Last night, police officer Rory Mangra (pictured) attempted to approach a man smoking pot in Prospect Heights, but the man ended up shooting him in the leg. Mangra and his partner, Eric Merizelde, both uniformed but driving in an unmarked car, saw Kingsley Newland light up outside a beauty parlor at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street in Brooklyn. From the Daily News:

Mangra stepped out of the car to approach Newland, but the suspect fled, police said. Merizelde sped ahead in the car, hopped a sidewalk and tried to block the suspect's path. more ›

Tonight is the big meeting where the Department of Transportation will present its plan to turn Sixth and Seventh Avenues one-way. The DOT thinks that one-way-ing the big streets will improve safety with less cars making sharper turns and cars traveling the speed limit (how, we don't know). more ›

A 4 year old boy walking home from day care with his aunt was hit by a Hummer yesterday afternoon at Third Avenue and Baltic Street in Brooklyn. James Jacaricce died at Methodist Hospital; his aunt Ta-Nayin St. John had a shoulder injury. The incident was not a hit-and-run - the driver stayed, gave a Breathalyzer, and was found sober. more ›

A truly strange story unfolded yesterday after initial reports that a police officer had been shot at Sixth Avenue and Prospect Place in Brooklyn. It turns out that the husband of an NYPD officer shot at an unmarked police SUV carrying four cops. And the wife, police officer Jacqueline Melendez-Rivera, tried to cover up her husband's actions. more ›

At least, that's what reader Evan wonders. He sent us some pictures of a Toyota 4 Runner parked with an "open letter to the city" parked convenientaly just a block or two from City Hall. Evan writes, "Apparently New York Methodist Hospital implanted a foreign body in the owner of this vehicle; now the 'man' is trying to bring him and his 10 year old daughter down." Well, there's nothing like taking a message to the streets. And not only is the letter taped to the car, medical documents are taped near it also (so if it's performance art, it's pretty authentic-looking). more ›