New York magazine's cover feature is all about crime in the Big Apple. There are a number of articles, from getting the murder rate to zero (last year it was at the lower in 40-plus years with 494 murders) to those Criminals Gone Wild videos and a look at the violence plaguing Brownsville. But most intriguing is Adam Fisher's personal account of getting mugged in Bushwick. more ›

Kate Gilliam heads up Trees Not Trash, a group whose name pretty much explains it all. Gilliam builds planters, plants trees and makes her industrial neighborhood a little more green each day. Oh, and she's a seed bomber, too. We're betting East Williamsburg could use a lot more patches of nature, so help out by volunteering or going to their benefit show this Saturday. more ›

L train riders, your patience, as well as personal space, will be tested for at least another three years. The NY Times reports that an additional 64 train cars that would take advantage of the "high-tech signal system" the MTA spent so much time installing won't be on tracks before January 2010. Which means that you'll have to make do with waiting for now! more ›

What better way to get out of the cold than to party in an art gallery? This Saturday there are two—count ’em, two—Brooklyn galleries sticking their tongues out at the weather and celebrating art with live music and festivities. And the best thing is, you don’t have to chose between them because they’re at different times: first, head to Secret Project Robot for the opening reception of Cameron Michel’s “A New Polymorphous Reality,” then make your way to 3rd Ward for The End of Ice. Read on for details involving grog and light-up costumes. more ›

A couple blocks from the Grand Avenue L station, Lock Inn is recognizable for not being an auto body shop or construction company- that and the oversized wrought iron key on the door. Inside, the keys are all over the place, hanging on the exposed brick wall, most notably near the chastity belt above the menu. The bar is comfortable and the tables built into the walls have Scrabble and chess boards encouraging people to linger, and when we visited there was a small child and a dog at the tables in addition to construction workers and students. In the back there is a good jukebox and a pool table, opposite pretty memorable bathrooms lined with crossword puzzles and lit by refurbished Jack Daniels bottles. Under the AC a heavy door leads to a large garden with tables, grape vines and, weather permitting, barbeque, a welcome addition to the bar snacks of barbeque potato chips, orange cheese doodles and microwave popcorn. Weekdays from 4-8, the happy hour gives patrons $2 house "just beer" (read: Bud Lite), $1 off every other beer making the most expensive choice $4. The bar has the usual suspects and other choices like Blackthorne cider in line with owner Lisa Buono's Anglophile aesthetic (in the U.K. the bar's name is a term for an after-hours location). Converted from a scooter shop, it is surprisingly easy to get comfortable at the bar and settle in. more ›