The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building may be made of stone, but that doesn't mean it couldn't use a hug, right? Tomorrow the group Urban Librarians Unite is planning to do just that—they're holding a "hug the library" event! more ›

We live in a strange new world filled with $130 MetroCards and vampire janitors, but that doesn't mean the streets aren't safe for someone to go around hugging people condescendingly for a video. Except in Boerum Hill. That guy should definitely stay away from Boerum Hill. more ›

Improv Everywhere's Rob Lathan recently walked the streets of Williamsburg in search of a little love—check out how the locals react to his request for a hug. Spoiler: at the one minute mark, a group of stoop-dwellers start hugging him, but when he asks for an ironic hug, and a post-ironic hug, one declares: "I'm into hugging you but I'm not into your condescension." Guessing that dude is probably pretty pissed he was duped into being in a video called "Hug-A-Hipster." more ›

A cabbie is being called out for kicking a gay couple to the curb after they dared embrace in his car. The G-rated PDA caused Medhat Mohamed to allegedly toss the two out just two blocks after he had picked them up at 13th Street and First Avenue around 10:20 p.m. Monday night. more ›

Apparently after last week's awkward embrace with President Obama, Governor Paterson has made it policy to keep his friends close and his potential political enemies closer. The two leading state Democrats crossed paths at a ballroom in Buffalo, where they were both giving speeches to a room full of their party mates. Cuomo was leaving as Paterson arrived. Reporters say after the two hugged, the attorney general slapped the governor on the back and said, “OK, buddy, go get ’em.” more ›

Zany teens, what will they think of next? The NY Times has a front page article about how today's teens greet each other with hugs. A Montvale NJ high school junior says, "We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug. The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in," while a San Francisco alternative middle schooler puts it, "We like to get cozy. The high-five is, like, boring.” And if you don't hug? Pffft-a freshman at Laguardia High in Manhattan explains, "If somebody were to not hug someone, to never hug anybody, people might be just a little wary of them and think they are weird or peculiar." Question: Do the goth kids hug? Apparently some sociologists think this is a result of "growing up in an era of organized play dates and close parental supervision," but one warns, "Without question, the boundaries of touch have changed in American culture. We display bodies more readily, there are fewer rules governing body touch and a lot more permissible access to other people’s bodies." Which is why some high schools, like Hillsdale High in NJ, ban hugs. Related: The Today show on the scourge of high school hugging. more ›