Yesterday morning, at the Rockaway Deli & Grocery in Queens, a customer apparently lost it and stabbed two employees. According to WABC 7, Ortho Arnold is seen on a surveillance tape getting his change and then spitting in the cashier's face: "As other nervous customers start leaving the store, Arnold pulls the knife." The victims, the owner's son and cousin, were able to fight him off with broomsticks. The owner said Arnold is a regular......

The owner of Munchies Bodega in Brownsville Brooklyn, Salah Ahmad, was indicted by a grand jury on assault and other charges for bludgeoning teenager Bunkless Bovian with a hammer. Bovian was placed in a medically induced coma following the incident last month, but has since been released from Brookdale University Hospital. Initial accounts of the attack reported that Ahmad struck Bovian in the skull after a dispute over alleged shoplifting. Surveillance video later showed Ahmad......

A Brooklyn teen was bludgeoned last night by a bodega owner who accused him of stealing from his East New York Ave. store. The 15-year-old, Bunkless Bovian, got into a confrontation that turned physical with Ahmed Solaf, the store's owner, after he was accused of shoplifting. As the two fought, Solaf picked up a hammer and struck the teen in the skull. The teenager was transported to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where he......

A series of bodega robberies in the Bronx has police anxious to arrest the perpetrators. Yesterday, cops released surveillance footage from a Sunday robbery on St. Ann's Avenue, hoping the public will be able to identify the men in the video. Police believe the same robbers hit a store last night and shot a man in the face and torso. According to WNBC, the video shows a robber rushing behind the counter, pointing a gun......

While the police don't recommend that store owners lash out at armed robbers, but that didn't stop one East New York bodega owner. WABC 7 reports that when a robber with a gun entered a bodega on Sutter Avenue last night, the workers beat him with a baseball bat. The robber was trapped because the owner closed the gate. Even though one shot was fired, the only injured person was the robber, who was "badly......

A little follow-up to the story about the 80-year-old woman who was robbed of tens of thousands of dollars from her Lower East Side apartment. Earlier this month, Connie Nieves had let in two men posing as flower deliverymen (note to self: Delivery men rarely work in pairs when they only have one dozen roses), who then tied her up and ransacked her apartment of the cash. Nieves said, "How can I not open the......

A Queens bodega owner defended his store against a gun-wielding robber by way of a machete. Johan Marte, who owns the Erick Deli Grocery in Woodhaven, explained to the Post, "He had a gun and I took him out." The would-be robber, 28-year-old Omar Rodriguez, had fired twice before asking for money, but Marte managed to chop off the gunman's ear and finger. The Daily News has a photo of the robber that shows crime......

The two detectives who were shot during an early morning Bronx shootout yesterday managed to avoid serious injuries and the NYPD says it's a near miracle. Detectives Daniel Rivera and William Gonzalez, along with other three other cops, were trying to serve a warrant to a suspect in a bodega shooting when the suspect fired at them five times. Rivera's forehead was grazed and he left the hospital with only a scar - and smiles.......

Two veteran detectives, Daniel Rivera and William Gonzalez (both 41 years old), were grazed by gunfire early this morning. One detective was wounded in the forehead and the other in the leg, during a shootout in the East Tremont section of the Bronx at Webster Ave. and 188th St. around 5:30 a.m. The two cops were in the process of serving an arrest warrant to 20-year-old Jermaine Taylor for questioning related to a Bronx bodega......

Are the munchies a side effect of cocaine abuse? The NYPD busted a multi-million dollar drug ring where buyers could buy their cocaine and deli meats. The police found 4.5 kilograms of cocaine ($175,000 worth) and arrested 25 suspects. The Sun reports that the $4 million ring was operated out of establishments such as the Fiesta Meat Market in Washington Heights, billiards hall D.D. Café Billiard Sport, clothing store Yaharra (the headquarters), and bodega Broadway's......

Meow! The Post reports that a Long Island man is suing a West Village bodega Andy's Deli at Seventh and Grove Street because the bodega's cat attacked him - and wants $5 million. However, Andy's Deli owner Andy Singh says he doesn't even own a cat. Dunh dunh DUNH! The claim: Adalberto DeSousa says he went to Andy's to buy a sandwich when he "felt something strange on my shoes." It was a kitty at......

A 12-year-old girl, who was with her 5-year-old brother, was struck by a bullet on St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights. The Post reports that the bullet "exited her body" on the left side. The girl was not badly hurt and even managed to react calmly by heading to a bodega for safety. A woman who was shopping at the store told the Daily News that the girl tugged at her shirt, "She came to......

The NYPD revealed that they have arrested four members of the Crips gang who robbed four bodegas in Queens in just three hours on Sunday. Queens DA Richard Brown says that the four, Gregory Burrowes, Jeremy Edwards, Keon Gill, and Ryan Carter would target mom-and-pop stores, with only bandannas covering their faces. They "walked down the street robbing one bodega only minutes after having robbed another." Employees whose stores were robbed provided clues that led......

On Gothamist Contribute, someone wrote about an incident that occurred at 6th Avenue and 10th Street in Manhattan:I went running at 5:15 and there were cops and detectives all over the corner by Ansonia pharmacy. The whole area was taped off. I asked a bodega owner and he said a guy jumped from a building. When the pharmacy opened I went in and asked and she said she thought it was a hit and run.......

Yesterday afternoon, three people were injured when a gunman fired in a bodega near a public school in the Bronx. According to witnesses, the shooter chased two men from a nearby housing project into the Sun Shine Deli at West 166th and Summit Avenue. John Gregg told the Post he "walked up to the door and started shooting...Then he backed out and went around the corner. No words." The victims included the two men the......

Police are wondering if two recent, consecutive bodega robberies in Queens were committed by the same robbers whose June crime spree left a bodega owner dead. The Post reports that two Monday night robberies have similar M.O.s to and seem to match descriptions in seventeen other robberies this year: The thieves hit a bodega, threatening employees and customers with guns, demanding cash, and after robbing the store, they head to another one. The Post also......

A fact for you: the average American lives within ten miles of a craft brewery. That’s right, only ten itsy, bitsy miles separate us from the artistry and craftsmanship of fermentation. As New Yorkers we are particularly lucky, with about 20 breweries in the city and surrounding neighborhoods. That basically means that there is no excuse for downing Coors Light, unless beer pong is involved, of course. This little nugget of information is particularly relevant......

The Office of Emergency Management would like to remind you that for the next three days, New York City will be grosser than usual, with the heat index tipping 90 every day. But the professionals at OEM are on the case with such well-researched tips as,"Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing" and "Use an air conditioner if you have one." What would we do without our City government? But seriously, asthmatics should be extra cautious as......

Just in time for summer in the city, Time Matter Energy offers this Con Everyone shirt. It's a great gift idea for any friends who live in Queens! Con Ed did say they would have enough energy for this summer, but do you trust them? And we have to give a shout to the Thank You Tote Bag, which pays homage to one of the more ubiquitous bodega plastic bags in a very green......

A few days after a Queens bodega owner was fatally shot in the face during a robbery attempt, The New York Times looks at the hazards of owning and operating the 24-hour stores that helps NYC remain the city that never sleeps. The police believe that the bodega robbery in South Ozone that resulted in its owner's death was just the latest in a series of robberies of Queens corner stores. 16 area stores have......

The police are reportedly looking for three to four suspects wanted in the fatal robbery of a Queens bodega owner on Monday. Bolivar Cruz (pictured) died on Tuesday after being shot in the head by robbers suspected of holding up over 15 other bodegas in Queens over the past few months. The robbers managed to steal $300 from Cruz's store. The police have been questioning Michael Lane, 17, in connection with the incident, after the......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A partial collapse at a building on 39th and 9th Avenue in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck at West Moshulu Parkway South and Jerome in the Bronx, and a boat in distress under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge Philanthropists, including former Citibank head Sandy Weill, donated $400 million to Weill Cornell Medical College to go towards new research programs, new facilities, support for students and education and more; Weill's overall contributions......

After two days on life support, the 56-year-old bodega owner, who was shot in the face during a robbery attempt, died yesterday morning and police continued their search for the group suspected of robbing a number of bodegas over the past four months. Police Commissioner Kelly said the robbers are "certainly" considered "dangerous," but Cruz's family wonders why the police didn't tell the community about the robberies. One of Cruz's eight children, Karina Cruz, asked,......

The police continued to look for the robbers who shot a Queens bodega owner in the face on Monday night. Bolivar Cruz, a Dominican immigrant, is still on life support; the Post reports that two of his seven daughters were working in store at the time and that Cruz tried to protect them. According to Police Commissioner Kelly, Cruz did take out a gun (unlicensed) but did not get a chance to fire it. It's......

Last night, a bodega owner in Queens was shot in the face during an attempted robbery. Bolivar Cruz, father of seven, is now in critical condition, and police suspect that the robbery might be connected to another robbery - and to many others in the area. Cruz was closing his Kennedy Mini Market at 131st Street in South Ozone Park when three men entered and shot him at 9:30PM. There was another robbery 10 minutes......

To balance out the news about people who are very bad to pets, here's a story about how many people are wonderful to pets: It's an update about Miss Julie, the cat whose home at a bodega was threatened by the Department of Health. Why? Because it's against the health code to have cats in bodegas - never mind the cats killing vermin - and the bodega was fined and threatened with closure if it......

New York Shitty's Miss Heather let us know that this adorable cat named Julie needs a new home. Miss Heather rescued the husky and healthy adult cat from terrible conditions last December and found a temporary home for her. Miss Heather writes:Well, her temporary home (a local bodega) ended up being just that: temporary. Although the owners of this store (and their landlord) love her dearly, the decision to let her go was not theirs......

Yesterday, the NYPD released video of the man who raped and tortured a Columbia graduate student in her Hamilton Heights apartment for hours on Friday and Saturday. The assailant used her ATM card at a bodega on 141st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. A worker there told the News, "He's not human." The police also released a sketch of the attacker, who is described as a black man, around 180 pounds and 6'1", bald with......

Yesterday, a building at the southeast corner of East Houston and Mulberry Street collapsed, causing street closures while the Fire Department and Department of Buildings inspected. The NY Times describes it as a partial collapse and, luckily, no one was injured. Workers have been preparing the building for demolition, but a stop work order had been issued two weeks ago (the DOB required "bracing and shoring" of the building). Curbed has been following the......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A retaining wall collapsed on the Sawmill at the Major Deegan in the Bronx, a truck into a store in Brooklyn and a pedestrian was struck at 57th and Lexington in Manhattan NY State has more aggressive plans to monitor sex offenders, but the press conference was also an opportunity for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to say, "Steamrolling works." Did you head to the bodega to buy a......