• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A steam leak at 39th Street and Lexington in Manhattan, a car vs. building on Hoyt Avenue in Staten Island and an oil slick on Park Lane and 85th Road in Queens
• An unorthodox robbery in Brooklyn: a burly Hasidic Jewish man brandished a knife and threatened a woman in South Williamsburg.
• Defense lawyers for the men charged with shooting police officer Russel Timoshenko are wondering why Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes described their clients as "scum" in an interview
• Freak-out in brownstone Brooklyn: Someone is painting a brownstone white!
• Does Rudy hate video sharing? Former mayor Giuliani is skipping the YouTube debate
• Yet another reason to slow down when you're driving around in Douglaston: There have been deer spottings.
• The police officer indicted for reckless endangerment in the Sean Bell shooting is asking for his own trial. Earlier this week, Bell's fiancee filed a wrongful death suit against the city, NYPD and five officers involved; her lawyer says the lawsuit will be pursued after the trial.
• And the State Legislature finally voted to approve a commission to study congestion pricing.

Happy Monday. Today's music post will only list tonight's shows. Check back tomorrow for the rest of the week's events. more ›

An East 38th Street townhouse is the center of a nasty dispute between a 38 year-old "up-and-coming" Hasidic Jewish rabbi and a 61-year old fashion consultant who has lived in the now congregation-owned townhouse for 27 years. The Times reports on the real estate-meets-religion debacle. The congregation had evicted other tenants to make room for the rabbi and his family, who now occupy three of the four floors. The lone remaing tenant, Vicki Ross, has been holding out, alleging a campaign of abuse to kick her out (the complaints include rodents, uncollected garbage and a lack of heat, hot water and water for her deck). Ross pays $1,090 a month what the Times calls "a modest-size one-bedroom apartment with two fireplaces and 16-foot ceilings." more ›