Photograph "Emerging from Penn Station" by boogaloo66 on Flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery at West 56th St. and Broadway in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck at Marathon Parkway and Northern Blvd. in Queens, and a shooting on Gleason Ave. and White Plains Rd. in the the Bronx. If you live in NJ and recently obtained a machine gun from local cops, they need it back. A court ruling made the market......

Holy Tornado, Brooklyn! Reader Jeanne just emailed us with this observation: I live in Kensington, Brooklyn and I think that a tornado just passed through. Have you heard any news about a tornado from anyone else? Around 6:30am there were heavy rains, thunder and lightning when all of a sudden the wind got really loud and we could hear stuff smashing into the house. It was all just 30 seconds or so but now......

As the MTA considers ways to save money as it faces billion-dollar deficits, the Daily News suggests the "Sick Customer Response Program" could be on the chopping block. Apparently the MTA would be able to save $250,000 if the program, which has EMTs stationed at seven busy stations, were eliminated in 2009, but we think it would be a mistake to end it. First of all, it would be a PR nightmare, what with passengers......

When we checked the MTA's Service Alerts for NYC Transit early this morning, there was only a note was flooding causing issues with F service between Jamaica-179th Street Station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station. Now there's a laundry list of subway issues:Due to a water condition at the Parsons Boulevard Station, there is no F train service between the Jamaica-179th Street Station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue Station. - Stations being bypassed are:169th Street,......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was hit by a truck and killed in Chelsea and a bank robbery was foiled in Brooklyn Heights (more pix at Flickr). Most meta-muttonchop shot ever! Can't get enough? Fine, here's one more. A manager at the Park Slope Barnes & Nobles had a great idea for reducing crowding: banning strollers. What could go wrong? Dante's Inferno, Queens edition: "screeching elevated trains serving two lines roar overhead......

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because it gets your body going, and the MTA definitely wants you to have your breakfast. Some interesting news just in time for New Year's resolutions. amNew York finds out that women fainting from their crash diets are a leading cause of subway delays. Really. While things like the flu and hangovers describe some sick passengers that the MTA's Sick Customer Response Team tends to,......

Design nerds won’t be disappointed by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s 2006 triennial. The exhibition, featuring the work of 87 designers and firms, touches animation, new media, fashion, robotics, architecture, medicine, graphics and everything in-between. Curated by Barbara Bloemink, Ellen Lupton and Matilda McQuaid, the show makes it clear that New York and design are no mismatched pair. Standouts include Josh Davis’ program-generated vector graphics, Jason Miller’s haunting retro furnishings (picture dusty red tables......

Probably realizing that many of its riders are listening to their iPods and not conductor announcements, the MTA has its own podcasts - TransitTrax:We keep New York and you moving, and we're excited to offer you a variety of Podcasts that include service change information, getaways and deals, and behind the scenes interviews - all to help you get the most out of your ride or just to get to know us better. We'll be......

This morning's West 4th Street subway fire caused a lot of excitement downtown. First of all, the new helicopters: The nation loves seeing New Yorkers have problems with their underground trains. Second, Sixth Avenue's streets were closed, with traffic backed up for blocks. Third, tons of firefighters and police officers on the scene. Subway service was restored by 11:30AM, but with the Sixth Avenue lines running on Eight Avenue. Reroutings, via NY1: - The......

Holy cow, if the MTA really does New York Region > Now a Message From a Sponsor of the Subway?" href="hhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/27/nyregion/27branding.html?ex=1248580800&en=04074690afca5399&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland">find sponsors for the city's subway stations, Gothamist would definitely have a bake sale to raise money to get a really crappy, cheap subway station (probably something on the G) named after us! The NY Times' Michael Luo reports that the MTA has "quietly issued" RFPs from marketing companies to see what sponsorships they can......

The slippery tiles in the subways stations are now going to be removed. NYC Transit spokeperson told Newsday that the "Italian-made tiles are not the culprit themselves, but rather a shiny coating placed on the porcelain ceramic that gives it a potentially-perilous smoothness." Stations tiles had been installed in: 86th Street, 77th Street and 116th Street stations on the Lexington Avenue line. Stations tiles were scheduled to be installed in: 103rd Street, 110th Street and......