New York City

New York City

A serial burglar who racked up 17 previous arrests stole dough out of a Brooklyn synagogue and then used the subway tracks for his unsuccessful escape route, police said Wednesday. Career criminal Arthur Jack, 55, crept into Congregation Shaarei Zion of Bobov and snatched $285 from a locked donation box around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday near 15th Avenue and 48th Street in Borough Park, according to cops.

a stranger suddenly approached me and screamed, Free Palestine. You are all genocidal baby killers. You all need to get the f*** out of Israel! My only crime? Wearing a yarmulke. No other Jewish identifier or Israel memorabilia was on my person. I was lucky this encounter ended with words. Earlier this month, an Israeli Jew was beaten so severely outside a Manhattan kosher restaurant that he suffered a brain bleed.

The best restaurants in New York are not the places that cater to foodie tourists and billionaire gastronomes - not necessarily and certainly not exclusively. They're the ones that balance quality, utility, and ambience in a way that makes them places to go once or go often with an acknowledgment that sometimes it's your anniversary and you need to ball out, and sometimes it's just another Wednesday.

There was so much news yesterday (see below), but we loved this academic study out of Cornell that revealed that in the first six months of the Congestion Pricing program, air pollution - in the form of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller - dropped by 22 percent in the toll zone and also in the city's five boroughs and surrounding suburbs.

Throughout my career, I have been a huge supporter of empowering tenants to become homeowners, which is why it may seem odd that I do not support Intro. 902, or the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). New York City absolutely needs to advance tenant and non-profit ownership, but I do not believe COPA is the way to achieve this laudable goal.

The DSNY issued a Dec. 4 proposal to amend its rule governing the time for placing trash and recyclables at the curb for collection. The amendment would allow residents who receive collection on Saturdays to put their trash out in a container an hour before sunset the night before. A neighborhood's local community board would have to opt into the schedule; it is not an option for individual homeowners.

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New York City will probably soon see three new casinos, whose owners could rake in profits because of a recent surge in gambling in the United States that has some campaigners worried. The New York gaming facility location board this week approved three proposed casinos in the US's largest city two in Queens and one in the Bronx after determining the businesses would create new jobs and generate billions in tax revenue, according to the group's report.

The Archdiocese of New York will use money from real estate sales, staff layoffs and budget reductions to set up a $300 million fund to pay for a settlement with 1,300 people who accused its priests and staff of sexual assault as it enters a 60-day mediation process with victim attorneys, the country's second-largest archdiocese announced Monday. In a public statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolon said its his hope and prayer, the archdiocese can provide victim-survivors with the most financial compensation possible to help heal [their] wounds.

A runaway horse named "Sundance" was spotted galloping along several highways in southeast Queens on Dec. 7 after breaking free from Curly's Cowboy Center in South Jamaica at around 6:30 p.m., according to authorities. Officers from the Port Authority Police Department received a report of the horse racing on the JFK Expressway.

New Yorkers don't typically associate Penn Station with holiday magic-more like sprinting for the right train track with a coffee in one hand. But, this December, the city's busiest transit hub is getting a surprisingly cozy glow-up with its first-ever Penn Station Holiday Market, turning the main Amtrak concourse into a four-day shopping detour you may actually want to get there early for.

Each weekend in December, from 2pm to 5pm, New Yorkers will get to warm up and fill their bellies with delicious chestnuts when visiting the special roasted chestnut cart outside of Chobani Cafe. Staffers will hand out the freshly roasted nuts for free with any cafe purchase. The cart is inspired by Ulukaya's memories of childhood, when chestnut vendors marked the start of the holiday season.

There's nothing as festive as New York City during Christmastime: The streets are bedecked with twinkling lights, holiday markets are filled with the scent of mulled wine, and the giant tree at Rockefeller Center is the envy of every other city's efforts at presenting holiday cheer. Though most New York bars and restaurants will offer a glass of cheer or a seasonal martini, if you're looking to don your favorite ugly sweater and get into the spirit, you want a place that goes all out. From an official Mariah Carey-sanctioned bar to an homage to the Grinch, here are New York's best holiday bars this season.

New Yorkers experiencing delays in their SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and cash assistance benefits will receive relief through a lawsuit settlement reached with the City of New York, the Legal Aid Society announced on Monday. The agreement mandates a list of reforms to ensure timely access to food benefits and cash assistance programs, modernization of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and strengthening oversight of the agency.

Michael Faleck, a former clerk to Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Cannataro, has been tapped to join the Brooklyn Housing Court bench, his first judge position. Thank you to the judicial leadership for this amazing opportunity, to all those who supported me along the way, and to my colleagues for their ongoing support, Faleck said. I am humbled and honored to have been selected for this role, and to be joining in the extraordinarily important and impactful work of the New York City Housing Court.

New York City is investing $68 million to build Brooklyn's first Bluebelt system, which uses nature-based solutions to reduce flash-flooding, in Prospect Park, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced last week. The plan calls for upgrading Prospect Park Lake's drainage infrastructure to lower water levels in less than 36 hours and building new ponds and rain gardens to collect rainwater.

Marking its fifth season in 2025, this bright winter trail at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden draws inspiration from the garden's flora and fauna to presentation an enchanted forest experience. This year's format for Lightscape features new and returning works of light art, with installations and landscapes with a redesigned trail, curated soundtrack and special dining and drinking offerings. Nineteen installations are on view.