A week ago, midtown was held captive when a man ascended to the top of Rockefeller Center and threatened to jump. Thankfully, after a tense hour, police were able to talk down 23-year-old tourist Jorge (George) Ruiz. It turned out that Ruiz, who told police that he suffers from schizophrenia and that he was distraught that a book he wrote wouldn't be published, had attempted suicide twice before, and in an eerily similar incident, had once climbed Las Vegas' 1,149-foot Stratosphere Tower to do so. In the video below, you can see footage of Emergency Service Unit detectives leaping across the parapet to stop Ruiz before he jumped. more ›

Like the Guggenheim before it, the Top of the Rock has been temporarily transformed into a luxurious hotel suite with a little help from Brides magazine, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. One lucky couple, Ryan and Kelley Pattee (pictured), already made the magic happen 67 floors above Rockefeller Center last night, and now the public is welcome to take a peek at the "Mile High" honeymoon suite, which boasts a Dorothy Draper-inspired look (a designer and bon vivant of the 1930s, when Brides launched). more ›

Image cropped from Madison Square Garden, by howsentimental at flickr more ›

Subway conductors no longer have to hype the Top of the Rock observation deck when they pull into Manhattan's 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center Station. Back in October 2006, we wrote how conductors had been instructed to append the attraction "Top of the Rock" to the actual station name. An MTA sokesman said the announcement was just a courtesy to let riders know about the attraction, but the co-owners of Rockefeller Center, Tishman-Speyer, decided to remain mum on the announcements. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on Jamaica Ave. in Queens, another shooting on East 126th St. in Manhattan, and yet another shooting at Snyder and Rogers Aves. in Brooklyn.
• Some Lower East Side residents want the currently vacant portion of the Essex St. Market used as a site for cheaper housing, not additional restaurants for wealthier newcomers.
• A beautiful panorama shot from the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.
• The Daily News talks to Bobby Vigil, the first time visitor to NYC from Colorado who helped a flight crew restrain an airline passenger who wanted to get off a plane immediately, when it was still in the air over New York.
• In a settlement with New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Fraternal Order of Police will disburse $9 million to the families of 72 cops killed in the 9/11/01 attacks.
• The Post reports that even as the number of cyclists in the city grows, the number of summonses issued for violations like riding without a helmet, riding on the sidewalk, or not having required reflectors declined 19%, to 21, 719 for the year ended June 30th.
• New Yorkers look out for each other at a West Village jazz club.
• When a woman leaned out her window yesterday and yelled "Help! Fire! The people next door are trapped!", 20-year-old William Kindred and an unidentified friend ran into a burning building on West 148th St. and kicked down the door to the super's apartment, rescuing the super, his daughter, and a third person.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A Large Sink Hole at 187th Pl. and Jamaica Ave. in Queens, a Serious Multi-Vehicle Accident on 125th and Lenox Ave. in Manhattan, and Bank Robbery at 178th St. and Hillside Ave. in Queens.
• Podpeople are invading the city! 800 podcasters to descend upon Manhattan for PodCampNYC.
• Queens DA Richard Brown is leading the charge to bring the death penalty back to New York State.

In the wake of a judge dismissing charges daredevil Jeb Corliss for his attempted jump off the Empire State Building, Mayor Bloomberg is very upset.

"If I understand the ruling, just from reading the headlines, the judge said the guy did nothing wrong and should be able to jump off buildings with a single bound or whatever - I don't know where the judge is coming from. Whether it's legal, that's up to the court system to decide. But we do not need people jumping off of tall buildings in New York City - certainly [not] without a permit."

NYC is a two time loser now! After the Republican party decided to have its 2008 convention in the Twin Cities, the city hoped to win the Democratic convention. But now the Democratic National Committee has announced the 2008 convention will be in Denver. Here's DNC Chairman Howard Dean's statement:

The recent Democratic gains in the West exemplify the principle that when we show up and ask for people's votes and talk about what we stand for, we can win in any part of the country. We have a number of strong Democratic leaders in the West who will be a part of showcasing the vision of Democratic leadership for America as we introduce the next Democratic President in the Rocky Mountains.

With the Citigroup buying the naming rights to the new Mets Stadium, MTA executives are hoping to hitch a ride on the company's money train. more ›

Funny - the Daily News reports that subway conductors were told to hype the "Top of the Rock" observation deck when they pull into the 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Plaza station. While motormen and conductors think the "order is unprecedented," MTA spokesman Tom Kelly explains that it's just a free "courtesy" to let people know about attractions.

A spokeswoman for Tishman Speyer, co-owners of Rockefeller Center, was tight lipped. "We are declining to comment," the spokeswoman said. more ›

-- And in international news, globetrotting chef Tony Bourdain is trapped in Lebanon! Yikes. more ›

- Tour of city's waterwaysThe Observer notes that DNC is debating whether or not to have a heartland convention or just go to NYC, where most everyone wants to go anyway. New Orleans is the "sentimental choice" for the convention, but it's unclear whether they'll be bidding; the other cities who have bid for the convention are Minneapolis and Denver, cities that haven't seen a Democratic convention in about 100 years. NYC hosted the 1992 convention, aka the start of Biill Clinton's era, so there might be some symmetry if Hillary does decide to run. more ›

Remember that high dynamic range shot we put up last week? Here's a whole set of them! By compositing multiple images in Photoshop CS2 (or Photomatix-- another program that does the same thing), Automatt was able to get some stunning skyline colors. Lots of shots from the Top of the Rock and around midtown. [Bonus: a fake-tilt shift of a fire taken by Esther, but manipulated by Matt-- very nice.] more ›

Inspired by this week's Time Out New York cover story this week, we visited a new bar/lounge in Times Square- we went to Times Square in search of a bar that would be entertaining for out-of-towners. At a glance, Club 49 aims to be competition for Top Of The Rock but at closer inspection it's bottle service among the billboards. With uninspired decor on the main level- semi-private booths and curved cocktails tables against the windows- we were trying to put our finger on what the place reminded us of, the lounges at any W Hotel, definitely (you can even see the huge W sign from the bar), but something else. Then we got it- Ghost Bar in Vegas, another bar high above the city, within a hotel and notably full of people who can't see the view from the scene. more ›

more ›

Praise be: The NY Times reports that building of the new World Trade Center have commenced with the first work on Santiago Calatrava's PATH transit hub for the Port Authority. Workers constructed a wooden trough that will become a retaining wall for a future, temporary PATH train placement (if you like learning about where the rebar goes, you'll love this article). And while some September 11 victims' groups want to stop the Port Authority's building, the Port Authority is moving on. The Times asked the PA's chairman "about the absence of fanfare yesterday," and Anthony R. Coscia replied, "I think people have become so jaded by the inordinate amount of ceremonies that have occurred at that site - disproportionate to what's actually happened - that I didn't want to add to that. This is about actually building." Thank you, Mr. Coscia, as we'd gladly trade all the pomp and circumstance for something constructive, if you forgive the pun, to happen at Ground Zero. While Governor Pataki told the Today show earlier this week (while he was at the Top of the Rock) that building on the rest of the World Trade Center plan would start next year, we're doubtful any of the buildings will get done on schedule because of all the political bickering and manuvering. more ›

Even though Gothamist got to visit the Top of the Rock during the day, we had also purchased tickets two months ago to visit on opening day night. And the city was a glittering jewel, inspiration for visitors to have romantic moments and attempt to capture the view for friends back home. We moved smoothly through, from getting our pre-printed tickets scanned to waiting for an elevator; guards said it was more crowded during the day, but the decks are pretty big, there would need to be lot of people to make it feel crowded. more ›

The Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center's observations decks, opens today after being closed for 19 years, and it will soon become something anyone visiting New York for the first time or someone who has lived here for ages will want to do. We've been excited about this since reading the NY Times article in March, and Gothamist was able to head up there before today's opening and we weren't disappointed. It truly is breathtaking. There will undoubtedly be a rivalry between The Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building, as there was back in the heyday, but there are notable differences. For one thing, the The Top of the Rock offers something different - an unobscured view of Central Park, not to mention one of the Empire State Building. more ›

-Finally if you somehow managed to not set your clock back an hour today, now would be the time to get around to it. more ›

Amy at Newyorkology reminds us that today is the first day you can buy tickets for the observation decks at Rockefeller Center! The roof decks have now been renovated on the 67th to 70th floors, which seem to go on forever (read our March post about the renovations). The Top of the Rock website as this nostalgic movie of old images from the observation deck that recalls its Art Deco history. You can buy tickets online or by calling 212-298-200; tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $9 for children. more ›