A landmark Tottenville home that caused a bitter fight between its owner and neighbors has entered a new stage of its existence: foreclosure proceedings. The Staten Island Advance reports John Grossi, who bought the 1869 Bedell House in hopes of razing it to build townhouses, is happy to let the bank have the building, "I won't put another dime into the property." more ›

A building that formerly housed the Jamaica Savings Bank is total landmark bait. It was even called "the finest Beaux-Arts building in Queens" by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. But now the building's current owner may stand in the way of the third attempt to landmark the building. more ›

A well-known ruin is crumbling. According to Roosevelt Island Historical Society president and historian Judith Berdy, part of the north wing of the Smallpox Hospital collapsed about a week ago. She writes, "The rest of the north wing especially the front is in danger of coming down any time... [The Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation] is working with TPL, the Southpoint park developers to find a way to do emergency stabilization of the rest of the building... Please encourage RIOC to do all possible to save the rest of the building." more ›

SHOP: Still looking for that perfect gift? The Brooklyn Historical Society is holding the 4th Annual NY Creates Craft Fair, and they may have just what you're looking for. Check it out today and tomorrow, and it will be back the 22nd and 23rd for the real last-minute shoppers. more ›

All too often, we read (and write) about horrible instances of traffic fatalities when motor vehicles fail to yield to pedestrians with the right of way. There used to be a simple solution to this problem, and it was known as the Barnes Dance. Although NYC traffic commissioner Henry Barnes didn't invent the concept, it became named after him in the 1960s by a City Hall reporter named John Buchanan. more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced a project to commemorate abolitionist activity that occurred in Brooklyn in the 1800s. He named a panel made up of community leaders, academics, and historians to aid the city and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in asking for and reviewing commemoration proposals. more ›

The state legislature in Albany is prepared to issue a formal apology for the historic practice of slavery and will be the first northern state in the Union to do so. Several states on the Confederate side of the Civil War have already issued similar apologies. Albany lawmakers are pushing to pass the resolution in time for "Juneteenth", which is an unofficial holiday celebrating the June 19th arrival of federal troops in Texas to announce the final eradication of slavery from the United States and its territories in 1865. more ›

- Enlarged windows and ADA-compliant entrance ramp at the West 77th St. entrance. The New-York Historical Society has evolved into a much more progressive institution than the stuffy, exclusive architecture of its 1908 building would suggest. Created by York and Sawyer to exude neoclassical pomp, the building "was designed as a private club that did not intend to embrace the public," said the architect Paul Spencer Byard in a November 1st NY Times interview. Byard's firm of Platt Byard Dovell White has designed the renovation just approved. more ›

Today, the Sun reports that the State Legislature is considering a formal apology as well as to study the "feasibility" of reparations for New York's role in slavery. The apologies are "technically amendments to Chapter 137 of the laws of 1817 relating to slaves and servants — laws that imposed penalties on those who harbored runaway slaves." While many expect Legislature support for the apology bill (both Maryland and Virginia have formally apologized), some believe reparations will be more difficult to pass. more ›

During a press conference in Brooklyn about the new skating rinks planned for Prospect Park, Mayor Bloomberg proved that even mayors consider legends and stories as fact. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joked about challenging the Mayor to a paddle boat race "for the right to call Brooklyn a city again." The Mayor declined but did say, "Staten Island is part of New York rather than New Jersey because of just such a race. New York won, and so we've got the great borough of Staten Island as part of New York." more ›

DISCUSSION: Noam Chomsky will be taking questions on US foreign policy tonight, following a screening of Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. Get your questions ready, smartypants. You can watch the video of Pinter's speech here, too. more ›

We bet most anyone who has attempted to follow a map in Queens can empathize with the plight of new immigrant Damon Mootoo. Mootoo, who had just arrived from Guyana, got lost when he left his brother's home on 152nd Street in South Jamaica and ended up wandering around in the cold for five days. Five days! The Daily News reported that Mootoo, who can speak English but is hard of hearing, "didn't want to approach a cop because he feared he'd be deported." He managed to get by by begging for water and sleeping in an abandoned car or under a piece of wood in someone's yard in the below-freezing temperature. more ›

+ Expect another uptown expansion battle, this time involving the New York Historical Society. First neighborhood resident to intimate Paris? Journalist Bill Moyers. more ›

Some readers have been asking about events related to the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Aside from the official city plans, which include moments of silence, reading of victims' names and time for the families to lay flowers at Ground Zero, as well as the lighting of Tribute in Light, a number of organizations and groups have events all weekend and on Monday. For instance, the September 11 Memorial Quilts will be dedicated tomorrow at the Marriott Financial Center, the World Trade Center Survivor's Network will plant a "Survivor Tree" in City Hall Park on Sunday, New York Buddhist Church will have a floating lighted lantern ceremony at Houston and the Hudson River on Monday. more ›

The not-so-private life of everyone's favorite avian poster children for friendly coops, red-tailed hawks Pale Male and Lola, after they - okay, their human advocates helped them - moved back to their 927 Fifth Avenue digs is revealed. And it's been a barren nest. The NY Times gets nosy about the birds' year without a chick. It seems that even with a super fancy nest, baby bird making isn't a sure thing: Lola's eggs went unhatched last spring. Pale Male and Lola fans are hoping this year will prove more successful, as Lola most likely laid eggs, and experts are actually blaming it on the new nest. Will the hawks' hawks charge that 927 Fifth Avenue was negligent in removing the nest, robbing the city of some new red tailed hawks? Or will bygones be bygones and the appearance of some adorable baby hawks eating regurgitated worms make everyone feel okay? more ›

One of the things on Gothamist's must-see list this week is the New York Historical Society's new exhibit, Slavery in New York. The show reveals New York relationship with slavery, from the days of the Dutch settlers until 1827. The exhibit is open until March, and the online site is pretty extensive, but a reason to go this week is for the pencil-written copy of the Emancipataion Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation is on display until October 16, a short period because "It is, in 2005, a fragile document, sensitive to light, air, and changes in temperature. It can be shown only 10 days or 80 hours each year (of which one has been used)." more ›

The Brooklyn Historical Society's endless renovation gets the Times treatment today, with the Paper of Record calling the buliding "beautiful" but a "money pit. And how - the renovation was originally projected to cost $14 million over 18 months, but it's ending up at $23 million for four years of work. The article seems like a desperate (but very worthy) plea for more donors, but what Gothamist is taking from it that more people should visit the BHS. It's open only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (it'll open five days a week later this year), but it's an invaluable resource to learn more about the biggest borough. more ›

What can you do to recover from a day of stuffing yourself silly on Grandma's maple-glazed turkey, Dad's cornbread and oyster stuffing and Aunt Sally's pumpkin pie? Go on a noshing tour of the Lower East Side, of course! Big Onion Tours and the New York Historical Society present their Annual Post-Thanksgiving, Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour on Friday, November 26 at 1:00pm. This tour will make pit stops to sample traditional foods from the Dominican Republic, Eastern Europe, China, Italy, and more. The cost is $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors, and members of the New-York Historical Society, plus an additional charge of $4 per person for the noshing stops. The tour lasts approximately two hours and covers 1.5 - 2 miles, so it shouldn't be too strenuous for those who may still be in a tryptophan-induced haze. Call (212)439-1090 for reservations or visit the Big Onion website for more details. more ›

, about the reconstruction of lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center. more ›

Check out transcripts from heath row, and more GEL posts and pictures from Bluejake: Good Experience Live, Satan's Laundromat, and Ten Years of My Life. more ›

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