Today is Columbus Day, and the annual parade up Fifth Avenue (from 47th to 72nd) starts at 11:30 a.m. It's a federal holiday, which means public schools and government offices are closed (the Farley Post office at 8th Avenue is open, though) and there's no garbage pickup, street cleaning or recycling and alternate-side parking is suspended. The NYSE is open, banks may or may not be open, and mass transit is running on regular weekday schedules. Factoids: The first recorded Columbus Day celebration in the U.S. was on October 12, 1792, organized by the Society of St. Tammany but it was in 1892 (the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage) that was the first official U.S. celebration. more ›

Stray voltage shocks aren't only for the cold winter months! An 8 year old was shocked by a manhole in Staten Island. Briana Santa Maria and a friend had been playing in a sprinkler yesterday afternoon when Briana ran across the street in her bare feet, getting a sting from the manhole cover. A elevator repairman neighbor checked the spot with his meter and saw there was a current of 100 watts. Another neighbor told NY1 that there have been problems with electricity in the area, plus Con Ed had done work on a light near where the girl was shocked. more ›

11:24PM: Mayor B is done with his speech - so far, winning by 19%. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has released his second Campaign Accountability Statement, which shows the various promises/initiatives he and his administration have proposed and what their status is. For example, "Abolish the Board of Education" is an initiative, and the update (same for 2003 and 2004) was "The school governance agreement led to mayoral control," so its status for 2003 and 2004 is "Done." It's kind of awesome, because it lays out the hundreds of things the Mayor has considered, but it's also overwhelming at 47 pages. Here's one example we thought was interesting: more ›