Not to be all Smokey the Bear about it, but since deadly fires happen most often in the winter months, now is a good time to brush up on some fire safety. We talked to FDNY spokesperson Frank Dwyer recently, and got tips on dealing with fires in different types of city dwellings. After all, how you deal with a fire in your home all depends on what type of home you live in. more ›

Good news for drunk taxi passengers (or just riders with bad math skills) is less good for taxi drivers. After this week the auto-suggested tips for rides under $15 in taxi cabs with VeriFone Taxi TVs will stop being $2, $3 and $4 options and instead resort to the standard 20, 25 and 30 percent defaults already available in the Creative Mobile Technologies Taxi TVs. Hurrah! more ›

Avert your gaze from the rabble on Wall Street to the real victims of the modern economy: highly successful restaurateurs. It's really difficult to manage a restaurant empire when you're getting sued for back pay and lost tips by your staff, says Joe Bastianich, who co-owns Eataly, Babbo, and Del Posto. "Money-hungry lawyers, through frivolous lawsuits, are shaking down the very foundation of Manhattan's restaurant industry," the money-hungry businessman tells the Post. "Someone in Albany needs to understand the agenda, what this is really costing the greatest restaurant city in the world." Despite this harshest of anti-business climates, restaurants in New York City grew by 42% in the last decade. more ›

New York just had itself an earthquake—the first one that many New Yorkers have ever felt—and you know what we learned? Most of us aren't exactly sure what the hell to do in an earthquake. Sure, some people evacuated their offices, but many did so via elevators. And then they just milled about outside, leaning on buildings. So, now that we've all caught our breath, here are a few tips on what to do in the case of another one (as well as in today's aftermath). more ›

Certain websites aside, we always thought New York was actually a pretty good town for getting tips, what with all the big spenders here and the many professionals whose livelihood depends on tips. And we are! But you know who apparently tips better? New Hampshireites. And Alaskans. And Wisconsinites. Also? People from Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, Hawaii, Vermont, and Alabama. According to research from Marketplace, they beat us on when it comes to average tips given on $20 sit-down meals. more ›

Yesterday, we heard the story of Marcy Richardson, a (now former) waitress at Tonic East who claimed three guys consumed $120 worth of beer and food and stiffed her on the check Tuesday night. She said she was subsequently forced to pay for the customers, and ended up writing an angry screed about the experience on Craigslist—you can read the whole account here. But a manager at Tonic refuted her story, and we ended up hearing two very opposing narratives about what happened that evening and who was to blame. Now to add to this Rashomon-like saga, the mother of a former waitress at Tonic also thinks the manager is lying! more ›

A feud is simmering between waiters and busboys at the troubled Cipriani restaurant empire, as the two groups battle on divvying up their nightly tip money. "It's a war," said one busboy, who apparently isn't afraid to sleep with the fishes. more ›

We receive a lot of e-mail. Most of these missives are carefully read, discussed at length among the editors, and courteously replied to in a timely fashion—except for the ones that are so bizarre and irrelevant that we're simply afraid to engage the sender. Instead, we'll share them with you. Behold, the eccentric underbelly of the Gothamist inbox: more ›

Yankee Stadium waiters, who deliver beer and gourmet grub to the stadium's expensive seats, are crying foul saying that a 20 percent gratuity that patrons are charged for food delivery never makes it to their pockets. So naturally they are suing. According to the suit the menus at each seat say that "a 20% service charge will be added to the listed prices. Additional gratuity is at your discretion," but employees never see an extra dime. more ›

Earlier this year Edward Burns (heretofore referred to as "Burnsie") told his Twitter followers that he was making his new movie (the centerpiece at TriBeca Film Festival this year) for $9,000 in the can. We're not in showbiz, but we can tell you that is not a lot of money at all. So how does he do it? more ›

Sure, the hipsters of the early aughts enjoyed a little retro in their daily routine... but usually it came in the form of an overpriced vintage t-shirt or ironic whatchamacallit. These modern day hipsters are taking things a little too far, however, and sending women back to the days of June Cleaver. Way to go, ladies of Brooklynburg! more ›

Fans of fine dining, pick up your phones. New York's Winter Restaurant Fortnight Week is back. Which means from January 24 through February 6 (and, if history is any guide, even later) hundreds of New York City eateries are offering three-course lunches for $24.07 and dinners for $35. The full list of participating restaurants is now live and reservations are being taken. more ›

After Thanksgiving BrickUnderground ran a not-un-useful guide to holiday tipping—certainly it was more helpful than the Times' anecdotal take (we don't have a car let alone a car to tip away!)—and as part of the guide they ran an informal survey to find out what people are tipping. A month later, survey says... most people this year topped out their tips at $500 or less. Granted, the survey didn't take into account the number of staff in a person's building, so you can take the results with a '91 Honda Accord full of salt. And remember, by custom you have until the end of the year to give holiday tips. more ›

We're well into the holiday tipping season—custom gives you till the end of the year to give 'em—and today the Times offers an informal comparison between the suggested tips we wrote about last month and what doormen around town were reporting they got. And while it sounds like you are safe giving what you can—especially if you write a personalized note!—if you really want to give a doozy of a gift the bar has been set: one doorman at the Langston, a 186-unit condo in Harlem, was offered a car for the holidays. more ›

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe is warning New Yorkers about one of winter's many silent killers: ice. Don't become a statistic, people, the ice doesn't have to win! Not this year! That is, not if you follow the ice safety guidelines provided by Benepe (below) and exercise extreme caution (and/or less extreme common sense). While you probably won't fall through the ice at Wollman Rink, you can AND WILL if you dare venture onto the thin ice coating ponds and lakes. more ›

Thanksgiving is past and the holiday deluge is upon us, which means in addition to braving Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, holiday shopping villages and Salvation Army santas, the tipping season is nigh. But lo, with it comes that age-old question: who to tip and how much? Not everyone can live in a no-tip co-op. And New York being as expensive as it is, national advice on the matter often comes across as almost quaint. Luckily for the curious, the Internet has answers. more ›

Today NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan (also head honcho of Pat's Papers) divulged that he does his own hair and makeup every day prior to being on air, and before you've even had your breakfast, slacker. Naturally, we had to find out what kind of tips Kiernan could give us—below, he delivers: more ›

A reader sent us a tip and photo from the Whole Foods at Union Square, where they were shopping with their baby (and stroller) this afternoon: "The prepared foods (cooked, prepared turkey breasts) were being carted upstairs along side filthy garbage cans and employees with dirty dustbins...Really disgusting situation. This is how they transport the prepared foods from the kitchen to the counters. Notice one of the employee's ass rubbing up against the tray." more ›

Even if you have a perfectly functional air conditioner, you probably shouldn't be over-using it right now on account of the whole imminent city-wide blackout you'd be helping to cause, right? So how does one live without these little cooling dream machines? Here are some helpful tips we use, and a few from some friends we know who have chosen to exist sans A.C. for years—they are destined to be a New York Times trend piece! Okay, here we go: more ›

The fancy French restaurant Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro is being sued by four former servers who were allegedly ripped off by chef-owner Terrance Brennan, who, according to the lawsuit, shared their gratuities with his maitre d's and cheese-counter workers, "whose duties make them ineligible to receive tips under federal and/or New York law." The former employees were pretty cheesed off about the practice, and raised their complaints about the unlawful conduct to Brennan to persuade him to change the restaurant's policies. But when that failed, they brought in the corny lawyers. Attorney Justin Swartz tells the Post, "Restaurant owners shouldn't treat workers' tip pools like a pot of fondue." more ›

Now that the greedy doorman scandal has been busted wide open, the City Council is preparing legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to demand kickbacks for setting up cab fares. Under the scheme, doormen at hotels around the city would demand payments of $5 to $15 for shuttling guests to the airports, and would turn away drivers who refused to pay. City Council member James Vacca said, "It's unfair...Those who abuse that are wrong." more ›

An expert from Rose Red & Lavender in Brooklyn, Kimberly Sevilla, took some time to talk urban container gardening with WG News recently. We already know fire escape gardens aren't exactly legal, but let's say you scoff at the law, or better yet, have a small balcony or outdoor space or even an ounce of natural light peeking in through your window... what do you plant? more ›