Approximately 100 people marched from the under-deconstruction Deutsche Bank building yesterday to City Hall Park, demanding stricter safety standards at construction sites. Some of the leaders of the march were Joseph Graffagnino Sr. and his wife, the parents of one of two firefighters (Graffagnino Jr. and Robert Beddia) who died when the Deutsche Bank building caught fire, and because of a lack of adherence to fire and building safety codes they ran out of oxygen......

Photograph of a squirrel in a Forest Hills house courtesy of the Parks Department It's a walk-up, but the price is right. City squirrels are enjoying the goodwill of concerned citizens and the Parks Dept., who cooperated to install squirrel houses in City Hall Park. Mark Garvin had five of the boxes, which measure about a foot around, built with soft pine for several hundred dollars a piece--city real estate insanity extends to the......

Fifteen years ago today, a truck packed with explosives detonated under a tower at the World Trade Center. While it failed to knock down the towers (the parking garage suffered the most damage), six people were killed and over a thousand injured. A retired Port Authority official, Peter Caram, spoke about the first bombing with amNY and said, "The country as a whole was never put on a security alert [after the '93 bombing]. We......

After City Council member Simcha Felder announced he would propose legislation to ban feeding pigeons, bird lovers joined forces and, yesterday, held a rally at City Hall. Armed with posters like "Save Our Right to Feed Wildlife," "Have U Known Anybody Killed by a Pigeon?", "Pigeons are Beautiful Birds," and "Felder's Pigeon Bill is Poop!", the pro-pigeon protesters spoke out for their feathered friends. One demonstrator told City Room, "We are voices for the......

The elements that have made City Hall Park so attractive to New York's humans have also made the area hospitable to the city's rodent population--so much so that the park has become overrun with rats, who don't seem to mind people company as much as people mind rat company. Regardless of the time of day or the number of people congregating there, rats--lots and lots of them--have made City Hall park their home. The New......

It's been six years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Chinatown residents are getting frustrated that a security measure to protect New York City's police headquarters has tied traffic in their neighborhood in knots. One Police Plaza is located on Park Row in Chinatown, a street that links the financial district with one of the oldest ethnic neighborhoods in the city. Park Row has historically been a major four-lane artery linking the financial district to......

Google Maps has upped its considerable offering to include "Street View," which offers views of the certain locations at the street-level imagery. The areas where you can see images are noted by blue lines on the map (click the "Street View" button). Manhattan is pretty covered and downtown Brooklyn is covered, but the Bronx, Queens and State Island views are pretty much limited by major roads. Below is 1 Centre Street; you can't get......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: suspicious package at City Hall Park, a crane collapse at the Battery Tunnel, and a 10-75 in Brooklyn Heights. The Tar Heel mascot for UNC's basketball team died today after being hit by an SUV on Route 4 in NJ on Friday. Jason Ray had left the hotel to go to a convenience store; he was scheduled to graduate this May. You know what we've always said the Broadway-Lafayette......

Public access to City Hall Park is about to get better. The Parks Department has agreed to reopen a part of the park that has been closed since the Giuliani Administration. The section of park in question includes the grassy areas to the east and west of Tweed Courthouse. The area directly around City Hall will still remain closed for security purposes. The Sun reports that the gates on Broadway and Centre Street could......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap, the Motor Vehicle Accident Edition: A police car MVA in Queens, a serious MVA in Brooklyn, and an unusual MVA in the Bronx (a trailer full of horses had an accident) Hooray! The north end of City Hall Park will reopen this summer. It's been closed since September 11, 2001 - take that, terrorists!Must have Brooklyn yuppie accessories: Designer dog, precocious child, and backyard chickens for fresh eggs Video......

An all-Brooklyn edition today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a car struck two pedestrians in Williamsburg, an all hands call in Greenpoint, and a big traffic accident on the Kosciusko Bridge. Tony at PFAW wrote in to say "More than 50% of New Yorkers failed a simulated 10-question naturalization exam—composed of questions recently released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—according to a survey of nearly 250 people held in City Hall Park over a three-day......

- The Board of Health is meeting to decide whether to revise the dog-leash law in parks. Currently, the Juniper Park Civic Association is trying to get rid of off-leash hours, by pointing out to a judge that the city's health code says all dogs must be on a leash. The health code happens to conflict with park practices, which allows dogs to roam between 9PM and 9AM - and some people think the Board......

Mayor Bloomberg released the 2006 Fiscal Year Mayor's Management Report yesterday. The MMR is the Mayor's way of being accountable for city initiatives and agencies, and during the press conference, the Mayor felt that there was still work to be done, saying, "Two-thirds of the things are going in the right direction. A third aren't going as fast as I'd like, or in the right direction.": Like what? The quality of streets has declined (which......

Some readers have been asking about events related to the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Aside from the official city plans, which include moments of silence, reading of victims' names and time for the families to lay flowers at Ground Zero, as well as the lighting of Tribute in Light, a number of organizations and groups have events all weekend and on Monday. For instance, the September......

On Friday night, there was a smoke condition at City Hall. Apparently an "electrical panel overheated," filling the basement with smoke around 7:45PM, forcing a building evacuation. According to the NY Times, only a few building workers were in the building (Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn weren't around) and though the fire department brought a hose into the building, no water was sprayed. We're glad that City Hall wasn't damaged, as it's a truly......

- City buses will keep a seat open, as well as leave their headlights on, to mark the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus (and Gothamist didn't realize it was the bus centennial in July until recently - New York is definitely a subway-centric town) - A 94 year old retired police officer is being evicted by the city, but CBS 2 helps stop them -......

Now that we've squared away Union Square and the Jetson building, what's the deal with those walking people on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse? They walk, but they never get anywhere? Is it a metaphor for the Department of Education, housed inside? -Tim First, hee. Actually, as you probably suspected, the walking people are part of an art installation by Julian Opie (whose work can be seen throughout City Hall Park until this October).......

Besides enjoying the architecture of Civic Center (aka the area where City Hall is), Gothamist suggests you check out British sculptor Julian Opie's installation in City Hall Park, Animals, Buildings, Cars and People. Some highlights: There are two LED sculptures on the steps of the Tweed Courthouse; two full-size car sculptures; three glass scultupres of women; animals sculpted of wood; a group of plywood bulidings; and aluminum signs of white sheep grazing. Here's a......

The Mayor and the Public Art Fund have brought a little Roy Lichtenstein to city buildings, with Roy Lichtenstein at City Hall. Element #E, which has flourishes of brushstrokes, is the centerpiece, shown for the first time in it's full size, 50 foot glory; it's on display at the Tweed Courthouse, aka City Hall Academy. The other pieces are Brushstroke Group and Endless Drip (in City Hall Park) and a bronze bust, Woman: Sunlight,......