When news came in that thousands of signal inspections had been faked by MTA workers for a while, possibly putting straphangers at risk of a dangerous collision, we were at least pleased to hear that Signal Department supervisor Tracy Bowdwin had resigned (or was demoted, depending on whom you talk to). Burn it down and start over, right? Well, according to the Post, NYC Transit general superintendent Alan Doran has been promoted to senior officer despite having overseen faulty subway-signal inspections 10 years ago. Unfortunately, we can't say we're surprised. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, 20-year veteran NYPD officer Feris Jones was promoted to detective at a ceremony in City Hall for her quick thinking and sharp shooting during a robbery at a Bed-Stuy salon. Jones was off-duty and happened to be getting her hair done when 19-year-old Winston Cox attempted to rob the place, and she calmly and cooly confronted him, shot his revolver out of his hands and shot the handle off the front door, sealing it shut. Bloomberg said at the ceremony, "This is a story that will be told at the Police Department for many years to come." more ›

Feris Jones, the NYPD officer who stopped a salon robber while she was off-duty and getting her hair done on Saturday, is being promoted to detective today. Jones, who in her 20 years in the NYPD had never fired her weapon, confronted 19-year-old Winston Cox as he attempted to rob the Bed-Stuy salon. She identified herself as an officer before he began shooting at her; she returned fire, shooting his revolver out of his hands. She also shot the front door, which locked it. And after that, we assume Jones twirled the revolver around her finger, blew on the barrel, and reminded Cox that the salon ain't big enough for the two of them. more ›

With the month in which we celebrate All Hallows Eve upon us, a bunch of New Yorkers got a head start on ringing in the arrival of October by making themselves up as zombies and descending upon the center of the city. The Zombie Walk was a promotional event sponsored by the new movie , the film that was apparently so intense to shoot that Woody Harrelson got a TMZ photographer confused with one of the zombies he had fought after it had wrapped. more ›

The police officer who was ordered to Taser an emotionally disturbed man—who then fell to his death—was promoted to detective just weeks after the fatal incident, the Daily News reports. Nicholas Marchesona was told to fire the stun gun at Iman Morales, perched above a storefront, last September, even though there nothing to break Morales' fall. Marchesona's superior, Lieutenant Michael Pigott, who gave him the order, committed suicide days later, apparently racked with guilt over Morales' death. The News adds that Pigott's suicide note said Marchesona shouldn't be blamed, but Morales' family is upset about the promotion—they believe he should be fired and face criminal charges. more ›

Obama fever hasn't broken yet, at least not in Coney Island, where the Brooklyn Cyclones have announced a special promotion for the upcoming season. On Tuesday, June 23rd the team will be transformed into the Baracklyn Cyclones, "honoring the 44th President of the United States with a night of patriotic partying at the ballpark." more ›

Was your New Year's resolution to forget about Diddy in 2009? If so, God bless and we're sorry. Diddy is making sure the Bad Boy brand is coming strong into the new year by bombarding the town with attention-grabbing gimmicks for him and the vodka he's the sponsor for. First he announced that they'll be passing out $15 debit cards in Chelsea and Times Square just before midnight that can be redeemed in cab rides home because as Diddy says, "a sophisticated holiday celebration doesn't just end when the ball drops, but when everyone gets home safely." And if that's not enough, Diddy and the vodka brand are offering $1 million to the city to "take over the New Year's ball." Because when you're Diddy, you can just do things like that, right? On the takeover, Diddy said, "I'm going to give every adult in America a taste of what it's like to enjoy a sophisticated celebration with Diddy, and what better time than while ringing in the New Year." Earlier in 2008, Diddy made headlines for stepping in dog poo. more ›

Perhaps more nightmare-worthy than clowns taking over, this past Monday the city was infiltrated by Chucky dolls! The terrifying Child's Play character multiplied and terrorized tourists and locals alike, all in celebration of the movie's 20th anniversary DVD release. His antics seemed to be centered around Times Square (hopefully far away from the Toys Я Us). Did you see any of these tiny terrors around? Looks like he even made it to Fashion Week, albeit wearing that same, tired old pair of overalls. So 1988. [via /Film] more ›

"The most important band in the planet" could be slumming it in the subways this week. The Spinner reports that Oasis, in order to totally unnecessarily promote their Terminal 5 show on Friday, will have musicians from MTA's Music Under New York program "covering nothing but new Oasis songs in various locations." Not only could you hear nothing but Oasis all day underground this Friday, but the band's label is saying "that one of the Gallagher brothers may even be making a surprise appearance with one of the acts." But remember, they're only playing new tunes, so don't go requesting "Wonderwall." more ›

If there is no such thing as bad publicity, then we suppose yesterday's Cash Tomato promotion was a resounding success - if a melee as people tried to grab money works for you. The event, which involved giving away $29 to individuals in honor of Leap Year - wait, make that $29 attached to tomatoes, resulted in a Union Square riot with one person hospitalized and police and paramedics on the scene. more ›

Continuing their misguided and terribly executed orange bike campaign, DKNY has infiltrated YouTube with a 1 minute 53 second clip of a model speaking out in support of the company's great..."humanitarian cause"? The video starts off showing two models mowing each other down with fake miniature cars as an orange bike lies on the ground...probably not the best way to negate the whole ghost bike thing. more ›

Curious about the fate of all those orange bikes with the DKNY website that were locked up around town? The ones the police didn’t cart away (some were illegally chained to trees) are being picked clean for spare parts. The tone deaf Fashion Week publicity stunt was presented by DKNY as an effort to promote cycling in New York, and the company did help raise awareness by, uh, distributing bicycle maps in their stores. Oh, and their website for the campaign has a photo of models riding a bike, though they’re too cool for helmets, of course. more ›