It is 80° outside (no, really, we just looked at the weather widget next to the Gothamist logo to confirm). And if we didn't have, y'know, a job we'd absolutely be running outside to to find a sunny patch of grass to sit on. But you know where we wouldn't be sitting even if we wanted to? The lawn at Bryant Park. more ›

There's another criminal bake sale story out of Chappaqua, where two scofflaw teens were busted for selling cupcakes and other baked goods in a public park without a license earlier this month. The latest incident kicked the criminality up a notch: a 16-year-old was arrested last week for selling marijuana brownies to two 13-year-old girls who ended up in the hospital. The Associated Press wins the prize for the corniest lede of the week: "Police say a suburban New York teenager has been arrested for trying out his own interpretation of the term high school." [Emphasis added, along with this sad trombone.] more ›

Ever get the paranoid feeling you're getting burned by the guy who delivers your marijuana? With the new website Price of Weed, there's a quick and easy way to compare and contrast the current cost of pot. Someday the website's founders say they're going to track vicissitudes in the marijuana market around the world, but for now they're content to kick back on the couch and deal with North America. more ›

The federal government's annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows the rate of illicit drug use rose from 8% in 2008 to 8.7% in 2009. And the government has decided that the cause of all this snorting and huffing and popping and shooting is marijuana. National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske tells CBS Radio News that young people are being exposed to "mixed messages" about pot because of growing consensus that it has medicinal properties. In other words, they learned it from watching you cancer sufferers. more ›

Last week, the Westside Independent found out that Lincoln Center's new Illumination Lawn—a swooping, parabolic swath of grass on West 65th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway—was closed because of some ugly brown patches that appeared. We walked by the still-closed lawn today and found crews fiddling with the irrigation for the lawn (there were hoses set up around the round patches). more ›

Bummer: Lincoln Center's swooping Illumination Lawn which opened just two weeks ago is closing for at least a few days. Westside Independent heard from a tipster who claimed "the beating sun and the sheer weight of all of the people using it apparently stomped the grass to death," creating unsightly brown splotches. Then Lincoln Center confirmed the issues: more ›

This week's New York includes an expansive feature on marijuana use in NYC, written by Mark Jacobson, a self-described pothead who first turned on in Alley Pond Park, Queens. Maybe we're just really stoned, but this article is waaaay long, so let's, um, break it up: more ›

The Unisphere, the once shining centerpiece of the World's Fair, has been so neglected that it's begun to sprout grass through its cracks. The Daily News pointed it out to the Parks Department, who "suspect that bird droppings and leaves collected in the base of the 12-story landmark, providing the perfect conditions for germination when seeds blew in and feasted on rain water." more ›

A couple of things to keep in mind while taking part in a drug caravan running a hundred pounds of grass cross-country: One, driving at excessive speeds may attract the attention of law enforcement officers—these are the people you generally want to avoid. Number two: while tempting, it's probably ill-advised to keep some of that sweet herb next to you in the front seat. Such was the discovery made by a Nebraska state trooper who pulled over 42-year-old Long Islander Victoria Gregory for speeding on Interstate 80 Tuesday. The driver of a second car, 27-year-old Lonnie Walker, of Florida, was also pulled over, and according to Newsday the trooper became suspicious when he smelled marijuana in the second vehicle and saw a small amount of it on the front seat. A canine unit was called to the scene, and police say three "bales" of marijuana weighing 116 pounds were found in Gregory's trunk. Police believe the weed was headed from Phoenix to New York; now it's just going to that great gravity bong in the sky. more ›

Most Phish fans sneak a little grass into concerts in their underwear, but during the band's tour-opening show at Fenway Park on May 31st, Yankee fan Ian Ferris took it a step further: As payback for the Red Sox fan who tried to curse the Bronx Bombers by dropping a Sox jersey into wet concrete during construction of the new stadium, Ferris tried to seed the Fenway infield with grass seeds sold at Yankee Stadium. Once inside, Ferris, who manages a Hooters in Vermont, filled the bag of seeds with water and tossed it onto the infield. He tells the Post, "This is payback. If even one blade of grass sprouts on the field, I feel it was a success." It's important to have ambitions in life, but Gino Castignoli, the construction worker who buried the Red Sox jersey at Yankee Stadium, says Ferris's pitiful little gesture is futile: "My curse is working. It's typical of a Yankee fan to think you can buy a jinx in a bag. When will they learn, you don't win with your wallet but with your heart?" It's a safe bet that Castignoli also thinks Phish sucks, and Panic rules. more ›

The artificial turf being used to replace natural grass in NYC parks has been pointed out as a source of unhealthful emissions, but it's also just plain hot. The Daily News dispatched reporters with thermometers to five City parks with artificial grass and found that urban athletes had more to fear than ill-fitting footwear when it comes to blistered feet.

Over two mildly warm days last month, The News took surface temperature readings at five synthetic fields across the city accompanied by NYC Park Advocates, a group that has been critical of the fake grass. more ›

June 30th, Hud more ›

The City Council is set to pass a law requiring that homeowners keep 20% to 50% of the property in front of their homes covered with greenery. The law is in response to a trend by homeowners to cut down trees or pave over their lawns in order to create parking spaces. more ›

The Parks Dept. decided to throw in the towel on litigation that's been going on for three years and conceded to reevaluate its requirement that no more than 50,000 people could gather on Central Park's Great Lawn at one time. more ›

Famed New York realtor Barbara Corcoran chimed in on a matter of public aesthetics and the nature of our city by advising that homeowners would be best served by tearing up their lawns and gardens and paving them over as a suitable place to park their cars. We'll let her speak directly on the subject, as it seems too insane to try to rephrase ourselves. From Friday's Daily News:Q. My wife and I have... more ›