There are people in this city who literally go into mourning each year when the Shake Shack closes for the winter. Seriously. But this year, things are different. The Shack is staying open through the winter, and has added some heat lamps to the seating area to keep you warm and cozy. And as an added bonus, starting today they'll be accepting phone orders for pick up only (at a separate pick-up window) through March......

Real estate pundits are calling the downturn in the New York residential real estate market, as the NY Sun reports, a "soft landing" versus a "bubble burst." Apparently the fourth quarter was pretty good for some real estate brokers! What happened? Real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, who prepared a report for Prudential Douglas Elliman (one of three reports released yesterday), said there were less properties on the market and sellers were setting realistic asking prices.......

After its shocking Health Department Inspection (140 points - point levels between 0 and 27 are acceptable!) threw its burger-, hot dog- and concrete-loving constituency into a frenzy (Eater was especially distressed by the "Food worker does not wash hands thoroughly after visiting the toilet, coughing, sneezing, smoking, preparing raw foods or otherwise contaminating hands" violation; the Post got someone to admit, "It's in the park, they have good prices, and they don't use......

Time to take a 15 year trip back in time. Jesse Chan-Norris was cleaning his apartment when he found a ticket stub for a game between the Mets and the Cardinals from September 22, 1991. The Mets lost the game 2-1 in front of a crowd of 21,113. The loss brought their record to 72-77. The craziest thing about the ticket is the price - $14! A similar ticket now would cost more four times......

- The Village Voice has a good cover story on people living where the Atlantic Yards will be built - State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's granddaughter was found in Manhattan after she was missing for a couple of days - and the police have arrested a man in connection to what might be a kidnapping - Jennifer Moore had a chance to escape from her killer - The families of the defendents in......

Our pal Jesse Chan-Norris lives in a building up on 8th Street and Broadway. It's a nice place, but they've been doing a lot of renovation on the exterior lately, and it's begun to drive him a little bit insane. This morning, he sent us a link to this post, complete with audio sample of the brain-melting noise: For the past several months they have been doing construction on the outside of my building. This......

Jesse Chan-Norris sees that the Broadway and 8th Street location of 'wichcraft has opened up - and the soups of the day are Chicken and Cauliflower. This bring the total to six locations in NYC, and this one is will truly be tested come the fall semester of NYU. It's a pricey visit for lunch, but not if you're loading up on a lot of stuff at the salad bar. (And having a nice......

Today is "Day Without An Immigrant" day, as immigrants across the county will choose various ways to protest the country's possible immigration policy shift. While some are not going to work at all, in New York, workers are going to link their arms at 12:16PM for about 20 minutes. From the New York Immigration Coalition:At exactly 12:16pm on May 1st, immigrant workers, business owners, and community members at several locations can take a few minutes......

In an early gift from the Easter Bunny (in the form of Jesse Chan-Norris), Gothamist received a picture of the other giant inflatable baseball cap yesterday. The Yankee cap is on 6th Avenue and the Mets cap is near the Queensborough Bridge on the Manhattan side. Is anybody else wondering what kind of insurance coverage they need for these huge caps? And we kind of think our photoshop job looks better than the end......

The helpful chaps at Ask.MeFi have a good thread full of advice on avoiding bike theft. Some of the advice is pretty straightforward-- but a few go right over the line to nuttiness. We leave it to you to judge which are which: 1 - Remove all of the stickers. 2 - Rattle-can the bike a dull black or primer color. Or have a professional give it a nasty color powder-coat. 3 - Have......

If you haven't eaten lunch yet, drop your fork and head over to Madison Square Park because Shake Shack has opened early! The official opening date is slated for tomorrow, but as noted on Chowhound, someone is already eating their first double shack burger of the year. Mmmmmm. Gothamist just drooled all over our keyboard. And hell, even if you ate already, nothing screams dessert like a double shack burger. That or a nice......

If you missed our comprehensive Idiotarod coverage yesterday, check it out immediately! Then enjoy this roundup of photos and videos of the event. If you took some pix or video, please add a link in the comments and we'll put it in this list. Also enjoy the Idiotarod tag stream at Flickr and Vimeo. Our Idiotarod Photoset (63 pix!) Lex's Folly Untitled Name Blaine Davis Youngna Bluejake Jesse Chan Norris......

Perpetually on the lookout for New York's best honky tonk (who isn't?) and craving tex mex, Gothamist headed to Murray Hill's Rodeo Bar last night, fully prepared for a hoe down. Kitschy decor of bulls' horns, old Texan roadsigns, and lanterns made of antlers line the spacious brick walls. Nightly, at 10, there is live honky tonk music in the back room hosting local and touring country/western bands like The Moonlighters, or last night,......

Much to Gothamist's dismay, last week Miracle Grill, the East Village brunch & garden gem, closed its cantina doors for one last time, one of many restaurants to fold for mysterious reasons despite reliable clientele and a faithful brunch crowd. Serving a range of Southwest fare: empanadas, catfish tacos, BBQ shrimp, and chorizo quesadillas--the joint (and garden!) will sorely be missed. BUT, thank goodness for one small miracle: there are sister locations in Park......

If the freezing cold weather is keeping you from taking the refurbished Alamo cube for a spin, you can still follow the fun on the Flickr "astorplace" tag. Also see the rest of Jesse Chan Norris' pictures from yesterday. Can anyone report on whether the cube is spinning more smoothly now? When the cube was first built, the base contained ball bearings, so the sculpture could turn insanely fast, but they had to take......

After a brief false alarm earlier in the week, a tipster let's us know on Gothamist Contriubute that the Astor Place Cube, aka the Alamo, has returned. While it's still sheathed in a gold cover, we imagine it's actually underneath unless they're just playing one big trick on everyone. The was removed way back in March for some repairs, but now that it's finally back, those crazy hipsters can do their dances to celebrate......

On Sundays, Gothamist runs opinion pieces, mostly to amuse ourselves. Don't blame us for anything written below. Sounding like so much spam, my girlfriend received a message in her email last week entitled "RX!" The body of the note stated that "it wasn't a matter of if the avian flu is going to reach you, but when" and implored her to "visit [her] doctor this week!" and "get a prescription" because other countries are "already......

You might love your bicycle-- but are you as hardcore as this dude? [Picture by the amazing Jesse Chan Norris. And related: Needled, Inkedblog, and a great gallery of NYC Sept 11th memorial tattoos.]......

Photoblogger Jesse Chan-Norris, apparently with a lot of free time, was in Union Square today to witness Indy Car driver Danica Patrick take on what was billed to be a "prominent New York celebrity." It turned out to be Tony Danza. Jesse informed us that it was "one of the weider things he's seen in Union Square" but that it's the "kind of thing that makes New York great." True on at least one......

No, no more reminders for Open House NY (at least not right now), but an actual open house that photoblogger Jesse Chan-Norris spied at Charles Gwathmey's Sculpture for Living last night. The "startling addition" to Astor Place given a somewhat cold reception. But an open house is an open house. And look at all the fun that was had. There's a flatscreen TV, things taped onto the glass, and construction happening above and blow.......

A few weeks ago, Gothamist resolved to indulge in brunch more often, the weekly meal we enjoy the most, maybe because it's ok to eat sweet or savory (or maybe because of the mimosas). Gothamist beat the brunch rush to Essex (120 Essex St. @ Rivington) last Sunday morning, a little ashamed to admit it was our first trip to the LES establishment. Waiters immediately offered coffee and apologetically explained they couldn't serve the bloody......

Tonight, Gothamist encourages everyone to check out the New York City Photobloggers 3 event at the Apple Store, featuring: - Work from Adam Pantozzi, Jesse Chan-Norris, Joseph Holmes, Redrick Deleon, Youngna Park, and Zach Klein; - And presentations from Flickr and Fotolog. Thanks to rion and Mike for designing the great gallery of past presenters' work. And Gothamist will be sponsoring drinks after the talk. See you there. NYC Photobloggers 3 Apple Store -......

The Astor Place Cube, a staple of people's pedestrian life in the East Village/Astor Place/NoHoish Broadway area, is suddenly gone. The Village Voice nyclife > Iced Cube by Jennifer Snow" href="http://villagevoice.com/nyclife/0510,snow,61892,15.html">speaks to various New Yorkers, who lament and theorize about the cube's disappearance, but there are few hard facts. The possibility the cube, also known as "the Alamo," was taken to be repaired is the most likely, given that the cube which people were......

Photobloggers are Gothamist's eyes on the street- so for the next four days, we're going to feature a wrapup of all the RNC photoblog posts we can find. If you want to send us a link, leave it in the comments or email Jake. Today's amazing photography from the march: Joe Holmes, Citying, more Citying, Erin's pix at fshk, and Buzznet's NoRNC. Good shots of the dragon burning at IndyMedia. And since we didn't......

NYU students and other Union Square/East Village residents will appreciate the fact that the delicious cream puffs of Beard Papa is coming to Astor Place. Gothamist had no idea Beard Papa was moving there (we tend to walk down Lafayette), until Jesse Chan-Norris sent us a link to some photographs (including the one above). Gothamist thinks this location should be open till at least 10PM, since many visitors will probably have late-night munchies. Beard Papa......