Cheng Chui Ping came to the US like many others from the Fujian province in China. Through hard work and determination, she rose in the ranks of New York City's Chinatown business community. But, "Sister Ping" was not one to follow laws if it didn't suit her. Among the snakeheads who engaged in human trafficking, none were better than her. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 2, 2009 - 15 comments

One of the best parts of watching Mad Men is the perfectly recreated world of 1960s New York. Who doesn’t wish they could simply step into their tvs for a moment and experience the romance of sipping a cocktail in an elegant 60s bar? Guest of a Guest put together a list of Mad Men inspired locales, consisting of places that have been around since the 1960s as well as their modern counterparts. Here’s everything you need to know to dress, drink, eat, and live like a character out of Mad Men.
posted by netbros on Oct 30, 2009 - 49 comments

The New York Review of Ideas is a web magazine reporting about New York commerce, literature and politics. The Manzine is actually £2 for the print version, but some of the its best is also online.
posted by netbros on Sep 25, 2009 - 4 comments

One in 8 Million "New York is a city of characters. On the subway and in its streets, from the intensity of Midtown to the intimacy of neighborhood blocks, is a 305-square-mile parade of people with something to say. This is a collection of a few of their passions and problems, relationships and routines, vocations and obsessions. A new story will be added weekly." A photo and audio series from the New York Times. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Aug 22, 2009 - 53 comments

The Last Parcels of Nowhere Remaining in Manhattan. Photographs. [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Aug 12, 2009 - 33 comments

NYC Grid is a photo blog dedicated to exploring and discovering The City of New York block by block and corner by corner. Updated every weekday, each post covers a new block with a focus on the mundane and ephemeral. An optimistic snapshot of New York as it is now. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Aug 1, 2009 - 8 comments

Hello, New York! New York, wake up you f*ckers! Free Music! Free Love! In 1968, two years before those other guys, Jefferson Airplane played their apocalyptic psychedelia from a NYC rooftop, before police shut them down. Filmed (staged?) by Jean-Luc Godard. [more inside]
posted by msalt on Jul 30, 2009 - 37 comments

The Manhattan Airport Foundation. From the About Us: It doesn’t take long to realize Central Park squanders 843 acres of the most valuable real estate in the world. From the FAQ: To date, nearly 100 investors have signed on to provide approximately $130M in equity with another $80M from the bond market making Manhattan Airport the most ambitious privately-funded airport development project in US history. Apparently this is for reals.
posted by allkindsoftime on Jul 22, 2009 - 77 comments

Murder: New York City. A map pinpointing murders in the five boroughs of NYC from 2003-09. Broken down by time of day, weapon used, age, sex and ethnicity of both victim and perpetrator. Not surprisingly, in the heat of summer the body count rises. [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Jul 21, 2009 - 48 comments

The first stage of New York City's High Line redesign was opened to the public yesterday, and reviews are generally favorable. The city's newest park (whose concept is similar to Paris’s Promenade Plantée,) transforms an abandoned, above-ground, elevated freight train track into a nine block "lofty expanse of walking and green spaces that stretches 60 feet wide in some spots". It also provides visitors with a unique look at some of the city's architecture and layout. (Previously on MeFi) [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 10, 2009 - 51 comments

Have you ever wondered what New York was like before it was a city? Find out at The Mannahatta Project, by navigating through the map to discover Manhattan Island and its native wildlife in 1609. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Jun 4, 2009 - 16 comments

Urban Omnibus is an online project of the Architectural League that explores the relationship between design and New York City's physical environment. They are featuring Making Policy Public, a program of The Center for Urban Pedagogy, through their articles about Vendor Power and Predatory Equity. [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 31, 2009 - 3 comments

Photos of 1940s New York City.
posted by Miko on May 28, 2009 - 28 comments

Triptrop NYC: Subway Time Maps — Plug in an address in New York City, and Triptrop generates a super slick looking map of how long it takes to get anywhere on the subway. And maybe you're moving? Then plug not one but two addresses into the comparison version and see which one gets you where you want to go. [via mefi projects]
posted by netbros on May 19, 2009 - 15 comments

"On Jan. 15, 2009, a few Canadian geese with bad timing became snarge, a steely pilot became a hero, and the world became fascinated with images of a jet splashing into the Hudson River and then floating calmly as passengers crowded its wings.

But until now, few people have seen the equally surprising pictures of the second half of this story: when a salvage team used the biggest floating crane on the East Coast to pluck the ill-fated Airbus A320 from the frigid water."
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey on May 13, 2009 - 51 comments

Photographer Helen Levitt, known mostly for her New York street scenes, has died at 95. [more inside]
posted by mudpuppie on Mar 30, 2009 - 13 comments

Making use of the space left between short shelves and high ceilings, Pentagram worked with some artists to make some fantastic murals in New York City elementary school libraries.
posted by mikepop on Mar 17, 2009 - 12 comments

Joe Ades, New York City's "Peeler Man" is dead at the age of 75. [more inside]
posted by GilloD on Feb 3, 2009 - 45 comments

I work as a film location scout in New York City. My day is basically spent combing the streets for interesting and unique locations for feature films. In my travels, I often stumble across some pretty incredible sights, most of which are ignored every day by thousands of New Yorkers in too much of a rush to pay attention. As it happens, it's my job to pay attention, and I've started this blog to keep a record of what I see.
posted by grumblebee on Dec 26, 2008 - 44 comments

In Mamas Kitchen was born in the experience of living in New York where a bodega exists within blocks of a Jewish deli which is around the corner from an Italian salumeria which shares space with Chinatown which abuts Soho's gourmet stores. While this speaks of the legendary variety available in New York, it also tells of similarity, for in every bodega, every salumeria is someone shopping for the food that sustains physical life with a recipe that nourishes our hearts.
posted by netbros on Dec 15, 2008 - 11 comments

David Fishman, 12-year-old food critic, takes himself out to dinner.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Nov 17, 2008 - 90 comments

Rosa is a bailarina. For a couple of dollars per song, she dances with strangers in a bailarina bar. It’s a job held by many immigrant women in Spanish-speaking New York, filling a need created by many immigrant men. The man on the phone is typical of her clients. He’s in his twenties, doesn’t speak English, and immigrated to the United States by himself—no mother, no girlfriend, no wife. He works six days a week at a restaurant and sends his money back home to Ecuador. Most of all, he’s lonely.
posted by jason's_planet on Nov 12, 2008 - 43 comments

Overlooked New York, Impassioned New Yorkers from an Artist's Perspective by Zina Saunders, who is now becoming better known for her darkly humorous political images. Her blog on the illustrator blogsite, Drawger. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Oct 5, 2008 - 18 comments

Radar magazine: Secrets of a hipster hooker.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Sep 7, 2008 - 168 comments

Waffle Bike is a fully weaponized waffle-making machine. (SLYT)
posted by photoslob on Aug 27, 2008 - 49 comments

Coal. Cheap, Abundant, Clean.
posted by brownpau on Jul 25, 2008 - 44 comments

The Boys and the Subway A father's artistic account of his sons' love of the NYC subway system.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Jul 2, 2008 - 35 comments

The New York Moon is an internet-based publication adhered to the lunar phases. It is a collection of experimental, reflective, and imaginative projects produced with every other month’s full moon. In the current issue visit the 6th Borough interactive map to discover imaginary precincts, find ephemeral street sculptures on The Trash Map, browse sketches of the moments in between Waiting, or redesign your neighborhood in Blueprints. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Jun 29, 2008 - 7 comments

New York City in (mostly) black and white. A huge collection of photos starting in the 1880s—some beautiful, all fascinating. Previously.
posted by cerebus19 on Jun 19, 2008 - 18 comments

Influenced by the Modernist documentarian André Kertész, with references to the hard-edged, black-and-white works of Weegee and Diane Arbus, this self-taught photographer captured raw and intimate images, and transformed urban scenes into theatrical dramas. More photos at jillfreedman.com.
posted by Armitage Shanks on Apr 28, 2008 - 10 comments

Spock (nsfw) -- titled "Planet New Hampshire," part of Superhero Lonely, a 2005 exhibition of paintings by John Jacobsmeyer. [more inside]
posted by brownpau on Mar 31, 2008 - 19 comments

Was your invite to Fashion Week lost in the mail? Have no fear- you can watch video of some of your favorite designers and models at the official Mercedes Benz Fashion Week website. If you're more into schadenfreude than Sean John, check out the Zac Posen show to see Karen Elson take a tumble .
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Feb 8, 2008 - 20 comments

The Upside of the Downside "I never imagined I’d find myself in the curious position of having so much more than my parents ever had, of having more, frankly, than I ever thought I would have—and yet simultaneously feeling like I’m falling behind, that I need to earn more, save more, invest more, acquire more. When did I begin to feel this anxiety of acquisition? How did I become such a jackass?"
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Feb 5, 2008 - 138 comments

Erika Gunderson got into a taxicab in New York City this past New Year's Eve and found a digital camera on the back seat. The cab driver had no information or interest in which previous passenger might be the rightful owner. Bringing the camera home, Gunderson's fiancé, Brian Ascher, took on the task of trying to find the owner. Using clues from 350 photos and two videos stored on the camera he was able to track down the owner, Irishman Alan Murphy in Sydney, Australia and return the camera to him. [more inside]
posted by ericb on Jan 27, 2008 - 36 comments

Hugh Ferriss: Delineator of Gotham. Through his charcoal renderings of dramatic, imaginary skyscrapers in early 1900s New York City, Ferriss influenced the aesthetics of numerous architects with his bold compositions.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jan 6, 2008 - 12 comments

Working Class Cats documents the lives of gainfully employed felines in NYC. There is, of course, some controversy. [via]
posted by milquetoast on Dec 22, 2007 - 36 comments

"New York City 1968-1972" Some very compelling black and white street photography by Paul McDonough. via
posted by CunningLinguist on Oct 18, 2007 - 49 comments

"First we kill the architects..." Photographer Danny Lyon [1, 2, 3, 4] offers ten suggestions for New York City. Suggestion #6: "Leave the World Trade Center excavation exactly as it is and use the space as a freshwater pond planted with pink, white, and yellow lilies..." His essay is only one of many from names you'll recognize in a book called Block by Block: Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York. An associated exhibition opened yesterday [museum, NYT review]. Is New York City moving in the right direction? Is your city? [via] [more inside]
posted by salvia on Sep 26, 2007 - 19 comments

Randall's Lost New York City Collection "documents the destruction of many of New York City's 19th century tenement and other buildings, so that we can mourn the lost [and] appreciate the endangered." Gallery 1, 2. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Sep 20, 2007 - 31 comments

I'm tired of looking at attractive, fashionable people.. Behold: Ugly Outfits New York.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Jul 23, 2007 - 97 comments

Busted! In one of the biggest counterfeit busts in years, a 19-month investigation reached its climax on Tuesday as federal officials conducted early-morning raids throughout the NY metropolitan area, arresting 29 people, seizing more than $230 million in merchandise and ultimately dismantling three operations believed to have imported more than $700 million in fake products over the last 24 months.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Jun 27, 2007 - 147 comments

No rest stop? Try latex. From consumerist.com, a tale of... what can i say? Just a funny story. With pictures.
posted by paulinsanjuan on May 16, 2007 - 24 comments

The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis. In 1978, renowned structural engineer William LeMessurier discovered a mistake in his design for the Citicorp (now Citigroup) Center. With hurricane season approaching, the skyscraper was in imminent danger of collapse. His handling of the situation has been praised as a "stunning example of good ethics in action" – but some disagree.
posted by smably on Apr 20, 2007 - 46 comments

Hear our demands: give us back New York. Just think of the possibilities! Join the struggle. Or else.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Apr 1, 2007 - 35 comments

A Google Map mash-up shows how hospital closures in NYC disproportionately effect the poor and people of colour. It's a pretty slick presentation of the data.
posted by chunking express on Mar 1, 2007 - 36 comments

Famous Fat Dave is an NYC cabbie. Try his Famous Fat Dave's Five Borough Eating Tour on the Wheels of Steel (myspace, embedded theme song). (via)
posted by bardic on Feb 15, 2007 - 8 comments

a Google Maps view of NYC, centered on Central Park Google Maps has started displaying subway stops (with the names of the lines that serve each each stop) in New York City. Clearly this is a work in progress (full building outlines are available only in some parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and some subway stops currently list only one of the multiple trains that serve the stop). Still, this is excellent news not only for natives but also for tourists (whose only subway-map reference may be the significantly, sometimes radically "not to scale" version put out by the MTA).
posted by allterrainbrain on Feb 9, 2007 - 46 comments

Like old cheese and vomit, mixed with dog food ... Halitosis and aged cabbage ... Rank Swiss cheese ... Sour milk ... Pee in the air every day ... Like an open corpse ... Like a musty homeless person decomposing in musky homeless person urine ... Caramel with a slight undertone of mildly rank underarm ... Rodenticide. It's Gawker's New York City Subway Smell Map.
posted by Urban Hermit on Sep 26, 2006 - 17 comments

Garbage of New York City - litter that is collected, packaged up in a neat plastic box, and then sold for $50 a pop.
posted by Orange Goblin on Sep 18, 2006 - 37 comments

Remember this picture? Arguably the most famous flag raised since this one was, and apparently its now gone missing. And now the three firefighters who didn't know they were being photographed won't talk to the press about a flag appraised to be worth over $500K.
posted by allkindsoftime on Aug 31, 2006 - 49 comments