The first victim of police gunfire in the Empire State Shooting has filed a notice of intent to sue the city, the Voice has learned.

Robert Asika, one of 9 people wounded Aug. 24 by police bullets as they fatally shot a homicide suspect outside the storied building, has filed a notice of claim with the city comptroller's office, records indicate.

Asika was struck in his right elbow by a police bullet--one of 16 rounds fired at Jeffrey Johnson, who had just gunned down his former co-worker, Steve Ercolino. Dramatic news photographs showed Asika sprawled on the sidewalk with blood coming from his wound, as passersby tended to him.

Michael S. Lamonsoff, an attorney representing Asika, tells the Voice this afternoon that his client is still receiving medical care, and may have some neurological impairment as a result of his injuries. "We believe that there were too many rounds fired under the circumstances, and perhaps there should be more of an exploration of whether these officers had the proper training," he said.

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Dear Empire State Building,

Happy 80th! Wow, that's old. You were born (completed, really, is the word) on May 1st, 1931, during the Great Depression. Standing 1,454' 8 9/166" tall, you were the tallest building in the world for forty years! A masterpiece of Art Deco design (although -- let's just face it -- not as pretty as your sister, the Chrysler Building), you've been attracting hordes of clueless tourists for years and years.

Empire State Building, this is your life.

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On this Friday, April 29, 2011, the Empire State Building will be lit up blue, white and red in honor of "the British Consulate General in New York, in celebration of the royal wedding of His Highness Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton," according to the official lighting schedule. George Washington would be so disappointed. [via NewYorkology]

It rained a lot in New York City last night. Just around midnight, a local videographer captured lightning striking the top of the Empire State Building three times in a row (and supposedly a fourth off camera), right smack in the antenna spire, making the whole thing appear to be erupting magical purple bolts. Thunder is not included. [NYC Is My Muse]

illustir

Yesterday, we profiled the hot new craze "stair-climbing." Since our coverage, the majority of Americans have been clamoring to find out more about this thrilling test of endurance. Unfortunately, ESPN and other major sports outlets have spent the day focusing on the Super Bowl (whatever that is). As the worldwide leader in stair-climbing news, we are thrilled to announce the winner of today's Empire State Building Run-Up.

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Daehyun Park

How did you get from your building's lobby to your office this morning? If you took the elevator, you missed out on the sporting world's newest trend, something called "climbing stairs." It's so hot right now, the New York Times ran a piece today about its rampant popularity.

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Via

Last year, in celebration of a Grateful Dead exhibit at the NY Historical Society, the Empire State Building was lit up in tie-dye colors, exciting hippies everywhere. This weekend, the colors went wild again (pictured above) but no one can seem to agree on why. Either it's a "private lighting" or it's in honor of the Transgender Day of Remembrance or it's because founder members of the Grateful Dead are back in town. Looks rad either way!

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It seems like everyone is "joining" Twitter or "getting" a Tumblr these days. Especially in the case of certain New York City landmarks, who are taking to social networking like digitized screen-saver fish to a watery stream of information.

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Cities all over the world are celebrating Mother Teresa's birthday today, and New York is no exception, with blue and white lights planned for Times Square, the Intrepid, Borough Hall in Brooklyn, and other city locales. Notably not included in the list of landmarks honoring the Nobel-Prize-winning nun is the Empire State Building, whose owners refused to light up in her memory based on a rule that they do not honor religious individuals.

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The empire state of mind is pretty pissy this week. Empire State Building owner Anthony Malkin of Malkin Holdings says that the enormous new building planned for 15 Penn Plaza, two blocks west of his 80-year-old beauty, would mar the view of New York's iconic skyscraper and change the skyline for the worse. To support his argument, Malkin Holdings released an artistic rendering of the skyline with the new building, conveniently drawn from the perspective where the proposed building overshadows the Empire State Building the most.

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