The Manhattan of yesteryear is alive and well on YouTube. Take a 3-minute journey down the Hudson River (then referred to as the North River) in 1903. The view you'll see is of the west side moving towards The Battery. A treasure trove of old New York footage can be found here.......

Born on this day in 1932, and dying 71 years later in 2003, Johnny Cash made a lot of fans and friends during his lifetime. Today would have been his 76th birthday, so with that here are some videos of him performing in New York City. In 1999 a televised tribute to "the man in black" was filmed at Hammerstein Ballroom; this was the first time Cash had performed publicly since being diagnosed with a......

Alycia Lane, the Philadelphia newswoman who punched a female NYPD police officer, was relieved after appearing at Manhattan Criminal Court today. The Manhattan DA's office basically dismissed her case, for an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal." Prosecutors said the female cop's injuries "were not serious enough" to support the felony assault charge, so charges were reduced to obstruction of governmental administration and harassment. Lane, who allegedly called the cop a "dyke bitch" during a run-in......

Despite some bizarre behavior during his arraignment earlier this week, David Tarloff has been found fit to stand trial for the cleaver-hacking murder of psychologist Kathryn Faughey. The initial target of Tarloff's wrath was Dr. Kent Shinbach, whose office was next door to Faughey's. Shinbach apparently had Tarloff institutionalized some years ago and the schizophrenic man had undergone electro-shock treatments. Tarloff was examined by two psychiatrists who found him "not incapacitated," meaning he can participate......

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $464,600 in fines over two contractors' safety lapses at the Deutsche Bank building. Contractor Bovis Lend Lease, which had been retained by the state government, and its former subcontractor John Galt Corporation had been dismantling the building when a seven-alarm fire, caused by a worker's smoking, broke out last August. Two firefighters died during the blaze, it was revealed pieces of the standpipe (which lets water for firefighters......

Update: Police have arrested David Tarloff, a Queens resident and former patient of Shinbach's, for Faughey's murder. The Post reports Tarloff, described as overweight with a bald spot by neighbors, has a history of violent crime. Apparently fingerprints found on suitcases left at the crime scene led the police to Tarloff. Earlier: As the family and friends prepare to say good-bye at a funeral for psychologist Kathryn Faughey today, the police have been questioning a......

The Manhattan DA's office really wants to make sure people understand that jumping off the Empire State Building is not legal! Last year, a judge dismissed charges against "daredevil" Jeb Corliss who attempted to jump off the Empire State Building - with a parachute - in April 2006. The Manhattan DA's office appeal notes "it took a number of security guards, police officers, two pairs of handcuffs, and the actual removal of a portion......

Anthony Marshall, the son of the late Brooke Astor, might have chosen a different lawyer if he suspected that he'd be eventually accused of looting his mother's estate. Or perhaps Francis X. Morrissey was the perfect man for the job. Papers are reporting today that Marshall's lawyer has a long history of profiting from soon-to-be-deceased clients. He was in court yesterday, arriving handcuffed, but leaving free on bail.It would seem to be the darkest moment......

To the surprise of no one, New Yorkers are not in favor of the MTA's proposed fare-and-toll hikes. Residents, transit advocates and elected officials have been speaking at the MTA's public hearings all week, raising a number of questions about the MTA's service, the state's and city's contributions to the MTA, and effect it will have on riders. The Manhattan public hearing reminded of us Festivus, or at least its "public airing of grievances"......

The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that the Reverend David Ajemian was arrested on charges of stalking and threatening Conan O'Brien. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston placed Ajemian, a 46-year-old priest in Stoneham, Massachusetts, on leave. The DA's office says that Ajemian had sent letters (some on parish letterhead!) to O'Brien's offices at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and home, contacted his parents, and tried to attend tapings of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He was......

Ten years ago today, Camden Sylvia and Michael Sullivan left their rent-stabilized loft in downtown Manhattan, went for a jog, rented a video and were never seen again. Today, the Daily News revisits the mystery and speaks to Sylvia's mother. Laurie Sylvia says, "I want to know what happened. Each year that goes by I think, maybe this year. I never imagined I would be doing that for 10 years." Sylvia, then 36, and Sullivan,......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 160th St. and Archer Ave. in Queens, a shooting on East 119th St. in Manhattan, and a construction accident on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, Before anyone accuses A-Rod of greediness for spurning an offer of $30 million a year, let it be known that would make the top-performing athlete a pathetic piker among NYC earners. Maggie Gyllenhaal acclimates to Brooklyn: She isn't comfortable with her......

Facing numerous drug charges that could put him away for the rest of his life, convicted murderer Robert Chambers pleaded not guilty during a Thursday court appearance. Chambers, 41, and his companion, 39-year-old Shawn Kovell, are accused of selling drugs from Kovell's rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment on East 57th Street in Manhattan. Earlier this week, the couple were busted by undercover officers. The Manhattan DA's office, no stranger to Chambers after the infamous 1986 murder of......

Yesterday, the NY Post revealed that the dingy Manhattan Marriage Bureau would be getting a deluxe makeover. First of all, the City Clerk's Office will move from 1 Centre Street at the Municipal Building to 80 Centre Street. Second, Mayor Bloomberg's personal decorator, Jamie Drake, will be overseeing the redesign - at a discount (we doubt the new bureau will have the touches that Mayor B's swank townhouses do), but the budget is still......

The city has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent its various agencies who are coming under attack for the Deutsche Bank fire that claimed two firefighters lives. The Manhattan DA's office started a criminal probe, after some disturbing practices by the contractors and questionable omissions by the Fire Department and the Buildings Department came to light. Eventually smoking, by workers hired to help dismantle the WTC-dust contaminated building, was cited as the probable cause......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Chambers and Water Sts. off Manhattan, an armed robbery on Rockaway Blvd. and 75th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Grafton St. in Brooklyn. LibrerDia Lectorum, one of the city's oldest Spanish language bookstores will be closing September 30th. The Manhattan store on 14th St. opened in 1960 and became a mainstay of Spanish literature in the city. A fire broke out yesterday afternoon......

A spin class member at an Upper East Side gym became so enraged at the vocal exercise style of a nearby man that he got off his bike and threw the man against a wall earlier this month. Stuart Sugarman was the victim and the New York Post reports that the 48-year-old hedge fund manager admits that he was probably the noisiest guy at his gym. "He grunted a lot, admittedly. He war-whooped. He hollered,......

There are many questions surrounding Saturday's Deutsche Bank building fire that took the lives of two firefighters. Were firefighters using outdated information? WABC 7 says that a FDNY report, which is used by fire commanders for planning how they will attack the fire, indicated that the building had 38 floors (when it was really 26) and that the standpipe was working (it wasn't connected). Did the FDNY ignore post-9/11 advice? The NY Times reports that......

Maybe there is good reason to try to stay off Forbes' list of 400 wealthiest people. The Manhattan DA's office charged a 24-year-old Russian national with an elaborate identity ring that targeted rich Americans. Igor Klopov recruited people in the U.S., via sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, to help him and he managed to steal $1.5 million from four people. But Klopov was nabbed during an attempt to take $10.7 million from Anthony Pritzker, of......

Last month Remy Ma, after a night out at Pizza Bar in the Meatpacking District, shot her friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph. Oops. The 23-year old survived the rapper's wrath, and Remy Ma went to Riker's. The altercation began after Barnes-Joseph was believed to have stolen $3,000 from Remy Ma, something that is still unconfirmed. According to the victim, instead of calling 911 after the shooting, Remy went through her purse while she bled from two shots......

Reader Bill Leahy recently scanned a number of slides that his father took in New York City during the 1950s. Above is a picture of the intersection of Main St. and Northern Blvd. in Flushing, Queens. There are many more pictures that are fascinating looks at the city more than a half century ago. Looking westward up Wall St. at Trinity Church. City Hall when pedestrians could still stroll right past the front steps.......

Mayor Bloomberg will walk across the street from City Hall tomorrow morning to report for jury duty at Manhattan Supreme Court. It won't be his first stint in the jurors' box. Bloomberg reportedly has served state jury duty five times since 1981. The Daily News reports that he served in 2001 on his 59th birthday "when he was openly flirting with running for mayor but was not an official candidate." The Manhattan Supreme Court handles......

The Manhattan DA's office petitioned a judge for the release of 20-year-old Asuncion Dejesus-Garcia. Dejesus-Garcia was the primary suspect in a string of sexual assaults (see map) over the Lower East Side and East Village in recent weeks, but on Thursday, a woman was attacked under a similar MO - while Dejesus-Garcia was in jail. The victim was assaulted on East 16th Street after her attacker opened the door to her building for her. He......

The NY Sun reports that members of Community Board 6 have spoken, and they want the late Kurt Vonnegut to have a street named after him. The Manhattan block where he spent most of his writing career (East 48th Street and Second Avenue) may be named "Kurt Vonnegut Way." A decision should be made by October. Why that block (which, incidentally, he shared with another famous writer, E.B. White)?: "Vonnegut, who for 40 years lived......

The Manhattan DA's office announced that thirteen people were indicted in a identity theft scam. Credit card information from diners in Chinatown and other areas (Brooklyn, Westchester, Long Island, Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut) would be stolen by wait staff, using handheld credit card skimmers. A list of restaurants where the scam took place was not released. One defendant, JD Kenny, would pay $35-50 per skimmed card information, and then use that information......

A woman who used to work as a secretary at a financial firm is suing her former boss for the unseemly tasks she was asked to do. How unseemly? Fatima Monahan claims she was appointed "pu--y coordinator" by boss Frederick Iseman of Caxton Iseman. She also claims that Iseman suggested she have an affair with his ex-wife and that she flew to London to bring him his erectile dysfunction medicine. Oh, and Iseman allegedly told......

As one of the last under-developed swaths of Manhattan real estate, the Manhattan Yards located on the city's West Side are an attractive prize for a developer ready to make a big mark on New York City. At least four firms have bid proposals in progress, although the titanic cost of developing 26 acres of midtown real estate may have them partnering with pension funds and private equity companies to help foot the bill, according......

Marc Anthony may have gotten a deal from the Manhattan District Attorney's office to pay $2.5 million in back taxes, interest and penalties for - ahem - not filing tax returns for five years but can he still be found guilty of being really stupid? The Manhattan DA's office said they couldn't prove Anthony "knowingly did not file" because the problems started when Anthony changed managers and accountants in 2000. DA Robert Morgenthau excused Anthony's......

The Manhattan office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) served Starbucks a steaming hot cup of charges of anti-labor practices Friday. The move by the NLRB followed complaints by International Industrial Workers of the World organizers that the company was suppresing their union-forming efforts. According to its official website the website of its service industry branch, the IWW is "The anarchosyndicalist trade union, workers' confederation and section of the Anarchist International." driven by solidarity......

READINGS: Jonathan Lethem reads from his new novel You Don't Love Me Yet. In it, Lethem leaves Boerum Hill for LA "to recount the near-fame experience of a Los Angeles alternative rock band". A girl, a boy and a band - sounds like a hipster love story to us! 7pm // Barnes & Noble [33 E 17th St] // Free Saul Austerlitz talks about his book Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video.......