Some follow-up to Mayor Bloomberg’s exchange with Observer (and PolitickerNY) reporter Azi Paybarah. The NY Times described that the mayor “seemed to reach new heights of peevishness, calling a reporter who posed a question he did not like ‘a disgrace.’” (The question was whether the mayor, who spoke of an economic turnaround, oversold his pitch for overturning term limits .) CBS 2 reported , “Many would say the reporter’s question was relevant, especially since the city’s failing economy is one of the reasons Bloomberg sought an exemption from term limits….

This morning there was a rally to save the historic Underground Railroad site in Chelsea, which like everything else in this city is being threatened by a building owner’s “remodeling” project. Students, activists, local officials and preservationists held the rally and teach-in at the building’s site, the Hopper-Gibbons House at 339 West 29th Street , which was a hiding place for runaway slaves. The Landmarks Preservation Commission is actively considering designating it a protected landmark, but meanwhile the current owner continues to receive building permits. One local told the NY Times last year, “Being one of the few African-Americans on the …

Officer Omar Edwards The off-duty police officer who was fatally shot by police in Harlem last night as he chased a burglar with his gun drawn died from a gunshot wound from the chest. But a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner says that though the fatal bullet was recovered from the front of Officer Omar Edwards’s chest, the bullet actually entered the left side of his back before hitting his heart and left lung. Another bullet struck his left arm, and a third hit his left hip. The NYPD is still withholding the name of the white cop who fired on Edwards and is conducting an investigation to determine whether officers identified themselves. But Rev. Al Sharpton wants a federal investigation; speaking to 1010WINS , he says sees “a growing pattern of black officers…

Photo: djwerdna A “food fight” has erupted between rival organizers of two Brooklyn-based competitive eating events! “This year’s contest is going to be intense,” says Joe Loccisano of Rocco’s Pizzeria, referring to his slice eating competition which takes place Sunday in Bay Ridge. Loccisano suggested his contest has more credibility because pizza is more authentically Brooklyn than hot dogs, prompting a Nathan’s rep to actually say “Brooklyn is the crucible by which the hot dog was transformed into the most American of foods.” Loccisano, strengthening his argument against the famous, ESPN-broadcast July 4th Nathan’s contest , said, “And let’s be honest, dipping …

On Wednesday, frothing New York Post demagogue Andrea Peyser dropped her instant-classic diatribe against the new car-free pedestrian plazas on Broadway , deriding those European tourists who flocked to the open space while finding solidarity with… one homeless man. Joe Miller, who Peyser says “carried his earthly possessions in plastic bags” also shares the columnist’s hatred for any human challenge to the automobile’s supremacy: “It’s terrible. I live in the streets. People smoke in the shelters! I can’t stand it.” Opinions On A Car-Free Times Square from ANIMALnewyork.com on Vimeo . Anyway, the rant inspired Animal NY to “hit the …