Now that your mind and your monthly Metrocard has been blown by the MTA's closure at noon, you'll have to settle for a taxi. But the impending hurricane has transformed the meter into a mysterious "zone" system (no relation to the evacuation zones), full of cryptic "letters." However, the changes aren't nearly as byzantine as DC's old zone system, and the new regulations will even force livery cabs to charge the same as the yellow ones. Strange times, indeed. more ›

We get a lot of promotional crap sent to us here at Gothamist headquarters. Some of it is greatly appreciated, like last week's bottles of "bail out" Kahlua, that talking Pet Lawyer, and the bitterly fought-over roll of toilet paper. Others, like today's mailing from the ESPN Zone, are just a tad...sub par. To advertise their Ultimate Couch Potato competition, set to take place on January 1st in Times Square, ESPN's p.r. company Fed Exed a cardboard box containing one raw potato. Not a potato salad, not potato vodka, just one lonely little uncooked tuber. (Last week they sent us soil and seeds! Next week a backhoe?) Of course we scoff now, but given the imploding economy, maybe we should just be grateful and preheat the oven.
more ›