Urbanite

I love being a sidewalk gardener in Manhattan. Whenever I'm tending the large planter box outside my West Village building, people smile, stop to chat, and thank me for making the block look beautiful. Like dogs or babies, colorful flowers inspire people to drop their guard and be friendly.

To the tourists, I'm a source of information, an ambassador of good will. To the locals, I'm that obsessive...

NBA player Jason Collins will receive the "Courage Award" from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network on Monday night at Manhattan's Gotham Hall.

Collins, 34,who finished the season with the Washington Wizards, came out as gay in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, making him the first active pro athlete to declare his homosexuality while playing for a major U.S. sports...

MoMA may be backing down from its initial plan to raze the adjacent American Folk Art Museum building, a decision that generated a protest from the world's design and preservationist communities, as well as from the ecologically minded.

Thursday, MoMA director Glenn D. Lowry sent a memo to MoMA's trustees and staff announcing the museum had retained Diller Scofidio + Renfro to "work with...

The owners of House of Cupcakes didn't let the mayor's perturbed reaction to their gift to the city stop them from having fun during their opening day Thursday.

Ron and Ruthie Bzdewka, the owners of the West Village pastry shop, unveiled their most talked-about creation "The Mayor," a 25-pound, 35,800 calorie cupcake that featured an image of a grumpy looking Michael Bloomberg as...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned the feds that four Brooklyn hospitals will have to shut down unless the state gets immediate permission to use money from expected Medicaid savings to keep them open. In all, he wants more than $1 billion for hospitals in poor communities.

Let's start with the easy stuff first.

Federal Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should say yes immediately.

Whatever...

The unofficial start of summer will also be the official start of the city's bike share program.

The city Department of Transportation announced Thursday that Citi Bike will start on Memorial Day for the thousands who signed up for annual membership.

All other users can use the 6,000 bikes located in Brooklyn and Manhattan starting June 2.

Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan...

"The dog" is leaving the building.

Randy Jackson is leaving "American Idol" after 12 years as a judge on the show and its only original member from the panel, he told E! News on Thursday.

"Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on 'American Idol' I have decided it is time to leave after this season," he said in a statement to E! News.

"I...

The Met Ball just isn't cool enough for Gwyneth Paltrow.

The "Iron Man" star slammed what many call the event of the season, saying that it was a total miss and she'll never be back.

"I'm never going again," she said of Monday's bash, according to USA Today.

"It was so un-fun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all," she said.

The star was slammed for...

For the first time in its 37-year history, a celebrity will be organizing the looks and sounds of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show.

The show's producers announced Thursday that Usher helped curate this year's event by working on the score and designing the fireworks with the staff.

The 34-year-old R&B star said he was honored to be part of the team.

"I hope that through the...

Stories We Tell 3 stars Documentary by Sarah Polley Playing at the Angelika and Lincoln Plaza Rated PG-13

All movies are personal in one way or another for their makers. You simply can't devote the energy and resources required to complete a feature film without pouring at least a smidgen of yourself into the process.

But Sarah Polley's "Stories We Tell" isn't your everyday...