April 30th marks the date when cable viewers in Queens and Brooklyn can see NY1 in glorious high definition joining those in Staten Island who got it first. Fans of Pat Kiernan who live in Manhattan (along with New Jersey and the Hudson Valley) will have to wait a bit longer, with Time Warner promising to roll it out for them by the end of the year. Since cable TV is not like broadcast TV,......

We may have entered an unheralded era in political frankness with the inauguration of Gov. David Paterson. The new gubernatorial head admitted in an interview with NY1 political anchor Dominic Carter that he's done drugs; different drugs. And not experimenting; he used substances a few times.Carter: Marijuana? Paterson: Yes. Carter: Cocaine? Paterson: Yes. Carter: You have used cocaine governor? Paterson: I'd say I was about 22-23. I tried it a few times, yes. Where's all......

Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, who has spent many months (if not years) hinting about his boss's presidential ambitions, is still stirring the pot of rumors. Last night on NY1's Inside City Hall, Sheekey, "promoted the idea of an Obama-Bloomberg presidential ticket." Sheekey revealed that after Bloomberg's official announcement/NY Times op-ed about not running for president, Barack Obama had a chat with the billionaire mayor:"Certainly you could joke that Obama's call was a fundraising call yesterday.......

Photograph of Running of the Brides participants by Mark Lennihan/AP Early this morning brides-to-be lined 14th Street in hopes of finding their dream dress at a discount price. The annual wedding dress sale at Filene's Basement, dubbed The Running of the Brides, included around 2500 gowns (of which reportedly zero are left). And every lady wants to find the designer dress with an off-the-rack pricetag, which can be akin to finding a needle in......

Photograph of someone determined to get around in the snow by Charley Lhasa on Flickr After January hype - which resulted in rain - and a brief moment of snow last week, a winter snow storm finally made an appearance this year. Two weather disturbances resulted in many inches of snow falling in the region: By 2PM, more than 6 inches fell in the city, which is the biggest snowfall in two years and......

In her State of the City address, City Council Speaker Quinn said that the Council would do its own belt-tightening given expectations the economy will slow. Still, she mentioned, per the Sun, "tax cuts, improved transportation, more pay for teachers, and affordable housing," saying, "Getting leaner does not have to mean getting meaner." Some of the proposals: suspending the city sales tax for one week; offering $300 rebate to renters; offering "bonuses of up to......

After last night's two-alarm fire, most of Hunts Point Market was open for business. However, the offices of Master Purveyors and Desola Provisions were destroyed; Desola's Bill Beskin told NY1 aside from the offices being "completely burned out, "The coolers, all the meat, everything is, we're fine." Still, inspectors are making sure the meat is still okay (Desola supplies to the Stage Deli, Master to Peter Luger's). Over 100 firefighters battled the blaze, and three......

A city medical examiner spent two days testifying in the trial of Cesar Rodriguez, who face murder charges over his 7-year-old stepdaughter Nixzmary Brown's death. Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson revealed two things: That the girl only gained one pound in two and a half years and that she was dead for seven hours before 911 was called. The Brooklyn DA's office has been trying to prove Rodriguez's actions led to the child's death.......

Yesterday afternoon, a contractor came into contact with a live cable at the Astoria substation and suffered a fatal heart attack. John Rodriguez worked for CKR Construction, not Con Ed, and had been installing a new cable. The NY Times reported on Con Ed's statement, "A contractor was excavating and installing grounding cable in the substation...It appears he came into contact with an energized cable....We are investigating the circumstances of the incident, and we are......

Photograph of MTA police K9 team by Diane Bondareff/AP Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced New York City will receive $153 million - up from last year's $61 million - in transit security grants. Wow - all we can do is remember Chertoff's 2005 remark, when trying discussing how security funding would be allocated, "The truth of the matter is, a fully loaded airplane with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the......

A student was shot in the neck near the Queens Career Development School in Jamaica. The 18-year-old had been at a bus stop nearby. There are conflicting reports about whether the school is under lockdown or just heavy police presence. Witnesses heard a number of shots, and the victim was hit at least once. He was hit in the collarbone and was taken to Jamaica Hospital. So far, one person is in custody, a weapon......

It's a hat hair day! An arctic air mass and a strong west wind has kept wind chills near zero since yesterday, pretty much requiring the wearing of a stylish wool hat and fleece scarf. Aside from the chill, today will be sunny with a high in the mid-20s. Maybe we'll skip the shackburger today. Tomorrow promises to be the warmest, and messiest, day of the week. The precipitation type will follow the temperature curve......

We don't know whether to laugh or cry. Last year, the MTA said that Fulton Street Transit Center would be completed by the end of 2008, leading Gothamist to write "that really means the end of 2009." Now the MTA goes beyond our forecasting and says that the project probably won't be done until 2010. Sucks to continue to be you, downtown commuters. The project, which caused a lot excitement for its linking of......

After the national debate about race turned into the national debate about how race discussed in the Democratic presidential campaign, Senators and Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have declared a truce. The stir was caused by Clinton's remarks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s efforts ("Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act...It took a president to get it done.") and when Obama criticized Clinton......

Cathedral High School has a top reputation as an all-girls high school of the Archdiocese of New York. However, this past week has been rough: Teachers from Cathedral, as well as from nine other Catholic high schools, had a sickout. Plus, a former teacher admitted to assaulting students. The sickout occurred because non-clergy teachers have been in a contract dispute with the Archdiocese. The Lay Faculty Association's Anthony Cusimano told NY1 they wanted to negotiate......

Whoa: A NYC Transit worker who was walking home in Harlem was attacked by a group of four men. One stabbed him, but 5 train conductor Maurice Parks managed to pull out his own knife and retaliate, stabbing one 28-year-old in the chest and a 22-year-old in the stomach. The four men, who approached the transit worker near 139th and St. Nicholas Avenue, were trying to rob him. The 22-year-old and a 15-year-old attempted......

Oh no! An 8-month-old baby bitten by a family dog was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. The family lives on Ocean Parkway in the Prospect Park South/Kensington neighborhood. According to NY1, the baby had been in his grandmother's care "when the family Doberman bit his head. Sources say the attack may have occurred after the baby touched the dog's paw." WNBC reports police shot the dog with a dart and Animal Control removed it......

On Sunday, the worldwide running community lost an institution: Vic Navarra, a FDNY lieutenant who organized the NYC Marathon's start for 26 years, died at his home in Staten Island. He was 55 and had been battling sinus cancer. Navarra, a lifelong runner, fell into the job of organizing the NYC Marathon's start when he couldn't run (a rib injury from responding to a fire) in 1980, when he wanted to help out and he......

A sparkling new 700-pound ball, tons of confetti, and over a million people helped ring in the New Year from Times Square last night/early today. Mayor Bloomberg and police Police Academy valedictorian Karolina Wierzchowska, who also served in the Iraq War, hit the switch that brought the famous Times Square New Year's ball down. The Daily News called it a "shimmering pole dance," and it was the 100th time Times Square has had a......

Building workers such as doormen, office cleaners, and janitors will probably not go on strike at the start of 2008 after their local union reached an agreement with Manhattan commercial property owners. Union members still have to vote to ratify the new four year contract, but the union leaders are recommending they do so. NY1 described a jubilant scene with union members cheering upon the announcement of an agreement: "The $6.8 billion deal will give......

An argument between two men on a Manhattan bus this morning ended in a homicide, as one man stabbed the other to death. The incident occurred at 9:40 a.m. on the M101 bus that runs northbound on 3rd Avenue. A 52-year-old man was arguing with a 40-year-old man, when the bus stopped at 96th St. on the Upper East Side and the older man stabbed the younger in the leg. The victim was taken to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a ceiling collapse at Franklin Ave. and Union St. in Brooklyn, a pedestrian was fatally struck on Queens Blvd. in Woodhaven, Queens, and an unusual rescue on the south bound tower of the Throgs Neck Bridge in Queens. An undercover cop forgot to turn off the wire he was wearing while discussing 11 bags of cocaine he seized in a Brooklyn bust that were never turned in. He was......

The board of the MTA voted this morning in favor of increasing the cost of multiple-ride Metrocards. According to NY1, the outcome of the vote was a foregone conclusion following the public agreement between Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg that riders needed to pay more to ride subways and buses. The pair have effective control of ten of the 14 board members' votes. The cost of an unlimited monthly Metrocard will rise $5, from $76......

A nine-year-old girl remains in critical condition following surgery yesterday at Long Island Jewish Hospital after an unregistered van carrying school children was struck by a city bus. The accident occurred Friday morning allegedly after the passenger van cut off a Q46 bus in Fresh Meadows, Queens. The bus clipped the van, sending it into a spin, shattering its windows, and ejecting a bench seat into the street. The van was carrying seven children, six......

Earlier this morning, an MTA bus collided with a school van transporting children in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Details of the accident are thin, but initial reports say that up to 9 people are injured, most of which are children. The collision occurred just after 8 a.m. when the Q46 bus struck the van. The FDNY says that two critically injured children were sent to Long Island Jewish Hospital with one other child. Three other children......

If you thought noticed a group of bicyclists playing dead on 6th Avenue near 33rd Street, your eyes weren't fooling you. Time's Up led a Bike Lane Action to "dramatize the fatal last moments of David Smith’s ride up 6th Avenue." Smith was killed when a passenger in a truck, parked in the bike lane, opened a door; Smith was knocked off his bike and into the path of a truck. A Time's Up......

Gary Anthony Ramsay, the former NY1 reporter who was fired after calling into the station's live call-in show under a different name (to complain about former police commissioner Bernard Kerik), is weary. At least that's what he told blog Deep In the Heart of Brooklyn, in a long, breathtakingly soul-searching email. DITHOB's blogger, Brooklyn Beat, had previously wondered "Dude, Where's My Anchor" and someone purporting to be Gary Anthony Ramsay wrote back and gave the......

Ha! Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa wants to take John Gotti Jr. on his offer. Gotti Jr., who was unsucccessfully tried three times for allegedly shooting and kidnapping Sliwa, told reporters on Tuesday that he'd take a polygraph test "on national TV" if the FBI agent who spread rumors that Gotti was becoming a government informant was charged. Last night, Sliwa said on NY1's Inside City Hall - holding a bunch of cash, "John Gotti,......

Tomorrow is one of our favorite days of the year: The annual Thanksgiving Eve inflation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons! This year, there are twelve giant balloons: Dora the Explorer, Kermit the Frog, Healthy Mr. Potato Head (he's wearing a jogging suit), Scooby Doo, Ronald McDonald, Pikachu w/Poke-Ball, Energizer Bunny, Flying Ace Snoopy, and JoJo's Circus will be joined by new balloons Abby Cadabby, Shrek, and Super Cute Hello Kitty! As if Hello......

“So which is the real Bernie Kerik? Is it the one who pleads not guilty before or is it the one who pleads guilty after he cuts a deal that he’s comfortable with?” - NY1 caller Dalton, from the Upper East Side, to "The Call" Those were the questions that cost NY1 reporter Gary Anthony Ramsay his job, after calling into his own station under a false name. The station deemed it an exceptionally poor......