https://www.otdowntown.com/news/camping-under-the-stars-in-city-parks-legally-yes-you-can-EJ6083125 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-05T22:16:57-04:00 Camping Under the Stars in City Parks? Legally? Yes, You Can! https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screen-shot-2026-08-03-at-12-53-34-pm_4-10974656_20260803125503.png Urban Park Rangers host an array of public events and activities, including educational excursions on NYC parks’ wildlife. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screen-shot-2026-08-03-at-12-56-33-pm_4-10974668_20260803125729.png Urban Park Rangers hosting Family Camping and helping families set up tents. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screen-shot-2026-08-03-at-12-43-17-pm_4-10974649_20260803124800.png The Lake of Central Park, with a person pictured on a rented boat. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/traffic-chaos-continues-days-after-water-main-bursts-in-east-village-MJ6092187 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-05T22:34:44-04:00 Traffic Chaos Continues Days After Water Main Bursts in East Village https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a7552_4-10981518_20260805210255.jpg NYPD and NYC Transit officials stood by the enclosed entrance to First Avenue on 14 Street, redirecting vehicles away from the zone. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a7556_4-10981524_20260805210302.jpg Construction and Con Edison workers were at the scene, trying to uncover the cause of the main burst. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/3e0a7557_4-10981525_20260805210306.jpg Traffic is being redirected westbound towards Second Avenue. Outside the intersection closure, there was honking and congested movement of vehicles. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/city-council-launching-e-bike-safety-review-after-deadly-crashes-EG6091161 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-06T10:41:19-04:00 City Council Launching E-Bike Safety Review After Deadly Crashes https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-08-05-at-11-29-22-am_4-10980764_20260806104100.png NYC Council Members on the steps of city hall, announcing a Sept. 30 hearing on e-bike safety. From left to right: Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers, Oswald Feliz, Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, Speaker Julie Menin, Gale Brewer, and Lynn Schulman. Council Members were joined by Jessica Solano, who’s been caring for her sister after she was severely injured by an e-bike while jogging, and Solano’s husband, Brian (right). https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/city-council-e-bike-safety-east-11-st_4-10981937_20260806102312.jpg A typical day on East 11th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, where 100s of e-bikes, scooters and mopeds take over public space on behalf of the app delivery industry. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/city-council-e-bike-review-fly-e-bike_4-10982006_20260806102624.jpg No license, no license plate, no registration: a sparkling Fly E-Bike parked and ready for delivery. But is it really a “bicycle”? https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/city-council-e-safety-review-bike_4-10981934_20260806101851.jpg The City Council is launching e-bike safety review in part to deal with issues like speeding e-bikes. Here a Washington Heights shop advertises “We speed up bike.” https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/city-council-e-bike-safety-review-mon_4-10982009_20260806103135.jpg Stand up electric unicycles aka e-unicycles or monowheels are also an e-vehicle concern. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/e-bike-safety-hells-kitchen_4-10982016_20260806103736.webp City council launching e-bike safety review that might address scenes like this, which are typical of the 9th Avenue bike lane in Hell’s Kitchen. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/city-council-e-bike-review-red-hook-i_4-10982013_20260806103418.jpg NYPD’s illegal e-bike and scooter impound yard in Red Hook, Brooklyn. https://www.otdowntown.com/home/all-mta-buses-to-have-designated-spot-for-open-strollers-YL6094706 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-06T16:18:57-04:00 All MTA Buses to Have Designated Spot for Open Strollers https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/mta-open-stroller_4-10989021_20260806161839.jpg Spots on MTA buses that have been designated as open stroller spaces are marked with a decal. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/shame-stickers-for-cars-blocking-street-sweepers-make-controversial-comeback-EX6088798 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T06:03:53-04:00 Shame Stickers for Cars Blocking Street Sweepers Make Controversial Comeback https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/dsny-car-stickers_4-10978320_20260804162051.webp The NY Department of Sanitation has started affixing adhesive stickers to cars violating street cleaning parking rules again, bringing back a practice that had been prohibited since 2011 before a City Council vote in June 2026 allowed the Department of Sanitation to resume the practice starting in August. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/officials-and-advocates-blast-judge-s-ruling-blocking-ice-mask-ban-JG6091469 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T06:58:42-04:00 Officials and Advocates Blast Judge’s Ruling Blocking ICE Mask Ban https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/ice-block-jpg-10981323-10981323_4-10981323_20260805164108.jpg Officials and advocates came together after a law set to ban ICE agents from concealing their identities with masks was blocked when a judge issued a preliminary injunction. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/block-on-ban-jpg-10987926-10987926_4-10987926_20260806140901.jpg Assemblymember Tony Simone organized a conference to condemn the block on August 4. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/mask-ban-jpg-10987929-10987929_4-10987929_20260806140904.jpg Civil rights lawyer and Democratic nominee for Assembly District 66 David Siffert argued against the legal reasoning behind the decision at the press conference. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/officials-ban-jpg-10987925-10987925_4-10987925_20260806140907.jpg New York Immigration Coalition President Murad Awawdeh called the block on the mask ban a mistake. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/mask-ban-block-jpg-10987924-10987924_4-10987924_20260806140910.jpg Representative Dan Goldman, who has introduced a similar bill on a federal level in Congress, also came to speak out against the decision. https://www.otdowntown.com/home/no-more-24-bill-stalls-menin-mamdani-mocked-at-city-hall-protest-NJ6092593 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T17:53:03-04:00 “No More 24” Bill Stalls: Menin, Mamdani Mocked at City Hall Protest https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stall-red-signs_4-10989616_20260807093306.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stalls-health-steal_4-10989605_20260807093252.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stalls-hunger-strike_4-10989608_20260807093255.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stalls-hunger-strike_4-10989610_20260807093258.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stalls-marte-broadway_4-10989612_20260807093300.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/no-more-24-bill-stalls-menin-insuranc_4-10989614_20260807093303.jpg “No More 24” Bill Stalls, again, to the ire of protestors on Brodway outside City Hall on Aug. 5. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/cuban-odyssey-isla-makes-its-off-broadway-debut-XL6085617 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T17:57:53-04:00 Cuban Odyssey “Isla” Makes Its Off Broadway Debut https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/isla-key-art-1000x600_4-10976083_20260803180916.png “Isla,” an original play from the acclaimed theater company Hit The Lights!, stars (l to r.) Tiffany Iris as Alina, Daniela Delahuerta as Carmen and Samantha Blain as Lulu, and is co-directed by Roman Sanchez & Mikayla Stanley. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/samantha-blain_4-10976084_20260803182734.jpg Samantha Blain is a television actress and writer, as well as a founding member of Hit The Lights! theater company. “Isla” is based on the true story of her family’s 1960s exodus from Castro’s Cuba. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/isla-with-hit-the-lights-photo-credit_4-10976085_20260803182734.jpg Hit the Lights! is famous for its use of shadow puppetry, playing with light and dark, and magical themes. Puppetry by Casey Scott Leach, Erica Knight, and Jessie March. https://www.otdowntown.com/features/healthy-manhattan/tomato-is-revered-today-but-it-was-once-feared-as-poison-apple-YY6098427 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T18:46:23-04:00 Tomato Is Revered Today But it Was Once Feared as “Poison Apple” https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/woman-eating-a-tomato_4-10991876_20260807184222.jpg If she was in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, she would not dare eat that tomato which was given the feared nickname “poison apple.” In the modern era, not only is it revered as as a tasty and versatile food, the tomato has serious and newly discovered health benefits. https://www.otdowntown.com/news/new-lawsuits-filed-over-harlem-legionnaires-outbreak-YY6098256 hourly Our Town - Downtowner en 2026-08-07T18:50:56-04:00 New Lawsuits Filed Over Harlem Legionnaires’ Outbreak https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-5-16-48-pm_4-10991856_20260807171850.png New York City is facing new lawsuits related to last year’s deadly Legionnaires’ outbreak in Harlem, with the support of Ben Crump (right) and the Reverend Al Sharpton (right). At an August 6 presser, June Cooley (above, center) said that her family has “PTSD” over her mother’s infection. https://www.otdowntown.com/binrepository/screenshot-2026-08-07-at-5-17-25-pm_4-10991863_20260807171854.png Nunzio Quino, a construction worker who sued a contractor tied to the outbreak last year, says that “people try to hide when there’s something wrong.”