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Last Night's Action: Back to Earth
 <img alt="2009_01_KnicksTT.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/NYC_Billy/2009_01_KnicksTT.jpg" width="200" height="171" class="image-right" /> <ul><li><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=Alazwf0TXYlmKmEEA.VVf5i8vLYF?gid=2009010625">Thunder 107, Knicks 99:</a> How did the Knicks follow up their upset over the Celtics? By dropping an absolute egg against the NBA's worst team. How do the Thunder (now 5-30) shoot 52.8 percent from the floor? How do the Knicks shoot only 39.8 percent? The Knicks gave up 63 points in the first half, which is embarrassment enough. Al Harrington had 21 points off the bench. Thursday brings a visit to Dallas. Maybe they'll show up for that game.</li> <li><a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap;_ylt=AkkUSwNnURA9XqNGfPZQqrd7vLYF?gid=2009010607">Hurricanes 3, Devils 2:</a> This game wasn't this close. New Jersey didn't score until 12:12 had gone by in third period. That's when Paul Martin scored. Patrik Elias scored with 21.5 seconds remaining. Scott Clemmensen made 25 saves but wasn't good enough. Photo Courtesy AP/Sue Ogrocki</li> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:0c60971d9e8a641f399c698461a71051:OyT%2BvpP8mSRYrmWOkV2GijpUEAeLPUlWOsqxjb3kjHsK8oEi0iY58B3I%2FdaCGwTIb%2BRr538Ths9T'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:24744e08a68766dad7ecb95a155fb47d:m8laduFdSUrathGhE%2FN7QMgulotcredzBenow3wLkkaaenvTlfsg2Ipz0chmJI79X9PNynjLppudBg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b14d26507dff27e4fef85d9e8cab02d5:IU2EpqUcINVRaOS95TpPUmXAwT5oTyYtMRKupzvEXh%2Bu4DLWGvSjNvHWECe2T2qBmKRMs6Y%2BguUvNw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e2297688b65271834bb964d8b822a8a5:3LAC8fNT%2Bac64%2BAtNXIAIe%2BITK9Y6RWFVPN0LwfnDlScIB0q75tJHO907Eo%2BzxxFri2OTXOvQhWy'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=e6e5a8eb3fbd7e215f2f97f6e8d514b1&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=e6e5a8eb3fbd7e215f2f97f6e8d514b1&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=e6e5a8eb3fbd7e215f2f97f6e8d514b1" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Video: Astroland Rocket Takes Flight
 <img alt="php174H7ZPM.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/php174H7ZPM.jpg" width="636" height="240" class="image-none" /> Photos via <a href="http://www.coneyisland.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1231272759">Coney Island message board</a>. <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/11/astroland_rocket_asscrap_metal.php">Last month</a> Coney Island ended a <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/29/more_ch-ch-ch-changes_at_coney_isla.php">tumultuous year</a> with news that the Astroland Rocket needed a home, and fast. Well, today it was carefully moved (video of the rocketship in flight after the jump), but no one seems to know what will happen next. A look at the <a href="http://www.coneyisland.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1231272759">Coney Island message board</a>, and here's what we find out: the rocket weighs 14,000 lbs! Other than that, there's a hopeful comment amongst the photos and sentiments: "The fact that they took it down in one piece could be a good sign....Does anyone know if someone has taken it? Is it being sent off somewhere also in one piece?" We'll update when we find out if it went to a farm upstate to play with all the other abandoned amusements, or if it will be preserved at a museum. UPDATE: One message board <a href="http://www.coneyisland.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1231272759/15">comment</a> now says an announcement will be made shortly concerning the rocket's new home. "The Coney Island History Project received interesting proposals from groups and individuals in NYC, NY State, neighboring states, and even an amusement park in Pakistan! But we really want to keep the Rocket in Coney Island." And the Coney Island History project <a href="http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/as-coney-islands-rides-and.html">notes that</a> "everything inside is absolutely preserved."

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Extra, Extra
 <img alt="2009_01_xx0106-1.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/NYC_Billy/2009_01_xx0106-1.jpg" width="640" height="428" class="image-none" /> Photograph by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iconeon/3172947986/in/pool-gothamist">24gotham on Flickr</a> <ul><li>From the <a href="http://gothamist.com/labs/map">Gothamist Newsmap</a>: a child fatally struck at Rockaway Blvd & Woodhaven Blvd in Queens, a pediatric in respiratory arrest at Audubon Ave and 181st St in Manhattan and a pedestrian struck at Leonard St & Greenpoint Ave in Brooklyn. <li>The 86-year-old woman who was slashed by a home invasion robber <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_slashed_granny_vivian_squires_angry__vow.html">wants to go back home</a>. Her grandson said Vivian Squires is still in the hospital, "She's a little scared and she's angry. But she's also joyful that she's alive." <li>Two tenants and a building owner <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06fire.html">are on trial for the deaths of two firefighters</a>. The Bronx DA's office says that subdividing apartments into windowless rooms "created a death trap." <li>The New York Times says that not only have they <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/05/ny_times_finds_it_fit_to_print_ads.php">ads on their front page</a> before, but they've <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/hold-the-front-page/">had them for cocaine</a>. Man, the New York Times is so real. <li>CNN's medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta was <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/06/gupta.surgeon.general/index.html">approached to be Surgeon General under President-elect Obama</a>. Gupta is also a practicing neurosurgeon. <li>The Target in the Atlantic Center gets the undercover treatment from <a href="http://www.fuckedinparkslope.com/2009/01/fips-undercover-target-atlantic-center.html">Fucked in Park Slope</a>. <li>The Nobel Prize Committee might have to consider giving poetry its own category once they get a whiff of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/01/12/090112po_poem_robbins">Alien vs. Predator</a>. <li>One of the forefathers of punk rock, <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/01/ron_asheton_194.php">Ron Asheton of The Stooges</a>, died in Ann Arbor today. <li>And <a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2009/01/06/one-womans-confession-i-hate-suburbia/">Modern Mechanix</a> has a confession from a woman circa 1965: she hates suburbia! </ul> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:01ae8409b5cc4ae4849680c5d82fd7ff:nRQu5sBuNuyNpo%2Fqu0tE8qXZlNeP4ZMskufj0sApsjZptmVNh6SwK4JN7knsY214Fk0budsOT6lp'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:aab00fa8d45be452bd5e3097dde5ff94:Iv9yJXhuoJqziGakZEx%2F37GTMDVwGF%2FovUW%2BZHlh6aAwnLp196g2llzkvrw%2BKKy2WgmO6K%2B73pbKBg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:41d0fdebd4427c83a4a6e26f0b3f0723:Z7AAD5iT88tpQoKh0dGJ5GwZ6bxPxfx6qTA8msnYTPuN9mC3PZnEEHvmp%2F2rI0aBqYXSMpunH1QW9g%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:82809815b8bd3800f447426ba4ee68c6:CEJ2DT%2Bb94F%2B7OZYN%2B3bWFjEdQg0Jiq%2Be9PRlARvynrsGfGE5YWfh4TEKD4wCtNl53cGtgfaEz63'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=cadc0cb06b9ba80c697c4372d8ee7328&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=cadc0cb06b9ba80c697c4372d8ee7328&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=cadc0cb06b9ba80c697c4372d8ee7328" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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The Real World Approaches
 <img alt="0109rwbk.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/0109rwbk.jpg" width="130" height="99" class="image-right" /> It seems like <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/05/13/real_world_broo.php">just yesterday</a> MTV was searching for a home for their Real World Brooklyn cast, and now the show is ready to air! How fast these reality programs grow up. You've already <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/05/real_world_part_two.php">met the cast</a>, seen <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/04/meet_the_real_world_brooklynites.php">their home</a> in Red Hook, and read all about our very own Billy Parker sending the show's first transgender <a href="http://gawker.com/5102627/-real-world-brooklyns-transgendered-cast-member-should-set-her-livejournal-to-private">into a blogging tizzy</a>...so what's next? We've seen the first episode, which will air tomorrow, and here are a few "spoilers." First up: you'll know you're in Brooklyn when they start playing rap music and showing graffiti. Soon after that, Mormon roommate Chet refers to the borough as a place where you "don't want to end up" and worries about getting shot there (another spoiler alert: he doesn't). Later on the roommates will get some slices at <a href="http://www.spumonigardens.com/">L&B Spumoni Gardens</a>, and ever further into the show there's some bonding over dinner at <a href="http://www.elmorestaurant.com">Elmo</a> in Manhattan. Other than that, you'll hear things like how they like to sit out and look at the ocean from their Red Hook digs. By which they mean Buttermilk Channel or the Hudson Bay, of course. <a href="http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2009/01/real_world_broo_1.html">The NY Post</a> has another look inside their temporary home, and <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/01/04/2009-01-04_mtvs_real_world_brooklyn_needs_a_reality.html">the Daily News</a> has a preview. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b898ce29fbd84988d908d6967dace497:YGhiMqS9PdfbXLbBMG1QqKvBr%2BIsFNHJBHApcszbXdhTBlqpfn1uENVbqtkogJtnNL8o1rj3qA6%2F'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:44121dc0404054ef29c5bd23517d633c:MZHChL2cAjjUdMv3ds2fVEPjjXc74Lhfe7yPywp%2BMLR1ZrALYjbM3H8%2B%2BlwAX35QBxQeWGIVsK%2B47w%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:d1cc72863b0b0cee80169d2a08acd1ef:tgcLYjObTNnA6tRsg8rxALkm2FRC0tXQ78ZPKon4JAylvL3Tx7gTtYIVZdlFeK%2FczU73X0Hcm7Libg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:de74a03a8c31bfbb14e3a3f4aa590973:zpawfPN4hrdCe5P%2Bl1HKnMDiwkWuquJeten%2B8aQRTOSjbvKefBau3llrubNPQCpfzwuZ2sYW06Wy'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=8f5d36b1bf32568a7a457fd0a1a1a5d9&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=8f5d36b1bf32568a7a457fd0a1a1a5d9&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=8f5d36b1bf32568a7a457fd0a1a1a5d9" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Masses of Unemployed Overwhelm State Claims Systems
 <img alt="2008_12_phone21.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2008_12_phone21.jpg" width="140" height="89" class="image-right" /> A sign of just how many New Yorkers are unemployed: <a href="http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzcrash0107,0,2093511.story">According to the AP</a>, the state's "unemployment claims systems have crashed, overwhelmed by tens of thousands of jobless New Yorkers trying to call or log in at once ahead of this week's filing deadline." Apparently around 10,000 people an hour were trying to log into the system yesterday, first causing the phone banks to shut down and then the problem hit the online filing system. The state's unemployment rate is <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/01/05/daily17.html">6.1%, up from 1.5% from last year</a>—and the state predicts it could rise to 7%. The state said everything was <a href="http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jan/06/0106_unemployment/">working again this afternoon</a>. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:eaaae1a4be7cda2acb136cee011d6e62:FtM6Znl1yljti8hJhOR8Z0ZI3dlwGPa0mNI5LdVPmkRtIg4XaUcxp42VinAwrQYUgUais%2BgJ8622'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:41118a8294ef55004a356987176d6fea:QuCD4fT5dQ91Vmq5Sjgrgs1gy8DibopJ3zoDOwsKXRBPh%2B4lcCxwq244iW0tDEq9DHoq6Y0ojbq%2FMQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:55446daf6bd2c928024bf4f9db01d947:e6sx9lWokd4WrPD6zP9rRLRaf33%2F%2Fy02FRwhPjchgNKYl8SXGZniaRH0xy7qhI%2F9ogQQSzCYJYN3PQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:6619d572f5e806af5dbc0466468fbbc9:lb99te%2BHqHCXtWPaHnlgr6ZYAaIHg7TPijx%2FfQdi6%2BKRJ8%2F3QJtZQl9ONuGecYHaN653hspkG8XG'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=5c0d3fed746bebe01aeefac0f0f4f920&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=5c0d3fed746bebe01aeefac0f0f4f920&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=5c0d3fed746bebe01aeefac0f0f4f920" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Aging Squatters Ready to "Buy In," But Can't Sell High
 <img alt="010609skwat2.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/010609skwat2.jpg" width="250" height="200" class="image-left" /> There's a sprawling but informative article <a href="http://www.thevillager.com/villager_296/formersquats.html">in this week's Villager</a> about the state of some former East Village squats that have been made into legal residences through an unprecedented deal with the city—a deal that some squatters are now calling raw. Long story short, the squatters were allowed to stay in the buildings after the city agreed to sell them for $1 each in 2002 to the nonprofit <a href="http://www.uhab.org/index.cfm">Urban Homesteading Assistance Board</a> [UHAB], which promised to get them up to code within a year. Six years later, some of the buildings are only now getting their formal conversion to co-op. Some squatters accuse UHAB of mismanaging the renovations by hiring incompetent, overpriced contractors, and one group is suing for outright ownership of their building. Worse, the city's deal prevents the squatters from selling their units for market value, leaving some, like 53-year-old Michael Shenker, squat-proud but cash-poor: "On the market, I think my place would bring $800,000. I’d be happy with half of that; that could relocate me adequately and safely in a place that is more affordable than New York — Florida or New Mexico or, God knows what, if I have to go to a retirement home." [Photo by "Fly," <a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2009/01/06/former_squatters_cant_cash_in.php">via Curbed</a>. ] <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:5e973a103f9e6bf81a31251d514c46bb:hU7v%2FWQuO7AdhX3b3s3zPG0QNw0uCjcJu9gFPErkbxtfHxsHV6lfJkQ4%2B7rOkkVH3r1CScdf1Q0q'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:1223bd5e6af5bf4f9ef371702c0014f7:JgRrNNt1U6qg%2F%2FohuNJsclpDGf9RQKCNQ3pTwMSrZRKIK1DXtmPVoQka5wm8kiodQ5gCPbafkZ3f4w%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:113c89c570d6b23a542f83c7b966a596:LXJPlSZDYNok0P8xHGV6WPdQqTddVxZ4OORFdMo6ae2Ntv1YhwIWDKnmcOFRi2PxdszBG%2FwRA3ffFg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:17329ed1daccc98e49cfc6aac198c389:SEyhuarQLc0EvNsMwCJCDzrto3asBYAmSOr%2FG4CZku%2By5L7kYTnHNIAuryTbxJ%2F9Gg1IwSSFZgN3'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=0f31ad7f62807e1d9ce466ff0cb2e748&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=0f31ad7f62807e1d9ce466ff0cb2e748&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=0f31ad7f62807e1d9ce466ff0cb2e748" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Child Struck, Killed by Council Candidate's Campaign Vehicle
<a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/91798/child-hit-and-killed-by-campaign-vehicle-in-queens/Default.aspx">From NY1</a>: "A child has allegedly been hit and killed by a campaign RV for City Council hopeful Mike Ricatto in Ozone Park." Prediction: Mike Ricatto, running for State Senator-elect Joseph Addabbo's seat, won't win. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:c8d4b2d854eb94f7a07e487c7316252b:t6wmL7dRbVLn3aClq7tyhKjmAOcIzQ15hyWnvgPfRmFILHepCpv9V4ozCnCxp8FGYShpF3T7hPVU'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:f5904bd1f9c4dda6ceb3966da7e21a2f:59PSjnPztYRrB%2BD%2FdPjzmdIgdvZ%2B9b7wLopCuCcC%2B5SYJA27q93YewP1JJ%2BYZfRyECd%2FeXl0W1DKcQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:cfdb2460da964318b03d520dc9089d93:tYdPz5%2B5xtG8jDiuHjTO6DxxbDIQoujIC%2FGVsDd5rI87Bhe%2B2OiafztEiv146B5KA5tWjyz%2FtYMmbw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b7b2c114922681d3b286810b0d93db3b:%2FNnCzKYzexat6LJSkv7JmVOJgR6njUXrI4d%2Fb%2FGFOfbFpaZLiXAWDxpR07WAXowQtjm%2B6CMhZsPs'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=1c4ea2d6ba2cf11a12fd4bd2c6e4dbbb&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=1c4ea2d6ba2cf11a12fd4bd2c6e4dbbb&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=1c4ea2d6ba2cf11a12fd4bd2c6e4dbbb" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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NYC's Maple Syrup Smell Is Still A Mystery
<iframe width="640" height="450" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107366841591102881041.00045fc7c975759735a00&s=AARTsJpyx75OazFouVnqsd2jF3YmUwK21A&ll=40.767542,-73.954811&spn=0.117009,0.219727&z=12&output=embed"></iframe> <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107366841591102881041.00045fc7c975759735a00&ll=40.767542,-73.954811&spn=0.117009,0.219727&z=12&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a> It's been almost 24 hours since the intoxicating and overwhelming scent of <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/05/the_maple_syrup_smell_is_back.php">maple syrup assaulted New Yorkers' olfactory nerves</a> again. And even though this is the sixth time the smell has struck, it's unclear where the smell is coming from. The Office of Emergency Management told us that there were 37 calls to 311 between 9 p.m. and midnight last night about the smell. Department of Environmental Protection inspectors were dispatched to investigate, but the calls—and smell—seemed to taper off around midnight. So there are no answers yet again! Maybe it is <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/11/16/as_seen_on_tv_t.php">Northrax</a> for all we know. Our own Joe Schumacher says, "With a light wind and stable air the weather conditions would have been ideal for the smell to travel a fair distance," which explains how the smell could be noticed all the way up in Harlem and down in Soho and even in parts of Queens and Brooklyn. One commenter <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/05/the_maple_syrup_smell_is_back.php">suggested</a>, "That smell is coming from the New Salt Substitute about to be used on the streets by the Sanitation Dept. Salt has become to expensive, so they are trying this stuff which is Salt mixed with a chemical that smells like Maple Syrup." Which could make sense—but would this explain the previous smellings in past years? For now, we'll just have to examine the map—click on the icons for some details— and develop other hypotheses. But for every person who thought "I thought I was going crazy. We had pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, and I was looking for where I spilled the syrup!", know this: You are not alone. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b5a5e14b80f810e0fee821427cfdae4c:pqFfrIhsYsGvjRjG56mbdJVEZTQC%2FLfIlZKp0S13iVenA3zevHVcyCLTbjBGe%2FR8YDr5m3cwgLAh'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:ac3a5bb44c3fcbb958bb6598f166512a:jgfDMYJdo5ucbvOluP4sMlXzGNLKqLswXlMyGWfa%2F6QtaTLIhTRt88SBVHM6gm7NKB%2Blxx%2FH4huTBQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:46ead026af99d44ca79b5f72fccc3b8a:%2F4OJapJZtfpgqh6nXv1Kq6obDNZ7Mohf129%2BhPsxBhp7VlvsJNLF1uYdp6AIQDmZbGCLqNg96UMBKw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:1c3b8f391555cab0f0ae94ab4ef67104:RedHpILWWuG%2FDIi0F56iBwOMKTa65EFvaQqjqD%2FsClIpxL1gxidPNNheEJ3SrPe6%2BBdBKCVeqiJ%2B'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c8cd797272673b124fff0d42d827959b&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=c8cd797272673b124fff0d42d827959b&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=c8cd797272673b124fff0d42d827959b" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Property Rebate Checks Sent Out Without Ceremony
 <img alt="2009_01_rebcheck.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_rebcheck.jpg" width="140" height="111" class="image-right" /> <a href="http://www.politickerny.com/1319/rebate-checks-much-shorter-note">Politicker NY finds</a> that the finally-released $400 property rebate checks have a much shorter note than last year's checks. This year, it's five words— "Enclosed is your rebate check"—while last year, it was, "The Mayor and the City Council have approved another property tax rebate. Your enclosed rebate check is the City’s way of recognizing the sacrifice you made to keep New York City fiscally sound.” The Mayor was <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/18/city_council_gets_400_property_reba.php">against sending out the checks</a> up until late last year but before the 2005 mayoral election, Bloomberg made sure homeowners knew who was helping them. The mayor's "name [was mentioned] no less than four times: once on the envelope, twice in an accompanying letter and once on the check itself" in 2004, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/nyregion/06rebate.html">according to the NY Times</a>. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:341ecb79118a6f2e83516e5a52a187a4:4%2BBjzOwpJg%2BMqTdFbZM0LLzBpfD0f9RYPnlwnsXbwzytCGp5t2fL%2BsTkycyx12ShSJfMkj8wBCev'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e90cceb2b9d76f0e9c779686be74d0cc:aaJ6PIV8SlpWXGukBO%2Fseb837qbcBx%2FvWXZ8pxL4V5krhmuCDlGJ5Xn89dKfN02EQLvIavV2gYJu6A%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:a09ea4ca0c84c80afd91d6af05212ac1:uSwUeYcqkxdIIAqwuWhqN7cw7qxx5EykG5kpi9bROOqZmJZlgGxgbPPTrKFQMeMHIbkP8H0zFRZSgA%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:f4430c8706e08ebb82bcb1ca83e4e9a2:VNeqWOF69v5BHZlnN50kcNNYEJG%2BsQXkB4e9byJ4PleICH634XIlFRPiovH6Xs1yuGOrkP7ETJbH'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=94b90bdda32c46d752077cad1cbf15c3&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=94b90bdda32c46d752077cad1cbf15c3&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=94b90bdda32c46d752077cad1cbf15c3" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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WTC Destroyed on Google Trends and by Cookie Monster
 <img alt="0109cookiemonster.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/0109cookiemonster.jpg" width="600" height="762" class="image-none" /> The cover of Sesame Street magazine <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/06/cookie-monster-eats.html">circa October 1976</a> depicts a giant Cookie Monster putting aside his favorite snack for a few bites of the Twin Towers. Sort of makes you think about how innocent the world seemed before the terrorists started blowing shit up, no? Meanwhile, over at Google Trends, you may notice <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/06/%E2%9C%88-%E2%96%8C%E2%96%8C-unpleasant-google-trends-subversion/">a more current depiction</a> of the WTC being destroyed, but this falls under the blatantly insensitive category. <a href="http://valleywag.gawker.com/5124652/the-sick-internet-joke-about-911--">Gawker</a> explains that a user on "a site which posts pictures and invites often profane discussion, suggested his peers search on a string of icons — "✈ ▌▌" — and thereby launch it onto Google Trends, the search engine's tracker for swiftly rising Internet phenomena." <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:fcaa61ec52123bacc34d66e29051a1b0:2X344IwsQ%2B263vVDJ%2BISv%2BOWxTT%2B6YkmhmydBArKQPruXqCOJTL73eJmsZvoZxOWFlQUFIMt5%2BWe'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:539b460afe5a9adaacb105f22a743e8b:j3beaaWbNAyHpdWGCP2bPn23vzsKOb0kJpwWFZH5VfOe2nsb5GszMyvJW%2FNtgBhWIeLW%2FMAx7u8Ftw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:4ed45d494771fc447826aa219415083d:8yfaXjDG8ec8jtu8oJ0E7RWqzbGgcV3kYi7pxFoEbHSZgAp4GcgWtbAYDlMq9lJoOPxXDtLmaJl50A%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8b099ab98b2e09312763ef5a85f3161b:AFgskkqeCyP6PKIP%2Brh3iMzKJ4%2FaStu%2Ff2JA5t%2BSi%2F5c1uNXfPvVC8gDhJX2OiZHyR07YD8mpT3d'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c0aa35cfc75dd91bd20250cea68443bb&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=c0aa35cfc75dd91bd20250cea68443bb&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=c0aa35cfc75dd91bd20250cea68443bb" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Accused Killer of Linda Stein Points to Daughters
 <img alt="0109mstein.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/0109mstein.jpg" width="130" height="112" class="image-right" /> It has been over a year and Natavia Lowery, accused killer of Linda Stein—to whom she served as a personal assistant, is still pointing fingers and claiming no involvement in the realtor's murder. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_accused_killer_celebrity_realtor_linda_s.html">The Daily News</a> reports that she is telling the NYPD that the 62-year-old Stein was fighting constantly with her daughters. A detective at a pretrial hearing testified: "She said Mrs. Stein had a very rough relationship with her daughters." The 26-year-old Lowery, who has been charged with <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/01/09/lowery.php">stealing thousands</a> from Stein, also accused <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1023596/">Mandy Stein</a> (pictured), the daughter that found her mother dead that day, of "just looking for money." In the past Lowery has accused a <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/03/25/defense_lawyers.php">mysterious male</a>, and a <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/11/28/linda_stein_mur_1.php">ninja</a> as having the blood on their hands. She also confessed herself, but then <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/11/12/linda_stein_mur.php">said it was coerced</a>. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e0b0631bc02c2ccb5f18ee28fdcb3821:hYeyNhLEJBzsbUy43Ljj0cn6B8bCDX%2BPByh49bdyhiA5ItPt6IyWrZ0koYx5wrkzQTAXSMODTa4q'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:a925045351f2b33cec810ca095147b57:biCXSQ%2FiApFIFrlE2Jzb1kkKOVzK5byegBGOixvUj%2Bh413CH0frJoqEdodmtgmMq8ZuFJE5nwg%2BDzw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:02dcb31025d5bb781d169f2215ad2c06:WwAL99VFB10tdhQmRsogMmrzq7Wd2h7bXaVigBXTXeD5Ekzp2YsMWMZDbda%2B8A3kXsHnS9wFb0jxBA%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:aa7ba24102ade563891eb760f397301c:4xvNQjJp8j3F%2FCCLjkHL%2FLCH5lZ0UjwRf6N2bUUrq%2FQ1QideiOZz7GC%2FAXJe1WoJKXDUSUj9KsVd'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=53d6f584a56f20ee92135c3ecc099c06&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=53d6f584a56f20ee92135c3ecc099c06&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=53d6f584a56f20ee92135c3ecc099c06" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Good Food, Good Deal: Tuck Shop
<img alt="121208tuckshop.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/121208tuckshop.jpg" width="640" height="240" />From left to right: traditional beef pie with salad and scalloped potatoes, the beef pie "floating" in pea soup. In the spirit of these desperate times, let's try to see how little we can spend and still get a decent, filling meal. Aussie eatery <a href="http://www.tuckshopnyc.com/">Tuck Shop</a> takes pride in being “drinking man’s food at its best,” but we posit they could also claim sober man’s food at its best, too. And with these prices, you can use your leftover money on their homemade ginger beer ($2) to see if it works for the blotto man as well. It's been a couple years <a href="http://gothamist.com/2006/07/08/street_eats_tuc.php">since we last checked in</a> with their Aussie-style pies, and we were relieved to find them as hearty as ever. We went in for their traditional beef pie and made it a Tucker Box, $10 for the pie and two sides; for which we chose the mixed salad with beet dressing and their vegetable of the day, scalloped potatoes. We took pride in our selection until the overachiever next to us ordered his pie “floating” (in pea soup), overwhelming us with envy. For dessert, feel free to try one of their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington">lamingtons</a>; they also sell sausage rolls and a selection of Aussie groceries. (<a href="http://www.arnotts.com.au/products/TimTam.aspx">Tim Tams</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite">Vegemite</a>, anyone?) And during our visit, an actual Australian woman came in and bought a pie to take home. So if Aussie people eat Tuck Shop’s Aussie pies, it's probably safe to say you're getting the real deal. Tuck Shop // 68 East 1st Street // (212) 979-5200 <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:28ba57b358569917357f89a3cf11809d:BGiUfsRb5oATxFTwy%2Bnxd0FFoESJRuG6Xb1wDcM%2BDvvyb1VeqP8OcH5rZ4eZJbgFKoyED0VcdT2k'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:75c01db5f058cd80affed3edf3eec449:sbVZduRnYxyIRPA1MVaBCBJvxItgO%2BIPk4akedGFsIca3E9ZT99rF7o0WvgzRDxo%2FA8jshC2SP14DA%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:c0eecd9cdc25b64efd48bc9db972bac3:Yk6YQ7x6%2FrO1TG8jXnTSR7an9p0X3KI5muKaBeGPry2ucBszru3t8nQMJ5tLXw6%2B%2FVxFrqQ%2FJoNgAw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e4554273f564bb25c22fb6c5b13013bc:f8Xy10ePDjFduEw8dBPslW6qpF1KJj2SuIhFpOQ%2BD8oimP7Kd1a%2BPldrGqdyw3UURnH3%2FGOULQ9f'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=40daac81f327e2c97cf982027ba597d3&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=40daac81f327e2c97cf982027ba597d3&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=40daac81f327e2c97cf982027ba597d3" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Man Hassled By Jet Blue Over Arabic T-Shirt Wins $240K!
 <img alt="2009_01_reidjarrar.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/2009_01_reidjarrar.jpg" width="124" height="150" class="image-right" /> The T-shirt worn by Jet Blue passenger Raed Jarrar at JFK <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/08/10/no_nonarabic_sh.php">back in August 2006</a> sported the slogan of famous anti-Nazi group <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Rose">The White Rose</a>, but the phrase "We Will Not Be Silent" was also written in Arabic, and that freaked everybody out. Well, not everybody, but one TSA official at JFK that day did inform Jarrar that his choice of T-shirt was akin to "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, 'I'm a robber.'" They made him put on another shirt before being allowed on the plane, and then seated him all the way in the back. Well, now it's payback time for Jarrar; <a href="http://aclu.org/freespeech/gen/38225prs20090105.html">according to the ACLU</a>, the TSA and JetBlue agreed to settle his lawsuit for $240,000. In a statement, he says he hopes officials "will think twice before practicing illegal discrimination." <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:af44de5b7b74376b29cdb1104f511975:Pnd1hyRDdYoAuBSPVcbd%2BLoRypeOTw7hRMPDzmzwUuCHkxTLVXOZ4wnhayxinAnd2a1AGfGA91AJ'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:cdf2b9c0870d5077e02fbc5d1f1e6ebe:r%2BbQIOsh6wEmhym2kzKdD1wdFu5AssPGPENOoeuxjcOJcs%2Fl5lg7MrC5yylUdciGY2gMkom%2BPLLswQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:0a5f9ab7e33d28f3eae6197af9812f70:46eWOtcDllCaC0sXDVXPU9xNTEYrUya6wdoq1Vk83AGPJUjfvK1%2BR94GV4Cp8jNkufqmU1ZhrAR1hw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:407fdc036a79742f5e97c4709e7470c7:9tnROXxGzo2L%2FSS9%2FnXSmwAUBN72eaUtU5LN74GaJRsWwScwtJ4i7qnUviN%2BoibdNKXt3Wg4FpYQ'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=835b0086db78b7645cf4802ddd4f9073&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=835b0086db78b7645cf4802ddd4f9073&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=835b0086db78b7645cf4802ddd4f9073" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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New York in the Late 70s and Early 80s
Photographer <a href="http://www.birchlane.net/NotThereAnymore.htm">Bruce Barone</a> has a treasure trove of old photographs he snapped in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while working at Hearst Magazines. He tells us he is now self-publishing a book featuring some hand-selected images, which should be ready by the end of February. For now, here's a look back through his lens at an older New York. There is an image gallery to this entry which you can view at Gothamist

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Disabled Man Ate Bus Seat Foam, Vinyl While Stranded
 <img alt="2009_01_edrive.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_edrive.jpg" width="145" height="112" class="image-right" /> Ed Wynn Rivera, the 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy who was <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/02/bus_matron_arrested_for_abandoning.php">abandoned on a freezing bus for 17 hours</a>, returned home from the hospital yesterday. His family, thrilled that he's safe, <a href="http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/missing.disabled.man.2.900809.html">spoke to WCBS 2</a> about finding him. His father Elmer Rivera said when he went to the bus depot and asked two workers to look for him one came "back with tears in her eyes" because she found him and they broke into the bus and took of their coats to warm him up. Additionally, a CAT scan showed foam in his system—his sister said he had eaten foam and vinyl from the bus seat during his ordeal. The bus matron who was responsible for noticing Rivera was still on the bus (she <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/03/more_details_about_bus_matron_who_l.php">allegedly did know he was there when she left</a>) has been charged with reckless endangerment. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:2242d17f72534b298c001b633d742495:aJbV%2FrxBzZVomluCBmel%2BLSogU0aIeW%2BhECbJ7w9jMUdeWE95aBtzecW5lZ56%2FTe8KkOjetA%2FgqI'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:972c592ffd2dc923fc792ffcc691de6e:tUHV31r2xnejsrvHmgkJ671J%2FpohahISUuxFgKug4tq3L2ri53GhDU2j4YDss0RmOv1AX6kbjHwTBQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8c20d4489b97c9a1f63898da910f66c3:vQLmwm6y4QlcCXF3%2B3bai3Y4GvTq9fBRoBG4uVLaQFrRWuuVQdB5kssNO1MWhs4LUYRkY0c%2BzL%2F1%2Fw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:9b2c986b2ca1e1cec21cc22f33ef74b3:Aw8Y4mOySwuX92eSJik4fNmLauoNpIpOz0jS0p3uD2Hidt5j5FrQ4LEnTbvmrG1pzYSVmU3ENd6X'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=f31af054de2ccc42a64e39996bed2ac4&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=f31af054de2ccc42a64e39996bed2ac4&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=f31af054de2ccc42a64e39996bed2ac4" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Prosecutors: Nothing Innocent About Madoff's Package
 <img alt="2009_01_madoff.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_madoff.jpg" width="620" height="425" class="image-center" /> Prosecutors say that (alleged) <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/14/madoffs_victims_range_from_big_firm.php">$50 billion Ponzi scheme mastermind</a> Bernard Madoff should be in jail <a href="http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/tuesday/business/ny-bzbail0612330874jan06,0,4417011.story">after violating his bail conditions</a> by sending packages to relatives. The feds say he's transferring his assets, but Madoff's defense lawyer Ira Sorkin claims they were just innocent gifts—the Post describes some objects as "expensive watches, pens, cufflinks and a $200 pair of mittens meant as a Hanukkah gift" and the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_bernie_madoffs_actions_amount_to_obstruc.html">Daily News adds</a> there was jewelry and that the packages were apparently worth $1 million. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTRTX8gu04sw">Sorkin also said</a> that these gifts were included in the asset accounting Madoff and his wife provided at the end of the year and added, "We believe the children brought [the packages/gifts] to the attention of the government." Madoff's two sons <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/12/financial_advisors_50_billion_ponzi.php">were the ones to report their father's fraudulent activity</a> to the government last month. Federal prosecutor <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/business/06madoff.html?ref=business">Marc Litt said,</a> "The case against the defendant is strong and it continues to grow stronger as the government’s investigation continues. Given the defendant’s age, the length of the likely sentence, the strength of the proof against the defendant, including his confessions, these facts present a clear risk of flight.” (It's suspected Madoff may have money in off-shore accounts.) The NY Times also notes, "The newly aggressive stance by prosecutors appeared to represent a serious deterioration in relations between the government and Mr. Madoff." The judge is considering revoking Madoff's bail and gave both sides until Thursday to file legal briefs. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:44cc84112e255da16b5c380eef858fed:lyckyQpawzalRZ3xIFDEm%2FVE7at96oNkKetL6Kz4pTMMKEIBRgbKK2TaI%2Bgkpg8qeZQBQ3uiyiVI'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:c52ae8d44fffcffeea3951bf0eb16e71:rIWhHgEyILceSJbuTXsBMUGryK%2FFvUOl3amKaaj%2Faz2jqyDFsRlBavp1NcpgURW3fVRa5YPYPC6XxQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:841d02af721d590693b5b016083c0dea:W6wvwYGz%2F1nzmwtKfDcQ%2FlHm4yaRXbnZrfkIZ8848tbqLkA9sh0kBAtjnUcM2ST5eJzCuYB5Za%2B1Cw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:ec1d97e07e9f3d9e0a41e90416a3f26f:IpBwMB7rEfhCvp30szPkLOqcaAr4IoSOev15WIVwmyFMgA75RWQ19EEbiS8q2MzCBIZkFDpfkg2%2B'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=00082f38eb0942fddd2ccf6e5302055a&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=00082f38eb0942fddd2ccf6e5302055a&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=00082f38eb0942fddd2ccf6e5302055a" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Father's Murder Makes Powerful NYU Application Essay
 <img alt="010608sensi.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/010608sensi.jpg" width="130" height="147" class="image-right" /> Pity the NYU admissions officer who thinks about rejecting 17-year-old Rena Senisi, whose father was <a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/08/06/man_fatally_sta_1.php">stabbed to death by a stranger</a> in 2007 on his way to buy a carton of milk for his daughter's cereal. Senisi (pictured here with her late father and brother) has written a moving account of that fateful day for her application essay, which was also read at the killer's sentencing yesterday. <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/brooklyn/making_dad_proud_147423.htm">According to the Post</a>, it describes how she "rushed downstairs to find my dad lying there on the ground moaning. I took his head in my hands, saw a little drop of blood on his chin, and ran upstairs to call my aunt and grandma...It would be an honor, an award, and a break for me from this rough period in my life if I could attend NYU." Horrible and tragic, so it's safe to say she's a lock, because obviously the university's going to want to avoid headlines like, "Heartless NYU Rejects Poor Daughter of Murdered Brooklyn Man." And the killer was sentenced to 22 years in jail. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:a15582e98a4419dae7e0d0523f886322:kNNMo4vV3giyfBU8a44a960crCZ9JaimXbn%2B3Y%2BG1A%2FXyrYk5TqfMvOmQHFFUEH33Yafr5cE8r1N'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e3f01a587710091d48c5ac172c1a9e98:Cqtbs%2BGilLwK80o8yiGMDKMv%2BV0O4VurWbS1jUGeQUh8u19cnN8zYRhcG5bJ1soxupxZRsvz2pFsTQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:0007426c7c03361d1d8c693b7368b521:5dIjqIfOWRrdnICRKIK3TQC4A0RJfJ5TrMNzq03EZisPLJgnetmSih%2BKXWmAdnkTyVLj9CkFyxOtDw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:f904c62d034ff194761705f260cf3a37:MRYr0RPFxtmXkwfP%2BD8hUBtf2un4aNOxKa%2BGq4tTsi4gZAjRtcecFNhiCHjKQTyDMBgEdez9c60l'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=e36b8fde4b5d14637ec2a14ab8c1ff45&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=e36b8fde4b5d14637ec2a14ab8c1ff45&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=e36b8fde4b5d14637ec2a14ab8c1ff45" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Pencil This In
 <img alt="0109boc.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/0109boc.jpg" width="225" height="361" class="image-left" /> BOOKS: Any day is a good day to head to Goodbye Blue Monday, but tonight you can be a part of the Bushwick Book Club, "an event of unparalleled songwriting nerdery." Tonight it all gets kicked off with local songwriters, Phoebe Kreutz, Chloe Matheou, Liv Carrow and Susan Hwang performing songs inspired by and based on Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions. Book-themed food and drink are served, and audience members are encouraged to give in to any Vonnegut-inspired impassioned outbursts." <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=429053551">More details here</a>. 8 p.m. // Goodbye Blue Monday [1087 Broadway, Brooklyn] EVENT: Tonight MoMA and PopRally are presenting an evening of film, comedy, and drinking titled <a href="http://moma.org/calendar/poprally/upcoming.php">Silent But Deadly</a>. <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/23/max_silvestri_comedian.php">Max Silvestri</a> says: "Those are three of my top four things! (There will sadly be no tacos at this event.) This is the deal: there will be a reception with (free) drinks at 7 at MoMA, then at 8 I'll be hosting a screening of three silent comedy shorts from MoMA's archive, presented with live piano accompaniment. After each short, a few "contemporary comedians" will be responding to these shorts with never before seen short films. These comedians include me, Nick Kroll, Joe Mande, Gabe & Jenny, and ThunderAnt (Fred Armisen of SNL and Carrie Brownstein formerly of Sleater Kinney). Then after that, we drink some more!" Sounds like a good reason to brave tonight's storm. 7 p.m. // MoMA [11 W 53rd St] // $12 THEATER: There have been no shortage of Hedda Gabler revivals in recent years, with Cate Blanchett playing Ibsen's restless malcontent at BAM in 2006, Elizabeth Marvel portraying her in <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/02/ivo_van_hove_director.php">Ivo Van Hove</a>'s sensational 2004 production, and robots replacing humans <a href="http://www.lesfreres.org/archives/06_heddatron.html">in Les Freres Corbusier's take</a>. Now fully-emerged playwright Christopher Shinn has a go, in a Roundabout production starring Mary-Louise Parker that begins tonight. Shinn, who is in psychoanalysis five times a week <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/theater/04taylor.html?ref=theater">according to a recent Times profile</a>, says, "Ibsen is my favorite playwright and the writer I always dreamed about adapting, so I felt like I could do it even though I didn’t speak the language." - John Del Signore 8 p.m. // American Airlines Theatre [227 W 42nd St] // <a href="http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/secure/tickets/production.aspx?pid=1984">Tickets</a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b5227ea6d384c75c75afbd926ec6f382:y%2BUUHoQOdIGf6h02A2xlFV1IPbllvKVqz7YU32kgUrKrgg9WwUesRpbp%2BdaLarBCfKsDUw%2Fh2WDT'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:db6625e8a7d9775882c793b0046d095c:wdit2xf4%2Bqu6GMhKGiE39%2FCHJxMRog8bbc72B0kwIsaCJNs03LIVftF00ZuokDQkRI7oIUStVN249w%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:44c2e2c7c221727339d492ede9648703:ZXQdrd%2Bcdmu3YrYftPoyTipY%2BDncYzKYSvALDJrhrXDPPETMmSUj2qIWWpCB%2BYaF0eCtRBFRKZzzZQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:932603daa9d70c32c7f4851eec022bc4:LTvHJ%2Bv9j2FSUtE3P2iHI4Fb7LK3%2BkNL5oRVIyJ4tMoe9PzMVuae%2FvgdxS59%2BqtfXoCbxa%2BTnzcH'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=aaab679d024340772307abcf8b737ba2&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=aaab679d024340772307abcf8b737ba2&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=aaab679d024340772307abcf8b737ba2" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Beloved Movie Theater to Become an Urban Outfitters
 <img alt="2009_01_metrocin.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_metrocin.jpg" width="150" height="180" class="image-right" /> Sigh. The <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/business/deal_for_1540_bway_147352.htm">Post's Steve Cuozzo reveals</a> that the former Metro Theater, on the Upper West Side at Broadway and 99th Street, will become a 15,000 square foot Urban Outfitters over three-and-a-half floors: "It will be the seventh Manhattan location for the teen-oriented clothing chain, which bucked prevailing trends and enjoyed a 31 percent earnings increase last year." The 20-year lease is "worth $1 million a year to start with 12 percent increases every five years." Winick Realty Group president Benjamin Fox tells the <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/from-metro-theater-to-urban-outfitters/">NY Times reports</a>, "It’s a testament to Urban’s strength in the marketplace and to their design approach. There were other spaces of similar size available, but the way they build their interiors is such that they fell in love with this place because of its uniqueness.” The exterior of the building—Times reporter David Dunlap calls it an "Art Deco jewel box"—is <a href="http://cinematreasures.org/news/14166_0_1_0_C/">landmarked</a> but its interior was gutted and its <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/what-to-make-of-the-metro-theater/">ornate grille work and other detailing were lost</a>. <a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theater/287/">Cinema Treasures notes</a> that the Metro originally had first-run movie, before showing adult films in the 1970s and 1980s (the economy), and a CT commenter reminds that the Metro was also a revival house. It was immortalized in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters in this scene: <center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ftiIPJky_Vs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ftiIPJky_Vs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center> The new Urban Outfitters is expected to open in 12 months or so. And the Beekman Theater (also <a href="http://www.filmbuffonline.com/News/2005/BeekmanTheatreCloses.htm">seen in an Allen film</a>) was <a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theater/306/">demolished a few years ago</a> to make way for a Memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer center. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:5d87cecd09e766f4e90c86911dabb34a:EAE4TZM8OmUuGu9XKampIeOxKm%2B%2FCv6Hzr%2Fi1FdweIFmcFaJccVbj1F47KeB6OzsT0Ld1IUAEn6R'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:c4184fb2174a7d5ac99a4f8d4fc57a85:XV3%2FziOot6LkbYkKDO5VyDkRR6fnDKHJ0j8PZ6lb1GSvXViZwRgBZ%2FLR9R2DK4G8SBYvkFn6YV8zXQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:a8f87587de9df0b1258eaf7a8d94a571:HEFWWexLZjvpUyHxLhQcU7Ey886BM%2B%2FPSfoxKPysfrXshH6TD3FI0QaSvK93oUVtwEFbk1o9FMhq9A%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:bfe006777aa6570c01504537e2952f49:9ZjbP7fq6y1aMCBJhMBDkACn%2Fzr96j8%2BVO9Fi0SCHmmOp7fNo9VZwzyBlK88%2Bx0mxOrL%2FG7blOI8'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=64efdaffee401270c95bbb90b24a6622&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=64efdaffee401270c95bbb90b24a6622&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=64efdaffee401270c95bbb90b24a6622" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Lord's Senate Appointee Turned Away
 <img alt="2009_01_burrissen.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_burrissen.jpg" width="145" height="132" class="image-right" /> Roland Burris, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/30/blago_to_name_senate_replacement_fo.php">Senate appointee</a>, may have <a href="http://chicagoist.com/2009/01/05/mr_burris_goes_to_washington.phpp">implied he's the Lord's Senate Appointee</a> but that doesn't mean you can enter the Senate's chambers! Burris held a press conference, explaining that the Senate's Secretary turned him away <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/06/burris/index.html">for not having the proper credentials</a>. The Senate secretary's argument was that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White hadn't approved Burris's appointment and, according to CNN, "Rule 2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the secretary of state must sign the certificate of election along with the governor." Burris's lawyer said, "We were not allowed to be placed in the record books. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath, all of which we think was improperly done and it is against the law of this land." This drama will undoubtedly continue, so in the meantime, watch how Stephen Colbert and Alan Colmes <a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/215373/january-05-2009/colbert-and-colmes---roland-burris-appointment">examine the taint around Burris</a>. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:3b0d92e70c5351e153fbefbc67a08dae:Qfi9sDEflNVDyWkB44ieTBUFfG43136%2F3hpGkoEt27ZWb1oV%2F%2BKfDHFr753zUMxzY7tjN5UYnS4r'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:3b27de2182eea45f9e2b202628a4ea74:NvS4RFFkb%2FmgN04lpOOWw%2Bh%2BTiqxfoWupCTNSf8OTqyMByFy7kyi2pa1DUOzZgELHAlARgsKvCqr9Q%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:7006a8ba11ec55fa79ee74790ce83652:962JVeVeEtBZ%2BA73e3DZiu8YAUiudR0jpix0eN0zS8BDC%2Fg%2BeCQuy3rC5x3NlLNecO8%2F%2BqFBxJeC6A%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:90b4223e566f2155fc70dae725a2826b:dO7x3eq8VttCxOTaS6Kq91uyuSRbhWW0rm8A2m7qsW0MxvHTywTJvT15LbHy5Kei8VHffjnpHl6T'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=3c4be0ffd15e01bfbc5d13115da56aa9&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=3c4be0ffd15e01bfbc5d13115da56aa9&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=3c4be0ffd15e01bfbc5d13115da56aa9" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Early Addition
 <div class="image-none" > <img alt="2009_01_ea0106.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_ea0106.jpg" width="640" height="480" /> Photograph by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jukeboxgraduate/3169397124/">Caryn Rose on Flickr</a></div> </form> <ul><li>From the <a href="http://gothamist.com/labs/map">Gothamist Newsmap</a>: An armed robbery on Mott St in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck at 94th Ave At Lefferts Blvd in Queens, and a perp search at Menahan St & Bushwick Ave in Brooklyn. <li>The police <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_police_searching_for_amateur_boxer_in_co.html">are asking for the public's help</a> in finding a Brooklyn amateur boxer who killed his brother last year. <li>A publishing house <a href="http://gawker.com/5124316/laura-bushs-memoir-worth-a-paltry-sum">paid Laura Bush $1.6 million for her memoirs</a>, which is a fifth of what Hillary Clinton got. Guess they think everyone already read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Wife-Novel-Curtis-Sittenfeld/dp/1400064759">American Wife</a>! <li>The artists who created the murals at the West 86th Street 1 train stop <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06tiles.html?ref=nyregion">remember working on the project 20 years ago</a>. <li>Real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller <a href="http://curbed.com/archives/2009/01/06/curbed_imterview_jonathan_miller_dishes_on_q4_numbers.php">instant messages with Curbed</a> to discuss the declining market—and football. <li>Four men who stole $1.27 million in jewelry were <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/federal_judge_sentences_jewelr.html">sentenced to prison</a> by a federal judge; they were found when one left his DNA/blood at a smash-and-grab crime scene in NJ. <li>A German businessman—the world's 94th richest man, according to Forbes—<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/28521308">killed himself</a>, apparently because of "The desperate situation of his companies caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act." <li>A deer <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Students-Startled-After-Deer-Jump-Through-School-Window.html">jumped through a NJ classroom's window</a> yesterday. The school cancelled outdoor recess for the rest of the day. <li>And in Ohio, a 4-year-old <a href="http://wcbstv.com/national/shooting.babysitter.ohio.2.900762.html">used a shotgun to shoot his baby-sitter</a>. The baby sitter, who does not have life-threatening injuries, apparently raised the child's ire by accidentally stepping on his foot. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b1d85d9c9709d70853c2fa5cf5851a2d:c4PYNlzP3mHRLpVdl2U0fZ8bgKnVWuTOs1MrGriGzQXVe6f3Jnq0fP9d985FX0sK11gHqWe4DESv'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:08ab41fb2f65c812d2dd0343f8b5d2f3:aB08rO9u%2BP5I2u2ZfuX%2FeJWExQ%2BtoKkWxTvJHfVgRrz13xQnEdE6mRyqnawPONGGZnebEfpvPRZtuw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8c8a9ae61b63a18e408235f744db9cb5:H45AqAV%2Bh5I%2F4m%2FfR1gtS9a%2FeVzzUIn2I3UZf5QUGlOYYHCYklIbLyDHi%2FqWFOssBRLJ5Gx2NElc2w%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8fc77c2e360a7470a9775d34bb8971da:tCza69yVNR%2B6lHtqlByOOyPehK7dWCnBXvSBjWFqp9yWhX81zVE2SbPKdBOEKWS3a6u0z72gxkvG'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=890fc2b35b31547e91c0d37a7d6c1bc8&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=890fc2b35b31547e91c0d37a7d6c1bc8&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=890fc2b35b31547e91c0d37a7d6c1bc8" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Gossip Girl Films on Staten Island
 <img alt="0109waldorfb.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/0109waldorfb.jpg" width="130" height="153" class="image-right" /> Maybe it's good enough <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/18/staten_island_gets_mtv_treatment_pa.php">for MTV</a>, but the fictional characters of Gossip Girl wouldn't dare let their Ferragamo shoes touch the soil of Staten Island. Talk about wrong side of the narrows. But <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/01/gossip_girl_has_been_filming_o.html">NYMag</a> is reporting that the series has been filming there, and points to an extra's grandiloquent <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2009/01/05/i-was-a-gossip-girl-extra.htm">account of the experience</a> (filled with the kind of snobby commentary reserved for a real-life Blair Waldorf drone): "I packed up a purple strapless Oscar de la Renta dress, an empire-waisted Gucci gown, four pairs of heels and an armload of accessories and jumped on the ferry to Staten Island where the show was filming at the St. George Theatre, a grand old vaudeville venue which dates back to 1929. I arrived at the Gossip Girl set anticipating a flurry of fashionable glamazons. Twas not so. Many of the extras were dressed in what appeared to be five-year-old ABS and Bebe frocks." When in Rome? Just Kidding, SI. The extra doesn't stop there, she goes on to attack another borough: "Why must the stylists punish her wardrobe to further punctuate the point that she is from Brooklyn?" <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:761208af40586617b55444a10f69e790:x3fKgzKe5nw18WiJ409kwOjJWs842xfge78GG76ilIJ%2BXfR%2F3ik%2BKNt4q3m0SKd4DCioDfn6cKyR'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8969a82c83bde8418a7e492125f0c9df:pK6uXEAyzqz34%2FCtAAc9jBjwFvTDVYtj656Axmc6G5nTy%2B6%2FqFu1yF9ITXGWTOptm7WooCVPUaBoPg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b1d8242a5972448867cec93586a67e72:MBZmV7C%2Baz9nBBsD9Wk00CUiebmvLtHQKLzKXuCgIgakDmsReNLmUvyVXXWZ4l4hyqhfbaR4APyRfw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b66bf682cb5e09b79062705b20c28260:%2BTD8MP8LKYmYwRcghUBVQEr6EghS3ca%2Ft4lJbKcRgqi7RSrmNNKYHCuXuepy%2F1Y9o22ooTWotaMw'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=34c4ab1f8eb648b7f916a660e66b029c&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=34c4ab1f8eb648b7f916a660e66b029c&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=34c4ab1f8eb648b7f916a660e66b029c" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Vogue Model Sues Google Over Blog's Skankusations
 <img alt="" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/010509cohen.jpg" width="230" height="240" class="image-left" /> <a href="http://profiles.friendster.com/207920">Liskula Cohen</a>, a former Australian Vogue cover model who saw her modeling career end last year when a <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312008/news/regionalnews/bar_goons_smash_and_slash_past_122359.htm">doorman disfigured her face</a> with a broken bottle, is now <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/model_snared_in_ugly_web_147440.htm">taking Google to court</a> to find out who is trashing her on the blog <a href="http://skanksnyc.blogspot.com">Skanks in NYC</a>. The website, part of Google's Blogger subsidiary, is solely dedicated to maligning the Canadian model with photos and insults about her "horsey face" and the "desperation seeping from her soul, if she even has one" and how she's "a psychotic, lying, whoring, still going to clubs at her age, skank." Of course, few people had ever heard of Skanks in NYC before this week, when the tabloids caught wind of the lawsuit, so Cohen's strategy may have backfired a little. But she<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_model_liskula_cohen_sues_google_over_blo.html"> tells the Daily News</a> she just wants to find out who's behind it so she can know who her enemies are. She insists the blog, which awarded her "first place" for "Skankiest in NYC," is "petty, it's stupid and it's pathetic." Cohen also admits that "if I had to deal with everyone who is jealous, I wouldn't have time to do anything else." But apparently when an anonymous hater wonders, "How old is this skank? 40 something?," it's worth making time for legal action. Because Cohen is only 36, bitches. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:85a151a7ba26858a8c7baf55ba5887c2:pY4blDlrnvNDXqd5AE6d6LN%2BySQ7VAurOX6zSEPrQwYHpxcJqWwjablPFNEzQqxMgsbmRtQ57s24'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:280baf6ad10c724c8d7df7e28b39fba6:CchNyqTMd00qQiWw5c%2BPfdZ2CXxsmfd%2BDuq%2BwN%2Fw%2FqjuntNf16lR1irj9c1yp9E8nhL5J3UPjNBPJw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:350ee2fc33615dcaa75edf4c564d35ac:8p5UVcGtVou41o0FfaQGIelNqMVXvFstMrRWZWBjOO8KOp7TXjjqkZdVg4hSHOXy2zo6aoivkYtp8w%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:417fd1e590352a9bfcbe7c0942c58d25:3%2BcUzU7%2Fgr0FgI2DVuzdtgDf7aM3CQmMz73Oye89kEIZrt%2FmRuRb1kGL9WB%2FOP%2FVeqAdfybGD%2BDD'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=2df8500cb26a6ba4dfc3152d6c5a4c17&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=2df8500cb26a6ba4dfc3152d6c5a4c17&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=2df8500cb26a6ba4dfc3152d6c5a4c17" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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28-Page Questionnaire for Senate Wanna-Bes
 <img alt="2009_01_carokh.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_carokh.jpg" width="145" height="124" class="image-right" /> You know, if you want to be Senator, you've gotta, you know, answer up! Governor Paterson sent an extensive, 28-page questionnaire to at least least six contenders for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06disclosure.html?ref=nyregion">NY Times reports</a> it asks for "details about their finances, job history and any criminal record" and that "Representatives Steve Israel, Carolyn B. Maloney, Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Jerrold L. Nadler, as well as Thomas R. Suozzi," the Nassau County executive, received the packet, as did Caroline Kennedy. (We're assuming that Andrew Cuomo has already disclosed details as state Attorney General.) The <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/paterson_gets_personal_in_vetting_caroli_147435.htm">Post adds</a> that the questionnaire also asks about medical information and credit history! Paterson's spokeswoman said the information "would not be subject to Freedom of Information of laws because they contained private personal information." And Kennedy's spokesman repeated that she would submit to financial disclosures, though she's <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/23/kennedy_quiet_on_financial_disclosu.php">been tight-lipped so far</a>. <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e59e1c0329e67b201f2b0b2e77641be3:zCmwHAXngWIdbvhAooPqs%2FwLLa2WqqqzBjhd8ix229q18S4C8AxmAiKsQuJGXYtMcnKEVPvvSEcv'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:cabd88a0f80dcf7dfb9b65bd8b978783:nUcE9vuEcDfYpPqy7oAFaOreNo6f4RDrG%2BpKqO1XS2c%2FOlQiO2OHPIm%2Bta6XL9I2EbrqvsswqABhzg%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:752071a7b2b75b13690817daec4cf0e1:gqMgvRI%2FOcjCFNxmvEB6oiUcaZ062kUkdaeGl7gego91IcVEZNm9bN0WpGrmDJryNnxWILzCoh%2FO6A%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:89e63f9024a423e9040828118c3f7dd8:fw7IqCylbCggfSzS%2Fc2keh4vjfdsA%2FlELJjxk8b4qWfELN5Z3W8PK8WHfzmRfr2p4wfOEYiALHyP'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=22760c754e18382d55769236c17c32f9&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=22760c754e18382d55769236c17c32f9&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=22760c754e18382d55769236c17c32f9" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Back from Israel, Bloomberg Orders Blitz on Potholes
 <img alt="2009_01_bloompot.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/2009_01_bloompot.jpg" width="300" height="245" class="image-left" /> One day he's posing for photo-ops with <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/01/05/bloomberg_uses_rocket_scare_to_furt_1.php">Middle East war as his backdrop</a>, the next he's filling potholes for photographers in Sheepshead Bay—but according to Mayor Bloomberg, it's all part of the same gig: "That's the mayor's job, filling potholes and showing the flag and trying to support those that help us keep a safer world." Running for re-election happens to be another job requirement, and with a controversial third term within his grasp, we can expect to see Hizzoner doing more press highlighting kitchen table issues like these. Discussing yesterday's pothole photo op <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/01/06/2009-01-06_mayor_bloomberg_digging_for_votes.html">with the Daily News</a>, political consultant Hank Sheinkopf says, "You know it's election time." It's also wintertime, and, all pandering aside, the city is in the midst of a big "pothole blitz." <a href="http://nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fnyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2009a%2Fpr005-09.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1">According to the Mayor's office</a>, up to 40 DOT crews fanned out across the five boroughs in the last six weeks have filled 20,805 potholes citywide, with more than 80,000 potholes repaired in the last six months. You can report a pothole by calling 311, and the city also monitors holes through the SCOUT (<a href="http://gothamist.com/2007/08/18/law_order_stree.php">Street Conditions Observation Unit</a>) program, a group of inspectors who drive every city street once per month and report conditions. The term-hungry Mayor would also like you to know that paving funding was increased to more than $132 million last year, up from $97 million two years ago, and NYC leads the country in the use of recycled asphalt product (RAP), which diverted 174,000 tons of paving material from landfills last year. Now who's got a baby he can kiss? <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:8f376e2e0b1a4b55ac9d815146dfab99:GlhRsELnfC%2BgVnLKXSQo3WjzXPGcqfbMiB8JHiN2psYbvQ%2FNrv501lSZj1N26RnbZXCkqqR%2BtRCq'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:2ee174b4d34b08b9724240e95f4c8102:w05deKL%2Fk7BuPOJoI8HrkXL0aZXa7I30Pc7dR0femncGTUvUMuOHwEUjELbqYlYhTUndj8CkcM3VvQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:7638c00bc420f869ee84b6953f0a8518:sVgKojkfmbZ55bOdlBcZzs3tcfjF%2Bz%2FBGJfFOW%2BQzwRRe64X9QUwOtB0tnZm68sguV2983pC8%2BxqeQ%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:62897b3152936a42f9b3a522d5891d54:p%2FhOYugpV46bCCnoV%2FInGORCmaVo5GfNP%2FtaQ0Xm9667FI5KaihXBkK8Chl6XlVVutgeH1FrISdT'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=5adab2114b938f06a3d23587bb8e6008&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=5adab2114b938f06a3d23587bb8e6008&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=5adab2114b938f06a3d23587bb8e6008" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Emerald Inn, Upper West Side Dive, To Shine On After All
 <img alt="2008_09emerald.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/2008_09emerald.jpg" width="130" height="126" class="image-right" /> <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/09/30/66yearold_upper_west_side_pub_to_cl.php">Back in September</a>, 77-year-old Charlie Campbell learned that The Emerald Inn—the beloved Columbus Avenue dive bar that's been in his family since the '30s—was finally doomed when he saw the location advertised for lease on a website. At the time, the landlord was demanding more than double the $15,700 monthly rent. Fast-forward to 2009, and suddenly Campbell has been allowed to stay on because, as the property manager puts it, "of the kind of people the Campbells are." Oh, and also the economy. One Emerald regular speaks for all of us <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06emerald.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion">when she tells the Times</a>, "Columbus Avenue has been turning into a strip mall, with chain stores and restaurants. Maybe the recession will help the mom-and-pops stay in business." But has the meltdown come too late to save indispensable St. Mark's Place dive <a href="http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2009/01/holiday-cocktail-lounge.html">Holiday Cocktail Lounge</a>? <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:5152729706ba20443ad99b1b8cc5a7e6:z%2FFH6GIADni6C3GSq4%2FbM7H6bsGFdf%2FGgqhGNOX3RAoTjgBj00nD8fz5xkUxqqOAhuwjoyfgbZFM'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:18a84bbc9ba0c9cee8d1b8814ac59678:qPRfLMddBsTyDCvPm7zaLTcegRL%2Fzr4ItYutTgnUzMhl7UnT2nA%2BfLh3QrX1QYBurOJ3hSLhF8MQ4g%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:b5e0a2bde278c6217ca8f64615d5527d:VTTzbze6aR9I2BGfEtBOjiryuuAuxjE5rGpXZPMyjBvNnY96BNgki41Mw0Q2kv5CAMlUSVjRaiNFeA%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:c2d0cd85c092be3806d0d42152b906c5:IKwBa6oCYKNfimV3Bqv5GSbLX9ZdhHFuS8dlpGgx39eeGOp1qjfuDF8%2F0J5ytkmLh3J35BwFrJ8U'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=849de4890c9c01341496cf6df3a459a6&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=849de4890c9c01341496cf6df3a459a6&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=849de4890c9c01341496cf6df3a459a6" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
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Manhattan DA Accuses Crane Rigger of Being Cheap
 <img alt="2009_01_morgy2.jpg" src="http://gothamist.com/attachments/jen/2009_01_morgy2.jpg" width="260" height="306" class="image-right" /> Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/crane_boss_in_cheap_trouble_147431.htm">slammed the crane rigger</a> who was responsible for a crane at a Midtown construction site, calling his actions "shocking" and "outrageous." The <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/03/15/midtown_crane_c.php">crane collapsed on March 15</a>, killing seven people, and yesterday Morgenthau (pictured) announced that William Rapetti would be charged with manslaughter, as well as criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault. <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062009/news/regionalnews/crane_boss_in_cheap_trouble_147431.htm">According to the Post</a>, Morgenthau detailed how Rapetti used worn and damaged nylon slings—used to raise a 12,000 pound crane component—instead of new ones: "The construction manager had new slings available and offered them to Rapetti, but Rapetti rejected them... A sling costs $50, but Rapetti was willing to risk these lives by failing to use new slings." Additionally, Rapetti and his crew only used four slings—not the required eight—to raise the equipment. The Daily News <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_contractor_william_rapetti_indicted_in_d.html">explains what happened</a>:<blockquote>While a crane collar is being connected it is temporarily suspended with nylon slings attached to the mast and collar. Rapetti attached the four slings with a so-called choke knot, the weakest of three standard knots used in the operation, and tied them around sharp metal edges without protective padding, a violation of both city Building Code and federal law, the indictment said. When the damaged sling failed, the collar plummeted from the 19th floor, crashing into a collar around the mast at the 9th floor, cutting through it like butter, then hitting a collar on the third floor. The impact of 36,000 pounds of fast-falling steel severed the crane mast from the building. It toppled on the four-story townhouse on E. 50th St., smashing it and the Fubar tavern on the first floor to bits.</blockquote>Rapetti, whose company was also indicted, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/nyregion/06crane.html?ref=nyregion">pleaded not guilty</a>. His lawyer questioned the straps Morgenthau showed during the press conference, "For them to rely on one strap of dozens or maybe more than dozens that were at that scene, it remains to be seen how strong that evidence really is. Because Bill Rapetti would not look at a strap that was even slightly worn and put it on a crane.” <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:1f35826c6cee0e060ef0ef8fa25e25f1:M%2Bs57MNLMRX3X0vM2ytv%2FuHMIOsIwACJ0OPVsFIhIK8hGQRgdnLJifAVuxNjm9iWgU88x9TH%2FGcl'><img border='0' title='Add to digg' alt='Add to digg' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/digg.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:5549574b7f31b24cbb5f1ea9d63ce7f9:m63chQEPTdUH7FYhp8Y4ZcDlSsVb2lcXnHB6JH6ZxQ8i6BTXFw1oSJGbyyV4eRr6pI%2BXFyRDrCIJXA%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Email this Article' alt='Email this Article' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/emailthisHF.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:e2ccf5bc47fc685695941e425f683407:KtfBbD8i5yCanSPJJsCjLcF1yfLyWcO0Uk4OGEsSoC2jVhjyGBpsydSns%2BoIX%2BxrdaflTGkOpQvwMw%3D%3D'><img border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'/></a> <a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;' href='http://www.pheedo.com/hostedMorselClick.php?hfmm=v3:aefaad2ba15d1ac29cbf246ddbe7fa0f:gchJjIFJ%2Bb6uzlOZP3Iwb7Nxavi%2Btw9vDR9hSMUnXB8oNyqLr8GFhGRRO0L%2BU4ZWdzc2%2BrjqJ19d'><img border='0' title='Add to Google' alt='Add to Google' src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/google.png'/></a> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=6fd47a1f967fd407423483119e6fb0e6&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=6fd47a1f967fd407423483119e6fb0e6&p=1"/></a> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=6fd47a1f967fd407423483119e6fb0e6