Lunar New Year, by Harris Graber at flickr This afternoon was the parade celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year; it's the Year of the Rat. Chinatown in Manhattan is one of the earliest concentrations of Chinese people in the United States. After the jump are more early pictures of the parade.......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on 7th Ave. in Brooklyn, a child shot on 224th St. in Queens, and a pedestrian struck on Park Ave. and 39th St. in Manhattan. Through the miracle of digital image manipulation, even one's mug shot can become a glamour shot. After a gameday prohibition on selling beer at the stadium failed to dissuade scores of men gathering at Gate D and yelling for women to......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a two alarm fire at 80 Washington St in Lower Manhattan; an aircraft emergency at JFK this morning; two pedestrians struck on E. 53rd St.; and a "possible A.I. job" (whatever that is) in Woodhaven. The NYCLU objected yesterday to the number of cases the Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated. The board, which investigates police misconduct, only substantiated 5% of the cases, but that's actually higher than that of......

An ambitious plan to plant one million trees in New York is actually going to rely heavily, or primarily, on the the actions and funding of individual residents. On Earth Day back in April, Mayor Bloomberg announced one of many bold initiatives to make New York a greener city: plant a million trees by 2030. Bloomberg even said that $250 million would be devoted to the project over the next ten years to get it......

The Department of Transportation announced that Central Park's West Drive will be car free until 8AM starting on Monday, August 6. Per the DOT's press release, via Streetsblog: Beginning Monday, August 6th, the West Drive of Central Park between Lenox Avenue and the 7th Avenue Exit will be closed to motor vehicles for an additional hour (7-8am) during the morning peak period. Currently, the West Drive is open to motor vehicles between the hours......

Part of a larger block party on Eldridge Street tomorrow is the annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams Festival. For just $2, (a dollar increase from last year), you get a kosher egg roll and a classic egg cream, mixed on site by a professional and made with Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup, the best choice for an authentic experience. The fried kosher egg roll will be missing the standard tiny bits of red pork, of......

Yesterday we pointed out WCBS tip-sheet that reminded vacationers that the beach is a deadly minefield of hazards, potentially littered with actual explosives. Now, local ABC affiliate WABC has a piece pointing out the dangers of Memorial Day grilling. Salmonella, e. coli bacteria, and other causes of food poisoning tend to proliferate when people get relaxed about cooking cleanliness while grilling. The CDC reports that food-poisoning illnesses necessitate 300,000 hospitalizations a year and cause 5,000......

Yesterday's thunderstorm left its mark around the area. Just under 2,000 homes were without power in the five boroughs (though, given Con Ed's counting, that could be many times more) while thousands of homes in Westchester, New Jersey and Connecticut were also powerless. About an inch of rain fell in Central Park. The winds were fierce: According to AccuWeather, the winds were "just short of hurricane force," and the Post reports winds were at 70......

Artist Sergio Furnari's life-size sculpture based on a photograph of construction workers during Rockefeler Center's construction has been a familiar site all over the city. But someone had the gall to steal the 100-pound worker on the right. Furnari told the Post, "People loved that guy the most, because he was holding a bottle. He's probably sitting in the [thief's] living room having a drink." Furnari says he noticed the sculpture was missing from......

As first reported on Slice, Patsy Grimaldi, founder of Grimaldi's has come out of retirement to operate Girmaldi's at Aviator, the new sports and recreation complex at Floyd Bennett Field. The Times picks up the story today, quoting Mr. Grimaldi, who sold the original pizzeria several years ago, as saying retirement "was a big mistake". Anyone familiar with Grimaldi's knows they don't do slices. The new shop breaks from that tradition by selling slices......

-- If you like bagels and butt-holes, then this story is for you. Everyone else: look away! -- Curbed visits the disturbingly asymmetric New Museum development on Bowery-- when will buildings look normal again? -- Hilarious: One of Blogger's default templates makes the window at Saks 5th Avenue. -- Does "depraved indifference" homicide warrant 25 years to life? In this case, being totally drunk, driving your car on the wrong side of a highway......

-- $600K and two years later the MTA has scrapped plans for fancy radio communications for the FDNY and NYPD because they can't get the frequencies from the government. -- The public embarrassments for the Astors keep on coming! Seems that Mrs. Astor's son dramatically underpaid the taxes she owed after selling a Childe Hassam painting. -- The idea of zoning out fast food restaurants rises again. -- The News looks at unsolved murders......

With the weather so nice, it's the perfect opportunity to head to Flushing today to check out the final day of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York. Today's races have already started, but the event lasts until 6 p.m., with the last race scheduled for 5:09 (it will undoubtedly be running late). If watching various teams compete in dragon boats from the shores of Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,......

- The Brooklyn community of Gerritsen is quiet to the police after hate-crime arrests - A newspaper vendor was killed by a hit-and-run driver in the Bronx yesterday - and a pedestrian was hit by a car in Queens - Mayor Bloomberg wants solid proof that September 11 made rescue workers ill when their relatives are applying for September 11 death benefits - The Little League teammates of Shamar Porter, the 10 year old......

- A middle-aged man was found stabbed to death in a part of Prospect Park with a reputation for gay cruising. - Turns out you can see FDNY and EMS response times and call types online! A commenter points out: Last month there were 2,085 "Malicious False Alarms" - 195 in Staten Island, 386 in Manhattan, 484 in Queens, 488 in Brooklyn, and 532 in the Bronx! - Thanks to the still being tabulated......