Santa came early and dumped some carnivorous coal down the throats of vegetarians in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood this weekend. The NY Press has reported that the beloved Veggie Castle – so named because it was converted from an old White Castle fast food restaurant – has abruptly closed. The Veggie Castle was as famous for repurposing the White Castle as it was for its vegetarian twist on Caribbean classics, offering such delicacies as jerk tofu,......

The NY Press's editorial staff quit over the paper's decision not to publish the controversial Mohammed cartoon from the conservative Danish paper/tinderbox. The Politicker broke the news and printed editor-in-chief Harry Siegel's memo; here's part of it:New York Press, like so many other publications, has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two other papers nationally have mustered the minimal courage needed......

We're sure you're all busy with office parties and hiding from the cold, cold weather. But it's one of the last weekends of 2005, so try to get out there (besides, who knows if we'll have subways after the weekend is over!) THEATER: When a beleaguered last-minute shopper is desperately trying to find the hottest toy of the season at All-Mart - a good 'ol fashioned holiday shopping brawl knocks her unconscious and catapults her......

- New York is the only city in the country (with a population of 1 million plus) to record an increase in the poverty rate... expect Mayor Bloomberg to refute the Census' figures somehow, as that totally screws with his re-election platform - The NYPD flunks 42 police cadets from the Police Academy, leaving 42 people who will not have to endure Steven Guttenberg and Michael Winslow jokes anymore - The NY Press looks at......

Interesting: A court ruled that newsstand owners should be paid if city decides to "remove or replace their newsstands." The city has been looking at bids from a number of companies to provide new "street furniture," because the new street furniture will mean more places to put advertising. What's interesting that while the Newsstand Operators Associations gives a value of $5 million for the 300 newsstands at risk (which is averages $16,000 a pop), any......

- Scientists may have found the hangover gene, but this sentence caught our eye: "Other studies have revealed that people of Chinese, Japanese or Jewish descent often carry genes that ward off alcoholism by increasing nausea-producing liver enzymes that make drinking unpleasant." All we can say is, Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad! - The country's mass transit threat level has been lowered, but, don't worry kids, it's still high in NYC... - And......

A few strange deaths have been in the local news lately. For instance, more body parts of a Bronx woman have been found, a Harlem pastor found a nude woman was found dead, hanging upside from a pipe (her foot got stuck when she was trying to sneak into Mount Olive Church) and neighbors in Midwood are waiting to hear what the police have to say about the body of a woman found in a......

The NY Press has it all wrong with their "Best Absolutely Useless NYPD Initiative": Police on Segways are not useless. They are perfect for press conferences with Commissioner Kelly or with Mayor Bloomberg.......