Great Neck, Long Island: Once upon a time this little North Shore village was home to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the United Nations, and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Today its illustrious residents include Erik Bracamonte and Joseph Cianciulli, who are accused of spending their Saturday night arranging 28 folding chairs into a 12-by-12 foot swastika in the parking lot of a local synagogue. Kids these days, eh? more ›

Remember last week's story about the brain surgeon who was AWOL from North Shore University Hospital when he was supposed to be operating on a prepped, anesthetized patient? It gets worse. At least four families are suing Dr. Paolo Bolognese (pictured) and his colleague Thomas Milhorat, who has just stepped down as chairman of the department and, at age 73, will no longer be operating. The plaintiffs in one case are the parents of a five-year-old girl with Chiari malformation, a rare defect where the lower part of the brain descends into the spinal canal, as well as 'tethered cord syndrome." Their lawyers argue that Dr. Bolognese's $100,000 operation to treat the tethered cord "was unnecessary and experimental," and that the girl "was being used as a human research subject." They say she didn't even have tethered cord to begin with, and that the surgery made her problems incredibly worse. Her grandfather tells the Daily News, "These doctors must be stopped. I have cried a thousand tears over her. They must be shut down." A hospital attorney insists that the two surgeons are "expert in this area, and when all the facts come forth, they will be vindicated." more ›

Look, it's not brain surgery—if you've got an important appointment, make a note of it in your calendar. Yet one big shot neurosurgeon at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island apparently had better things to do on April 10th, when he left his patient all prepped for surgery with nowhere to go. (To be fair, it can be difficult to get a good tee time at Fresh Meadow Country Club.) Dr. Paolo Bolognese, who reportedly makes about $2.4 million a year, was suspended for two weeks from the hospital after leaving his anesthetized female patient out cold on the operating table with her head shaved. It's unclear where exactly he was, and when staffers failed to locate Bolognese, they turned to chief of neurosurgery Thomas Milhorat ($7.2 million a year). But he refused to step in because the patient wasn't his. So Milhorat was also suspended, but the two MIA MDs seem to be making the best of it; a hospital receptionist tells the News they're in Italy attending a medical conference and, naturally, can't be reached. more ›

Not too long ago it was reported that Jennifer Lopez was ready to burst as her belly swelled with twins on the way. She had visited a Long Island hospital with husband Marc Anthony and her couture hospital gowns, but it must have been a false alarm, because soon after she was attending Fashion Week events. Initially it was reported she would have a Cesarean birth that was scheduled for Valentine's Day; no word yet on whether she ended up going the natural way, as yesterday the twins finally arrived. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Jail lockdown at Rikers, truck versus building on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, and a stabbing in Times Square.
• The Clintons' Chappaqua neighbor accused of killing his wife is moving out and had a garage sale selling his late wife's belongings.
• Speaking of the Clintons, Congressman Nita Lowery was hospitalized after fainting at an event for Hillary Clinton.

A congenital defect left three chihuahua puppies lacking their forelegs, but between an employee at the North Shore Animal League on Long Island and a company in western Massachusetts, Venus, Carmen and Pablo are three para-pups on the move with aluminum walkers and foam wheels. more ›

A three pound rock that fell from a truck flew through a car windshield, killing the front passenger in Old Brookville. Seventy-five-year-old Rita Oill was pronounced dead at North Shore University Hospital an hour after the 10:15AM incident. She and her daughter Marie Waters were out to do some Thanksgiving shopping. The truck's driver did not stop. Newsday reports that the rock was "about five inches in circumference and about two inches in diameter" and... more ›

An orthodontist was killed while taking his 5-year-old daughter to the Annadale playground at Flushing Meadows Park. Around 11AM, Daniel Malakov was shot in the chest twice by someone who witnesses say was wearing a black fleece. more ›

A 23-year-old Queens woman was saved from a disease that was destroying her kidneys by a most-willing donor: her fiancé. Jarena Bates and Tye Johnson met when Johnson was delivering a couch in Queens and Bates answered the door. They began dating soon after and have been together for five years, getting engaged in January. Bates, who was diagnosed with a kidney disorder when she was 14 years old was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome shortly after she and Johnson got engaged and was hospitalized in May when she went into kidney failure. more ›

The NY Times has an article this weekend that focuses on the overused and so over H word. Hipsters! They're still here, in all their b&w print glory. This time they're settling down in Staten Island to make babies. more ›

MUSIC: Not long ago we saw the movie Once, and absolutely loved it. Busker meets girl, deep connection through music...you get the idea. Now the two main characters are touring and singing the songs from the soundtrack. The male lead was of course the singer of The Frames, Glen Hansard, and his female counterpoint is Marketa Irglova. Tonight they take the stage at Gramercy, so it's your chance to see them off the big screen and right before your very eyes. We wonder if they'll stay in character? more ›

We briefly mentioned the wild melee between some Staten Island residents and the cops on July 4th, after the police investigated a call about illegal fireworks. Nineteen people had been arrested, while 10 others received summons, and residents are now complaining that the police were too aggressive. Cops, many of whom were injured, say they were doing their job. more ›

Police have apprehended three robbers who robbed homes and businesses on Staten Island's North Shore during an 11 day crime spree. And it just so happens the thieves are 13, 14 and 15 years old. more ›

Promoting a civil public school environment is important, but we had no idea that the price you paid for writing on a desk could be so severe. A 13-year-old girl was handcuffed and arrested by the police for writing "okay" on a desk at her Dyker Heights school. WCBS 2 spoke to the Chelsea Fraser and her outraged mother Diana Silva, who said, "I'm appalled, because here we have rapists, murderers, and you're taking a 13-year-old kid? Wasting valuable manpower to arrest a child who wrote on a desk?" Yeah, what happened to detention? more ›

What police believe is serial burglar is striking fear into the hearts of many residents of Staten Island's North Shore. Burglaries have been reported in at least 13 homes in the West Brighton and Westerleigh neighborhoods since January 19th. The burglar, whose sketch was released yesterday by the NYPD, typically strikes between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. and police believe he has been waiting until residents leave their homes during the day. more ›

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Brian Stack is a writer and performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. You might know him as Frankenstein in the segment Frankenstein Wastes a Minute of Your Time or you might know him for his terrific work as Special Agent in Charge in the film Spaceman. Now you'll know all about Brian's childhood, how he got to where is today, and his limited run Improv show Let's Have A Ball, featuring writers and actors of The Colbert Report, 30 Rock, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. more ›

You've got to keep your on those wicked scamps over at Property Shark! When their not adding insane data layers to their property map, they are cooking up crazy demographic overlays. For instance, we just noticed that one of their overlays is "Single Men in NYC." The hot areas for high guy percentages: Chinatown, the West Side, Red Hook, and Gowanus, Throgs Neck, and North Shore of Staten Island. Who knew?! more ›

Tonight, 30 dogs from China will be arriving at JFK Airport, to be put up for adoption at the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington. Newsday reports that these dogs were in a crowded Beijing animal shelter (crowded and Beijing seem synonymous to us) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare decided to step in, saying that the Beijing shelter had "more dogs in the shelter than they can adopt out." Certain breeds of dogs are illegal for ownership in China - for instance, a dog bigger taller than 6 inches is contraband. However, PETA pointed out that the trip from China to NY isn't a "picnic" and that millions of American animals are euthanized each year. The IFAW tells Newsday they are trying to help out Chinese shelters and encourage the government to remove breed bans. more ›

Kevin Walsh, Forgotten NY more ›

Sullivan's book, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants, does seem like it'll be an interesting read. On an empty stomach, of course. more ›