The Letters of Note website has provided endless entertainment with a mailbag filled with nostalgia. (Marlon Brando's letter to a stewardess, Andy Warhol's warning letter from his Factory landlord, and the amazing rejection letter penned by Hunter S. Thompson while at Rolling Stone, to name a few.) Most recently they reprinted a ltter that E.B. White wrote to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on East 92nd Street. It's dated April 12th, 1951, and comes after White was accused by the ASPCA of not paying his dog tax and therefore "harboring" an unlicensed dog. Yes, to the man who penned Charlotte's Web. You can read the full thing here (and we recommend you do), but here's a excerpt: more ›

Faster than a cop slamming a cyclist off his bike, Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Queens) has withdrawn legislation that would require every bicycle in New York State to have a license plate. One bill would have required "the annual inspection and registration of personal bicycles and provides for a license plate fee of twenty-five dollars for the first year and five dollars for every year thereafter." A second bill would have required every commercial cyclist in the state to carry identification and have insurance; their initial registration fee would be $50. Reached by phone, DenDekker's spokesman David Longshore explains the reversal: more ›

Licensed and unlicensed commuter vans have been slugging it out in the outer boroughs. Though there are over 300 licensed commuter van drivers shuttling passengers from one zone to the next, there are hundreds more unlicensed vans that snatch up commuters and don't pay insurance. Licensed drivers are accusing the unlicensed guys of cutting them off to pick up passengers, and even threatening them when they are confronted. One driver's van even got stolen! more ›

One Front Street restaurant in DUMBO can bid farewell to the archaic Footloose laws that have been keeping them down. Last year the Community Board 2 committee voted against giving the establishment a cabaret license, but now the Brooklyn Paper reports the Department of Consumer Affairs has given them the thumbs up. more ›

In what the Street Vendor Project is describing as the first salvo in an imminent crackdown, a roasted peanut vendor in Lower Manhattan had his permit confiscated last week after he stepped away from his stand for a quick comfort break. Mohammed Shirajul Islam, who's been a vendor for the last ten years, is now in dire straits after answering nature's call at a nearby bookstore. "When got back to my cart, the permit had been scratched away," says Islam, 42. "Now I have to wait until they give me a new permit, and that could take a month. I can’t sleep. Street vending is how I provide for my family." more ›

Will pedicabs become extinct before carriage horses? At the end of last month there were reportedly only 25 of 1,000 pedicabs who became licensed under the city's new regulations. The NYCPOA declared this was untrue, and we've contacted them today to confirm the latest Post report, which says that number is up to only 321. Peter Meitzler from the organization told us that "the current number of plates issued so far to inspected pedicabs is 349 as of 9 this morning." more ›

Because there were, miraculously, no injuries, that professionally-shot video of a street fight between a pedicab driver and a cabbie was an instant classic—especially that part where the pedicab driver rides off on the sidewalk after throwing a trashcan at his adversary (and missing). But Mayor Bloomberg was not amused, and told reporters yesterday that the traffic-stopping fisticuffs were "totally inappropriate." more ›

Remember that crazy cabbie who, despite a number of assault charges and a DWI arrest, continued driving his cab with a suspended probationary license? Well, apparently he's still at large, but the TLC is now going after 10 cab companies that leased taxis to the hack, one Ramez Akladious (pictured), from February 2008 through January 6th, 2009. His hit list of offenses include slashing a passenger's face, driving drunk, punching another driver in the face, and a racist assault on a black female passenger, who just so happened to work for the TLC. Officials tell the Post they're "sure" he no longer drives a taxi, but nobody's seen him since the beginning of the year. The cab companies are due in court next month and face hefty fines and possible suspensions for leasing taxis to Akladious when his license was suspended. more ›

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By next June, the Department of Homeland Security will start requiring passports for all border crossings. In order to make it easier for New York drivers, Governor Paterson today announced an “enhanced” driver license [EDL] which will be accepted by border security in lieu of a passport. Paterson says the EDL will “help to ease long lines at our New York-Canada border crossings, allowing commerce to flow more freely and securely in and out of the state.” more ›

Fellow vendors and loyal customers are rallying to the defense of Antonios Dragonas, the 50-year-old pushcart food vendor who may soon be put out of business. For the past 25 years, Vendy runner-up Antonios Dragonas, has been serving his famous lamb shish kebab from the corner of Madison Avenue and East 62nd Street, but now the Department of Health is refusing to renew his license and permit. more ›

For quite some time now, a group of East Village residents have been pressuring the local Community Board to snuff out Death & Co., the dark and sophisticated bar on East Sixth street, just down the block from that old timer who sells and repairs bicycles. Like other turbo-gentrifying neighborhoods, the local scolds are fed up with the all the noisy drunkards staggering around their neighborhood at all hours, and they’ve focused their energy on less-established newcomers like Death & Co. more ›

Society swells attending glamorous events at Cipriani Dolci may soon have to develop a taste for Shirley Temples. The State Liquor Authority [SLA] is threatening to revoke the liquor licenses at all the swank restaurants and catering halls run by the Cipriani family – including the Rainbow Room and Socialista. The SLA says operators Giuseppe Cipriani and his father, Arrigo Cipriani, have illegally let their licenses be used by unauthorized relatives and companies. more ›

When cops raided a suspected drug operation in Washington Heights last week, they found that the alleged dealers had a little business going on the side: a day care service. Police arrested Donald Crespo and Akwasiba Radellant not just for drug possession, but child endangerment because the fire alarms in the apartment were deactivated and pacifiers were dirty. more ›