Expect to see more various law enforcement authorities during your commute, if you travel through the big transit hubs, because there's an Operation Railsafe surge today. According to WABC 7, "The greatest concentration will be at major rail hubs like Penn Station and Grand Central terminal. NYPD officers will also ride the rails with bomb sniffing dogs, and bag checkpoints are possible. Meanwhile, Amtrak will have increased uniformed police visible along major routes and heightened station patrols." more ›

Today, the NYPD will be conducting a "surge at major transit hubs" during the afternoon and evening rush hour. According to Businessweek, "personnel from Amtrak; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; the National Guard; New Jersey Transit; the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey; and the TSA" will also be on hand, much like Tuesday's transit drill. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said, "This is something the NYPD does multiple times throughout the year to include other agencies and maximize police visibility in mass transit." These agencies also performed a transit drill this past April. more ›

While President Obama's proposal to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by 30,000 is taking heat from both Republicans and Democrats, Rep. Mike McMahon (D-Staten Island and Brooklyn) told Gothamist that he strongly supports the plan. more ›

East Village residents packed a community forum Wednesday night to vent about a surge in the local rat population. City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, who co-hosted the meeting, declared that rats were "the largest growing population in the East Village." And Community Board 3 manager Susan Stetzer deemed the rat boom a "crisis...This year we didn’t even have the little Halloween parade in Tompkins Square Park for the kids because of all the rats." According to the Villager, Rick Simeone, director of pest-control services for the Health Department, says they stopped putting poison in the park due to concerns that hawks, squirrels or dogs would eat it. Instead, the city is promising to crack down on bars and restaurants who don't manage their trash properly. Meanwhile, gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhoods are crawling with rats, too! more ›

"People have seen them sitting on benches," says Andrew Albert, an MTA board member and chair of the NYC Transit Riders Council. "From what riders have told us, they appear to be getting bolder." That's the subway rat population he's talking about, which many commuters say is surging, at least according to an amNY article that's teeming with great quotes. "Next thing you know the doors are going to open and one is going to come on the train with us," one exterminator predicts. more ›

According to new NYPD statistics, graffiti complaints in Brooklyn rose 96% last year, with arrests in the borough increasing by 33%. Citywide, complaints almost doubled from 4,886 in 2006 to 8,866 in 2007, and total arrests rose from 2,962 to 3,786. Williamsburg leads the tagging trend with a total of 186 complaints. more ›