workers?) And, uh, Newsday reports that the talks are "going nowhere." How about "...going......

This sounds bad: The NY Post reports that a "utility vault under the Grand Hyatt is in danger of collapsing — which could damage the hotel's foundation and leave it without any power." The Grand Hyatt is essentially connected to Grand Central Terminal, and it's sort of one of those anonymously and ugly buildings you ignore because Grand Central is so arresting. Of course the Hyatt and Metro-North (the Hyatt would have to fix the......

Dateline, Hong Kong Menu from the first night of step-great-grandmother's 90th birthday celebration, held at the Grand Hyatt: Chinese delicacies Sauteed scallops and conch with green vegetables Double boiled superior shark's fin in bouillon Braised sliced abalone with goose webs Steamed fresh garoupa Deep-fried crispy chicken Fried rice "Fujian" style Longevity noodles in soup with shredded Yunann Ham Longevity buns (with lotus seed inside) Dessert Buffet Chestnut birthday cake......