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(L-R) Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson, actress Uma Thurman, singer Cyndi ...

That's the sound of 271 poncho clad and shower capped pie throwers. Standing outside the studios of Regis and Kelly they hurled 1500 cream pies hoping to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Stuart Klaxton officiated and says mass participation records are a challenge, so ...

Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Archtiect\'s new design for the Barclays Center

The state economic development agency gave final approval today to a revised plan for Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his Queens Campaign office on March 28, 2009.

Queens Councilman John Liu and Brooklyn Councilman David Yassky will face each other in a runoff election for city comptroller September 29. Liu came out on top in the primary last night with 38 percent of the vote to Yassky's ...

Yen Choe (R)

Filling John Liu's seat in Flushing, Queens, is Yen Chou where she pulled ahead in a crowded field winning with ...

High school student volunteers for John Liu on primary night

Bill de Blasio

City Councilman Bill de Blasio and former public advocate, Mark Green, are headed for a runoff in the close Democratic race for New York City Public Advocate.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, de Blasio had ...

Cy Vance

Defense lawyer and political scion Cy Vance has won the Democratic primary for the Manhattan district attorney's job, one of the nation's most coveted prosecutor's spots.

The primary is expected to decide the race to replace retiring ...

Bill Thompson at a Bronx Fair with Bill de Blasio (L)

With voter turnout expected to be near record lows in today's primary, those who are showing up say they feel a special responsibility to vote. Om Agrawal, a mathematics professor, was born in India. He says he has voted in ...

by Marianne McCune
They say all politics are local. But in the northern tip of Manhattan, that may be more so. The 10th Council District includes much of Washington Heights, Inwood, and the Marble Hill section of the Bronx. There are eight City Council candidates vying to replace former Councilmember Miguel Martinez, whose seat is open because pleaded guilty to misusing taxpayer dollars and resigned. Now, as WNYC’s Marianne McCune reports, voters are looking for a candidate they know and trust.

This is the Dominican district.

MC for Dominican band: (IN SPANISH) You guys want Dominican music?!

Its perimeter was purposefully shaped to elect the first Dominican City Council member in 1991. Yes, there are others here - Puerto Ricans, African Americans and a handful of white people who aren’t Hispanic. But if there’s a street fair on Dyckman Street – you can be sure the band will play Merengue.

So when Dominican-born City Councilmember Miguel Martinez pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 of public money and resigned, leaving his seat empty -- many here took it personally. As if Martinez was a nephew and what he did reflected badly on the whole family.

Polanco: No me enojo …

It’s sad, says Martin Polanco, but I’m not angry because we all make mistakes. A woman on another corner invokes the Bible, saying we’re all just fishermen and that hopefully Martinez will repent. Others worry all Dominicans will drop in the world’s esteem. And over an animated game of dominoes, Ramon Echevarria shakes his head disapprovingly, saying the Dominican community has to make sure it’s not seen as a jungle.

Echevarria watching dominoes and talking politics.

Ramon Echevarria: … una jungla. Somos una communidad de avances.

And so, among the candidates for City Council, many here are looking for someone they can trust. And in the seemingly small town that is this neighborhood, someone they can trust often means someone they know – personally.

At a picnic celebrating the candidacy of community board chairman and teacher Manny Velasquez, Ana Julia Coronado says she’s voting for him because, as Dean at her son’s school, Manny helped turn her son around.

Chickens and bunnies on asphalt.

Map of the district

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Four Democratic Council Members vying to be elected New York City Comptroller met for a final debate last night at WNYC's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space ahead of Tuesday's primary ...

by Nate Chura

As you marvel at the power of Serena Williams’ forehand, or the graceful footwork of Roger Federer, please also consider the agile wheelchair moves of Esther Vergeer.

Early Thursday afternoon, at Louis Armstrong stadium, the 28-year-old from the Netherlands extended a 376-match winning streak, defeating France’s Florence Gravellier, 6-2, 7-5, in the quarterfinals of the US Open Women's Wheelchair Singles.

Vergeer is the winningest wheelchair tennis player in history. The last time she lost a match was in January of 2003.

Highlights from her playing career include winning the Paralympics three times (2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing). She also took the US Open Women’s Wheelchair Singles title three times. Vergeer was the World Wheelchair Champion nine years in a row, from 2000-2008. Her career singles record is a staggering 571-25. Yes, she’s the number one wheelchair player in the world.

For those who don’t follow wheelchair tennis, the ball can bounce twice. You would hardly know this watching Vergeer and Gravellier. The ball seldom bounced twice as the athletes zipped across the court like laser beams. Gravellier is actually an effective net rusher with a fine volley. Unfortunately for the French woman, she ran up against Vergeer.

Watch Vergeer forehand in action:

Last night the hearts of 24,881 tennis fans inside the sold-out Arthur Ashe stadium in Queens -- and the dreams of ESPN and Tennis Channel executives -- were crushed as 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin was ousted from the US Open.

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki tossed the Georgia peach from US Open prime-time, 6-2, 6-2, in 88 minutes.

The girl who captured fans' imaginations with wins over Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, and Nadia Petrova was gracious in her goodbye.

“Caroline played a good match,” Oudin said. “She’s such a strong player."

She said her new role as America"s sweetheart didn't factor into her error-filled game. "These past two weeks have been really different for me. I’ve gone from being just a normal like tennis player to almost everyone in the United States knowing who I am. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think that affected my tennis game tonight at all.”

Listen to Oudin reflect on her US Open run:

by Nate ChuraThe world’s #1 doubles team, Americans Bob and Mike Bryan, lost their bid for a second consecutive US Open doubles title Wednesday. The defending champions were bounced from the semifinals by the 4th seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6).

“It was a little frustrating to lose 7-6 in the third,” Mike Bryan said after the match. “It came down to the wire and it could have gone either way. We had a few break points there in the third set, which I thought we could have got, but I’ve gotta tip my hat to them. They played well when it counted. Leander was quick at net. Dlouhy served really well. He was hitting the lines. But we’ll be back next year and give it our best shot.”

The momentum first slipped away from the Bryans at 3-all in the first set, when Dlouhy/Paes broke the Bryans at 30-40 on Mike's serve. Dlouhy threw up lob return and Mike sent the forehand long. That stroke of good fortune was all Dlouhy/Paes needed to consolidate the first set.

Two Democrats who want to unseat Mayor Bloomberg have debated for the last time before Tuesday's primary election. Both candidates agreed that the city should take greater control over the MTA, but differed on how to do that. City Councilman Tony Avella suggested scrapping the 2nd Avenue subway project: