According to the NYPD, a person jumped off the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to their death shortly before 7:00 a.m. Police received a call at 6:19 a.m. indicating that someone had exited their car and was on the ledge of the bridge. The incident is still under investigation, but a spokesperson could confirm that the person has died. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Another feline has been rescued on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge! Back in July, hundreds of cat lovers applied to adopt an adorable kitten that some terrible excuse for a human being tossed out of the window of a moving car on the bridge. That lucky cat, dubbed Verrazano, quickly caught the eye of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit star Whoopi Goldberg, who ultimately won him and renamed him Vinny. If you are one of the hundreds of nobodies who tried to adopt Vinny only to have your heart broken harder than Demi Moore in Ghost, you may be in luck, because now another kitten has surfaced on the same bridge. more ›

Some 140 people applied to adopt the adorable kitten that some miserable P.O.S. tossed out of the window of a moving car on the Verrazano Bridge in July. Among the hopefuls was TV's Whoopi Goldberg, and it was announced today that Animal Care & Control has granted her wish, which we're sure has everything to do with her qualifications as a pet owner and nothing to do with her celebrity status. Animal shelter staffers had named the five-week-old Russian blue kitten Verrazano after it was rescued, but Goldberg has christened him Vinny. more ›

Since the revolting (PEOPLE SUCK!) yet uplifting (KITTEH SAVED!) story of the kitten rescued from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge broke Wednesday night, the Staten Island Animal Care and Control Center has been flooded with adoption requests. Among those who want to get their hands on that adorable, five-week-old Russian blue kitten are former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari and TV's Whoopi Goldberg! Hundreds of other insignificant nobodies want the kitten too, but we can all agree that celebrities deserve preferential treatment. more ›

Today marked the start of a long-awaited renovation project by the MTA to remove unused toll booths from the Verrazano Bridge. The $2.5 million, year-long project will see the demolition of eight east-bound toll booths on the Staten Island approach to the bridge that have not been used since one-way tolling was mandated by Congress in 1986. more ›

Naval plane EA-6B Prowler will be flying over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and then up the Hudson River this morning between 9:30 and 10 a.m. The Post says the NYPD "issued the alert late yesterday"—too late for NotifyNYC to issue a warning? Update 8:08 a.m.: NotifyNYC just issued a warning! Anyway, the Navy's Fact File about the Prowler says the plane "provides an umbrella of protection for strike aircraft, ground troops and ships by jamming enemy radar, electronic data links and communications." more ›

About two dozen toll-tally fed up Staten Islanders disrupted traffic at the Verrazano Bridge toll booths for about 20 minutes yesterday by slowly paying the $10 toll in pennies to protest an imminent increase. 40-year-old Scott LoBaido led the motorcade to the lower-level midspan, where he climbed up on his 1989 Chevy Suburban's roof, blasted "Battle Hymn of the Republic" from the car stereo, and yelled, "Come on! Honk your horns!" The Verrazano cash toll will go up to $11 on July 12th, the E-ZPass toll will rise to $9.14, and the discounted E-ZPass toll for Staten Island residents will rise to $5.48. Explaining the protest to the Post, toll opponent Genevieve Grecco said, "You can't mess with Staten Island. We are going to make a fuss. We are human beings, not bank accounts you can constantly draw from." And another protester, Tina Bellino, unrolled the $10 worth of pennies she'd obtained from the bank and sprinkled them into several sandwich bags, telling the Staten Island Advance, "You didn't think I was going to make it easy for them [to count], did you?" Check out Fox News some has some great video interviews with the demonstrators. more ›

We're getting word that, as of around 5:15 p.m., there was a whale spotted off the coast of Coney Island (near Nortons Point) headed westbound towards the Verrazano Bridge. Last week a humpback whale (perhaps the same whale?) took a similar journey before escaping New York unharmed. We'll update when we find out more about this latest sighting. more ›

The whale that was spotted in the New York Harbor yesterday has presumably escaped New York safely. more ›

The NYPD Harbor Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard have reported that a whale has been spotted just north of the Verrazano Bridge! Last year scientists said they had discovered an impressive amount of whales "only a couple of miles from the Statue of Liberty," but they commented on the non-ideal location, saying "It would be like trying to make a home in the middle of the Long Island Expressway." Earlier this year a juvenile humpback whale was caught in lobster netting off New Jersey, and was set free unharmed. Hopefully this whale will also go unscathed. more ›

About those high winds: we just got word that the upper level of the Verrazano Bridge is closed to all traffic in both directions because of the powerful gusts. The SI Advance is also reporting that the lower level is open with a 20 mph speed restriction. Beware the wind, it's been wreaking havoc all day—and this is all starting to sound a little bit too much like a Stephen King novel.
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The American Institute of Architects is looking to supplant the idea of replacing the Gowanus Expressway with a tunnel, and instead proposes a suspended highway and formation of a Gowanus Greenway. In 2006, the Dept. of Transportation gave a green light to a $12.8 billion proposal to build a 3.5 mile, seven lane tunnel underneath the Brooklyn Waterfront and then destroying the elevated highway. The plan for a Gowanus Tunnel appears to be in perpetual stall though, and would take approximately 15 years to finish. more ›

A motorboat crashed into a tugboat pulling a barge last night and two motorboat passengers died after the vessel overturned. The incident occurred in the Ambrose Channel, near the Verrazano Bridge. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: falling debris on W 47th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, a shooting on Broadway on Staten Island, and a suspicious boat at the Verrazano Bridge near Brooklyn.
• For a reason unrelated to terrorism, the U.S. Parks Dept. is going to keep the crown of the Statue of Liberty closed because it's a fire death-trap.
• Iranian President Mahmoud Amahdinejad's wish to visit Ground Zero was blocked due to security concerns.
• Leaping Labradors! Dogs competing for top dog dock jumping honors were jumping into a pool at Bryant Park.
• Money should start flowing quicker than spilled oil now that Julia Roberts stand-in Erin Brockovich has jumped into the Greenpoint oil spill pool.
• Despite objections from transit groups and the state comptroller, the MTA is prepared to propose a fare increase for commuters.
• Are New Yorkers in store for a second taxi strike?
• Filmmaker brothers Ethan and Joel Coen are attempting to pass off Brooklyn as the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, DC. Mutual outrage will likely ensue.
• The vigil for recently deceased carriage horse Smoothie has been moved to the southeast corner of Central Park at the northeast section of Grand Army Plaza. It'll take place Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A train derailed on Otto Rd. in Queens, a stabbing at Rockaway Blvd. and Broadway in Brooklyn, and a sexual assault at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn.
• Visitors to the New York-New York hotel-casino in Las Vegas got an extra dose of big city verisimilitude last night, when shots rang out in the casino's mezzanine. Three people were struck, but none were seriously injured before the gunman was tackled.
• 20 newspapers around the country received letters postmarked from Queens and the Bronx that threatened investment firm Goldman Sachs. "Hundreds will die. We are inside. You cannot stop us."
• State Senator Marty Golden is proposing extending the Shore Parkway bike path over the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island. Currently, Brooklyn riders who'd like to pedal around Staten Island have to cross the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan and then take the Staten Island Ferry.
• AM New York lists a variety of businesses around New York that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including gyms, restaurants, spas, and the 5th Ave. Apple store.
• The New York Times reports on either one of the first, or the first Mr. Softee truck drivers ticketed under a new anti-noise ordinance for playing his jingle while parked at a curbside in Fort Totten, Queens.
• A six-month-old golden retriever puppy woke its sleeping owner by barking, alerting the man that his home was on fire after it got struck by lightning Thursday night in Garrison, a small town north of the city. The puppy named Ranger died in the fire after becoming lost in the smoke and flames, but he wound up saving the life of Richard Shafran, who escaped the burning home in time.
• A man is suing New York City after he was wrongfully imprisoned for 22 years after being convicted of rape. Alan Newton repeatedly asked for a review of DNA evidence from his alleged victim's rape kit, but was incorrectly told that the evidence had been lost, after the police conducted only a quick and cursory search for the exonerating items.

Staten Island needs some cheerleaders every once in a while, especially after their ice cream flavor was named after their landfill. The NY Times has a piece on the borough's historian, "Brooklyn has Walt Whitman to sing praises of its 'ample hills.' Manhattan has Woody Allen to capture its outsize style and neuroses. And Staten Island? Well, Staten Island has Thomas W. Matteo for a borough historian to chronicle its glories, its goofs and, yes, its landfill." more ›

There are some very observant drivers on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and BQE. WCBS 2 reports that a number of drivers called 911 to report that a freighter ship was sinking in the New York Harbor. But it turns out the freighter, Dockwise Swan, is actually supposed to sink a little bit! more ›

Yesterday (we think), NY Times published a Q &A with its photo editor Michele McNally. It's very interesting and informative, with notes on what kinds of cameras are used, why color photos on actual newspapers can suck, the paper's policy on publishing pictures of wounded or dead American soldiers. But there was an odd part answering a university student's question, "after 9/11, what obstacles do your photographers encounter and how do they get the shot that they are allowed by the Constitution?" McNally wrote:

"If you are stopped by the police, I suggest that you cease shooting, explain yourself and never be confrontational. Shoot only from public spaces. You are prohibited from shooting bridges and tunnels, less so the subway."

It is perfectly legal to photograph bridges and tunnels from public areas. Imagine if you couldn't take photos of the Brooklyn Bridge? Port Authority and TBTA have signs up indicating no photography, but where is the law? Test it one day. more ›

-Mets 5 Pirates 0: The game could have ended after the first inning when New York jumped all over Kip Wells for all of their scoring. Jose Reyes led off the game with a triple and scored on Paul LoDuca’s single. The Mets loaded the bases and Jose Valentin doubled home two runs. After a wild pitch scored another run, Endy Chavez singled home the fifth run of the inning. more ›

Birch Shambaugh, NYC Marathon Entrant more ›

There's a good question over at Apartment Therapy's "good questions" regular feature this week that stood out to us: "How do [NYers] incorporate nature or relaxation into their daily lives?" more ›

The MTA is the news lately. As the transit workers contract approaches we're the MTA really try to get the good word out about itself, to varying degrees of sucess. more ›

Kevin Walsh, Forgotten NY more ›