The 46-year-old pedestrian who was struck and killed by a 100-pound tree branch in Central Park emigrated ten years ago from Albania and is survived by a wife and two kids. Relatives and police think Elmaz Qyra was just getting off his shift working behind the bar at the New York Athletic Club when he became the victim of the “freak accident.” "It was his dream to come to America and buy a home and provide a better life for his family," said his supervisor Cesar Zuzunaga. "He was always talking about his family and he was family to us here." more ›

Police arrested a suspected serial gym robber who hit New York Sports Club and Crunch locations in Manhattan. The NY Post reports that John Perez of Queens "would usually get past security by using a gym member's ID that he had previously stolen...Then he would sneak inside the locker room, use a bolt cutter to break into lockers and grab wallets, cash, credit cards, ID's, Blackberrys and cell phones, sources said." The 23-year-old allegedly stole from the West 82nd Street Crunch three times and the Christopher Street location once, while also hitting the Chelsea, Upper East Side and Upper West Side branches of New York Sports Club. Perez was charged with 10 counts of burglary. Some robbers do like gym lockers: One man arrested earlier this year for a rash of NYSC robberies was arrested in 1979 for stealing from a Jack LaLanne gym in the Bronx. more ›

A parolee was arrested for robbing a number of gyms last year. The Staten Island Advance says Murray Bradford was sentenced to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison for robbing gyms on S.I. as well as in Manhattan and Queens, "picking lockers clean of at least $20,000." Bradford joined a New York Sports Club in the Bronx and used the membership to access gyms all around the city. He "allegedly pried open the lockers and took cash and credit cards, before hooking up with fellow Bronxite Angel Nieves, 32, who drove Bradford to the nearest CVS store or Best Buy to spend the loot." One purchase, courtesy of a credit card stolen from the NYSC club in the Travis section of Staten Island was a $3,700 flat screen TV. Gym thefts are familiar to Bradford: The Advance says his "thick rap sheet dates to 1979, when he was convicted of breaking into a locker at a Jack LaLanne gym in the Bronx" and the Daily News noted last year that Bradford had served a sentence for gym robberies before this latest round. more ›

Ilir Ademi is suing a New York Sports Club in Queens for its staff allegedly failing to administer CPR or make use of their defibrillator when his wife suffered a heart arrhythmia and died there last spring. His 25-year-old bride Dari Gracova was already brain dead by the time EMTs arrived at the the gym fifteen minutes after she first collapsed. Ademi claims that as his wife lay convulsing on the floor, club employees "came and moved everyone away from her" and then kept them away, refusing to use the automated external defibrillators that are required by law. NYSC has denied responsibility for the death after being hit with the $6 million suit Friday. more ›

Thank goodness for the eagle eyes of Staten Island Ferry captain Christopher Covella. His and his crew's actions led to the rescue of 23-year-old Hannah Upp, a public school teacher missing since August 29. more ›

New Year's resolutions probably started out as some sort of gym propaganda to up membership. Every new year, fitness centers worldwide bulk up their ad campaigns, promote "deals" and promise a better body in just months. With so many options, how does one choose a suitable establishment in which to "get physical"? more ›

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Kraft made Republican and Democratic Macaroni & Cheese in 1996, as well as 2000 (there was also a Convention Barbie handed out in 2000). And what was in this year's Democratic delegate goodie bag.
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I was lazy and sat on my butt all winter. I'm dreading going to the Hamptons given my current physical state and know I need to join a gym, but don't want to get sucked into a long contract since I plan on assuming my position on the couch once the weather gets cold again. What are my options? more ›

Scientists have found that men who exercise will add years to their sex lives. Believing that the mention of "sex" will be the key to get men to exercise and therefore protect their hearts, scientists are eager to get out the word about the exercise and sex. And Gothamist loves this: Penis as barometer for total health. “Maybe the penis is like a barometer of what could happen to your heart and to your brain for stroke,” says Dr. William Steers, professor and chairman of the urology department at the University of Virginia. Dr. Irwin Goldstein, at Boston University's School of Medicine, adds, “Go in IC (intensive care) and ask how many men were impotent before your heart attack, and more than 80 percent in any study had erectile dysfunction way before their heart attacks." more ›