A 22-year old Manhattan deli clerk that took the late shift on New Year's Eve lucked out when he bought himself a winning scratch-off ticket. While everyone else was welcoming 2008 with friends and family, the Yemen native's wife and baby were still living a world away, so Waleed Alsaidi bought himself a little present at his family's deli in Harlem to pass time on the lonely shift. The NY Post reports on the feel-good......

Page Six has reports of some nasty antisemitism that went down at the Hotel Gansevoort’s regrettably named G-Spa lounge. A witness tells the Post that a Jewish guest – who had paid for a ticket to the festivities – was insulted by the club’s staff for wearing a yarmulke. When the man tried to enter the party with his friend, the doorman reportedly asked a fellow staffer, “What kind of people do you want in......

For some people, celebrating New Year's didn't mean drinking champagne and wearing whimsical hats: It meant trying to deliver a baby! New York City's first 2008 newborns are from Queens: Kamiyah Alina Barrow was born at midnight at New York Hospital Medical Center in Queens while Isabella Sophia Sears was born about a minute later at Elmhurst Hospital Center. Baby Kamiyah, 8 pounds and 4 ounces, was born less than an hour after her parents......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a person struck by a train at 14th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, a shooting on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on Houston St. in Manhattan. Yet another reason to celebrate: today is the 110th anniversary of Richmond County joining us as the 5th borough of NYC. The Staten Island Advance features a picture of a general store with a wooden Indian in front of it......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 7th Ave. in Brooklyn, a child shot on 224th St. in Queens, and a pedestrian struck on Park Ave. and 39th St. in Manhattan. Through the miracle of digital image manipulation, even one's mug shot can become a glamour shot. After a gameday prohibition on selling beer at the stadium failed to dissuade scores of men gathering at Gate D and yelling for women to......

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Are you at work today, or lucky enough to have the day off? There's only about half a day left in 2007, how will you be ringing in 2008 tonight? Here are some ideas if you're still looking for a place to toast champagne at midnight. Photograph of Petronio Hernandez organizing balloons that will be given out in Times Square by Tina Fineberg/AP.......

Reader Douglas sent us this photograph of a 14th Street vendor unable to vend various 2008 and New Year's Eve tchotchkes. We've seen these vendors are on many corners, so one probably doesn't need to go too far to find one. And we have to admit that the wacky metallic top hat with LED "Happy New Year" (with a blinking and constant modes) are pretty hilarious. So hilarious that we bought one, along with......

Special water theme today on the Gothamist Newsmap: DOA Floater on Staten Island, found human remains on Plumb Beach in Brooklyn, and a water rescue in the Hudson. Coliseum Books has closed for the last time-- a victim of the internet, Barnes & Noble, and rising real estate prices. Some "deranged" goths vandalized a church on East 76th Street twice in the last two days-- writing "Satan is God" and "Christ is a False......

Gothamist was a bit underwhelmed by this year's Golden Globe nominees, and we were thinking of not liveblogging. But, gosh darn it as we watched the E! preshow and saw the starlets sparkle their way down the red carpet, we realize it was hopeless, so here we are. Let it be known that: - Keira Knightley looks gorgeous in her white Valentino - and there's something surprisingly youthful about the dress, even though there's that......

It’s a new year, which means resolutions. Gothamist aimed low with our resolutions this year, seeing as we always break them by oh, today. (Nails bitten? Check. Too much beer imbibed? Yes. Zero regard for finances? You betcha.) We do have one more resolution which is to see more live shows and we think that’s something everyone should do. Even though we love DVR. We think going out is important. Resolve to see shows you......

Last year was Central Park's wettest year since… 2003. Okay, not too exciting. We did have the wettest October ever, so that's something to tell the grandkids about. On the temperature side of things 2005 was the warmest year since 2002! Okay, also not too exciting. What's remarkable about last year's temperature is the stretch of almost continuously above average temperatures from early June until the first of December. The new year is starting slow......

Let’s face it, we all expected great things when Stephon Marbury joined the Knicks. The local boy was coming home and perhaps that is why we were blinded to his faults. We forgot how he demanded out of Minnesota even with Kevin Garnett to pass to. We ignored the fact that Jason Kidd took his place on the Nets and instantly made them title contenders. There were a lot of warning signs we simply missed.......

Eugene Hernandez, Editor-in-Chief, indieWIRE...

The way we see at it, 2004 has been a fantastic year for Gothamist. As our readership has grown, it's enabled us to welcome more people to the Gothamist fold as we added a number of great new sections: Weather! Advice! Food! Arts & Events! Sports! - all in addition to our usual mix of posts and interviews. We had happy hours and our first concert event as well. And Gothamist got to expand......

Happy New Year's Eve! All about New Year's Eve in Times Square though some politicians think it's a bad idea. But don't fret: Here are some New Year's Eve suggestions from our Events page. The Times looks at the cost of various New Year's Eve revelry supplies (party hat by Tiffany, in sterling silver, $225; party hat, from Duane Reade, in paper, $1.08) and how homicides have surged at the end of the year.......

Dateline, Hong Kong Happy New Year's from this side of the world! Fireworks in Victoria Harbor Just think, my 2003 is sucking 13 hours sooner than yours.......