Given how cold it is, this story is amazing: A teen who had been skateboarding with friends in Elmhurst last night heard some crying and found a a newborn baby girl wrapped in a blanket, inside a brown paper bag, at the top of a dumpster. The temperature was below freezing. Christopher Moncada said his brother Brian found the baby and when they opened the bag, "The baby was facing down. It looked like it......

An argument escalated into arson and then a murder-suicide, all in front of a small child, in Borough Park early yesterday morning. After setting their apartment on fire, police say that Christopher Flynn shot his girlfriend Christina Scarabaggio and then turned the gun on himself. Scarabaggio's 4-year-old daughter Bianca Perez was found crying over her mother's body outside. Flynn, who had a history of drug arrests, and Scarabaggio, a nursing student, had been dating for......

With the economy acting as though it's on a roller coaster given concerns about credit and mortgage markets, NYC real estate brokers are feeling the pains. Some potential buyers who would have qualified before issues with the mortgage markets now find themselves struggling to get the loans they need and being asked to put more of their money down. However, we will say it's hard to be sympathetic to someone looking for a $3.3......

Former Yankees shortstop and long-time announcer for the team Phil Rizzuto died this morning at the age of 89. Rizzuto played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees after being selected by the team as an amateur free agent in 1937. He wouldn't play his first major league game with the Yanks until 1941, but then served as shortstop for 13 seasons, during which the Bronx Bombers won 10 Pennants and 8......

What do we make of the fact that the NY Times book critic Michiko Kakutani purchased a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a NYC bookstore yesterday and was able to sift through its 1.8 pounds to write a review in today's paper? There are no true spoilers, just confirmation that there is a fitting ending (but if you are worried about spoilers of any kind, don't read the blockquote):J. K. Rowling’s......

There's a fascinating obituary in the NY Times today for Harvey J. Weinstein (no relation to the movie producer). Weinstein died on May 13 at age 82 in Manhattan, and while he was once the head of the biggest tuxedo manufacturer, he gained a different kind of notoriety when he was kidnapped in 1993 by a man who worked at one of Weinstein's companies as a collar maker. According to the NY Times obituary, Weinstein......

When the Fire Department responded to a two-alarm fire around 1:30AM yesterday in Bedford-Stuyvesant, they discovered that a 31-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter. And the woman, Wanette Douglas, had been strangled and stabbed 17 times. The ME's office classified the death as a homicide, and the police believe the killer set her home on fire to hide the murder. The Post says the killer threw a lit book of matches "onto the bedding -......

If you tuned into WNBC last night at 10 p.m. you may have discovered that NBC’s The Black Donnellys has been canceled and in its place the supposedly funny Thank God You're Here. We loved the gritty drama and the fact that it was filmed on location in the city. As sort of the booby prize, we are getting the rest of the series online, but still that doesn’t really satisfy. Now this is all......

Battlestar Galactica Marathon (Sunday, 6:00 p.m., WPXN 31) Five episodes of not the recent revival, but the camp Lorne Greene and Dirk Benedict show from 1978. The Frank Sinatra Show: Welcome Home Elvis (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., NJN) Elvis and Frank sing duets of Witchcraft" and Love Me Tender in this episode of his 1957 variety show. The Sopranos (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., HBO) Is there any relevance to the first episode of the final season airing......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: barricaded EDP in Brooklyn Heights, person on the tracks at 4th Avenue in Park Slope, and a police car MVA in Williamsburg. Our frenemies at Gawker started a weekend edition. Thank God-- we thought we were going to have to wait until Monday to hear about a bald Britney Spears. Worst Boss Ever: Dr. Bartha's assistant, nearly flattened in the Upper East Side explosion, is suing his estate for......

A truly strange story unfolded yesterday after initial reports that a police officer had been shot at Sixth Avenue and Prospect Place in Brooklyn. It turns out that the husband of an NYPD officer shot at an unmarked police SUV carrying four cops. And the wife, police officer Jacqueline Melendez-Rivera, tried to cover up her husband's actions. Yesterday morning around 4AM, Jose Rivera drove his SUV next to the unmarked police SUV, which carried......

- Thank God, the Discovery shuttle's launch went well - Bizarre confrontation at a Brooklyn supermarket leaves a police officer slashed - People are visiting the Freedom Tower's cornerstone in Hauppauge - The two separate drowning deaths leave mothers devastated - The Jews for Jesus are hitting NYC with its biggest group of missionaries ever - The ME's office says it'll take a few days to perform the autopsy on the full-term baby found......

The Beantown connection in Tuesday's and Wednesday's stabbing spree: A Boston judge allowed Kenny Alexis to be released of his own recognizance thought prosecutors wanted him held on $300 bail. From the NY Times:The charges against Mr. Alexis in both of the Massachusetts cases were less severe than those he faces in New York. And in fairness to the judge, Mr. Alexis had shown up for two other court appearances, said David Procopio, a spokesman......

On Sundays, Gothamist prints opinion pieces related to life in New York. If you want to submit one, email us! The opinions expressed below belong to the author, not to our site. With Sam Alito set to be confirmed to the Supreme Court this week, lots of Americans are thinking about abortion-- namely, the strong likelyhood that Roe v. Wade could be overturned in the next few years. That would make getting an abortion in......

- The NYPD is taking farebeating seriously: Two cops chased a turnstile jumper, only to have him take one officer's nightstick and hit him hard enough to crack his ribs; but they did manage to arrest him - Thank God: David Cross reveals to Gawker how to tell him apart from the fake David Cross that may be trying to sleep with you - The Mayor has to explain - Police release a sketch of......

London will be the host city for the 2012 Olympics and millions of Parisians are muttering, "Zut alors!" and many NBC executives thinking, "Thank God, they speak the same language and the time difference isn't too bad." Newscasters mentioned previous years' failed bids from Manchester and Birmingham (seriously!), but Gothamist knows London's secret weapon: David Beckham, who appeared in Singapore. Thankfully, we already have a site set up there - check out Londonist's coverage......

Gotta love the slew of political news, both state- and city-wide that's trickling in. First up, it seems that Governor Pataki won't run for reelection. While you may be thinking, "Thank God," Pataki is actually eyeing national office. NY1 announced this news, but Pataki's office denied this. At this point, Pataki would be pummeled in reelection, because he's seriously sucked the past few years, so Gothamist feels the report has some weight - reelection would......

Reader JMAC emailed us this photograph of a sign seen on a Chelsea block. He wonders:First, how could you lose your small green parakeet in the middle of winter?...how exactly could they be sure that the parakeet was "freezing" (was it shivering, or did it have a stuttering chirp, if a chirp it had at all)?...is "claim" really the correct word to use in such a case?...How the feehuck did a small jungle bird actually......

As we're suckers for anything that involves silly jokes with government officials, Gothamist loves knowing that departing Secretary of State Colin Powell will drop the Times Square New Year's ball with Mayor Bloomberg. Mayor Bloomberg said, "Colin Powell is the American dream come true. He's done everything his country has ever asked." We have a feeling that when Powell pushes the button that will drop the 1000 pound Waterford crystal ball, he might be thinking,......

Buboo Kakati, Filmmaker...

The Tony Awards are tonight, and if you're like Gothamist, you're going to watch the shows because you secretly know more than you should, given how few musicals and plays you actually saw last year, about all the nominees because you just have too much time your hands (we love Audra McDonald, but if she gets her fourth Tony tonight, we're officially calling the Tonys the "Emmys"). That and Wolverine shimmying around in sequins. Yes,......

Craig Zobel, Film Production...

Josh Aiello, Author...

Caroline Waxler, VH1's Best Week Ever...

The horrifying runaway train that injured four people in Queens is being investigated. After being detached from an LIRR train, the disel engine barreled along for a mile and a half and crashed into five cars in Maspeth. The Times notices a lack of safety gates and warnings along areas where tracks and streets meet. While there were four injuries, Gothamist echoes the Mayor's words, when he said, "This could have been a much......

Madonna says that Jennifer Lopez is trying too hard to get media attention and that's what doomed her relationship with Ben Affleck. "Ultimately, if you’ve a strong relationship — and there’s understanding of what a committed marriage is — I don’t think that having a lot of media attention can break it up. To a certain extent, they courted the media attention. At the end of the day I feel like that’s their job,......

It seems that an ex Bouley/Chanterelle chef will retreat to upstate, buy a mobile kitchen, and sell Memphis BBQ ribs roadside, and Gothamist says, "Thank God, but why can't the roadside be a little closer to the 1/9 station?" The Times looks at Warren Nordling's Dutchess County ribs operation. The Times' Ed Levine thinks they are the best ribs within 90 miles of the city. The ribs are smoked for 8 hours and the......

Roger Ebert's pick for a Great Movie this week is Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle, and Gothamist is reminded how watching one of Tati's films is like taking a leisurely vacation (perhaps we're colored by Mr. Hulot's Holiday) into a place where comedy is in everything, but in subtle, more graceful ways. Jacques Tati always seemed like this great, curmudgeon, and seeing him trying to react with strange peope is magical. Watching a Tati film will......

The Daily News lists some urban legends and their truths. The story Gothamist likes best is this one, about dropping coins from the Empire State Building: Urban legend: Coins dropped from the top of the Empire State Building can kill pedestrians below or embed themselves in the pavement. Real story: The aerodynamics of the skyscraper create a hefty updraft that blows any tossed pennies against the building; they generally land on the 86th-floor window ledges.......

Adam Buckman of the Post has seen the Buffy finale and say it's awesome. But Gothamist did not realize there was talk of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer cartoon - Joss Whedon wanted it to be on par with "Animaniacs or Batman: The Animated Series." [ Read more in The Hollywood Reporter interview with Joss.] But, to recap the Dawson's Creek series finale: - Dawson is a TV writer who has created a show -......