While we mentioned two subway-related fatalities yesterday, it turns out two other men also died in the subway system—one of them was apparently crushed to death at the Sixth Avenue L station. more ›

Okay, we know New Yorkers like exotic animals (Antoine Yates, anyone?), but are we really at the point where we've got kangaroos living in apartments? Because videos of a man with a kangaroo at a Third Avenue pet store—seems like the Upper East Side Unleashed by Petco—appeared on YouTube and it's pretty crazy. A man who was at the store with his dog filmed it and sounds pretty amazed by the sight of the adorable marsupial (his dog, though, is more interested in a fellow canine). more ›

Thieves rammed an ATM machine with a U-Haul van in an attempted robbery early this morning. It's unclear if they were able to grab any cash after they toppled an ATM near the corner of 112th Street and 3rd Avenue—though it appears they left the machine in pretty bad shape, based on this MyFoxNY photo. The thieves then drove off in the rented vehicle, but police were able to stop the van and apprehend one suspect in Soundview in the Bronx. According to police scanner reports, a second suspect, described as wearing all black, "fled on foot towards the Bruckner Expressway." more ›

You may remember last March when we reported on a 70 year-old man and his 35 year-old roommate threatening to do nasty things to their landlord after he tried (unsuccessfully) to get some of his $250,000 in back rent. Well, nearly a year later, the now 71-year-old Ekkehart Schwarz and 36 year-old Vasileios Giamagas have somehow gotten out of the charges, leaving some mysterious third man to take the brunt of it. According to the Post the building manager of this never-opened Third Avenue bar and lounge, Niroo Yavari, 48, was involved in several instances for more than a year, where he was allegedly kidnapped and threatened with fake guns, pliers, a screwdriver, and forced sodomy by what he described to cops as "a never-identified giant guy with an Eastern European accent." more ›

A 25-year-old was shot last night while walking on East 91st Street, near Third Avenue. The gunman, who jumped out of his car at 11:30 pm and fired two bullets, one into her neck, was the young woman's boyfriend. "I heard the gunshots and it startled me," a bystander told the New York Post. "I was afraid to come outside. After 10 minutes, I heard the sirens and came outside." According to a doorman who witnessed the shooting, the jilted lover jumped back into his car and sped off. But he was cuffed by police shortly after and taken in for questioning. Meanwhile, his girlfriend rode to New York Hospital, where cops say her injuries are not considered life-threatening. more ›

Earlier this morning, around 3:30 a.m., an explosion was reported outside of a building at Third Avenue and 92nd Street. The NYPD is conducting an investigation; according to WCBS 2, "Officials tell CBS 2HD it wasn't a bomb that went off, but an improvised explosive device. The device was planted on a bench outside the Starbucks." more ›

Third Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan are the deadliest streets for pedestrians in NYC, according to an analysis released today by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a policy watchdog group. The study found that between 2005 and 2007, ten pedestrians were killed by cars on Third Avenue and another ten died on Broadway. There were 128 pedestrians killed in all of Manhattan between 2005 and 2007, 147 killed on Brooklyn streets during the same time period, 53 in the Bronx and 26 on Staten Island. more ›

Brownstoner has done the math and concluded that there are a ridiculous number of hotels going up near Brooklyn’s lovely Gowanus Canal. The latest new development will be a nine story Fairfield Inn on Third Avenue between Douglass and Butler streets; construction will begin once existing buildings are torn down. So that makes a future grand total of 7 hotels in the Gowanus neighborhood; three already built and four more on the way. more ›

Earlier this morning, a fire started on the ground floor of an apartment building on East 72nd Street and Third Avenue, causing all 34 floor to be evacuated. Two firefighters were seriously hurt, while four others and thirteen civilians suffered minor injuries. more ›

“It’s horrible. I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Arye Lewkowitz, owner of Daniel’s Bagels on Third Avenue, recently told Metro. “We’re going to have to sell a bagel for over $1.” Lewkowitz isn’t alone; bagel and bread prices are soaring nationwide due to the skyrocketing cost of wheat, which more than doubled in the past year in New York, from $5.31 a bushel to $14.22. more ›

We’re not going to hesitate to echo the praises surrounding The Smith, 3rd Avenue‘s (between 10th & 11th) latest go-to spot (formerly a very-out-of-place Pizzeria Uno). Whether you’re hankering for a good pork chop, a unique cocktail, or some cheddar grits, The Smith fits the bill. The interior is spacious, though dark in the back far away from the windows, and the walls are decorated with subway tile and vintage nude photographs. Despite its size, if you go for brunch like we did, we recommend a pre-noon arrival, since word has caught on and the room fills up fast. more ›

This is a bad trend: Days after an 11-year-old boy was shot in the chest after opening the door of his Queens home and a 3-year-old girl, in a car, was hit by a stray bullet in the Bronx, an 11-year-old girl's head was grazed by a bullet in the Bronx yesterday. more ›

Good news for old-school New Yorkers: the new 2nd Ave Delicatessen is expected to open sometime next week in its new Murray Hill Location on 33rd Street, near Third Avenue. Lovers of the deli’s famous matzo ball soup and pastrami sandwiches were devastated last year when, after a half-century in business, the 2nd Ave and 10th Street legend was snuffed out. The closure came in the wake of a bitter rent dispute between deli owner Jack Lebewohl and the landlord over rent increases; the soul was promptly siphoned from the site and turned into a Chase bank (though the Yiddish theater “Walk of Fame” on the sidewalk remains). more ›

This morning, two workers fell from window washing scaffolding set up around a 40-story building at 265 East 66th Street between Second and Third Avenue. It's unclear how high the workers were, but they fell onto the roof of a neighboring 6-story building. WNBC reports one of the workers is dead and one is in critical condition. Another report said the two workers were brothers. Traffic is backed up on Second and Third Avenues... more ›

A crane at One Bryant Park, aka the Bank of America tower on Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets, reportedly lost some materials it was carrying. Curbed is reporting that the materials/debris/ garbage bin fell at least 35 floors - and it looks like a cab was hit. A Gothamist reader who works near the building writes:

Our windows look out at the construction site and it looks like some beams were dropped right onto Sixth avenue. No cars were crushed, but I couldn't tell if anyone was hurt or not (there were ambulances at the scene). Sixth ave is closed off north of 42nd and half of 42nd St is now closed, too. We've been told by our building management to stay away from the windows on the Sixth avenue side and the entrance to the building is closed - we're using a service entrance now.

A 29-year-old Chinatown resident was charged with murdering his new girlfriend in the apartment he shares with his grandmother. Michael Chin Lenahan allegedly called his brother in NJ to say "I screwed up." His mother later went to the apartment and found a woman's body on her son's bed, under clothes. more ›

The taxi driver whose car veered from a Midtown street and fatally pinned a man on a sidewalk Sunday night says his cab was clipped by another vehicle. Mohammed Chowdury, who had been driving his cab for two months and was planning on quitting after picking up just one more fare, says that a black car, possibly a livery cab, made a "wide right turn from a middle lane" on Third Avenue at 40th Street, cutting him off. From the Post:

Chowdhury's cab veered out of the way of the black car and jumped the curb, hitting a planter and mowing down Paul Smith, 60, killing him - and injuring his nurse wife, Donna, 55, and two family friends with whom the Smiths were celebrating a birthday at Docks Restaurant.

A former Channel 7 helicopter pilot was killed when an out-of-control taxi jumped a curb and hit him last night. Paul Smith and his family had just finished a birthday dinner at Dock's restaurant on Third Avenue at 40th Street. The cab had been speeding up Third Avenue when it suddenly jumped the curb and hit sidewalk planter, just when Smith and his family were leaving, and ended up pinning Smith underneath the cab. more ›

It's time for the tabloids to make a number of bada-boom puns, as the police confirmed that it was a pipe bomb that was set off yesterday morning outside the West 29th Street building owned by Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli and his wife. The NYPD said there no known threats to the Imperiolis and during a press conference, Mayor Bloomberg said, "While there certainly is no evidence that this was terrorism, we are taking this and every act of violence extremely seriously, and we'll take every step to identify and apprehend whoever set this explosive device off." more ›

In recent years, Third Avenue in Brooklyn has seen three children killed by vehicular traffic. Last year, 4-year-old James Rice was fatally struck by a Hummer at Third Avenue and Baltic Avenue, and in 2004, PS 124 Juan Estrada and Victor Flores were fatally struck by a vehicle as they crossed Third Avenue at Ninth Street, just blocks away. On Tuesday, arts organization Groundswell Community Mural Project unveiled a mural at Third and Butler: In the mural, the three children are represented, asking drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians alike to respect each other on the road and to prevent any more tragedy. more ›

8th Street Wine Cellar: This long awaited cozy wine bar is a welcome addition to the block between 5th and 6th Avenues in Greenwich Village. Union Square Cafe alums Michael Lagnese and Jonny Cohen are offering an excellent and diverse selection of wines both by the glass and by the bottle, in addition to a full bar, and have a tasty-looking small plates menu, featuring cheese, charcuterie, oysters sandwiches, and even pigs in blankets. 28 West Eighth Street, (212) 260-9463. more ›

A man driving a Ford Explorer fatally hit a 77-year-old woman crossing 22nd Street at Fourth Avenue yesterday afternoon. According to the Post, a minivan first clipped Jozefa Dzwiga, "but then, a Ford Explorer swerved around the van and ran over" her. more ›

The city continued clean-up at the site of Wednesday's Midtown steam pipe explosion at East 41st and Lexington Avenue. Vanderbilt Avenue has been reopened, and Third Avenue was scheduled to be reopened today. Clean up of 42nd Street between Third and Park should be done by Monday, while clean up of Lexington between 42nd and 43rd should be done by the end of the weekend. Here's what the city said about the asbestos samples:

The Department of Environmental Protection tests of 12 air samples showed none of them testing positive for asbestos. The steam, humidity, and rainfall probably helped the situation because it prevented asbestos particles from becoming airborne. more ›

July 19: Summer Wine Tasting more ›

During the Wednesday-night rush hour, a steam pipe at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue exploded, sending steam, mud, and pieces of the street hundreds of feet into the air. One person died and at least 20 people were injured. more ›

More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders. more ›

We're getting reports of a blackout on the Upper East Side, from the East 60s up to Harlem, on Third Avenue (mostly about transit blackouts) and York Avenue in the 80s. Subway service is affected - the 4/5/6 line is down. A reader whose friend was at Randalls Island says a Con Ed station exploded. more ›

A lot of people pick up abandoned furniture on the street, but apparently there's some good 'ol fashion dumpter diving going on around town, too. Treasures in the trash are hard to come by, and we'd be nervous about bed bugs, but for the fearless - there is free stuff for the taking. The best of which is found at Third Avenue and 12th Street as NYU students depart for the summer. more ›

Was this baby lamb a little too eager for the city's Farm Aid concert? Because she was found wandering around the Bronx yesterday morning. Julio Rivera, who saw her near his car, chased her in order to get a hold of her, but then the lamb chased him back! Newsday reported, "The spectacle lasted half an hour until Rivera got the upper hand and corraled Lucky Lady in a parking lot. Responding police officers used camera phones to take pictures of themselves next to the sheep." Hee! The lamb was taken to Animal Care and Control, which determined she is 7 months old and renamed her "Lucky Lady" - they think she escaped from an auction or slaughterhouse. Lucky Lady will be headed to a farm sanctuary upstate. more ›

In just a couple of weeks, the Upper East Side will add another reason to venture north on the 6 train. Accademia di Vino, a multifaceted enoteca, restaurant and pizzeria is getting ready to open its doors to hungry patrons with a thirst for Italian wines. more ›