Racist Republican candidate for New York governor Carl Paladino spoke to the Times about his "insular" Democratic competitor, Andrew Cuomo, who he's hated since "watching him on the newsreels." Newsreels? He was probably drinking pop and eating Moon Pies, too.

To promote its upcoming return to our airwaves, here's the newest—and coolest—thing the cast of Glee has for us: a cover of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' New York-celebrating ballad, "Empire State of Mind." Warning: it's awesome. Listen inside.

The Post says it's wise to seek shelter underground if NYC is nuked.

Since we always do everything they tell us to, maybe a celebrity endorsing gay marriage will finally grant gay New Yorkers the right to marry? Commercials featuring famous citizens announcing to the world that marrying gay is A-OK have debuted.

A fire at the 1st Avenue L station has halted service to and from Williamsburg, so now's our chance to pull up Manhattan's anchors and sail away from it forever. Williamsburgians stuck on the island can be put to work.

Somehow, in this the year 2010, a Soho club known for having epic goth and 80's dance nights, Don Hill's, is suddenly hot, hosting the Pop Magazine Fashion Week party and other ragers. What's next, Wetlands? Oh, sweet irony. [NYO]

NYU spent four years and $120 million to tear up Mercer Street and install its new, eco-friendly subterranean power plant. Too bad it's currently on fire.

Fashion kills! NYC's Parks Department chopped down 56 trees and uprooted 11 more to make room for the Fashion Week tents in Lincoln Center, apparently. The agency's response: The trees were dying anyway, and they'll plant new ones later. [NYDN]

That coyote that attacked three people in Rye Brook, NY tested positive for rabies.

Yankees baseball player (and known sucker) Derek Jeter is listing his bland white Midtown condo in Trump World Tower for a cool $20M. Does this mean his allegedly rage-filled ladyfriend, actress Minka Kelly, will throw another tantrum? Time will tell.

Yesterday, Madonna actually deigned to take the subway, New York's most proletariat conveyance. When she's in town, you might expect to see her going to Pilates or an adoption agency or something. But the subway? How could we miss this?

Today we looked at the relative healthiness of New Yorkers. Yay!, we all said. Well, all of us except one foreign commenter who begged to differ. Agree? Disagree? Again, it's all relative.

Not long after getting involved in the Not At Ground Zero Park51 Community Center kerfuffle, Governor Paterson is asking everyone to "step back," chill out and shut up about it — at least during the next week of holidays.

Just in case you were tempted to take a dip in the Hudson River off the West Side, think twice.

[A costumed woman marches in Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade today. Photo via AP.]

In a coup for experiential journalism, the Daily News decided to follow up on the story of a guy whose hobby is stealing buses by seeing how easy it is to steal buses. As two consecutive reports show, it's easy!

[Astronaut Douglas Wheelock took this picture of New York from the International Space Station and posted it to his Twitter account. He was probably wondering how many New Yorkers were stepping in human urine at this very moment. (via Gothamist)]

The tony New York suburb of Rye has been dealing with two separate coyote attacks this weekend. Today, trappers tracked down and killed the coyote thought to be responsible—but not before it bit its pup's head off.

The latest religious nutjob to terrorize New York, Pastor Bill Keller, held his first service today at the Marriott near Ground Zero. "About 40 people" showed up, according to the Daily News. Way to bring in the flock, Bill.

There was a three-alarm fire yesterday on a pier that housed Sanitation Department trailers, snow plows and employees' gear: "I lost everything, and I just did my laundry, too," one sanitation worker told the Times. Over 100 firefighters responded.