In Harlem, the guide explained that black people’s hair was different and that they all went to church in their good clothes, whereas everyone else in the city was too busy to be religious, especially the Jews. Back in midtown, she pointed out two famous “Jewish delicatessens,” the Carnegie and the Stage. “Lots of remarks about Jews and blacks,” Willard observed, “yet we haven’t even mentioned Pearl Harbor.”Sadly, there were no bloodhounds on the scene, so he could not suggest that they wear a Sherlock Holmes hat and smoke a pipe. And now Gothamist must watch Best in Show tonight. more ›

Come this summer, you may see a new NYPD car - the Dodge Charger, best known as the Dukes of Hazzard car. The NYPD is adding fifteen 4-door Chargers for its Highway Unit - they must really love the Hemi - and ten will be tested this summer. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "We're always looking for good equipment, including a little muscle in the car department," which almost sounds dirty. Of course, the NYPD's cars will have "fortified front seats, no rear-door handles and heftier brakes" according to the Daily News. Gothamist just hopes "Dixie" won't play on the siren. more ›

Gothamist can't help but notice a Rush & Molloy item about media couple, Amanda Hesser (everyone's favorite NY Times food writer/target) and Tad Friend (New Yorker writer):

What did New York Times food critic Amanda Hesser do when she found out her husband, New Yorker contributor Tad Friend, had slept with four of his female friends before the two writers got together? She "zeroed in on my mattress as the Indian burial ground of my rootless past...She announced that she could no longer sleep on it - too spooky" [wrote Friend in the compilation, Committed.]

Amanda Hesser's bio. Our posts on Hesser. more ›

And so you can get your disaster freak on, see where you lie in the city's hurricane zones [via our know-it-alls at Gothamist Weather; also see this post and that post] more ›

The second suicide in a month in the Bobst Library has left NYU wondering what is going on. An 18 year-old jumped to his death from the 8th, 9th, or 10th floor last Friday and a 20 year-old jumped from the 10th floor. One library worker who was present during both suicides told the Daily News, "He just jumped - it was quick. I didn't look over the ledge. I looked the last time." Officials are probing both suicides. more ›

Commissioner Raymond Kelly must be a forward thinking guy, or at least a guy with a forward thinking staff, as the NYPD embarks on a 60 day trial using the Segway Human Transporter. The NY Post reports that 10 officers were put on Segways last week to deal with areas of heavy pedestrian traffic, like Midtown and Coney Island; the USPS and Atlanta police have also been testing out Segways. Gothamist thinks that police officers on Segways will be helpful only as a commanding conceptual presence of authori-tay and technology, because while it elevates them to be taller than others in the crowd, Segways are slower (top speed - 12 mph) than bikes or motorcycles and the police look kinda funny on them. As Officer Chintua Alozie tells the Post, ""You park it and go after the criminal. It has a bicycle lock if necessary." Hmm, can't wait for it to be used in an episode of Law & Order! more ›

Amanda Hesser's recent trip to Paris was not just about riding Segways with husband Tad Friend. No, she turned it into a business trip for herself as well, with an essay on her relationship with the egg/oeuf being resparked in, "The Oeuf and I: An Old Love Seems New" in today's Times' Dining section. Gothamist guesses that being in Paris with her new husband made everything seem tres romantique.
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Mon dieu! Gothamist's favorite New York Times food writer, Amanda Hesser, and husband New Yorker writer Tad Friend, are riding Segways in Paris for Slate. Apparently, Tad Friend is heading up some sort of diplomatic-literary-technology type of delegation to bring cutting edge human transport devices to old-school Europe. About time. more ›