That's it, we've had it with SantaCon. Over the years, this annual drunken shitshow has steadily devolved from cleverly subversive to barely tolerable to "time to lock yourself in your apartment for the day." Is it just us or was this year's SantaCon even more obnoxiously fratastic than usual? Gothamist photographer Katie Sokoler was grabbed and kissed (against her will) by a drunk man dressed as a Christmas tree, and she also witnessed inebriated Santas falling onto terrified children on the subway train. Meanwhile, a group of intoxicated Santas on Houston Street deliberately knocked over a disabled man with a cane. more ›

On Saturday, Parents for Occupy Wall Street led a Rally Against NYPD Bullies, to denounce "bullying and specifically the recent actions of NYPD Police Brutality." Kids painted signs and 5,000 paper hearts in Union Square, "one to represent each peaceful protest arrested over the past 3 months," and brought them to the gates of City Hall. But NYPD officers standing watch apparently didn't appreciate the arts and crafts, and began tearing them down to cries of "Shame!" and several children weeping. more ›

Of course you won't hear about it in the Santa-centric lamestream media, but Saturday's Santacon was marred by protests against Claus's unfair treatment of elves. You may recall that Claus—a notoriously dictatorial sweatshop owner who operates his toy factory far beyond the reach of U.S. labor laws—was portrayed in the acclaimed biopic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a petulant megalomaniac convinced he had the power to cancel Christmas around the world simply because of a snowstorm. On Saturday, a group of disgruntled elves blasted Claus for the very same tyrannical employment policies that drove aspiring elf dentist Herbie from the Pole. Watch as these brave dissident elves stick it to the man and demand "elf care.": more ›

Yesterday, the Santacon Santas braved the chilly temperatures to bring their usual holiday cheer to various points in the city. Here are a few more great photographs of the action. And according to a late night tweet from Santacon, "Santa got kicked our of a strip club. What did YOU do?" more ›

Everyone's favorite holiday-themed charity drive/drink-a-thon hit the streets today when Santacon came to town. Hundreds of costumed revelers donned their gayest apparel for the annual Christmas-time costume romp, which also doubles as a canned food drive. Starting at 10 am at five different rallying points in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and New Jersey (sorry Manattan and the Bronx), Santas toured the city before converging on Washington Square Park this afternoon — perhaps prompting NYPD to send this out over the police scanner: "MANHATTAN *DISORDERLY GROUP* WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK / THOMPSON ST (6-PCT) PD CALLING A LEVEL-1 MOBILIZATION TO THE SCENE IN REGARDS TO A LARGE DISORDERLY GROUP AT THE LOCATION." more ›

That annual gathering of Santas—and some elves and other friends—that travels all over the city is going on right now: Santacon NYC is in full swing, with the Santas meeting at five different locations. Some rules: "Santa doesn't get arrested. Please remember the FOUR FUCKS: Don't fuck with kids. Don't fuck with cops. Don't fuck with security. Don't fuck with Santa." And while the event claims it's not a bar crawl, the Santacon Twitter says, "Franklin park santas leave the fuckin bar already! We're going to prospect park for reindeer games." Share your Santacon photos by tagging them "gothamist" on Flickr or sending them to photos@gothamist.com. Ho ho ho! more ›

Once a year a large troupe of handmade Saint Nicks flood the city with red, white and green. SantaCon is taking place right this second, after being kicked off at 10 a.m. at 33rd Street and 6th Avenue. Expect for these marathon Santas to pop up on the subway, in the bar and of course the city sidewalks. As the site notes: "They will shrivel at the end of a frantic 15 to 48 hour life cycle, gorging on booze, fornicating, and spreading an overwhelming stench of cheer." Here are some photos from the scene so far today... more ›

While some folks were out en masse to encourage New Yorkers to "Buy Nothing" yesterday, the Volunteers of America kicked off the holiday season by sending their Santas down Fifth Avenue for the 104th Sidewalk Santa Parade in hopes of discovering the spirit of generosity as the holiday season got underway. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a staircase collapse on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, an unusual escort on Van Wyck and Atlantic Aves. in Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 170th St. and Jerome Ave. in the Bronx.
• 2007 marks the 25th anniversary of the Commodore 64 PC. The computer, which attached the primary system with the monitor and the keyboard, had a whopping 64K of memory. 17 million were sold.
• A bootleg recorded by an audience member at Rutgers turns out to be the only surviving recording of a live Woodie Guthrie performance in existence.
• Manhattan doormen vs. Brooklyn doormen. Union vs. Non-Union. A comparative study.
• Reporting that one's breasts are humongous seems akward. We imagine Tom Brokaw announcing that he's hung like a horse would be less so.
• An improperly vented furnace and dryer nearly killed 19 people at a party in Newark, NJ, as carbon monoxide accumulated in a house.
• If you've ever been to a Betsey Johnson boutique, then how her apartment is decorated should come as no shock.
• Warning: Pop Burger burgers are bigger than they appear, according to Midtown Lunch.

If you were wondering what that posse of Santas wandering around NYC was yesterday, that was SantaCon 2007, when red-suited and bearded men and women roam the streets and crowd the bars of our fine city. If one isn't satisfied by the pictures below, more can be found on flickr here. SantaCon 2004 SantaCon 2005 SantaCon 2006... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an armed robbery on Washington Ave. in the Bronx, a bank robbery on 18th Ave. in Brooklyn, and a pedestrian struck on 69th St. and Queens Blvd. in Queens.
• Amidst "barbs and accusations," talks between studios and the writers guild appear to have broken down. Repeats will continue, as will Seth Meyers' long circular picketing sojourn.
• Animals at the Queens City Zoo will be receiving special holiday culinary treats to chow down on every weekend this month.
• Some news outlets use the word "reorganized," but three more city schools are being closed due to disappointing performance. The total is now 13.
• Tomorrow is a great opportunity to visit five historic homes in Flushing, Queens that are generally not open to the public, as part of a holiday tour.
• NBC is refusing to air an ad asking viewers to remember and thank members of the military for their service because it refers to the spot's sponsor's web site, which it deems too political.
• Police are searching for someone who shot a woman in Queens late yesterday. The victim was shot in the chest and found clutching a knife in her hand.
• SantaCon was today; we'll have extended coverage of the bearded bacchanal tomorrow.

EVENT: Into anime? It's your lucky weekend, the New York Anime Festival is in town! There will be previews, screenings and panels galore. Check out their website for more details. All Weekend // Jacob Javits Convention Center [655 W 34th St] // $30 day pass, $55 weekend pass SHOP: FIT and the Design Mavens come together for a 3 day shopstravaganza. Tons of designers we're not cool enough to have ever heard of will be... more ›

• Today on Gothamist Newsmap: A ceiling collapse at Bowling Green/Battery Park on the subway's 4 line this morning, a bank robbery at 206th St. and Bainbridge Ave. in the Bronx, and a report of a missing child at Franklin Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Imminent end of an era as the actual physical floor of the NYSE gets quieter daily.
• Original "Buffy" Kristy Swanson to appear on L&O as Anna Nic a drug-addled blonde bombshell with a dead son. Link has priceless pic of Chris Noth looking for clues in Swanson's decolletage.

THEATER: Obie Award winner Adam Rapp has just unwrapped (sorry) his new play Essential Self-Defense at Playwrights Horizons. Set in a mean Midwestern town called Bloggs, the play has, fittingly, been generating big blog buzz. The “grim fairy tale” revolves around a disgruntled misfit “who takes a job as an attack dummy in a women’s self-defense class and finds himself mysteriously drawn to the repressed bookworm who’s beating on him. But all’s not well in Bloggs: with local children vanishing at an alarming rate, our hero, his lady friend, and a motley assortment of poets, butchers, and punk librarians prepare to battle the darkness on the edge of town.” With rock n’ roll karaoke! - John Del Signore more ›

In Blessed Memory of Sean Bell, by Casa de Darnoc. more ›

We were going through all the Santacon pictures on Flickr, looking for slutty Santas, when we found the sign shown above. In part, it reads: "every time Santa has a drink, evil elves kill a kitten." Genius! Did you go to Santacon? Do you have any slutty Santa upskirt photos? Share them in the comments. more ›

- You didn't believe us about Santacon 2005 but as you can see from the above cut up panorama of Santa's marching in Midtown it's oh so real. Still don't believe us? You can catch them RIGHT NOW at Metro 53 on 53rd and 2nd Avenue... more ›

Bad Santas everywhere, rejoice, for Santacon 2005 has arrived. Santas are meeting up at 10am at the Supreme Court Building in Brooklyn, at the foot of Montague Street. From there, it'll be many hours of mayhem, as the Santas rampage across the city. We'll try to post location as they come in, and we'll be watching the Santacon tag on Flickr for mobile pictures. If you're planning on joining the fun, let us know where you are going to be, and we'll try to swing by and snap some pictures. more ›

Happy December! It wouldn't be the holidays if there weren't a troupe of drunk Santa's tripping down the sidewalks and groping innocent bystanders. We're not talking about the streetcorner Santa's, we're talking about SantaCon! more ›

Friday // 7-10pm // Milk Gallery [450 W 15th St] more ›

- First date advice and what happens when non-Jews use JDate more ›

, will be starting at 10am right here on our very own Island of Misfit Toys. more ›