The great thing about Kickstarter is that people have the opportunity to learn about and invest in any project one can imagine. The bad (or just weird) part is that means any project. For instance, Bernard Way is asking for $50,000 to create "Arc Island," a movable, floating island the size of Manhattan that would house a new civilization. It's just like LOST! more ›

As 200,000 people are estimated dead from Haiti's 7.0 earthquake last week, Royal Caribbean cruise line defends its right to ferry vacationers to private beaches on the island. This weekend thousands of passengers boozed, para-sailed and sunned themselves just an hour's drive from the earthquake's epicenter. And other ships are scheduled to arrive! more ›

Members of NY's Urban Search and Rescue team used power tools to help pull four Haitians from the rubble of Port-au-Prince this weekend. Among them was a young girl who survived four days trapped in a grocery store. Another group, the Church of Scientology, used the texts of L. Ron Hubbard in their rescue efforts. more ›

Last year a group of intrepid explorers made their way over to Bannerman’s Castle, photographing the crumbling site, which in 1967 was sold to New York's Taconic State Park Commission. The castle was crumbling then, but as of last week it's suffered even more damage. more ›

While Hog Island used to be the family vacation spot for Tammany Hall politicians, after surfacing off the coast of the Rockaways in the mid-1800s, it was no match for Mother Nature. Ephemeral NY revisits the old destination spot, which "featured the usual late-19th century bathing facilities, pavilions, restaurants, and regular ferries," noting how by the late 1800s the sea swallowed it back up, whole! more ›

How much would you pay for 21/2-acres of land in the Bronx? What if it were an island of your very own located swimming distance from the creepy, off-limits Hart Island? One man, Red Brennen, is asking $300K for ownership of the unfortunately named Rat Island, which he used mostly to store marine construction equipment throughout the years. more ›

What's more intriguing than an abandoned island with a rotting castle sitting just north of New York City? Bannerman's Island sits in the Hudson, just about 50 miles north of here, and American Heritage explains "this island fortress was once the private arsenal of the world's largest arms dealer," Frank "Francis" Bannerman. more ›

Hart Island is one of those places in New York that many won't ever see. Part of the Bronx, it's currently uninhabited, but in the past has been used as a prisoner of war camp, a missile base and has housed a prison and a women's asylum. more ›

Last night’s Coney Island Public Scoping Meeting was the place to be, as activists like political performance artist Reverend Billy turned the meeting into a carnival, leaping up on a chair with repeated cries of “Coney-lujah!” Musician Amos Wengler stood up to croon his anthem “Save Coney Island,” and Savitri D., the Mermaid Parade queen who had been on a hunger strike since Saturday to spotlight the meeting, passionately derided the city’s latest proposal for Coney Island. more ›

A nosy Post reporter may have cost Coney Island “Mayor” Dick Zugin his free apartment in a building he purchased with a 3.6 million grant from the city. Zigun runs his Coney Island USA sideshow and museum out of the Surf Avenue building, which the city helped his group buy last year. But when confronted with documents that report the address as his residence, Zigun admitted that he’s also been illegally living there, albeit humbly on a convertible sofa. more ›

Now that an appeals court has ruled that the city can start requiring chain restaurants to prominently display their calorie information, Nathan’s has begun tossing up their stats just in time for summer at Coney Island. Kinetic Carnival notes that the Nathan’s basic hot dog has just half the calories packed into a Big Mac from McDonald’s. more ›

Last month the city announced that the space dedicated to amusements in the latest Coney Island rezoning plan would be cut from 15 acres to 9 acres. City officials explained that the downsizing was necessary to accommodate “local landowners” – the biggest of those is developer Joe Sitt, whose glitzy plans were previously derailed by the city for the express purpose of devoting larger space for the amusement park. more ›