Wal-Mart (love it or hate it) is not only trying to open a store in the city, they want to open stores, plural!, all over the five boroughs. Crain's reports that the City Council has scheduled a hearing next month to review the impact the big box would have on mom and pops since the company wants to move forward with its diabolical plan to set up shop in NYC. The hearing is the 14th, and has been given the title: “When Wal-Mart Comes to Town" (can't you just picture the children's book, complete with a lake of hellfire?). more ›

Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, the former Staten Island resident who was charged with making false statements about trying to fly to Pakistan to join the Taliban, was at the Brooklyn federal courthouse for his hearing today and was held without bail. In the process, according to NY1, Shehadeh did not enter a plea, while saying he did understand the charges against him. The charges basically stem from his repeated attempts to join terrorist organizations overseas, and then telling the government he wanted to join the Taliban to get off the no-fly list. more ›

On September 18th, Lindsay Lohan addressed her Twitter nation following her failed drug test. She wrote: "Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test and if I am asked, I am prepared to appear before judge Fox next week as a result. Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night. I am working hard to overcome it and am taking positive steps forward every day. I am testing every single day and doing what I must do to prevent any mishaps in the future. more ›

During his parole hearing, in which he was denied parole for the sixth time, Mark David Chapman discussed his other possible targets with the board—but over the years he's forgotten many of them! In a 1987 interview with People magazine, Chapman says aside from John Lennon, he also considered killing Paul McCartney, George C. Scott, Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Carson, Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, (now former) Hawaii Governor George Ariyoshi, and Ronald Reagan (who was President at the time). The NY Post reports that at his recent parole board hearing, however, he could only remember Carson and Taylor. more ›

At a hearing yesterday, New Jersey thinks it may have discovered just who was responsible for the Race To The Top application typo that cost the state $400 million in federal education funding. It turns out, the consultant did it! more ›

The New Jersey Assembly wants an answer for who is responsible for the misreading of a Race to the Top application that cost the state $400 million in education funding, cost Education Commissioner Bret Schundler his job, and called into question President Obama's Google skills. The Assembly wants nearly everyone who might have had a hand in the failed application to testify at a hearing today. The former Commish, however, won't be there. more ›

Even though he made the most dramatic exit ever from his job last month, it seemed Steven Slater had second thoughts about leaving his post as a JetBlue flight attendant. However, last week the airline just made it official, saying Slater resigned or was fired or something. And today he'll be paying for his actions even more, as the NY Post reports he's in court today for a routine hearing on criminal-mischief charges. more ›

The Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee is holding a hearing to vote on a proposal about 15 Penn Plaza, the controversial new development that the folks at the Empire State Building believe would change the city's skyline for the worse. And ESB owners Malkin Holdings aren't going down without a fight. The "Empire State Building Company" took out a full page ad in the New York Times today, urging the City Council to reject the plan. And according to a new survey, most New Yorkers may back them up. more ›

Rep. Charles Rangel, the long-serving Harlem Democrat facing numerous House ethics violations, took to the floor of the House of Representatives and gave a rambling 30-minute speech telling his colleagues (and America!) that he's not resigning: "Hey, if I was you, I may want me to go away too. I am not going away. I am here... You're not going to tell me to resign to make you feel comfortable. And for those who disagree, I'm sorry, but that's one thing you can't take away from me." Naturally, the GOP must be pretty happy! more ›

Takerua Kobayashi just had his day in court... and for some reason TMZ was on the scene in Brooklyn with a live stream of the "action." To recap: Kobayashi was arrested last month at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest after he refused to compete under the MLE's contract, and stormed the stage as Joey Chestnut received the Mustard Belt. According to TMZ, who has TOTAL COVERAGE of this important hearing, the judge has now dismissed the case. They report, "He was issued an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD). Basically the case will be officially dismissed 6 months from now." The competitive eater is now free to shove water-dunked meat slurry down his throat. Mmm... tastes like justice. more ›

Those Brooklyn Census workers really don't want to lose their jobs. After being instructed to redo more than 4,000 falsified Census forms, workers at the Brooklyn Northeast Census office botched the corrections and must complete the forms a third time. more ›

Getting fired was just the tip of the iceberg. The two Brooklyn managers accused of forging thousands of census forms could be facing criminal charges. Alvin Aviles and assistant Sonya Merritt were fired last month after using the internet and phone books to forge over 4,000 census forms (though over 10,000 are in question). But Aviles says he was set up, telling the Daily News, "I was falsely accused of specific fraudulent behavior and in time the real culprits will be shed to light." more ›

The controversy over charter schools, whether they're truly effective or run in a corrupt manner, came to a head yesterday at a public hearing that devolved into a shouting match between supporters and critics. And much of the vitriol seems to be directed toward "Judas" State Sen. Bill Perkins. more ›

Though charter schools have wildly outperformed public schools in Harlem, State Sen. Bill Perkins has attempted to block the expansion of the publicly funded, privately run charter program, and will continue his fight at his hearing challenging "the business of charter schools" in Manhattan this week. This comes as the state is being pressured to expand the program for Race to the Top funding. Local parents are pissed Perkins would put teachers unions interests before their kids. "Perkins is going against the majority of parents. He is hindering progress. Why is this nut hindering progress?" said one Harlem mom. About one in five Harlem children is enrolled in a charter school. more ›

Lolita Jackson, who works in the mayor's Community Affairs office, claims she was rebuffed by a cabby who sped away because she and her friend Segun Akande were black, telling the Post, "It was blatant, outrageous. He drove right up to us, stopped, leaned over the passenger seat to see us, then drove away." Jackson tried remembering the medallion number, but the driver who appeared at the hearing yesterday wasn't the right one, because her driver was "a Sikh. He had a purple turban on," she said. And Akande wondered, "This is New York City 2010. How could this happen to us?" Maybe nothing changes: back in 1999 actor Danny Glover actually filed a formal complaint with the TLC because so many drivers refused to pick him up. more ›

After a series of contentious public hearings in which four people were arrested, the cash-strapped MTA announced that is considering saving several bus routes that had been slated for elimination. According to the Daily News, a "small number" of bus routes might be spared, though a final decision hasn't yet been made. By making administrative cuts, MTA chief Jay Walder told the Post he can save about $5 million and keep some previously endangered bus lines running. "We have listened closely to our customers and will respond by making changes where we can," he said. Student MetroCards and the W train remain on the chopping block. more ›

Four people were arrested at a rowdy MTA hearing at the Brooklyn Museum last night, where transit officials found themselves on the receiving end of public fury over proposed service cutbacks. NY1 and Fox have video from the scene, where one irate young woman, who was not scheduled to speak, took the podium. When she refused to yield or leave, she was forcibly escorted from the auditorium and arrested. During the fracas, two other females and one male were arrested. (The MTA makes a point of telling us that all three females have prior arrests for incite to riot.) Here's video; skip past the insipid anchor babble to the 30 second mark: more ›

Mayor Bloomberg was photographed yesterday wearing what appear to be hearing aids, but he refused to talk about the listening devices. While on a tour of the underground construction of the 7 train extension and later at a homeland security meeting, Bloomberg was spotted by the Daily News wearing flesh-colored devices in his ears that could be hearing aids, but also resemble ear plugs. Bloomberg—who turns 68 later this month—wouldn't talk about the hearing aids, and a mayoral spokesman declined to comment. According to 1010WINS, Bloomberg wasn't wearing anything in his ears at a press conference today, and when journalists asked him about hearing aids, he dodged the question, responding: "I couldn't hear what you had to say." more ›

If you get caught red-handed with your feet up on the subway seats, you have less than a one-in-five chance at winning your case in a hearing. more ›

With Ponzi scheme "investor" Bernard Madoff reportedly set to plead guilty to cheating his client out of billions, a former federal prosecutor tells the Post, "This guy is going to die in jail...He's got nothing to negotiate with. There is absolutely no deal that can be cut unless he can give up Hillary Clinton or someone like that." (The Post envisions that Bernie's cellmate will be named Bubba.) Newsday reports that "Manhattan federal judge Denny Chin said he is allowing the government to notify by Internet Web site postings the thousands of Madoff investors burned in the scandal that they have the right to appear in court on March 12." Madoff investors who wish to speak must email the U.S. Attorney's office (at usanys.madoff@usdoj.gov ) by Wednesday 10 a.m. We hope if victims are allowed to speak that Elie Wiesel is one of them. Last week the Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Wiesel, whose charity lost eveything, said, "It's the inhumanity in this man who simply believed he can go around depriving people of their livelihoods. What he has done to certain people, it breaks my heart." more ›

After a public hearing which was full of passion and anger, the MTA's board approved its 2009 budget, which includes service cuts and a 23% increase in revenue from fare and tolls hikes. The MTA is facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit next year, and it's expected a monthly unlimited Metrocard could cost more than $100 while bus lines and subway stops are limited. more ›

Actor, director, producer, critically reviled restaurateur, and hotelier Robert De Niro made a cameo appearance before the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday to defend the penthouse built atop his new Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca. more ›