St. Patrick's Day is no stranger to melees, and neither is the McDonald's on West 3rd Street. Put the two together and you've got one doozy of a YouTube video. So! Sit back in your desk, put your earphones on and thank your lucky stars you (hopefully) weren't anywhere near this fight on Saturday night. As one woman off camera screams watching a group go at it outside, "I wanna go home!" more ›

Oh, the fun to be had on St. Patrick's Day! As this lively video demonstrates, there's no reason to wait until you arrive at the watering hole of your choice to start getting your "Irish" on. Here, for example, are some exuberant St. Patrick's Day revelers en route to NYC, passing the time by racing each other along the luggage racks above the seats: more ›

As we prepare to barricade ourselves in our apartments on Saturday and pray for all the lost souls in the East Village and Murray Hill to learn the virtue of temperance, let us give thanks we don't live in Albany, particularly in the neighborhood that tone-deaf SUNY kids refer to as "the student ghetto." It's actually a place called Pine Hills, where civilian adults courageously go about their lives in the crossfire of a rotating mob of DudeManBros who like nothing more than honoring St. Patrick by wearing Jets jerseys and rioting. Watch, and start planning your next vacation to the Capital District, where the marketing slogan, "We've Got It All In Albany," doesn't exactly say it all: more ›

Let's leave the green bagels and Shamrock Shakes to the amateurs, we're here to help you class up your quirky St. Pat's snacks and meals with some more edible suggestions. more ›

Happy St. Patrick's Month everybody! While most people celebrate St. Patrick's Day just once a year on March 17th, New York City has such a large Irish population that we get a St. Paddy parade here each weekend in the month of March. Want to experience a little luck of the Irish? We've got your options right here: more ›

We're used to hearing stories about cops getting drunk and doing something dumb and/or aggressive, but it seems more rare to hear about FDNY officers getting in trouble. But a cab driver alleges that he was beaten and robbed by four wasted FDNY officers on St. Patricks Day. more ›

While the big St. Patrick's Day Parade is in Manhattan on March 17, Hoboken's St. Patrick's Day Parade—tomorrow at 1 p.m.—has become infamous for its unbridled enthusiasm (public sex? check! public urination? check! public pooping? CHECK!)... at least until the city imposed $2,000 fines for certain activities. more ›

After years of bemoaning the paucity of minty delicious Shamrock Shakes in the NYC area, last year McDonald's finally gave us a taste with limited availability at select locations. But they repeatedly ran out, and it didn't help things when funnyman Jimmy Fallon bought Shamrock Shakes for his entire audience and plugged the product on his show. At times it almost felt like McDonald's was teasing us, and many New Yorkers chased the elusive shakes like so many mythical pots of gold. Well, it looks like this year we won't be reduced to pawning our wedding rings (we need those for Hooters) for a sip of that green elixir: the Shamrock Shakes seem to be popping up all over town! more ›

According to Paul Hurley of the United Restaurant and Tavern Owners Association, Irish people (like, from Ireland!) are really upset over Bloomberg's "inebriated Irish" comment. He told the Post, "People of the Irish heritage are disgusted, just so upset about us being classified as drunks. The phones have been inundated from New York, Chicago, Ireland, Hong Kong, everywhere." However, that doesn't mean that Mayor Bloomberg isn't still welcome in any of his establishments! more ›

A group of Irish-Americans booed Mayor Bloomberg today after a bizarre comment he made in a speech at the American Irish Historical Society on Fifth Avenue. Bloomberg was on hand for the launch of the book "Celebrating 250 Years of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade" by Irish American historian John Ridge. In the first moments of his speech, the mayor reportedly broke the ice by reminding the audience that he lived nearby and was used to seeing "inebriated Irish hanging out the windows" at the Society. That didn't exactly warm up the crowd. more ›

An off-duty court officer was arrested around 10 p.m. on St. Patrick's Day after pulling a Don Knotts routine outside FBI headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza. A civilian Federal Plaza guard, Rashed Bakth, says Michael Armstrong, 42, fired off his Glock 9mm semi while shooting the breeze with a friend. Bakth tells the Post, "I told him to stop; he ignored me, and kept talking to his friend, saying, 'Sorry I misfired.' I told him... to stop. He kept being arrogant and repeating the same line. I approached him and put his gun in my possession." Why can't everyone keep it safe and just drink Shamrock Shakes on St. Patty's Day? (Oh, right.) more ›

A Windsor Terrace resident had a little trouble getting to her front door around 3 a.m. Thursday because a man in an FDNY uniform was passed out on her stoop. Naturally, Lauren Hill videotaped the scene with her Blackberry, narrating it with the annoyed commentary: "I can't get into my house because the FDNY, I don't know what he did, is sleeping in front of my door." This brave hero was probably up all night on St. Patrick's Day rescuing babies from burning buildings, and when he finally collapses from exhaustion, all this woman cares about is getting into her house! So she calls the cops on him. Hill tells NY1: more ›

Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people lined Fifth Avenue to watch the 249th St. Patrick's Day Parade. Irish singer Emma Kate Tobia told NY1 "I feel more Irish here than I would at home. You really feel proud to be Irish in New York on St. Patrick's Day. It's an exciting, exciting place to be." more ›

Yesterday's surprise appearance of the Shamrock Shake in New York City was as fleeting as Brigadoon (which was Scottish, yes, but anyway). The minty St. Patrick's Day delight, which had not surfaced at McDonald's in this region for years, was gone almost as soon as it appeared, amidst reports of hoarding at the Union Square location, where one greedy customer is said to have bought 100. A call to verify that claim dissolved into utter confusion, with the predominantly Spanish-speaking manager mistaking this blogger for the shake machine repairman. From what we were able to gather, the machine is broken, but they still have the capacity to make some Shamrock Shakes, and we think she said that if the machine is fixed today, there will be shakes this afternoon? more ›

While traveling to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral this morning, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly tended to a woman who suffered a fractured skull after being run down by a cyclist. In his second well-publicized rescue this month, the potential 2013 Mayoral candidate hopped out of his unmarked police SUV at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 84th Street and helped 55-year-old Kinuko Hoffman, who was bleeding from the head after being struck by a deliveryman. more ›

Once upon a time, on a long-ago St. Patrick's Day, Gothamist had an early morning meteorology class. The professor, Dr. C, declared his disappointment that so many students are in a 9:30 a.m. class rather than out drinking green beer. He begins lecturing. Unlike his usual lectures this one is rambling and incoherent. The chalkboard illustrations Dr. C took so much pride in drawing are a mess. It soon dawns on the young weather geeks that Dr. C himself has already consumed more than a few Guinness for breakfast. more ›

In a policing strategy arguably more futile than the war on drugs, the NYPD says it will attempt to crackdown on drinking and public intoxication at tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day Parade. Officers will be dispatched across the city with orders to confiscate booze and keep drunken revelers from marching in the parade—which this year features Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as Grand Marshal. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg announced today that starting April 1st, all parades must shorten their traditional routes by 25% and keep the festivities under five hours. The Daily News reports that this is a cost cutting measure, which would save the police about $3.1 million and keep them from cutting counterterrorism measures. Plus we're sure anyone living on 5th Avenue will be glad for some peace and f&#*ing quiet. more ›

Yesterday's big St. Patrick's Day Parade attracted tens of thousands. There were big cheers for the Fighting 69th National Guard soldiers who led the parade after serving a year in Afghanistan. First Lt. Faisal Reza, 24, of the Bronx, told the Daily News, "It felt like I finally came home. Today I felt welcomed because it seemed like all of New York came out to welcome us back." more ›

It's St. Patrick's Day and hundreds of thousands are expected to watch today's parade in person. If you're not watching the parade from Fifth Avenue, there will be a streaming webcast on NBCNewYork.com (it also airs on WNBC 4). east village idiot noticed how the subway platform displays have been changed up from their usual yellow-and-green to a more March 17-appropriate color palette. Remember: The MTA strictly prohibits alcohol on the system and the cops will be cracking down on potential imbibing revelers at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Staten Island Ferry Terminals, Grand Central Station, Penn Station, Central Park, and any public street. And share your St. Patrick's Day photographs by emailing them to tips(at)gothamist(dot)com or tagging them "gothamist" on Flickr. more ›