In 1965 The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium (video), beginning a tradition of rock on the ball field. Sadly, they won't be around to bookend the life of the stadium, which opened its doors on April 17th, 1964 and gets torn down after the 2008 season. Helping them close up shop are Billy Joel and his piano. On July 16th Joel will make "The Last Play at Shea," and later in the year The Mets......

John and Annette Ferranti certainly did not feel they were in good hands with the Allstate Insurance Company, after Allstate refused to pay their homeowners damage claim they insist was caused by an Air France Concorde jet. The insurance company, which had wanted to appeal appeal a jury award of $1.15 million to the Mill Basin couple, finally agreed to pay the Ferrantis $995,000. On July 21, 2002, the Ferrantis say that the Air......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

Jeremy Blake, an artist whose works have been shown at the Whitney and on Times Square's Jumbotron, is presumed to have killed himself by walking into the ocean at the Rockaways on Tuesday. On July 10, Blake discovered the body of his girlfriend, filmmaker Theresa Duncan, in their East Village apartment; he had planned to attend Duncan's memorial service, which is being held today. According to the NY Times reports that Blake was seen "taking......

The highest temperature ever recorded in Central Park happened 71 years ago today. On July 9th, 1936 the thermometer maxed out at 106 degrees. That record is safe but it will be plenty hot today and tomorrow. There's a bit of uncertainty to today's high temperature. AccuWeather is calling for a max of 92 degrees, while the Weather Service and Weather Channel both say it'll be around 96 or 97. Gothamist is leaning toward believing......

This season Shakespeare in the Park started off with Romeo and Juliet, a play that surprisingly hasn't seen the outdoor Delacorte Theatre since 1968, when Martin Sheen played Romeo to Susan McArthur's Juliet. On July 8th the run will end, and A Midsummer Night's Dream will finish up the season. With notoriously long ticket lines to gain the free pass to a show, many miss out on these performances due to lack of time alone.......

So, yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the first Son of Sam killings and today is another sad day in local history (*cough* Jersey *cough*). On July 31, 1916 Black Tom island, which was next to Liberty Island, literally blew up and off the map (what was left of the island is now part of the mainland in Liberty State Park). The island was a major munitions depot. And by major we mean "2,000......

Thirty years is a long time, and yet for many people not long enough. Today, Sunset Parker reminds us, marks the thirty-year anniversary of the first of the Son of Sam killings, one of the most notorious murder sprees in Gotham's history. On July 29, 1976 19-year-old Jody Valenti and 18-year-old Donna Lauria were both shot dead with a .44 caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver outside of Lauria's apartment in the Bronx. While the......

For the past few years, MOMA seems to have been under the impression that, like animals scrambling onto the ark, great artists are best paired up - at least when it comes to exhibitions. This idea worked well for the Picasso/Braque and the Picasso/Matisse shows, where seeing two major artists side by side really did help foster a greater understanding of both the artists' influences on one another and how these influences affected the development......

All this talk about heat made us wonder, how hot has it actually gotten here really? After all, it looks as if this week is going to have the mercury rising at a steady pace almost topping out at 90. Yay. While the record high for the state was recorded at 110 in Troy, NY, according to the local Upton office (which is located pretty much smack in the middle of Long Island if......

My boyfriend's birthday is over July 4th weekend. I am looking for ideas of things to do or places to go to in NYC to celebrate that will make his birthday memorable. I want to stear clear of the traditional ways to celebrate - going out to dinner or getting together and going to a bar/club. Any help is appreciated! Heather, Hoboken, NJ The Fourth of July is all about the fireworks. If you feel......

It's official: Work on Freedom Tower will start this July 4. Governor Pataki said yesterday:On July 4th, as we celebrate the birth of our democracy, we will also celebrate the rebirth of our city. We will begin to reclaim our skyline with a permanent symbol of our freedom. On July 4th, 2004, we will break ground on the Freedom Tower. Originally, work was going to begin during the Republican National Convention. Pataki's advisers probably told......