Thirty years ago tonight, New York City lost electricity when a Con Ed substation was hit by lightning strikes and a "cascading effect" caused the system to shut down around 9PM. And NYC, as well as parts of Westchester County, were powerless for over a day in the sweltering heart of the summer. Subways were stuck, mobs set fires and stores were looted. more ›

Here is part two of our semi-chronological look back at the top stories this past year (here is part one): more ›

Tonight marks the five year anniversary of Ted Leo and the Seaport Music Festival (they really are such a cute couple). The relationship is quite literally a stormy one, however. Legend has it if you hold your ear up to a seashell on the day of a Ted Leo performance at the Seaport, you will hear the sound of the SMF's Stephen Dima weeping. Nearly every year something crazy happens on this night, and tonight is no exception. more ›

Project Jenny/Project Jan first caught our attention with the Chinatown Bus song, of course. Their experimental take on pretty much every genre of music will make even the most reserved person in the crowd dance. Rock and hip hop blend with projections in their mixed media dance party. more ›

As we sweat our way from office to subway, subway to home, front door to the air conditioner's dial, let us remember another hot day in NYC's history: The Blackout of 1977. We're about to start reading Blackout by James Goodman, which reconstructs moments of the blackout, as well as ponders why the riots occured. Con Ed has been saying that we should be okay in terms of power for this summer - Gothamist hopes that Ohio is watching its power system, given what we know from 2003's blackout. more ›