The story, which will surprise no one, notes that flight delays are just as bad as they were five years ago, and that airlines pad the statistics to keep things from looking even worse. In 2007, delays that affected 320 million passengers cost the economy a total of $41 billion, roughly the cost of one copy of US Weekly, a pack of gum, and a chicken salad sandwich purchased at La Guardia's food court. more ›

Great. As if this city wasn't crowded enough, now the bean counters at the U.S. Census Department have, with the wave of a hand, shrunk the city by two square miles. Couldn't they have just lopped a little off the Meatpacking District and Murray Hill? more ›

Yesterday, we found out that billionaires like Tea Party fan David Koch and Mayor Bloomberg are getting more billionaire-y. Now the U.S. Census reveals that one in five New York City residents lives in poverty. The NY Times reports, "From 2009 to 2010, 75,000 city residents were pushed into poverty, increasing the poor population to more than 1.6 million and raising the percentage of New Yorkers living below the official federal poverty line to 20.1 percent, the highest level since 2000. The 1.4-percentage-point annual increase in the poverty rate appeared to be the largest jump in nearly two decades." more ›

At the beginning of the year statistics came out that showed New York has a 40 percent abortion rate, statistics which many (especially the clergy) were not happy to see. Bus ads regarding the stats were put up, people doubted and backed up the numbers, a racially charged billboard was put up in SoHo (and then taken down for "safety") and then the whole issue kind of went away for a bit. Until now. At the request of Chiaroscuro Foundation, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has broken down their 2009 abortion statistics by zip code, and the results may surprise you. more ›

Earlier this month, Fox News confirmed that chalk addict Glenn Beck was leaving the network sometime this year. Which is why it makes sense that he's leaving New York City, too. He told a crowd over the weekend, "We were each born with a purpose, born at this time for a reason. I don’t care what your [situation] is, your job is. You were born here for a purpose and the first thing you’ve got to do is… have no fear. Have no fear..." and, "The last thing I will be doing, I will be leaving New York City." more ›

In 1995 The Encyclopedia of New York City hit bookshelves and quickly became a go-to resource for budding New Yorkologists. Now, fifteen years later, editor Kenneth T. Jackson and his crack team of writers and editors are back with a bigger, badder second edition. Curious, we called up Jackson, who is the Jacques Barzun Professor in History and Social Sciences at Columbia University, for a lengthy chat about the changing city and encyclopedia that managed to range from defining neighborhoods and excising law firms from the encyclopedia to the wonders of the FDNY and why Woody Allen is in but Robert Redford isn't. Not to mention plans to eventually go online, the amazing number of newspapers that come out of the city and more. more ›

New York may be a city filled to the brim with left-wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers, but despite all that, and the bedbugs, the bike lane wars and the police quotas, the majority of New Yorkers are very satisfied with the city, according to a new Marist poll. Eighty four percent of NYers answered favorably that they liked to live in the city, and their neighborhood in particular, while only four percent said they were completely unsatisfied. Among the revelations of the survey: Brooklyn is the most active borough, Manhattan is the most preservation oriented, Manhattanites are more inclined to support small business in their neighborhood, and Manhattanites and Queens residents are more inclined to buy things made in NYC. more ›

Besides last night's citywide shopping spree for Fashion's Night Out, it turns out that New York City won't see a dime of the $17.2 million spent to secure space for the catwalk events of Fashion Week. Instead of the $2.6 million paid to the city to secure Bryant Park, IMG Fashion is paying Lincoln Center directly to use Damrosch Park for the next five years. Though it's a public park, Lincoln Center has a long-term contract to manage the park, and Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent said, "That includes the authority to manage and charge for events in those spaces." But not everyone is that laissez-faire. more ›

Most artistic representations of New York just seem too flat to fully convey how dynamic the city really is. But artist Daisy Lew decided to add another dimension to her cityscapes, while still keeping them flat enough to store in any studio. The pop-up works each represent a slice of New York—a taxi, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty—but are made up of dozens of little buildings! We bet Donald Trump would love to see his face in skyscrapers just like that. [Via Laughingsquid] more ›

Yesterday, Nike released a collection of limited-edition Air Force 1 sneakers, one pair for each borough in New York City. And we have to admit, they look pretty cool. Designed by DJ Clark Kent, the "Five Boroughs Pack" sneakers feature the borough names on the laces and designs on the insoles. Though we're wondering how he chose the color schemes. The in-demand pairs have been flying off the shelves of selective stores all over the city, and is leaving some collectors worried that they may not be able to get all five. What a travesty! more ›

According to a new survey from AskMen.com, New York City ranked #1 in the world for the best city to live in if you're a guy. The survey rated 29 cities according to cost of living, weather, jobs, dating, leisure activities and air quality, and New York beat out Melbourne, Tokyo and London. Website editor in chief James Bassil told Reuters, "We're positioning the best cities that you can live in say, for a year, somewhere exotic, with cultural options, and job opportunities as well, and also entertainment as a man, which includes clubs and fresh air options." more ›

The city is contemplating sending in a separate proposal from the rest of the state for "Race to the Top" funds. Though the state is already putting together another proposal for the second round, the city may bid on a possible third round, worth $1.35 billion. Deputy Chancellor John White told the Daily News, "If it means more money for our kids, we would apply." Though the state came in 15th of 16 applicants, reviewers called the city's student performance date system "impressive." No word yet on what they think of the city's furniture choices. more ›

Now that the American Apparel mess is behind him, Woody Allen can get back to talking about what he loves: movies and New York City. USA Today and Tribeca Film have interviews with the director, who says he's getting priced out of Manhattan! He told them, "I wish I could afford to be here all the time, but it's a very expensive city to work in. It's gotten worse for me. It's gotten better in that they give you tax breaks. But everything (else) has gone up. I work on a very limited budget." He noted that it would cost about an extra $3 million to film in New York in comparison to overseas. more ›

Make room, please: The outward migration of New Yorkers relocating to the exburbs has been dramatically reversed. According to recent census data, between '07 and '08 NYC had the smallest out-migration since at least 1990, and it's part of what may be a nationwide reversal of a decade-long trend, which saw major cities losing residents to cheaper housing and job opportunities in smaller communities. A Brookings Institution analysis has found that the population growth in urban areas mirrors a slowdown in migration magnets like Riverside-San Bernardino, which recorded the first migration loss since the mid-1990s. more ›

Flip: This new create-your-own burger joint, located deep in the bowels of Bloomingdale's, is sure to be a welcome oasis for bored dudes held hostage on spousal shopping expeditions. While customers aren't literally allowed to put on an apron and get behind the grill, the clean, well-lighted space does offer almost complete autonomy over the design of one's burger. Naturally, A Hamburger Today was all over the place as soon as it opened, and found some kinks still in need of working out: "While the food at Flip wasn't bad, we can't imagine that anyone would go out of their way to eat there. After tax and tip you'll spend more than $20 per person if you want more than a burger, and we can't say it's worth the money. Then again, if you're shopping at Bloomingdale's you probably aren't looking for a bargain anyway." To be fair, the food porn shots published in the review look pretty appetizing. Mid-level of the men's lower level at Bloomingdale's, 1000 3rd Avenue, (212) 705-2993 more ›

Hey, maybe Times Square isn't so Disneyfied after all; millions of travelers on Trip Advisor have voted Hotel Carter on West 43rd Street the #1 filthiest place to stay in America. Comments on Trip Advisor range from revolting ("I don't know where to begin... Roaches, rats, mice, horrible smells, dirty sheets, horrifying bathrooms, outlets that hang out of walls... But the worst part about it was that at 4 a.m. I woke up to a bunch of guys breaking into our hotel room while we were sleeping!!") to panicked ("It's like a HORROR movie in real life, it's so bad that its just not for real. Barack Obama, please shut it down!"). more ›

Productivity plummeted across New York City today as people dropped everything to witness the inauguration of President Obama. Damn, it feels good to say that. Here are some photos taken by readers of some of the Obamarama action around town. more ›

They've tried vertical cameras and even lasers but nothing beats a Russian immigrant when when it comes to counting bodies Times Square, according to this fun article in the Times, which tells you all you never wanted to know about counting crowds at the crossroads of the world. It's almost exclusively Russian immigrants who get paid $8 an hour to stand around and count. An engineer who oversees the process explains that the Times Square Alliance—which spends up to $100,000 a year for the data—formerly employed Nigerians, but "at some point we switched over to these Russians." And most of them are overqualified. 66-year-old Alexander Turin, a former French literature professor who left Russia in 1976, says he counts because "sometimes you just need to do the simplest jobs." So thanks to Turin and his comrades, we know that half a million people recently passed through Times Square in a single day. more ›

There is actually quite a lot out there for tourists and locals seeking diversion in New York City today. Many Broadway shows are still performing, though at different times than usual, and TKTS in Times Square will be selling discounted theater tickets from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (The Brooklyn and South Street Seaport locations are closed.) There are also a couple performances of The Big Apple Circus scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. And the Radio City Christmas Spectacular isn't about to let a national holiday get those gams down; there are three performances today at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. more ›

The Times takes a look at a tradition followed by the city's 45 marshals, who take a break from evicting tenants for two weeks every year around the holidays. The unofficial "eviction moratorium" isn't sanctioned by the city, and the marshals insist it has more to do with year-end paperwork than any Christmas spirit. But one marshal, 31-year veteran Danny Weinheim, admits to having a bit of a heart: "Could you go into an apartment with a Christmas tree and evict everybody and be Scrooge? I wouldn’t do that. It’s Christmas Eve. I’m Jewish, but it’s still Christmas Eve." The article also gives an insightful peek at the makeup of the city's marshals: two have Ph.D.’s, one was an exterminator, and another was a haberdasher before taking up one of the most hated occupations. And one unnamed marshal will be breaking ranks and carrying out evictions this week (it's said he has a heart two sizes too small). more ›

This week Frank Bruni at the Times criticizes Corton, the new Tribeca restaurant helmed by enfant terrible chef Paul Liebrandt. Others at Time Out and NY Mag have raved, and Bruni's praise isn't exactly muted either: "At Corton [Liebrandt] calms down and wises up, accepting that an evening in a restaurant shouldn’t be like a visit to a fringe art gallery: geared to the intellect, reliant on provocation. It needn’t demand raptness. And it must, in the course of whatever else it means to accomplish, leave a person eager for the next bite and intent on the one after that." Makes sense, three stars. more ›

The guys behind the smallish, always packed Dell'Anima in the West Village have expanded with L'Artusi, named after Pellegrino Artusi, the celebrated (and long dead) Italian cookbook author. Chef/owner Gabe Thompson and owner/wine director Joe Campanale have taken the sit-at-the-open-kitchen concept that's so popular at Dell'Anima and run with it, with even more seats at the L'Artusi counter to watch the sparks fly. The new 110-seat restaurant (which used to be Maremma) emphasizes seasonal Italian cuisine. And though it may be a lot bigger than Dell'Anima, you probably won't notice because all those stripes are very slimming. more ›

A 19-year-old male model flew into a rage yesterday after a Daily News cover story sparked a media frenzy outside the Ozone Park home he shares with his 37-year-old lover, a former teacher who is suing the city for firing her over the affair. WCBS has video of the teen tantrum, which features Hugo Boss model Joshua Walter charging from the house in slippers, clapping his hands and yelling "Leave! Get the f--- outta here! Find someplace else to take pictures." more ›

The gripping saga of the giant truffle that came to New York City from Italy with stars in its eyes has come to a modest end in the Second City. After being jerked around by just about every hot shot restaurateur in town, the massive 2.15 lbs white truffle packed its bags and set sights on Chicago, where the Four Seasons decided to give the kid a shot. Tyler Gray, the truffle's business manager, tells us he inked a contract last week for "our regular price for large truffles, $3,200 per pound." We hear the talented tuber is really making a go of it over there, and was recently spotted canoodling with Oprah Winfrey's noodles. more ›

A tenured second grade school teacher in Queens is suing to win her job back after being fired because her boyfriend/baby daddy was a high school student at one point in their relationship. more ›

OH: Don't expect the Times's Frank Bruni to review it—Portfolio theorizes he HATES going to Harlem—but for everyone else, this three story restaurant/bar seems worth a try. Well, maybe not everyone; the top floor is a member's only club where $500 gets you "top notch service" and discount food and drinks. ($1000 gets you "full VIP access" to the cigar terrace.) Greasy Guide has a full review and reports that the menu features mini catfish sliders, mini turkey burgers with bbq sauce, gourmet pizza, and champagne sauteed shrimp: "It was also a great place to network. I gave out all of my business cards that I brought with me and everyone was super nice and talkative. So thank God that Harlem has all of these new places…Harlem is the place to be in NYC right now." Sure, he said the N word, but he's got a point about Harlem. 458 West 145th Street more ›

Oh, remember how this time last year Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni thought nothing of dropping $7,000 on a 1.1 pound white truffle? Those were the days. Now, with Wall Street rapidly turning into Skid Row, it's hard out there for a truffle. more ›

Almost one month ago, Representative Anthony Weiner's brother Jason opened a Flatiron district outpost of Almond, his popular Hamptons restaurant. At the time, much was made of the restaurant/lounge's cursed location, which some say is still haunted by the ghosts of Borough Food & Wine, Jeffrey Chodorow’s Caviar & Banana, and Rocco DiSpirito's eponymous FAIL. more ›