For every reason that Brooklyn is cool, there are 300 rats on the Lower East Side that are cooler still. Say what you will about it during peak B&T hours; for the money, there is no other neighborhood in Manhattan that epitomizes the city's filth, culture, and history so beautifully. Here's how we get tipsy and glutted on the Lower East Side for $30. more ›

Not long after blogger Felix Salmon spotted the egregious baby bike lane block yesterday, the situation on Grand Street rapidly deteriorated, judging by this photo submitted by reader B. Nunn. The only thing missing here is a cop car and a boat... Oh, and a crazy cyclist to run them all over, of course. more ›

Spotted this morning at 41 Grand Street in Manhattan: an incredibly dangerous looking homemade slip n' slide! This is apparently part of Recess Art's Wet Slipper installation, where visitors are told they should be prepared to shed their street clothes and don a custom bathing suit "to be reborn riding a log through the flume ride rapids." So if your morning coffee just isn't doing it for you today, head over there for a little adrenaline rush. (The slide will be up through September 2nd... or until the first injury occurs.) more ›

This must be one of everyone's worst nightmares: Getting trapped between the subway and platform. Just after midnight on Thursday, a man got his leg caught between the D train and platform at the Grand Street station on the Lower East Side. One onlooker took video of the man while he was trapped. more ›

Last night, after 8:30 p.m., a fire broke out in a seven-story walk-up apartment building on Crosby Street near Grand in Soho. The fire, which grew to three alarms, was put out after an hour and apparently started in an apartment on the top floor. Two tenants were treated for smoke inhalation while two firefighters suffered minor injuries. more ›

After a seven-alarm fire ravaged buildings on Grand Street in Chinatown, killing one and injuring dozens, the hundreds left homeless are struggling now that they have been cast out of their apartments. And some have now been relocated far from the Lower East Side—the Daily News reports, "More than 100 people were whisked from the Skyline Hotel on 49th St. to hotels in Harlem and one near LaGuardia Airport, drawing outrage from the newly homeless." more ›

As the FDNY sifts through the remains of two Grand Street buildings where a seven-alarm fire broke out on Sunday night, killing one person and injuring dozens, they apparently do not think it was arson. A source tells the Daily News the fire's cause may have been electrical, "We believe it was smoldering for a long time. Once it reached the building's inner shafts, it exploded." The building "contained several dumbwaiter shafts that helped the flames spread quickly." The buildings, 283 and 285-287 Grand Street, contain both market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments and had been on the market. Residents have complained about lack of hot water and heat and the buildings had many violations. more ›

The Fire Department is still trying to determine what caused a fire in a Grand Street building in Chinatown to turn into a seven-alarm fire spreading to many buildings that killed one, injured dozens, and left over 200 people homeless. One of the buildings apparently had many Department of Building violations, including ones for flame-retardant materials. more ›

A body was recovered from the site of the 7-alarm fire that ravaged multiple buildings on Grand Street in Chinatown on Sunday night. It's believed the body is of an elderly tenant at 285 Grand Street who was missing. Thirty-three people were hurt while hundreds of residents are homeless—and the damage was so great that 283 and 285-287 Grand Street will be demolished. City Councilwoman Margaret Chin said to the NY Times, “Two of the buildings are in really bad shape. There’s no roof; it’s really just a shell, so they’re going to have to tear them down." more ›

Just after 10 p.m. last night, firefighters were called to a fire at a six-story building at 285 Grand Street in Manhattan's Chinatown. The blaze grew into a 7-alarm fire, which brought over 250 firefighters and took until 2 a.m. to bring under control, and spread to other buildings. At least 32 people were injured—three civilians and 29 firefighters— were injured and at least 200 are homeless. more ›

That controversial Grand Street bike lane, beloved by cyclists and loathed by some business owners because it makes receiving deliveries onerous, now has a new enemy: Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. The comptroller was in Chinatown doing some pandering campaigning yesterday when he announced that, if elected, he would tear up that dedicated bike lane, which is buffered from traffic by a row of motor vehicle parking. Thompson told voters, "I'm in favor of bike lanes but you can't put bike lanes in without speaking to the community. You can't put bike lanes that are doing damage to local businesses." more ›

It's been a while since we checked in on community dissatisfaction with the DOT's changes to Grand Street in Manhattan, and we're not surprised to see the opposition still hates the new configuration, which provides a dedicated lane for cyclists, separated from traffic by a row of parked cars and pedestrian islands at some intersections. On Monday night City Councilmember Alan Gerson held a public forum on traffic and parking problems in the neighborhood, and accused the DOT of turning "a deaf ear to community concerns. Traffic on Grand Street is worse. Pedestrian crossings are more dangerous. Critical turns for the Fire Department, ambulances and police have become difficult." more ›

Residents and business owners who have been complaining about the new Grand Street bike lane now have a video that they say demonstrates the traffic mess caused by the lane, which provides a dedicated space for cyclists separated from traffic by a row of parked cars. Sent to us by the Soho Alliance, the video depicts a truck driver turning from West Broadway onto Grand Street and mistaking the parked cars for idling traffic. more ›

The new bike lane on Grand Street that a local shop owner recently called the possible "demise of Little Italy" continues to draw attention with complaints that fire trucks are struggling to maneuver around the new setup of the block. Ernest Lepore, owner of Ferrara Cafe who originally talked to Villager, appears to have taken his case against the lane to the Post, telling the paper, "I saw one truck back up four or five times before being able to squeeze into the lane. The firefighter was visibly frustrated." more ›

The new bike lane that extends along Grand Street between Varick and Chrystie Streets has been warmly received by many cyclists who like the way it's separated from traffic by a row of parked cars. Not so pleased are business owners through Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown, some of whom fear the bike lane will "hurt business and create a dangerous situation," according to The Villager. more ›

Rainbow cookies are quite possibly our favorite cookies. Ever. Whenever someone brings a cookie assortment from an Italian bakery we always eat all the rainbow cookies first and usually discard the rest. more ›

Bun -- Vietnamese vermicelli noodle based dishes (both cold and hot) --usually take a back seat to the more popular pho noodles in the United States. But, at Michael “Bao” Huynh’s new restaurant collaboration with Warren Cuccurello, Bun Soho, bun are the show-stoppers on a menu that also offers small plates rife with seafood dishes and plenty of pork belly. Dishes are $12 and under—even for duck hearts and tongue confit — and co-chef... more ›

AMNY ruined elitist drinkers’ fun today by outing some “secret” watering holes around town. One of them, The Back Room, is no secret, just a pain to find for first-timers. The capacious bar is tucked away at 102 Norfolk Street two doors down from a "Lower East Side Toys" sign; pass through a gate and down some steps to a narrow alley that leads to an unmarked door. Or just look for the bouncer standing... more ›

Three separate clashes in Brooklyn and Manhattan left three men dead and two people wounded. The first occurred late Friday night, when a 51-year-old Harlem resident was shot in his apartment building at 353 West 115th Street. Willie Woods, who the Post reports was a "parolee who served time on drug charges" but managed to stay out of trouble and work as a janitor for his building and others in he neighborhood, was shot in... more ›

Bun: Chef Michael Bao Huynh and his wife, Thao Nguyen, who has amazing noodle preparation expertise, have opened this Vietnamese rice-noodle and small-plate spot in SoHo. Although he has gotten some financial backing from Warren Cuccurullo, formerly of Missing Persons and Duran Duran, Huynh designed the designed the 45-seat space himself. The menu is affordable, with a cap at around $12, and features four varieties of pho, among other dishes. 143 Grand Street, near Lafayette Street, 212-431-7999. more ›

TIP: According to Paper's Mr. Mickey, Chloë Sevigny is having a tag sale on her block this Saturday. We're guessing there will be lots of vintage Balenciaga. Check out her apartment in House & Garden...pretty nice! more ›

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The Moondance Diner shut its doors at the end of June at which time it was rumored that it would live out its years at a museum in Pennsylvania. The free-standing diner has changed its path, however, and now it's headed to the small town of La Barge, Wyoming. more ›

You may know Bob McClure as "Jed" on The Burg, but off screen he's an integral part of the family biz: McClure's Pickles. They're serious about their spicy garlic dills, which are now available in their two hometowns: Brooklyn and Detroit. We asked Bob a few questions recently about pickle flavors, what drink goes best with a dill, and more. more ›

The new legislation reform bill that no one is very happy with has raised many questions about its effect on the city. Mayor Bloomberg said that the bill is a good first step, but called the provision where immigrants would go back to their native country "a joke," saying, "Nobody’s going to go home for a year and come back. Nobody could ever enforce that. Nobody in their right mind would ever try to do it." Today, the NY Times has an article on how immigration has shaped the city. more ›

Two weeks ago, our friends over at Bostonist posted a very scary map plotting more than 50 Dunkin Donuts locations within a five-mile radius of their city’s Downtown Crossing. The actual number of New York Dunkin Donuts locations, parameters widened to include Port Authority based kiosks and airport locations, is likely to be more than a baker’s dozen for any given five mile radius. So yeah, sure, it seems America runs on Dunkin and all that, spokespersonality Rachael Ray is somewhere yummo-ing™ with a Vanilla Bean Coolatta®, and the donut war is over. Resistance is futile. Your donuts will herewith be stale and taste like cake mix. more ›

Riders of fixed-gear bikes are as diverse as bike riders in general. Messengers are big fixie aficionados, but more and more fixed-gear bikes are being ridden by nonmessengers, most conspicuously the kind of younger people to whom the term “hipster” applies and who emanate from certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn. You see these riders weaving in and out of traffic without stopping, balancing on the pedals at a stoplight and in the process infuriating pedestrians and drivers alike. more ›

Hungry for some good gluten, Gothamist booked it to the three-month-old Kate’s Brooklyn Joint in Williamsburg, an outpost of the East Village mainstay. more ›

If you want holiday brews, Barcade's got it. They've got well over a dozen seasonal beers on tap, including HeBrew Monumental Jewbelation 2006, Anchor Christmas 2003, and Pyramid Snow Cap. 6pm, 388 Union Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-388-4347. more ›

We love this time of year, when the Straphangers Campaign hands out the Pokey Awards for the city's slowest buses. Usurping last year's winner M34 from the slowest spot this year was the M14A, which goes between 11th Avenue and Avenue A, and then down to Grand Street, and travels at an average of 3.9 MPH, which is what a healthy New Yorker speedwalking can do easily (average pedestrian walking speed is 3 MPH). Ah, the combination of traffic and pedestrians around 14th Street, especially near Union Square . The M34's sped up from 3.4 MPH to a blazing 4.2 MPH - check out the the 2005 and 2006 speeds here (PDF). And the other borough's slow poke buses are: more ›