Early this morning, four people were hit by gunfire and another person was stabbed while in Union Square Park. WABC 7 says that a fight "broke out in a McDonald's at 17th and Broadway." And then someone fired into a crowd in Union Square Park - it's unclear if the fight from McDonald's traveled into the park. Four men were hit by the gunfire and a woman was stabbed in a related incident. All this......

With the heat that's hitting the city this week, we can understand the desire to walk around with as little clothes as possible. But on Park Avenue between Union Square and 23rd Street (and the surrounding areas), there's one man who seems to walk up and down with his shirt off all the time. The man is over 6 feet tall, disturbingly muscular, and is dubbed He-Man by the locals. Not only does He-Man......

It's back to the Upper East Side dog run fight: Remember how dog owners are battling over a future 6,200 square foot (!) dog run on the Upper East Side, because tiny dog owners want a separate space for their petite pooches while large dog owners want a continuous space? The Parks Department has decided to put up a temporary fence (1,200 square feet for the small dogs, 5,000 for the big) to see how......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Rivington St. in Manhattan, a fatal stabbing on Malcolm X Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a stabbing on 102nd St. and Corona Ave. in Queens. Cobble Hill residents on Douglass St. will no longer be able to save on their electric bills by relying on the super-bright lights of American Apparel as their street-level reading lamps. The retailer is turning them off and neighbors must now fend......

The man police believe raped and tortured a Columbia graduate student last week for 19 hours was arrested last night. Police officers saw Robert Williams trying to break into a building in Hollis, Queens and was taken to the 103rd Precinct, where he was recognized from a police sketch released earlier this week. So far, Williams has only been charged with burglary but remains in custody as the Queens police sent him to Manhattan for......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a large sinkhole at University Ave. in the Bronx, a carjacking on Foch Blvd. in Queens, and a hanging on Park Ave. in Manhattan. Not only was Gov. Corzine not wearing his seatbelt, his state trooper driver was doing 91 m.p.h.(!) right before the crash. The speed limit on the Garden State Parkway is 65 m.p.h. Nine people were injured this afternoon when the Staten Island Ferry made a......

The city launched a new Public Space Recycling pilot program yesterday that puts blue and green recycling cans in high traffic areas in hopes that people will dump their newspapers and empty glass bottles in their instead of regular trash bins. The program will start in April and last through June, and Mayor Bloomberg said, "The most important thing is, if this works, it will let us do something much more ambitious citywide and really......

Gardeners who tend to an East 79th Street sidewalk gardens have been waging a war against a woman who tears off climbing hydrangea vines off trees. Gardeners Charles Dean and Skip Wachsberger have posted signs saying ,"MADAME, your attacks on our climbing hydrangeas are VANDALISM. Please stop it! The gardener." That might be the the most polite "MInd your f***ing business" sign ever! The woman apparently think that the vines, which flower in the summer,......

There's a Page Six today about Rachael Ray being attacked by a dog. Apparently an unleashed dog in Union Square Park (we will guess it was at the dog run) was very aggressive and caused quite a bit of havoc. Ray's rep told the Post, "Rachael and some others shooed it away, but it came back and attacked Isaboo [Ray's pitbull mix]. Other dogs were involved, and Rachael jumped in and was bit by one......

The big pillow fight happened yesterday, and there are plenty of photos up already. Check some of them out below, and more here. One observer (who didn't know about the fight) writes, "walking back towards Union Square Park, all I see is a large group of people in the park surrounded with pillow feathers. Many of the people were bashing each other savagely with their pillows, while many groups just sat and some guys were......

In the wake of a federal judge criticizing the NYPD's videotaping procedures last week, I-Witness Video looks at what the NYPD actually uses to record public events and calls it "360 degrees of surveillance," best illustrated by what the police used during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Officers used "lipstick cameras" which are easily concealed, as well as helicopters with "military-style infrared imaging." And Fuji lent the NYPD its BlimpCam, and I-Witness Video describes......

THEATER: A one-of-a-kind theatrical event is happening this weekend only in a clothing store and barbershop on the edge of Chinatown. Called American Standard, this solo, seven character ‘sideshow’ is the work of Canadian-American troupe bluemouth,inc., which has been building a reputation for staging innovative theater in bizarre locales. (Other productions have taken place in hotel rooms and the basement of an office building.) In their latest foray, “a preacher, a tourist, a politician, an......

The feathers are flying over plans to put a restaurant in the Union Square Park pavilion. The Villager is all over it: The Parks Department has been planning to put a new "seasonal" restaurant and expand the current playground. But critics don't want the restaurant plan at all and want a new playground immediately. Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates said, “This community has just two playgrounds, the fewest of any neighborhood in the......

Police arrested 16 year old Francisco Baez for the murder of Taishawn Bellevue. Bellevue was killed during an shocking Wednesday afternoon brawl in the Union Square Greenmarket, where about 50 teens convened with belts, bats, bricks and more. The fight may have been prompted by some students feeling insulted by others, which then led to groups of students from nearby Washington Irving High School and Brooklyn's Science Skills High School to meet. Baez was picked......

September 16: Waldemar and Nadia at Telepan - Late Summer Cheeses Join cheese experts Waldemar and Nadia as they highlight late summer cheeses, including the aged goat and sheep's milk cheeses that were made from the first milkings of the season. They will be paired with wine from Telepan's cellar, selected by sommelier Aaron Von Rock. 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., $65 per person, all inclusive. Space is limited and reservations are required. Please call......

Yesterday may not have been hotter than Monday, but when you've got stifling heat for two days straight, it's all around sucky. Add to that power outages on subways, at airports, and in neighborhoods, and you've got some very cranky New Yorkers. Parts of Queens had limited power last night and were asked to "lay off non-essential appliances" today, and the N/R/W trains were out for a while, and even City Hall turned off......

Another final Friday of the month, another Critical Mass mashup with the law. Though he wasn't able to attend this one (and sadly, neither were we) Bikeblog has the story on how this month's Mass went down. In short: Same old, same old. Tickets left and right for "improper or lack of warning devices" and riding in the street. I heard the ride was about 300 people. There were some mysterious vehicles looming around......

If you've been to an anti-war protest in the last couple of years, you probably recognize Geoffrey Blank. He's a fairly constant presence, especially in Union Square Park-- a big, bear-like guy who really knows how to work the crowd. Apparently he's a bit too loud for the cops, who have arrested him more than seven times for disturbing the peace. Newsday is reporting that Blank is now facing up to four years in......

Do you want your dog to be the envy of all the other dogs in the dog park? Well then, you might want to consider taking the next few days to groom that pup of yours, because this Thursday there's a canine casting call. Magic, the Old Navy mascot, has retired...and his replacement is needed. Casting agents will descend on Union Square Park to find a brand new Magic. The event supports New York Humane......

Whoa, who knew that people would take their anger out on poor plants and trees in the park? The Post reports that David Sasson was arrested for "committing horticultural homicide" at Union Square Park. Sasson, who lives on East 14th Street, has apparently been damaging hydrangea bushes, dogwood trees, holly bushes, roses, butterfly bushes, a magnolia and other flora over the past three weeks. Two Parks Enforcement officers caught him at 1:30AM, and the Parks......

A state judge ruled that the city cannot bar Critical Mass ride, which comes after last month's ruling that the rides do not need permits. The NY Times details the ruling:Calling the city's legal strategy against the ride "highly irregular" and "as unnecessary as it is inappropriate," Justice Michael D. Stallman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan refused to bar an environmental group and four people from taking part in it, from gathering at Union......

With news of the bike-ticketing blitz this week, some of us expected a major crackdown at last night's Critical Mass Ride. Luckily for the bikers, it sounds like cops decided to take it easy-- though there were some scattered reports of harrassment, we haven't heard reports of a lot of arrests. BikeBlog reports: After over a year of police harassment and intimidation, with varied tactics, it has been very hard to predict what the......

Cindy Sheehan, the mother who camped outside of George Bush's "Western White House" to demand he discuss her son's death while serving in the Iraq War, had been in town since Sunday, giving anti-war speeches to hundreds of people. But yesterday, her planned speech at Union Square was cut short by the NYPD who seized the audio equipment of event organizer Paul "Zool" Zulkowitz. The police say that Zulkowitz didn't have a permit to use......

through September 18: Free Champagne at the Biltmore Room To celebrate its 2nd anniversary, The Biltmore Room will serve a complimentary glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne to each dinner guest through Sunday, September 18th. Starting September 18th, the restaurant will offer all bottles of wine at half-price every Sunday, until Thanksgiving. Ah, we love anniversaries. The Biltmore Room, 290 Eighth Ave. (bet. 24th & 25th Sts.); 212-807-0111. September 21: Sagra di Maiale You know how......

Sylka and John, Flag Makers...

Tomorrow afternoon, Gothamist is participating in the NYC Bike Month by leading a tour of prominent graffiti sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens- Mike of Satan's Laundromat will co-host. Stops will include Chelsea, the Meat Packing District, SoHo, LES, DUMBO, the Navy Yard, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint, before ending at 5 Points in Long Island City. We leave from The north side of Union Square Park, at 11AM. Bring a bike or rollerblades- and a......

Joseph Holmes captured this great picture of a 5 train recently that makes Gothamist think of the 80's. Broken windows be dammed, when was the last time anyone saw a burner like this on a subway? Joe's got two additional shots up on Flickr as well. In his comment section, Joe adds a note from Matt Weber: "A friend of mine who's a graffiti expert passed along this info: In case you didn't know......

Improv Everywhere struck Union Square with an elaborate and stirring performance/mission in the windows of Designer Shoe Warehouse, Filene's Basement, and Forever 21 to the south of Union Square. It seems like you need 61 undercover agents, plus copious notes on what to do in the assigned windows. All of them danced, did jumping jacks, some held up letters to read "Look Up More," causing a stir in Union Square Park and encouraging people......

It's a week after Thanksgiving and you haven't started your holiday shopping yet!? You are so screwed. Luckily you can play catch up this weekend at the copious amounts of fairs, sales and craft shows going on around the city. First off an annual favorite of ours, the Small Press Book Fair. With about 150 indie presses exhibiting the Fair always has an exceptional selection. When?: Saturday, December 4, 10am to 6pm // Sunday, December......

Yesterday, the Mayor, City Council, and Parks Department announced a $14 million project to renovate Union Square Park, with focus on the north end. According to the City, the project will include "unification and expansion of two existing playgrounds, a year-round restaurant and a decoratively paved plaza for the Greenmarket farmer’s market and public event." Yes, Luna Park, the outdoor restaurant near the "dilapdated" Pavilion will be replaced by a restaurant. This decision was questioned......