With Newtown Creek officially a Superfund site now, the Department of Environmental Protection has closed off the waterway to boats, kayaks, and the like. But the people have spoken, and they want their polluted waters to remain open for recreation! According to the Brooklyn Paper, the EPA claims its a "short-term ban" that will remain in place until the state can analyze the water quality. A DEP official said the decision was made out of “an abundance of caution” with regards to public health. more ›

After January hype - which resulted in rain - and a brief moment of snow last week, a winter snow storm finally made an appearance this year. Two weather disturbances resulted in many inches of snow falling in the region: By 2PM, more than 6 inches fell in the city, which is the biggest snowfall in two years and the biggest daily snowfall on the books (old record: 5.7 inches in 1948). more ›

Staten Island: Clove Lakes Park, Martling and Slosson Avenues more ›

With McCarren Park Pool soon becoming a place where one will hear children splashing in the water instead of hipsters sighing whilst listening to their new favorite band, the search is on for a new outdoor concert space. Of course, the venue simply wouldn't do unless it was in the mecca of indie rock, Williamsburg/Greenpoint. more ›

Last night the first of two meetings to discuss the future plans of (the recently landmarked) McCarren Park Pool took place. The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and architects Rogers & Marvel unveiled their plans and how they will spend Mayor Bloomberg’s $50 million. The initial press release listed: renovating McCarren Park Pool for swimming, creating a year-round recreation center, and preserving and restoring the historic bathhouse building and entry arch, as top priorities (based on a survey). more ›

For the 1964-1965 World's Fair, architect Philip Johnson designed the New York State Pavillion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Besides the well-known observation towers (think Men in Black) and the Theaterama, he commissioned a "130-foot-by-166-foot terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map." more ›

The city's last privately owned island was sold to the federal government for $2 million. South Brother Island, a 7-acre island (just west of Rikers Island), will be turned over to the city's Parks and Recreation Department and will remain, as amNew York reports, "significant nesting colony for several types of shore birds, including Egrets, Cormorant, and Night Herons." According to the NY Times, the deal, which was "brokered by the Trust for Public... more ›

Yesterday, Deutsche Bank and the Parks Department unveiled a 9/11 memorial fountain on Wall Street. Four Deutsche employees died on September 11, 2001, and the CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas Seth Waugh said, “Wall Street is Deutsche Bank’s home in the Americas, and this fountain will be a beautiful focal-point for the neighborhood as well as a reminder of the family, friends, neighbors and colleagues we lost on 9/11." Deutsche Bank security guard Francisco... more ›

The person who hung a noose on the doorknob of a professor at Columbia's Teachers College the other week seems to have been a catalyst for NY metro idiots, who have been been copy-cating or otherwise emulating public displays of hateful symbols. Most recently, Parks Dept. employees were appalled to find 10" nooses wrapped around the necks of their clothes when they opened their work lockers in Queens Saturday morning. more ›

Yesterday we visited the New York Transit Museum’s new exhibit “Show Me the Money: From the Turnstile to the Bank" which details the fare cycle, from buying the fare instrument to the sorting of the money. If you haven’t been to the museum, it is located in a disused 1930s vintage IND subway station in Brooklyn Heights. more ›

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There are many fun events today, like Ecofest at Lincoln Center and Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn, but for those interested in our fine feathered friends, we recommend you head to Central Park to check out the Parks Department's Falconry Extravaganza with the Urban Park Rangers. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a two alarm fire at 80 Washington St in Lower Manhattan; an aircraft emergency at JFK this morning; two pedestrians struck on E. 53rd St.; and a "possible A.I. job" (whatever that is) in Woodhaven.
• The NYCLU objected yesterday to the number of cases the Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated. The board, which investigates police misconduct, only substantiated 5% of the cases, but that's actually higher than that of Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
• A 64-year-old Gambino capo was given a 15 year sentence for orchestrating the murders of a couple that robbed his social club. No news on whether Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia, who has 6 grandchildren, lectured the judge on how they did things in his day.
• Mom and pop may have it a little easier if the City Council gets its way. They are examining the idea of giving tax breaks to small businesses hoping to "preserve neighborhood character," something that Mayor Bloomberg may not sign if it gets to him.
• Judith Zuk, the former president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, passed away over the weekend due to breast cancer. She served as president from 1990 until her retirement in 2005.
• Red Hook vendors and area eaters have lucked out. The Dept. of Parks and Recreation are letting the food vendors remain through October 21st when they traditionally end their season. New rules are expected to be laid out in the Fall that may prevent the vendors from returning next year.
• The hottest ticket in town? Not Oprah, not the US Open, but J.K. Rowling. She's coming to New York to read at Carnegie Hall for 1,600 lucky kids from NYC's public schools. She'll also be signing books and answering questions about the series to the lucky students. No tickets are available to the public.
• And coming to your computer - MTV is building "music world" a virtual Brooklyn and Lower East Side that replicates "hip" clubs. Bonus: no need to dress up while sitting at home late at night in front of the computer.

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This Labor Day weekend is not just the unofficial last weekend of summer - it's the official last weekend to enjoy the city's beaches and pools. After Monday, the 14 miles of beaches and 52 outdoor pools (including the Floating Pool - which will be heading to the Bronx for the summer of 2008) will be closed. more ›

Look out, Jones Beach regulars. Trump’s moving in. more ›

The marshlands in Jamaica Bay that make up a portion of the Gateway National Recreation area and includes the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge are disappearing so quickly that some estimate all of the marshes could disappear in as few as five years. The New York Times reports that recent satellite images indicate that about 33 acres of tidal wetlands in the bay are disappearing annually, almost double the prior estimate of 18 acres per year based on a 2001 study. The cause of disappearing marshes is disputed and recommendations for their preservation involve a lot of money. more ›

That big empty cement pool in Greenpoint has become a landmark. The recently rejuvinated (but still dry) McCarren Park Pool was designated such by the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday morning. more ›

A while back we reported on possible changes at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, more widely known as "the birthplace of hip hop." Tenants of the apartment complex, as well as its supporters, have been fighting to get the building landmarked. Just as important, they want to keep the apartments rent stabilized. more ›

New York's own floating pool is opening tomorrow! The concept was that of Ann Buttenwieser, founder of the Neptune Foundation and a former manager of City Parks. The water on water can be found at Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's free and open from 11am to 7pm (the beach is open from 9am to 9pm) - seven days a week. more ›

The Gateway National Recreation Area is a dual-state and tri-borough national park meant to showcase the Greater New York Harbor for all area residents. It includes the Sandy Hook peninsula of New Jersey that is the outer boundary of New York's Harbor, Long Island's Jamaica Bay that is a wildlife refuge, and Staten Island's parks that offer opportunities to visit historic forts and wildlife nature areas. All together, the group of parks is known as the Gateway National Recreation Area. A conservation organization is holding a public design competition for Gateway National Park. more ›

Thanks to a donation from Target, the city will be distributing free cycling helmets throughout all five boroughs in coming weeks, as part of a program called "GET FIT-TED." That's not an admonition for some guy named Ted to get in shape; it has to do with a dual emphasis on properly fitting cyclists with their helmets and encouraging physical fitness among New Yorkers through cycling and other outdoor activities. more ›

One can hear plenty of trees falling in the forest in Staten Island these days, as the Parks Dept. is on a massive tree-killing spree after the notice of a few dozen Asian longhorned beetles. The insect is a scourge and first appeared in Greenpoint, Brooklyn about a decade ago, after possibly being imported in a wooden packing crate from China. The female of the species lays its eggs in a tree and the larva burrow their way towards the center of the plant. Once grown, the beetle chews its way out, leaving a large hole that can be lethal to trees when repeated enough times. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A stabbing at Canal and Broadway, a naked EDP in Brooklyn, and a car into scaffolding at 54th and 8th in Manhattan
• Interesting story about the state NOW endorsement for the Democratic candidate and the city NOW endorsement for the Republican candidate in today's special election for an Upper East Side Assembly seat
• The soaking NYC got from tropical storm Barry may have caused a wall collapse in Staten Island
• A twenty-something pair of designers (one from Japan, one from Brooklyn) won the competition for Gateway National Recreation Area's new design
• Would you pay $25,000 for Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver's fund-raiser?
• A new online magazine for the hip New Yorker who likes to fish (literally), aptly named This is Fly [Via Complex]
• A Brooklyn resident who recently graduated with honor from John Jay College has vanished in Florida
• Criss Angel emerged from his cement box in Times Square; eh, Blaine there, done that

Thinking about playing hooky in a city park with your laptop? The Parks & Recreation Department has created a Google mash-up of parks with WiFi. There is even a live status update for the hotspots - looks like our plan to blog from the polar bear area of the Central Park this afternoon is foiled! more ›

This Saturday, the City Parks & Recreation Department will open the first official mountain biking trail at Highbridge Park in Inwood. According to the Parks Department, the "new trail system includes black diamond features, a BMX track, and a challenge trail for younger or newer riders," as well as "trailhead kiosks, trail markers and interpretive signage, natural resources monitoring, landscaping material to replant denuded areas, trail building tools, and educational pamphlets that advocate safety and environmental stewardship." more ›

The Parks Department says that there are approximately 500,000 street trees decorating New York's five boroughs. That number is based on a 1996 survey. Another tree census was conducted last year and The New York Times puts the current number at nearly 592,000, out of a total of 5.2 million trees in the whole city. The new decade-long tree-planting project would add 210,000 street trees around the city. more ›

With much fanfare, the city announced a new public space recycling pilot program last month at the Staten Island Ferry Terminals. Six locations across the city are getting blue and green recycling bins to encourage people to separate their glass bottles and newspapers from regular trash. Not a groundbreaking idea, an important step for the city to expand its recycling efforts. more ›

For the second time in a year a patch of radioactive land has been found in the Great Kills Gateway National Recreation Area on Staten Island. The contaminated area is in a wetland area that was made accessible after a wildfire last week. more ›