This morning, a fuzzy baby seal swam up to the rocks behind Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City's mayor (though Michael Bloomberg doesn't live there), and sunned itself on a rock. Needled for pictures, the mayor's office eventually tweeted a photograph of the uninvited occupier.

Way back before there was Lady Gaga, there was Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta and she lived in this apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The entire premise of If These Walls Could Talk should be re-written so that it is about this place.

Believe it or not, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's para-military crackdown on Zuccotti Park earlier this week only energized the movement, as yesterday's massive day of action proved. Now there's tons of dramatic footage, public outrage, and a new sense of momentum for the 99%.

Earlier this week, New Yorkers were shaken and alarmed by a report that Starbucks could be closing some of its restrooms in the city, leaving us all with nowhere to urinate except in Roger Ailes' face. The company denied the report, but this is simply too important of a story to "take their word for it." Now, the New York Times is on the case!

Today marks the two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. And it's been a pretty intense day as protesters swarmed lower Manhattan, the police have surrounded Zuccotti Park, and several hundred people were arrested, a number will likely keep growing as the "day of action" continues.

Things are heating up in lower Manhattan. Zuccotti Park was placed in "full lockdown" and police in riot gear sealed off the park after a scuffle with a protester caused a near-riot.

Occupy Wall Street is looking to roar back after their camp was raided with a big "global day of action" today. Already they've tried to shut down the New York Stock Exchange. Next up: occupying the subways.

One week after the Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn, saw three cars torched, "KKK" spray-painted on a van, and swastikas scrawled on two libraries and a synagogue, comes news of a defaced sign at the Avenue J subway station. It read, "Avenue Jew." I guess everyone's a lot a bit racist. [Daily News]

It looks like at some Occupy Wall Street protesters are taking their organizing efforts into a boring old office space, after the NYPD dismantled their camp early yesterday morning. Welcome to office hell, 99 percenters.

Occupy Wall Street has officially lost the legal battle to occupy Zuccotti Park. While the public is now permitted to re-enter the park, a judge ruled this afternoon that protesters won't be allowed to bring tents or tarps with them, or lie down in the park.

After a late night raid cleared Zuccotti Park, Occupy Wall Street is currently homeless, roaming the streets of New York after a judge denied their bid to reoccupy Zuccotti Park. The latest updates are below.

It's on! Or rather, it's off! Or maybe it's somewhere in-between! Hundred of NYPD officers have begun to "clear and restore" Zuccotti Park — the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement — which means forcibly removing the protesters who have been camping there for nearly two months.

At least 19 fire companies from Long Island have responded to a blaze at the Pavilion and LaFountaine buildings on Fire Island Pines, the social hub of the legendary gay beach community. The fire began around 9:15 p.m. The complex was sold in 2010 to FIP Ventures, and encompasses the Pavilion nightclub, the Blue Whale and Bay Bar restaurants, the Hotel Ciel, a grocery store and gym. Word from the scene is that firefighters have the blaze under control, and that it hasn't spread to any residences or rental properties. No cause has yet been determined. We'll have more on this story as it develops. [Photo credit: The Fire Island Pines Historical Preservation Society/Facebook]

The renters of New York City are no stranger to tiny, cramped, barely-livable apartments, but even a Big Apple native might be surprised at the size of this Upper West Side rental.

There's 74 katrillion people in New York and sometimes it seems like there is absolutely no one, especially when you start researching that great post-modern cry for romantic attention: the Craigslist "Missed Connection" ad. Where do most of these missed connections happen? In Union Square.

Sausage-addicted personal injury attorney Richard Katz is suing the Setai Club & Spa Wall Street over a complimentary breakfast that, in his estimation, has been in steady decline.

The winning time at the New York City Marathon on Sunday was two hours and five minutes. How about shaving two hours off of that and running the whole thing in just about five minutes? Now you can, and not even leave your chair.

Like thousands of New Yorkers, Dr. Anthony Marx, the 52-year-old president of the New York Public Library, was massively inconvenienced on Sunday by marathon road closures. No problemo! He just threw his Audi A4 (registered to the library) into reverse, floored it — and slammed it into a garbage truck on East 138th St.

Have you ever visited New York City and left feeling like there was so much you didn't see? Maybe you've only made it to the city in spring or summer and you're curious about what it's like in the dead of winter? Well, thanks to this video by cameraman Andrew Clancy, now you can experience an entire year in the Big Apple from the comfort of your own home, no matter where in the world it is. [via BuzzFeed]

Accused "Riverside Rapist" and alleged con man Hugues Akassy is on trial for sexual assaulting, stalking, and harassing five women in upper Manhattan. The trial raises many questions: Did he do it? How did he evade arrest for so long? And where did he get that smashing ascot?