Did you realize that the day the Javits Center opened, it was "outdated and already behind schedule"? more ›

Who will stand up for the children in the $550 strollers? The Hudson River State Park Trust. Singer and guitarist David Ippolito, who has performed at Pier 45 at Hudson Square Park for a decade was fired last month "in response to repeated complaints from park users that he made them feel unwelcome and embarrassed them by singling them out over an open mic when they or their children made noise in the park," according a statement from the Trust. Take THAT, musician who asks for a modicum of public decency while performing! more ›

Lest you forget that New York is a coastal city, check out these beautiful photos from photographer Shelley Seccombe—not only does much of her work focus on the West Village piers, but they're currently on display at the Lilac, a 1930s-era steamship docked at Pier 25. more ›

The west side of Manhattan is an idyllic utopia along the river, where an interconnected series of parks and paths give New Yorkers the ability to travel on foot or by bike from the Battery up to Washington Heights, without mingling with motor vehicles. Much of the route along the Hudson River is green and well-maintained, which makes the contrast with the shabby East Side all the more striking. And so over the weekend Transportation Alternatives held a bike ride press opp along the East River to highlight his side's glaring inadequacy. more ›

[Update below]: The fire is under control] If you've been looking at the sky above the West Side of Manhattan and wondered why there's a huge plume of black smoke, it's because there's a two-alarm fire at Pier 97 at West 57th Street and 12th Avenue (the West Side Highway). The Department of Sanitation has a warehouse there, it's believed there are several trailers on fire. more ›

Police arrested 28 people—including three high school students—in a cocaine and crack bust in a housing project near Lincoln Center. The suspects are accused of selling drugs inside the Amsterdam Houses—a complex of 13 buildings between 61st and 65th streets, and Amsterdam and West End avenues, the Post reports. After Amsterdam Houses residents began complaining about seeing drug transactions and drug paraphernalia, officers launched an investigation and observed more than 50 drug deals in five different buildings since July. Officials told the tabloid that dealers used students who lived in the complex as "look-outs and dealers-in-training." According to the indictment [Word document], 12 of the suspects were charged with selling controlled substances near a school. more ›

Greenwich Village's financially ailing hospital has a potential buyer, but West Side politicians are calling the proposed deal "unacceptable." A takeover by Continuum Health Partners would mean a significant scaling down of St. Vincent's facilities, especially its ER, and would turn the city's last Catholic general hospital into a meager outpatient facility. Depending on how Continuum was able to re-structure St. Vincent's giant debt—estimated at $700 million—it might even opt to sell the valuable property instead of taking on its thousands of patients. more ›

The plan to turn a 26-acre rail yard in the West 30s into a residential and commercial neighborhood won a major victory yesterday when City Council approved a rezoning for a significant portion of the property, according to the Times. The Council voted in favor of the plan after coming to a consensus with developers Related Companies and Goldman Sachs — who hope to construct more than 5,000 apartments in eight high-rises between 11th and 12th avenues and 30th and 33rd streets — about the amount of new and maintained affordable housing in and around the Hudson Yards development. more ›

The Triathalon spirit seems to be spreading all over town this weekend. A 65-year-old man had to be pulled out of the Hudson last night after he dove in and attempted to swim out onto the Intrepid. He made it 50 feet off of shore before firefighters caught up with him and assisted him onto a ladder leading to a rescue boat. An FDNY source told the News, "He felt like he had to go and touch the Intrepid, so instead of paying for admission and going on board, he decided to jump in the water. He was intoxicated. ... You could smell it." The man was taken to Roosevelt Hospital for observation and treatment for minor injuries. Where will the Dutchman's celebratory Quadricentennial festivities lead next?? more ›

The Holland Bar, a "classic old man" dive bar in Hell's Kitchen, was gutted late last year after the landlord refused to renew the lease, in the hopes of converting the building for residential use or selling it. But as you may have noticed, it's not exactly a sellers market, and now the landlord has agreed to let the Holland stay, with a little 20 percent rent increase. Following up on EV Grieve's scoop last week, the Times dropped by to observe the dive's comeback, which is proceeding like a sodden phoenix stumbling from the Pall Mall ashes: Owner Gary Kelly has to start from scratch to recreate place—even the plumbing was ripped out. One regular tells him, "I feel like a homeless person without a cardboard box," to which Kelly replies, "Don't worry, I’ll get you your cardboard box." Awww, enabling never sounded so sweet. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's not about to let a little economic turbulence down on Wall Street ruin his ambitious plans (paid for with $3 billion in bonds) for a business district at the west side Hudson Yards site. more ›

After a long dispute with the Hudson River Park Trust, the heliport operator at West 30th Street and the Hudson has agreed to phase out its flights for tourists by 2010. The NY Times reports Air Pegasus will cut its tourist flights over the next two years, "capped at 25,000 for the year that ends on May 31, 2009, then to 12,500 over the next 10 months, then halted completely." more ›

A huge cruise ship was so eager to get to Manhattan this morning that it actually slammed into the island. The Norwegian Spirit--which is a boat belonging to Norwegian Cruise Lines--apparently took a turn too wide and rammed into Pier 90 at 50th St. and 12th Ave. Typical out-of-towners: they never know how to drive in the city! more ›

It's Fleet Week in NYC, but the city's hometown aircraft carrier Intrepid is having trouble finding its way home. The Intrepid is still in the harbor--docked at a shipyard in Staten Island as it undergoes renovations--but it's uncertain if the fabled craft will be able to make it back to its berth on Manhattan's West Side. more ›

With the deal to develop the West Side rail yards on the ropes, Senator Chuck Schumer said that Mayor Bloomberg's plan for the West Side is the "goofiest thing I've ever seen." According to the Sun, Schumer was specifically referring to "the Bloomberg administration’s decision to include a mid-block boulevard," claiming that it was sapping funds from the much-needed 7 line extension. more ›

Perhaps an Uptown versus Downtown battle would have worked better, as The NY Times says only 100 people showed up at this past weekend's "Battle of Manhattan," which pitted the East versus the West side of town (perhaps they were all at the Scotland Run). more ›

Earlier this week, iReport had a video of a really cute harbor seal spotted off Red Hook [Via Brownstoner] - the video is below (it's an auto-play and it's seriously awww-worthy)! Besides being ridiculously cute, the video brings back a flood of memories of various seal sighting in the city. There was Gowana, the harp seal in the Gowanus Canal, a harbor seal in Brooklyn, another harp seal near Battery Park, and a harbor seal on the Upper West Side. more ›

The Manhattan of yesteryear is alive and well on YouTube. Take a 3-minute journey down the Hudson River (then referred to as the North River) in 1903. The view you'll see is of the west side moving towards The Battery. more ›

State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th, Democrat and son of the trailblazing Harlem politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr., was arrested for drunk driving on the upper West Side at 2:30 a.m. this morning. According to the Daily News, an unidentified woman passed out in the back of the car was so intoxicated she had to be taken to a local hospital. Powell failed a breath test at the scene by a small margin and, while at the station house, refused to take a chemical sobriety test. He faces charges punishable by up to a year in jail. more ›

After his $500,000 donation to NY State Republicans was revealed, Mayor Bloomberg explained why he did it to reporters while attending a Mayors Against Illegal Guns conference, "I've said repeatedly, I will help those who help us. They have stood up for the city a number of times — when we needed to have a voice in Albany and we didn't have that voice from the Assembly or from the governor, whether it was the last governor or this governor." more ›

If you work on the west side near 14th Street, consider your lunch plans settled: the Papaya King on 7th Ave. and 14th is giving away free hot dogs to the first 500 customers today and tomorrow. As of 11:06am, just 32 customers had taken advantage of the deal, which is part of a promotional for Unhitched, a new Farrelly brothers sitcom starring Rashida Jones, who plays Jim’s ex-girlfriend on The Office. more ›

After the many questions about the unofficial Democratic primary results, the NYC Board of Elections has released the official results for the February 5 primary results, confirming a Clinton victory in the Big Apple. She won 55% of the vote with 527,941 votes, to Barack Obama's 43% (413,898 votes). A total of 955,966 votes were cast, meaning 34% of the city's registered Democrats voted. more ›

William F. Buckley died in his Connecticut home today, at age 82. Some consider him the founder of modern conservatism, as he authored the seminal book in 1951 God and Man at Yale, in response to what he saw was an encroaching secularism at one of the nation's top universities, during what was considered one of the nation's most buttoned-down eras. more ›

Brookfield Properties, which had offered a plan to bring back streets - as well as 12 million square feet of development and 15 acres of public space - to the West Side Rail Yards, has declined to continue in the bidding process. The MTA had requested revised Hudson Yards proposals with more financial details by yesterday and the bids received were from Durst and Vornado, Tishman Speyer and Morgan Stanley, Extell, and Related Companies. more ›

After news spread that Upper West Side institution Cafe La Fortuna would close today, many people came by to bid farewell. more ›

Less than two weeks after Gov. Spitzer publicly reaffirmed his commitment to going forward with plans to construct Moynihan Station despite a $1 billion funding shortfall, it looks like the matter may be out of his hands. The New York Times is reporting that the whole $14 billion project, which would involve building Moynihan Station at The Farley Post Office building and constructing a new Madison Square Garden on the site, is on the brink of total failure. more ›

Olana: The internets are doomed to failure unless someone invents a way to click on a photo at the end of a wet, snowy day and be immediately teleported to the desired location – like those plush chairs clustered around the bar, where one of Olana’s specialty cocktails would be presented at once. more ›