Photogrpah by street stars on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A hostage situation on City Blvd on Staten Island, large theft from school (PS 75 on Faile Street) in the Bronx, and a person fell on tracks at West 110 & Lenox in Manhattan. Oh, no: At a NY State GOP event in St. Paul, former Governor George Pataki said yesterday, "I'm back! I'm getting involved!" Drama at Fort Ticonderoga: Its executive director is... [continue]

A 36-year-old man headed to work at Merrill Lynch's Jersey City office was stabbed to death this morning. The victim was identified as Michael Fuccile, director of chief compliance, and a father of three. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio told the Jersey Journal, "It appears to be a random act of violence and there is no indication there was any dispute or demand for property." WABC 7 reports that the suspect, Elgin Taylor Jr., may... [continue]

Today, Barack Obama has been campaigning in York, Pennsylvania. When asked whether, as Republicans charge, the Democrats or media has been sexist with its treatment of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Obama said (video below):Listen, if they want to work the refs, they are free to do so. I think the public can make their judgments about this. The notion that any questions about her work in Alaska is somehow not relevant to her... [continue]

The NY Times calls today's 344-point plunge in the Dow Jone industrial average "the index’s worst performance since June." Some of the possible reasons: The Labor Department announced more Americans were applying for unemployment; oil production is down (but the price of oil dropped $1.70); and slow retail sales. One investment strategist told Bloomberg Radio, "If you look at the data we have on the U.S. and global economy, things are only getting worse and... [continue]

The Queens DA announced that two American Airlines baggage handlers at JFK Airport were charged with stealing $280,000 of jewelry from a suitcase checked in and bound for Los Angeles. Apparently Albert Acevedo and Angelo Riviello had a code to let each other know about certain bags; in this instance, Riviello said, "Wow, that’s heavy," and Acevedo, baggage crew head, came over and opened the bag. Acevedo took some of the suitcase's envelopes and later... [continue]

Columbia University president Lee Bollinger confirmed that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will appear together at the university for a forum sponsored by ServiceNation. The Columbia Spectator describes ServiceNation as a "non-partisan coalition devoted to increasing the commitment of citizens to public service to 100 million people by 2010." The forum will be on September 11 evening (it is not a debate), and the candidates agreed not to campaign that day out of... [continue]

Photograph by naftels on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual occurrence at 162nd St & Hillside Ave in Queens, a power outage at 9th Ave & 65 St in Brooklyn and a water rescue near Pier 11 in Manhattan. Craig Schley, a community organizer who protested against Harlem rezoning, has decided to run against Representative Charles Rangel. Rangel has held his seat for 38 years. A part-time janitor who helped save a man... [continue]

Worst second day of school ever! Over 20 five- and six-year-olds students from Achievement First Charter School in Brownsville were stuck on a bus for five hours when their driver "got lost but wouldn't admit it." One parent told the Daily News, "I was going crazy. I was thinking the bus was in an accident." The driver, Joseph Gray, 53, was already an hour late, arriving at 4:45 p.m., and didn't finish dropping kids off... [continue]

We're hearing that a construction worker fell 40 floors to his death at a site on West 41st Street and 11th Avenue. Also, a part of a crane may have fallen. The Department of Buildings and OSHA are responding to the scene. Update: Per comments and new reports, a crane did not fall but it looks like scaffolding rigging fell. CityRoom says the site is owned by WTC developer Larry Silverstein. The incident occurred at... [continue]

The Port Authority stopped a tractor-trailer when its driver made its license plate disappear on the Goethals Bridge. How? According to the Daily News, Orland Payano "had a cable running from the license plate to the dashboard cigarette lighter." When the lighter is manipulated, the front plate is tucked away. (The rear plate was "bent, partially concealing its markings.") A PA officer noticed that the plate disappeared and Payano was charged with fare evasion and... [continue]

Yesterday, Jeromie Cancel, suspected of killing 19-year-old Kevin Pravia, was arraigned in court. Prosecutors offered some new details about the crime, saying Cancel originally simply stole Pravia's electronics and almost left the West 15th Street apartment but went back to smother the Pace University student in his sleep. Cancel, 22, met Pravia early Saturday morning in Union Square, and when they went back to Pravia's apartment, Pravia fell asleep. Cancel initially decided to only steal... [continue]

In today's NY Sun, there's a letter from editor Seth Lipsky warning that the paper may fold at the end of the month if they don't "find additional financial backing" (he calls current investors keeping the paper afloat "heroic"). Lipsky acknowledges their goal "of providing an alternative to the New York Times in coverage of New York City, politics, foreign policy, and culture" "was an optimistic project," but is proud of its "journalistic credibility and... [continue]

WNBC reports that 66-year-old Nick Nowillo died after a confrontation with an attacker on Crescent Avenue in Long Island City. The 43-year-old attacker, who was arrested but not identified, allegedly hit Nowillo several times, including punching him so hard that he died at Astoria General Hospital later. Nowillo, who had been escorting a woman home because she felt the suspect "was...acting strangely" in the street, was a beloved figure in the neighborhood, nicknamed the "Mayor... [continue]

Senator John McCain was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the Republican party last night, but his running mate Sarah Palin took the convention hall by storm. The Governor of Alaska addressed the crowd and energized them by introducing herself and her family--and aggressively attacking Barack Obama:Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down... [continue]

Tonight is arguably the biggest night of the Republican National Convention, as it will be vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's first national campaign speech. Politico has five things to watch for, including how Palin will have to emphasize why she's experienced. Her aide said, "She will speak as a governor, a former mayor and someone with both hands on the steering wheel of America's energy economy. She will detail her record of shaking up the... [continue]

You can get to Carnegie Hall with practice, practice, practice, but Lincoln Center has been harder to navigate as it undergoes its massive, multi-million dollar renovation project. One woman told the NY Times that on her way to see "South Pacific" at the Lincoln Center Theater, she got lost after trying to find her mother amidst the construction: "Suddenly I felt like a contestant on ‘Survivor.' I knew what I had to do,” she... [continue]

Remember the lady who tried to argue her way onto a plane last April by bringing up her already checked bags: "What if I had a bomb in my bag? Well, I have a bomb in my bag, so are you guys going to turn the plane around cuz I need my bag" Well, Rosalinda Baez ended up paying JetBlue $23,000 for the plane's emergency landing (they had to be safe, of course). And though... [continue]

View Larger Map Noticing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's new re-election campaign site, complete with map showing "What Shelly's Doing Near You," Streetsblog created a "Streetsblog: Pin it on Shelly!" map. Streetsblog was frustrated by Silver's site, which doesn't allow users to put a pin on Canal Street to "make note of Silver's complicity in maintaining that street's never-ending traffic jam and Chinatown's third world-level childhood asthma rate" or anywhere else. If you click on the... [continue]

A few of the vessels in the Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea installation have dropped anchor at Riverside Park South's Pier I, much to the amusement and confusion of some parkgoers. One reader e-mailed us, saying a pirate ship had arrived. When we went to the pier, one of the ship's captains was explaining what kind of engines some of the boats had (Chevrolet, Volkswagen Rabbit, Mercedes--more details here--another was a paddleboat) and that... [continue]

Yikes: Newsday reports that two Hofstra students found spy cameras hidden in smoke detectors in their Franklin Square apartment. The tenants had asked a friend to check the detectors, which were found to be non-working. "The friend brought one of the detectors to a local firehouse, where a volunteer firefighter realized 'the guts were removed from that smoke detector and in its place was a digital video camera and some sort of a transmitter.'" Nassau... [continue]