Photo by Raymond Haddad, at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Broadway and 231st St. in the Bronx, an aircraft alert at JFK at Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 57th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan. Entries for the NYC Half-Marathon will start being accepted at 11:59pm on May 29th. Details. And the Design Trust for Public Space is accepting submissions for its Grand Army......

As a counterpoint to the tale of the mugging in pre-gentrification Bushwick (or East Williamsburg) in New York magazine, we bring you this mugging story from gentrified Park Slope. From the Morgan L station to the popular Grand Army Plaza stop, a woman gave a first person account of being mugged on Sunday with Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. The woman says she had left the subway station around 10:30PM at night. While she......

Now that you've torn through your presents and are making room for new gifts and purchases -- why not give a little back? Green Brooklyn reminds us that we have until December 31st to make tax-deductible donations (to claim on 2007 income taxes). They were particularly moved by the amount of work Habitat for Humanity has been doing for Brooklyn, they just completed their 9th home in the area -- all "constructed using state-of-the-art, eco-friendly......

Last year we "oohed" and "ahhed" at Prospect Park in Lights, and as of last night -- the seasonal luminescence is back. And this year, even the pink lights are "green":Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg tonight flipped the switch on a holiday lighting installation at Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park. LEDs, energy-efficient and long-lasting lights that are environmentally friendly, are being used to illuminate the Bailey Fountain and a tree underneath the Sailors and......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a scaffolding collapse on 5th Ave. and 115th St. in Manhattan, a stabbing on Franklin Ave. in Queens, and a homicide at 83rd St. and 4th Ave. in Brooklyn. The new Kaleidoscope Light Show is now on display at Grand Central Terminal's main hall. The Toshiba company returns to Times Square after being absent for several decades. The company signed a 10-year lease to capture the top sign spot......

...and a thousand Photoshop files were launched! Diane Sawyer may be a veteran journalist and may seem totally unflappable, but even she has totally embarrassing moments. This morning, during a segment unveiling Good Morning America's new holiday windows from the New York Botanical Gardens, she called Mayor Bloomberg a "munchkin." Really: “As a little munchkin, did you come to New York?” To be fair, she was asking Bloomberg whether he visited New York during......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a construction accident on 23rd Ave. in Queens, a child was struck on West Houston and Thompson St. in Manhattan, and shots fired on 29th St. in Brooklyn. Going along with a network-wide environmentally conscious theme at NBC this season, the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center will be decorated with low power-consuming LEDs. The flat rate for a single subway fare will remain $2 until 2009. The fares will......

Like many, whenever we traverse any streets along Grand Army Plaza, we basically run (or bike) for our lives. So we were relieved when we read the Department of Transportation's announcement that construction has begun on the $400,000 project to remake the oval plaza constructed in 1870 by Olmsted and Vaux. It was originally called Prospect Park Plaza, but it was renamed in 1926 to pay homage to the Union Army, according to the......

The Plaza, you know that place where the kids in Gossip Girl hang out, is turning 100 years old today. The date is marked by the first guest to ever check in to the famed establishment. Who was it? The fancy-named Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, and of course a PR-driven hotel manager was behind that. The NY Times reports that "His arrival was orchestrated by the Plaza’s first manager, who wanted the new hotel to open......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: falling debris on W 47th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, a shooting on Broadway on Staten Island, and a suspicious boat at the Verrazano Bridge near Brooklyn. For a reason unrelated to terrorism, the U.S. Parks Dept. is going to keep the crown of the Statue of Liberty closed because it's a fire death-trap. Iranian President Mahmoud Amahdinejad's wish to visit Ground Zero was blocked due to security......

One of the city's biggest parades of the year, if not the largest, is tomorrow: The annual West Indian American Day Carnival. With millions in attendance and colorful sights, the parade is a Brooklyn highlight. The parade begins at 11AM and ends at 6PM. The parade route starts at Rochester & Eastern Parkway and ends near Grand Army Plaza, and there are live performance outside the Brooklyn Library. Here are tips from the West......

September 3: West Indian–American Day Carnival Some may go for the dancing and general festivities, but some of us will be headed to this celebration for the food. The Eastern Parkway service roads will be lined with stands selling dishes from throughout the Caribbean, including jerk chicken, oxtail, fried flying fish, curry goat, roti, callaloo, and more. 8am–6pm, Eastern Pkwy between Utica Ave and Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn. For more info or directions, visit wiadca.org.......

Two years ago, we wondered if there was a big list of all the fountains in New York City. We haven't made that much progress with the list, but at least now we have a list of the "display fountains" the Parks Department maintains. And it's interesting - Brooklyn only has three while Staten Island has eight. Of course, there are many fountains outside of the Parks Department's jurisdiction (for instance, the fountain outside......

Police say a 15-year-old rape victim helped them track down the suspect in five city park rapes. Alvin Henry, who was part of Trinidad and Tobago's 2000 Olympic track team, was arrested Sunday night in connection with a series of rapes spanning four years. The 33-year-old suspect allegedly asked a 15-year-old victim is she wanted to see him again. The Post had details of the criminal complaint: "Henry secretly watched the 15-year-old girl having sex......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 101st Ave. in Queens, a boat in distress at the Gateway Marina off Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, and an "unusual occurrence" on Wall St. in Manhattan. Brownstoner notes the arduous bureaucratic effort to get DUMBO landmarked, and developers' rush to build before that can happen. The NYPD is initiating TOMS––Total Order Maintenance Sweeps––aboard Metro-North and LIRR trains to deter terrorists commuting from the suburbs, after......

Anyone who has attempted to walk or bike from one side of Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza to another knows that it can be a difficult journey, through which a constantly swiveling head is required to keep an eye on traffic coming from seemingly every direction. The above overhead image shows just a portion of the plaza where five different roads converge in an inner traffic loop, including Eastern Parkway and Prospect Park West, and......

90-floor hotel at the Javits Center? That'll be great for the West Side Stadium - oh, wait Huh: Kean University hires former NJ Governor James McGreevey to teach ethics, law and leadership - we sort of understand it because they're just paying him $17,500, but STILL He's ready: Suspected sexual attacker Peter Braunstein was found mentally fit to stand trial Former Montessori school headmistress Lina Sinha's 14 year sentence for seducing a student is......

On the hunt for a lunch/brunch spot whose griddle cook we don’t know by name, Gothamist headed to the newish Cheryl’s Global Soul, a cozy little eatery from Food Network personality Cheryl Smith (of Soul Kitchen). The restaurant’s comfort is encapsulated by Smith herself whose long plaits and almost cherubic grin made us forgive the spotty climate control (Cheryl’s vacillates from bitter cold to dry heat). In fact, her warmth nearly had us forget that......

- This week in Momofuku hype, a short love note as expressed via a T-shirt and a litany of chefs cite the joint as their go-to spots. - With the ongoing hubbub of how unacceptable the wait is at DiFara’s in Midwood, it’s good to have a fallback, or at least a stopback, for our hunger out in the same neighborhood. All relevant details in this preview article from the next edition of the excellent......

2007 is just around the corner, and we've got a little tip sheet on where to be when the clock strikes midnight. MUSIC + PARTY • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will help ring in the new year with their guests the Bob Mould Band and Final Fantasy at Hammerstein Ballroom. Our friends at Stereogum are sponsoring the show, and tickets are still available here. Clap's second album, Some Loud Thunder, comes out in January,......

December 7: Alex Prud’homme at O&CO.; Join Alex Prud’homme, Julia Child's grandnephew, as he recounts stories about Julia and reads from her memoir, My Life in France, which he co-authored. He will also be available to sign books, which might make a great present for someone on your holiday shopping list. O&CO.; store, Grand Central Terminal, Graybar Passage--Lexington Ave & 42nd St. (212-973-1472), 6:00 pm, Free. December 8 - 17: Gingerbread Homes for Animals Pastry......

Today, the NY Post takes advantage of the built-in outrage of taxi fares by looking at how the new fares stack up. The fare increase, which went into effect yesterday, doubles the amount charged for waiting time from 20 cents per minute to 40 cents. So the Post made a couple trips:[A] ride from Penn Station to the Metropolitan Museum of Art came to $18.50. The 5-mile, 29-minute midday trip would have cost $3 less......

We've been admiring some gorgeous pictures of last night's start of the Prospect Park in Lights installation on Gothamist Contribute. We love this photograph by Atomische, showing ocean waters created out of lights. According to Prospect Park, "more than half a million light emitting diodes (LEDs) will be used to illuminate four gateways to the Park: Grand Army Plaza, which encompasses the historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch and the Bailey Fountain; Bartel-Pritchard Circle;......

There are special, electrical treats tonight. In Brooklyn, Prospect Park in Lights will be illuminated, with a special ceremony at Grand Army Plaza at 6PM. If you can't make it there in time, take comfort in knowing that four of the park's entrances will be lit up through January 7. And as mentioned just now,the Lincoln Center Holiday Tree will be lit, with help from Mickey and Minnie Mouse (thank you, ABC/Disney, which has offices......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a car driving south on the northbound West Side Highway, a school bus accident on the Williamsburg Bridge, and an "escaped prisoner" in Queens. Hypocrites! Streetsblog spotted two NYC traffic cops double-parked for an entire lunch break. The average price of a condo in Dumbo is $1,116,541. Perfectly reasonable! Here's a stack of pretty NYC night pictures Dirty, but accurate: Grand Army Plaza from the air. [Via Curbed.] What......

+ Today on the Gothamist newsmap: at 2:24pm, there was an MCI (major casualty incident) caused by a STAMPEDE at a Queens school. + Happy 75th Birthday, George Washington Bridge! + Seems like the New York Times could use a refresher course in the use of Lexis-Nexis. Of course, sounds like Senator Leiberman needs a refresher course on the dangers of a land-war in Asia! + Williamsburg is officially dead. Turn out the lights......

It looks like a gorgeous day for the West Indian Day Carnival's parade today. The Brooklyn parade is apparently the city's largest parade, with 2 million spectators, but what's especially awesome about it is that the spectators really feel like they are part of the parade. The parade starts at Eastern Parkway and Utica, and then goes west on Eastern Parkway to Grand Army Plaza, so expect lots of street closures and celebrating! And......

FASHION: This is an early one, fashionistas. The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting a round table discussion today on Fashion and Beauty trends. Come. Learn. Be pretty. 3:30pm // Central Library at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn // Free ART: Graffiti artist Joe Joe Webb will unveil his newest collection of urban art at $treet Credit. Each image serves as a symbol for urban culture and materialism, with rare collector sneakers, money clips and brass knuckles......

With the mercury rising to high for the city's liking, Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference at the Office of Emergency Operations in Brooklyn to emphasize what the city is doing during the heat wave. We suspect he's trying to be extra visible and genially authoritative (check out the plaid shirt!) in order to salvage public opinion after the Queens blackout, but his words are important:“The heat wave affects New Yorkers in all five boroughs,......

The last few weeks, there has been an abundance of Blueberries in the market. Firm and bursting with sweet, acidic flavor, they have great uses all throughout the day.The most important aspect to buying is trying. Make sure that you sneak a berry out of the container you intend to purchase; this will hopefully ensure that you will not end up with flat tasting little blue fruits. As far as application, try them some of......