New York News Blog

​The South Carolina State House Judiciary Committee announced Friday that an ad hoc legislative committee will formally consider a resolution calling for the impeachment of disgraced Governor Mark Sanford next week.

​The police in the 52 Precinct are asking for help from anyone who has information about Hector Waites, 48, of 2287 University Avenue in the Bronx.

Waites is 5'5" tall, 140 lbs., with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing green army fatigues (shirt and pants), black boots a brown wig and a black bandana.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477), log on to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or text CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

Paul Quitoriano

Elizabeth Kuchta, representing the Court Square stop, dressed as the Subway Ride of Shame, with Gatorade and high heels in hand. Portraits of the other contestants are here.

The City Reliquary is a small, unassuming Williamsburg storefront with a strand of carnival lights across the awning. The museum space itself is about the size of a LES bedroom, and is overflowing with what must be an excruciatingly curated collection of pieces of the city's past, from soil samples from each borough to a massive collection of tiny Statues of Liberties. The museum room feels so respectful and refined that you'd never expect to find a sexy, campy, subway-themed beauty pageant honoring that most loathed of lines, the G train, in the muddy backyard. But that's exactly what's going on there at around 8 pm last night.

The first annual Miss G Train pageant is a hot mess in the best way possible. Harkening back to the original Miss Subway pageants, the event features 11 contestants as diverse and sometimes bizarre as the neighborhoods that their beloved "short bus of the MTA" services. Several entrants are sporting the line's signature lime green hue, one young woman wears an interpretive map of the subway on her homemade T-shirt. There's also a drag queen with a giant black bouffant weave, a leprechaun, and a hippy fairy with some sort of baton prop. All of the contestants' high heels are sinking into the mud, thanks to the intermittent rain showers that torment, but by no means bring down, the entire show.

​As the Giants get ready for a crucial four games that will probably seal their fate for the 2009 season -- the Falcons this Sunday in the Meadowlands, the Broncos at Denver, then the Cowboys and Eagles back in New Jersey -- they have two major puzzles to solve.

Everyone knows about the defense: Big Blue's D has allowed a whopping 123 points in the last four games, all losses -- 52 more than they allowed in the first five games, all victories. What hasn't been as obvious is that the offense, or more specifically Eli Manning, has fallen off just as sharply. The highest paid quarterback in the NFL was on fire in the first five games, averaging over 240 yards per game; in the last four, it's been 214.5 yds/game. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

​
Twitpic via commutershow.

Suspicious package (blue dot above) at Penn Station. Seventh Avenue passageway shut down, east side of station closed. Dogs brought in. False alarm. Everyone back to commuting. TGIF!

​
Kristen Stewart, New Moon premiere. Twitpic via KriisStewart_.

Our Man of the Week is Rudolph Giuliani. He started off with confused but belligerent comments about the KSM trial, making him look like a candidate for something. Then word leaked that he would not run for Governor, then that he would run for Senator. His people deny everything, and even the bookies are confused. Way to keep 'em guessing, Rudy!

The runner-up: Sarah Palin, pushing her gosh-darned book (in which our own Hillary Clinton is mentioned), with some help from Newsweek, which pictured her in shorts, thus inflaming her advocates and firing up the crowds:

Mayor Bloomberg got defied! By the city council! On a comical five-minute grace period on parking tickets. But it's a start!

In Albany they're resting after a splendid week of deficit non-reduction. blocked by Carl Kruger, among others. Putting the cherry on top, Governor Paterson admitted the now dead license plate scheme was a "revenue grab." Democracy in action!

Albany alumnus Joe Bruno's trial proceeded, with his secretary describing his "demeaning" treatment of her and the alleged recipients of Bruno's dishonest services dummying up. Now Bruno's friends are starting to bail on him. Tom Robbins pronounces it "the best Albany show since Legs Diamond held court at Jack's Oyster House."

Rightbloggers feasted on Obama's treasonous bow to Japanese royals, which was the high point of their week, as their NY-23 champion Doug Hoffman, who "unconceded" his race, asked them for money to assure victory against ACORN, then re-lost anyway. Looks like ACORN is fixing everything, like they did the 2008 Presidential election and Twitter.

Someone Got Murdered at Sanford Street and Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, East 168th Street and Allerton Avenue and White Plains Road in The Bronx, and at York Avenue and Yale Avenue in Staten Island. Also, cops shot a bouncer.

The KSM terror trial's coming. New Yorkers are divided over it. An Arizona Congressman warned of the kidnapping of Mike Bloomberg's daughter. The Post suggested other wimpy New Yorkers would refuse to kill the terrorists. We await the change of venue to Fritters, Alabama.

We talked to Amy Braunschweiger, author of Taxi Confidential, and reminisced on the first (and second) Village Voice film polls.

The cops raided newspapers -- not for what they print, but in pursuit of a union that handles what they print it on.

Did the holidays begin a little early this year? Oh well, on to the depressing Thanksgiving-related press releases!

This week's Studies in Crap revisited the nightmare of macrame.

The Hudson River airspace was split into two lanes. A man jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Bronx residents wanted a mosque to keep it quiet. L train riders sounded off. The G train killed someone. A family sued the city for mishandling their murdered daughter's body. Cops got that 15-year-old's shooter. Prosecutors charged a phony Staten Island doctor, the H&H Bagel king (but is it a schmear job?), and a whole lot of alleged mob guys. Aggregators aggravated. Castro lives. Wally Backman sort of rejoined the Mets! Women charged discrimination at B&H Photo Video. Flight schedules got even more fucked up. New York kids got an unnecessary boost. Gay-marrieds accrued some (but not necessarily all) benefits. NYPD showed some seriousness about subway gropers. Atlantic Yards got another lawsuit.

R.I.P. Oreo, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and this week.

One of the benefits of this gig is, we can avoid direct contact with traumatic events like the emotional announcement by Oprah Winfrey that she is ending her show this season, and instead rely on reports from classy outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post, who have not that option. The Times informs us that Winfrey was "Tearful," and that she said "Twenty-five years feels right in my bones, and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number, the exact right time." Even they have their limits, though, and relied on Reuters to tell them that Winfrey's "predominantly female audience gave her a standing ovation and then hugs when she stepped into the crowd"...

These cowboys have been flying around Staten Island's North Shore, usually on Forest Avenue, since August, pulling their dark-colored 2002-to-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee up to nail salons, dry cleaners, hair stylists, and others among the remaining businesses in that part of the island, and snatching their receipts, often grabbing the whole cash register rather than going to the trouble to crack it open.

Their last hits were on November 11, when they robbed no less than five businesses; they're thought to have pulled 11 jobs in all. The legman is believed to be white or Hispanic. We realize that's unhelpful, so maybe the real message her is: if you have a business on Forest Avenue, get an alarm system. Also, if you have information as to these men or these incidents, NYPD asks you to contact 1-800-577-TIPS(8477), www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or text 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577.

​That Amanda Knox case -- pretty young American student accused of drug-sex-orgy-murder -- has reemerged in the New York Post (where she is traditionally referred to as "Foxy Knoxy"): basically, the prosecutor says in closing arguments that Knox was mad at the victim for saying "she was not clean and for calling her promiscuous." Stop the presses! Also, the case is recapped. Key phrases: "shattered glass," "pool of blood," "Fox Knoxy."

Maybe the foot model discrimination thing wasn't classing up readers' mornings enough. Did we mention drug-sex-orgy-murder?

Well, it looks as if Doug Hoffman, who this week unconceded the apparently settled NY-23 Congressional race when he gained votes on a recanvass, and then charged that ACORN was trying to steal it from him, has failed again. The Watertown Daily Times says the Board of Elections has counted enough absentee ballots now that "Rep. William L. Owens could lose all 3,072 absentee ballots left to be counted and still win the race."

At least the last minute fundraising based on accusations of fraud has probably left him in good shape for his inevitably rematch with Owens, just as it prepared Al Gore for his successful challenge in 2004. Tea Party on, dudes!