Photograph by Tien Mao on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A child in cardiac arrest at Livonia Ave & Sackman St in Brooklyn, a DOA jumper at W.23 Between 9th And 10th Aves in Manhattan and a foot pursuit at 56th Ave & 223rd St in Queens. The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued an "amended solid waste permit" to a Bronx fertilizer company that the community says stinks up the neighborhood. A DEC... [continue]

Traders really need this weekend after stocks swung in a 1,000 point range on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock market fell 696 points in the first 15 minutes but managed to recover and even trade above the open. At the end of the day, the market closed down 128 points, to 8,451. Nasdaq ended slightly up, +0.27%, while the S&P 500 ended -1.18% down. Knight Equity Trading's Peter Kenny told CNBC, "We're seeing... [continue]

The NY Times starts the guessing game about how much Mayor Bloomberg will spend to ensure a third term in office. He spent $74 million in 2001 and $84 million in 2005, and a source floated $80 million as a mere starting point. Plus: "At least $20 million of that money would be used to pound away at the man the advisers believe will be his most likely opponent, Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a Democrat... [continue]

The Times Union reports that absentee ballots for Rensselaer County read "Barack Osama" for the Democratic candidate--not Barack Obama. Both the Democratic and Republican commissioners claim it was an "honest mistake" and "typo," the article also points out the skepticism (hello, the b and s keys aren't even that close to each other!). Voters who called to complain are receiving new ballots, but one said, "It's a little suspicious and at least grossly incompetent. If... [continue]

The NJ Turnpike Authority will be raising tolls on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The Star-Ledger reports that the "first hike comes in December, and the second comes in 2012....A drive along the full length of the Turnpike, which now costs $6.45, will more than double to $13.75 by 2012. Driving the Parkway from top to bottom also will more than double in four years." While the state government raised tolls to fund... [continue]

WNBC reports that the NYPD shut down a drug operation in a Brooklyn meat market--Sikorski Meat Market on Manhattan Avenue. The police had caught the drug dealers on wiretaps referring to "hot kielbasa," and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly explained, "the ‘kielbasa’ was really cocaine, and thanks to outstanding police work it’s no longer available at the meat market." More details: Livery cabs were used for delivering the shipments and "Polish and Dominican crews teamed up... [continue]

Nassau County is being sued over its DWI "Wall of Shame," which was instituted Memorial Day weekend after a cop was seriously injured by a DWI driver after pulling over another DWI suspect. Lawyer Brian Griffin says his client's mugshot and name should be removed from the Nassau County website, saying, "I don't think you need a law degree to understand that this fundamentally goes against a system of justice in which punishment occurs after... [continue]

The highest court in Connecticut ruled 4-3 in favor of gay marriage. The majority opinion found the state's "understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection." Connecticut is the third state to allow same-sex marriages (it's allowed in Masachusetts and California). Governor Jodi Rell, who did sign a civil union law in 2005, said she would abide the ruling, "The Supreme Court has spoken. I do... [continue]

Photograph by Stephen Sandoval / PursueBliss.com on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A foot pursuit at Farmers Blvd & Murdock Ave in Queens, a double shooting at Targee St & Vanderbilt Ave on Staten Island and a person struck by a train at East Tremont Ave & The Grand Concourse in the Bronx. The Daily News has video of a shoplifting arrest on the Lower East Side--apparently a group of people were stealing jackets... [continue]

Yesterday, a routine Con Ed visit to a manhole at Euclid and Sutter Avenues in Brooklyn turned deadly when an explosion occurred with one worker trapped inside. George Dillman, 26, was killed as he was splicing cables. A witness, Craig Fullmore, told the NY Times that black smoke "started pouring out of the manhole and a buzzing could be heard." Dillman's partner, Craig Penney, was above ground and tried to help Dillman by lowering a... [continue]

After claiming it should still be allowed to purchase--with the help of the government-- Wachovia for $2 billion, Citigroup is now allowing Wells Fargo buy Wachovia for $15 billion. Wachovia issued a statement saying, "We're pleased Citigroup has abandoned its efforts to interfere with Wachovia's planned merger with Wells Fargo. We look forward to completing our merger with Wells Fargo, which we have always believed is in the best interest of shareholders, employees, creditors and... [continue]

The U.S. Department of Transportation is planning on auctioning almost 300 flight slots at NYC airports, but the Port Authority said that would seek an injunction to block the plan. The federal DOT says auctioning off 10% of flight slots will help alleviate air traffic, but Governors Paterson and Corzine believe smaller flights will be cut. And the Port Authority told the NY Times, "Who’s got money to buy slots? ...They keep saying an auction... [continue]

Investors are clutching their stomachs as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell hundreds of points this morning, momentarily diving below 8,000 (with a 600+ drop) to under 8,000. Right now (9:48 a.m.), it's down 262 points at 8,316 points (down 3%). Nasdaq is currently down 1.5% and the S&P 500 is down 2.7%. You can track how far the Dow is going with this one-day graph Yahoo Finance. Also interesting: the 5-day graph. And... [continue]

Photograph of a Singapore restaurant worker adjusting a sign for a lunch promotion by Wong Maye-E/AP Last night, it was confirmed that Democratic candidate Barack Obama's camp bought 30 minutes of national primetime on CBS and NBC to air on October 29 at 8 p.m. His campaign is also negotiating with ABC as well as Fox, which could have a conflict if there is a Game 6 of the World Series. Variety explains that... [continue]

A homeless Bronx teenager charged with killing her newborn child, and the woman who took in the teen is devastated. The Daily News reports that Esther Pastrana, 17, had been kicked out of a friend's Manhattan home, where a neighbor, who saw Pastrana "weeping in the hallway," called Lysdell Ocasio. Ocasio (pictured), who readily agreed to house the teen, repeatedly asked Pastrana if she was pregnant, but she denied it. On Saturday, Ocasio's husband found... [continue]

Photograph of a computerized display showing the FTSE 100 index in London today by Akira Suemori/AP Stock markets around the world fell today, hours after the U.S.'s Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 668 points to end yesterday under 8,600. The NY Times says the "Global Markets Dive in a Relentless Selloff"--and a German equity strategist explained, "We are fighting really dire fundamentals. It will require restoring trust and confidence before a sustained rebound will... [continue]

The voter registration in NY State is today. If you haven't registered yet, the AP explains, "Only completed voter registration forms postmarked by midnight and received no later than October 15th will be valid for the upcoming general election." Additionally, if you've moved to a new county you need to reregister from your new address (and if you've moved within the county, you don't need to reregister by you should update your address with the... [continue]

Photograph by Pabo76 on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A water rescue at East 34th & East River in Manhattan, shot fired at Eastern Pkwy & Thomas Boyland in Brooklyn and a bank robbery at Grand Ave & Hamilton Pl in Queens. A landlord was indicted for criminally negligent homicide after three of his tenants died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his condemned West Babylon house. Wilson Milford is pleading not guilty. Since Peter... [continue]

Billionaire term limits proponent Ronald Lauder (pictured, far right) confirmed his support for Mayor Bloomberg's and the City Council's legislation to add another term to term limits--and expressed his hope it would be overturned after (presumably) Bloomberg was re-elected. Lauder told the NY Times that he believes term limits will go back to two after a voter referendum in 2010, "To me, this is a temporary solution." However, Lauder also referred to the economic crisis,... [continue]

Some thought the bearded man wearing a hoodie standing around the Banksy mural installation yesterday, but artist R. Nicholas Kuszyk (of Rrobots) sent us an email: "the photo of the hooded person is not banksy. it's me, r nicholas kuszyk, a williamsburg brooklyn based artist informally affiliated w banksy and colossal media. i was consulting the paint crew on behalf of banksy who was too busy to oversee the entire process. this might sound like... [continue]