July 5, 2008
David Freedlander reports
City ready to roll out more public toilets
New York will soon be flush with public toilets, as officials announced Thursday the addition of four more to be installed around the city within the next six months.
Advocates: JFK starts removing kittens
Port Authority officials have begun the removal of stray cats from Kennedy Airport, animal rights advocates said Wednesday.
Advocates: JFK feral cats will face death
The cat and mouse game between Kennedy Airport felines and the Port Authority has come to an end -- and the cats lost.
Mayor of Willets Point: The last man standing
Joseph Ardizzone is the mayor of Willets Point Boulevard.
New Yorkers face financial woes
For Amanda Green, the economic downturn has meant scaling back on shopping, finding admission-free events to attend and considering a move to -- gulp -- Brooklyn.
New Yorkers plan to battle recession
The siren call of New York City has for decades promised its inhabitants a life of glitter and glamour in a world capital.
Fosella's future still in question
Disgraced Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella gave no indication he'll step down over the weekend even as Republican leaders called on him to make a decision by today and local editorial boards demanded he resign.
1B deal to develop West Side yards collapses
A plan to remake the Hudson Yards on Manhattan's west side appear dead after negotiations with the developer collapsed Thursday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced.
Local supporters sticking by Hillary
Despite a nominating process that's quickly drawing to a close and a near insurmountable deficit in the race for delegates, Hillary Clinton's most devoted local supporters say they are sticking by her.
Painted turtle angers B'klyn neighborhood
A box turtle that has for years crawled through backyards in Williamsburg was discovered last week painted a sickly orange, with neighbors blaming construction workers next door with ample time and spray paint on their hands.
State looks to shake up Rent Guideline Board
Albany is proposing to take up a measure that would drastically reshape the Rent Guideline Board, a move that would greatly impact the approximately one million rent stabilized apartments in the city.
Verizon to offer TV service
A decades-old stranglehold by cable behemoths on New York City households is coming to an end as city officials announced yesterday an agreement with Verizon to offer television service throughout the five boroughs.
Bloomberg downplays slush fund scandal
Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought yesterday to downplay the slush fund scandals that have gripped the City Council and are threatening to embroil Speaker Christine Quinn.
Advocates seek crackdown on illegal hotels
The Broadway Studios Hotel markets itself to chic European travelers looking for a cheap room in the heart of the Upper West Side.
Survey: Traffic, pedestrian safety concern NYers
Traffic congestion and the lack of pedestrian safety are the biggest drags on New Yorkers quality of life, a new survey says.
Columbia marks anniversary of '68 riots
A nation waging an unpopular war. A divisive presidential campaign. And a university moving into an adjacent neighborhood.
WTC hub faces financial crunch
Port Authority head Anthony Coscia acknowledged yesterday that the cost of the World Trade Center transit hub was ballooning, and said that the agency must adjust to new financial realities.
Residents fight Tudor City development
Fearful that their urban Eden will be buried under darkness and dirt, residents of bucolic Tudor City announced a lawsuit Wednesday to block one of the city's largest development projects.
Police seek more clues in Times Square blast
Still stumped by an explosion last month in Times Square, police are again asking for the public's help tracing the origins of a bicycle they believe was used by the bomber.
City building commissioner steps down
With 13 people killed in building accidents so far this year and allegations of lax construction oversight, Department of Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster stepped down Tuesday after leading the agency through six of New York's busiest development years.
Willet's Point rezoning faces opposition from council
A majority of the City Council has lined up against Mayor Bloomberg's plan to rezone a long-neglected corner of Queens, putting in jeopardy one of the signature initiatives of the rest of his term.
Residents want to save mystery West Village building
In New York City, in places where hard facts don't go, rumor and speculation fill the void.
Community shocked as plug pulled on historic power plant
A monumental century-old power plant sitting on the Brooklyn waterfront and featuring a stout stone foundation and 4-story high arched windows with cream colored terra-cotta trim is being demolished brick by brick, upsetting local preservationists.
City: Crane collapse building mistakenly allowed
The East Side building whose towering construction crane collapsed last month, killing seven people, should never have been built on the cramped Turtle Bay side street, the Department of Buildings' chairwoman said Thursday.
Scandal leaves Quinn's future hanging in the balance
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has made budget reform and transparency a centerpiece of her likely '09 run, will have to quickly put the widening scandal in the council behind her to keep her mayoral hopes alive, politics analysts said Wednesday.
Harlem fights for Victoria Theater
Today, the Victoria Theater is the hulking ghost of Harlem.
Harlem rezoning plan as good as done
A plan to enliven one of the city's most famous thoroughfares cleared its biggest hurdle Tuesday when a key council committee approved a rezoning of 125th Street.
Port Authority wants part of new Penn Station
The head of the Port Authority Tuesday signaled that his agency welcomed a role in reviving faltering plans to remake Penn Station in the hopes of creating a new high-rise midtown business district.
Bloomberg reshapes city, despite high profile setbacks
His congestion pricing plan is in shambles. His Olympic dream of a West Side stadium long-ago evaporated. But six years after he was sworn in on the steps of City Hall near the smoldering hole in the heart of lower Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has molded the way the city will look and feel for decades, observers say.
Mets fans excited for new season, stadium
Their beloved if dumpy stadium is on its death bed, their team is mired in mediocrity, and their ace pitcher is gimpy, but nothing could cool the baseball fever of the Mets faithful camped outside of Shea for one last home opener there.
Protesters fight to save Willets Point
Hundreds of opponents of the Bloomberg administration's plan to pave over Willets Point in Queens marched past Mets tailgaters yesterday during a rally to keep one of the city's grittiest industrial neighborhoods intact.
Bear Stearns workers face job uncertainty
The bars that ring Bear Stearns' midtown headquarters are still full most weekdays after quitting time, fuller in fact, with former masters of the universe who come to commiserate, share in the latest gossip, and agonize about suddenly unseen futures.
Congestion pricing poised for defeat
With a crucial congestion pricing deadline just hours away, backers of the plan fear that it's stalled in the place that matters most: Albany.
Tompkins Square Park activists fight police--again
A group of graybearded squatters, anarchists, and activists who battled police 20 years ago in Tompkins Square Park are once again fighting for the right to gather there.
Harlem biz owner wants building relocated
The owner of a building in the footprint of Columbia University's planned expansion is giving new meaning to the phrase "standing firm."
Pols outraged over possible transit cuts
News that Albany was considering further cuts to the state's mass transit system outraged city lawmakers Sunday and left many wondering who would bear the brunt of it.
New property tax math squeezes outer boroughs
A new method of taxing properties is forcing many outer borough New Yorkers to pay more -- and sticking the city with a yawning budget gap, according to some tax lawyers and assessors.
Developer picked for Hudson Yards project
A developer with a $1 billion bid for a 99-year lease was selected Wednesday to transform the West Side Rail Yards into a glittering new highrise hub.
The battle for superdelegates
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are fighting over Ralph Dawson.
Blog testifies to disappearing New York history
New York is a city of the things unnoticed until it's too late.
Queens activists: City ignores our crumbling history
It's too late for the 19th-century parsonage at St. Saviour's Episcopal Church -- it was leveled in December -- and Long Island City's Hackett Building, a Flatiron-like structure that was built in 1884, was torn down last year to make room for condos.
Experts: City will feel economic crunch
On a day of Wall Street upheaval, New Yorkers awaited the fallout from an accelerating downturn that experts feared could leave no part of city life untouched.
Harlem celebrates Paterson's ascent to governor
At Londel's, a Harlem power-lunch spot, owner Londel Davis has framed photos of all the leading lights of the city who have dined there. Michael Bloomberg. Rudy Giuliani. David Dinkins.
NYC may get boost if Lt. Gov. Paterson new guv
Local elected officials said they expected Lt. Gov. David Paterson to carry on much of the Spitzer agenda if he becomes governor, but hoped the city's concerns would get a more attention under his watch.
Major issues loom for Paterson
Soon after being sworn in as New York's 57th governor, David Paterson will have to address a number of issues important to New York City.
Paterson forms transition team
While awaiting his presumed moment in the spotlight, Lt. Gov. David Paterson stayed in the shadows Tuesday.
A primer on New York's impeachment process
The last and only impeached governor in New York state history is William Sulzer in 1913. Sulzer was accused of misappropriating campaign funds and tried by the High Court of Impeachment and later a special tribune.
Vandals silenced by all-girls Catholic School
The teachers at a Lower East Side middle school are turning an act of vandalism into a teachable moment.
After Spitzer, first black governor in New York history on deck
With Gov. Eliot Spitzer's stunning fall form grace yesterday, attention turned to his less-known second-in-command, David Paterson, poised to become New York's first African-American and first legally blind governor should Spitzer resign.
Tunnel only part of original WTC remaining
Not all history has to be stored in a museum.
Experts: Bombing risk comes with living in NYC
No amount of policing could have prevented Thursday's Times Square attack by a bicycle bomber in the middle of the night, several security experts say.
Eye-catching building highlights High Line rebirth
The transformation of the High Line from a rotting railway to a postmodern park traveled further down the track Wednesday as plans were unveiled for a new tower slated to open next year.
Local pols kibitz on presidential race
Around the City Hall water cooler, the heated campaign for the Democratic nomination has lead to what many call a little good-natured goading among pols.
Expert: City's tax policy may raise your rent
Rents are going to rise unless officials undo a new policy for taxing property owners, the city's top real estate assessor said Tuesday.
Homelessness down 12 percent from last year
The number of homeless living on the streets of New York is down 12 percent since last year and 25 percent since 2005, city officials announced Tuesday.
Sister pleads for abandoned baby's dad to come clean
The sister of the 27-year-old man being sought for abandoning his baby girl in a livery cab pleaded Monday with her brother to turn himself in.
Study: Pols drop 28K of city cash on travel
Members of the City Council spent more than $28,000 on travel outside of New York City last year, an analysis by amNewYork shows.
Clinton juggles campaign, Senate duties
With Hillary Clinton stumping around the country on a presidential run that has already gone on longer than any other in history, some New Yorkers may be wondering how the city's interests are faring in the Capitol with one less senator around.
What's a landmark? New Yorkers struggle to agree
When New Yorkers talk about landmarking, they often think of genteel townhouses on tree-lined streets or distinguished cast-iron buildings. But concrete high-rises built in the 1960s?
Obama, Clinton look for youth vote boost
Year after year, campaigns bank on bringing out the "youth vote," but year after year those same young people stay home.
The leaning tower of Manhattan
You don't have to go to Italy to see a leaning tower anymore, just head to Lower Manhattan.
Turnout in primary doubles that of '04
Turnout in Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary was more than double what it was in the city in 2004, according to preliminary numbers released by the Board of Elections.
Clinton replaces campaign manager, sheds more tears
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared to well up again during a campaign stop this weekend, calling attention to the New York senator's reasons to reach for the tissues.
Changes in store for South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport, an area for decades dismissed as "just for tourists," has re-emerged in the forefront of New Yorkers' minds as architects, preservations and local residents wrestle over the waterfront of the future.
Demi Moore, Madonna are advised to get vaccinated
Demi Moore, Madonna, Ivanka Trump and other celebrities who reportedly went to a swanky West Village lounge earlier this month, may have been exposed to hepatitis A after a possible outbreak was discovered there by the health department.
Breathing new life into Martin Luther King's dream
For some New Yorkers, today's holiday is actually a day to get to work.
Pricey city drives out artists
Last year Galapagos Art Space, a leading venue in the city for emerging theater and art, had its bags packed and ready to go.
Columbia students call for response against racism
Student leaders at a Columbia University graduate school Monday decried the recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents on campus and called on the school's administration to respond more vigorously.
SI, Bronx, Queens to elect new DAs
New Yorkers will go to the polls Tuesday in a barely noticed election day.
Homeless vets: Bill O'Reilly a 'pinhead'
A handful of once homeless patriots called Bill O'Reilly a pinhead for blowing off the idea that veterans are living on the streets.
BlackBerry blackout causes headache for some
At least the pecking fingers of BlackBerry addicts got some relief.
How much force is too much?
Troubled by the latest police shooting of an unarmed person, many New Yorkers wondered yesterday just what the line is between self-defense and excessive force
Residents of 'leaning tower' hope to go back
Tenants who were forced to relocate when the city's "leaning tower" seemed on the verge of collapse hope to find out from city officials Friday when they will be allowed back in their building.
Locals have mixed reaction to Roger's conference
Roger Clemens' bizarre news conference Monday in which he sat stone faced while his lawyer played a taped phone conversation between the hurler and his former trainer, who allegedly gave him performance-enhancing drugs, sent local Yankee fans squabbling over whether their hero was indeed a cheat.
New Yorkers hit polls despite weather, parade
New Yorkers, some sporting blue Eli Manning jerseys and even Fat Tuesday beads, went to the polls in large numbers yesterday during a rare national election of significant consequence for the city.
NYers head to court to save their businesses
Fighting to stay in their century-old Harlem home, a group of commercial tenants has taken their case to State Supreme Court just days after the building's demolition was stayed.
Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens: A friendship under strain
Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are best buddies, but in the public eye, they couldn't be more different.
Residents fight to save hip-hop birthplace
A new beat may be coming to the Bronx building where hip-hop was born.
Rudy's campaign stumbling into Florida
Once the Republican front-runner for the White House, "America's Mayor" is having a hard time turning himself into America's president.
Ritzy downtown leaves mom-and-pops out
Even before the Twin Towers rose above lower Manhattan, Delphi's Restaurant served classic Greek food to the few denizens of one of the last undiscovered neighborhoods on the borough.
New Yorkers are ready for Barack Obama
No matter what the rest of America decides, in the heart of Harlem they are ready for Barack Obama.
New Yorkers leaving mark in Iowa
New Yorkers who can't wait for the Feb. 5th primary here have decided to decamp for Iowa to brace the bitter cold and stump for their favorite candidate.
City Pakistani community braces for elections
In Midwood, the heart of the city's 100,000-strong Pakistani community, faces in Halal restaurants, barber shops, and pharmacies were grimly turned to satellite televisions previewing Monday's parliamentary elections.
Harlem fights to protect its turf
With a tornado of change about to blow through 125th Street, a group of Harlem residents is fighting back.
Is NYC becoming a college town?
Columbia's brand-new 17-acre campus in Harlem. Six million square feet of additional space for NYU dorms and classrooms, stretching from Washington Square to the outer boroughs. A Fordham "fortress" springing up on the Upper West Side.
Clinton-Obama running close as NY primary nears
The neck-and-neck race for the Democratic nomination is hurtling toward New York next week, and backers of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are geared up for a photo finish.
Evicted residents don't know if they can ever return
The 200 some tenants booted from their Brooklyn building over the weekend because of a fire hazard still don't know when -- if ever -- they can go back home.
A ball of New Years history
The hundreds of thousands of revelers who will throng to Times Square Monday night to whoop in the New Year won't just be celebrating the dawn of 2008. They'll also be taking part in a now century-old city tradition.
New Yorkers somber after Bhutto assassination
The perpetually buzzing hive of Jackson Heights, Queens took on a somber pall Thursday as residents in the heart of the city's Pakistani community reacted with grim resignation to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
City building workers may be headed for strike
Office workers accustomed to spic-and-span cubicles may be in for a shock next week if office-building owners and service workers aren't able to iron out their contract dispute.
Guerilla artists don't want bench back
The creators of the 8-foot-tall bench that captivated some New Yorkers when it mysteriously appeared on Houston Street last week don't want their guerilla art installation back.
A Merry Christmas for Giants fans
Football fans used to mixing their Christmas eggnog with a dash of dread can breathe a little easier this holiday season.