As of yesterday, sideshow school was in session by the seashore. Lasting only one week, Sideshow 101 introduces the student to "Fire Eating, Snake Charming, The Human Blockhead, Sword Swallowing, Magic and More," according to the school's website. The Daily News checked in with some of the students, who ran away from their own lives to join the circus for the week -- some from as far away as Oklahoma City.They started by jamming nails......

The New York Aquarium is mourning the loss of Bertha (pictured), their 43-year-old sand tiger shark who has resided in its waters since 1965. While their average life spans aren't known, Bertha was believed to have been the longest living sand tiger shark in any aquarium. Though just announced today, Bertha actually died on Saturday when she was euthanized. Marine biologist at the Coney Island aquarium, Hans Walters, said “It was a rough decision to......

Last fall it was announced that consultants were being sought out for the restoration and reconstruction of the historic 1919 B&B; Carousell of Coney Island, which was bought at auction by The City of New York in 2005. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that yesterday the carousel was finally in the hands of experts as "fine art movers arrived at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) to delicately pack up Coney Island’s 89-year-old Bishoff & Brienstein Carousell.......

After nearly a year without roller-skating, the pastime returned to Coney Island with the opening of the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink yesterday. The star-studded event - Marissa Tomei, Ashanti, and of course Lola Staar (aka Dianna Carlin) were there - looked like a grand ole time. The portable roller-rink is located in the Childs Restaurant Building at 21st St. and the Boardwalk, where Carlin believes she can reach an agreement to use the building......

Photo by Bailey Photography The 34-year-old shop owner/activist (and part-time rollerskater), Dianna Carlin, has taken the first roll around the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink -- set to open in Coney Island tomorrow (ending a near year-long dry spell of rollerskating in the area). Mr. Coney tells us, "Roller skating has always been popular in Coney Island, dating back to the Sea Beach Palace Roller Rink of the 1890s. The Palace, located on Surf......

Photograph by Tien Mao Get ready to ride the Cyclone again - Astroland is opening up for the 2008 season this Sunday! There were worries, due to ambitious plans to redevelop Coney Island, that 2007 was Astroland's last season, but Astroland owners, the Albert family, and Thor Equities were able to come to an agreement last October. As for the future beyond 2008, Carol Albert told amNew York, "There are a lot of unknowns...It's......

brooklyn bridge traffic, by Idle Type at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: a crime scene/hanging at East 13th St. and Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, a child mauled by a dog in the area of 91-43 Gold Rd. in Queens, and a possible escaped prisoner on Wards Island across from Manhattan. Asbestos removal at the Carroll St. F and G line station appears to be a non-issue. Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn received a note......

Left cover by Gretel sent to subscribers, right runner-up cover by Wieden + Kennedy. New York’s Best of New York lifestyle catalog is out, and among the rightful winners, like Best Old School Lobby: The Chrysler Building and Best Dive Bar: Mars Bar, there are some curious ‘bests’ to ponder. In the New York Classics section, for instance, the sterile, six-month old Music Hall of Williamsburg is hailed for its “unequaled” sound and sightlines. This......

Andy Warhol once said, “My favorite smell is the first smell of spring in New York," and now someone has stepped in to capitalize on the scent (good thing he didn't say summer in New York). Along with the Gap now using Warhol's "hot dead celeb" status to sell khakis; Laurice Rahmé, creator of Bond No. 9, launches her latest neighborhood fragrance (in collaboration with The Warhol Foundation) this month: Andy Warhol Union Square. The......

by Marcus Woollen at flickr After the many questions about the unofficial Democratic primary results, the NYC Board of Elections has released the official results for the February 5 primary results, confirming a Clinton victory in the Big Apple. She won 55% of the vote with 527,941 votes, to Barack Obama's 43% (413,898 votes). A total of 955,966 votes were cast, meaning 34% of the city's registered Democrats voted. Since you might be curious......

Mini Butterfly, by j_bary at flickrToday on the Gothamis Newsmap: a bank robbery on 40th St. and 7th Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on Morris Ave. and East 190th St. in the Bronx, and a sinkhole on 68th St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan. The original and exisiting Coney Island boardwalk originated from wood chopped down from the Amazon rainforest. The new and improved CI boardwalk will be made of plastic, made from oil.......

Neil O'Fortune and Clams Casino co-produce and co-host the Smells Like Tease Spirit! a 90s Burlesque Tribute tonight at Galapagos Art Space. Clams Casino is a burlesque performer, producer and writer who you can find entertaining anywhere from the Coney Island boardwalk to The Slipper Room. Together her and partner Neil O'Fortune have created a bevy of Burlesque shows for New Yorkers, as well as some non-Burlesque fun like the monthly, live-on-stage game show, What's......

EVENT: The Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book Sale is going on all weekend, so now is the time to go searching for that first edition you've been wanting on your bookshelf. You'll also find out of print books, maps and much more! Friday through Sunday // P.S. 3 [490 Hudson St] // Three-day pass $12 ART: Monday's interviewee, James Top, shows off his work tonight at the opening of his first solo NYC show, titled......

Alwyn Court, by edEx at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: serious trauma at Attorney and Houston Sts. in Manhattan, a water rescue at 1st St. and Astoria Blvd. in Queens, and a gas leak on Kingsland Ave. in Brooklyn. The NYPD and FDNY collaborated yesterday to put divers in the dark and frigid waters off a jetty at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, in order to rescue a 14-year-old boy trapped in the rocks......

subway love, by presley at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a truck into scaffolding on West 39th St. and Broadway in Manhattan, a bank robbery at the HSBC branch on 33rd St. and Park Ave. in Manhattan, and a double shooting on East 57th St. and Ave. D in Brooklyn. The $8 million Jean-Michel Basquiat painting "Hannibal", which was smuggled out of Brazil, was located at a Manhattan warehouse on 61st St. and......

After a parents of a rejected student filed a class action lawsuit, the Department of Education asked a federal judge to overturn a 1974 ruling that set in place quotas to keep the school 40% minority and 60% white. The DOE wants the court to overturn the ruling immediately so the 2008-2009 will be quota-free. Last June, 11-year-old Nikita Rau was denied a place at Coney Island magnet school, Mark Twain School - IS 239.......

Get ready to groan: "I look forward to 'Phase Two' of the 'blinging up' of the Parachute Jump," said inveterate cornball Marty Markowitz during his recent State of the Borough speech. The 262-foot Coney Island landmark was retrofitted with a lighting system two years ago, but borough president Markowitz and others deemed the effect too subdued and “artsy.” Now the city is soliciting proposals from companies to create a flashier effect. $1.5 million has been......

Bless the Daily News for suggesting that Coney Island institution Nathan's Famous might become a "towering wiener wonderland with clubs, stores and hotel rooms," thanks for a provision in Coney Island development plans. We now dream of living in a building shaped like a hot dog, complete with relish-stucco exterior - and we'd hope our fellow tenants would be Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi and that there would be room service from Nathan's. Anyway, back......

The Daily News reports that two separate incidents of women being raped by strangers yesterday morning. One incident occurred around 7AM, when a NJ woman headed to a Spanish Harlem building where she works as a baby-sitter. The woman was "grabbed," "dragged" and raped in the elevator. Police are not sure if she was followed (she had taken the 6 train to 103rd Street). The other assault occurred on the N train which was waiting......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: smoke inhalation victims at Centre and White Sts. in Manhattan, a shooting on Neptune Ave. in Brooklyn, and a truck vs. overpass at 155th St. and South Rd. in Queens. Design firm EDAW was chosen to plan the Steeplechase Plaza for a now-vacant lot near the Coney Island boardwalk. The development beneath the Parachute Jump may include a water park and a platform for viewing Cyclones minor league baseball......

On this very day 105 years ago Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant meant to give rides and carry heavy items on Coney Island...all in the name of science! His science. He came to Coney to prove George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla's alternating current (AC) was dangerous, whereas his competing direct current was completely safe. In fact, Edison was the one who convinced New York to use the dangerous and deadly AC for their electric chair.Edison......

Many hearty souls joined the Welcome to Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the annual New Year's Day dip into the Atlantic. Lucky for us, some Gothamist readers were on the scene and have taken some great photographs. Here are a few. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club's Q&A; answers the question, "Are you folks nuts?" with:Not particularly. We're just a group of people from all walks of life who deeply enjoy the activity......

Their day in the sun ocean is just around the corner, but the Polar Bear Club of Coney Island may be in too deep with one donation they recently accepted. The Brooklyn Paper reports that in spite of the club "growling in the anti-Thor procession during the Mermaid Parade," the Polar Bears have "made peace" with Thor. Polar Bears president Lou Scarcella explained that when Thor took condos out of their plans for Coney Island......

An early morning argument Saturday left a 19-year-old dead and a building on Ocean Parkway besieged with heavily armed police searching for the killer. Allen Tahiraj was shot on Ocean Parkway around 3:30am Saturday morning as he congregated with friends. One friend said, "There was a little argument and one of the kids pulled a gun." The argument was overheard as being about "territory" and may have been drug related. Tahiraj was allegedly trying to......

Like the GWB and the Holland Tunnel, the Brooklyn Bridge will have LED lights installed next year, but how exactly do the bulbs get replaced? The NY Times says it only takes one man to screw in these bulbs. Okay, maybe he has some help. Ben Cipriano, the leader of a crew of electricians who maintain the four major East River Bridges for the city’s Department of Transportation, and his colleagues make about a dozen......

EVENT: Tonight Coney Island historian Charles Denson will be enlightening all about the "Genesis of the Coney Island History Project" at the American Folk Art Museum. He'll be discussing "the fascinating changes Coney Island has undergone" from its amusement park glory days to its struggle to survive. Expect to see some never-before-seen photos. More info here. 6:30pm // American Folk Art Museum [45 W 53rd St] // $10 MUSIC: We highly recommend getting over to......

This year, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club really heated things up in their online video which features two topless ladies (backs turned to camera)! Will you make the plunge this New Years Day? Register or make a donation (money goes to Camp Sunshine) at Freezin' for a Reason. If you do participate, be warned, the water is usually around 33° degrees when the annual dip is made -- though they say "no member has......

Yesterday's Knicks practice was cancelled so that the entire team could attend the funeral for Don Marbury, father of Knicks captain Stephon Marbury. Don Marbury died during the Knicks' Sunday night game. Despite being a team often criticized for lacking chemistry, they all stood together at the Coney Island Gospel Assembly on Neptune Ave. to support their point guard during his difficult time. Malik Rose spoke on behalf of the team to the 600-plus......

Don Marbury Sr, Stephon Marbury's dad, has passed away at age 69. He was in attendance at the Knicks game last night when he suffered chest pains and was rushed to St Vincent's. Stephon learned the news after the game and quickly left the Garden without comment. The team, which kept its locker room doors closed for 30 minutes after the game to allow Marbury to leave, refused to talk about why Steph stormed out......

Few have noticed, and perhaps less care, but there aren’t too many hot dog shacks or trucks left in the city. Despite the recent success of relatively fancy dogs topped with everything from kimchee puree to avocado mash, a few legendary hot dog outposts still exist in the far reaches of Brooklyn and Queens, tucked away on corners near scrap metal dealers and steel-frame towers of junked cars. These are the kinds of places where......