How does the Police Commissioner show his appreciation for the Staten Island firefighters who used a water cannon to stop a rioting group who were beating up cops? By sending over "cold cuts, side salads and beverages" to Fire Engine Co. 158. Of course, lawyers for the arrested individuals aren't really impressed by the use of the water cannons: D. Andrew Marshall told the Staten Island Advance, "The last time I heard water cannons being used on unarmed citizens was the civil rights movement in the ’60s. That needs to be investigated post haste, starting with who authorized the use of a water cannon on unarmed citizens, kids." more ›

Yesterday afternoon Justin Bieber dropped by Macy's to visit with fans and sell them on his new scent, Someday, but things turned ugly once the pop star decided to divert from his plan. The Biebs took an unplanned trip outside of the Herald Square store to wave to around 500 fans who couldn't get in. (Great idea!) The NYPD had set up barricades, but the fans broke through them once they caught a glimpse of the little guy. When that happened the NYPD ordered him back inside, but one of his own security—47-year-old Moshe Benabou—either ignored the order, or got in the way. He was later cited for disorderly conduct. more ›

Crazy teenagers and their out-of-control hormones, or something—we're actually not sure what caused a gang of teenagers to rampage through a Christopher Street Dunkin' Donuts last week, but riot they did—perhaps in pursuit of some Meat Munchkins? more ›

Liverpool hasn't seen this much tween angst since the Beatles. Right now modern day mop top Justin Bieber is holed up at a hotel in the area with thousands of girls outside his window freaking out and awaiting a glimpse of the pop star. According to TMZ (they've got a photo from the scene), the cops there have warned The Biebs that it could turn into a "possible riot situation" and have threatened to arrest him if he makes himself visible. more ›

[UPDATED BELOW] Things got all Rite of Spring over at Lincoln Center last night, which went a little lo-brow for the evening hosting a Rock n' Roll Circus featuring Brooklyn band Japanther. According to the NY Post, at 11:30 p.m. around 100 fans—of the 1,000 in attendance—rushed the stage during the show in Damrosch Park (you call that a riot? This is a riot!). The co-producer of the event told them, "People were crowd-surfing and jumping on each other. It was like, what the hell just happened?" more ›

At least 15 people are dead in Kashmir, India today as rioters attacked a Christian school and government buildings. And amidst chants of "Down with America" and "Down with Israel," chants of "Down with Koran desecrators" can also reportedly be heard. Kashmiri officials say the state-run Iranian station has been airing videos of American Koran burnings, especially the footage of a man who ripped and burned pages from the holy book during a protest near Ground Zero. Taj Mohi ud Din, a senior spokesman in the Jammu and Kashmir government, told the NY Times, "Today was the spontaneous religious reaction over the issue of burning of the Koran, which was on television." more ›

We guess if New Yorkers want to see Drake, they'll need to pay up. Because apparently his plans to appear in Central Park during Good Morning, America have been thwarted by powers that be, who may have been concerned about crowds after the near riot before his planned free concert at the South Street Seaport. more ›

Following Tuesday night's riot at the South Street Seaport (Never Forget!), the NYPD—specifically Commissioner Ray Kelly—is placing blame on the organizers at Paper magazine. While security for the 10,000 capacity outdoor venue was ramped up for the evening, the fact remains that a 10,000 capacity venue should not be hosting shows that draw 25,000+ fans. Free, advertised, and promoted shows, at that. more ›

As we all know by now, last night's concert at the South Street Seaport was a total clusterfuck, with the NYPD coming to shut it down and control the riotous crowd before the show even really got started (reportedly Drake had yet to go on, Ninjasonik played one song, and Hanson had only soundchecked). more ›

Before Canadian rapper Drake could even perform at a free concert at the South Street Seaport tonight, the NYPD shut down the event because of an unruly crowd. According to MyFoxNY, the "evening ended with chairs being thrown into the crowd, mace being sprayed, and reports of table being tossed from a second floor balcony." Also: Stampeding, pushing, shoving, throwing plants, and breaking the mixing board (according to Hanson, who was also on the bill!). more ›

What would you do for a $1.50 deep v-neck? Would you riot? Because that is how they roll in London. According to Blog-Royale, Dov Charney has some sort of touring rummage sale in which the company sets up temporary outlet stores with items costing practically nothing. When it arrived at Brick Lane recently, it showed us just what happens when The Man gets in the way of a "tight ass hipster twat bag" and his next hoodie purchase: more ›

It's been almost four long years, but a Borough Park man has finally gotten satisfaction from the city after getting violently arrested in a riot back in April 2006. In a settlement deal, the city will pay $75,000 to Chaim Appel, 41, who claims an NYPD cop tore off parts of his beard during his arrest. Appel says he was beaten, thrown against the hood of a car, then cuffed and taken away while his 9-year-old son looked on. "It makes it easy for me to sleep at night, knowing that other people finally know the truth of what happened over there," Appel, who had originally sought $11 million, tells the Post. So what did happen? more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] There's probably some sort of holiday travel nightmare situation unfolding everywhere today, but we're hearing that the Delta terminal at JFK airport is particularly hellish. A report over the newswire bleats: "LARGE UNRULY CROWD DELTA TERMINAL WEST GATE #12. PAPD UNITS ON SCENE REQUESTING ADD'L UNITS." Who'll be tased for Christmas? Twitter user Joel Clare says, "Whoa, JFK is a NUT HOUSE! If you are flying Delta out of JFK today expect 1.5+hours for the security line." more ›

Senior bankers at Goldman Sachs are arming themselves with handguns to fend off any forthcoming populist uprising against the bank. A friend of one of the bankers tells a Bloomberg News columnist, "I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit," swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker. This unidentified banker says he's not the only one stocking up on guns, and the NYPD confirms that some of the Goldman Sachs bankers do have pistol permits. Well, this ought to fix their public image problem! more ›

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic for the NBA Championship last night, Los Angelenos apparently decided that celebrating equaled setting garbage on fire, jumping on cars, tearing down street signs, breaking into and looting stores, and tagging buildings. We hear that police basically let people throw things at them, only intervening to put fires out; LAPD police chief William Bratton, who is a former NYC police commissioner, said, "Officers tonight used minimal levels of force..behaving very professionally," also calling the revelers "knuckleheads" and "cowards." (Was nothing learned after the 2000 win?) Newsday's Neil Best blogged, "Thank you, Los Angeles for the timely reminder - 15 years to the day since the Rangers won the Stanley Cup - that New York consistently is better behaved in celebrating sports championships than are other, less civilized burgs." Damages are estimated to be at least $1 million. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Yesterday Oprah Winfrey thought she'd be nice and arrange for free KFC grilled chicken for everybody. Big mistake. The demand for free fowl has been so overwhelming that many people are having a dickens of a time getting their chickens because the website can't handle all the coupon downloads. This morning Grub Street compiled some of the more "heart wrenching" comments from thwarted KFC consumers on Oprah's site, such as "I'M MELTING CAN'T GET THE COUPONS PLEASE IS THERE ANOTHER WAY OF GETTING THEM ???? HUNGRY FOR THE CHIICKEN" and "Nice gesture since I am unemployed and a free dinner would have been nice. I could not download the coupon." more ›

As spontaneous parties broke out on every corner last night (just check out St. Mark's Place), things got a little bit crazy in Williamsburg once Barack Obama was declared leader of the free world--and there's nothing like a peaceful celebration to bring out the cops in riot gear! One tipster writes in about a reveler's run-in with the long arm of the law on North 7th and Bedford.

We were trying to get onto the sidewalk, as requested but hard to do when it is packed. The police pushed my boyfriend because he wasn't moving fast enough and when he spoke back to them the incident escalated. more ›

You'll recall that neighbors living near the revoltingly trendy Delicatessen in Soho are getting really fed up with all the obnoxious tools blathering through the night, with one man going so far as to urinate down onto the roof, which is part glass. Could this be the same scold who led a near-riot last night, according to this priceless email sent to Eater by one witness? "Some young super-angry dude storms up to the bar and starts laying into the bartending staff screaming shit like, 'Fuck you!!! Fuck your restaurant!!! Fuck your hipstery little patrons who think they are so fucking cool!!! People fucking live on this block!!! I can hear these people screaming outside my fucking apartment all fucking night!!!'" The situation escalated "when a bunch of people in the apartments above the sidewalk tables simultaneously dumped buckets of water down on the people dining below." Worse, it wasn't even sparkling water! more ›

On the humid night of August 6th, 1988, long-simmering resentments over East Village gentrification boiled over into the now-infamous Tompkins Square Park riot. Hundreds of people had gathered at the park to protest the imposition of a 1 a.m. curfew. At some point, the protest turned violent; bottles were thrown at the police, who retaliated with beatings and arrests throughout the night. According to the Times, forty-four people were injured, including 13 cops. more ›

The 20th Anniversary of the Tompkins Square Park riots was celebrated over the weekend with two days of punk rock, pot smoking, rabble rousing and slam dancing. (Potty-mouth video.) According to Neither More Nor Less, they “slammed with a physical intensity that TSP has not seen in many years. Someone threw $1000 in dollar bills to the crowd and this crowd of celebrants burned the dollar bills. The celebrants also burned a flag; being polyester it mostly melted in flaming gobs.” A reader (“Shadow”) sent us this photo, and noted that the commanding officer of the 9th precinct, Dennis DeQuatro, “looked the other way” as it was burned. (Two years ago a constitutional amendment to make flag burning illegal failed by one vote in the Senate.) more ›

Today at 2pm in Tompkins Square Park, there will be a punk concert to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the police riots that took place there. The NY Times has an account of the battle between cops and protesters that took place back on August 6th and 7th, 1988 over a city-imposed curfew of 1 a.m. that had been enacted in an attempt to clean up the rampant homeless population and drug usage that dominated the park's nights. The Times paints the anniversary celebration (which began last weekend) organized by Jerry Wade, aka "Jerry the Peddler", as a bit of an anachronism within a heavily gentrified East Village, pointing out, "these days the park’s curfew is one hour earlier, but it is rarely a source of controversy." 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 ›