Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in the Village, which were a seminal turning point in the fight for gay rights. Every year since, the anniversary has been marked by gay pride parades in NYC and around the world. Today’s started at noon, and if you’ve been anywhere in the path of the parade, I’m sure you’ve seen the colorful celebrations that usually accompany the parade. This evening, there will be more events, including Pridefest (on Hudson Street between Abingdon Square and West 14th Street, going on until 7PM tonight) and Dance on the Pier (at Pier 54, 13th Street & West Side Highway, 4-10:30 PM tonight). Lots more info and other events listed at NYC Pride.

Tonight in Union Square at 7 PM there will be a rally for the support of the Iranian people. As you may have seen on the news, since the recent presidential election in Iran, in which incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad purportedly won, there have been protests and riots throughout Iran alleging election fraud. The rioting and subsequent military crackdown on the people of Iran, as well as the attempts at internet censorship that have plagued Iranians trying to get word out about what they are going through, has motivated people throughout the world to support them. Tonight, along with the rally in Union Square, there will be rallies in DC, Philly, Portland, Iowa City, and Irvine, CA.

More info on the protest rally here. If you’re not on Facebook, the info is: tonight, Union Square, 7-9 PM. Flyers for printing can be downloaded here. The organizers are asking that those attending stay on the sidewalks on the south side of Union Square and not in the actual park, and that they bring candles to remember those who have been killed or injured in Iran during the past week.

Museum Mile is happening tonight. Do not miss it, whatever it is you do.

• FREE ACCESS 6pm - 9pm
  to all the museums along the mile
• 23 car-free blocks
  5th Avenue between 82nd & 105th

Click here for more details. Actually all the details you need are right above - click there if you want to browse their Website.

Starting today, the city has begun closing down several blocks of Broadway in midtown to vehicular traffic. This is part of the mayor’s plan to try and ease midtown traffic congestion. Broadway will be closed to vehicles and open to pedestrians and bicycles only from 42nd-47th Streets and 33rd-35th Streets. Permanently.

As one might imagine, the change has been met with mixed reactions. Honestly, I had no idea about it until a few days ago when I read about the closure at Curbed - and as evidenced by the NY Times article about the closure, apparently some pedicab drivers were unaware as well. I expect cab drivers to be pissy about it, especially the ones I’ve had lately who complain about the traffic (which requires its own blog post entirely), and I expect the tourist masses to embrace it.

It seems as though the city is approaching this cautiously, blocking off the closed blocks of Broadway with orange barrels instead of installing concrete or other more permanent barriers and gauging how the closure will be received by the public. I’d imagine that it will be difficult for some businesses on the closed blocks to get deliveries, but they’re still working all of the kinks out.

What I really want to see is what Broadway, 7th Ave, 47th Street, and 35th Street look like on Tuesday morning, when all the people who are crazy enough to drive to work return from the Memorial Day holiday. Anyone want to volunteer to take photos? Post photo links in the comments. Best angry cab driver photo wins a freakin’ awesome Metroblogging t-shirt.

We’re all familiar with the Fung Wah bus service. And if not, we should be. They are the buses that run for really cheap between Boston, Washington D.C. and New York City. The buses are often called “Chinatown” buses as their primary stops are in the China town section of each city they travel in.

But in addition to being cheap, Fung Wah buses also have a tendency of being shady. What do I mean by that?

Well, the list of offenses is shocking and pretty ridiculous, discrimination (blind couple denied access to bus),fatal Accident and the latest addition, bullying by the bus driver.

My friend shared this story with me of last weekend (May 2-3). She took the Fung Wah to Boston on Saturday. AT the bus’ pitstop, someone noticed that a passenger was missing. The driver turned around and picked up the girl who was sobbing on the sidewalk as she had missed the bus.

The bus driver got off the bus. She apologized profusely while still in tears saying her food had taken too long to be made. The bus driver forced her to throw the meal out. She pleaded as she had not eaten anything and was starving. But he made her throw the meal out and she was admitted onto the bus. Hungry, teary-eyed and probably a little psychologically devastated.

If you’re out there reading this and you’re the girl I’m writing about, please contact me and I will gladly work with you to ensure that what happened to you does not happen to hundreds of people every weekend.

Definitely never riding a Fung Wah bus again. We have enough trouble in the world without worrying about being bullied by a bus driver.

A woman rides the Dutch bicycle

The Dutch are so proud of their friendship with NYC that the Dutch minister recently gifted the city 400 Dutch bicycles.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber and NYC&Company CEO George Fertitta were on hand to receive the bikes at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84 and to highlight the many biking opportunities throughout New York City this summer.

What will happen to these bikes next? I don’t really know but there’s a lot of history to be learned about the Dutch’s colonization of America at the port we now know as Manhattan (and parts of Albany too).

It’s great that this event ties in with NYC-wide bike month. I’m sure you’ve seen the green posters on the subway as I have. They have quite an extensive schedule of events posted. But really, what exactly is bike month? It’s a way to encourage more New Yorkers to consider pedaling instead of peddling (read: illegal substances). HEYOOOOOOO!

(njoi bicycles. njoi life. njoi nyc. thank you dutch people. sorry native americans.)

I’ve seen people on the 6 train and F trains now wearing masks to protect themselves from the swine flu. But my theory was that flue particles are so tiny that they can pervade any mask. I mean think about it, there literally is no preventing air from moving. . . unless you live in a vacuum.

Also, this article confirms my thoughts, sort of …

Federal health officials said Monday that they, quite frankly, didn’t know how helpful either type of devices are in preventing swine flu infection.

If used correctly, masks and — more likely — respirators may indeed reduce the risk of getting influenza, according to information released from the CDC. But for people who live in areas with confirmed cases, there is no single action that will provide complete protection. It simply isn’t practical to wear a mask all the time, and they are not 100% foolproof.

What are you doing to prevent swine flu?

Watch movies at the Park

NYC parks always have great things to offer. As May approaches and the floral landscape of the city changes from barren wasteland to allergen-heavy blooms, wildflowers take center stage.

But for those who have no interest in botany can still enjoy the parks.

Central Park is a year round treat, but as the weather gets nicer, look for more activities happening there too.

Bryant Park has laid out benches on its lush green lawn for picnicking locals and stress free work time lunches. Did you know Bryant Park offers Tai Chi & Yoga classes on a regular basis?!

And for those of you too lazy to partake in physical activities. Great News! You can watch movies in the park for free. Brooklyn Bridge Park is holding a free series of flicks throughout the summer to keep a smile on your face too.

And finally just because I don’t want to leave out Queens. You can always check out some of the finest parks in the city in the more domestic and cozier of the boroughs. Your choices are Alley Pond, Botanical Gardens or even Flushing Meadows.

Dear Air Force,

When you decide that it would be neat to take photos of the “backup” to Air Force One flying close to the Statue of Liberty and taking almost exactly the same flight path as the planes that took out the WTC towers in 2001, it would be nice to, I don’t know, let the people of NYC know about it ahead of time. Might be nice to at least let the freakin’ mayor know about it, for starters. You scared the hell out of a lot of people and pissed a lot more off today. But, at least you got your photo op!

Tell us ahead of time next time or we’ll break your kneecaps.

Love,
NYC

This weekend, while everyone was out enjoying the lovely (if a bit hot for April) weather, news was breaking all over the place about the new swine flu variant that has killed 20 and infected 1,000+ in Mexico. There are confirmed cases in the U.S., including several at a private school in Queens, but no deaths and only one hospitalization have occurred in this country. The flu virus, a mix of pig, bird, and human flu viruses, has the possibility to become a pandemic because it seems to be easily transmissible from human to human, and it is killing young adults rather than infants, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems.

Of course, people are beginning to panic, and the European Union has issued a warning urging its citizens to avoid travel to the U.S. and Mexico in hopes of heading off a global pandemic, but don’t shutter yourselves inside and prepare to wait out the flupocalypse in your bunker just yet.

The Centers for Disease Control have said that this particular strain is vulnerable to two commonly available flu medications, and the U.S. has not issued any travel advisories for its citizens (though they’re expected to issue one for travel to Mexico shortly). Common sense should prevail - wash your hands frequently, especially if you’re around someone who is sneezing or coughing. If you have flu symptoms, call your doctor, and don’t rush to the nearest ER if you just have a slight fever. And finally, read only reliable sources (scroll down for links to CDC and WHO) and stay away from “end of the world” and conspiracy websites. Don’t panic! You have more to fear right now from crazy taxi drivers than swine flu.