Photograph of model Carolyn Murphy, Estee Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder, model Hilary Rhoda, hidden, actress Elizabeth Hurley, and Estee Lauder president Thia Breen at the New York Stock Exchange by Henny Ray Abrams/AP Even though spokesmodels for Estee Lauder, including Elizabeth Hurley, prettied up the New York Stock Exchange by ringing today's opening bell, the mood has been dark as "frightened money is jumping all over the place." Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tried......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap:a large crowd at 165th St. and Jamaica Ave. in Queens, a robbery on Fox Ave. on the Bronx, and a serious multi-vehicle accident in Manhattan at 36th St. Space for a supermarket at the new Booklyn Bridge Park/Condo development is an inviolable piece of public property. Was the Trump Soho's concrete not dry enough when the forms were taken away, causing the collapse? New York Stock Exchange is buying......

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 300 points by mid-day as worldwide financial markets worry about the U.S. credit market. The Dow Jones, as well as the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq, have lost 10% since July, and a strategist at Absolute Strategy Research tells the Times, "The psychology is shifting notably today. When a market drops by 10 percent, people start to feel it in their portfolios. People are used to......

There's a thought-provoking essay in the Observer suggesting it's time to take down the huge American flag in the heart of the terminal. The flag was placed in Grand Central soon after September 11, 2001, and MTA Metro-North spokeswoman says the flag's "nearly four stories tall" size is "basically unprecedented." (There is also a smaller, standard sized flag in the hall.) John Lumea explains how icons work in public spaces and how public spaces......

BASEBALL: We're in the midst of Baseball Fever Week at The Museum of the City of New York. Their doors are open all week, whether you're a Mets or Yankees fan. Have a drink and check out their Glory Days exhibit, chronicling the good 'ol days of baseball in New York City. The glory days, FYI, were 1947-1957. 5 to 9pm // Museum of the City of New York [1220 5th Ave at 103rd......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An escaped prisoner from Elmhurst Hospital, an unusual crime on 42nd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, and a water rescue at Coney Island Is John Liu a born-again preservationist? Tiffany & Company and company opened its first store on Lower Broadway in 1837 before moving uptown to its present location. 170 years later, the company is reversing direction and will open a Tiffany & Co. store......

Yesterday, the police arrested 44 protesters who laid down in front of the New York Stock Exchange, and our videographer Kelly Loudenberg was on the scene. Over 100 people had gathered to block entrances - and draw attention to the companies that are making millions and billions off the war - but no trade was disturbed. The War Resisters League told the AP that only five protesters remained in custody yesterday evening; they will......

Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 416 points (a significant 3.3% drop) after a plunge in Shanghai's stock market. Well, now the Asian stock markets have fallen again, because investors are worried about the American economy! The NY Times reports that share prices rebounded in China, rising "nearly 4 percent today after state-controlled media reported that the government might allow greater foreign investment in Chinese stocks and would not impose capital gains taxes on......

A better Wall Street story than those crazy big bonuses brokers are getting: The grandson of late Giants owners Wellington Mara got into a fight with another broker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. What caused the fight? The other broker's joking words about how crappy the Giants are! The Post had the details from the broker, Bob Tomasulo, who Stephen Mara "choked and tackled", as well as otherwitnesses. Apparently Eagles......

Occasionally, Gothamist gets great email from our readers. And there are all the rest-- which mainly fall into the "self-promotion" or "disturbing" categories. Here's one: Hi Jen-- I don't know how any work got done at the New York Stock Exchange today, seeing as how everyone seemed to be hanging out the window staring at my portrait of Richard Grasso. Here's a release and I've attached two photos. RICHARD GRASSO RETURNS TO WALL STREET......

Over 200 years ago people gathered under a tree near one end of Wall Street and traded securities. From those quaint beginnings, the New York Stock Exchange rose to become the most prominent exchange in the world and now you can own a piece of it. For years that privilege was only available if you had some serious coin and one of the 1,366 seat holders was willing to sell. Now, for about $72 plus......

Even successful businessman are stupid! Edward Reiss, member of the New York Stock Exchange, was "busted" for leaving a message threatening to kill another NYSE member. And in the brilliant move, Reiss left the message on his "victim"'s lawyer's voice mail. The Daily News reports that he allegedly left a message saying, "[William Higgins] better be careful when he starts his car" (Reiss and Higgins were fighting over the NYSE's merger with an electronic trading......

Kudos to New York magazine for turning former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, currently laughingstock after being a September 11 "hero," into a crying, blubbering mess in their exclusive interview as he recounts the unraveling of his nomination as the head of Homeland Security. Gothamist was struck by how weepy Kerik was, like he was watching Brian's Song...Oprah producers are probably all over him to appear again, this big tough cop reduced to tear. The NY......

Gothamist is giddy over finding the New York Architecture Game, because with all this talk of rich dudes trying to make their mark on the city gives us serious urban development envy. Conceived by the world-renowned game designer Thomas Fackler, The New York Architecture Game challenges players as it explores the architectural feats that went into constructing 24 New York City landmarks, including the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum, the New York Stock Exchange,......

I was just hired full-time at a small but rapidly growing media company, and guess what? We don't have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off! I'm kind of ticked at this, not just because I want a 3 day weekend, but I don't like how it's treated as a 2nd-tier holiday. Do most people have to work on Monday? How are you commemorating the holiday? City schools, post offices, the public libraries, the New York......

Besides taking a $139 million payout and Business > Grasso Countersues Stock Exchange for $50 Million" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/20/business/20CND-NYSE.html?hp">suing the New York Stock Exchange for $50 million, former NYSE chairman Dick Grasso is also good at looking like iconic TV characters. In this instance, Gothamist was struck by the eerie resemblance between Grasso and everyone's favorite insane millionaire boss, Monty Burns. Previously, Gothamist noticed his similarity to the Brain of Pinky and the Brain. Now all Grasso......

Amtrak, after taking the blame for the crash that injured over a hundred people at Penn Station, says that it was engineer error that caused an Amtrak train to rear-end a LIRR train. Some speculate that the engineer, who has been placed on upaid leave, was distracted and applied the brakes too late when coasting into one of the station's platforms. Gothamist has always wondered about gauging when to apply the brakes to trains, namely......

These photographs of Mayor Bloomberg are from a week and a half ago, but they are timeless in Gothamist's book. There's the logo's funny triangle above his head (like a weird hat) while he closes the New York Stock Exchange. And then he's with young carolers, making us hum "Which one of these things is not like the other? Which one of these things is not the same?" Of all the initiatives Mayor Bloomberg......

New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso, after weeks of controversy, resigned yesterday over his $139.5 million payout last year. Grasso, who worked his way from a lowly position to the chairmanship over 36 years, was generally considered an excellent manager. He also brought the tradition of celebrities ringing the opening bell to the trading floor, which injected "glamor" into the gritty trading floor. Though he was a public face of capitalism and was......