Morningside Heights

La Ruta: Rough Crossing

Working Theater Explores Immigrants’ Plight

Sam Lipsyte Talks The Fun Parts, Being in a Noise-Band, and Giving a Shit

On a recent Friday afternoon in Morningside Heights, The Voice met the man routinely hailed as one of America's funniest writers: Sam Lipsyte. Sitting in the Creative Writing Department at Columbia, where he has taught in the M.F.A. program for the past eight years, Lipsyte seems like one of those R ... More >>

Where to Find Hungarian Pastries and Punk in Morningside Heights

Welcome to Drinks, Dinner, and Dessert, in which we share three picks in one neighborhood, keeping an eye out for deals, off-the-menu items, and new stuff to check out. This week, get off the 1 train at 110th Street and use these suggestions to guide you through Morningside Heights.

January's Openings and Closings

In New York City, only the strong restaurants survive. Or the ones with amazing food, cult followings, lots of great press, and a whole slew of other factors. For those keeping tabs, here's a list of restaurants that opened and closed in January.

Smokey Burger Serving Elk Patties in Midtown; Suzume Ramen in Williamsburg

Burgers aren't just patties on a bun at newly opened Smokey Burger Organic in Midtown West. The new lunch spot offers burgers of the elk, crab, bison, lamb, salmon, and even ostrich variety, not to mention the boring beef, chicken, and turkey options. The menu claims all the ingredients are ammonia- ... More >>

Say Goodbye to Denny's Ice Cream Shop, Gilt, Boom

Denny's Delight in Coney Island has closed after sustaining $50,000 in damages after Hurricane Sandy. Denny's was known for its famous soft serve custard and funnel cakes. Owner Dick Zigun told Brooklyn Paper, "I'm as much of a fan of banana-pistachio ice cream as anybody else. I'm going to miss it. ... More >>

Watch Out for Those Fish Flying Down Frederick Douglas Boulevard

We took a stroll around the neighborhood this morning around 11. The only sounds were the whirl of police and ambulance sirens distant and close, and the steady ominous whoosh of the wind, carrying little stinging nuggets of rain. Fallen leaves swirled. The trees had begun bending. The only people o ... More >>

A Breakdown of the NYC Bike Share Map

The bicycles are comin'! The bicycles are comin'!Yesterday, the New York City Department of Transportation released the initial 420 bike share station locations for the program that will unleash (eventually) 10,000 bikes onto the already crammed streets of New York by 2013. Influenced by NYU's ... More >>

Redistricting Round Two: City Council Pushes Forward With New Commission Picks

The City Council today announced the key figures who will be charged with dividing up the city into new districts based on Census data. It's the next redistricting frontier! The announcement of the Council's appointments comes on the same day that important news broke in the statewide redistrict ... More >>

Spoon River Anthology Gets a Crowd

A cast of a hundred help move Edgar Lee Masters's classic to the stage

Redistricting Controversy Continues As Advocates Push for Dominican Congressional District

Just days after a U.S. District court judge ruled to intervene in New York state's redistricting process, local political leaders in Upper Manhattan are calling for the legislature to redraw district lines to favor the local Dominican community's voting power. The 15th Congressional District, which ... More >>

OWS Plans Vigil for Martin Luther King Jr., Zuccotti is Going Global, Organizers Say

You know how the cold has kind of made things difficult for Occupy Wall Street to keep things going here in New York City? That and all the evictions and stuff. Well, some of the organizers (generally, they don't like that word, but they are organizing this event!), are hoping to reinvigorate the lo ... More >>

Thief Does Not Want Your Stupid BlackBerry

No one wants.​Obviously, people everywhere are angling to steal your wonderful, beautiful iPhone. Not to mention that shiny iPad you're always waving around! As evidence, the New York Post reports today on a duo that has been taking iPhones at gunpoint on the Upper East Side: They've stolen at ... More >>

SPAM and Egg Ramen: Worst Soup Ever?

This happened. ​In 1937, canned, gelatinous meat became as much an American cultural institution as a culinary one, when the Hormel Food Corporation spawned SPAM in an Austin, Minn. food lab.

My Sexual Thoughts About Neil Patrick Harris And Wanda Sykes

Josh Gosfield​They're right here in a blog written to welcome me back to my alma mater, the prestigious Columbia University! For one hour! See, I'm heading up there to talk to some young LGBT journalists, and I'm all set to tell them to be extremely brave since the industry they want to ente ... More >>

'George Carlin Street': It Could Happen!

​Legendary comic George Carlin, recently and beautifully memorialized by Louis C.K., started out his life in Morningside Heights. He lived on 121st Street between Amsterdam and Broadway for pretty much the entirety of his childhood, starting in the '40s, and now his fans are pushing for the ci ... More >>

Asian Grocery Explosion! M2M Expanding to Waverly Place

GowallaComing soon to Waverly Place​Seems like the East Village isn't big enough for M2M, the Asian supermarket and cafe located on Third Avenue, and which also has a branch in Morningside Heights. It'll soon expand to Greenwich Village, setting up shop at 19 Waverly Place.

Joe the Art of Coffee Will Hawk Robicelli Cupcakes

Rebecca MarxRobicelli's apple cupcake shows its innards.​Joe the Art of Coffee has a thing for selling other people's cupcakes: for years, Amy Sedaris sold her cupcakes here, and now, it looks like Allison and Matt Robicelli will be doing the same. The couple tell Grub Street that their creati ... More >>

Bad Apple: iPhone Robber in Morningside Heights

​The punk in this unusually sharp surveillance photo is the suspect in a mugging and robbery in broad daylight on January 15 at 113th Street and Broadway, in Morningside Heights. At about 1:15 p.m that afternoon, cops say, this scumbag, dressed as he is in this photo, tackled a 21-year-old guy, k ... More >>

More High Schoolers Applying to Be Hated By Native New Yorkers

via collegelifestyles​Applications for Columbia and NYU reached new highs this year. NYU Local reports that NYU received "exactly 42,242 freshman applications this year, topping last year's record by 11 percent." The New York Post says that changes in the application process brought "the Mor ... More >>

NYC Nomad, Who Says He's Not a Hipster, Lives New York One Hood at a Time

Via NYC Nomad on Facebook​The NYC Nomad, who was totally at our Web Awards last week, is starting to achieve a certain Internet fame, as evidenced by a recent piece on him in the New York Times. Ed Casabian, the nomad's real name, is a financial analyst for Outside.in during the day who goes h ... More >>

New Yorkers Most Afraid of Rats; Lower East Side Is the Second "Rattiest" 'Hood

​A new survey conducted by a leading pest control manufacturer says rats are still New Yorkers' least favorite pest. So how do jaded New Yorkers react when these dreaded home invaders are on the prowl? And which Manhattan neighborhoods are considered the "rattiest?" Let's find out!

Baby Is Literal Accessory to Robbery; NYPD Seeks Suspects

​Remember the bouquet bandit? The Darth Vader bank robber? Well, the latest in "ruses to help you steal things" seems to be babies. But this goes against our considerable ethics here at Runnin' Scared. Babies are not accessories! You can't just tote them around on crime sprees like a great han ... More >>

Our 10 Most Overrated Restaurants

Did this fine establishment make our list? What do you think?​ As their name would indicate, Our 10 Best lists are typically positive affairs. But today we've decided to venture into more critical territory to rank Our 10 Most Overrated Restaurants. You know the type: It's the restaurant you' ... More >>

Say Hello to Betel; Goodbye to Blarney Stone

The owners of Westside Market have opened Vareli, a Mediterranean restaurant and wine bar in Morningside Heights. Expect Italian-flavored small plates, panini, and lotsa wine. [TONY] Betty's has opened in the space formerly known as Boucarou, featuring a retractable-roofed husk, red banquettes, and ... More >>

Jersey child stabbed to death in Morningside Heights (updated)

csnyder ​The News is reporting that Alejandro Morales, who has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the death of Anthony Maldonado, has a history of encounters with the law. According to records, they say he has multiple prior arrests and convictions for larceny, dis ... More >>

Somebody Got Murdered: Boy, 9, Stabbed by Man in Morningside Heights Apartment

View Larger Map DATE: Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010 at approximately 3:35 a.m. LOCATION: Inside of 75 LaSalle St., Morningside Heights, Manhattan. The police have charged a 25-year-old Manhattan man with the slaying of a 9-year-old New Jersey boy in the early morning hours Saturday in Morningside Heights ... More >>

NYC Voters Still Pulling Levers On Those Ancient Machines

Sure, it's 2009, well into the new century, but as us New Yorkers head to the polls today, we're still using the same clunky, decades old lever voting machines we always have. That's because an effort to purchase newer, more technologically advanced machines is still bogged down in Albany. The sta ... More >>

Mary Travers Memorial Set for Monday

Dylan, Donovan, Travers--all you need to know, really.​Mary Travers, the lovely (a face and figure every bit as adorable as Tuesday Weld, said one of our more august colleagues) and committed Peter, Paul and Mary linchpin who died in September--from complications related to leukemia--will be r ... More >>

Community Food & Juice Re-opening on Wednesday

​Good news for Morningside Heights: according to its website, Community Food & Juice will re-open on Wednesday at 8 a.m. The restaurant has been closed since a kitchen fire in April that also damaged a neighboring dorm. The return of its haute, conscientiously sourced comfort food -- Heritage ... More >>

A Couple More Details About Community Food & Juice

Earlier today, we learned that Community Food & Juice would be re-opening this Wednesday. Just a moment ago, the folks at the restaurant sent along a few more details that may be of interest to anyone in Morningside Heights and its environs: the juice bar has been 86'd in favor of a new seating area ... More >>

Vinyl Life, Furthering the Death of AutoTune

NYC threesome makes electro-jams the old-fashioned way

Cheek, in Review: 7 Days of Runnin' Scared

​ Twitpic via kbell7. I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention, I believe that one should become a person like other people -- whoops, sorry, wrong diary. Our week was much worse. DC37 went for Bill Thompson. But what did Mayor Bloomberg care -- he had Twitter ... More >>

Open & Closed: Say Hello to Cafe Regular du Nord; Goodbye to Village

Cafe Regular Du Nord has opened about a mile north of the original Cafe Regular. The new location was opened by Richard O'Connell, brother of Martin, who owns Regular. [Grub Street] Fashion designer Marc Bagutta is opening an eatery in the former Cafe Fresh space in Morningside Heights. Cafe Bagutt ... More >>

You Just Graduated From Journalism School. What Were You Thinking?

J-School students try to stay upbeat about their future and their industry

Aw, $#!t!: Inadvertently Remembering the Late, Great George Carlin

Letters

Rolling Admission

Yes, you can get into Columbia. Door's open.

Letters

Her Father's Trial

What's life like for a child of the Patriot Act?

Close-Up on Manhattanville

Letters

Tolerance Levels

Master director Peter Brook brings a frayed community Tierno Bokar, a multicultural fable

Big Plan on Campus

As Its 250th Birthday Approaches, Columbia University Hits Its Stride

Letters

Letters

Letters

Close Up On: Morningside Heights

Morningside Nights

Modern Lovers Troll Columbia’s Bars for Fun and Profit

Sharpton Chooses Ferrer

Mayoral Hopeful Will Receive Official Nod Before Labor Day