WNBC is reporting someone fell at Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty is located: "Park Service officials said the worker fell about 20 feet from a cooling tower and into a pit on Liberty Island." The worker was put on a stretcher and lifted from the pit into a helicopter, which will fly the victim to a hospital in NJ.......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Hostages(!) on Geranium and Kissena Blvds. in Queens, a pedestrian struck at Stillwell and Mermaid Aves. in Brooklyn, and a bank robbery on Columbus Ave. and 72nd St. in Manhattan. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas says that the stress of lawsuits are no distraction. He can keep doing what he's doing regardless of legal problems. A boat full of gadget-minded men. There was a stop-off at Liberty Island; and slide......

Yesterday, the odd news about the NYPD's arrest of three men involved with an egg-shaped submarine near the Queen Mary 2, off the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, revealed that a Brooklyn artist was behind the whole benign operation. Police Commissioner called artist Duke Riley's stunt "marine mischief," adding that the "creative craft of three adventuresome individuals" did "not pose any terrorist threat." The NY Times describes Riley's intentions:Mr. Riley’s plan was also military, in a......

The 31st Annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks extravaganza is just around the corner. This is the largest display in America and takes a year to plan. This year's show will stretch wider than usual in a "high definition" format, choreographed to the New York Pops (simulcast on 1010 WINS, TV broadcast on NBC). The Daily News has an interview with Gary Souza, fireworks designer for the event; he says, "We have a new......

After reviewing a number of bids, the National Park Service ended Circle Line's contract to provide ferry service between lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The new ferry service provider will be Hornblower Yachts of California, which offers service between San Francisco and Alcatraz. Hornblower: Taking you to Liberty and lock-up. The 10-year contract, worth $350 million, must be approved by Congress and one requirement is that Hornblower buy Circle......

Municipal maritime mainstay Circle Line wants to update its fleet with the addition of a state-of-the-art solar-powered ship that will use both wind and the sun to power it between Manhattan and Liberty Island. The 115-foot trimaran will be a watergoing hybrid vehicle that holds 600 passengers and use a combination of solar, wind, and diesel power to achieve speeds up to 14 knots. Its manufacturer is an Australian company called Solar Sailor, and there's......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Liberty Island between Manhattan and NJ, a pedestrian was struck on 13th St. and 2nd Ave. in Manhattan, and there was a check cashing robbery on Francis Lewis and Jamaica Aves. in Queens. NYC Snapshot: Daily historic photos of NYC from someone who knows what we like. A drunk driver in Rockland County ran into an off-duty NYPD cop, whose injuries include bleeding in the......

The Statue of Liberty celebrated her 120th birthday yesterday with the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. But can you imagine living on Liberty Island? The NY Times has a feature on the Hill family who has been selling souvenirs and food for the past 75 years. Bradford Hill operates the business today (it makes $15 million a year), in the footsteps of his grandparents Aaron and Evelyn and his father James......

So, yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the first Son of Sam killings and today is another sad day in local history (*cough* Jersey *cough*). On July 31, 1916 Black Tom island, which was next to Liberty Island, literally blew up and off the map (what was left of the island is now part of the mainland in Liberty State Park). The island was a major munitions depot. And by major we mean "2,000......

Oooh: In order to appease the downtown Brooklyn community, Bruce Ratner and the Nets arena development team are proposing to use waterless urinals in order to reduce the water and sewage outflow from the proposed arena. Yes, waterless urinals - crazy stuff! Ratner's group may also build holding tanks for days when the sewage system is overwhelmed (we know there must be buildings that have these, but, still, ew when we think about it), even......

While there are some infants in Gothamist's midst, there are times when we seriously doubt our ability to raise a child. These times are usually when we hear about how expensive college educations are becoming, anything related to an Amber alert, or when we read things like this New York magazine article about an innocent posting about a found hat that went horribly, horribly wrong. The place: An email forum of Park Slope parents. The......

National Public Radio has a great interview with Mike Moffitt, who lived on Liberty Island for ten years while his dad was head ranger there:"People would ask 'What part of the city are you from?' I'd say, 'Staten Island.' I got so tired of explaining Liberty Island. And 99 percent of the people would not ask one more question..." He and his brother and sister did normal kid things -- riding bikes and beachcombing --......

It looks like the Statue of Liberty, which has been closed since September 11, 2001, will reopen later this summer. Mayor Bloomberg and government officials will make a formal announcement that most of the funding necessary has been raised (to improve security on Liberty Island) later today, but Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton did the morning talk show circuit, explaining visitors will be screened and be able to make reservations when they visit the......

With the city council approving a measure to bring twenty new public bathrooms to the city, Newsday looks at the places that need public bathrooms: 10. The Brooklyn Promenade 9. Museum Mile 8. Upper East Side jogging trail 7. 125 St. & Lenox Ave. 6. St. Patrick's Cathedral 5. The Top of the Brooklyn Bridge 4. At the TKTS booth in Times Square 3. In Battery Park near the Liberty Island boat 2. On Canal......