While New York is very urban, there are still many places where you can see some wilderness. Here's a list of the Parks Department's 48 Forever Wild Nature Preserves, which total over "8,700 acres of towering forests, vibrant wetlands, and expansive meadows" and include "flying squirrels, bald eagles, and fascinating rare plants." Flying squirrels! more ›

One could consider it a given that September 11th was not funny. One website, however, seems to make fun of the day that changed New York so much. 911wasfunny.com has jokes that aren't funny, disturbing images, and is pretty thoughtless through and through. It even has an animated image of an airplane flying into the website's logo. While it may not be too early to remove the reading of the names from the airwaves, it's certainly too early for a website that thinks 9/11 was funny. In fact, we're not sure there's ever a time when 9/11 will be funny. more ›

"Hard Times in the Projects," an in-depth review of New York City's publicly subsidized housing program, reveals how living conditions have declined over the past few decades. Federal legislators have reduced funds while operating costs have soared. As a consequence, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) struggles to maintain its buildings, collect the trash, or respond to service calls. Residents have experienced rent hikes and service cuts, and face the possible closure of senior centers and community programs. While New York State and City governments also cut funding during the 1990s and 2000s, the administrations of Bloomberg and Spitzer have recently anounced the restoration of some subsidies. more ›

While New York has it own maybe-political scandal brewing, the new political hot potato scandal is Florida Representative Mark Foley's graphic emails and instant messaging conversations with underage Congressional pages (you can read them here at ABC News), which has lead to Foley's resignation and subsequent check-in to an alcohol rehab clinic. The bigger question is whether Republican leaders knew about Foley's inclination to pursue high school age male pages, and, if they did, why didn't they stop it? And in a (western) NY connection, people are wondering if Representative Tom Reynolds did too little to stop Foley. more ›

-Yankees 4 Tampa Bay 1: While New York spent most of September marching toward another division championship, there was one thought in the back of their minds. When will Mariano come back? Rivera had been sidelined since the end of August with a forearm strain and everyone knows that he is truly the indispensable Yankee come October. While we won’t know for sure until tomorrow, his return seems on track. Rivera struck out the side with a broken-bat single and a hit batter wedged in between. more ›

-Blue Jays 3 Yankees 2: Sean Henn on the mound, Posada, Damon, Jeter and Giambi in the dugout; it’s hard to say the Yankees really wanted to win this game. Then again, that’s the luxury you have when you only need one more win (or Red Sox loss) to clinch the division. While New York couldn’t get the win, the Twins took care of Boston and the Yankees won their ninth-consecutive AL East crown. more ›

by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Knopf, 2003) more ›

While New York City is the city that never sleeps, Gothamist is slightly jealous that DCist gets all the sleepover fun tonight. With all the Senators needing to debate important stuff, the Capitol staff has had to move cots into Senators' offices. And we're jealous because it's so absurd and we'd love to make fun of it. If you want to do the all-nighter the right way, you have lots of Red Bull, coffee, and a cozy space under your cubicle desk. Perhaps your jacket is rolled up into a makeshift pillow. And then you take a shower at the local NY Sports Club or Crunch and buy a different shirt at H&M or the Gap and you're done with it, get some super concealer at Sephora, and repeat the cycle of caffeine. It's that easy. Hell, go to a late showing of Revenge of the Nerds, we mean, Sith, while you're at it.
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While New York is likely to go to John Kerry, there are many states that are still in the balance, including New Jersey. The Electoral Vote Predictor, which predicts the outcome of the election using published polling numbers, currently has George Bush winning 311-217. more ›

171 West 4th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues
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With yesterday’s announcement on the 2012 Olympics, the IOC released a report analyzing each city’s bid, with scores for each factor. While New York City made the cut, it trailed Paris, Madrid, and London in the scoring. The IOC looked at several factors: government, infrastructure, venues, village, environmental impact, accommodations, transport concept, safety and security, experience from past events, finance, and overall project and legacy. more ›