Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce spoke to the media today, but did not mention anything about last Friday night/early Saturday morning, when he was at a Manhattan nightclub where teammate Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself. Pierce said, "I am not speaking about any events that happened Friday or Saturday morning. If there are any questions about the New York Giants as a team and going forward and about the Philadelphia Eagles I will answer, but again... [continue]

While the number of NYC homes in foreclosure declined in November, things look to be rocky ahead. Property Shark CEO Bill Staniford explained that since the 3-month moratorium on NY State foreclosures expired last month, "There could be a spike of foreclosures in December." As for November data, the Observer reports, "Queens, once again, led all boroughs in foreclosures with 172 in November, with a good bulk of those centered on the subprime hub of... [continue]

Nassau County police offered more insights on what caused a restless Black Friday crowd of shoppers to trample Wal-Mart worker Jdimyati Damour to death. Newsday had an explanation from Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith: Apparently people waiting and standing outside the store came into conflict with people waiting in their cars who wanted to cut the line once the store opened, "A whole lot of people started getting out of their cars and made a... [continue]

Former NY Rangers player Sean Avery met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman today to discuss further fallout of his remarks disparaging fellow hockey players and ex-girlfriends. Slapshots says it seems that the Dallas Stars, which signed him after the Rangers decided to let him go, are looking to get rid of him and "dispose of his four-year, $15.5 million contract." Last night, Avery released an apology to The Sporting News--"I would like to sincerely apologize... [continue]

Horace Moore, the man suspected of killing bus driver Edwin Thomas on the B46 route, was denied bail. The Post notes that Brooklyn Judge Stephanie Zaro "sarcastically" referred to Moore's extensive criminal resume when speaking to Moore's lawyer, "Your client is 20 years old. He began his illustrious career at 15 years old. I'm remanding him." The Daily News points out that Moore had "got[ten] off easy for prior crimes," which allegedly include "knifing a... [continue]

A official-looking flyer found at an NYU student center, telling tuition-challenged students to consider CUNY instead, was a fake. As NYU spokesman John Beckman put it, "Another satirical triumph for desktop publishing." Still, it provoked a discussion about private and public universities, especially as college tuition costs have grown about 450% since 1982-1984. Now the group responsible for the stunt writes to us. Take a look at the statement from "Students Creating Radical Change"... [continue]

With more focus being put on public schools improving standardized test scores, should we be surprised that a high school administrator is accused of falsifying answers? Department of Education investigators say that High School for Contemporary Arts Assistant Principal Ruth Ralston "brazenly erased 1,000 wrong answers on her students' algebra Regents exams and swapped them for the correct responses," according to the Post." The NY Times reports someone noticed that "1,013 multiple-choice answers had been... [continue]

It was an episode full of corporate synergy! Sort of reminiscent of when Project Runway designers had to create an outfit for Today Show contributor Tiki Barber, last night's episode of Top Chef had contestants develop a dish they could demonstrate on TV for the Today Show. Plus there were reminders that the chefs are using...GE Monogram appliances in the kitchen! First, they had to deal with a "breakfast amuse-bouche" quickfire challenge, judged by... [continue]

Bad story with good ending: WABC 7 reports that two men who "beat and robbed a 70-year-old woman were arrested after they mistook an undercover police car for a livery cab and tried to hail it to flee the scene." Really! Apparently the men had attacked the elderly woman in a Bronx apartment building on Tuesday, after kicking her and stealing her wallet. They ran out to the street and "noticed a light blue car... [continue]

Photograph by Triborough on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A person on the track at Grant City Station on Staten Island, an unruly EDP on Tillary St in Brooklyn, and a jumper down at 28 St & 2nd Ave in Manhattan. Ambulances will take cardiac arrest patients to hospitals with "cooling therapy," because it's believed that helps "reduce chances brain damage." A Manhattan lawyer was killed in Philadelphia, apparently by his dominatrix girlfriend's old... [continue]

A 14-year-old girl walking to school in Queens was killed when a school bus hit her at 57th Avenue and 92nd Street in Elmhurst around 8:10 a.m. The girl was headed to Francis Lewis High School, where she is a freshman. CityRoom reports that cops think the incident "appeared to be accidental" (the bus driver, who stayed at the scene had "no alcohol" on his breath) and adds, "It was immediately unknown, for instance, in... [continue]

With police looking for the shooter who killed a 14-year-old in Bedford-Stuyvesant Tuesday night, his family and friends begged the community for answers. Apparently Mario Smith (also referred to as Mario Avilaz) was caught in the gunfire after a someone fired "in response to" an argument between two women. A friend said, "If you know something say something, and let's get to the bottom of this," and community activist Anthony Herbert said, "Let's go and... [continue]

Last night, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree's lights were turn on for the holidays. With 30,000 lights on 5 miles of wire and a 750-pound star at top, it dazzled the crowd. A family of Hurricane Katrina survivors whose new home was partly built by lumber from an old Rock Center tree was on hand for the lighting; mother Tracey Davison told the AP, "It's been an awesome experience. I have a famous living room... [continue]

In 1999, a NJ man who attended a Giants game--where he was served enough beer to have 0.266 blood alcohol level (legal limit is 0.08)--drove into oncoming traffic, paralyzing a 2-year-old girl and injuring her mother. Now it's revealed the Giants' beer vendor, Aramark, settled with the Verni family for $25 million. The settlement was split between daughter Antonia, now 11 and a quadriplegic on a ventilator and her mother. Though a jury's awarded $105... [continue]

Photograph by awgreen on Flickr With the MTA in dire financial straits, there's been lots of talk about ways to save the MTA, from a 23% fare hike and service cuts to tolling the now-free bridges over the East and Harlem Rivers. Now, Governor Paterson is reviewing a plan with recommendations on how to help the MTA and likes the ideas it offers so far. The plan, submitted by the Ravitch Commission, will be... [continue]

News that AT&T will cut 12,000 jobs--or 4% of its workforce--due to "economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure," and DuPont will cut 2,500 employees is sending stock futures down, along with lower earnings forecasts from Merck, Nokia, and Credit Suisse. GM, Ford and Chrysler are headed back to D.C. to ask for a $34 billion bailout. And the Labor Department revealed that jobless claims fell "unexpectedly" by 21,000 (as... [continue]

Get ready for the Steamroller online: The Observer reports that Eliot Spitzer will start writing a column for Slate.com. Called, "The Best Policy," Slate editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg said, "He's going to be doing a regular thing. It'll be heavily about the financial crisis and fixing financial markets and the economy generally" (topics he covered in his Washington Post editorial last month). Weisberg added, "He was very receptive to the idea. I don't portray this as... [continue]

Photograph by nschaden on Flickr From the Gothamist Newsmap: A maced member of service at S Railroad Ave & Fremont Ave on Staten Island, a fire on Roosevelt Island, and a car vs. building at Wyckoff St & Nevins St in Brooklyn. Stocks managed to rally, in spite of "dismal economic reports"; the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were up 2%, 2.84%, and 2.58% respectively. Is a deal between the City Council and Mayor... [continue]

It's politician vs. big newspaper pissing match! Representative Charles Rangel wasn't happy when the NY Times blew the lid on his four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem (at a press conference, he told a Times reporter, "Don’t make yourself look more dumb than you want") over the summer. Now the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee is upset about the Times' story from last week; the article suggested that an oil executive donated... [continue]

The family of Jdimytai Damour, the Wal-mart worker killed in the Black Friday stampede, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the retailer. Damour, a temporary employee hired at the Valley Stream store for the holidays, was trampled to death by shoppers who had been waiting for hours for Wal-Mart to open its doors at 5 a.m. Newsday reports that the lawsuit faults the store for not providing enough security and says Wal-Mart "engaged in specific... [continue]