Bronx native and federal judge Sonia Sotomayor found out she was confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court by watching it in the 8th floor of a Manhattan federal courthouse conference room. The Daily News reports that the cheers started when it was official and she received a phone call, "'Mommy, I have people here,' Sotomayor told her - to laughs in the room. They spoke briefly in Spanish before hanging up, and the misty-eyed Suprema nueva told her friends, 'My mother is so happy she's crying.'" And while celebrating at a party with her close friends, she wanted to know the Yankees' score and said that when she gets a break, "I'm going to go to a Yankee game." And the NY Times examined the pride the Puerto Rican community has taken with Sotomayor's rise, "In New York, many have welcomed the judge’s visibility during a summer when the most celebrated — and reviled — local politicians were two Puerto Rican state senators who brought the state government to a standstill by mounting an abortive coup against their fellow Democrats." more ›

Step inside Sazon, the new Latin Caribbean restaurant and lounge from the team behind Sofrito, a popular mid-price Puerto Rican spot in midtown east. The bi-level place opened quietly last month in the Reade Street space formerly occupied by Fresh Tribeca; the swank and sexy interior design features bright tropical colors, black lacquered chandeliers, a tufted leather back wall, and a coveted private booth secluded behind thick drapes. The elegant yet relaxed vibe extends to the downstairs lounge—tagged wall-to-wall by street artist James De La Vega—where a second bar facilitates weekend salsa dancing parties. more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Grayz, gives the restaurant one star. He says of the restaurant that refuses to call itself a restaurant (it’s a ‘cocktail lounge that serves small dishes’): “These dishes demand fuller attention than the setting allows, and the prices—$39 for the short ribs—only make total sense if eating is the point of a visit.” In Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Belcourt, which he says is much better than... more ›

The man who breached security at JFK Airport on Tuesday, after entering the restricted areas by walking through the exit lane near security screening and caused two terminals to be evacuated as the TSA and other authorities searched for him, was arrested yesterday in Albany. Authorities say that William Contreras Ramos, who managed to board his plane to the state capitol, had a 4-inch razor in his carry-on bag and was charged with carrying a concealed weapon onto a plane. more ›

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network." more ›

To anyone attending next year's Puerto Rican Day Parade, we have this suggestion: Don't wear black-and-gold. At a press conference, parade organizers decried arrests of people who were not engaged in any illegal activity during Sunday's event. National Puerto Rican Day Parade president Madelyn Lugo said, "We are very disappointed and alarmed that these violations of civil rights should occur." more ›

There are new details surrounding Sunday's 208 arrests at the Puerto Rican Day Parade: According to the NY Times, the police still claim that people were arrested for "specific illegal behavior," like blocking traffic, and not because they were wearing colors of the Latin Kings gang. However:

Criminal complaints filed against 10 defendants show that the police were concerned about the risk that those arrested would engage in violent or threatening behavior or cause some public inconvenience. more ›

Yesterday's reports about the number of people arrested during the 50th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade were incorrect: While numbers like 80 and 173 were offered, today the NY Times reveals 208 people were arrested, due to police concerns about the Latin Kings. However, there's some question as to whether more people without gang connections were arrested during the sweep. more ›

Fifth Avenue was packed with revelers and performers during the 50th Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade. Celebrities, like "King" Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, were out in force, as were the politicians, including Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Eliot Spitzer, Senator Charles Schumer, Representative Jose Serrano, and Puerto Rico governor Anibal Acevedo-Villa. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Madison St. in Manhattan, a homicide on Wyckoff Ave and Himrod St. in Brooklyn, and an overturned auto on Hone and Mace Aves. in the Bronx.
• A trio of yeshiva students and their teacher were rescued from a 200-foot-high ledge by rapelling park police yesterday, after straying from a trail at Bear Mtn. State Park.
• The news of a crash that persists in Chinatown, as the rest of the city moves on with little notice.
• Di Fara fans get ready: Slice passes along the following info that the restaurant is getting ready to re-open Wed. or Thurs. of this week.
• A 26-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run accident shortly after 4 a.m. last night as he was crossing Park Ave. South at 22nd St.
• Four people were shot on Lenox Ave. between 126th and 127th St. in Manhattan last night.
• A Queens state assemblyman wants Google to start blurring sensitive NY satellite images, like pipelines, airports, and other assorted targets.
• A nice rememberance of The New York Times Building in its heyday.

The Puerto Rican Day Parade is supposed to draw 2.8 million spectators to 5th Ave. in Manhattan this Sunday, making it one of the most popular annual parades in New York City. It's the 50th occurrence, so expect lots of enthusiasm from marchers, who will be heading north from 44th St. to 86th St. and entertained by Parade King Ricky Martin. more ›

Yesterday, the controversial immigration bill proposed by President Bush stalled in the Senate when both Republicans and Democrats could not come to a final vote. The bill, which neither party liked very much for different reasons, represented a historic to change immigration law, and both parties tried to work on a compromise that would satisfy most Senators. Sixty votes were needed to stop debate and move to a final vote, but there were only 45 votes (37 Democrat - including Senators Schumer and Clinton - 7 Republican and 1 Independent) to break the filibuster. more ›

- Monitor punches, pins to the floor and curses at elementary school student, then tells him: "I will murder you."There was also a story about a child's arm being broken. The Daily News got information about complaints, criminal histories of drivers and monitors, and pending lawsuits against the Department of Education only after filing a Freedom of Information act request. more ›

The MTA announcement that alcohol would be banned from LIRR and Metro-North trains on St. Patrick's Day has caused quite a stir. The NY Sun has angry comments from barkeeps and even a State Senator. Irish State Senator Marty Golden said, "It definitely looks like stereotyping, and that's what the MTA should be faulted for. Some people do get out of control, but to focus on that day, and on certain segments of the population like that, is totally wrongheaded." Is that like Fifth Avenue apartment buildings putting up barriers during the Puerto Rican Day Parade? more ›

For decades East Harlem has been the center of New York's Puerto Rican community. Over the years many Mexican and Dominican immigrants have also made East Harlem their home. Now, as the squeeze of affordable housing gets tighter and tighter in Manhattan, more middle-class professionals are moving to the neighborhood. In a tale almost as old as New York itself, the changes have long-time residents worried about the loss of community. more ›

The New York Times takes a close look at the Essex Street Market, a Lower East Side institution that's been doing business since 1940. Although the market was only 60 percent full five years ago, its low rent and the steadily increasing income stream of many in the neighborhood have led to a rejuvenation. But not everyone who walks in the door is a LES trust fund hipster with extra cash to spare. Saxelby Cheesemongers is one of several merchants who advertises their acceptance of E.B.T. cards -- the electronic replacement for food stamps. The market is a shopping mecca for all in the community, and has not become unwelcome to those who have been shopping there for decades just to cater to the influx of wealthier residents:

While the market has welcomed purveyors like Ms. Saxelby, it has not given itself over entirely to epicurean gentrification. The indoor stalls are a good place to encounter yautia, a root vegetable that looks like the love child of a soup can and a coconut. One morning last week Maria Maldonado was buying some to make spicy fried cakes. The 40 pounds of banana leaves in her cart would wrap pasteles, a sort of Puerto Rican tamale filled with pork shoulder and olives and popular at Christmastime. more ›

A very weird incident occured in Washington Square Park yesterday morning. Apparently a man put a stocking over his head and harrassed two couples with babies for a while, but then calmed down. The Post reports that the man climbed over a fence to the playground (though the gate was unlocked) and charged the couples a few times, and then climbed "the jungle gym and sat, Buddha-like, atop the kiddie-slide." It took a while for the cops to respond because many were getting ready for the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The masked fellow is being observed at Bellevue, but one of the fathers actually filed a complaint against the NYPD because reposnse took so long, saying, "There should be someone within a block or two of the park. The loonies are taking it over again." When did the loonies ever completely cede control of Washington Square Park? If anything, people try to not to notice the odd people because it frightens them. more ›

Hundreds of thousands of revelers enjoyed the beautiful weather and celebrated during yesterday's Puerto Rican Day Parade. And this year's theme was, "Boricuas...We count, We Vote!" Though Marc Anthony was the Grand Marshal, the real attraction was his wife, Jennifer Lopez. Mayor Bloomberg, who marched with the couple, said, "In the pictures tomorrow, I will be lucky if I am noticed at all." Anthony and Lopez ultimately needed the help of Guardian Angels to keep the paparazzi off them and keep moving along the parade route. And the couple was also there to promote their upcoming film, El Cantante, but the El Cantante float broke down towards the end of the route. more ›

- And speaking of commencement speaking celebrities, Mike Bloomberg yesterday told UChicago grads that "There is nothing — absolutely nothing — wrong with criticizing our government, on any topic, and challenging it to live up to the democratic ideals." Interesting. Unrelated, we hear that Hizzoner invited himself to speak yesterday and that UChicago administrators simply didn't know how to say no. more ›

- Finally, the irrepressible Stephanie Adams, Miss November 1992 and the first openly lesbian Playboy playmate, will not be put down! more ›

With the Puerto Rican Day Parade right around the corner, Mayor Bloomberg reminded Fifth Avenue buildings not to board up their properties. Many buildings along the parade's two mile route had taken to putting plywood on doors and windows, fearing rowdy crowds. While Puerto Rican Day parade violence has been a concern since the 2000 "wildings," the NYPD has made sure to step up patrols. Daily News says no buildings have been boarded up so far and that only police sawhorses have been put out, but 1035 Fifth Avenue told the Post they would put up a metal fence again, since people have climbed onto a window ledge in years past (last year, some buildings put panels and fences up) . more ›

This week, the film festival that Bobby De Niro and Jane Rosenthal built after September 11th has taken over most of downtown New York and some of uptown with its eclectic programming line-up. But there's more to do in town, movie-watching wise than just at Tribeca. So get out your TFF schedules, some snacks and some comfortable shoes to walk between screening spaces, there's movies to be seen this weekend. more ›

Via Kottke: AssembleMe put together a nice set of NYC population graphs for the NYC Demographics page on Wikipedia. What impressed us what how dominant Brooklyn has been in population for the last 90 years-- although it looks like Queens is closing in, having passed Manhattan in the late 1960s. Even Staten Island is closing in on Manhattan-- maybe it's the rent prices! more ›

Lisa Whiteman, Photographer more ›

The dirty secrets of the detective's squad room are being revealed during hearings for a lawsuit a retired detective has brought against the city. Joann Karmel claims that she was sexually harassed by fellow detectives, with her lawyer contending that Karmel went from "full functioning" to "not being fit for duty" after the ribbing. Or as the Daily News puts it:

At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Karmel was dubbed Big Bird by fellow detectives. But that was mild compared with comments that ranged from nastiness about her body to suggestions her husband had sex with their dog.

This year more than any we remember from recent past, theater companies are gearing up to bring you Halloween-related shows. It’s appropriate, when you think about it – actors are all about dressing up as people/things other than themselves, so they should lead the way when the rest of the world decides to masquerade. In any case, options abound citywide. Psycho Clan, for instance, has an interactive haunted house program called Nightmare going, which looks pretty freaky just from the website. The 13 rooms are supposed to be “more David Lynch than John Carpenter” and it’s already selling out. more ›

Franklin Crowe, Street Vendor / Chess Player more ›

While the accusations that two police officers groped a woman didn't pan out, it turns out that they were, in fact, drunk on the job near the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The police union says the woman had wanted to cross a police barrier, but wasn't allowed to do so...so it seems like she complained that they were drunk and groping her. Well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad. The NY Times says the police haven't found the alleged videotape of the police groping women, which the Post had alluded to yesterday. Police groping women on tape? They must have been seriously drunk. While the press is having a field day, since most controversy from the Puerto Rican Day parade has surrounded parade goers, the lawyers representing the two cops says, "We would ask people to reserve judgment until all of the facts are in. These are two active police officers - with hundreds of arrests between the two of them - who deserve the benefit of the doubt until the investigation is completed." Of course. But now Gothamist wonders, how come we never hear about police officers drinking during the St. Patrick's Day Parade? more ›

Yesterday's Puerto Rican Day Parade shimmered along Fifth Avenue, although there were some problems. In a nutshell, a police officer was slashed, gang members tried to crash the parade, three people were stabbed - 175 arrests all told. Oh, and two on-duty police officers were accused of groping women! The Daily News says that many men "wearing black-and-gold Latin Kings shirts" wanted to march, but the police claimed they found a gun and knives on them; a "self-proclaimed gang member" told the Daily News, "We just come over here to enjoy our day." And the police are investigating the groping incidents. While some people worry about Puerto Ricans being more "destructive" than other paraders the city sees over the year, Gothamist just thinks there's something about a parade with a lot of people in the sultry, steamy heat that must make people crazy - imagine if the St. Patrick's Day Parade were during the summer. Still, there's something pretty cool about seeing a flatbed truck, decorated with Puerto Rican flags and people, zooming down West End Avenue at 6PM. more ›

With the 10th Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade around the corner on Sunday, the Mayor is asking businesses along Fifth Avenue not to board up. In past years, violent incidents have caused damage to some stores and apartment buildings, making some owners think it's better to play it safe during the parade, which has had some controversy, most infamously the 2000 wildings in Central Park. For instance, the Post reports that metal fences are being put up at 1035 Fifth Avenue while tall green panels are being placed at 820 Fifth. Mayor Blooomberg is insinuating that these actions are an insult to Puerto Ricans, though some wonder if this is his way to gain Hispanic support. more ›