The L train is so over, and soon Williamsburg locals may have another means of transport: the high seas! Or, the East River. According to the NY Post, the city has issued a request for proposals for a Williamsburg ferry landing. This could bring city and privately operated ferry service to the area sometime next Spring, with possible ports of call including one on the north side as well as one in neighboring Greenpoint. As the Brooklyn Paper noted in 2007, there is also an existing ferry station at the Schaefer Landing development, just a few blocks south of the Williamsburg Bridge. more ›

A 1.6 acre "destination mega-playground" will open tomorrow at the end of Atlantic Avenue at Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park. GET EXCITED! (If you have kids.) But even if you're not saddled with the double-decade burden of parenthood, and still find kids cute, you should also GET EXCITED because starting tomorrow there will also be FREE ferry service between Pier 6 and Governors Island. So you can ride your fixie over there, grab a kid to go, and hit up the free Yeasayer show at "The Beach" without spending a dime. more ›

Just months after the city announced a far-reaching proposal to expand ferry service and subsidize boat operators until 2010, it looks like the plan has run aground again. Tom Fox, president of New York Water Taxi, told the Times that he has not been able to reach an agreement with the city about continuing a much-needed $900,000 per year subsidy. Without the government cash, which keeps him afloat during the winter when ridership plummets by 50 percent, he says he might be forced to cancel East River ferry service for the third time in four years. more ›

When Red Hook residents were fighting to stop IKEA from opening up in their neighborhood, one of the deal-sweeteners offered by the Swedish retailer was a promise that locals (and all New Yorkers) would be able to take advantage of free Water Taxi service back and forth to Manhattan, even if they never spent a dime in the store. Well, it's been just over a year since the grand opening, and already the bait has been switched. The Brooklyn Paper reports that on weekdays the Water Taxi will start charging riders $5 each way, unless they spend $10 in IKEA. Manager Mike Baker says, "We have implemented this policy because our customers are using the Water Taxi service, but the cost is such that we cannot continue subsidizing it during the week as a commuter service for those who are not IKEA customers." Compare that with last summer, when an IKEA rep said, "We support mass transit, and if people are using our services and not going to IKEA, that's fine with us as well." Now they tell us the Water Taxi service will still be free on the weekends, but how can anyone ever trust Sweden again? more ›

Well, we had a good run. Brooklyn commuters who've been enjoying a free ride on the IKEA Water Taxi that runs between Red Hook and Wall Street are going to have to make some adjustments: The Swedish retailer will be reducing hours on the service, which since June has been running every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Starting October 1st, the boat will run every 40 minutes, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. more ›

Last week there was considerable ebullience voiced by Red Hook residents who were taking full advantage of the free shuttle buses and Water Taxi service provide by IKEA. This weekend many were looking forward to “hacking” free Water Taxi to get to the food vendors’ first weekend back at the Red Hook ball fields. An IKEA rep even told the Daily News, “We are thrilled that we are providing free transit options for the people of New York to come to IKEA and to come to Red Hook. We support mass transit, and if people are using our services and not going to IKEA, that's fine with us as well." more ›

The free coach style shuttle buses that deliver riders from two Brooklyn subway stops to the new Red Hook IKEA are filling up with passengers who never set foot inside the Swedish retailer. "I'd say before one o'clock, about half the riders from Smith and Ninth Street don't even go into IKEA," one bus driver told the Daily News, adding that many riders are going to a local methodone clinic for treatment. And, as predicted, freeloaders are pulling the same move with the free Water Taxi between IKEA and lower Manhattan, an area also renowned for its methadone. more ›

Red Hook seemed eerily quiet on Saturday, as we checked out the traffic flow on Columbia and Van Brunt Streets on the West Side of the neighborhood. Any prediction of overwhelming weekend gridlock seemed not to be panning out-- except for one Ikea bus ferrying people from Boro Hall, the scene seemed as quiet and bucolic as any summer weekend in years past. Indeed, maybe even quieter, as people who'd normally be out at the Van Brunt shops were checking out the Swedish wares. Local shops seemed to realize this-- we spotted a few signs like the ones above attempting to draw people away from the store. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 120th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on West 31st St. in Brooklyn, and a fall victim at MoMA in Manhattan.
• The New York Yankees took first place in franchise spending, with a total payroll of $218.3 million last year. The World Series-winning Boston Red Sox payroll totalled $155.4 million to finish a distant second.
• The New York Water Taxi is terminating its South Brooklyn service between Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Wall St. at the end of this month.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on East 112th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, shots fired at 132nd St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan, and a commercial burglary on 4th Ave. and 90th St. in Brooklyn.
• Page Six lists its top ten scoops of the year. #1 is about Rosie O'Donnell's writer being escorted from The View offices for drawing magic marker mustaches on pictures of Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and rumors that O'Donnell might quit the show.
• James Colliton, the lawyer who pleaded guilty to having sex with two underage sisters and served 18 months in jail, is suing the 188-year-old law firm Cravath, Swaine, and Moore for $1.45 million he feels the firm owes him after he was fired. Colliton's lawsuit was handwritten on notebook paper.

New Yorkers still trying to swallow the fare hike that's been approved by the MTA board can at least take heart that entire swaths of services aren't being eliminated. New York Water Taxi commuters are facing the elimination of large parts of that company's East River service from the beginning of 2008 at least until May of next year.

New York Water Taxi regretfully announces the suspension of commuter service on the East River from 1/1/08 to 5/1/08. As you may know, NYWT took over the service in 2003, on short notice, when it was abandoned by another operator. We have added new stops and worked tirelessly to make the run economically viable.

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According to the Post, the Parks Department has confirmed that the "Floating Pool Lady" will be towed to another borough next summer. more ›

MUSIC: There's not a whole lot going on musically tonight, but the show at Cake Shop seems pretty...sweet. By The End of Tonight and Multitudes will be taking the stage -- the former is described as "the perfect marriage between the math-rockiness of Hella with the glistening, soaring guitars of Explosions in the Sky." more ›

Despite Meatopia IV's downright pagan theme, Slaughter of the Innocents, which involved spit roasted kid goat and suckling pig as well as the consumption of copious amounts of other young animal flesh, the good lord chose to spare the soul of Mr. Cutlets, aka Josh Ozersky, and the band of meat-crazed revelers that came out Tuesday night to Water Taxi Beach to celebrate Josh's 40th birthday. more ›

We're still working all the meat out of our system from Saturday's Gothamist-Serious Eats/AHT QBQ BBQ II, but we hope that those of you who made it had a good time. Thankfully, the forecasted rain held off as we served about 150 pounds of beef (600 burgers) during the event. A special thanks to Harry Hawk, the staff at Water Taxi Beach and some assistants from Gothamist, Serious Eats and A Hamburger Today, Six Apart, and for everyone who came out for the event. Apologies for the early line and beer flow issues. more ›

We just wanted to give you one final reminder about tomorrow's Gothamist-Serious Eats/AHT QBQ BBQ at Water Taxi Beach. The event starts at 5 pm and it's rain or shine. If it does rain, don't worry, we'll already be stationed in the covered area of Water Taxi Beach (pictured above). Those of you who attended last year may remember that there was stormy weather last year too. more ›

Might we just say that Gothamist really dislikes this muggy weather. Normally we are as sweet as a sugarcube but with high humidity here today, tomorrow, next week we know we will be cranky. We're sitting on the west side of the Bermuda High, meaning lots of subtropical air is over the city. A weak cold front currently stretched across the Great Lakes is trying to sweep the sweaty air away, but it is going to take several days to accomplish the task. more ›

It's burger time! This weekend is the second annual Gothamist-Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today QBQ BBQ at Water Taxi Beach. Your votes determined the burgers on the menu: the onion burger, the butter burger (pictured), and the pimento cheese burger. Six Apart will be sponsoring the event with a keg of Orlio and Gothamist/Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today will also be supplying an additional keg of beer. Tickets, which get you three burgers, are $13.50 and are available online. Don't forget to bring ID -- they're serious. There will be a tent covering seating areas for the event, which is rain or shine. more ›

For all of you that were waiting to find out which burgers would be served at Saturday's Gothamist-Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today QBQ BBQ at Water Taxi Beach, the burger menu has been finalized. The winning burgers, as determined by voters, were: the onion burger, the butter burger, and the pimento cheese burger. more ›

If you have yet to vote what burger should be on the menu at next weekend's Gothamist-Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today QBQ BBQ at Water Taxi Beach, today is your last chance. Since we announced the event on Monday, the leading vote getter is the onion burger, followed by the butter burger and the pimento burger. Only the top three vote-getters will make the menu for the July 28th event. Also up for contention are the Motz burger, the guber burger, the nut burger, and the hammmburger. For descriptions of each burger, check out our previous post. There will also be a keg of Orlio Common Ale provided by Six Apart. more ›

After the success of our Gothamist-A Hamburger Today QBQ BBQ last year (that's quality before quantity), we've decided to team up with Serious Eats/A Hamburger Today for another burger event at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City. At last year's event, Chef Harry Hawk served up four regional burgers from around the nation. This year, you get to choose what burgers are served, with the top three vote-getters across Gothamist, Serious Eats, and A Hamburger Today making the menu. more ›

Got a tidbit for us? Send it to the feedbag. more ›

After spending a day at Water Taxi Beach, we were looking for a proper meal for dinner. When we had entered Water Taxi Beach earlier, we had spotted the Waterfront Crab House -- after a day at the beach, a crab feast sounded like the perfect finish. And it was. Open since 1978, the Waterfront Crab House is housed in a landmark building built in 1881, and it was formerly a bustling hotel/bar. Much of the interior looks like it has been frozen in time -- some from the building's early days and some from the late 70's reincarnation -- but the decor didn't detract in the least from the pile of crustacean-y goodness we were about to attack. more ›

June 21-23: NYC Food Film Festival, Part 2 more ›

Museum of the Moving Image, Queens more ›

This weekend is the official kickoff of the first annual NYC Food Film Festival at Water Taxi Beach. This weekend features regional american burgers and asparagus, with Hamburger America (for those of you who missed our QBQ Burger Bash last year), Asparagus! A Stalk-Umentary, and more, including your chance to taste the famed green chile cheeseburger. Drool. You can find the full schedule here. more ›

June 7 - June 11: Broadway Panhandler "Yard Sale" more ›