Yesterday was No Pants Day 2008, the 7th Annual Improv Everywhere event that includes hundreds of people riding the subway with no pants on. According to IE's initial report, yesterday's event drew 900 participants, requiring that the group split up onto three different lines--the 6, the R, and the 2 trains, which they rode from downtown Manhattan to Union Square. Or as someone noted on Gothamist Contribute, "Those retarded pantless freaks boarded a downtown......

The sunny weather we've had for the past couple of days is about to give way to several days of rain. As Gothamist types up this post we see that the local radar shows showers overhead. There's no rain yet reaching the ground, which tells us that whatever rain is to fall this afternoon is likely to be on the light side. It's kind of a standard December weather system that is responsible for......

December is off to a chilly start. Every day so far this month has been cooler than normal. Yesterday's 14 degrees below normal was the nadir of this current cold spell. Today will be slightly warmer and tomorrow will be slightly more warmer yet again. The minor warming may be accompanied by a bit of light rain as an upper level disturbance runs through the region this afternoon. As it cools tonight the rain may......

A reader wrote on Gothamist Contribute:Tonight, (Sunday, Dec 2) at 3am, there was a fight at 119th & amsterdam, in front of a bar. I was walking on the other side of the avenue, and it was clear that things were escalating. All of a sudden, I heard two gunshots -- like a 'pop', except louder, like a tire bursting -- and I saw everyone scatter; everyone walking down my side of the avenue......

Mother Nature is all treats and no tricks this Halloween. With southerly flow around a high pressure system centered to the east today's high temperature should be nearly ten degrees warmer than normal. The day should be mostly sunny but there may be a few clouds and ghouls this evening. The quest for a record warm October has come down to the last day! Gothamist calculates a monthly average temperature of 63.65 degrees if Central......

We were tempted this morning to throw up a pretty sky photo from the Gothamist Contribute pool and not write anything because there's not much weather to discuss. The week is starting out cool but will get warmer. By Thursday we should be seeing maximum temperatures in the upper-70s to around 80 degrees as the high pressure system that will dominate the weather this week moves further eastward. Skies are expected to stay mostly clear......

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.......

If you like your Astroland, there's some good news. The Post is reporting that the Coney Island amusement park will be open for another summer. Apparently, Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr. is brokering a deal to keep the park open through the 2008 season. Astroland's operators are working out details of the deal, including compensation, with Thor Equities As you know, Thor has grand plans for the Astroland site. After purchasing it for $30 million......

Via Gothamist Contribute: last night, i started to photograph this gigantic teddy bear (well, monkey) when... a guy jumped out to scare me. he said he'd been in there for 3 hrs. then he bolted up and feverishly started to look for his wallet... a woman nearby kept saying "ohmygawd, that's the cutest teddy bear" to which i said, "i think it's a monkey" to which the guy inside the stuffing said "it's The......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 2: The Rangers finished off their sweep of the Thrashers in dramatic fashion, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to finally take the lead on a goal that had to be reviewed for over five minutes. Five minutes into the third period, Matt Cullen unleashed a vicious slapshot that caromed off the top crossbar and appeared to bounce out of the crease. Replays showed the puck had bounced down into......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: PATH Train derailment at Christopher Street, "DOA removal" on 43rd Street, and a double stabbing in Harlem. Looks like a couple of hundred people showed up to blow bubbles at Union Square yesterday. Via Gothamist Contribute: "This is Park Slope-- not Russia!" Brooke Astor turns 105 this week: "She is still dressed every day in the finest outfits and jewels." And speaking of outfits and jewels, Elton John turns......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a slashing in Queens, building collapse in the Bronx, and a 10-75 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Twenty students from the New School and Pace got arrested yesterday after they occupied a US Army Recruitment Center on Chambers Street. Some good protest pix are also available. Our pal Tricia Romano devotes a full five pages to explaining the mysterious and seductive phenomenon that is Ultragrrrrl. Don't try to fight her......

Today in dirty restaurant news-- "Coffee Shop on Union Sq closed by the Dept. of Health! They have signs up that say "closed for renovations" but one of the ones on 16th St. has the tell-tale yellow DOH sign underneath. They have papered teh windows so you can't see the signs or see inside." [Via Gothamist Contribute] What would you choose: Dealing with bedbugs in a rent-stabilized apartment in Windsor Terrace or leaving the......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Carjacking at a carwash in Queens, a gas main break in Staten Island and two instances of a barricaded perp. The biggest problem with off-leash laws in parks? People that don't pick up their dog's shit. Off-leash or not, that's a problem all the time, no? Remember those disturbing details of the cop that was seduced while in Montessori school? Well, the cop says that it was 'cool' when......

Today, a reader wrote on Gothamist Contribute:The Building on Wooster and Grand (across from the Deitch gallery) has been hit BAD by the splasher. I walk by it on the way to work every morning. Not only was the street art covered, but practically the entire building in green paint! He also had his beloved "manifesto" up. No camera for a picture unfortunately, but this has to be his most extreme hit yet.We went......

- It's strange that in this arctic weather that the best food news we've heard today is that NYC Icy is returning. NYC Nosh snapped a photo of this sign in Hell's Kitchen. Bring on the summer! - Midtown Lunch shares the news that you can now find chicken and waffles in Midtown. - And speaking of fried chicken, we're now seriously craving some of the Korean fried chicken featured in today's Times. - Michael......

A couple comments on Gothamist Contribute noted some issues around East 3rd Street today. - Any idea what happened at the Hell's Angel house on E. 3rd St? Police tape and detectives were around when I walked by earlier this morning. - Regarding the NYPD helicopter. We live at 72 East 3rd, and there are snipers on the roof next to us aiming at the Hell's Angels who live opposite. There was a big ruck......

Despite winter being upon us, the hipsters of New York took to the streets yesterday with strange, creative outfits and shopping carts in this year's Idiotarod. What's the Idiotarod, you ask? It's like the annual Iditarod from Nome to Anchorage except with teams of human idiots replacing dogs. Some of the more creative costumes we noticed: Wonderwoman, the Noid (think Domino's Pizza campaign), the McDonald's mascots, the Cosbys, Ghostbusters with the Stay Puft Marshmallow......

Bundle up: Arctic air is coming in and it'll be very cold tonight - WABC 7 says "by midnight it will be 18 degrees with a wind chill of zero degrees" - and tomorrow Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: airplane emergency at JFK, a stolen armored car in Queens, and a bank robbery in Midtown. Has Exxon been dumping "100 million gallons of partially treated ground water - water laced with the known carcinogen......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an electric shock at 10 Penn Plaza, a fall victim down a hole at Beaver and William Street, and a person stuck between train cars at 96th Street on the 2/3. A tip from Marianne, via Gothamist Contribute: "The public should not be alarmed by activity beginning tomorrow in the vicinity of the Brooklyn Bridge. Beginning tomorrow at 4:00 PM, Tuesday, January 23, and continuing on weekdays through January,......

Most amusing tip of the week from Gothamist Contribute: "gay ass L train broke down at bedford. probably too many large sunglasses and ugg boots to handle." George Bush has been reading your mail for about a month. Park Slope Moms ain't nothing to fcuk wit'! Related: there ain't no feud like a Park Slope real estate feud, because a Park Slope real estate feud don't stop. Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bus......

Startling weather news! Temperatures may dip below freezing tonight as we'll be on the southern end of a polar front moving over New England. Only a degree or two below freezing, but cold enough to be our coolest night in nearly three weeks. If that's not cold enough for you, head up to Montreal for some near-zero (Fahrenheit) chills. After a cool night here, daytime temperatures will rebound to the mid- to upper-40s for the......

We're constantly amazed by the stuff that comes in on Gothamist Contribute. For instance, yesterday Allan Mohlo sent in a single black and white picture of a Richard Hambleton shadow-figure. Hambleton is a well-known streetartist from the 1980s, but we've seen relatively few photos of his pieces, so this one piqued our interest. We clicked through to Allan's Flickr stream, and lo-and-behold, found this amazing set of streetart shots. Check out a few of them:......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a "car in the water / DOA" in Queens, an unstable building in Fort Greene, and an "unusual crime" at Laguardia ("PLANE RETURNING TO LAGUARDIA AIRPORT-US AIR. PILOT WAS HANDED A THREATENING NOTE. --BNN.") The Times has a touching story about a cave-dwelling homeless man in the Bronx-- together with a nun, he delivers holiday food to needy families in the area. A man took an upskirt cameraphone picture......

This morning, many of you got to see (and seethe about) NASCAR's Victory Lap in Midtown this morning. The thing is, the Department of Transportation has always considered November 29 to be a Gridlock Alert Day. Which means traffic was totally screwed up on one of the busiest days of the year. Good work, to the lucky dog who planned that one! Now the question is, how would congestion pricing work for a NASCAR......

We've been admiring some gorgeous pictures of last night's start of the Prospect Park in Lights installation on Gothamist Contribute. We love this photograph by Atomische, showing ocean waters created out of lights. According to Prospect Park, "more than half a million light emitting diodes (LEDs) will be used to illuminate four gateways to the Park: Grand Army Plaza, which encompasses the historic Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch and the Bailey Fountain; Bartel-Pritchard Circle;......

If you enjoyed yesterday's post about the massive fire on 4th Avenue in Park Slope, then you'll probably like this one as well. Lindsay sent in a bunch of pictures of a big accident on Smith Street and President, along with this account: A little after 11, a drunk flipped his car on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The vehicle skidded out of control at the corner of Smith and President, sideswiped a......

Yesterday, someone wrote on Gothamist Contribute, "One of the winners at the cat show today freaked out and took off. By show's end, it still had not been found. Poor thing. Maybe expecting cats to stay put like dogs is just a bad idea." Ack! Luckily, Russian Blue "Evgeny Pushenko" was found this morning at 9:20AM. Evgeny, who was present for the “best of show” segment, slipped away from a judge and sent everyone......

We've all been there: you're looking for a $3500/month studio near City Hall, but you just don't have time to tell your butler to stop dusting and crack open the Times' real estate section for you. Thank god, a solution has now arrived: Luxurny, a mashup showing luxury apartments available for rent in the tonier precincts of our city. And by city, we mean Manhattan. And by rent, we mean pay way too much......

Oh damn! The beautiful and strange Broken Angel building in Clinton Hill seems to be on fire! Brooklyn Record has the first shot-- is anyone in the area available to snap a few pictures of the damage? The building is on the corner of Downing and Quincy-- we're not going to be able to bike down there for at least a few hours. Update: according to the Gothamist Newsmap, it's an all-hands call for......