Pedestrians Drive Cars From Times Square

Beijing and Mexico City lead the way

(NEWSER) - IBM surveyed drivers in 20 of the world's biggest cities to find the worst commutes. The bottom 5 (based on a slew of factors including time stuck in traffic and stress) in the commuter pain index are:

1. Beijing (99 on a scale of 100)
2. Mexico City (99)
3. Johannesburg (97)
4. Moscow (84, with 2½-hour traffic jams common)
5. New Delhi (81)

Mayor unveils pedestrian-friendly midtown makeover

(NEWSER) - New York is turning the Great White Way into the Great Walk Way, the New York Times reports. Mayor Bloomberg announced plans yesterday to turn five blocks of Broadway around Times Square into a pedestrian zone complete with tables and landscaping starting this May. City officials say the plan will ease the area's fearsome congestion but some worry the area's spirit will be lost. More»

Iconic record store to become Forever 21

(NEWSER) - New York City’s iconic Virgin Megastore will close in April, Billboard reports. The Times Square fixture is the US’s highest volume music store, but the real estate company that acquired Virgin in 2007 is booting it for a higher-rent tenant. An exec told Reuters last year that Virgin pays $54 per square foot, compared with the market average $700. More»

Star racks up impressive bill in 6 months during Broadway stint, Post estimates

(NEWSER) - Katie Holmes is “Manhattan’s Most Valued Shopper” after spending more than $14 million during her 6 months in New York, the Post estimates. Dining at hot spots like Nobu accounts for more than $7,000, while dressing herself and Suri racked up at least $17,000. But the bulk of the tally comes from the Cruises’ rumored acquisition of three more lofts during Holmes’ Broadway run. More»

Workers narrowly escape death in flooding basement elevator

(NEWSER) - Two workers were saved from drowning in an elevator, cars were up to their windows in water, and subway service shut down in New York City yesterday, all because of a rainfall that shattered a 116-year record. An astonishing 7.7 inches of rain pelted the city in a single day. The normal rainfall for the entirety of August in New York is 4 inches. The tensest moments of the storm occurred for two construction workers moving material in a flooded building in Staten Island. When the elevator hit the basement, "water started rushing in," and the doors wouldn't open, one worker told the New York Daily News . "We thought we were dead." More»