Kids, Can You Say ‘Cultural Diversity’?

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Now that nearly every museum is also a children’s museum — now that nearly every museum has programs that strive to lure the young — what do we seek from a museum that really is a children’s museum? And not just any children’s museum, but the venerable Brooklyn Children’s Museum, reopening this weekend after spending nearly $70 million on reconstruction, rethinking and redesign?

Chilul Hashem – Fake Parking Placard

QUEENS, NY [FOX5] — You may have seen the official looking placards on some car dashboards. Many of them seem to scare ticket writers away. But wait until you see what Fox 5’s John Deutzman found out went he checked out just one of those suspicious signs.

An Online Tool Meant to Simplify the Transit System

A number of public officials and the founders of Google assembled at Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday to announce the start of New York’s version of Google Transit, an online feature that they said would transform the experience of navigating New York City’s transit system, the nation’s busiest.

“It is a very complicated transit system, and it just got less complicated today with the advent of Google Maps for transit,” Gov. David A. Paterson said, noting that the subway system opened with 9.1 miles of lines in 1904, and that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority now serves a territory of 5,000 square miles.

The array of public officials present reflected Google’s economic might, particularly at a time when Wall Street’s convulsions have left the city and state economy reeling. Not only did the governor and leaders of the transportation authority attend the Grand Central news conference, but so, too, did Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler, representing the Bloomberg administration, and officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and of New Jersey Transit.

How the State Abused your Monthly Cellphone Tax

The cell phone bill says “9-1-1 Service Fee”: $1.20. You pay it every month to New York state.

But only 6 cents end up at a 911 center.

Enhanced Drivers Licenses Now Available

Beginning today, New Yorkers will have their chance to buy a drivers license that will allow them to cross the border without a passport.

The enhanced license will be another accepted form of identification when traveling by car or boat to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Starting in June, federal law says all travelers will no longer be allowed to cross the border with just a regular license or birth certificate.

DOT to open archway under Manhattan Bridge

BROOKLYN, NY [NY12] — According to the Department of Transportation, the Manhattan Bridge will open it’s archway to the public for the first time in 17 years starting in 2009.

9/11 – 7 Years

Today, 9/11/08 marks 7 years to the terror attacks on our country, the attacks that claimed 2,974 lives.

The official city commemoration schedule, along with resource links can be found in the Extended Article.

911 to Accept Cellphone Videos

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Police Department opened a new front for tipsters on Tuesday, urging citizens to send in videos of crimes in progress.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the start of the program in the department’s Real Time Crime Center at Police Headquarters.

Sunday, Astroland Closing its Doors for Good

Astroland is dead.

The longtime operator of the fabled Coney Island amusement park confirmed today that the 46-year-old Coney Island icon will close its doors for good Sunday because a new lease deal couldn’t timely be reached.

Sun May Set for the New York Sun

Dear Readers of the Sun:

This morning I write to you about the future of The New York Sun, which is in circumstances that may require us to cease publication at the end of September unless we succeed in our efforts to find additional financial backing. The managing editor, Ira Stoll, who is one of the founding partners in the paper, and I have shared this news with our colleagues, and we would like our readers as well to be aware of the situation.

Hatzalah Makes Big Kiddush Hashem on I-690

Joseph Levin didn’t notice the truck in front of him Thursday morning until concrete and dust from the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 690 rained down on his car.

“It was like an explosion,” said Levin, a volunteer EMT from Brooklyn.

It’s NYPD ‘Green’ for Cops

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the city yesterday agreed to a new contract that will hike police salaries by 17 percent over four years – raising rookie pay from $36,000 to $42,000 a year, the mayor announced yesterday.

The pact brings a 51/2-year veteran cop’s pay up to $76,488, compared to the present $65,382.

NYPD’s Chosen Guns

ORTHODOX COP CADETS MAKE FORCE KOSHER

NEW YORK, NY — Didja hear the one about the cop who walked into a doughnut shop and asked for a bagel and a shmear?

You will soon. The NYPD is adding 10 Orthodox Jews, including one woman, to their ranks. That’s the largest Orthodox contingent ever in the department’s latest cadet class.

NYC Councilman Pushing Exclusive Parking Rights

BROOKLYN, NY [CBS] — If a Brooklyn councilman has his way, city residents who own cars could be given exclusive rights to park within their neighborhoods.

Riding NYC Buses is ‘Cool’

NEW YORK, NY [AP] — The nation’s largest mass transit system can boast a new distinction: A survey shows New York has cooler buses in summer than many U.S. cities.

NYC Transit workers recently took buses’ temperature 2,200 times, in the agency’s largest such effort to date. Less than 5 percent were considered unacceptably hot — more than 78 degrees.

Police Department Unveils Text Tip Line

NEW YORK, NY — In an effort to involve younger citizens, the New York City Police Department unveiled a way to send in tips via text message.

Texting CRIMES, or 274637, on a cell phone, will begin a text conversation with detectives who will be standing by at the police department. To begin, users must precede their message with the code, “TIP577,” which will then create an alias to ensure anonymity. In case of danger, police said, a user can conclude a message with the word “stop,” which will keep him or her from receiving any further messages from the police.