Beware to those on Bowery, there are little monsters everywhere this morning. Last week it was announced that Lady Gaga would be at the New Museum on November 22nd to promote her new book with Terry Richardson, and the event would be open to a select number of fans. The catch: you have to pre-order her book in person for $50 at the museum, and those sales started today. more ›

This is depressing. This morning Chris Brown performed on the Today show, where fans had been lined up and camped out for days to catch a glimpse of his performance. One man on Twitter noted, "They're comparing the line for Chris Brown's Today show appearance to a Harry Potter midnight screening." Except with Harry Potter everything is magical, and with Chris Brown everything seems to be abusive and homophobic. more ›

Kanye West is usually in New York for Fashion Week, but this September he'll be under all of the lights, debuting his own line. Sure, he may have donned a t-shirt and jeans to MoMA's fancy annual Garden Party this year, but he also has diamond teeth, so... more ›

Chef Emeril Lagasse pulled a Bieber on fans yesterday when nearly 50 people with tickets to a taping of his new show were denied entrance. One Long Island fan told the Daily News, "They told us we had seats, but they didn't deliver. I'm so mad, because my trip was for nothing." The taping was for a new CBS cooking game show, hosted by the exuberant chef, which would replace As The World Turns. more ›

So this line at MoMA to sit in front of Marina Abramović is really long, you know, FYI. You pretty much have to clear your schedule and be prepared to wait around for at least a few hours... unless, of course, you are famous. Or so we hear. The other day James Franco was first to sit in front of the performance artist, and we're pretty sure he—or Lou Reed, or Sharon Stone—didn't stand in line like regular museum patrons. Like the Paco Blancases of the world. more ›

The iPad has arrived and its owners are getting their greasy fingerprints all over the sleek display. Or they are showing off their wares—see this recently Tweeted video of someone outside the SoHo Apple Store. We hear that the lines at the Upper West Side and 14th Street moved along; the 14th Street store's lines were "depleted" by 11 a.m., which really does suggest that waiting basically two days in advance of the iPad launch is something for real, hardcore fans who have the time. more ›

Prospect Park swans have already fought against each other — now they're fighting against fishermen. At least two of the swans that live in the park's 60-acre lake have been injured by fishermen, according to The Brooklyn Paper. One lived for months with a hook through its beak (the hook has since been extracted), and another apparently swallowed a hook and line that is now protruding from its chest. more ›

The day has come, Conan O'Brien will be leaving his Late Night show in New York for new sunny digs in Los Angeles. Jimmy Fallon will be taking over, though in a different studio, so tonight is the last chance to lay your eyes on the Late Night set as you know it. NY1 is reporting that fans of the host have been lined up in the cold in hopes of scoring tickets to the final show. One told them, "I just love Conan and I'm really sad he's leaving and I'm really excited to see the show. I know it's going to be amazing and I just absolutely had to be at the last show." People, he's still going to be on television. Another fan said, "We went to the show yesterday. Then, once we got out, we got back in line." They caught that priest, right? more ›

Details are scant on a stabbing at a Brooklyn senior center Sunday, but it merits mention as a cautionary tale for those who would confront line-cutters. According to the Post, 55-year-old Leroy Skette Sr. was displeased when 37-year-old Byron Bells cut the line at a fundraiser buffet at the Fort Greene Senior Citizens Council. But when Skette called him out, the cutter got stabby, throwing a cranberry-vodka drink in his elder's face, then allegedly slashing him with a knife. Skette needed 84 stitches on his face and neck! He tells the tabloid, "I thought he hit me. But I felt my hand, and there was blood." Other than that, the only other salient detail he remembers is "using the word 'manners.'" It's unclear whether Bells is still at large, so today might be a good day to just let civilization decline a little further. more ›

The Public Theater has busted up a group of "professional line sitters" who've been queuing up for hours every day to get free tickets to Hair in Central Park, then selling them through Craigslist for $150 a pair. one ticket-ring mastermind, William Conklin, tells the Times he was shooed away a couple weeks ago, along with 30 other others (including several people he subcontracts to wait for tickets). Public Theater employees became suspicious after seeing the same people "over and over again" on line, and began checking to see if they actually attended the performances. Artistic Director Oskar Eustis defended the move, insisting that free theater “means that your time and presence — waiting in line — matters more than your money. In our commodity-obsessed money culture, that’s a vital civic touchstone. Some things shouldn’t be measured in dollars.” Tickets for Hair are available through the Public Theater website for $160 each. more ›

A couple of weeks ago, the McCarren Park Pool line flowed through the sidewalks for The Breeders free show. Today a reader sent in this photo of the line for MGMT (pronounced "Em Gee Em Tee"), taken just before 2 p.m. However, the skies have darkened and now there's a severe thunderstorm watch, so chances are the line has dissipated if you want to brave the weather. more ›

Will the Bon Jovi madness never end? amNewYork reported that the line for the Saturday concert was expected to form last night. Hard core fans want to secure good spots, and not get pushed into the overflow section. As we mentioned earlier this week, only 50K of the 60K will have spots with a view, the rest are sent to a space with no sightline of the stage or their precious Jon Bon -- though they will allegedly be able to hear the Jersey rockers. more ›

The exhaustive coverage of today's Red Hook Ikea opening here and elsewhere around the web was the inevitable climax of a perfect storm of storylines: Rough-edged neighborhood with a lot of history gets another turn in the spotlight – or are those cross hairs? Has Red Hook now sacrificed too much of the charm that made its sleepy waterfront streets so appealing to artists? Or is the arrival of big retail business just what the neighborhood needs to help the lower-income locals – whose streets are hardly sleepy – rise out of poverty? more ›

While shoppers' enthusiasm for the new Brooklyn Ikea has been well documented today, opinion was decidedly mixed among residents who skipped the festivities at the new 346,000 square foot store. Jennifer Cohen, a Red Hook resident for the last eight years, voiced the most common concern, that the neighborhood's streets and buses would be overly taxed by thousands of shoppers descending on the store, which is far from the subway. more ›

Six of the twenty-two acres of land that Ikea occupies in Red Hook have been turned into a park and waterfront esplanade, built by the big box retailer as a deal-sweetener for their wary neighbors. You don’t need to buy any Swedish meatballs to hang out by the water, and the free Water Taxi service arranged by Ikea might make it an appealing weekend destination in its own right. more ›

After nearly six years of controversy, construction, worry and anticipation, the first Ikea in New York City opened in Red Hook, Brooklyn this morning. By the time the doors opened at 9:00 a.m., hundreds of shoppers had gathered on line outside the popular Swedish retailer. A festive atmosphere prevailed without any of the community dissent that had threatened to stymie the project from the beginning. more ›

As the world waits in hushed anticipation for tomorrow morning’s grand opening of the Red Hook Ikea, many eager shoppers are agonizing over the best route in and out of the relatively inaccessible neighborhood. So Ikea has been making a big effort to lure customers and appease locals fretting about the traffic with some complimentary transportation alternatives:
• New York Water Taxi is operating free ferry service from Pier 11 in Manhattan directly to Ikea five times an hour through June 23rd, after which a somewhat less frequent schedule will be in effect.
• Ikea will be running free shuttle buses every 15 minutes from three subway stations: 4th Avenue/9th Street, Court Street/Borough Hall, and the Smith and 9th Street Station, which will unfortunately be closed for an extensive renovation at a time TBD.
• Two MTA buses, the B77 and B61, will stop directly in front of IKEA on Beard Street.

With the 346,000 square foot Ikea poised to open in Red Hook Wednesday morning, the Times fans out into the neighborhood to measure public opinion about the big Swedish store, which has come into being after vocal opposition from some local residents. The most commonly-voiced concern is about the traffic that will clog Red Hook’s streets; estimates vary from a few thousand visitors on weekdays to more than 14,000 cars a day on weekends. more ›

Starting Monday morning at 9 a.m., excited consumers will begin camping out in the parking lot under the Red Hook IKEA in anticipation of the new store’s ribbon cutting – or rather, log cutting, which is how Swedes open something according to Curbed. Now why would anyone be crazy enough to camp out for days just to shop at a store that anyone will be able visit to whenever they want? Besides walking away with a great story for the grandkids, there are the fabulous prizes to consider.
• The first 35 adults to cross the threshold into the 35th IKEA in America will receive a free EKTORP three-seat sofa.
• The next 100 adults get a free POANG armchair.
• And the first 2,500 people will be handed a random prize envelope with IKEA Gift Cards ranging from $10 to $250, or vouchers for a free cinnamon bun, hotdog or frozen yogurt.
• The first 100 children (under 18) will receive a Fanning, a soft toy in the shape of a heart.

Delayed spoiler alert: This photo reveals what the upcoming East River waterfalls will most likely look like. Although artist Olafur Eliasson’s ambitious art project doesn't officially start until June 26th, apparently they do need practice turning the spigot. One eagle-eyed Curbed reader caught them in the act late last night and snapped this photo, which depicts the waterfall at Pier 35 by the Manhattan Bridge. more ›

There's currently a long line forming outside of the Apple store on 5th Avenue...but not everyone in it seems to know why they are there. Engadget reports that "the group is more than 60-deep, though most people seem confused about what they're waiting for, while some believe they're actually camping out for a 3G iPhone." more ›

Last month the New Kids on the Block (or if you prefer, NKOTB) reunited on the Today Show to announce they were...reuniting. This morning they returned to play some tunes at a rainy Rockefeller Plaza (at press time a nostalgia-packed medley is going down), and fans lined the streets to get in. Guest of a Guest reports from the frontlines, saying, "we almost tripped over NKOTB votaries camping on 48th Street as we were en route to a lunch date at Saks." more ›

When Olafur Eliasson's NYC Waterfalls start roaring on the East River and New York Harbor this June, cruises like Circle Line will be bringing passengers so close to the spray they’ll need to stock ponchos on board. Sure, you could just look at the falls from any number of points on the shore, but tour boat companies are betting that plenty of people will gladly pay for the Man-Made of the Mist experience. more ›

Madonna, who recently stated that NYC gives her the zzz's, was stirring things up in town for an intimate performance last night. Her Madgesty took the Roseland Ballroom stage in front of 2,200 fans, for a show which demanded die-hards wait in line for what turned out to be 60 hours, just for a chance to get into. Fanatics? No. One of them, a Brooklynite, swears, “I’m not fanatical. But I do collect Madonna magazine covers, and I’ve got maybe 170 of them.” more ›

For the first time, tickets for the Public Theater’s free Shakespeare in Central Park shows will be made available online. While most tickets will still be given to those who wait for hours (pictured) in Central Park, a limited number will be available to theatergoers who log on to the Public theater website at midnight before each day’s show and submit a request for up to two tickets. more ›