This includes using insect repellant, checking window screens, and draining any pools of standing water, like this massive urban lake that has been forming for weeks at a Manhattan construction site.

Billed as the “West Side’s hottest retail opportunity,” the location on 11th Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets looks like one of those post-apocalyptic images of the city and has all the necessary ingredients needed to spawn a fresh batch of the people-killing, mosquito-borne disease. Anyway, it’s a good thing NYC is NYC, otherwise this could be a lot worse. (Photo: ANIMALNewYork)

Time lapse expert Josh Owens explains the theme behind his latest creation: “I recently spent a little over a month hotel hopping in Manhattan (March 12th to April 29th) shooting time lapse. These clips were pulled from over an hours worth of footage.” It’s as if the entire city is on meth.

Taking a cue from the city’s oppressive ban on smoking in public places like parks and beaches, Waterside Plaza in Manhattan has recently imposed similar sanctions. Despite the vast amount of outdoor space, smokers will now only be permitted to light up in designated areas near the sprawling complex’s residential towers or there’s always the secondary option: Peter Cooper Village.

The exterior of Hollister’s latest local retail palace has 179 flat-screen televisions that play a live beach video from sunny Southern California. Artistic!

Just in front of the screens are “infinity” pools that push the illusion further, making the front of the store seem to be waves of the Pacific Ocean breaking on a Manhattan street.

“The coolest thing is when it’s at 5 or 6 p.m. in New York and starting to get dark,” [a spokesman] said. “The afternoon sun from Huntington Beach really illuminates the street.”

It’s like the ninth wonder of the world or something, after the first seven wonders (Gardens of Babylon? Pyramids of Giza? I don’t know) plus low-fat donuts.

Show your gratitude for Hollister’s public display of brand innovation and stop by to purchase some of their “laid-back, effortlessly cool” wares for the holidays. Your cousin Tammy dresses like shit, and Grandpa Mike could use some new body wash (he smells too much like pigs in the blanket); Hollister’s fashion solutions can resolve those issues. And if you’re reading this post off an Ohio computer, please travel to NYC on a tourist visa as soon as possible to watch the waves video and also visit Times Square.

Streetblog says the mile-long lane will be a “hot topic” at tonight’s Manhattan Community Board 7 meeting, because anti’s are going to show up to complain. In June, the board approved the lane by just four votes, even though more people who attended that meeting were supporters than not. A month earlier, the board’s transportation committee had decided against the lane. Only by the grace of the bike gods (and the full board) did that green paint ever get laid on the pavement, a job that wrapped up in late October.

To be fair, wealthy people aren’t the primary?/only? opponents of the lane: Business owners say it interferes with loading. But it’s not clear how such activities on Columbus could be any more difficult to pull off than on the many other busy-ass city streets with bike lanes on them, or how bikes could be any more troublesome than cars. Come on here.

Even if public discussions about biking aren’t your thing, you might want to attend tonight’s meeting just for the STAR POWER. Actor Matthew Modine spoke at the June meeting, as did America’s ethicist Randy Cohen of the New York Times. Will they show up again tonight? Or will other, even bigger stars come out? Make sure to wear your best “slacks,” if you go.

Listen for the woman who says that a 911 dispatcher told her they “can’t do anything about it”—like, for example, connect her to Animal Control, because “they don’t have a number.” Another woman finally reaches Animal Control but gets put on hold. Your government at work!

It sounds like the cat’s saying, “ow! ow!”

VladNYC1 writes that he was “glad for a happy ending,” but we don’t actually see what became of the freaked-out feline. I’m no veterinarian, but bleeding from the mouth seems like a very bad sign. Maybe the cat was eating some strange kind of gory Halloween candy? Yeah, probably not.

If cats could talk, this little guy probably would have told the crowd, “thanks for all the water and petting and stuff, everybody, but have you folks ever heard of Stiv Bators? Yeah, well, he got hit by a car and didn’t get checked out by a doctor and died. I don’t want to be like that guy. So, can someone call a fucking doctor, like, STAT? Please? Oh, and if anybody’s got a cigarette … been a rough day.”

Does anyone have any information about what happened to this cat? Did someone take him to the ER? Please say yes, so America can sleep tonight.

Yesterday, some weird shit, most likely balloons, appeared over Manhattan, leading to widespread speculation and naturally, talk of aliens. It’s always been kind of astounding to me what a leap in logic it is to assume that an unidentified flying object isn’t, as the name suggests, just an unidentified flying object but an extraterrestrial spacecraft, cause clearly, that makes the most sense. (Photo: mobius1ski)

Manhattan residents spend most of their life swarming deep in the cracks between towering architecture. They only get to see the sun set a few times a year. It’s kind of a big deal, especially for shutterbugs. Manhattanhenge 2010 (Part 1 of 2) came and went, leaving a bounty of interweb documentation. See our gallery of poached photos and tips below. 

If you’re hankering for that illusive NYC sunset shot, your next chance on July 11 at 8:24pm for full sun action and on July 12 at 8:24pm for half sun. Get to the most Eastern part of 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd or 57th Street for a clear view across Manhattan towards Jersey. Mix it up. Try to find some adjacent street or hill no one’s blogged about yet. 34th and 42nd Streets are good for those obvious landmarks, but get there ridiculously early. The trees on 42nd Street limit the Tudor Hotel overpass vantage point to only a few feet and it gets crowded and boring, as I found out. So, like… charge your iPod and wear deodorant if biking. Please.

Lead photo by Marina Galperina.