The Lost Beach, by vanshnookenraggen at fark Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Falling debris at East 11th St. and Ave. C in Manhattan, a propane truck explosion in the area of 172nd St. and Townsend Ave. in the Bronx, and a water rescue at 96th St. and the FDR Drive off Manhattan (brrr!). The Javits Center is only 21 years old, but it leaks like a sieve. So in addition to the expansion of......

The city is changing its policy to let homeless people in its shelters, a move that worries advocates. Starting Friday, anyone arriving at the Bronx intake shelter after 5PM who has had their living situations investigated (many people been investigated when they apply for long-term housing) and were deemed ineligible for housing will be questioned again and turned away if nothing has changed. The city views this as a way to close a loophole......

Time Out NY has a list of PETA's most wanted in the city. The organization has 25,000 of its 1.6 million members based right here, and while we wish they'd have a crack team of those members targeting folks like Brooklyn's Cruella DeVil, here are some of the big offenders. • The Ringling Brothers circus is back in town in March 2008 and PETA is again questioning the way the circus treats its animals. The......

James Williams, the drummer who was accompanying the break-dancing group Two Steps Away at the southeast corner of Central Park yesterday, denies that he deliberately spooked Smoothie, the carriage horse who apparently bolted at the loud noise of a snare drum and eventually died from shock after ramming into a tree. The drummer denied doing anything malicious and said that intentionally spooking a horse could have results more dire than even Friday's tragedy. The New......

ART: It's Dumbo First Thursday. The Gallery Walk will not only bring you to galleries, but also to artists' studios. "Gallery receptions, neighborhood dining and bars, and live music add to the evening’s festivities." Check out Space Invader's art while you're in the neighborhood. 5:30 to 8:30pm // Various Locations // Free EVENT: Hiroko & Steve Rodriguez (5boro Skateboards) invite you to the Grand Opening of Travessia (their gallery/boutique combo) tonight. There will be a......

Earlier this week, the Coalition for the Homeless released its State of the Homeless report. The report showed increases in the number of homeless in shelters (up 11.1%), number of homeless families in shelters (up 17.6%) and number of homeless children (up 18.1%). The Coalition said, "From the beginning we have supported Mayor Bloomberg’s goal of ending chronic homelessness as well as his emphasis on permanent housing over temporary shelter for homeless families. But......

Mayor Bloomberg went to Albany yesterday to complain about the new NY State budget for 2006 since Governor Pataki gave the ol' F-U to the city. However, something that the Mayor and the Governor can both be blamed for might very well be the state of the homeless situation in the city. The Coalition for the Homeless released their 2006 State of the Homeless Report which says homelessness has reached new highs since the 1980s:Throughout......