Remember how a few years ago a 19-year-old girl climbed down onto the subway tracks to get her phone and got killed by an oncoming V train? It seems the lesson still hasn’t been learned and commuters are still risking their lives to retrieve dropped objects: Tourist Bijan Rezvani recently explained his reasons for venturing down there to collect his precious iPhone. It's the first time I've had a cool phone that does anything and......

There's been a lot of ink, virtual and otherwise, already spilled on Governors Island. But today, NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff proclaimed that the new site "could well become the most inspired public park built here in generations." He also said the plan is "humble in scale but big on ambition." But didn't he say last spring that the designs lacked ambition? Hmm. We have to give him this: Of the five proposals,......

The NY Times is reporting that the Nets won't be playing in Brooklyn for the 2009-2010 season because the arena won't be finished until 2010. The Times attributes the delay to legal challenges. The most publicized lawsuit is the federal case brought by 13 property owners and tenants. The suit alleges that the taking of their property via eminent domain was unconstitutional. In June, a US District Court judge dismissed the case, finding that......

Rafael Cruz, whose beating on an A train at the hands - and feet - of a group of teenag girls was captured on video, will press charges with the police. Sources tell the Daily News that Cruz "filed a formal complaint with the NYPD Transit Bureau" last night. As some people wondered if the video was fake, one man, Kevin Belvin, recognized his daughter Kierra Brown as one of the girls seen in the......

Architect Robert Scarano, who has been charged with violating city building standards at 32 properties, has an ally at the Department of Buildings. The Daily News is reporting that Patricia Lancaster, the department's commissioner, hid Scarano's mistakes, signing a stipulation in which she promised not to report Scarano to any regulatory agency that could revoke his license. The News article is part of its I-Team Special Investigation unit. Reporter Brian Kates explains that Lancaster promised......

After months and months of delays, the BAM Cultural District may be moving forward. The NY Times is reporting that city officials have chosen Harlem-based developer and Brooklyn resident Carlton Brown to create what the Times' Terry Pristin calls the "cultural district's centerpiece." This is the first Brooklyn project for Brown, who developed the Kalahari and 1400 on Fifth in Harlem and the Solaire, the city's first residential green building, in Battery Park City. The......

It's been a busy month for NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. After tackling Jean Nouvel's skyscraper, Renzo Piano's Times building and the West Side Rail Yards designs, today he turns to the feverishly celebrated New Museum, previewed yesterday by Gothamist. Designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of Japan-based SANAA, the highly refined seven-story, 174-foot building succeeds, says Ouroussoff, on a "spectacular range of levels: as a hypnotic urban object, as a subtle......

Nicolai Ouroussoff, the architecture critic for the NY Times, enjoys working in his employer's new headquarters, he writes today, but the building designed by Renzo Piano falls short of the best skyscrapers in the city. For one, it allegedly harbors a streak of nostalgia, which in the world of architectural discourse amounts to an aesthetic identity crisis. The nostalgia in question is a longing not for neo-Gothic frills and cornices, but for the 1950s era......

It's good to see that not all New Yorkers are out to run wheelchair riders off the road. The Taxi and Limousine Commission voted this week to create a new special service that will allow wheelchair users to order cabs by calling 311. While some advocacy groups oppose the new program, arguing instead that all taxis should be handicap accessible (like they are in cities like London), others are lauding the move. The service will......

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy is selling his 11,000 square-foot condo at 176 Perry St. for $40 million. It's the highest asking price ever for a downtown residence. Joy bought the triplex, located in one of three Richard Meier buildings in the West Village, five years ago. He paid $17.57 million for it, but never moved in. He also has a home in Aspen. We know it's not......

Another over-the-top Coney Island development proposal is in the works. Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a plan today to build the nation's biggest urban amusement park there, including 4,500 residential units (20 percent are set-asides for low- and middle-income housing) and some retail establishments. The proposal basically spells doom for Thor Equities' $1.5 million Vegas-style entertainment complex that can only get built if the city provides zoning for it. Don't worry, the Cyclone isn't going anywhere.......

What is it about Frank Gehry? When The Boston Globe reported this week that the architect (and a construction firm) is being sued by MIT, news organizations from Kansas City to Dublin reported the story. Does Gehry have a building in KC, too? Apparently, not, but he raised controversy there over an arena bid. Sound familiar?! The university filed a negligence and breach of contract suit, alleging design flaws in the $300 million Stata Center......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg met with Joseph Zadroga, whose son James was a NYPD detective and worked hours of rescue and recovery after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. James Zadroga's death has been controversial, as the NYC medical examiner's office ruled that his death was not due to exposure to toxic WTC dust but prescription drug abuse, findings that contradicted the expert opinion of two other doctors. Bloomberg entered the fray when he said that......

Kudos to The Real Deal for coaxing DUMBO-based designer Robert Scarano out of the shadows. One of the city's most reviled architects, Scarano has been scrutinized by Department of Buildings for his safety and zoning violations. Following a summer outcry, the agency issued stop-work orders on some Scarano sites. He's even being investigated by the NYS Department of Education, which oversees licensed architects, but there is currently no record of disciplinary action. Overseeing a whopping......

More than 100 bands, of all different genres, took the city streets yesterday to serve up sonic inspiration for marathon runners. There were reportedly up to 4 acts per mile, we passed by one of them in Brooklyn and thought it was a terrific idea -- it even made us pick up our pace a bit on our way to get a latte. The NY Times reports on how the idea has grown, turning......

When it comes to driving routes for a JFK airport pickup, George Costanza advocates taking the Grand Central to the Van Wyck, deriding Kramer’s L.I.E. route as a “suicide mission.” In the current New York Magazine cover story, “How to Escape Airport Hell”, the editors invited chauffeur Kevin Sullivan to weigh in. While he comes down squarely on Costanza’s side, he also shares some invaluable alternative routes to all three airports in the unlikely......

For an avowed non-presidential candidate, Mayor Bloomberg certainly gets more attention than some of the actual candidates. Newsweek devotes its cover story to "Mike" Bloomberg, "The Billion Dollar Wild Card," a reference to the billion dollars Mayor B has at his disposal, should be decide to run for president next year. That is so much more flattering than the "Lazy Like a Fox" cover Newsweek had of Fred Thompson! Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham got to......

Somehow, a tanker managed to strike the Ambrose Light navigation aid early Sunday morning. The Ambrose Light is a 76-foot structure that sits 12 miles southeast of Staten Island and, according to the Coast Guard, "watches over the main shipping lanes to New York Harbor." The 799-foot tanker Axel Spirit "slammed" into the light, which is usually visible for 18 miles. Now the light is not rotating and, therefore, is not reliable. A commercial pilot......

Last week marked the five year anniversary of the murder of Jam Master Jay, who was shot and killed at his studio in Queens the night before Halloween 2002. The slaying was one of many that went unspoken about by witnesses, all of whom follow the "no snitching" rule. However, The Daily News has just talked to someone who is breaking this absurd code of silence.Randy Allen, the iconic turntablist's longtime business partner, told the......

A mother discovered a horrible scene when she returned home from shopping on Saturday. Louise Rojas' 13-month-old baby was on the floor and unresponsive and her husband Peter O'Keeffe, who was supposed to be baby-sitting, was nowhere to be found. Rojas called the police and the baby was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital. O'Keeffe, arrested at his mother's house in Brooklyn yesterday, was charged with second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Rojas......

One less headache for Knicks coach and General Manager Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden: The Reverend Al Sharpton has called off his boycott and protest of Knicks games. Now, if only the Knicks can convince their fan base all is not lost! Last month, a jury believed former Knicks marketing VP Anucha Browne-Sanders' allegations that Thomas and Madison Square created hostile work environment and awarded her $11.6 million. Thomas said, during an 11-minute......

A hit-and-run driver was struck by another vehicle minutes after he struck another car and left the scene of the first accident. 21-year-old Mark Durfee was driving his SUV on Conklin St. when his Explorer rear-ended a Nissan shortly after midnight Saturday. The driver of the Nissan wasn't hurt, but Durfee sped off. Later, Durfee left his car on Route 110 and attempted to cross the highway on foot. At that point, a red Dodge......

The Japanese ad agency being sued by one of its former employees for forcing him to go to brothels is countersuing, saying that Steve Biegel was fired for poor performance, not because he complained about sex shenanigans at work. Details of Biegel's lawsuit were released late last week and included info on ad shop CEO's peculiar affinity for crotch shots of women, including one he took of Maria Sharapova and passed around the office. That......

Yesterday, there was excitement over the U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trial being held in the heart of Manhattan and top three finishers Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell qualifying for the 2003 Olympic team. But the event was also tragic: 2003 U.S. Marathon champion Ryan Shay suffered an apparent heart attack 5.5 miles into the race and died. Witnesses described that shortly after 8AM, Shay seemed to fall during the course near the......

Mayor Bloomberg has made a big deal out of municipal belt tightening--stressing that the flush budgetary times funded by Wall St. bonuses and record real estate transaction fees can not last forever. Earlier this year, the mayor sent out a memo to the heads of city agencies that emphasized that flush times should not be taken for granted:As you are aware, the City's economy depends in no small measure on the profitability and success of......

Just weeks after the New York Post milked a week's worth of coverage out of a 26-year-old's nude romp in the middle of the afternoon through Times Square, the paper heads back to the bare-naked well with yet another mentally disturbed male who wanted to lap the Square sans clothing. 44-year-old Antonia Alicata caught a Metro North train down to the city Thursday and then rode the subway to Times Square. Somewhere along the way,......

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Seattle yesterday to give a keynote at the United States Conference of Mayors. The Mayor, aka Mr. "I'm not running for president in 2008" Bloomberg, discussed NYC's efforts to be more sustainable and how governments need to invest and innovate to encourage energy efficiency. And one of the innovations would be to introduce pollution pricing. He said: we have to stop ignoring the laws of economics. As long as......

Halloween tricks are never a good idea, no matter what side of the law you're on. A 14-year-old boy was throwing eggs at cars in Staten Island when two police officers decided to teach him a lesson. Police sources S.tell the Daily News that Officers Thomas Elliassen and Michael Danese picked up Rayshawn Moreno around 8:30PM, drove him to "a swampy area of the 122nd Precinct" and then "dropped him off wearing only boxer shorts......

Photograph the 2006 New York City Marathon finish line by CraigsPage on flickr Marathon fans, your time is here because this weekend, there are two 26.2 mile races in the city. In addition to the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Saturday is the USA Olympic Trials for the 2008 Olympic Men's Marathon. Saturday's Olympic Trials will feature the country's best long distance runners as they contend for the first spots on the 2008......

Now that WABC-AM has announced the return of Don Imus to radio airwaves starting December 3, their morning programming is shifting. In fact, Ron Kuby, who with Curtis Sliwa, co-hosted the station's morning drive program, was asked not to come to work starting today in anticipation of Imus' arrival! Citadel Radio, which owns WABC-AM, said,"The chance to get Don is something we couldn’t pass up." According to the Times, Boyce said that he "hoped to......