Stephen Colbert continued his new feature on The Colbert Report program called "Nailed 'Em," in which the television host hopes to overcome the niceties of the legal system with skillful editing and generous amounts of innuendo. This week's subject was Brooklyn's own graffiti "punk," 6-year-old Natalie Shea. You may remember that Shea's chalk drawings - on her own front stoop - prompted a neighbor to complain to the Sanitation Department, which threatened the family with......

Would-be Empire State Building jumper, Jeb Corliss (pictured), isn't in the clear yet. Last year's decision from Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht to dismiss the charges against him was overturned yesterday when The Supreme Court Appellate Division decided to bring the case back to life. A four-judge panel unanimously voted, and the Manhattan District Attorney's office can now pursue its charge of reckless endangerment against Corliss for his 2006 attempted jump. The judges did reduce......

Yesterday we noted Council Member Peter Vallone Jr.'s latest mission: putting an end to stunts. Of course, one of the best examples of this daredevil activity is brought to us by Jeb Corliss; after attempting to jump off the Empire State Building in 2006 Bloomberg wasn't too happy with this thrill-seeker. Or the judge that dropped the charges against him. But now the city is revisiting the case and trying to appeal the decision. Possibly......

Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill that would have Evel Knievel rolling in his grave. If it becomes law, stunt men are going to have a tough time working on their craft in New York, as it would outlaw climbing and jumping off any structure taller than 25 feet; daredevils could get fined and spend up to a year in jail. Alain Robert is not going to be happy about this......

Pictured: All City NRG designed by Vincent "Factone" Ficarra, urban artist in New York. Remember AriZona Iced Tea? Well, its made a cross-country image trip and landed in the heart of NYC with its new energy drink called All City NRG (you know, like the subway lines). As you can see, the cans are all tagged up, and their promo van is similarly decorated -- though it's sort of camouflaged when parked in the......

With Mayor Bloomberg up in Albany deriding Gov. Spitzer for bilking the city out of $500 million in promised funding, it's no wonder that the perennial call for secession has arisen. Every time NY State politics gets heated, we get to rehash the economics of NYC declaring itself independent from the state. During his NYC budget speech last week, Bloomberg pointed out (again) how NYC pays more than $11 billion in state taxes it doesn't......

Oh no! An 8-month-old baby bitten by a family dog was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. The family lives on Ocean Parkway in the Prospect Park South/Kensington neighborhood. According to NY1, the baby had been in his grandmother's care "when the family Doberman bit his head. Sources say the attack may have occurred after the baby touched the dog's paw." WNBC reports police shot the dog with a dart and Animal Control removed it......

On Wednesday the City Council passed a law that we're calling "The Dan Hoyt Law". It will "target individuals who commit lewd acts in public more than once in a three year period," which will allow judges to give flashers a harsher sentence, up to a year in jail and three years of probation, on top of a $1,000 fine."We are moving to punish a pattern of behavior that is not only disgusting but dangerous.......

So if you remember correctly, Grand Theft Auto IV, the New York City crime simulator, was supposed to be in stores by now. But between production delays and the million other great games this season to compete with, they decided to just push it back till next Spring and get it right. But just in case you've you've still got an itch for some Eastern European organized crime this holiday season, here's a brand......

Homework can be added to the grand list of things that City Council member Peter Vallone is not so fond of. (That list includes graffitti, peeping toms, Con Ed, and pit bulls so far.) The other day, he said he wanted to introduce a cap on elementary school homework - 2 1/2 hours each day, plus one homework-free night a week. Pshaw, a homework-free night? That's called Friday! Vallone explained, "There is no study that......

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Council member Peter Vallone presented a proposal withnew requirements about grocery stores' use, recycling and storage of plastic bags. Stores bigger than 5,000 square feet would need to:Use recyclable bags Have bins where customers can return bags Print "Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling" in 3"+ high letters on bags Provide reusable bags for sale (this can also mean more durable plastic) Record......

After reading this, you may think twice about having a seat in Union Square. The website peeped some peeping toms in the area, visually depicted above (they added a "red carpet" to illustrate the "peeper zone"). They also tell us that a "peeper live zone" can contain up to two dozen pervs at one time and can extend up to 30 feet. We wonder what they do when summer skirt season comes to an......

Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introducedsince Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills. The article also lists the top ten......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Chambers and Water Sts. off Manhattan, an armed robbery on Rockaway Blvd. and 75th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Grafton St. in Brooklyn. LibrerDia Lectorum, one of the city's oldest Spanish language bookstores will be closing September 30th. The Manhattan store on 14th St. opened in 1960 and became a mainstay of Spanish literature in the city. A fire broke out yesterday afternoon......

aboutmattlaw took this great photograph at the Ditmars Boulevard subway station stairs. It's a nod to Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone's proposed legislation to ban "non-sensual" peeping, with punishments like 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for first offense. Vallone said that his bill was prompted by some women's complaints that a "rather large pervert" was lurking under the Ditmars station's subway steps. Per the Queens Gazette, Vallone emphasizes, "These perverts use......

L.B. Jeffries would be screwed! City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. is proposing legislation to ban "non-consensual peeping with cameras to peeping with the naked eye" according to the NY Sun. The crime would be a misdemeanor, with a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. CityRoom has some of the legislation: b. Voyeurism in a private place. It shall be unlawful to deliberately view another person, without that person’s knowledge and......

On Tuesday, a Con Ed executive faced a number of irritated City Council members seeking answers about the July 18 steam pipe explosion in Midtown. Senior vice president William Longhi said that the investigation could take another two or three months, but City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "You may not have all the answers and all the Ts crossed and all the Is dotted. I can accept that. But I cannot accept that you......

You'd imagine that Kevin Burke, the chairman, president, and CEO of Con Ed, would want to attend at City Council meeting about the steam pipe explosion on July 18. But, no, Burke isn't showing up, which annoys many Council members. The Sun has a good look at the head of the city's essential and currently reviled utility. Though the Sun couldn't get a comment from Con Ed about Burke's absence (SVP of central operations William......

Lawmakers are looking to toughen laws around tinted windows on automobiles. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum pointed out that police officer Russel Timoshenko was fatally shot when he approached a stolen SUV with tinted windows. And current State Senator Eric Adams (a retired police captain and a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care) summed it up, "The criminal element does not use tinted windows to protect themselves from dangerous UV rays. They use......

The City Council voted, 46-2, to allow NYC public school students to bring cell phones to and from school - though not to use them during the day. The bill was meant to address concerns of parents and students who believe cell phones are critical to students' safety (see these tales of cell phone-less horror). City Councilman Lew Fidler who sponsored the bill said his 17-year-old son walks eight blocks for a bus and "We......

After months of silence, it looks like Shepard Fairey's recent work on the streets of New York has brought the Splasher out of retirement. Not clear yet if this is related to last week's stinkbomb arrest. Matt Barber writes:Was down on Wooster today at the candy factory building and snapped this photo, the wheatpaste and paint look pretty fresh to me, Shep just put the same poster up near my house last week so thought......

After two days on life support, the 56-year-old bodega owner, who was shot in the face during a robbery attempt, died yesterday morning and police continued their search for the group suspected of robbing a number of bodegas over the past four months. Police Commissioner Kelly said the robbers are "certainly" considered "dangerous," but Cruz's family wonders why the police didn't tell the community about the robberies. One of Cruz's eight children, Karina Cruz, asked,......

While 11-year-old Xochil Garcia is still being praised for her quick thinking and bravery after escaping and helping nab a man who tried to abduct her, some adults are upset at the law. Her parents, as well as City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., are angry that the suspected kidnapper, Bernard Mutterperl, was set free on $25,000 bail. According to court documents, 19-year-old Borough Park resident Mutterperl told the police "when he sees young girls, he......

As part of Adidas's new spring line of End to End sneakers for Foot Locker, the German shoe manufacturer has created an EndtoEnd Project exhibit in an empty lot on Lafayette and Houston. Adidas had different graffiti artists create designs for shoes in an East London warehouse, so in bringing the finished shoes to the states, Adidas has the artists tagging a replica of a NYC subway car! Cue for a quote from City......

With the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer circulating a good six months before the game's release, NYC officials are giving the thumbs down. The Daily News has comments:"It's despicable to glamorize violence in games like these, regardless of how far-fetched the setting may be," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers," said Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor......

The city's murder rate so far has dropped dramatically. There have been 84 murders through Sunday, and the Post reports that's an "average of roughly one per day - an astonishing figure compared to the early 1990s when six New Yorkers were killed during a typical 24-hour period." For reference, last year, there were 117 murders during the same period. Additionally, shootings are down 20% versus the same period last year (203 incidents in 2007,......

Today on the Gothamist News Map: A hazmat situation in Brooklyn, and a fire at Essex and Broome in Manhattan Unusual sighting on the Metro North: A 7' tall drag queen A magistrate judge recommends dismissing the lawsuit that is blocking Atlantic Yards construction, but a district judge will have the final say The suburbs totally suck the smart out of you: One guy bought a CPR dummy to be able to commute on......

As the City Council continues to look at police-supplied data showing blacks are stopped 55% of the time during stop-and-frisk searches, the community has startled to rumble. The Reverend Al Sharpton said that he would start collecting names to file a class action lawsuit against the city. He asid, "It's an outrage. It's enough. No matter how productive you are, to be cast as a suspect rather than a citizen is intolerable in this country.........

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that allows people between 18 and 21 years to buy spray paint and broad-tipped markers. Yes, the city has been trying to block the sale of things that might lead to graffiti for over the year, but the law was so nutty that District Judge George Daniels stopped the city's ban until the issue could be further looked into. Well, the 2nd Circuit wrote that......

City officials met with the police, fire department, and MTA to discuss subway evacuation plans yesterday. The FDNY said that it is "much more prepared today than we had been back in 2001" and cited special phone jacks firefighters can use in radio dead zones. But the City Council was skeptical. amNew York reports that transportation committee chairman Councilman John Liu wondered why there was so much focus on "extreme disaster situations" when track......