Was Harold Camping right, after all? Grub Street floats a rumor today that space-themed Midtown juggernaut Mars 2112 (aka Shaquille O'Neal's least-favorite restaurant) could be closing, pointing to the massive alien-inclined auctions at Michael Amodeo later this week as evidence. But despite the otherworldly forces that surely conspired to keep this place open for as long as it has been (thanks, Maddox Jolie-Pitt!), we're not so sure it's on its deathbed. more ›

The Park Slope Library has already been closed for renovations for two years, and it's showing no signs of reopening anytime soon, frustrating many locals who say the library is an important part of the neighborhood. Think of the children! more ›

Madison Square Garden has been under the knife for a while (you can follow along on the makeover here), and now you can see it all in this 26-second timelapse. The video shows the transformation in progress, from April to the present (they also have a construction cam set up, so you can keep your eye on things, LIVE). The addition of lobster rolls to the venue has already made this place more enjoyable. more ›

And just like that, Lady Liberty's crown will be closed to the public again—along with the rest of her! The crown just reopened again last year, after being closed off since just after 9/11. According to the NY Post, the Statue of Liberty will be closed for security upgrades starting starting sometime next Fall, meaning no visitors will be allowed in the crown, base or pedestal for up to 12 months. The park surrounding the statue will be the only thing visitors can access during the time—which happens to be the Lady's 125th anniversary! Guess she deserves a vacation. more ›

Today, Lincoln Center opened up its Illumination Lawn, as part of its renovations by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The lawn, which is near West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam, replaces a footbridge that used to connect Lincoln Center with Juilliard and the Walter Reade Theatre and underneath the lawn will be the future site of a restaurant. The NY Times' architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff calls the lawn "the project’s most dazzling space, [it] warps up on two sides, so that climbing it can make you feel as if you were about to float off into the air on a carpet of green." more ›

Today marked the start of a long-awaited renovation project by the MTA to remove unused toll booths from the Verrazano Bridge. The $2.5 million, year-long project will see the demolition of eight east-bound toll booths on the Staten Island approach to the bridge that have not been used since one-way tolling was mandated by Congress in 1986. more ›

Fire officials believe that a two-alarm fire that left a teenager dead and many others injured was caused by arson. The Post reports, "Investigators found a large red gasoline canister at 55 Harrison Place," which is on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border, and the NY Times says, "A surveillance video showed a man entering the three-story building shortly before the fire began, and the man was shown leaving as the flames began to erupt." more ›

Having to cram into a crowded subway car has been one thing these past few weekends as the MTA got to work on station and track renovations decreasing service on 18 of its 20 subway lines. But this weekend should be interesting, what with Halloween and the NYC Marathon in the mix. more ›

Yesterday Queens Borough President Helen Marshall moved forward with a plan for a $20 million glass atrium for the rear courtyard of Queens Borough Hall. Her office says that it will provide space for meetings and community programs and alleviate lines of couples waiting to get married in the building's cramped wedding office. Naturally, some people are not thrilled with this, specifically on the same day that the mayor announced 23,000 possible job cuts in his doomsday budget. Political analyst Doug Muzzio told the Post, "It becomes one of those glass houses that people will throw stones at. Is this the best use of public money in terms of job generation? The answer is undoubtedly no." The paper also points out that the recent renovation of the Manhattan Marriage Bureau that just was unveiled only cost $12.5 million. more ›

Plans to renovate and repair the City Council half of City Hall, which is divided between the Council and the Mayor's offices, are proving to be so complicated and expensive that the project has already been handed from one city agency to another and the cost estimates are ballooning. The Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services, which oversees City buildings, deferred to the Dept. of Design and Construction when it realized how complex the renovation of the more-than-two-centuries-old building was going to be. more ›

In the course of conducting soil testing during the renovation of Washington Square Park, archaeologists discovered the skeletal remains of four people. Some adjustments will be made to redesign plans, but the skeletons will be left in place as a gesture of respect for the dead. more ›