Month: December 2011

December 12, 2011 Weather: Mostly Sunny, High of 39 Degrees

A 20-year-old Columbia student was hit by a Mercedes-Benz sedan at 106th Street and Broadway early Sunday morning, and the car sped away without stopping. The young man had just gotten out of a cab around 1:20 a.m. and began walking north to cross the street when he was hit ...

Amazon.com has a promotion going on today. Through a "Price Check" app you can download, Amazon will pay you 5% of the price of an item up to $5 if you go into a store and scan the barcode of the product you want to buy. In effect, Amazon is ...

Do you think our neighborhood is simply becoming more and more homogenized, a kind of suburban strip mall of corporate chains without any hint of its former distinctiveness? Well, just wait! Here comes another 7-Eleven.

December 9, 2011 Weather: Partly Cloudy, High of 50 Degrees.

Make no mistake about it: the old Tavern on the Green was cheesy, garish, over-the-top. The service and food were regularly criticized. But the place made a ton of money. In fact, its owners said it was the highest-grossing restaurant in the country, with annual revenues of $34 million. And ...

A belligerent raven, sculpted by Peter Woytuk, hangs out near the entrance to the subway station on Broadway and 72nd Street. The big bronze bird appears to have taken on the character of a neighborhood scold.

December 8, 2011 Weather: Windy, High off 44 Degrees.

Even though the weather outside isn’t frightful, the holidays are in full swing. Yes, that’s right shoppers, only 18 days left till Christmas and 15 days until Hannukah! Don’t be scared. You are in luck. There are tons of great shops

December 7, 2011 Weather: Rain, High of 53 Degrees.

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a mystery: someone was placing stickers that said things like "This is Neighborhood Decay" on the windows of empty storefronts between 78th and 79th Street on Amsterdam Avenue. We implored the "sticker bandit," as we called the person, to come forward and ...

The Gourmet Garage on Broadway between 96th Street and 97th Street will close its doors, perhaps as soon as this month, according to three sources, including a company employee. The food store's lease was up, and the landlord apparently wanted to impose a hefty increase, one source said. Gourmet Garage ...

December 6, 2011 Weather: Showers, High of 51 Degrees.

Just a little over a year go, a debate over whether to bestow landmark status upon West-Park Presbyterian Church devolved into name-calling and angry graffiti. The outside of the church on 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue was serving as an inadequate shelter for homeless people, and the congregation was holding ...

Three sources confirm: this bronze raven sculpture in front of the subway station on 72nd Street and Broadway was facing in the other direction as of last week. Someone -- probably young, drunk and strong -- managed to flip it around (it is not light). Please sir or madam, do ...

Bank robbers seem to have a thing for the Chase Bank at 2438 Broadway, around 90th Street. They just can't seem to leave it alone. The branch has been targeted three times by robbers in the past six months, most recently by the fellow pictured above (allegedly) on Nov. 17. ...

December 5, 2011 Weather: Cloudy, High of 59 Degrees.

West Side Rag columnist Richard Kriheli is living in a one-bedroom apartment with his wife and son, but he's looking to upgrade to a two-bedroom so he can live like a, you know, human being.

By Harriet Flehinger As I stare down (and welcome) Medicare in 2012, when I will finally qualify for ALL senior citizen discounts, I’m not certain if I call myself “retired” or “unemployed.”  The jury is still out on that one. However, as I’ve watched the company where I worked for ...

It's officially hot chocolate weather -- cold crisp and in the 40's -- and New York has turned hot chocolate into an almost disturbingly decadent dessert. Jacques Torres on Amsterdam and 74th Street makes one of the most decadent cups out there. Grom on Broadway 76th also serves