Patricia "Patti" Harris is the First Deputy Mayor of New York City and is "known as Mayor Bloomberg's consigliere and sounding board." So when she was appointed to run Bloomberg's charitable foundation last year—while also still working at City Hall, drawing her $245,000/year salary—numerous news organizations filed Freedom of Information requests for her schedules. Now, over a year later, City Hall has released them, just in time for long Yom Kippur and Columbus Day weekend! more ›

Should we really be patting Metro-North on the caboose for running their trains on time? According to the NY Post, the railroad (allegedly!) had a 100 percent on-time record on Tuesday, with "all 659 runs east of the Hudson and all 61 runs west of the Hudson running exactly on time." Great, right? But shouldn't this happen everyday... or at least several times a week? Or several times a month? Or year? As it stands, this hasn't happened since April 29th! If this is some new standard of excellence in service with the MTA, we're going to have to find a way to lower this bar even further. The Post may be giving you a "star," but we say try harder, Metro-North. more ›

So the B62 has been up and running for a few days now (after splitting from the B61), but has it changed the lives of riders on that route? more ›

After a recent drunken driving fatality involving an off-duty NYPD detective, the city detectives union is considering changing the schedule that some say contributes to alcohol abuse. Some 2,000 of the city's 5,500 detectives routinely work two night shifts, then two day shifts, then get two days off. But because the turnover is so short between the end of the night shift at 1 a.m. and the start of the day shift at 8 a.m., most detectives who reside outside the city don't bother going home. Instead, they go out drinking and then sleep at precinct houses. more ›

Those likable Dutch, to celebrate the quadricentennial of Hudson's arrival in New York harbor in 1609, are busy right now building a replica colonial village at Bowling Green. It's part of the NY400 Week celebration, which officially kicks off Tuesday September 8th, and includes a massive Dutch music, art, and dance festival on Governors Island (The New Island Festival), tours of the replica of Hudson's ship The Half Moon , sailing races, the unveiling of the New Amsterdam Pavilion (a gift from the Netherlands at Peter Minuit Plaza, Battery Park), an historic walking tour co-hosted by Russell Shorto, author of the stellar book The Island at the Center of the World; and a boatload more activities! [This pdf has it all.] more ›

Don't you love the smell of larvicide in the morning? To pre-emptively combat West Nile virus and eradicate mosquito larvae before they eradicate us, the Health Department will be spraying "marsh and other non-residential areas of Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island." Because these mosquito hotbeds are inaccessible by ground vehicles, helicopters will be deployed to exterminate the brutes, who are believed to be breeding rapidly in these areas. The spraying is scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. But instead of just napalming the area and getting it over with, those bleeding hearts at the Health Department will be using VectoBac™ CG and/or VectoLex™ CG, which officials say contain "naturally occurring bacteria" and are approved by the EPA and state Department of Environmental Conservation. (Jeez, why not just give them a warm cup of soup and a blood transfusion, too?) And in a remarkable breach of security, the Health Department website has leaked the full list of targets for the strike, so at least you'll now how close you are to the kill zone. more ›

In the future, subway travel will be the exclusive domain of the moneyed class, a decadent indulgence enjoyed by only the most privileged New Yorkers. And the future starts now! Today the MTA confirmed that next year the cost of a subway or bus ride could reach $3 for a one-way trip. The MTA faces a serious budget deficit of $1.2 billion next year and wants to increase the overall revenue from fares and tolls by 23 percent. more ›

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival begins April 23rd and runs through May 4th, with over 200 feature length narrative films, documentaries and shorts from around the world. This year also features discussions with filmmakers, music events, a family film series, an ESPN Sports Film Festival and other special presentations. (Peruse the entire selection of films.) more ›