On Tuesday, the New York City Transit Museum opened a small exhibit dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of Metro-North Railroad in its Annex at Grand Central Terminal. It features some artifacts from both the pre-MTA takeover (which created Metro-North) days to today and provides a Cliffs Notes version on how the railroad that serves the northern suburbs and Connecticut operates. more ›

Barack Obama won yesterday's Maine caucus, with about 57-60% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's approximate 40-42%. This makes Obama's fourth win in a row, after sweeping the Democratic contests in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington yesterday. more ›

Philadelphia 105 Knicks 77: On Tuesday, the Sixers fired their GM and President. On Wednesday, they lost to Boston, a team that is currently 17-2. On Friday and Saturday they swept a home-and-home against the Knicks, a team that desperately needs to start over again. It’s time Jim Dolan, if you even care anymore. It’s time Isiah Thomas, if you care about anything beyond your current job. Long ago the Garden was a magical place... more ›

What’s worth watching on food-TV this week? We're definitely setting our DVR to record The Martha Stewart Show. She’s got a three great New York Italian chefs on today: Odetta Fada of San Domenico, Lidia Bastianich of Felidia and Del Posto, and pastry chef Gina DePalma of Babbo. On Tuesday she’s got cookbook editor Judith Jones, and on Wednesday, New Orleans chef Susan Spicer (Monday-Friday, 1pm, NBC). But the prime time highlight might be a... more ›

On Tuesday afternoon, 72-year-old Reinaldo Herrera was hanging Christmas lights outside his Westbury home and went inside to get more lights. Suddenly, a 21-year-old gang member stormed in, threatening him with a gun and demanded cash and jewelry. Somehow, Herrera managed to overpower the would-be robber; the senior said, "When he say, 'Give me the ring, give me the watch, give me the money,' I put my hands on him, strong, to the floor." He... more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton, speaking out against the beating a black man in Staten Island, announced that he will organize a protest march in the next few weeks. He said, "New York is becoming worse than Louisiana. We're going to Staten Island, Jena, Washington - and we're going to bring out numbers like you've never seen before." more ›

And finally more ›

What’s worth watching on food-TV this week? more ›

This week on food-TV, we've got: more ›

Yesterday, a housekeeper found a female body wrapped in garbage bags and stuffed under a bed in Room 608 of the Hotel Carter. The woman, described as a white woman in her 20s, was not carrying any identification and the ME's office is conducting an autopsy to determine her cause of death; WABC 7 says that the woman suffered a blunt trauma to the head, but it's unclear if it's the cause of death. more ›

In recent years, Third Avenue in Brooklyn has seen three children killed by vehicular traffic. Last year, 4-year-old James Rice was fatally struck by a Hummer at Third Avenue and Baltic Avenue, and in 2004, PS 124 Juan Estrada and Victor Flores were fatally struck by a vehicle as they crossed Third Avenue at Ninth Street, just blocks away. On Tuesday, arts organization Groundswell Community Mural Project unveiled a mural at Third and Butler: In the mural, the three children are represented, asking drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians alike to respect each other on the road and to prevent any more tragedy. more ›

On Tuesday, a Con Ed executive faced a number of irritated City Council members seeking answers about the July 18 steam pipe explosion in Midtown. Senior vice president William Longhi said that the investigation could take another two or three months, but City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "You may not have all the answers and all the Ts crossed and all the Is dotted. I can accept that. But I cannot accept that you have absolutely nothing to tell us about why this may have happened. more ›

The theme to this summer's outdoor concert season seem to be coming up with new ways to deal with rain. While Manu Chao embraced it and Cheeseburger/Oxford Collapse had to cancel because of it, the New Pornographers just kind of went on despite it. First, indie one-hit wonder Midlake opened with a perfectly serviceable set. After came out the newly bearded A.C. Newman and the gang to play a high spirited show featuring songs off all their albums, including the soon to be released, Challengers. Sure, it's a little strange celebrating America's independence with a Canadian band, but they seemed to embrace the irony and kick out the jams to the waterlogged faithful. Nobody can pass up a free show (no matter how many hoops one has to jump through to get a ticket...) and the concert was well covered. Read more about it at Pop Tarts, Stereogum and Music Snobbery. (pic via Muzicspy's flickr.) more ›

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing about landmarks designation for the Domino Sugar Factory, a complex of buildings on the Brooklyn waterfront. Overall, preservationists, community members, and the developers agreed that preservation is important. The only question is how much should be preserved: While the main refinery building will almost certainly be landmarked given support, there's debate about the surrounding area. more ›

With the Mets outfield still affected by injuries, Beltran needs to step up. His problem is his banged-quad, an ailment that is clearly affecting him at the plate. Who knows when Moises Alou will return? Shawn Green will likely see a decline after his hot start. Carlos Gomez has been all but useless. Why not try Ricky Ledee instead? The journeyman outfielder hit a home run to help his cause Monday. On Tuesday, the Mets face American Leauge Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. Good luck with that. more ›

- Enlarged windows and ADA-compliant entrance ramp at the West 77th St. entrance. The New-York Historical Society has evolved into a much more progressive institution than the stuffy, exclusive architecture of its 1908 building would suggest. Created by York and Sawyer to exude neoclassical pomp, the building "was designed as a private club that did not intend to embrace the public," said the architect Paul Spencer Byard in a November 1st NY Times interview. Byard's firm of Platt Byard Dovell White has designed the renovation just approved. more ›

On Tuesday "The Oprah Winfrey Show" became a platform for the Hip-Hop community to respond to the Don Imus controversy with a panel discussion featuring Russell Simmons, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Kevin Liles, Common and more. more ›

Betty and Bob Matas, along with cab driver Doulgas Guldeniz, are well on their near-cross-country trek to Sedona, Arizona from Forest Hills. And not only are the Matases' cats Cleopatra and Pretty Face along for the ride, so is Daily News reporter Peter Donohue! We hope that Ford Escape taxi is big enough for everyone - apparently Cleo and Pretty Face hate each other. more ›

Is beating up a 14-year-old a new low in irrational rap rivalries gone worse? On Saturday, rapper Tony Yayo, who is also a member of 50 Cent's G-Unit, turned himself into police. Yayo and some other men were accused of assaulting a 14-year-old boy on 25th Street. And it wasn't just any regular 14-year-old boy - the boy happened to be the son of Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, head of a rival music management company Czar Entertainment, and the boy was wearing a shirt with a Czar logo on it. more ›

Despite the warm winter weather, coat drives have not lost momentum this season in comparison to coat sales. more ›

With the Citigroup buying the naming rights to the new Mets Stadium, MTA executives are hoping to hitch a ride on the company's money train. more ›

think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? more ›

As the summer air cools into fall and peach season passes into apple, there's no better place to observe the changing of the season's than in a backyard garden enjoying swell food. Chestnut, whose white French doors sit invitingly on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, is just the antidote for a meal whose inviting atmosphere is as addictive as you will find its food. Inside, exposed beams and wood planks are complimented by candlelight; outside, a merrily painted picket fence encloses tables illuminated by strung lantern lights. more ›

As we mentioned yesterday in Extra, Extra, this week brought Manhattan preservationists some bad news and some bad news with a side of hope. more ›

Thanks to Midtown Lunch for tipping us off -- today Chipotle is giving away free burritos at its new location on 48th between 6th & 7th Aves next Tuesday:

That’s right…. the day has finally arrived. Wednesday, the Chipotle on 48th St. between 6th and 7th avenue is opening to the public- and to celebrate (as all new Chipotles do), Tuesday is free burrito day. That’s right. On Tuesday, from 11am to 8pm, everyone willing to wait in line for god knows how long, will be rewarded with a free burrito and soda.

Apparently bad behavior by real estate developers isn't limited to Brooklyn. On Tuesday, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission awarded protected status to the old PS64 building on Ninth Street. The building had been occupied for 20 years by CHARAS/El Bohio, a community organization, until it was bought by Gregg Singer. He announced plans to strip the building of its architectural details and turn it into a 19-story university dorm, outraging just about everyone in the neighborhood. Outraged by the Landmarks decision, Singer has announced his revenge on the neighborhood activists: stripping the building of its architectural details and turning the building into a homeless shelter! The Villager has a long report: more ›

Remember that New York magazine article from two weeks ago, about older women robbing the cradle and going after underage boy? Well, there have been two new cases that are certainly doozies: On Tuesday, a 40 year old female teacher at a private Montessori school was charged with statutory rape and sodomy after it was revealed she had been having sex with underage male students who were only 12 and 13 when the affairs started. The boy who was 13 when the "affair" started is now 23 and now is a police officer in the NYPD! The DA's office asked that bail for Lina Sinha be set at $100,00, but, according to the AP, Sinha's lawyer got that down to $50,000, after arguing "his client had appeared for every court date, was born and raised in New York and educated in the city's schools, including Columbia University, and would not flee." Wow, city cred goes a long way. more ›

They say that history repeats itself, but this is re-dunk-u-lous. Moynihan Station, the long-planned Penn Station expansion into the Farley Post Office that is intended to make up for the destruction of the late, great, original Penn Station (above) hasn't even been built yet but developers are already vying to build a new Madison Square Garden on top of and around it. And yes, this would be MSG number 5 for those of you keeping count at home. more ›

). The reading starts at 7PM and the suggested donation is $5. more ›

This week at the movies, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the new releases are seriously scrapping the bottom of the quality bucket. How many weeks now has it been that we've had this complaint? The good news is that, as per usual, there's load of other fascinating movie related events In New York to sink your teeth into with relish. more ›