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If you see something douchey, say something douchey! For those of you who don't know about every website ever (because you have lives or something), please enjoy Subway Douchery, which went live five months ago—a century in web time—but is new to us, anyway. It posts photos of New Yorkers doing all sorts of douchey things in the subway system. Match it with some clever commentary and it's ripe for a book deal! The latest posterboy of douchey dealings is this guy who decided to lug a giant plant (tree?) on the subway instead of taking a cab. To his credit, didn't look like he did this during rush hour.

The Greenpoint woman who was arrested after trying to carry her sick pug out of the subway is planning to sue the NY Post for defamation, and possibly the city of New York. To recap, last June Chrissie Brodigan, a VP for Online Media at Plum TV, got into an angry altercation with a cop who had stopped her at the Bedford Avenue L station for transporting her dog outside a carrier.

There are a lot of websites dedicated to snitching on fellow straphangers popping up lately. First there was Subway Douchery, then the N Train Gossip Twitter account that totally backfired on the author... and now we have Train Pigs.

Sheepshead Bay residents are rallying against a Brooklyn man's plan to build a mosque because it might bring more traffic and noise to a residential street, and ... well ... because it's a mosque. "There's a safety issue here. I don't want my kids walking past it," Kathy Cash, 38, told the Daily News. "It's disgusting, they [Muslims] have no respect."

Wha? Mister 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, went on Good Morning America this morning to bash President Obama for weakly handling his precious "war on terror." Obama, you see, has been going about this all wrong—for one thing, he shouldn't be giving terror suspects civilian trials or closing Guantanamo. Also, he hasn't been chanting the magic phrase "war on terror" enough! And look what happens. "What he [Obama] should be doing is following the right things that Bush did—one of the right things he did was treat this as a war on terror. We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama."

While investigating the fatal stabbing of a nine-year-old boy in a Harlem housing project, police officers uncovered video of a building resident abusing a dog, according to the Huffington Post. In their review of surveillance tapes from the elevators of the General Grant Houses, cops found footage showing 21-year-old suspect Chris Grant coaxing a 10-pound Pomeranian-Chihuahua, named Chuvi-Duvi, to climb on his leg before kicking it repeatedly.

The holidays have passed, but Christmas actually arrives in late January on Wall Street, when the brave men and women of American finance receive their enormous bonus checks. When confronted with a gigantic bag stuffed with American tax dollars, most people would probably find their mind turning to questions like "does that yacht come in blue?" or "is that the biggest Rolex you have?"— but not the lords of Wall Street. They've got a bigger problem: how to make these bonuses seem perfectly normal and not at all a major scandal to the American people.

A woman from Long Island was trampled by a wild elephant in Kenya as she held her 1-year-old daughter in her arms. The child was also killed in the incident, which happened on Monday afternoon during a nature walk near the Castle Forest Lodge, where they were vacationing. Sharon Brown, 39, originally from Miller Place, Long Island, and her daughter, Margaux, were killed; Brown's husband and three other tourists survived. The Browns were in an area where hikers are advised to travel with an armed guard to defend them against stampeding elephants, but they were with an unarmed hotel guide.

Just days after a man was caught on surveillance camera kicking a dog in an elevator in the General Grant Houses, police uncovered footage of another woman abusing a pooch inside the Morningside Heights housing project. Surveillance video shows 31-year-old Tiara Davis kicking her 9-pound Pomeranian, named Sparky, and yanking on its leash until it went unconscious in a building elevator, according to the Daily News.

New city comptroller John Liu takes his job seriously — so seriously in fact that he requires his staffers to rise from their chairs when he enters the room and refer to him as "Mr. Comptroller." Liu introduced the mandatory formalities in meetings last week, and they already have "veteran denizens of the Municipal Building snickering behind his back," according to the Post.

New Jersey will become one of a small batch of East Coast states to legalize medical use of marijuana. The measure has made it through both state houses of legislature and awaits Gov. Corzine's signature. Just nine months from now patients who suffer from chronic illnesses like AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis will be able to get their hands on the green stuff at one of six locations, says the Times. According to the NY Post, ID cards will be handed out to patients with "debilitating medical conditions." The cards can be used to collect marijuana and to ward off suspicious cops. And though they call it the Garden State there won't be any home growing or toking up in public; New Jersey's medical marijuana practices are set to be some of the most stringent in the nation.

Yesterday afternoon the Improv Everywhere troupe grew to around 3,000 people as the No Pants Ride converged underground. This is their 9th time doing the annual ride, which floods the subway system with underwear-clad participants each winter. The high yesterday was 28 degrees, so this takes some dedication! Did you see any bare legs? Send us your pics!

Following his assault on NBC for their recent decisions during his monologue last night, Conan O'Brien has announced that he will not host The Tonight Show if it is moved to follow Jay Leno at 12:05 a.m.

News sources are predicting that yesterday’s earthquake near Port-au-Prince may have killed thousands of Haitians, but there’s still no clear estimate on how many are dead. (The Red Cross fears thousands dead and millions more affected; so far more than 100 people are missing in the rubble, according to the U.N.) “Bodies lay in the streets of Haiti’s devastated capital early Wednesday, and untold numbers of people remained trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings and leveled shantytown homes,” reported the New York Times. They say it’s the worst earthquake to hit the country in more than 200 years. Alan Le Roy, chief of UN peacekeeping forces, told The AP, “We know there will be casualties, but we cannot give figures for the time being.” The United States and other nations will begin sending foreign aid.

A grad student, whom friends call "a Romantic," caused massive back-ups when he snuck through Newark security on Dec.3 to get one last kiss goodbye from his girlfriend. Now the airport offender—whom the Daily News says is responsible for shutting down Terminal C for seven hours, causing 100 or more flight delays and inconveniencing thousands of passengers—is facing charges of defiant trespassing for his crimes of the heart.

Since taking office just 12 days ago, Comptroller John Liu hasn't just established a new code of decorum forcing staffers to rise from their seats when he enters the room and call him "Mr. Comptroller" — he's also eliminated dress-down Fridays! The Post reports that Liu — dubbed "King Liuy" by the tabloid — has nixed casual Fridays and ordered that workers arrive by 8 am, not 9 am.

Yesterday we saw what douchey dealings were happening underground, on a website that tracks them via user-submitted photos. Someone then pointed out a new Twitter account called N Train Gossip which includes a 140-character takedown of each victim the author snaps a photo of. Consider this a warning N train riders! Seems a little harsh, too — this photo was accompanied by the words, "Ummm... nice Mickey Mouse mp3 player, grown Asian woman." (It's cute!) However, this nose picker had what was coming to him. Seems NYC is no longer the place where everyone is invisible.

A twelve-year-old was stabbed many times and tossed from a car last night in Queens. A driver noticed the bleeding boy wandering around 9:10 p.m., away from Highland Park near the Jackie Robinson Parkway, reported the NY Post.

A huge earthquake has hit the impoverished island-nation of Haiti, according to the Global Post. Casualties remain unknown, but a hospital collapsed and people were screaming for help, reported ABC. A US government official said some houses had tumbled into a ravine following the quake and Lauren Magloire, a local journalist, told Al Jazeera that panic had hit the streets of the capital.

More than 30,000 people are fans of "There's a perfectly good bike path right next to the road you stupid cyclist," a group Facebook page for motorists who hate sharing the road with bike riders. The group posts images like the one seen here and generally glorifies violence toward cyclists who dare infringe on drivers' sovereign territory. Its motto? "My car is hard, and i am not slowing down!" Naturally, bike riders are offended, but does it violate Facebook's terms of use—which prohibits "hateful" and "threatening" content, not mention "gratuitous violence"?

Well, this is depressing. The 10-month-old puppy, named Brooklyn, who jumped off the roof of his building over the weekend... has died. The pup originally survived the 5-story plunge, but now it's being reported by PeoplePets that the family euthanized him today.

Last night at 10:30 word came in over the newswire of a jumper down at 1 Washington Square Village, across from Bobst Library. This morning the NY Post reports that the man who jumped from a 16th-floor balcony in the apartment building was 37-year-old NYU computer science professor, Sam Roweis. He just started at the university last year, and was described by others as "a very happy, happy guy."

A day after news broke that third-place Miss Alaska contestant and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin had signed a multi-year contract to provide political commentary on Fox News, the wolf hunter from Wasilla received a warm welcome from loofah-lover Bill O'Reilly. As a Democratic Party spokesperson quipped, "Not since Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag has there been a couple so well suited for each other." Burn (provided you know who those two are). Of course, Palin was ready to hit back hard at those "pinhead" critics, as O'Reilly calls them:

Earlier there were apparently concerns of NBC canceling Jay Leno (who was concerned about this?), but now TMZ reports that Jay will be staying with the network. However, he'll be moving back to his old 11:30 time slot, which means the future of Conan O'Brien is currently up in the air. They say, "We've learned Jay's 10:00 PM show will go on hiatus February 1. After the Olympics, Jay will take back his 11:30 PM time slot. What has not been decided — whether Jay's show will be a half hour, followed by Conan, or whether Jay's show will be an hour and NBC says sayonara to Mr. O'Brien." Will Conan come back to New York now? Watch your back, Jimmy.

Update Below: In another sign that he's serious about challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. went on the record in support of same-sex marriage. Though he twice voted to change the constitution to ban gay marriage as a congressman, the 39-year-old who moved to New York three years ago stated: "My support for fairness and equality existed long before I moved to New York."

Over the weekend, John McCain’s top campaign strategist Steve Schmidt told 60 Minutes that during the campaign Sarah Palin repeatedly "said things... that were not accurate." So you betcha she's going to fit right in on Fox News, which has signed Palin to appear on the network’s programming on a regular basis as part of a multiyear deal. She won't have her own regular program, but a source tells the Times that she will host a series that will run on Fox "from time to time." This is going to be fun! And, most importantly, it will enable Palin to "fight even harder" for the people of Alaska.

Hey, remember that Twitter account that was posting snarky take-downs of riders on the N Train? Well, sounds like the author behind the account is getting served a little taste of his own medicine, courtesy of some sleuthy Gothamist commenters. They launched their own investigation and quickly tracked him down:

It is very easy to figure out who this person is. Since he's obviously in love with himself, who do you think the first person he is going to follow/be followed by on Twitter is? His own Twitter account, of course. If you look at this person's followers/people he follows, it's simple to figure out his identity (sort of an idiot after all).

Continue reading "Hell Hath No Fury Like An N Train Scorned"

By Jake Dobkin on January 10, 2010 9:52 AM 21 Vote 16 Votes

Gov. Paterson is pushing to legalize ultimate fighting in New York, claiming the unrestrained mixed-martial arts events will make a quick buck for the state's troubled economy. If he gets his wish, the cage fighting exhibitions, which have been banned in the area since 1997, could take place not only in upstate arenas but in Madison Square Garden.

The bus driver who hit and killed a cyclist — reportedly while driving in reverse — will not be charged, according to police. "I don't believe that anyone will be charged," an NYPD spokesman told Streetsblog. "The driver remained on the scene. Looks like it was just an accident." Considering that this is Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's first week on the job, the transit website ponders whether or not this case will be indicative of his office's stance on vehicular crimes. The victim's name has not been released pending family notification.

With word coming in yesterday that Jay Leno would be reclaiming his 11:30 p.m. time slot on NBC, the question mark was where Conan O'Brien would land in the shake up. TMZ now reports that network execs are letting him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 a.m. slot; "if he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour."