Police say that a Brooklyn teen who was fatally hit by a car last night was biking against the light. According to authorities, 16-year-old Aileen Chen allegedly wasn't wearing a helmet, but was wearing headphones, when she was struck by a 26-year-old BMW driver at 62nd Street and 21st Avenue around 6 p.m. "There was blood all over her face," witness Gabriella Castalano told the Post. more ›

When is the last time you stopped to bask in the glow of the city's neon lights? Whether they're flickering, busted, or shiny and new, Kirsten Hively is documenting what she dubs "New York's best neon signs." Check out all of her photos (each with a story) at Project Neon. Personally, we like the ones advertising cheap booze... or nice fonts. more ›

Well, this is almost as depressing as the death of mistletoe. Money troubles have put an end to the Grand Central Terminal holiday light show. The show has been going on for three years, but those looking for a little holiday light at the end of the tunnel this year won't find it. On the upside, this will speed up your hurried and already crazed yuletide exodus from the city, as it's sure to cut down on upward-pointing tourist cameras. more ›

Right after the FDNY warns us about fires started by holiday decorations, a three alarm fire has destroyed a rowhouse in Brooklyn. The cause: Christmas decorations! Along with the building at 201 Menahan Street, two other rowhouses were damaged. The fire took place last Thursday at 6 p.m., according to BushwickBK, with neighbors claiming that an inflatable Santa Claus and a mechanical reindeer hanging on the door were to blame, they were allegedly put up a week prior, and connected with extension cords. more ›

You could buy a whole new house for the amount of money one Brooklyn family spent on Christmas decorations. According to the Daily News, the Seddio family in Canarsie has been brightening up the neighborhood with their annual display since 1963. They're giving Clark Griswold a little competition, with 250,000 lights, dancing reindeer, elves and talking Santas; this year they added a wreath with 11,000 lights to the roof of the house. Think you can see it from space? more ›

In honor of 9/11 and all the people lost in the terrorist attacks, the Tribute in Light shone yet again through the sky of the Financial District. Initially a temporary installation that ran through March 11 to April 14, 2002, the lights have become a yearly tradition and sign of remembrance every September 11th. Next year, the 10th anniversary of the attacks, will be their last year. However, there was a bit of a SNAFU with last night's lighting. more ›

While the Canada geese may be putting airplanes in danger, our tall buildings are putting migrating birds in harms way! According to the New York City Audubon, each year an estimated 90,000 birds are killed in the city when they collide with buildings and glass during migration to and from their breeding grounds. NYC Audubon director Glenn Philips told the Daily News, "Millions of birds pass through New York City on their way to their wintering grounds. They fly primarily at night over the city, and they get confused by the lights." The organization notes on their website that "since the program’s inception in 1997, over 4,000 dead and injured birds have been collected and documented in our database." more ›

The New York Public Library's main branch will be getting drenched in pretty, shiny new lighting next year, for its 100th anniversary. According to the NY Post, the dramatic outdoor lights will bathe the landmark in a white glow, and NYPL president Paul LeClerc told the paper, "The goal is to make it look like the buildings in Paris that are illuminated. We want to make the building a destination stop in New York at night." The lighting scheme cost $3MM (it was paid for privately) and will include 48 large floodlights and 22-foot-high light poles surrounding the building. Expect full illumination to be in effect by next May—and let's hope the unveiling includes a cameo by the Ghostbusters. more ›

The Empire State Building has refused the Catholic League's request for them to light up white and blue for Mother Teresa's 100th birthday on August 26th, and City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. has proposed a bill formally requesting the building honor the late nun. But in the meantime, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz—never one to pass up a p.r. opportunity—has come to the saint's rescue. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The Empire State Building will honor nearly anything with its lights. Tonight they're going yellow for the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Tomorrow they're going blue, green and yellow for Caribbean Week. Last October, they lit up for the Grateful Dead. But the building has refused the Catholic League's request for them to light up white and blue for Mother Teresa's 100th birthday on August 26th. Now, City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. has formally proposed a bill requesting the building honor the late nun. more ›

It it's December, it must be time to visit Dyker Heights, that Brooklyn neighborhood famous for its transcendent Christmas light displays. The spectacle draws onlookers from around the world, and was immortalized in a truly hilarious documentary called Dyker Lights, which takes a priceless "behind-the-scenes" look at the predominantly Italian-American families during preparations for the annual festivities. (PBS will be broadcasting Dyker Lights again this year on Christmas Eve and Christmas day—it's not to be missed.) more ›

As previously mentioned, the Empire State Building donned the official hippie color, Tie Dye, last night in honor of an upcoming Grateful Dead exhibit at the NY Historical Society. (A benefit with Dead members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will be held in the city tomorrow.) Some readers certainly came through with some fantastic photos of the lights last night — some including trippy photo tricks, and psychedelic Photoshopping. Enjoy! more ›

In honor of the New York Historical Society's upcoming Grateful Dead exhibition, the Empire State Building is going to be tie dye tomorrow. At press time, we were unable to confirm how in the world this was going to happen, short of dosing the entire city with acid and hoping everyone sees beautiful melting colors shining off the building. more ›

Yesterday afternoon at around 4:20 p.m., a police cruiser traveling south on Broadway (between 135th and 136th Streets) struck a 79-year-old man who was crossing the street from a median. The man, Javier Jackson, was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead two hours later. more ›

Last year New York City stayed plugged in while many major cities around the globe powered down for Earth Hour. Instead, Rufus Wainwright tried to recreate the blackout with a 12-hour "Blackout Sabbath" on March 19th—if you don't remember it, then it probably didn't go as planned. more ›

Now that city investigators have closed the file on The Great Maple Syrup Smell Scare, maybe they can get cracking on the Mysterious Northern Lights that have been baffling and entrancing New Yorkers. A reader sent us some photos of the as-yet unexplained lights from his East Village apartment, telling us that they changed colors every ten seconds or so and lasted about fifteen minutes. Then, in the comments section of yesterday's post, he goes all Fox Mulder WITH THE CAPS:

THERE IS NO WAY THIS WAS FROM YANKEE STADIUM OR SHEA. THE PICS WILL SETTLE THAT, BUT WILL DEFINITELY RAISE QUESTIONS AS TO WHAT PRODUCED THE LIGHT, WHICH WAS VERY COOL LOOKING, IT CHANGED EVERY 10 SEC OR SO AND WAS SOMETIMES RED, BLUE, PURPLE, WHITE, AND GREEN. IT CONTINUED FOR MAYBE 15 MIN AND LOOKED TO BE SHINING VERTICALLY DOWN RATHER THAN UP. IT WAS ALSO SUPER HIGH IN THE SKY.

Two readers have e-mailed us with reports of strange, pretty lights over Brooklyn or Queens last night. Here's an account of one sighting:

I saw something weird in the sky last night, and a bunch of other people did, too. Disclaimer: I am NOT a U.F.O. person, nor do I think that's what I saw. I'm just very curious to figure out what exactly it was. I'm sure there's a scientific explanation of some kind. more ›

As mentioned yesterday, the New Year's Eve 2009 sign is being powered with a little help from Times Square visitors. The Duracell Power Lodge has been set up to accommodate snowmobiles, that are really stationary bikes with a snowmobile shell around them. When passerby pedal the snowmobikes, it will generate electricity that will in turn be stored to help power the lights on their big night. more ›

Last year the "8" in the New Year's 2008 sign headed to Times Square via subway (the 6 train to be exact). This year, it took to the seas and traveled by boat. 9's publicist tells us:

It was a NY Waterway boat that picked up passengers in Weehawken and then came across the Hudson to the Waterway’s Midtown Terminal at W. 39th and the West Side Highway. more ›

Last night, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree's lights were turn on for the holidays. With 30,000 lights on 5 miles of wire and a 750-pound star at top, it dazzled the crowd. A family of Hurricane Katrina survivors whose new home was partly built by lumber from an old Rock Center tree was on hand for the lighting; mother Tracey Davison told the AP, "It's been an awesome experience. I have a famous living room because of the tree from last year, and my girls and I have had a spectacular trip to New York for the first time." more ›

During previous elections, the colors at the top of the Empire State Building have shone red, white and blue--but this week, for the first time ever, it will honor the U.S. presidential election with a four-night celebration. The general manager of the building, James Connors, says that the 4-night lighting celebration is "due to the excitement" of this year’s race. more ›

A new study by the DOT [pdf] has revealed an unprecedented surge in the number of cyclists, increasing an estimated 35% in NYC between 2007 and 2008. In the past six years, cycling levels in the city have doubled, and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says the numbers prove the department is "well on the way toward our goal of doubling the number of bike commuters." In particular, the cyclist volume on the Williamsburg Bridge has quadrupled from 2000-2008 to 4,000 cyclists on a typical day. And the study shows that cyclists are riding earlier in the morning and later in the day than previously believed. To that end, DOT reps will be stationed on the Manhattan sides of both the Williamsburg and Brooklyn bridges from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. tonight handing out free bike lights, which cyclists are required by law to use. So race on over there, all you gonzo fixed-gear cyclists from that crazy video! more ›

The Empire State Building will celebrate the Olympics by illuminating each of its sides with the colors of a different nation's flag throughout the sixteen days of the Summer Games. This will be the first time the skyscraper will have separate color schemes on each side as it will represent the 66 nations with the most athletes sent to Beijing. A typical color change at the Empire State Building takes six electricians six hours to switch out whichever of the 182 lights needs altering. Good thing there were so many electricians nearby during last night's power outage! more ›

The eight towering sludge digester eggs at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint got even more sci-fi looking last night when the DEP flicked the switch on the new dramatic blue lights illuminating the 145 feet high structures. True to form, New York Shitty was there to get total coverage on the lighting ceremony. more ›

The 125th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge will be observed this month with a five day celebration from May 22nd through May 26th, Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz announced earlier this week. Completed in 1883, the bridge opened with a “People’s Day” celebration; for a penny toll the general public was permitted to traverse its span. (A few days later, on Memorial Day, 12 pedestrians were trampled to death when the crowd believed the bridge was collapsing and panicked.) more ›

The Daily News laments how, in spite of Mayor Bloomberg's promise to turn off lights in city buildings to conserve energy, many buildings are still glowing at all hours--even on Earth Day! more ›

Downtown Manhattan residents have heard enough from honking cabs, and one Community Board is asking the Taxi & Limousine Commission to do something about the racket. Community Board 3, which represents the area of Manhattan containing the East Village, Lower East Side, and Chinatown, voted this week to formally request that the T&LC require devices to be installed in cabs that will visually identify them as horn abusers. more ›

The traditional way to know what color the Empire State Building is to look at the building's website. But plain text can be lacking, which is where What Color is the Empire State Building comes in. more ›