Dozens of families that occupied approximately 30 apartments in an East Harlem apartment house found themselves out on the street yesterday, with what little belongings they could gather together as they were hustled from their homes. The Dept. of Buildings condemned the structure on 2nd Ave. and 120th St., noting that several partitions had recently been removed from the building's basement, causing the building's floor to sag in a sign of potential imminent collapse. In......

A big crowd packed Joe on East 13th Street last night for New York’s first inter-cafe barista showdown, as representatives from some of the city’s top coffee houses competed in a Latte Art Throwdown to benefit American Red Cross relief efforts in Burma and China. In fact, so many spectators turned out to watch the competition – which was simulcast on the back wall – that they had to send out for more beer three......

Serendipitously coinciding with Obama’s big primary win, tonight’s Latte Art Throwdown at the 13th Street Joe will surely be crawling elitist liberals who love stuff like delicious espresso and college education. The city’s top coffee houses (Ninth Street Espresso, Gimme Coffee, Cafe Grumpy, Everyman Espresso, and Gorilla Coffee) will be sending baristas to the event, which is called "Rosettas for Relief" and benefit the American Red Cross' efforts in Myanmar and China....

Satellite map rendering of 475 Kent Avenue from Live Search Maps Over 150 residents of an eleven-story building at Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg were evacuated yesterday after the Fire Department and Buildings Department found a number of violations. The building had been illegally converted to residences and a matzoh factory, complete with two silos of (highly combustible) grain in the basement. A neighboring building was cited as well, and the violations ranged from......

The Thursday night fire in a Bedford-Stuyvsant brownstone that left a 3-year-old child in critical condition seems to have been caused by her playing with a butane lighter. There is also a tragic coincidence: In 1992, an apartment fire claimed the life of a 1-year-old sister. Gabriela Rogers, known as "Gabi," who suffered burns on 70-75% of her body, is still at New York Prebyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She and another young sister Camilila......

More than 200 people found themselves homeless last night after they were evicted from an enormous industrial building at 17-17 Troutman St. in the Ridgewood section of Queens, with Bushwick, Brooklyn just across the street. The loft residents were told to leave by the Department of Buildings and signs were posted saying that the building was "imminently perilous to life." Fire and building inspectors also cited numerous violations in the fire code and evidence......

At least 27 families were evacuated 305 West 150th Street in Harlem after the Fire and Buildings Departments found the apartment building to be unstable. WNBC describes the building as an "active construction site" - so active that a resident complained to the Buildings Department that the owners were trying to do demolition work, with the residents still there. An inspection found that "floor braces were exposed" and "there was excessive debris." One report says......

Well, there's nothing like having a barely-one-hour blackout on a sultry weekday to make you consider stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water, and maybe a Go Bag. Con Ed is still investigating the cause of yesterday's brief power failure to parts of the Bronx and Manhattan; Newsday reported "the blackout was caused when breakers opened at an Astoria substation and cut off power to stations servicing Yorkville and parts of the Bronx." It's unclear......

After reports of an unstable wall and possible demolition, it looks like the Bedford Street building that houses the bar Chumley's is staying up. But the Department of Buildings must determine whether the building is secure. The owners' construction contractors were doing illegal work: Though they applied for permits, the DOB hadn't approved them yet. The NY Times reports that the workers had been "repairing a wall at...Chumley's when an attached chimney collapsed at......

The pseudonymous Lux Nightmare burst onto the alt porn scene as a college student at Columbia where she launched the naked-guy-and-girl site That Strange Girl, featuring stills and video of herself and numerous other models who looked like they could be her fellow classmates. At a time when Suicide Girls and Burning Angel were coming to prominence, That Strange Girl (who, full disclosure, this interviewer posed for) was a homegrown, indie entry in the genre.......

Last night, an apartment building in Far Rockaway caught fire, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes in the cold weather. By the time firefighters arrived to Neilson Street, flames were already shooting through the windows. The fire spread to the house next door, and the Long Island Power Authority and Con Ed shut off the power to area customers in order to protect firefighters. One resident told WNBC 4, "I didn't want to......

Evil Dead: The Musical officially came to life this month at New World Stages; we caught the show in previews, in a house packed with Evil Dead fans who reveled in every campy moment. The first two rows are given Gallagheresque ponchos and by evening’s end the audience in this so-called “splatter zone” is bathed in enough blood to run the Red Cross for a month. (If you’re grossed out by the amount of blood......

On Friday, NYC freelance journalist Bradley Roland Will was killed while covering a protest in Oaxaca. Will had been reporting on the human rights violations in Mexico for IndyMedia, and it seems that plainclothes paramilitary opened fire on a crowd of protesters. Will was shot in abdomen and died at a Red Cross Hospital; two others were killed and Will's photographer Oswaldo Ramirez was injured. Oaxaca has been filled with protesters for the past five......

A three-alarm fire occured in a historic townhouse on East 70th Street over night. The townhouse at 115 East 70th was empty, but residents in other buildings had to be evacuated. One hundred forty firefighters responded and one witness told 1010WINS, "I saw flames going all the way to the moon." The Red Cross set up emergency shelter - even using an MTA bus to keep people warm. Fire officials are investigating the fire's cause,......

Yesterday afternoon, part of the East Village came to a standstill as emergency workers tried to secure a construction crane after a big chunk of its rigging fell onto a cab. Amazingly, the cabbie and passenger were not seriously hurt, even though the front of the cab was insanely crushed (see this picture). The crane itself became unstable, and the workers inside the crane's cab were thrown around, leaving them injured. Police officers had......

Last week, the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres created an exhibit in Central Park called, A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City, to show New Yorkers what a refugee camp looks like and how MSF gives essential medical care and controls epidemics. The exhibit moved to Prospect Park yesterday, where it will be through this Sunday before it moves to other parts of the country. We spoke to Executive Director......

How many ways can we write that power has still not been restored in Queens? Cause it still hasn't. What else can we say? The papers are having a good time with this one, what journalist wouldn't love to write a story about a hair salon in Astoria that can't do a blowout? But good news stories doesn't bring the power back on, and neither, it seems, do all the mayor's horses and all......

A survey from the Red Cross and NYU's Center for Catastrophe Preparedness & Response says that New Yorkers are not all that prepared for disasters. New Yorkers have thought about disasters, but haven't gone all the way:- Half of New Yorkers polled have emergency supply kits, but many of these kits are incomplete; - 63% of New Yorkers polled have an emergency plan, but rarely have they put their plan to a test run or......

The latest new design (the fourth!) for the planned Moynihan train station at the James Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue was revealed yesterday, and while it is less dramatic than previous incarnations, it seems like this design might actually be the one that's built. Funnily enough, the Empire State Development Corporation can't quite keep up, as the images it has are old designs, but architect grubbykid analyzed the drafts of the general project......

In the middle of the week, a meteorologist commented that New York City hadn't received very much rain since March. Well, now we've received at least an inch of rain since yesterday, and the rain is going strong today. However, the rain brought a lesson with it - renovated hotels are susceptible to water damage and flooding, especially when they have a temporary roof. The Marcel Hotel on East 24th Street had to be evacuated......

As EPA officials continue to affirm that the air around Ground Zero is perfectly safe for breathing (cough, cough, yeah right), many brave enough to lend to the rescue and recovery efforts of that day continue to experience long reaching health problems. The Post reports today of a class-action lawsuit alleging that "an alarming number of" workers have developed and died from brain tumors linked to 9/11 environmental exposures. This includes six NYPD cops......

-- Three people shot outside Farragut Houses in Vinegar Hill-- we were biking by around 5 and there were tons of police and reporters milling around. -- Union Square Ventures invaded by killer pigeon-- COMMENCE PANIC! -- Jesus Toni, enough about 24 already! -- Woman turns tricks out of apartment and teaches four year old to insult dad in Chinese: "You are stupid because your wife is sleeping with other men." -- And tonight......

Three young children and an elderly man were killed in their Queens home yesterday evening. Newsday says the fire was started by a child playing with matches. Two of the children, 5 and 6 year old brothers, were found hiding with each other in the closet of their basement apartment, while their 1 year old baby daughter was found in her crib; the 88 year old man was found outside their door and fire officials......

Rob Walker, Journalist...

Since Gothamist usually tries to write about shows that are coming up or playing for extended periods so that you have chance to get tickets (if you make plans further in advance than we do, of course) but this week we’re making an exception in order to mention a few theatre events that are either one-night-only or closing soon, but worth trying to get to if you can. Most immediately is the second of two......

Gothamist loves that on any given night, the performers and writers who create shows like SNL, Conan and the Daily Show are performing live at other venues around the city. It’s just one of the many reasons we love living here and this week it seems like there are more opportunities to check them out than usual. Tonight at 9:30pm, the PIT [154 W. 29th St.] presents Late Night with Conan O’Brien writer and performer......

- Paris Commune, the West Village eatery that moved into new space at 99 Bank Street last year, is celebrating its anniversary by opening the Rouge Wine Bar. Quaff wines from France, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Chile while you wait for a table upstairs, or finish off your night by sipping on a glass of cognac while you gaze at the original fresco covering two walls. Look closely and you might see Marc......

Topping Gothamist's short list of things we can't get enough of are a nice cold Hoegarten, sample sales and the priceless humor of Flight of the Conchords. Though billed as a folk-parody duo, their songs have little to do with the typical issues addressed in folk music...unless you count their story of Albi, a racist dragon who cries jellybean tears and teaches us all a real life lesson. The rest of their songs tackle more......

I cleaned out my closet this weekend and have a few bags of clothing in good condition. My first reaction was to donate to the Red Cross for hurricane victims, but are there any agencies or shelters in NYC that will give clothing directly to people in need? Now is a good time to remember that while the poor and displaced of the Gulf Coast need our help and sympathy - and will for quite......

Some of our best memories of New Orleans involve the rich Cajun and Creole culinary traditions of its people and its restaurants. The New York Times lists several upcoming restaurant-related fundraisers, several of which are designed specifically to assist those in the New Orleans restaurant industry: A fund has been established to benefit restaurant and hotel workers. Contributions may be sent to: New Orleans Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund, Greater Houston Community Foundation, 4550 Post......