Don't miss back-to-back opportunities to get involved in changing your city over the next few days.
On Sunday, compete to find' [...]
Don't miss back-to-back opportunities to get involved in changing your city over the next few days.
On Sunday, compete to find' [...]

Despite recent layoffs, Forbes Media is still moving forward.
ForbesLife, the bimonthly Forbes' spin-off focused on culture and lifestyle, has put Lorraine Cademartori at the helm of the publication in the role of executive editor. She has spent the previous' [...]
A debate is brewing over in the community section about how the Department of Education assigns progress report grades to high schools.
On Wednesday, Teachers College professor and regular GothamSchools contributor Aaron Pallas critiqued the DOE’s methodology for producing the high school grades, which were released earlier this week. [...]

The NYCLU's Bust Card (PDF) The NYPD's stop and frisk policy shows no signs of abating. The latest data on the controversial program shows that the NYPD is on track to stop a record number of New Yorkers this [...]
In his Nov. 19 Washington Post column, Jay Mathews spotlights the decline of research (term) papers as routine high school assignments and relates the experiences of a diligent history teacher, now retired, whose 3000 word term papers shrank over the years so that she finally ceased assigning them at [...]
Here’s two more ACORN scandal videos, these from the ACORN offices in South Central L.A. These are real doosies. Here’s the set up from Jame’s O’Keefe who posed as the pimp who wants to run an underage prostitution ring.
Lavelle Stewart, of ACORN in South Central Los Angeles, tells us she [...]

The last dolphin spotting reported was off Staten Island this August, but today, just before 3 p.m., we got word that a dolphin was entangled in Queens — somewhere around Beach 87th and Beach Channel Drive. And some good news followed the original [...]

The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle mayhem across the metro region. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage.
The teen driver of this Saturn rear-ended another car, which lurched into 17-year-old [...]
Click on the images above for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Bad Lieutenant: [...]
In a post on this page earlier this week, “Comparing Small Apples to Large Apples,” Teachers College Professor Aaron Pallas raised several important issues with respect to New York City’s high school progress reports. A frank dialogue about the strengths and weaknesses of our accountability system is important as [...]

To say it's been a rough week for BusinessWeek would be an understatement. Yesterday, the axe fell hard, and new parent Bloomberg LP has cut around 130 people for the business mag's staff -- including 60 to 70 [...]

John Brek, the former NJ airport security guard who was accused of threatening President Obama last month, was released today after serving 29 days in the Newark county jail for harassment. Brek was interviewed by CBS 2 for "about 15 minutes" after he was [...]
The Alliance for Quality Education is rallying the troops in anticipation of a vote on a deficit reduction plan on Monday. The education advocacy group wants to put pressure on the Assembly to publicly oppose education cuts. Senate Democrats have already made their stance against education cuts perfectly [...]

Narcotics investigators seized more than $800,000 and 61 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $1 million in a Williamsburg apartment yesterday. The drugs were hidden under the seat of a portable sauna, and officials say—wait, portable sauna?! Is that really a thing? Turns out yes, [...]
Here’s Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos’ response to the governor’s statements this morning:
I agree with Governor Paterson’s statement today that the Legislature should be acting on a deficit reduction plan today, instead of waiting until Monday. The only problem is he has not submitted a bill we can act on, [...]

A protected bike path will soon wrap around the circumference of Park Circle. Some segments are bi-directional.
Following her trip on the Hudson, Swoon got a bit more adventurous and gathered up more than 30 other artists to help her take her Swimming Cities to the Adriatic Sea. Three handcrafted vessels [...]

Reportedly some residents of a Queens housing complex, Rochdale Village, "may have a wily coyote — or a close cousin — in their midst." After confirmed sightings of it prowling the territory, Animal Control officers have set up traps to capture the creature, which [...]
A tipster spotted this truck stuck under the Q train subway station on Avenue J in Midwood this morning around 8:45 a.m. We're told "the truck was all crumpled and the fire department had to come out." We're guessing at this point [...]

Infrared satellite image from the National Weather Service
Thank goodness for the Gothamist tipsters. Until we read Contribute we weren't sure if last night's really loud clap of thunder that woke us up was real or part of a' [...]

The Columbia Journalism Review just happened to catch some similarities between an October 2008 cover for The Economist and a May 2009 edition of The Atlantic. Besides the typeface, the pictures on the covers are almost identical: both show the shadow outline [...]
We're bringing Pencil This In to you earlier with our new newsletter, GothamList. Sign up below for the daily scoop on concerts, readings, performances, and other events, which will arrive in your inbox first thing every morning Monday through Friday. You can get today's newsletter when you sign' [...]
You'd never know it from the cuts across the board being made at publishers like Time Inc. and Forbes Media, but some of these companies' titles are seeing a upswing in their readership. Lucia Moses of MediaWeek reported this week that Fortune, [...]

Carvett Gentles Though prosecutors say he gave a written and videotaped confession, the 16-year-old Bronx boy accused of shooting two teens on a crowded street Monday afternoon pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday. As his mother wept in the third [...]
Speaking to reporters after speaking to Americorps volunteers, Gov. David Paterson said that legislative leaders still failed to grasp the consequences of failing to address the deficit now.
Paterson said Moody’s Investors Service has released a report noting that the state is in peril of seeing its current Aa3 credit [...]

Oh, my: The city's new school zoning may split residents of the same Tribeca building into different schools. Of course, the building is already split with two addresses and lobbies—101 Warren for the luxury condos, 89 Murray for the rentals and affordable housing units—and [...]

Yesterday, it became clear that the rumors were true: Oprah Winfrey will be leaving her network TV show in 2011.
Tim Bennett, CEO of Winfrey's production company Harpo, sent a letter to the local television stations that broadcast her show yesterday, letting them know [...]
Reader Elmer sends the text of the letter he received from Eric Massa explaining his healthcare vote. Text of the letter after the break:
Because you have previously been in touch about health issues, I am
writing to let you know why I voted "no" on the 2009 major health care
[...]

When we previously noted on the Knicks burgeoning interest in signing free agent guard Allen Iverson, it seemed as though it was a long shot to happen. But new reports have come out in the last two days that are making us question everything.
According [...]
City parking meters are a gold mine, and in Chicago, Morgan Stanley is rolling in parking riches. Secret company documents leaked to reporters show the company will rake in a 70 percent profit margin this year from its $1.15 billion, 75-year lease of Chicago's parking meters. This profit is on top of' [...]
Mediabistro caught up with Notional CEO Ricky Van Veen at the launch party for the company last night at the IAC building. Van Veen -- co-founder and former editor-in-chief of CollegeHumor.com -- told us Notional "is a television and web production company with the DNA of an" [...]

[UPDATE BELOW] Life is so unpredictable: One minute you're pulling out of a New Jersey gas station, the next minute you're diving off the George Washington Bridge to escape police after a high-speed chase. An unidentified man presumably fell to his death yesterday morning after [...]
Responding to protests that it was breaking the new mayoral control law, the Department of Education will hold a public hearing before extending PAVE Academy Charter School’s stay inside a district-owned building.
The law passed this summer requires the DOE to issue an “educational impact statement” and hold a public hearing [...]
Former Gates Foundation education director Tom Vander Ark is behind one charter school’s application to open in New York City next year.
For years, Vander Ark shaped the educational giving for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, overseeing grants the organization gave to cities that agreed to build small high schools. [...]
Well, it looks as if Doug Hoffman, who this week unconceded the apparently settled NY-23 Congressional race when he gained votes on a recanvass, and then charged that ACORN was trying to steal it...
Continue reading "Doug Hoffman Loses in NY-23, Again" >Go to it — but let’s start with a question: What realistic ideas haven’t yet been seriously floated to trim the state budget?
Be nice!
[...]Last night around nine a guy pulled his red Pontiac Grand Prix out of the Sunoco station in Englewood Cliffs and headed onto the George Washington Bridge. As he had failed to yield to traffic, a p...
Continue reading "Man Evades Cops, Jumps Off George Washington" [...]Could the fourth time be another charm? The jury deliberating the fate of John Gotti Jr.—whose past three federal trials have ended in mistrials—sent a note to Judge Kevin Castel yesterday reading, "We are unable to reach a verdict." Castel [...]

Levi Johnston with the author, Nicole Caldwell, at last week's Playgirl photo shoot
Levi Johnston is standing naked in a 13th-floor studio in midtown Manhattan holding a hockey stick.
He swivels his head and looks into the camera as -- click -- the photo [...]
A very interesting article in USA Today on the future viability of suburbs came up in our Twitter feed this morning, via Community Research Partners of Columbus, Ohio.
The piece, by Haya el Nasser, starts out talking about how population is falling in many of the suburbs [...]
Congressman Bill Owens has gotten two excellent committees, given that his district includes Fort Drum and 100 miles [...]
To review, here's what the American conservative movement is up to these days: • A Public Policy Polling survey showed by that most Republicans believe ACORN stole the 2008 election for Obam...
Continue reading "This Week in Conservatism: Obama/ACORN Stole Election, Lou Dobbs for Prez, Etc. " [...]
Christina Ambers and Angel Rotger at their wedding. Hand and foot model Christina Ambers fell in love with the doorman at her Upper East Side co-op in 2007, but the superintendent forbade Angel Rotger to see her romantically. And yet the romance between [...]
Need proof that unions have out lived their usefulness? A local municipal employees union is considering filing a grievance because of an Eagle Scout project.
From the Morning Call:
In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over [...]
For a guy who was supposed to have been the most widely admired man in the Capitol Region, Joe Bruno so far hasn't gotten a lot of help from his friends. Yesterday's unhelpful testimony at the f...
Continue reading "Friends of Joe Bruno Not Much Help"' [...]
One year since its launch, online news hub The Daily Beast has named a president, Stephen Colvin. Colvin, executive vice president of CNET/CBS Interactive, will report directly to the site's founder and editor-in-chief, Tina Brown.
Colvin was formerly the president and CEO of [...]

A tipster described his morning commute on the F as screwy (Manhattan-bound F rerouted to Hoyt-Schermerhorn, to pick up the A/C) —and NYC Transit workers chalked it up to a broken rail. The MTA's service alert page says, "Due to a rail condition at" [...]
Good morning. Sorry for the delay, but here’s the news:
The Legislature has left the building — although work on the deficit package continues. (TU)
Maybe things will be better on Monday.(DN)
The state has extended the deadline for the state worker buyout package. (TU)
Jared Abruzzesse, businessman and horseman, [...]
There's not much background on this video depicting the violent arrest of a demonstrator last night, but it's still a bracing way to start your day. New School students and their comrades had brought the ruckus downtown to show solidarity with students at the University California, who are occupying various [...]

It might be just days before Thanksgiving (and, btw, when did that happen?), but if you head to a movie theater this weekend, don't be surprised if it feels a little bit like summertime. The box office is littered with big-ticket effects films (the second weekend of 2012),' [...]
Yesterday, developer Bruce Ratner and architect Frank Gehry celebrated the "topping off" of the 76-story Beekman Tower in lower Manhattan. A 10-pound bucket of concrete was lifted 900 feet onto the roof of the 1.1 million square [...]

Here's a fun time-waster. Since Monday, @FakeMTA has been posting faux transit updates on Twitter. Examples: "Sneak peek at completed Second Ave. Subway released!" and "If passengers don't move all the way into the car, the C train is going to turn [...]
Police say these guys go to Bed-Stuy and Fort Greene dress up like maintenance men, come to apartments at night, and tell residents (female, alone) they've come to fix something; despite their alm...
Continue reading "Have You Seen... Brooklyn Home Invaders " >For different reasons, but still -
ACLU - Jesus Christ, how persistent do you have to be? Every year I donate to the ACLU - it is a great organization. I also donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center - they keep track of the real wingnuts and hate mongers. In [...]

It's hard to feel bad for Jude Law when we all lack privacy in the city — in much less swank digs. Turns out the actor moved in right next to the NYU freshman dorm Hayden Hall, and the student body is enjoying their new [...]

If it's almost Thanksgiving, it means the city is gearing up the influx of visitors to the city for the holidays. The Department of Transportation released its calendar of "Gridlock Alert Days" (PDF) and its "Holiday Traffic Mitigation Plan" (PDF)—above all, the [...]
Conservatives claim that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terror trial defendants will be set free by liberal judges directed by Muslim Hitler Obama. Most normal people do not believe this, so a s...
Continue reading "Post: Wimpy New Yorkers Will Set KSM Free" > [...]
The city’s unemployment rate is at 10.3 percent, its highest level in 16 years, and the unemployment rate statewide reached 9 percent in October, the highest rate since April 1983, the State Labor Department reported yesterday. Making matters worse, the usual holiday hiring bump doesn't' [...]

Photograph of Oprah Winfrey with former governor Sarah Palin and her two daughter Piper and Willow
Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul-juggernaut, is going to end her successful daytime talk show when her 25th season ends on September 9, 2011. She will be [...]

While tUnE-YaRdS may sound like a band comprised of more than one, it is just one woman: Merrill Garbus. During live shows she's accompanied by Nate Brenner — and currently they're both on tour with Dirty Projectors. They're in town all weekend (at Music [...]
Taxi culture is a big part of New York lore -- Jimmy Cagney, Robert DeNiro, and Ernest Borgnine are among the many memorable movie hacks -- but real cabbies don't get much attention unless they'...
Continue reading "Q&A: Amy Braunschweiger, Taxi Confidential" >Former Nets star Jayson Williams is expected to plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the 2002 shooting of his limousine driver. According to the Star-Ledger, his sentence, in a deal with prosecutors, would be 18 months. Williams was previously convicted of [...]
Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 10, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 21 Nude Dance: Reporter Gets Into the Act Competition among reporters in this city is keen, and sometimes a ...
Continue reading "Clip Job: How the Dailies Covered the 'Hip' Scene in 1966" [...]
Last night WABC (ABC's owned-and-operated station in New York) broke the story that Oprah Winfrey will be ending her broadcast talk show in 2011. She's decamping to cable, where she will run OWN, a cable network, jointly owned by her and Discovery Communications.
The Oprah Winfrey Show is the most successful [...]
Rihanna called into the Bert Show in Atlanta and discussed her ex, Chris Brown. Miss Info has the DL
Imagine the horror this poor little girl must have felt... the things that might have rushed through her mind as she realized she was dying at the hands of a young looney. I can imagine. When I was around 11 I [...] Still wondering if the massive Democrat health care spending bill includes funding for abortions? I know Republicans have said it does and Democrats were quick to refute the claim. Here’s a release from House Republican Leader John Boehner on this topic.
Just like the original 2,032-page, government-run health care plan [...]
“If you could get the right ten thousand people to move from Silicon Valley to Buffalo, Buffalo would become Silicon Valley.” – Paul Graham in his essay “How To Be Silicon Valley”
In many ways, the notion of “imported innovation” is the core tenet of [...]
Seriously - I don’t get the how these stories came to be.
1. Dana Perino gets a job in the Obama Administration. Pending Senate confirmation, the former GW Bush Press Secretary she will be on a board overseeing overseas radio broadcasts.
The BBG administers overseas media outlets like Voice of America, [...]
The Devils came back twice, thanks to Zach Parise, but they ultimately fell to Nashville 3-2 in a shootout. Parise scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season, but he did not convert in the shootout and when Martin Erat did, New Jersey went home a loser. Jason [...]
All over the city NYC Condoms can be found. They’re free, plentiful and pretty easy to find. And if the 3.4 million distributed monthly are any indication, they’re quite popular, too.
But over two years after the city began the condom campaign, anecdotal evidence has trickled in suggesting that people [...]
All over the city NYC Condoms can be found. They’re free, plentiful and pretty easy to find. And if the 3.4 million distributed monthly are any indication, they’re quite popular, too.
But over two years after the city began the condom campaign, anecdotal evidence has trickled in suggesting that people [...]
A few weeks ago, way up in northern New York, Democrat Bill Owens defeated Doug Hoffman, a Conservative Party candidate who drew support from the tea-steepage-pouch crowd all around the country to defeat the evil Dede Scozzafava.
The result hasn’t been finalized, and the final corrected counts are [...]

Former New York Mayor and punch-line-of-the-week Rudy Giuliani has decided that he won’t run for Governor in New York in 2010. Instead, he’ll apparently run for the US Senate against Kirsten Gillibrand.
What makes this somewhat interesting is that, despite all his recent Palinist bluster, Giuliani is [...]
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[...]Wow, the local print media is on top of this story. Where is the Buffalo News? MIA again or should I say, typically absent from coverage that may be damaging to an elected representative?
Community Activist Rus Thompson lead a protest against State Senator Antoine Thompson on Delaware Avenue just before [...]
Poetic & Photogenic::: Bai Ling!Just remember,,,,, This is Donna Luh, Donna is a Board member of the NYSTA. She and A. Thompson are violating every ethics law out there.
For more information, please call
Donna at 716-681-2753.
Thompson Holiday Party, Tues., Dec. 1, Saturn Club
At the Annual Holiday Party Hosted by
State Senator [...]

It may turn out to be a red herring for the ages, but Thursday afternoon brought a report - citing a single, unnamed source - that Rudy Giuliani would within the next 48 hours announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Kirsten Gillibrand.
Let's assume [...]

