The Bronx DA's office says an 83-year-old engineer lied about using steel in a building that caught fire and collapsed and left two firefighters dead in 2006. Jose Vargas, who pleaded not guilty, was arraigned in court yesterday. The three-alarm fire broke out at a 99-cent store on Walton Avenue on August 27, 2006; the building's roof and first floor collapsed, killing Lieutenant Howard Carpluk Jr. and firefighter Michael Reilly. Vargas, who signed inspection papers......

With the writers' strike looking like it'll wrap up this week, Crain's points us towards another problem for New York's entertainment industry. Seems our neighbor Connecticut has started to offer up a deal no self-respecting Hollywood suit can refuse -- a 30% tax rebate on all production costs. The incentive program started in 2006 and in 2007 alone we've lost approximately $400 million in production revenue to the Constitution State. The problem has spread to......

Earlier this week, the Post reported that "high-profile" Bronx Republican Fred Brown, who is a GOP district leader in the Bronx and votes there, actually lives in Battery Park City in lower Manhattan. Which means he's been voting in the Bronx illegally. Now, the Bronx's DA's office is investigating the matter. Brown, who is also chairman of the National Black Republican Council and would have been a delegate for Rudy Giuliani if had stayed in......

ART: The Bronx Museum of Art is getting on board the First Friday bandwagon. They'll be opening their doors every first Friday of the month for free, and add a little something extra each time. Tonight their theme is “Say it Loud! I’m Black & I’m Proud” in celebration of Black History Month. There will be a tribute to the late James Brown, and a showcase of independent artists paying tribute to black music. Friday......

Looks like someone took that pirate trend a little too far. The NY Times is reporting on Brian Markey and Owen Cahillane, who are sailing the high seas in their floating abode. Okay, no sailing is involved, but the two roommates, recently transplanted from New Orleans and channeling the spirit of Davy Crockett, live day in and day out on a houseboat in the Bronx. Their floating 250 square feet of space is on Westchester......

The Bronx Zoo is decked out for the holiday season through January 6th. Every animal under the sun has been recreated in twinkly lights, so bundle up and check out the sparkling safari. Giraffes and rhinos and peacocks, oh my! On top of all that, there are even real reindeer! They stay up late, so you can visit them after enjoying some of the zoo's nightly events. Photos via WallyG's Flickr.......

It was a violent night in the Longwood section of The Bronx this morning, where a triple shooting left two people injured and killed one. Police say that all three victims were shot while inside vehicles. One victim, who was shot in the arm, actually walked into the 40th precinct to report the shootings. The 28-year-old victim who was shot in the arm and head was taken to Lincoln Hospital and is in critical condition.......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 166th St. and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Berry St. and Division Ave. in Brooklyn, and a found body on Richmond Valley and Arthur Kill on Staten Island. Still searching for the Staten Island ninja burglar, police questioned New York Post photographer Ron Romano because of his ninja-like ability to tightrope walk. A huge hole in the middle of Brooklyn's Pacific......

'Tis the season to be aware of fire safety during the holidays. Christmas lights caused a fire that left 26 people injured last night. The fire started around 6:20PM in an 8th floor apartment of a Bronxdale building. A woman who lived in the apartment told the Daily News, "My daughter said there's a fire in her room from the Christmas decorations. I called 911, grabbed the kids and ran out." Twenty-five irefighters and civilians......

The pedestrian, bicyclist and sensible transportation advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has just launched a new website, Crash Maps: CrashStat 2.0, which maps intersections and streets where pedestrians and bicyclists have been hit by vehicles. It's an updated version of their previous map, and when the information is presented different depending on how closely you zoom into the map. For instance, at one level, it shows crashes (those with injuries as well as the fatal......

MOVIE: BAM pays homage to the late Barbara Stanwyck tonight with a screening of Forbidden. The 1932 Frank Capra-directed film (which tells the tale of a librarian who has fallen for an unobtainable/married man) was supposedly influenced by his real-life affair with the leading lady. Critic and historian Elliott Stein will discuss the film after the 6:50 screening. 4:30, 6:50 and 915pm // BAM Rose Cinemas [30 Lafayette Ave., Fort Greene] // $11 Meanwhile, the......

Well, it didn't take long for Joe Torre to find a new job (not that it should have). He's trading The Bronx for Chavez Ravine and "fans" like Rudy Giuliani for Posh Spice. The Post is reporting that the former Yankees manager has agreed in principle to a three-year $14.5 million deal (hopefully there are no performance incentives) to be the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He would be replacing Grady Little, who......

Yay! It's that time of year when the Straphangers Campaign announces the winner of the annual Pokey Award for the slowest city bus service. And this year, there's a new award: The Schleppie, for least reliable service. The 2007 Pokey Award goes to the M23: "The M23 had the slowest bus speed at 4.0 miles per hour as clocked at 12 noon on a weekday. This is not much faster than the 3.0 mph maintained......

A city employee moonlighting as a bouncer at The Bronx Cocktail was killed by a man angry that it was past last call. Raymond Barnett, 38, was killed when the man fired a gun into the bar around 5AM yesterday. Barnett worked for the city's Department of Design and Construction as the head of fleet management, but had taken the job at the bar to help out with bills. He had been closing up when......

The Bronx DA's office is investigating Ralph Reyes, a Bronx man who was singled out by the New York Post last week as the center of New York City's dogfighting world. The Post was acting on information provided by the Humane Society of the United States, which has an Animal Fighting Task Force that investigated Reyes and dogfighting in the city, but abandoned its project when it was unable to get much cooperation from local......

Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city was prepared for the possible two-day taxi strike that some taxi driver groups have threatened for tomorrow morning, starting at 5AM. About 7,000 of the city's 44,000 taxi drivers (there are about 13,000 cabs in total) have reportedly promised to strike over new technology that the Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to install in all cabs. Some drivers' issues with the technology, which includes GPS tracking systems and......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An overturned vehicle on the Triborough Bridge, which can't be good for all those getting away for the weekend; an escaped prisoner in The Bronx; and multiple pedestrians were struck Dyckman Street & Broadway. Early this morning in Bed-Stuy, a police officer sitting in a marked vehicle was shot in the arm. The officer was treated and released from Kings County Hospital but the NYPD is still searching for......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Is there a bank robber hitting up multiple banks on the Upper West Side? There were robberies at 2438 Broadway and 59 West 86th St; there were also two separate police vehicle MVAs in The Bronx and Brooklyn; and a fatality under a train in Jackson Heights (it says A, but we'll assume it's the E). If any Wall Street types you know were depressed yesterday after the Dow......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a home invasion robbery on Lincoln Ave. in Brooklyn, a hostage situation on Duane Ct. on Staten Island, and a sexual assault on West 153rd St. and Macombs Pl. in Manhattan. "Live Free or Die Hard" director Len Wiseman is slated to direct a remake of "Escape From New York," with Gerard Butler ("300") assuming the role of Snake Plissken, who was originally played by Kurt Russell. The Bronx......

The same day that Don Imus settled his breach of contract lawsuit with CBS, he was slapped with a lawsuit by a member of the Rutgers women's basketball team. Initial reports yesterday put Don Imus' settlement figures with CBS as high as $20 million, but reports today say that figure is actually much lower. In addition to the settlement, The Post says the two sides agreed to a "non-disparaging" clause, forbidding the sides from criticizing......

A report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the minority population has changed significantly in the past seven years. While the overall population of the city has increased about 200,000 between 2000 and 2006, the African-American population is actually on the decline. The city's black population dropped more than 40,000 during the period while the Hispanic and Asian population both increased more than 90,000 during the same period. According to The......

The Video Vultures Circle It seems when tragedy writ large strikes, local news crews are dispatched to the scene no matter where it is. This week’s bridge collapse in Minnesota was no different with, as of last night, WCBS, WNYW, and WABC shipping reporters off to cover the death and destruction live. It seems more like vultures flocking to the carcass instead of legitimate coverage. Sending local reporters off just seems a bit much and......

What do kids like more than Harry Potter? Alex Rodriguez, of course. Okay, maybe not, but there was a block-long line Friday for the a signing of A-Rod's new children's book, Out of the Ballpark. The AP reports that the book features "a green-eyed youngster named Alex lets a grounder get between his legs at second base and loses a popup in playoff games attended by friends and family." Sounds a little like a certain......

Thirty years ago tonight, New York City lost electricity when a Con Ed substation was hit by lightning strikes and a "cascading effect" caused the system to shut down around 9PM. And NYC, as well as parts of Westchester County, were powerless for over a day in the sweltering heart of the summer. Subways were stuck, mobs set fires and stores were looted. It was also the summer that other dramas gripped the city......

If you're itching for some baseball during this season's All-Star break, and hate the Yankees too much to endure a rebroadcast of last night's premiere of The Bronx is Burning, The New York Sun recommends an HBO documentary on the Brooklyn Dodgers that will premiere tomorrow night. "Brooklyn Dodgers: The Ghosts of Flatbush" chronicles a decade of seasons (plus one) for the team and the borough it belonged to, from 1947 to 1957. The......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: American Body Shop (Sunday, 10:00 p.m., Comedy Central) A spoof of the fakeality vehicle tweaking genre with former NYC Transit cop John DiResta as part of the ensemble cast. World Series of Pop Culture (Monday, 9:00 p.m. VH1) NY1's Pat Kieran hosts this trivia battle royal show starting its second season. The Bronx is Burning (Monday, 10:00 p.m., ESPN) The first part of an eight part miniseries......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a construction accident on West 29th St. and 6th Ave. in Manhattan, a bank robbery on Atlantic St. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on Holland Ave. in the Bronx. The awards aren't for another two and a half weeks, but an informal poll has produced a shortlist of possible Emmy award-winning shows. A New Yorker who is heir to the Romanian castle of Vlad the Impaler, i.e. Count Dracula,......

If you think 911 is a joke, things may improve by 2009 if everything goes as planned. The Bloomberg Administration has unveiled a $1.5 billion plan to improve the emergency call system with a backup center and consolidation of 911 operators and dispatchers in two call centers. The city has previously attempted to overhaul the 911 system but delays and budget problems scuttled the plans. The current system has had its problems, shutting down four......

Phillies 5, Mets 3: Mike Pelfrey's appearance as a last-minute replacement for Oliver Perez didn't come out as planned, costing the Mets their sweep of the rival Phillies. Carlos Delgado continued his revival by hitting another home run. On the negative side, Aaron Heilman allowed two runs in another shaky relief outing. The Mets lead the Phillies by five and the Braves by four in the National League East. A's 11, Yankees 5: Scott Proctor's......

This is a crazy story. Two Harlem teens were detained as truants because two cops didn't believe that they were going to their private school on the Upper West Side. The Post reports that Latrice Jenkins and a classmate were taken to a truancy center in Riverdale because cops thought they should be going to Alfred Smith High School, a public school in the Bronx. And what's worse, the kids were on their way to......