From 2004 to 2011, the number of people who have died or were injured while walking and wearing headphones rose from 16 to 47. The Guardian points us to a new U.S. study, published by Injury Prevention journal, which notes that most victims were men under the age of 30 (around 68% in both cases). 89% of the 116 total incidents occurred in urban areas, with 55% being struck by a train. Looks like these numbers are pointing directly at us, NYC! more ›

Following the news of marked improvements for pedestrians and cyclists traveling around Grand Army Plaza, the DOT has announced [pdf] new improvements around Prospect Park's southeast entrance, including closing the East Drive entrance to automobiles. According to the agency, 20 people are injured at this corner every year, and Streetsblog notes that closing the entrance allows for a realigning of the crosswalks, which "should make motorists more aware of people walking across the street." 57% of the crashes between pedestrians and vehicles at Ocean and Parkside between 2005 and 2009 occurred when the pedestrian had the walk signal. more ›

A 24-year-old woman has decided to pull a Forrest Gump, and make her way across the country from San Francisco to NYC. Catherine Li tells MSNBC that she has a very specific reason why she is doing it: just cause. “I just boil it down to the short version: I just felt like walking. I just decided to click over to living in the actual moment instead of inventing all these fantastic fantasies for the future,” she said. more ›

In 2007, Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger proposed a ban on talking on cell phones, texting or listening to music through headphones while crossing the street. And though for three years most people have thought the idea is crazy, he's using the recent tragic case of Jason King as an example. King was hit by a truck on the Upper East Side, and investigators believe he was listening to his iPod while crossing the street. Kruger said, "We have people who are literally dying in the street." However, he has lost some support. more ›

The Times tallies it up and notes that that in addition to the fare hike, in the past year prices have also gone up on everything from bridges to pedicabs to carriage rides in Central Park! Transportation costs in our region "rose 3.7 percent in the 12 months that ended in November, far outpacing the overall rate of inflation." On the plus side there are still a few free alternatives we can think of: the Staten Island Ferry, the Staten Island Railway (sort of), walking and, if the paths are plowed, that two-wheeled enemy of the people, the bicycle. What are we forgetting? more ›

A new scientific study done by those pocket-protecting eggheads over at Atlantic Monthly says that NYC has ranked as one of the top five most walkable cities in America. But why aren't we number one? Because standing in our way is the god-forsaken, gay pothead homeless persons paradise that is San Francisco. more ›

As a change of pace from our usual cocktail of animal sex offenders and political costumes, Blogger Peter Shankman forwarded us his story about a run-in today with three West Point students. Shankman ran into cammo backpack-wearing seniors Andrew, Phil, and Gary, and asked why they looked so tired: “Well sir, we’re walking from West Point, where we go to school, to Ground Zero to pay our respects.” The three students had walked for 22 hours, and about 55 miles, from West Point in order to "pay their respects" at the WTC. more ›

A New York City man named Matt has been walking across the country and documenting his journey here. He started in Rockaway Beach, Queens, and just ended—152 days later— in Rockaway Beach, Oregon—where he celebrated by running in to the ocean: more ›

Trying to text but your annoying baby is getting in the way? No problem! This new thingamajig called the Texthook allows you to lock your phone right into the bars of your stroller. According to the Daily News, the "mobile dashboard" device is splitting the stroller pushers into opposing sides! more ›

THEATER: Wolf Lane Productions presents Victims of the Zeitgeist (The Tragedy of Martin Luther King, Jr.), written & directed by Ellwoodson Williams. The production "offers an exciting and telling insight into just who Martin Luther King, Jr., was as leader and simply as a sensitive and intelligent human being who loved life and who had a sense of humor, a deep understanding of the human condition - its strengths and weaknesses - and a profound belief in justice." more ›

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the... more ›

Fridays are bustling on 34th Street, but yesterday was a little different. Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg was spotted with billionaire developer Donald J. Trump and his three adult children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. What were they doing? Walking, talking, and eating hot dogs. Or at least Mayor Bloomberg was eating a hot dog - he loves hot dogs and they love him! more ›

Museum of the Moving Image more ›

Open House New York weekend is coming up in 7 days and NewYorkology has a handy guide to which places you'll need reservations for this (the 5th) year, check it out here. Touted as America's largest architect and design event, OHNY opens usually locked doors throughout New York City each October (and sometimes Spring). more ›

Bebel Gilberto was born in New York City to legendary musicians João Gilberto and Miúcha. Raised in Brazil, she made frequent trips back to her hometown -- even performing at Carnegie Hall before her age was in the double digits. 13 years ago she made the move back here and has continued to create music on her own and with other musicians. Her latest album, Momento, is her first in three years and tomorrow night she'll be playing some of those new tunes at Webster Hall. more ›

THEATER: We like our comedy like we like our women: black and absurd. So it’s promising that the press release for a new play by Kevin Mandel uses those two irresistible words to describe A New Television Arrives, Finally. The strange story concerns “an American couple visited by a charismatic man presenting himself as a television set. Is the handsome stranger a charlatan or a guru?” Emmy award-winning actor Tom Pelphrey [Guiding Light] leads the cast at tonight’s premiere performance. - John Del Signore more ›

From 1910 until 1963, when New York actually had a Pennsylvania Station instead of a dingy 1960s subterranean rat warren beneath a hockey rink and office towers, twenty-two stone eagles stood guard over the McKim, Mead, and White masterpiece. The eagles themselves, along with almost all the other stone artwork on the station were the work of artist Adolph A. Weinman, who among other things created Civic Fame atop the Municipal Building and the Walking Liberty half dollar coin. more ›

According to The New York City Department of Health, New Yorkers have a longer shelf life than those in the rest of the country. NY Mag has some astounding stats including: a New Yorker born in 2004 can now expect to live 78.6 years, which may not sound that long but it's in fact nine months longer than the average American. Note that the average gets brought down anytime a young person dies, which seems to happen all too often around here. Still, since 1990 New Yorkers have added 6.2 years to their lives while the average American has only added 2.5! more ›

July 19 - 28, Asia Society more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a large snake was reported on West 118th St. in Manhattan, an assault in transit on the Brighton Line in Brooklyn, and an armed robbery on Whittier St. and Lafayette Ave. in the Bronx.
• The Splasher's identity is revealed! Scroll down to the bottom of our post on the anti-street art vandal for his name and picture.
• Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro wants security cameras installed at a World Trade Center memorial after it was damaged by one or more vandals.
• PETA released the results of its poll ranking the hottest vegetarians. Musicians swept the top spots this year, with Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks and country musician Carrie Underwood claiming the sexiest male and female designations, respectively. Gothamist on New York's sexiest vegetarians.
• With its return to a rock format, radio station K-Rock is evaluating on-air talent and looking for deejays.
• Licensed NYC tour guide Adrienne Onofri has published a guide to seeing Kings County on foot called Walking Brooklyn.
• Anti-gun activist Rosie O'Donnell still likes to dress up her daughter as a pint-sized commando.
• More swimming and wading pools in NYC for those looking to cool off.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a double shooting at Willoughby and Throop Aves. in Brooklyn, a bank robbery on Queens Blvd. in Queens, and a water rescue off the North Channel Bridge in Queens.
• A Bronx man taking his 5-year-old nephew to the bathroom in an East Harlem park was gunned down in front of the child when accosted by thieves.
• A new safety group formed after 9/11 is proposing that skyscrapers include a third set of stairwells. Architects complain it is an excessive demand.
• Walking tours are an incredibly fun way to learn more about your city.
• On a crowded street, a man was either stabbed in the neck or had his throat slashed on East 4th between 1st and 2nd Aves. in Manhattan Friday evening.
• TimeOut NY features the final results of its Ultimate NY Book Bracket. John O'Hara's novel "Butterfield 8" and Joseph Mitchell's essay collection "Up In The Old Hotel" are completely excluded from the tournament, but Haruki Murakami's "Kafka On The Shore" made it to the Sweet 16 from the group designated "Books in Translation." We're not sure what the exercise has to do with New York City.
• Manhattan parishioners are fighting to keep their Catholic churches open.
• A born New Yorker: four MTA Bridge & Tunnel workers assisted a 24-year-old woman give birth to a baby girl at the entrance of the Queens-Manhattan tunnel this morning. Once she was born, cops waived the $4 toll as the family was sent through to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital.

Finally, we have two reasons to discuss Lost. First a warning: stop reading this if the show is still on your DVR, unwatched. more ›

• We got ourselves a note in the inbox from the folks who run the Big Apple BBQ to let us know that Bubba FastPasses are currently on sale from now till May 25 for the June 9 & 10 event. Gothamist was all over this event last year; look for more great coverage and photos coming up soon. This year should provide a bit of a pre-show glimpse of what local pitmaster Robbie Richter has in store for his new spot Hill Country - a place that should have you very excited. Hit the site to review other pitmasters participating as well as the impressive panelists for seminar series.
• Reading on Grub Street about Cones ice cream and one patron's fight to get Dulce de Leche con Brownie stocked as a regular flavor prompted a pop-in. After spotting the flavor and knowing we needed to order it to see what it was all about, we blew our test tries on corn (not good, very different from Claudia Fleming's seminal version) and pistachio (have you had Ronnybrook ?). Walking home we reflected back that this was probably not the best ice cream we have had and was not even up to snuff with Peanut Butter Ripple the ole' Shake Shack had earlier in the weekend.
• Congratulations to Ganda, who recently grabbed Ed Levine for her “You Are What You Eat” column, on her inclusion on a food blogging panel this Fall for the Gourmet Institute. With a wide variety of panels full of heavy hitter chefs and food personalities, this is a great opportunity for a fantastic food blogger.

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
more ›

Walking around town the last few days, we've noticed a bunch of recently defaced streetart pieces. These might be the work of The Splasher, but if you look closely, you can see that something has changed: the paint has been applied with a brush! That's right-- either the Splasher needs a new moniker, or he has inspired a copycat. more ›

Walking down 8th street in Greenwich Village you’ll find some of the most random collection of stores all snuggled together. From Ricky’s, Johnny Rockets and Otto to the eclectic series of shoe stores dubbed “shoe row” you never now what’s going to pop up next. But with three months under their belt, Is-Wine, the new kid to the block, seems to have no trouble fitting right in. more ›

Walking by Astor Place around noon yesterday, we noticed some art students adding an unauthorized chapeau to the Alamo monument. By 3 PM, high winds had begun knocking the wooden structure off-- no word on whether it survived the night. more ›

Google Maps Mania points to a new map offering: Walking, subway and bus directions from GypsyMaps, all laid out on a Google Map. Actually, bus information will be coming in April, but GypsyMaps has a nice start, as it shows the point to point directions all laid out. (We asked for directions between 1 West 57th Street in Manhattan to 1 Centre Street.) more ›