An unidentified man was fatally shot on Williamsburg's southside this afternoon. An FDNY spokesman tells us the shooting was reported at 3:25 p.m., and the victim was pronounced DOA when first responders arrived at the scene, on Wythe Avenue between Broadway and South Sixth Street. He was "possibly shot in the mouth," the spokesman said. more ›

The Times' Thursday Style section comes to the rescue of Williamsburg's Latin nightclub Alma, which was greeted with "sarcastic sneering" by websites like ours when it debuted at the beginning of April. The Times cheers the upscale club as a much-needed nightlife alternative for the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood, which has been recently besieged by a wave of upscale bars and restaurants catering to... different tastes? more ›

Where's the perfect spot to bring some green space to the Southside of Williamsburg? Sigh, above the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, apparently. According to the Brooklyn Paper there's one group angling to build a park on a platform above the Robert Moses "masterpiece." Sounds peaceful, no? more ›

Cue the Yelpers! After the usual hyped anticipation, chef Zak Pelaccio and his Fatty Crab crew have returned to Williamsburg's Southside, just a couple blocks from where Pelaccio opened his first joint, the now-defunct Chickenbone Cafe. (That space, for those keeping score, seems at last poised to reopen as the small-plates cocktail lounge Dram, which is also across the street from the recently opened and routinely packed Pies 'n' Thighs.) Called Fatty 'Cue, this new triple-decker restaurant "unofficially" opened last night on South Sixth Street. more ›

The long-building wave of food blog hype has at last reached the shore of South 4th Street in Williamsburg, where the new location of southern comfort BBQ restaurant Pies 'N' Thighs finally opened today. You may recall that back in January 2008, the original location in the shadow of the Williamsburg bridge was shut down by the Health Department for such infractions as an improper pork smoker. (Our headline, "Pies 'n' Thighs Goes Tits Up," elicited some "fun" comments.) After more than two years of preparation and speculation, the P&T team has now opened in their new digs, at the corner of Driggs. more ›

Nestled between a Williamsburg condo construction site and another building occupied by a battalion of fashion models, the swank new tapas restaurant Bar Celona seems poised to cash in on (and advance) the neighborhood's steady drumbeat of gentrification. At first glance, one might assume this chic place is just a tad out of step with the still slightly scruffy South Side, but let's not forget that the well-appointed Dressler is just a few blocks away, and Aurora isn't exactly a dump, either. Bar Celona's interior design may be seductively or surreally luxurious, but that doesn't take anything away from the stellar cocktails or chef Jordy Lavanderos's first-rate menu. Also: fireplace. more ›

This year Williamsburg has seen its fair share of stabbings and shootings, and in light of that "a number of local politicians and churches are sponsoring a prayer rally and concert to protest the recent spate of violence in the Southside." One of the latest crimes took place over the East River recently at the daylight drenched hour of 4:45 p.m. The Brooklyn Paper reported that "a gun-toting thug tried to mug a 28-year-old man as he walked across the Williamsburg Bridge on July 24, but the courageous victim wrestled the firearm away." The rally will take place tomorrow, August 2nd, at 5 p.m. at Continental Plaza on Roebling and S. 5th Street. more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 87th St. and Central Park West in Manhattan, a DOA in a tree off Woodhaven Blvd. in Queens, and a burn victim on 42nd St. and Vanderbilt Ave. in Manhattan. Sidewalk chalk outline artist Ellis G[allagher] was arrested by police and held overnight as he was being filmed by a PBS crew last week in Boerum Hill. Charges were dropped the next day and Gallagher... more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a white powder incident at 25 Beaver St. in Manhattan, report of a large crowd gathered at the center of the south side of the George Washington Bridge's upper level, and an explosion in the basement of a building at 77th St. and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan. Dedicated bike paths and fences separating them from traffic can only do so much when a cab driver really wants to take... more ›

If you've ever struggled to figure out which direction you're facing when you step out of a subway station (and there are no landmarks or sun to guide you), you won't have those problems at four subway stations in Midtown anymore. That's because the Department of Transportation and the Grand Central Partnership are placing temporary directional compass decals outside them. more ›

Hurricane Dean continues to gain strength as it heads toward the Yucatán peninsula. The hurricane, with sustained winds of 150 miles an hour, may intensify to a category 5 storm before it hits land tomorrow. Dean is currently expected to cross the Yucatán near the Mexico-Belize border, where it will weaken, then regain strength over the Bay of Campeche before slamming into northern Mexico. The storm passed a hundred miles south of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, with neither country adding to the storm's death toll of eight people across the Caribbean. more ›

This weekend, you could take a trip back to the 1860s with a visit to Governors Island. It's the Civil War Weekend, and the 119th New York Volunteer Historical Association will "recreate garrison life on Governors Island during the Civil War, portraying officers, soldiers and guards in the Regular Army conducting drills, a guard mount and historic weapons demonstrations." Here's a schedule of events for both Saturday and Sunday:

10:00: Witness the morning calls (sick, breakfast, officers’) at the Garrison and Confederate prisoners being marched to Castle Williams under guard more ›

Noah Cicero's The Human War is a book of conversation. But it's not full of idle chatter. Rather, it contains the sort of talking we'd do if we weren't afraid of saying what troubles us most. If we spoke up we'd notice that we have similar, if not the same, things on our minds. The realization that others share our thoughts brings us closer as a people in a time when alienation runs rampant and we acknowledge that, willing or not, we are all participants in The Human War. He'll be in New York for a reading this week (details after the jump). more ›

After hearing from concerned residents and noticing the problem ourselves, we've been following the Racked report on a lack of gyms in Williamsburg with interest. more ›

It's been a couple of months since we found out that the mysterious building at 11 Spring Street would be converted into condos. Graffiti fans around the world instantly went into mourning, as the walls of 11 Spring have long been considered one of the finest streetart galleries in the United States, and redevelopment indicated that they'd soon be erased. But not so fast! Wooster Collective seems to be sponsoring a new project at the building, and if the shots of the interior are any indication, they've got the cooperation of the new owners: more ›

Yesterday, two pedestrian fatalities were noted on the Newsmap - one in Brooklyn and one in midtown Manhattan. The Brooklyn incident involved an elderly woman trying to cross 65th Street near 23rd Avenue at 11AM when she was hit by a van. Then around noon, Pedro Rodriguez, was crushed by a box truck's rear wheels on 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Rodriguez, who worked as a housekeeper at the Algonquin Hotel down the street, seemed to stumble toward the truck. Police deemed both incidents accidents and no summons were issued. more ›

All our dreams that West 11th Street between 5th and 6th Aveunes was classy have been dashed by Manhattan Offender. Sure, those townhouses are gorgeous, but MO noticed a distressing scaffolding set-up:

If you are walking on West Eleventh Street between Fifth and Sixth, my advice is to walk on the south side of the street. On the north side is scaffolding. And no, I'm not afraid of walking under scaffolding, but this set is especially problematic, at least for me... more ›

The big real estate news of the day is that the empty lot on the southeastern corner of West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue - right near the movie theater on the south side of 42nd Street - will finally get developed. The NY TImes' coverage of the deal starts off with:

A New Jersey developer plans to build a $1 billion office tower on the last parcel in the 13-acre Times Square redevelopment district, bringing an end to the 26-year effort to clean up an area that was known as the Deuce when it was a motley collection of movie houses, sex shops, T-shirt stores, pimps and drug dealers.

The Daily News revealed the top ten ideas in the running for the redevelopment of Governor's Island. Only 25 proposals were submitted, and while the other ideas may still be considered, these the ones the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation is "concentrating" on:

Nickelodeon Recreation/Miller Global Properties: Development of a Nickelodeon Family Suites themed resort complex. The company presently runs a similar operation in Orlando, near Disney World. more ›

I've never wanted a vast loft space dwelling more than the day I wandered around Moss and saw the sheep. They were basically three sizes of sawhorse designed to look like grazing sheep for sitting astride. I immediately had visions of a small flock of seats gathered in a shady corner of a huge apartment on Astroturf with maybe the skin of one of these awesome chairs laid over a similar wolf stool. Imagine the fun at cocktail parties as people spread the mutton settees around the room, those in skirts demurely sitting sidesaddle. It's not often I am swooped up by a spatial vision and for that I will always be grateful to Murray Moss and his showroom on Houston. more ›

We were skating down 2nd Avenue in Sunset Park the other day, when we spotted this weird fish on the side of an abandoned building. The fish is on the south side of the street (in the 20s? Lower 30s?), about 15 feet off the ground. Does anyone know who created this fish? What's the story behind it? more ›

While biking over the Williamsburg Bridge yesterday, Gothamist noticed that a construction crew had closed the entire south side of the path. On of the guys on the crew told us that they were removing and replacing the 26 speedbumps on the Manhattan side of the Bridge-- oh happy day! Bikers have been complaining about these nefarious bumps since they were installed in 2002. Each of the 2" high bumps offers a new opportunity for the downhill biker to be thrown ass-over-teakettle, and bikers going both ways face the possibility of denting their wheels on every trip. Other groups have also complained- most notably, advocates for the disabled, who note that the bumps are also dangerous for people in wheelchairs. more ›

Most of the work won't be visible on street level for a while longer, but if the construction that started on August 1 is completed as expected than come January 2008 Houston St. between the Bowery and West St. won't be the same (it won't be different either but what's a little hyperbole among friends). The Villager has a look at the $29.4 million dollars of work being put into effect: more ›

The second you walk into Discovery Wines you are aware that this isn’t your typical wine shop. The bright modern space feels welcoming and airy – baby stroller and dog friendly – but what really separates Discovery Wines from any other place we have been are the touch screen panels around the store. These touch screens are like having your own personal sommelier guide you through the place. They give out information on wine based on the way we drink wine – a crazy concept. Let’s say you are cooking a chicken dish and are looking for a wine to pair it with – the amazing touch screen has an answer. Or suppose your are feeling a little crazy and are looking for an exciting red wine from Turkey for under $10 – the amazing touch scene has 4 options. Or the best feature yet, let’s just say the green label with the cute little ducks catches your eye, just walk it over to the amazing touch screen to scan and it will tell you what it tastes like, what foods to pair it with and even about the 16 brothers that picked the grapes off of the south side of the hill. more ›

Louis Alvarado, U.S. Citizen more ›

Ricardo Dominguez, Artist and Electronic Civil Disobedience Pioneer more ›

This week's NYT Dining section dove into one of Gothamist's favorite subjects: street food. The Times highlights the "Arepa Lady," who is very well known to visitors to the Chowhound message boards; Alpha hound Jim Leff has attempted to explain her magic: more ›

As a band, Radio 4 (Greg Collins, Anthony Roman, Tommy Williams, Gerard Gerone, PJ O’Connor) has existed for about five years. As a concept, they’re about as old as the city from which they’ve sprung. In many ways, Radio 4 is the quintessential New York band. Understated yet vocal, cynical yet hopeful, blasé and yet undeniably excited by their peers, Radio 4 take the amalgam of sub-cultural emotions and meld them into danceable middle-finger rock perfect for this politically charged atmosphere. Seeing Radio 4 play live gives newfound hope to a city of folded arms. Something about the crack-spun percussion, invasive bass-lines and superior melodies seeps into the crowd, fueling a dance frenzy uncharacteristic of most New York experiences. In preparation for their Wednesday night romp at Bowery Ballroom, Anthony (bass, vox) and Gerard (keyboards) took a few moments to regale Gothamist with tales of Kate Moss, hotel exile, and drinking in Alcatrazz. more ›