A Connecticut man and his mother are being evicted from their apartment, and they say it is because of his weight. 25-year-old Joseph DiBenedetto weighs more than 600 pounds and has to wear an oxygen mask, but "he says he weighed even more when he and his mother, Debbie Verab, moved into the New Haven home four years ago." So now they are fighting the eviction. more ›

The Freshman 15 at Yale is going to go up a few pounds next year. Today Union Square Hospitality announced that the next Shake Shack in the pipeline will be opening a smidge outside of NYC's borders, hitting up New Haven, Connecticut, this fall. Naturally, the new Shack'll be kitty-corner to Yale's Old Campus. more ›

The MTA has released more information on the new cuts to service on the New Haven Metro-North line. MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan tells us the new schedules are up on the Metro-North website, and that "on weekdays, off-peak schedules remain the same as under the current timettable. On weekends, a Sunday Schedule will be in effect for Saturdays as well as Sundays." That doesn't sound as bad as the cuts could be, but commuters and MTA workers are still shocked that they even happened. more ›

Most of us haven't been shot, so we really can't know exactly how we'd react if we were. Would we keep calm and rational? Would we scream hysterically? New Haven resident Miguel Soto III faced just that situation after he was shot twice, near the groin and in the left leg. And he chose to eat a sandwich. Soto, 25, was shot leaving a New Haven deli on Tuesday. He went home, ate his sandwich, then asked his father to take him to the hospital. Many, many questions come to mind, but only one will keep us from sleeping tonight: what kind of glorious sandwich was it?? more ›

There was considerable panic among Metro-North commuters earlier this year, when the MTA seemed poised to retire its last remaining bar cars, a relic of the New Haven line. At the time, Paul Hornung, a financial worker, spoke for everyone when he told the Times, "This is the one thing you can look forward to." In the ensuing uproar, the railroad said it would try to find the money to commission bar cars to go with the new batch of trains they're ordering for the New Haven line. But now that a proposed rendering of the new bar cars have been released, guess who's not happy about it? Here's a hint: They can't go 45 minutes without a drink. more ›

Firefighter Michael Briscoe's suit against New Haven was dismissed yesterday by a U.S. District Court judge. The suit claimed that the language in a 2003 promotional exam was biased against Briscoe and other black firefighters, preventing him from becoming a lieutenant. This comes after the reverse discrimination suit the New Haven fire department, Ricci v. DeStefano, where 20 Connecticut firefighters (white and Hispanic) sued the department for throwing out the results of the test because no black firefighters scored high enough. more ›

For years now, MTA officials have been trying to take away one of the last remaining "privileges" enjoyed by adults schlepping home from Grand Central on Metro North: Alcohol. First they tried to just ban booze, but backed down in the face of an outcry (and the fact that alcohol sales brought in $1 million profit for the MTA at the time). But with the introduction of a new fleet of 300 train cars to replace the 1970s-era models, it seems The Man is one step closer to wresting the bottle from riders on the New Haven line. Not a single new bar car has been built, and the old wood-paneled ones aren't compatible with the new fleet! more ›

Yesterday, hundreds of people attended gathered in an El Dorado Hills, California for the funeral mass of Annie Le, the Yale graduate student who was murdered in a Yale research building a few weeks ago. Bishop Jaime Soto of the Sacremento Archdiocese said, "We do not let cruelty or violence own the sorrow. We let love own the sorrow. It was Annie’s love for her family and friends, for her fiancé that give us such sorrow as well as our love for her." more ›

A new list picking 50 foods and naming the best spots in the world for them finds that various locales around the five boroughs have the top burgers, ravioli, pork belly and pastrami sandwiches (at Katz's, natch). But if you're looking for the best slice, you're in the wrong town. more ›

This morning, New Haven police arrested Raymond Clark for the murder of Yale graduate student Annie Le. Clark, 24, an animal lab technician in the Yale facility where Le did research, was taken from the Motel 8 in Cromwell, Connecticut where he had been staying since yesterday. Sources say his DNA matches evidence from the crime scene while there were apparently text messages between him and Le about meeting at the lab on Tuesday, September 8—the last day Le was found. Her asphyxiated body was found in a crawl space in the research building's basement on Sunday, September 13, the day she was to be married. more ›

A 24-year-old animal technician at a Yale research facility was named a "person of interest" by New Haven police and was taken into custody in connection to the investigation of Yale graduate student Annie Le's death. While the police searched his apartment in Middletown, Raymond Clark has not been charged yet. Last night, New Haven Police Chief James Lewis said, "We took him into custody to gather evidence from his body and his person. If he cooperates he'll be released this evening." Clark was released at 3 a.m., after the police collected DNA from him. more ›

Investigators, searching for missing bride-to-be and Yale graduate student Annie Le, found a body in the New Haven research building where Le was last seen. While the body has not been identified as Le's, New Haven police are assuming it is hers. According to the Hartford Courant, "The body was found inside a chase, a square area in a wall used to run pipes and wires from floor to floor. Police would not say in what area of the building the body was found. Le's family has been contacted." The 24-year-old, who was supposed to be married to Columbia graduate student Jonathan Widawsky on Long Island yesterday, had been missing since Tuesday, when she was last seen entering the building (she had left her purse, credit cards and cell phone in her office a few blocks away). more ›

Local, state and federal authorities are looking for 24-year-old Annie Le, a graduate student last seen at a Yale research building in New Haven, Connecticut. While there are reports that her bloody clothes were found above a ceiling tile in the building and her body was even found in the building, FBI special agent Kimberly Mertz said, "We are not in a position today to conclude whether this is a missing persons case or whether criminality is involved... I will categorically say a body has not been found," adding, "Items that could potentially be evidence has been seized," but said they had not yet been associated to the pharmacology doctoral student. Le, whose credit card, purse and cell phone were left in her office a few blocks away, was to be married tomorrow at North Ritz Club in Syosset, but the wedding was canceled; Newsday reports, "Police have said that Le's fiance, Jonathan Widawsky of Huntington, a graduate student in physics at Columbia University, is not considered a suspect and that he is in New Haven cooperating with police." And Yale said reports (from the Post and a Fox affiliate) suggesting a professor was a suspect were "typical Fox News hysterical headline[s]." more ›

There are some residual delays on Metro-North this morning after yesterday's East Harlem building collapse that led to the suspension of all service in and out of Grand Central. The trains' speed restrictions were lifted at 6:30 a.m. and there may be 5-10 delays. more ›

A building collapse at 124th Street and Park Avenue has prompted the MTA to shut down all train service in and out of Grand Central Terminal. Metro-North's Dan Brucker told WCBS 880, "We don't know how long the closure will last. We have been told by the police not to have any trains run through the 125th Street station." more ›

Die Romantik (myspace, website) is a guitar, drum and keyboard trio with a knack for weaving lush, elegant melodies that never lose the element of surprise. Brooklyn by way of France, the group has developed a local following that recently earned them a spot on the lineup for Malajube’s show at Bowery Ballroom. Their debut full-length album, Narcissist’s Waltz, was summed up by Stylus magazine thusly: “An album of sophisticated arrangements and lullaby melodies that... more ›

We'd expect a lack of municipal fealty from most people in show business, but we were disappointed to hear that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro would be turning up a chance to shoot in the city in exchange for a building in Connecticut with a NYC backdrop behind it. The New York Post reported briefly that some scenes of the in-production film "Righteous Kill" will be posing scenes set in NYC in Stamford, CT, with backdrops outside the windows of an actual building illustrating New York. The film has been shooting in New Haven and Norwalk, CT for weeks and was lured to the Nutmeg State by tax breaks for film companies. more ›

Never leave home without it: City Councilman Hiram Monserrate is proposing a bill that would allow all NYC residents to have identification cards, regardless of legal status. more ›

There must be something about the morning shift at WABC. After just four days on the job as the permanent replacement for Steve Bartelstein, Ken Rosato, overslept and was late for the 5 a.m. edition of Eyewitness News. We think it is pretty safe to assume that he just overslept, since he probably hasn’t adjusted his body clock fully to the new hours, and that he wasn’t spending the night out clubbing like his predecessor. We wonder if he brought bagels to smooth things over. more ›

A transit authority committee reversed track on a move to ban alcohol on commuter trains after receiving a stack of petitions that were signed by thousands of riders who objected. Facing overwhelming opposition from their customers, the LIRR and Metro-North will continue to allow them to drink. The New York Times describes the opposition to the proposed booze ban as being a modern democratic uniter, linking different socio-economic groups in a common cocktail cause. We almost wonder if Sen. Clinton or Rudy Giuliani will eventually outfit their campaign buses with wetbars and kegs to capitalize on the issue. There are actually only bar cars on the Metro-North line that travels from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven. Other Metro-North passengers can buy drinks from carts located on the platform and the LIRR has mobile carts that are wheeled onto trains. more ›

Hoorah! WNBC has a clip of Sue Simmons's Groundhog Impression, 2007 edition from yesterday's newscast. How did the WNBC anchor start imitating woodland creatures?

Sue says her imitation of the groundhog face actually began before she came to New York, when she was a reporter in New Haven. On Groundhog Day one year, she ended a live shot with the groundhog face, and for weeks, people kept coming up to her asking for a repeat performace.

A train commute without a buzz? The MTA may look into banning alcohol sales on LIRR and Metro-North trains. The NY Sun reports MTA board member Mitchell Pally as saying, "They can have as many beers as they want as soon as they get home. I would prefer we don't let anyone drink alcohol on the train. If we're not ready to go that far … the least we can do is not make it easy for people to do it, which is, don't sell it."

The safety issue, according to Mr. Pally, is drunk driving when tipsy passengers head to their homes from train stations. Long Island Rail Road has been selling alcohol on platforms and aboard trains since the 1950s, and Metro-North has been serving it since 1976. No car accidents directly related to onboard drinking have been reported, and bartenders on the trains are not allowed to sell alcohol to passengers who seem to them to be inebriated.

I tend not to enjoy myself at rap shows. I've got nothing against Rap music and I'm no racist, but I just never seem to really get into it. There are some shows I've really dug. Wu-Tang a few months ago in New Haven was a total trip. Atmosphere always impresses me live (Yes, he's white and no, I'm still not racist.) Other than that, I've been disappointed by nearly every live hip-hop show I've been to. It's a bummer. more ›

If you are interested in urban planning, architecture, or real estate, The Stamford Review is a great read. It's a scholarly journal that deals with a lot of those issues, published in NYC and Stamford, CT. We got a copy of their spring issue (available as a free download at StamfordReview.com, which contained many intriguing pieces about the limits of growth in our city, and what is going to happen next. Larry Sicular, the editor and publisher of the review, and Jonathan Miller, one of the contributors, were nice enough to answer some of our questions. more ›

Craziness on the weather front this morning. High winds have tipped over tractor trailers on the George Washington and Tappan Zee Bridges, closing both for a while this morning. In the Bronx, where wind gusts have been up to 68 mph, trees have fallen across MetroNorth tracks, delaying their Harlem and New Haven line runs. 1010 WINS is also reporting power outages in the Bronx, Westchester, New Jersey and on Long Island. How was your favorite wind tunnel this morning? more ›

Gorman Bechard, Director and Screenwriter, You Are Alone, Novelist more ›

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Gothamist cannot get enough of the story of Hakan Yalincak, the NYU senior who is currently in a New Haven jail on charges that he orchestrated a multi-million dollar check kiting scheme. Yesterday, he was denied bail after authorities found a counterfeit check, plus the same stock of paper Yalincak allegedly created a $25 million check from. It's totally a Frank Abagnale, the subject of Catch Me If You Can! Yalincak's defense attorney tried to soft-pedal the crimes, saying that even though he tried to pass fake checks at the banks, there were no victims. Plus, even though the family was behind on its rent and had foreclosed a house, they had money in Turkey! Gotta love defense strategies. more ›

Grand Central after hours also include naked photography and movies. more ›