A new (old) beach way for Brooklyn? The Post reports that local leaders are setting their sights on reopening the Manhattan Beach esplanade. Though the seven-block stretch has been around since the 1800s it has has been closed off to non-shorefront homeowners since a 1993 court order, and has been a point of contention since 1987 when one property owner, the late Jack Laboz, blocked access to the concrete walkway with a six-foot fence (that'd be what you see above). more ›

A four-year-old boy died after being hit by a B49 bus at Oriental Boulevard and Falmouth Street yesterday afternoon. NY1 reports, "Police say they believe Evan Svirsky, 4, ran into the street in Manhattan Beach and his 45-year-old mother ran after him in an attempt to save him." His mother suffered injuries from being hit by the bus's side mirror. Police do not suspect criminality, but one resident lamented about the overall traffic to the Post, "All the traffic goes by so fast here, its horrible. It’s a 30mph zone but nobody does 30, it’s so scary." more ›

It's sometimes easy to forget that New York is a city surrounded by great beaches, some accessible for just the cost of a luxury MetroCard. Click on the images here for details on four excellent beach options within easy reach from downtown Manhattan: Fort Tilden, Sandy Hook, Manhattan Beach, and Jones Beach. more ›

Because of problems on electrical cables supplying power to a number of neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Con Edison is reducing voltage by five percent in Coney Island, Manhattan Beach, Seagate, and Gravesend, in order to keep pressure off the grid while workers make emergency repairs. Like last week, customers (roughly 27,000 of them) are all being urged to conserve power and turn off non-essential electrical appliances to help reduce electricity usage until the equipment problems are solved. Con Ed doesn't know how long that will take, but you can check the company's website for updates with your electricity-devouring computer. more ›

Manhattan Beach residents have had it up to here with squat concrete planters along Oriental Blvd. and the 4-foot tall vegetation within them. Locals, like Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association member Edmond Dweck, are living in fear: "It will cause harm eventually...." These vegetative nuisances are said to create hazardous blind spots for drivers turning onto Oriental Blvd. from one of the many quiet side streets. more ›

Those out in Coney Island today for the all-day Coney Island Bordwalk Party may have jumped the gun by wearing their swim trunks. The Parks Department closed off the water in Coney due to possible raw sewage overflow from a local treatment plant. Nearby Manhattan Beach was also shut down for the same reason, but both beaches remain open to sunbathers. Earlier in the weekend, Nassau County had shut down 22 beaches because of the heavy rain on Friday and yesterday it was revealed that a sizable chunk of Robert Moses State Park would have to close down due to erosion. more ›

The upside to the weak U.S. dollar? NYC made $28 billion from tourists last year. The Mayor announced that tourism to NYC was at record highs, with 46 million people visiting the Big Apple. Of the 46 million tourists, 8.5 million were from other countries, which is another high. From Mayor Bloomberg's speech:

This incredible surge puts us well on our way to reaching our goal of drawing 50 million annual visitors by the year 2015. And it's helping to bolster our local businesses even as the economy is slowing down nationwide....The impact of those dollars reverberated in every sector of our economy: from our neighborhood shops and restaurants to our hotels - which sold a record 22.8 million rooms, to arts and cultural institutions. In fact, City-owned cultural institutions across the five boroughs saw a combined increase of 855,000 visitors since 2006.

The Streit's Matzo company is leaving the Lower East Side location where it opened in 1925 and since occupied as a mainstay of a neighborhood of tenements and a sizable Jewish population. One can still walk down Rivington St. and peer through levered windows to see rotating metal racks where the company produces its unleavened bread. Aron Streit founded the matzoh company in 1914, revived it in 1923, and moved it into a red brick building on Rivington St. in Manhattan in 1925. more ›

Yesterday evening, a 19-year-old was fatally shot on a northbound Q train. According to witnesses, Trevell Belton was shot as the train pulled into the Avenue U stop. Belton collapsed on the platform, while the shooter and his friend ran away. more ›

The city's attempt to increase its East Side park space has hit a boulder. A boulder in the shape of a swank Sutton Place co-op with rich and powerful residents who don't want their green backyard to become public park area! One Sutton Place South filed a lawsuit to stop the city from turning part of the building's half-acre backyard into a park, claiming that any action "violates the easement and constitutes an unlawful trespass." Sigh, this is what happens when the city takes land from a building to build the FDR - if only the time machine could bring everyone back to 1939 to write a better contract! more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting at Tremont and University Aves. in the Bronx, a person pinned by a bus on the upper level of the Queensboro Bridge, and a car overparked into a storefront at 258th St. and Riverdale Ave. in the Bronx.
• The Queens mother of a kidnapped soldier in Iraq hopes that her son is still alive, even though her son's ID and other effects were found in an al Qaeda safehouse.
• Thanks to the "Mad Hatter," NJ is on pace to set a record for bank robberies in 2007.
• New York firefighters have mixed opinions about Giuliani's Presidential aspirations and invocations of 9/11.
• Someone was required to be rescued after falling into a sewer in Brooklyn (fuller post tomorrow).
• Langston Hughes' former 127th St. Harlem brownstone is being converted to a performance space.
• Brooklyn North criminal violence is up 64% over the last two years. A John Jay College criminal expert and neighborhood resident pins the blame on teenagers.
• A community group wants to respond to difficulties encountered with (more darn) kids by privatizing Manhattan Beach, which is maintained by the Parks Dept. Gowanus Lounge has all the details of heavy restrictions proposed for a popular seaside destination for city dwellers that can't afford shares in the Hamptons.

Yesterday was the NY Road Runners Club's 30th Annual Empire State Building Run-up. And, yes, the runners were wearing shorts and T-shirts when they emerged on the skyscraper's roof. Thomas Dold (above, left) of Germany won the men's race in 10 minutes and 25 seconds while Suvy Walsham (above, right) of Singapore (and Australia, apparently) won the women's in 13 minutes 12 seconds. (American Cindy Moll-Harris finished second, at 13:24.) more ›

If you can’t deal with a bun that is soaked through, don’t go to Brennan and Carr. If you think meat that is steamed until it turns grey is gross, don’t go to Brennan and Carr. But if you want a classic Brooklyn roast beef sandwich, this is your place. more ›

Nothing you order at Randazzo’s Clam Bar will be the best thing you ever ate. But you can’t say you know Sheepshead Bay unless you know Randazzo’s. It is the indisputable heart and soul of the neighborhood, a hold-out from the days when working class clam bars lined that storied waterfront. more ›