Cram all sorts of culture down your gullet in one fell swoop tonight at the annual Museum Mile Festival, a giant art-fueled block party along Fifth Avenue. Cars are blocked from 82nd to 105th Sts, and nine museums are opening their doors for free—yes, that's right, free!—from 6 to 9 p.m., plus there's live music and art-in-the-street activities to keep the festivities going, rain or shine. more ›

It's the 31st year of the Museum Mile Festival, where Fifth Avenue between 82nd and 105th Streets is closed so people can visit the nine museums along that stretch for free! The participating museums are: El Museo del Barrio; Museum of the City of New York; The Jewish Museum; Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution; National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Neue Galerie New York; Goethe-Institut/German Cultural Center; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. more ›

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the... more ›

A number of people, after witnessing a cab driver clip a woman crossing Fifth Avenue yesterday morning, came to her aid as another driver chased the cab. The Post reports that the woman had been crossing Fifth at 85th Street when a cab "raced westward." more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Beekman Ave. in the Bronx, a double shooting on Throop Ave. in Brooklyn, and a dead body in the water just south of the Bayonne Bridge off Staten Island.
• There was a breaking news story on a cop being shot and killed this morning at or near a Hilton Hotel on 31st St. in Manhattan. Details were conflicting and confusing (not unusual in a breaking news event) and we expected clarification as the day went on. So far: total media silence on any such event.
• Someone "splashed" the black Astor Pl. rotating cube with a variety of paints, but the culprit doesn't appear to be the "Splasher".
• Claudia Cohen, former Page Six Editor at the NY Post, legendary gossip reporter, and ex-wife of billionaire Ron Perelman, succumbed to ovarian cancer yesterday. Former NY Sen. Alfonse D'Amato once famously called a press conference to announce that he was in love with Cohen.
• The Gowanus Lounge reports on the phenomena of someone, or some people, taking poops on people's property on Brooklyn's Bergen St. We emphasize: not dog crap, human crap.
• A Staten Island man has been indicted for his habit of poking young girls with a sharp object, allegedly for sexual gratification purposes.
• Longtime Harlem mainstay The Record Shack on 125th St. is facing eviction by the store's landlord.
• Chelsea neighbors object to the construction of an incongruous addition to their block.

READING: Today NY Mag asks, "What does Tina Brown have to do to get some attention?" Well tonight she's signing copies of her new book (a tell-all on Princess Di) called The Diana Chronicles. more ›

The 29th Annual Museum Mile Festival is tomorrow, with more creativity than you can imagine concentrated in a festival on 5th Avenue (from 82nd Street to 105th Street). From the Met to El Museo del Barrio you'll be able to find waived museum admissions. more ›

Yesterday, activists attempted to block the construction crews from razing a community garden in Harlem. The city has been planning to remove the Nueva Esperanza Garden at 110th and Fifth Avenue and replace it with a new building for the Museum of African Art. But critics question whether it's really a museum or a guise for new condominiums. There are supposed to be 115 luxury units in the building, and Times Up writes the museum part "has no collections and will house a few small rooms for lectures." more ›

YUM: If you're unable to jet off to a remote beach and sip on drinks in coconut cups, then do the next best thing. Okay, maybe the next next best thing, head over to The Carribean Fair. It's an all day festival giving you a taste of indigenous foods (prepared by celebrity chefs!). You can also check out some dancers, models, singers and bands - all celebrating the sites, sounds, and tastes of the islands. We feel relaxed already. more ›

Our favorite part: "follow the mile with street muralist De La Vega – grab a piece of chalk and make your mark!" more ›

Maybe it's the cold weather, but lately, Gothamist has been dreaming of escaping New York for a European city such as Vienna, Madrid, or Athens. Unfortunately, with the dollar's quick descent in relation to the Euro, it seems we won't be heading over there any time soon. more ›

- All visitors on Friday evenings (4:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.) Free more ›

And on an interesting note, 90th Street has Silly Billy the Very Funny Clown, one of the city's most sought-after clowns. He's also known as David Friedman, the brother whose videotapes of his family during the 80s make up a much of Capturing the Friedmans. more ›

With the city council approving a measure to bring twenty new public bathrooms to the city, Newsday looks at the places that need public bathrooms: more ›