[UPDATES BELOW] Exactly three months ago, a group of protesters converged on a privately-owned, public space in Lower Manhattan to protest economic injustice. At noon today, Occupy Wall Street will again attempt to retake private property, this time from a real estate giant that has been supportive of the movement since the beginning: Trinity Wall Street church. more ›

Over 5,000 artifacts dating back to the turn of the 19th century were recently found below 40 Fulton Street. DNAinfo reports that the items—which include bottles, gravy boats, dinner plates, and imported Chinese porcelain—were found when Con Ed was replacing a steam pipe from 1900. "We initially saw part of what appeared to be a wall," archeologist Alyssa Loorya said. "Then we realized the wall was continuing, and we started to see the artifacts." Archeologists are urged to visit a certain apartment in the Lower East Side, where they can examine a pathetic hot water heater that surely dates back to the 1700s. more ›

On Monday we choked back tears reporting on the arrest of a genuine entrepreneur who was helping tourists in Lower Manhattan. 52-year-old Darrelle Lawrence allegedly stuffed the MetroCard machines in the Cortland Street R station with cardboard and offered to swipe straphangers in for the low low price of $2 cash. As always, no good deed goes unpunished, and Lawrence was charged with petit larceny, theft of services and criminal trespass. Now the Daily News reports that Lawrence has received a 60-day jail sentence. No word on when Warren Buffett will commence his hunger strike in protest. more ›

Can't the NYPD give small businesses a break? A man who devised a brilliant revenue strategy to reallocate the funds of subway riders was arrested last week in the Cortland Street R station. DNAinfo reports that 52-year-old Darrelle Lawrence shoved cardboard into the MetroCard fare machine and told straphangers that he could swipe them into the stop for just $2 cash. That's a .25 discount (.50 if you're a single ride!), enough to keep Foghat on the speakers for an extra four minutes. But instead of rounding up angel investors, the NYPD charged him with petit larceny, theft of services and criminal trespass. more ›

Tonight's meeting of the full Community Board 1 will test the evolving compromise between neighborhood representatives and the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Pulse, the group of drummer-protesters who have organized to assert their rights, agreed to limit their drumming to four hours a day during last night's General Assembly meeting. For a leaderless, nebulous movement, finite agreements are an important step. But CB 1's Quality of Life and Financial District committees didn't approve of four hours of drumming last week, they agreed on two. more ›

During the first weekend of Occupy Wall Street last month, we saw very few tents in Zuccotti Park, and in fact a spokesperson for Occupy Wall Street told us that the NYPD would direct them to remove any tents or tarps they put up. It seems that this is no longer the case. As the weather gets colder more protesters find the need to protect themselves from the elements, Zuccotti Park is now full of tents, and the NYPD, taking its cue from Brookfield Properties, is not forcing protesters to remove them. more ›

After aligning themselves with the Occupy Wall Street movement, the United Federation of Teaches believes the NYPD has put their offices under constant surveillance. "I'll put it this way," UFT President Michael Mulgrew tells NY1, "We are a very safe building at this point in time since we seem to have all our exits and entrances are all being watched." more ›

As the Occupy Wall Street protesters and the media become more familiar with the styles and faces of the NYPD officers charged to watch over Zuccotti Park, "Hipster Cop" AKA 1st Precinct Community Affairs Detective Rick Lee has stood out in a sea of white and blue and drab Law & Order gray. Little is known about Lee—is he gay? Does he have kids? Is he into mumblecore?—but the Sparrow Project has compiled compelling video footage of Hipster Cop in his native habitat. more ›

After the developer of the controversial Park51 Islamic community center admitted to making mistakes, and the building peacefully opened its doors for a photo exhibit last month, it appeared that the worst had passed for the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque." Now, Con Ed is threatening to evict Park51 from one of the structures its leasing from the utility if they don't pay $1.7 million in back rent they say the group owed on October 4. more ›

Lower Manhattan is getting messy. Beyond the people who live and work there, and ignoring all those occupiers, 9/11 tourists are apparently overloading the areas bathroom and garbage can supply. And don't expect a fix coming anytime soon! We've known since May that there wouldn't be any bathrooms at the 9/11 Memorial until its sibling Museum opens next year, but it seems that no matter how much neighbors beg for them, there won't even be any Porta-Potties for the visitors in the meantime. Why? Because of the terrorists, of course. more ›

Pamela Geller's SHARIA Hotline is burning up right now: the organizers of Park 51 AKA "The Ground Zero Victory Mosque" are opening a photo exhibition by artist Danny Goldfield in the former Burlington Coat Factory on Wednesday. What kind of photos? Muslims celebrating 9/11? Puppies getting beaten with Korans? Bald eagles being tortured by crescent moons? From Park 51's Kickstarter: "Danny is photographing a child from every country on earth currently living in New York City." more ›

At his press conference this morning, Mayor Bloomberg said Con Edison may preemptively shut off the power to Lower Manhattan, sparing the grid widespread damage but possibly leaving residents and business without power until Monday. “You can plan on the possibility of no power downtown,” he said, noting that ConEd will make the final decision in the coming hours. more ›

Brace yourselves for even more Vineyard Vines polos and icy stares from behind tinted glass: banking giant UBS wants to move back to the city. According to the Times, UBS just "can't hire the bankers and traders they need" from their Stamford, Connecticut location, which includes a massive trading floor "the size of two football fields." But what could be better than the Land of Lieberman? The still-nonexistent 3 World Trade Center. UBS has reportedly begun negotiating a lease there but its executives have so far refused to comment. more ›

In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s death, media outlets from around the world have swarmed Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site, where tourists and New Yorkers are trading patriotic sentiments with each other in front of the cameras. The somber mood typically shared by visitors to the site has, for the most part, been replaced with proud triumphalism. One Brooklyn resident celebrated bin Laden’s demise with gusto in front of a captivated audience; standing on a bench at the corners of Cedar and Liberty streets, he held the ‘Flag of Honor’ with the names of those who perished in the attacks almost a decade ago. more ›

The Park 51 project, better known erroneously to some as the Ground Zero Mosque, has had a controversial incubation period over the last eight months, as critics have protested it, Imams have come and gone, and funding has been hard to get. But despite all the roadblocks, the project is still moving forward allegedly. And now it seems it might have a strange next door neighbor: the Anne Frank Center. more ›

The DoH's restaurant grade initiative has been a hit with diners, to the point that other businesses now want grades. They've also been great for quick neighborhood analysis. Today, for instance, AMNY sorts through the 10,000 or so restaurants that have been graded and notes that the 10026 ZIP code has the dirtiest restaurants (20% of its eateries boast either a "C" or a "Grade Pending" sign). Manhattan isn't just number one, its number two too! The 10006 ZIP in Lower Manhattan comes in second with 13% of its eateries in the "C" or "Pending" range. more ›

Cathie Black is not having the most auspicious start as Schools Chancellor. Ignoring the whole waiver-fiasco and her fumbled first non-snow day last night she managed to let fly two tacky cracks that left some lower Manhattan parents unamused. more ›

The annoying, constant whirring of tour helicopters has been driving Brooklyn residents crazy, and today, lawmakers gathered to ask the city to enact measures to better "protect the safety of helicopter users and the quality of life of neighborhood residents" with these three steps: "Implement a 311 protocol for receiving, responding to and addressing helicopter complaints; Increase oversight and planning of the helicopter industry, with a focus on reducing, if not eliminating, tourist helicopter traffic; and Conduct an assessment of security risks involved in storing fuel at the downtown heliport." more ›

The imminent closure of two lower Manhattan Catholic schools has gentle Christians seeing red. “Pray for our Schools” and “Save My School” said the signs wielded by students, parents and faculty at a protest rally yesterday. Some admitted that the shut-downs—decided by NY’s Archdiocese, as a result of dropping Catholic school enrollment city-wide—were pushing the limits of their faith. “I’m attempting to be a Christian, but right now I want to kill," said Stephanie Pinto, a trustee and former student of St. James School, established in 1854. more ›

This road-worthy addition to the NYPD's fleet of unmarked vehicles was spotted recently in Chinatown, and comes to us via Reddit. As commentors point out, it's easily ID'd by the log book, sitting like a "Hello My Name Is..." tag on the dashboard. Other ironies: the sidewalk parking job makes it less than inconspicuous, and it looks like whoever pasted the "Reliable" on used the force's regulation blue stickers. (It's surprising they make other letters besides "N," "Y," "P," and "D.") Still, we'll give the boys some credit: the photo may have been taken right outside the 5th Precinct on Elizabeth Street. more ›

President Obama's advisers are reportedly close to recommending that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 plotters be tried in a military tribunal, not a lower Manhattan federal courthouse. According to unnamed sources cited in the Washington Post, the White House might cave to bipartisan opposition to holding the trial at Foley Square, as well as pressure mainly from Republicans who think the suspected terrorists should face justice in a military court. more ›