Oh, MTA - you and your outlandish idea of putting a glorious glass dome at the renovated Fulton Street Transit Center! The proposed design, unveiled in 2004, seemed an inspiring idea for the agency. But, after years of attempts to start construction, costs have risen to $1.15 billion, from the initially estimated $750 million, causing MTA executive director Eliot Sander to say, "I am sad to say that we cannot build the transit center......

MUSIC: Frequenter of the Hotel Chelsea, Country Joe McDonald (pictured at Woodstock) will be taking the Joe's Pub stage tonight to perform a tribute to Woody Guthrie where he "deftly conveys all the charm, talent, and social and political consciousness of the legendary folksinger from Oklahoma." 7pm // Joe’s Pub [425 Lafayette St] // $30 EVENT: Move over spelling bee...The Define-a-Thon Word Challenge hits Brooklyn tonight. The competitive word challenge is good for the spelling-impaired,......

The most powerful suggestions in this week's NY Times Weddings & Celebrations? If you write about dating or a hapless love life, all is not lost! Actually, we got that idea from Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City, too, but not everyone can end up with Mr. Big or marry a hunky principal dancer at the NY City Ballet. Anyway... The most intriguing meet-cute is that of Kristina Grish and Scott Mebus, who were......

I keep hearing people talk about training for the marathon, I'm wondering what are some good places to run. Not 26 miles or anything, just some fun places or some good running resources. New York is a great place to run, whether you are a beginner or veteran. Not only can you explore the city in a whole new way, as this Brooklyn runner is doing, but it's something that you can do on......

Can you do a post about swimming pools with lap swimming? Finding an affordable pool (well, any pools really) with lap swimming in the city is a difficult endeavor. Ok, we covered local gyms in the NY City area, it's only logical to discuss the options for getting your lap swimming in. Some of the gyms in the city have pools, but another option is to check out the New York City Department of Parks......

So, the big vote in Albany to (partly) decide the fate of the West Stadium has been delayed indefinitely. This has slowed down the Jets' and NY City's (well, Mayor Bloomberg's, really) push to get the project approved fast. Both State Senate leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver had wanted to delay the vote, and finally, Governor Pataki agreed. Pataki is pro-West Side stadium, while Bruno and Silver have been more skeptical......

Gothamist must hand it to Mayor Bloomberg: Being the mayor means you have to find being stuck for 30-45 minutes in the subway enjoyable. He must be really learning something from his acting work on Law & Order. Traveling from City Hall, the Mayor was stuck in an uptown 4/5 or 6 train under Union Square on Tuesday, as he was on his way to an event in midtown. He told reporters that he found......

NYC and NY State finally formally announced the $2.8 billion plan to build Jets stadium, expand the Javits Center, and revitalize the West Side yesterday. And of course, there's a lot of disagreement and protest about the plan: How can the city funnel hundreds of millions of dollars when the school system needs money badly? Some assemblymen support expanding the convention center but not building the stadium. The immediate neighborhood doesn't want the project. The......

The Time Warner Center has its first visit from the NY City Fire Department! Chef Thomas Keller's restaurant Per Se had a fire yesterday that closed the restaurant. Luckily, everyone safely got out and only a firefighter needed to be treated for minor injuries. The true casualty is the kitchen, which will force the restaurant to be closed till Monday. The Post calls it "the curse of the Time Warner Building." Nice work, News Corp.......

Gothamist cannot wait to go to "Restaurant," the new restaurant/reality series from Rocco DiSpirito (Union Pacific), Mark Burnett (Survivor), and NBC (Channel 4 here in NY). There's nothing we like more than food and a little insanity. The Times Styles section looks what seems to be a hilarious casting/hiring process, as employees need to be competent but cute. But in a city of actors who work as watiers, Gothamist has to hand it to the......