In unsurprising news, the Seaport has canceled more concerts planned for Pier 17 this summer following last week's disastrous show, which was thrown by Paper magazine and included performances by rapper Drake and pop stars Hanson. The magazine had more shows planned for the summer season, including one by Ke$ha, which have now been canceled. more ›

Following Tuesday night's riot at the South Street Seaport (Never Forget!), the NYPD—specifically Commissioner Ray Kelly—is placing blame on the organizers at Paper magazine. While security for the 10,000 capacity outdoor venue was ramped up for the evening, the fact remains that a 10,000 capacity venue should not be hosting shows that draw 25,000+ fans. Free, advertised, and promoted shows, at that. more ›

Before Canadian rapper Drake could even perform at a free concert at the South Street Seaport tonight, the NYPD shut down the event because of an unruly crowd. According to MyFoxNY, the "evening ended with chairs being thrown into the crowd, mace being sprayed, and reports of table being tossed from a second floor balcony." Also: Stampeding, pushing, shoving, throwing plants, and breaking the mixing board (according to Hanson, who was also on the bill!). more ›

The free ride's over (again) at the New York Times website. As expected, the Gray Lady's going to start making bitches pay for her services on the side of the information superhighway. Today the Times announced the details on its upcoming website pay wall; starting in 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month, then they'll be required to pay a flat fee for unlimited access. (Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site.) According to this article on the Times website (copied and pasted below for you to read for free), the whole fate of the paper is riding on this one: more ›

In the courtroom, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is all about the First Amendment, but freedom of speech flies out the window when a high school newspaper wants to write about him. On October 28th, Kennedy gave a talk at the fancy Upper East Side Dalton School, and naturally the school's paper, The Daltonian, sent a reporter to cover the event. But Kennedy's handlers insisted on approving the article before it was published, and the article didn't make it into that week's edition, forcing The Daltonian to print an embarrassing editor's note: "We are not able to cover the recent visit by a Supreme Court justice due to numerous publication constraints." (Luckily for them, they weren't scooped by their competitors at Loyola's paper, The Blazer!) more ›

This map-cut of New York City is almost as insane as the skyline being drawn from memory right now. The four paper panels are each 3' x 4' and together show the city blocks, parks and other areas in 4 of the 5 boroughs (sorry Staten Island). It's one-of-a-kind, and the artist is selling it on Etsy for $550 (Paris is only $250). more ›

Back in 2005, Glenn Storman, a guidance counselor at P.S. 212 in Gravesend, entered a special education classroom in which a fifth-grader was kneeling on his chair cursing at the teacher. What happened next is a matter of debate: Storman says he happened to be holding a rolled up piece of paper when he told the boy to "zip it." But according to the Times, the student says Storman "brushed the paper against his lips and embarrassed him." After an investigation, Storman got an unsatisfactory rating in his annual review, which is a big deal because it prohibits him from getting extra work as a summer school teacher and a tutor. But after a long legal battle, it looks like the alleged paper punisher will be vindicated: A judge ruled earlier this month that Storman's actions did not constitute corporal punishment, and said the unsatisfactory rating "shocks the conscience, was arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion." The Department of Education is reviewing the decision while defending another lawsuit brought by Storman in federal court. And it's unclear if the student has yet to recover from his brush with rolled up paper. more ›

After the Daily News's recent stunt, in which reporters at the tabloid used fake documents to transfer ownership of the Empire State Building to a non-existent company, city prosecutors are calling for an overhaul on how the city register handles property transactions. As the News demonstrated, clerks in the office are not required to verify that the information on deeds and mortgages is correct, and some con artists exploit the loophole to claim ownership of properties, then cash in with illegitimate mortgages before disappearing. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes tells the News today that there ought to be a law giving the register's office the time and power to check transactions before they're recorded. But Sam Miller, a bureaucrat at the city Finance Department, swears these fraudulent transfers "are few and far between." And more importantly, they usually don't end up on the cover the the Daily News. more ›

The Daily News has a clever little cover story today about how the tabloid "stole" the Empire State Building. Inspired by the Brooklyn DA's increasing number of deed fraud prosecutions, reporters decided to try the scam, which involves drawing up fake documents, making a bogus notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property. Grifters use the fraudulent deed to take out big mortgages, then disappear. more ›

Despite a record-breaking month for advertising revenues, The Sun published its last edition today. Started in 2002, the neoconservative daily lasted just long enough to publish on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, surviving into year 5769 of the Jewish calendar. Editor Seth Lipsky addressed the staff in the paper's Lower Manhattan newsroom yesterday; excerpts from his remarks were published in today's edition:

This was always a risk, and all the greater is the heroism of our financial backers. Even at the end they were offering millions of dollars if we could find the partners we needed. I don't mind saying to you, as I have to them, that I very much regret — I will always regret — that we were not able to return to them the capital that they invested in us. more ›

The city and this site is abuzz with news of new public restrooms that cost only $.25 and are self-sanitizing. The standalone units give one 15 minutes to do your business before scrubbing itself down in advance of the next user. Sounds like a nice convenience, although some people wondered who needs 15 minutes in a restroom other than those with gastro-health problems, drug users, and couples looking to engage in some quasi-public-private sex. Commenter JenChungsBra wondered if his experiences in Central America and their free market ass-wiping conventions could improve Gotham's space-age installations:

I liked the system in Chichicastenango in Guatemala. An old man sits at a table outside the public restroom (some grungy holes in the floor of a tin shack) and sells you toilet paper. Put down your two quetzals and he measures off a length of paper with his arm, tears it from a roll and hands it to you. If you think it's not enough you can give him another two quetzals and get some more. more ›

The Brooklyn fire that killed FDNY Lt. John H. Martinson was caused by a six-year-old child who was playing with wrapping or packaging paper over the open flames of a stove left on to heat a 14th floor apartment. When the paper caught fire, the boy attempted to hide the smoldering paper under a mattress, trailing embers throughout the apartment. When the child's mother discovered the bedroom in flames, she grabbed the six-year-old and his twin brother and fled from the building. The door to the apartment was left open, however, allowing billowing smoke to fill the hallway. more ›