A fierce group of drag queens are suing Rockefeller Center, alleging that security guards tried to stop them from taking photos outside in the plaza and ordered them to disperse. WCBS reports that the festively dressed transvestites were having a gay old time taking photos of themselves when security guards approached and said they were not allowed to take pictures in the plaza. A YouTube video (also after the jump) shows the chaotic scene, with......

The East River waterfalls aren't the only thing being erected by the Public Art Fund this summer, yesterday they unveiled "What My Dad Gave Me," a sculpture of sorts by Chris Burden (whose father was an engineer). The piece is a 65-foot-tall replica of the Rockefeller Center tower made entirely out of Erector Set-esque pieces. The AP reported from the scene via video: The Bowery Boys note that "Burden has dabbled in miniature constructions in......

The elegant 7th floor roof garden at Rockefeller Plaza is usually off limits, but for the next two evenings the general public is invited up to sip cocktails while savoring the twilight view. The only catch is that you have to absorb a lot of information about Canada, because our northern neighbor's tourism board is the one footing the bill. But since their national sales pitch comes with free food, music, drinks and hand massages,......

Olana: The internets are doomed to failure unless someone invents a way to click on a photo at the end of a wet, snowy day and be immediately teleported to the desired location – like those plush chairs clustered around the bar, where one of Olana’s specialty cocktails would be presented at once. A recent visitor to the new upscale restaurant and bar had kind words for a drink called the Corpse Reviver: a “smooth”......

Danish–Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson will work with the Public Art Fund – a nonprofit that brought Anish Kapoor's "Sky Mirror" and Jeff Koons's "Puppy," to Rockefeller Center – to bring freestanding waterfalls to the East River this spring. The project will be officially announced tomorrow, but a source tells the Sun that the waterfalls will rise 60 to 70 feet above the water, which is more than half as high as the Brooklyn Bridge roadway.......

Today we wrote about the discontinuation of the requirement for subway conductors to announce a train's arrival at the 47th-50th St. Rockefeller Center station with a plug for the "Top of the Rock" observation deck. Most commenters found the idea of corporate sponsorship of subway stations distasteful, let alone the fact that this was an enforced and required announcement that generated no revenue for NYC Transit. Some people do enjoy when their conductors deviate from......

Subway conductors no longer have to hype the Top of the Rock observation deck when they pull into Manhattan's 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center Station. Back in October 2006, we wrote how conductors had been instructed to append the attraction "Top of the Rock" to the actual station name. An MTA sokesman said the announcement was just a courtesy to let riders know about the attraction, but the co-owners of Rockefeller Center, Tishman-Speyer, decided to remain......

amNewYork is reporting that some non-"green" grinches are boo-hooing the LED lights on Rockefeller Center's tree this year. Powered by solar panels and lit up with 30,000 energy-efficient LEDs for the first time in history, the environmentally friendly decor just isn't doing it for some holiday revelers. Guess it's not the 1930s anymore. A tourist from California told Newsday there was a "warmer glow" from the old lights, "The bright whites look better than the......

Like the GWB and the Holland Tunnel, the Brooklyn Bridge will have LED lights installed next year, but how exactly do the bulbs get replaced? The NY Times says it only takes one man to screw in these bulbs. Okay, maybe he has some help. Ben Cipriano, the leader of a crew of electricians who maintain the four major East River Bridges for the city’s Department of Transportation, and his colleagues make about a dozen......

However you are spending Christmas Day, we hope you have a happy and safe holiday. Please take the time to think of others: If you get new clothes, make room in your closet and consider donating your gently worn ones to charities Donate food to City Harvest or the Food Bank. Here are more giving opportunities via the City of New York. Government offices are closed today, as are public schools (which have recess......

This summer we saw the man behind Davey's Dance Blog entertain passers-by on the Brooklyn Bridge with his impromptu moves. Today, here's something a little more seasonal. And as usual, no one blinks an eye as the troupe flail around Rockefeller Center.......

Hot chocolate's all the hype these days with Jacques Torres, City Bakery, Cocoa Bar, and MariBelle all pouring decadent brews at their downtown locales. And, while we have to admit that we’re more likely to stop in one of these spots below 14th Street, there are plenty of reasons for heading further uptown during this holiday season—say, for ice skating at Rockefeller Center, a trip to Central Park, or a visit to the Met. The......

Thousands of commercial office workers, such as janitors and doormen, voted to strike on January 1 if building owners do not agree to give them raises. The workers, part of Service Employees International Union's Local 32BJ union, believe that building owners can afford to give them "significant raises" because owners have been benefiting from high rents. However, the owners says the economy is too shaky to give them raises. Members of the union marched from......

Have you seen the copper-toned glow emanating from Rockefeller Center? It's not The Tree...it's a penny harvest field! The installation is the first phase of Penny Harvest, and the copious coins came from students in NYC who have collected $1 million in change. The pennies will later go to different charities and towards improving the students communities.New York first lady Silda Wall Spitzer joined hundreds of public school children on Monday to unveil a mass......

FESTIVITIES: Forget about that big shiny show-off in Rockefeller Center. Tonight the menorah and Christmas tree in Washington Square Park will be illuminated for all. Come bask in the glow of holiday, people. 6pm // Washington Square Park [W 4th St to Waverly Pl between MacDougal and University] // Free FILM: In a week-long tribute to Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini (pictured), tonight The Film Society of Lincoln Center will be screening Notes for an......

EVENT: Julian Schnabel will be screening clips from his latest flick, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tonight. Lou Reed, who Schnabel recently documented in Lou Reed’s Berlin, will also be on hand. 7pm // Apple Store [103 Prince St] // Free READING: The Desk Set's "Drinks with an Author" series continues tonight at Greenpoint's WORD. This evening chat with Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer, authors of How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter......

Can you believe that it warmed up to 64 degrees yesterday? You may have missed it as the normal diurnal temperature pattern, you know, coldest in the morning, warmest in the afternoon was upset by a late-night cold front. The high happened at 1:52 a.m. and the low of 43 didn't occur until midnight. Cold air continues to pour into the region behind the front. While it will be a sunny day, this afternoon is......

Tomorrow, more than normal, you should look both ways before you cross the street on the way to work. Why? Because NASCAR is in town celebrating the end of their season with Champions Week, which includes a "victory lap" in Manhattan. The street closing event is quickly becoming an annual tradition. So if you work on Broadway, 42nd St, 53rd St, or Madison Ave., be on the lookout. The league's top-10 drivers, decked out......

Last week the Origami Tree went up in all its folded glory, and pretty soon all eyes will be on the "most famous tree in the world" when the Rockefeller Center's spruce gets lit up (with LEDs!). amNewYork spoke to David Murbach, the gardens manager at Rockefeller Center, who drives the back roads of the Northeast looking for trees each year prior to doing an aerial survey in the winter months to see which evergreens......

Earlier this year the law started cracking down on illegal bootleggers of all kinds, so those looking for more inexpensive gifts like Prada bags or not-yet-released DVDs on the city sidewalks may be barking up the wrong Christmas tree. The NY Post reports that cops are paying extra-special attention to the counterfeiters this year, leading to a big decline in sales for the sidewalk entrepreneurs and aiming the consumers to (gasp!) legit storefronts.That's great news......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: multiple manhole fires on Marcy Ave. in Brooklyn, a shooting on Gunhill Rd. in the Bronx, and a stabbing on 7th Ave. in Manhattan. The NYTimes examines the ground beneath our feet and finds out where the city's asphalt comes from and how it's produced. The lives, loves, and world of Second Lifers, where people inhabit a virtual world of their and others' making. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Lincoln Center Tree Lighting 2007 (Monday, 5:30 p.m, WABC 7) Good Morning America’s Sam Champion and WABC’s Sade Baderinwa host the first televised tree lighting of the season. There will be some performances by Lincoln Center’s resident companies and some guest’s from channel 7’s owner Disney on hand for entertainment for the 8th annual Lincoln Center Holiday Tree lighting. America at a Crossroads (Monday, 9:00 p.m &......

Have you re-read the classic coming-of-age JD Salinger novel, Catcher in the Rye, lately? amNewYork takes a trip down memory lane, and 5th Ave, with a pair of Holden Caulfield-tinted glasses. Apparently people like the Central Park Conservancy historian get a ton of inquiries about the New York references in the novel. The most popular question, "Where do the ducks go in the winter?" Referring to the ducks in the Central Park pond that our......

Every year the American Museum of Natural History unveils their unique take on holiday decor and their answer to the Rockefeller Center tree...the origami tree! Last year the tree had a safari theme, and this year it reflects the museum's current Mythic Creatures exhibit. This year there's also a three-headed dragon wrapped around it, like garland, which was made of 10,000 Interlocking pieces of paper! 16,000 members of OrigamiUSA made all of this happen, and......

Newsday reports that emergency track work at West 4th Street will be causing delays on the A, E, D and F lines. Apparently Brooklyn-bound F train will be running on the E between 36th Street Station in Queens and 42nd Street Times Square, and then the F will run on the A between Times Square and Jay Street-Borough Hall. And some other Brooklyn-bound F trains will "run on the D line from 47th-50th Street-Rockefeller Center......

If you've been paying for Wifi at coffee shops between 42nd Street and Central Park South and between 8th and 6th Avenues, you can start saving up for more grande mocha lattes. CBS will be creating a "CBS Mobile Zone" with free wifi in midtown. In turn, CBS will lead users to an ad-supported homepage. CenterNetworks says that Citi and Salesgenie.com have already signed up. CBS, which owns CBS Outdoor, will wire billbards, MTA displays......

1) Features about the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, in anticipation of this year's Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The NY Times looks how performances from the 1930s and 1940s inspired this year's show while Newsday notes on the technology being used. Both focus on the amazing synchronized dancing. 2) Starbucks has decorated its stores with Christmas decorations and has started to use Christmas/holiday themed cups. Cajun Boy in the City also counts Josh Grobin......

Photograph the 2006 New York City Marathon finish line by CraigsPage on flickr Marathon fans, your time is here because this weekend, there are two 26.2 mile races in the city. In addition to the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Saturday is the USA Olympic Trials for the 2008 Olympic Men's Marathon. Saturday's Olympic Trials will feature the country's best long distance runners as they contend for the first spots on the 2008......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an officer assaulted on Church Ave. and 53rd St. in Brooklyn, a car into a coffee shop in the area of Skillman and 50th in Queens, and two people shot on Park Ave. and 17th St. in Manhattan. An insurance broker pleaded guilty to idiotic target practice that launched arrows from his compound bow on the Upper East Side. Bono and Bloomberg's mutual admiration society. Brooklyn state Assemblyman Dov......

We have lots of videos to get you in a Halloween state of mind while you undoubtedly are suffering from a sugar crash after too much office candy. First up, IntoTheBox has a scary New York story with a real estate twist (after all, what's scarier than Manhattan real estate?!) -- travel to Confucius Plaza on Bowery and Canal, here. The Today Show turns Rockefeller Center into 1313 Mockingbird Heights and really outdoes their previous......