When it came to New Year's Eve countdown broadcasts, we were traditional and stuck with Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. Which means we missed out on $275-million man Alex Rodriguez counting down with Carson Daly on Daly's New Year's Eve program. New York sports talk radio was discussing the Yankee's appearance, jokingly calling him "Mr. New York." Well, not only is A-Rod loving NYC these days, he's also being managed by Guy Oseary......

A sparkling new 700-pound ball, tons of confetti, and over a million people helped ring in the New Year from Times Square last night/early today. Mayor Bloomberg and police Police Academy valedictorian Karolina Wierzchowska, who also served in the Iraq War, hit the switch that brought the famous Times Square New Year's ball down. The Daily News called it a "shimmering pole dance," and it was the 100th time Times Square has had a......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water condition at Surf Ave. and West 8th St. in Brooklyn, a car vs. building at 49th St. and 5th Ave. in Manhattan, and a fatality with a person under a subway train at Sutter and Snediker Aves. in Brooklyn. The editors at The New York Times apologize for asserting that Presidential candidate Ron Paul was allied with white supremacists and the American Nazi Party. Racked notes that......

CNBC's Money Honey Money Honey Says Mind the Gap Earlier this week, while in Grand Central Terminal we heard a familiar voice reminding us to “Mind the gap.” It turns out it was CNBC “Money Honey” Maria Bartiromo. Apparently Metro-North riders aren’t the only ones who are being reminded, as the Post reports that Long Island Rail Road commuters are getting similar reminders. The recorded messages were the brainchild of MTA board member Mitchell Palli.......

Entertainment Weekly’s #1 “smartest” Hollywood player, Judd Apatow, says “it doesn’t look good” for an end to the writers’ strike any time soon. The well-connected catalyst behind hits like Knocked Up has told the Toronto Star that the studios and producers are prepared to dig in and crush the union’s demand for payment for Internet downloads and movie streaming, “which are expected to become a big part of the industry in the coming years.”It would......

In February rumors started to fly about Jimmy Fallon becoming the next Late Night host when Conan O'Brien leaves his current spot to take Jay Leno's spot. It's an after-hours game of musical chairs! (Though no one knows where Leno will end up, it is said he'll likely stay in the late night game.) NBC chief Rick Ludwin says that Fallon is now at the top of the short list for possible Late Night hosts.......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Fresh out of college, Anthony Jeselnik moved to LA where he found himself working at Border's books, in debt, and feeling pressured to find a course in life. He decided that he wanted to write jokes for late night TV and shortly thereafter met with Leno's head writer Jimmy Brogan, who advised the young Jeselnik to pursue stand up. It took a year for Anthony to jump into the LA comedy scene, but since then......

So what happens to NBC's late night shows when Conan replaces Leno in two years? The Times reports that, "One move is expected to involve signing Jimmy Fallon, a former star of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” to what is known as a holding deal. It would bring him back to the network and put him in position to be a prime contender for Mr. O’Brien’s job as host of NBC’s “Late Night” show, at 12:35......

So during the strike the streets felt really crowded. We all can agree on that. But has anybody else noticed that the streets still feel really crowded? Because apparently they have been. Mechanical counters in Times Square registered a 57 percent increase in congestion this week over the same period last year. Mostly, authorities think this is due to yet another "perfect storm":There was the transit strike itself, which prompted many in the region......

2:04 AM - The media is being told they have to wait a while before the TWU will talk. So with that, Gothamist is going to bed to get ready in case there is a strike - we're going attempt to check out the Brooklyn Bridge in the morning, which is supposed to be really cold tomorrow morning. Dress warm and dream of the strike being resolved by the time you wake up. Thanks for......

Scott Lapatine, Stereogum.com...

July 4th is three days away, but some of you might be unplugging and getting away for the weekend, so Gothamist has some information for you, in case you change your mind and want to stick around for the weekend. July 4th is one of the best times to be in the city, one of the top reasons being the Macy's July 4th Spectacular. This year, there will fireworks over the East River on the......

I don't want to waste a whole day waiting around the FDR for prime viewing of the July 4th fireworks. Where else can I see them from? -Karen, Williamsburg Basically, if you have a view of the East River, you're all set. NY.com says: Manhattan: Southbound lanes of the FDR drive from 14th to 42nd Street will be open for the public from 7:30pm to 10:00pm. On-ramp entrances for pedestrians (including the disabled) are located......

Thank you, Coolfer! You have compiled the list of NYC shows we'd want to see in the next few months. Cooler's list is much more comprehensive, but here are a few we're interested in checking out: • March 13, British Sea Power (pictured)Bowery Ballroom • March 25th, Television, Irving Plaza • March 31st, The Delgados, Bowery Ballroom • March 31st, Rapture w/BRMC, Roseland Ballroom • April 6-8, Death Cab For Cutie, Irving Plaza • April......

MSNBC's Scoop columnist Jeannette Wells would like to bring to attention the male celebrity slut, namely Ben Affleck (Gwyneth reportedly said Ben Affleck's ideal woman would be a stripper with a beer in each hand), Colin Farrell (so true, every other statement he makes is about doing this girl or that girl - or getting drunk - and sadly, Gothamist loves him for it), Jude Law, Justin Timberlake, and Carson Daly. (We'd like to add......

Was it wrong for Gothamist to hope, when hearing that there was an MTV Bash for Carson Daly, the act of Carson being bashed on the head with something heavy would involved somehow? But, damn it, he was on the Today show this morning, discussing his roast. It actually looked some funny, as Jennifer Love Hewitt apparently has a moment and if there's anything Gothamist admires, it's when someone dumps the other person via press......

Even though Carson Daly is a tool, his late late night show "Last Call with Carson Daly" does have great musical guests. Like tonight: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead. The first track, "It Was There That I Saw You" is gloriously beautiful and brutal. Program Tivo or stay up past Conan for it. The non-musical guest is musical as well, it's Steven Van Zandt!......