The DOT's $700,000 transformation of a seven block stretch of Broadway into a pedestrian esplanade with tables, chairs and planters is complete, and the Times has taken the anxious pulse of local workers lounging on their lunchbreaks. The consensus? A nice gesture, but it's only a matter of time before a cab swerves into the tables and turns the urban oasis into a scene of unspeakable carnage. Some choice observations from the men and women......

Surprise! Without a formal public announcement, the city has been moving ahead with a $700,000 plan to shrink part of Broadway in midtown from a four-lane to a two-lane street and use the rest of the space for a public esplanade, which the DOT is calling “Broadway Boulevard.” The change will be complete on August 15th, when the east side of Broadway between 42nd Street and Herald Square is turned over to a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway, teeming with cafe tables, chairs, umbrellas and flower-filled planters....

If you've ever been to Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg on a weekend day, you'll know the sidewalks can become overcrowded, especially on the north side. This summer the pedestrian traffic jams will be eliminated...at least for four days. The Brooklyn Paper reports "the city will close Bedford Avenue to traffic, turning the thoroughfare into a pedestrian-only plaza between Metropolitan Avenue and North Ninth Street." The project has been in talks for a while now, and......

Responding to years of griping (and vigilante sign-making) about the poorly lit, hard-to-locate pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO, the city has finally gotten around to putting up some new signs guiding walkers to the bridge. Spearheaded by the DUMBO Improvement District, the makeover was unveiled today by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and other officials, and coincides with the bridge’s 125th birthday celebration, which kicks off tomorrow at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State......

There are many intersections that are frightening to cross--Allen & Delancey, Adams & Fulton, many intersections along Queens Boulevard--but blog Hawthorne Street put its life on the line to film the dangers of crossing Ocean Avenue at Parkside to get to Prospect Park. Hawthorne Street is trying to get improvements made to the intersection, and there will be a meeting to discuss redesign ideas for Prospect Park next Monday. Streetsblog has a rendering of......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a ceiling collapse at Franklin Ave. and Union St. in Brooklyn, a pedestrian was fatally struck on Queens Blvd. in Woodhaven, Queens, and an unusual rescue on the south bound tower of the Throgs Neck Bridge in Queens. An undercover cop forgot to turn off the wire he was wearing while discussing 11 bags of cocaine he seized in a Brooklyn bust that were never turned in. He was......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was struck on Wythe and Metropolitan Ave. in Brooklyn, an overturned police car on Gun Hill Rd. in the Bronx, and a bank robbery on Austin Rd. in Queens. Joseph Jirovec, one of the teenagers accused of the Hannukah Q train hate crime, says that he and his friends were the victims. He said the fight began only after a racial slur was directed at one of......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin St. in Queens, a pedestrian struck off Balfour Pl. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a rescue on Bank St. in Manhattan. The Domino Sugar factory on Brooklyn's waterfront has achieved landmark status. David Chase is heading to court to face a former municipal court judge who claims he came up with an idea for a show about a northern NJ mob family. David......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 166th St. and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Berry St. and Division Ave. in Brooklyn, and a found body on Richmond Valley and Arthur Kill on Staten Island. Still searching for the Staten Island ninja burglar, police questioned New York Post photographer Ron Romano because of his ninja-like ability to tightrope walk. A huge hole in the middle of Brooklyn's Pacific......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an armed robbery on Washington Ave. in the Bronx, a bank robbery on 18th Ave. in Brooklyn, and a pedestrian struck on 69th St. and Queens Blvd. in Queens. Amidst "barbs and accusations," talks between studios and the writers guild appear to have broken down. Repeats will continue, as will Seth Meyers' long circular picketing sojourn. Animals at the Queens City Zoo will be receiving special holiday culinary treats......

A 65-year-old man was killed during his bicycle ride to work when he was struck by an open car door in the bike lane at 6th Avenue and 36th Street. David Smith was then pushed off his bike and into the path of a box truck, which hit him. Smith lived on West 9th Street and worked as an engineer at Town Hall in midtown. His partner of 36 years John Moody said that he......

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the......

The pedestrian, bicyclist and sensible transportation advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has just launched a new website, Crash Maps: CrashStat 2.0, which maps intersections and streets where pedestrians and bicyclists have been hit by vehicles. It's an updated version of their previous map, and when the information is presented different depending on how closely you zoom into the map. For instance, at one level, it shows crashes (those with injuries as well as the fatal......

Yesterday's gusting winds caused quite a bit of damage besides providing more winter chill. Building scaffolding was knocked over in many places, a tree pinned a man in NJ to the ground, and windows and/or debris fell from two Manhattan skyscrapers, hitting pedestrians. Winds were reported to be at least 40MPH, with gusts at 50MPH, yesterday (wind advisory was in effect until this morning at 4AM). The Buildings Department had asked property owners and construction......

Yesterday morning's rain caused a recently installed sewer main to burst, flooding the basement and parking garage of a Battery Park City luxury apartment building. Water levels reached up to 20 feet. Not only were car owners greeted with news that their vehicles were either submerged or floating on top of sewer water, hundreds of tenants at 90 West Street were evacuated. Fire officials explained that, per WNBC, "rain flooded a re-routed sewer pipe,......

A tour trying to turn left onto Broome Street from Bowery struck a 76-year-old woman yesterday morning. The bus, operated by Skyliner, was on its way to Atlantic City. The woman had been walking south on Bowery with her son when the bus hit her. Witnesses said the woman was hit hard by the bus, flying 15 feet. One witness told the Daily News, "I guess she wasn't paying attention." Maybe - but buses (one......

The intersection of Liberty Avenue and Crescent Street in Brooklyn was the scene of two separate incidents of pedestrians being hit by vehicles. According ot the Daily News, the first incident occurred by 12:30PM, when an elderly woman was hit at the East New York intersection. Then at around 2PM, a girl was hit by a cement truck. What are the odds of two people being hit at the same place within 90 minutes? A......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a woman fell from a building at 35th St. and 5th Ave. in Manhattan, a body part was found on 20th Rd. and 18th St. in Queens, and a pedestrian was fatally struck at 50th St. and 6th Ave. in Brooklyn. Architects may lose the 408 foot spire that tops off the Freedom Tower because giant antennas may be technologically obsolete. An alliance of broadcasters are considering moving to......

Today, the Daily News put Amarjit Singh on its cover and asks New Yorkers to help him. Who is Singh? He was the cook at the Texas Smokehouse BBQ in Murray Hill until October 6, when a mentally ill man, Lee Coleman, stormed into the kitchen and grabbed four knives. Singh tried to stop Coleman, but Coleman slashed him in the head before heading outside to repeatedly stab pedestrian Susan Barron. Coleman only stopped when......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on Rockaway Ave. in Brooklyn, a pedestrian fatally struck on Cypress and Flushing Aves. in Brooklyn, and another pedestrian fatally struck on Fish Ave. and Boston Rd. in the Bronx. A former judge and WWII veteran who lost his mind, his legal autonomy, and then his fortune. The sad conclusion of his troubles are that two historic theaters have been closed. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly does some......

A woman who used to volunteer at the BARC cat loft has a great tale of a kitten she met on the Queensboro Bridge one morning while running. His name is Jeff Bridges.Jeff Bridges is the kitten I found while I was running over the Queensboro Bridge Thursday morning. How the hell he got on the pedestrian walkway of the bridge–a long, long fall on the right, eight lanes of traffic on the left......

Yesterday afternoon, an Access-A-Ride car crashed into a tree and light pole in Queens, killing an 80-year-old passenger and injuring the driver and two passengers. The car was on the Juniper Boulevard North near 62nd Avenue; the driver apparently swerved to avoid an oncoming car. One witness told WABC 7 the accident was "pretty bad," noting, "The whole top [of the car] is gone." The Access-A-Ride driver had a valid license and passed a Breathalyzer......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an attempted bank robbery on East 23rd St. in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck on 82nd St. and Central Park West in Manhattan, and a homicide on Grand Ave. in Brooklyn. The politics of succession in the world of Masters of the Universe. Changing places, changing times, unsurpassable ambition. Sometimes the old is new: when a garbage hauling-controlling family tells you to do something, you do it, or they'll burn......

Trying to walk in certain city neighborhoods is fast becoming an extreme sport. Between the new, bigger newsstands and bus shelters, the perpetually metastasizing newspaper boxes on every corner, the increasing popularity of alfresco dining, the delivery guys on their bikes and – let’s not forget – tourists, wending your way down the sidewalk without reaching for your Taser demands a degree of patience not often found in your average New Yorker. A month after......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 160th St. and Sanford Ave. in Queens, a stabbing on 10th Ave. in Manhattan, and a homicide on Kelly and East 163rd Sts. in the Bronx. CUNY hired a legendary graffiti artist to teach a course on the subject, which is upsetting a lot of people. Ron Kuby is upset that Don Imus is back on the air. Mostly because he took his job to......

Yesterday, there was excitement over the U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trial being held in the heart of Manhattan and top three finishers Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell qualifying for the 2003 Olympic team. But the event was also tragic: 2003 U.S. Marathon champion Ryan Shay suffered an apparent heart attack 5.5 miles into the race and died. Witnesses described that shortly after 8AM, Shay seemed to fall during the course near the......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at White Plains Rd. and 219th St. in the Bronx, an animal incident on Rochelle Pl. on Staten Island, and a hate crime at Columbia University in Manhattan. A tour of Jam Master Jay's studio, where the rap impressario was gunned down five years ago. A brief update on the unforgettable case where a man beat the bejeezus out of a grunting and yelping spin class......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on 160th St. and Archer Ave. in Queens, a shooting on East 119th St. in Manhattan, and a construction accident on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, Before anyone accuses A-Rod of greediness for spurning an offer of $30 million a year, let it be known that would make the top-performing athlete a pathetic piker among NYC earners. Maggie Gyllenhaal acclimates to Brooklyn: She isn't comfortable with her......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn, a bank robbery on Maiden Ln. and Gold St. in Manhattan, and an amputation at The Public School on Bristol St. in Brooklyn. Get ready for a possible porn release of Amy Fisher, thanks to her boyfriend. He handed over video of the pair to a porn producer during a fight and before the pair reconciled. Neighborhood resistance to the......

New York City abandoned its attempt to rein in street photographers, videographers, and independent filmmakers by scrapping regulations that would have tightly regulated capturing public images of the city. As part of a settlement of a lawsuit challenging the regulations, New York will allow photographers and filmmakers to operate without a permit as long as they don't prevent use of public spaces or obstruct more than half of pedestrian walkways. The original permit plan called......