New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) held back a surprisingly strong primary challenge from Fordham law school professor Zephyr Teachout, according to the Associated Press and NY1, which both called the race Tuesday evening.

As of 10:30 p.m., with about half the state's precincts reporting, Cuomo led Teachout roughly 60% to 36%. This was a stronger performance for Teachout than the 20% to 30% most observers had predicted for her.

Cuomo held many advantages, including the full-throated support of the state's Democratic Party, a campaign war chest filled with tens of millions of dollars, and strong name recognition throughout the state.

Despite his win, Cuomo's campaign tactics left many veteran observers puzzled. Incumbents traditionally ignore their lesser-known challengers but Cuomo's campaign unsuccessfully sued to try and keep Teachout off the ballot and even sent its volunteers to follow Teachout around and stage mysterious protests at her events.

Though he is a Democrat, Cuomo's approach to politics has nevertheless angered many critics on the left, which fueled Teachout's challenge. Liberal activists skewered Cuomo for his reported support of State Senate Republicans and his more moderate approach to fiscal policy. Cuomo has also been sharply criticized for shutting down his own anticorruption commission before its work was complete, a move that is being investigated by federal prosecutors.

The AP also called the lieutenant governor's race for Cuomo's endorsed running mate, ex-Rep. Kathy Hochul.

Cuomo is strongly favored in November against Republican Rob Astorino.

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New York City is a magical place in the fall.

There are crisp days perfect for walks in the park, hot apple cider from local farmer's markets, and football.

Plenty of events and festivals, from the New York City Marathon to the Wine & Food Festival, also take place.

Autumn officially starts Sept. 22, so get ready for the new season with our ultimate guide on what every New Yorker should do this fall.

Gorge yourself on sausages with peppers and Cannolis at the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy, which runs from Sept. 11-21.

For a map and event schedule, click here >

Pick apples at one of the gorgeous orchards in upstate New York, Connecticut, or New Jersey, where you can wander the grounds picking bushels of your own fruit.

Some good options near New York City include Applewood Orchards & Winery, Barton Orchards, Dr. Davies Farm, and Greig Farm.

For more suggestions, click here >

Shop at one of New York City’s largest street fairs, the Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn. It takes place Sept. 28 and runs through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill.

You can find a street map of vendors here >

A New York state pension fund has given Goldman Sachs Group Inc $2 billion to invest with outside managers, Goldman and the fund said in a statement on Wednesday, a first for a fund that has traditionally picked managers itself.

Officials in charge of overseeing the $180.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund wanted to invest more in markets outside the U.S. and decided it was best to outsource the task to a company that had the skills and resources to put money to work quickly, staff in the New York comptroller's office said.

In talks with fund officials over the past year, Goldman executives presented an analysis of the fund's allocations based on publicly available data and suggested areas it could improve, such as where to spend the risk budget and whether to be more active or passive in certain portfolios, said the comptroller staffers, who spoke on the condition they not be named.

Those analytics, combined with the size of Goldman's fund selection and due diligence team and a competitive pricing structure led the comptroller's office to partner with the bank.

The partnership is the latest step in Goldman's effort to grow its investment management business, as new regulations and lower trading volume have pressured profits in other businesses the bank has traditionally relied on for growth.

The office of New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is in talks with other potential partners to ink similar deals, staff said.

Under the agreement with Goldman, the bank's Alternative Investments and Manager Selection (AIMS) Group will select managers for $2 billion worth of the pension fund's stock portfolio that focuses on making investments abroad with active managers. The fund is also in talks with Goldman about so-called "sustainable investments," which focus on environmentally friendly or socially responsible companies.

The deal with New York is not the first business Goldman has won with a state pension fund but it is the largest. In 2008, South Carolina Retirement Systems entered a $1.5 billion partnership with the bank's investment management unit and in 2010, the Alaska Permanent Fund awarded it over $500 million.

AIMS, which had $156 billion in assets under supervision at June 30, is an "open architecture" platform, which means none of the investments Goldman selects can be invested in funds that the bank's own portfolio managers oversee.

Goldman and the pension fund declined to comment on fees.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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GRAMERCY PARK — Residents of an exclusive Gramercy Park enclave are up in arms after their neighbors — Lauren Santo Domingo, a New York socialite and Vogue contributing editor, and her Colombian billionaire beer heir husband Andres Santo Domingo — began digging a geothermal well beneath their townhouse.

A massive drill for the Santo Domingos' well began pounding on Monday, rendering the gated Gramercy Park "uninhabitable" because of the noise, residents said. Construction staging has dangerously pushed pedestrians from the sidewalk out into the street and trucks for the project have crashed into three street trees, destroying them, residents said. 

"Everybody is furious. It's a complete disregard for the neighbors," said Pamela Vassil, who has lived on the north side of the park for 40 years and can hear the drilling even though her apartment faces the back of her building.

"The Empire State Building was built in 11 months. This has been going on for four stinking years," she noted of the entire project.

Lauren Santo Domingo — who's been called "the next Brooke Astor" and co-founded Moda Operandi, a fashion site where members can order looks from the runway before they hit stores — bought the 23 Gramercy Park townhouse with her husband for $18.5 million in 2010 and have yet to move in. She and her husband, the youngest son of deceased magnate Julio Mario Santo Domingo, soon began massive renovations that included adding a swimming pool.

That work was noisy and disruptive too, but residents kept quiet about their concerns until this week, when ear-splitting construction began on the geothermal well, which will be 1,600-feet deep and will take about five weeks to dig, according to neighbors who said they had seen the plans.

Geothermal wells, which need to be deep enough into the earth's crust to tap energy to heat and cool the building, are considered eco-friendly since they reduce carbon footprints. They also allow buildings to be powered without being connected to the grid, which appeals to residents in a post-Hurricane Sandy New York. There are more than 100 geothermal wells across the city, according to The New York Times. 

Gramercy is no stranger to big renovation projects, like the Gramercy Park Hotel and the top-to-bottom overhaul of 18 Gramercy Park South. Scaffolding currently encases several buildings around the park.

But the Santo Domingos' building has showed a new level of disrespect for the community, many residents said.

"We've never had as many phone calls and emails and people stopping us on the street to complain about a construction project as this one," said Arlene Harrison, president of the Gramercy Park Block Association, who is known as the "Mayor of Gramercy Park.""People are telling me they're unable to use the park due to the drilling noise."

Tony Hume, a representative for the townhouse, told DNAinfo he was not immediately authorized to speak about the project.

Sean Brady, who lives next door to the construction at 24 Gramercy Park South, called the noise "deafening."

"The drill is something you seen in the [James Dean] movie "Giant," like for a small oil well. It's like a big piece of equipment you'd use wildcatting on Gramercy Park hoping to strike it rich if you weren't already rich," Brady said. "It's taken over the whole neighborhood."

Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection said the agency received five noise complaints on Tuesday and they expected to send an inspector Wednesday to take noise readings.

Beyond the noise, Gary Baddeley, president of the co-op board next door, was most concerned about potential dangers caused by the project's removal of the sidewalk, which forces pedestrians to cross the middle of the street — or simply walk alongside the construction barriers in the narrow lane used for traffic. 

Residents said they have seen trucks mounting the sidewalk to avoid pedestrians who are forced to walk in the street.

Since the street changes — all of which have permits from the Department of Transportation, according to city officials — trucks have hit three nearly 40-year-old street trees, residents said. The Parks Department removed two damaged trees already, officials said, and residents said they were told a third tree will be chopped down soon.

Baddeley said that while he's sad about the trees, he is even more concerned about his 11- and 13-year-old kids darting into the street without being able to see oncoming traffic.

"It's a shame, and we love those trees, but it's not the same as a human life," Baddeley said.

NOW WATCH: This Bike Lock Will Discourage Even The Most Experienced Thieves

SEE ALSO: An Eccentric 'Wall Street Genius' Was A Hoarder Who Apparently Left An $18 Million Fortune To No One

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Rob Astorino, the underdog Republican running against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), is now taking hits for being a fan of a Florida football team.

Liz Benjamin of the State of Politics blog reported Monday morning that the local Democratic Party in Buffalo released a television ad going after Astorino for not supporting the Buffalo Bills in their home-opener against the Miami Dolphins.

"Astorino is a Miami Dolphins fan," the ad declares as a photo of Astorino in Dolphins gear appears onscreen. "Governor Cuomo stood with us ... This November, when Rob Astorino comes asking for your vote, let’s remember who was on our team."

Cuomo's campaign directly piled on further. His lieutenant governor candidate, Kathy Hochul, repeatedly assailed Astorino on Twitter during the game. Hochul even referred to the entire Dolphins team as "Astorino."

"Bills leading Astorino-led Dolpins 3-0 ... Bills Block Astorino Dolphins Punt! ... Buffalo sacks Astorino!" exclaimed Hochul, who used to represent Western New York in Congress. "Miami fan Astorino cannot be happy! Go Bills!"

Astorino's campaign was not amused. His spokeswoman, Jessica Proud, told State of Politics that Democrats were trying to distract the public from the real issues.

“We have the highest taxes in the country, the worst economic outlook, the governor is under criminal investigation and this is what they’re talking about?" Proud asked. "It says it all."

View the ad below, video via State of Politics.

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Rep. Peter King (R-New York) issued a dire warning about the threat posed by the jihadist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS and ISIL) in a conversation with Business Insider on Monday. King argued the group, which is currently mainly active in Iraq and Syria, is at least as dangerous as Al Qaeda to those living on American soil. 

"We have to assume it's a threat. I mean, when people say there are no terror threats from ISIS, you know, there were no terror threats to the United States from Al Qaeda on September 10th either, 2001," King said.

The question of how dangerous ISIS could be here in the United States has been crucial as President Barack Obama has pushed for expanded military operations against the group. 

King argued Al Qaeda in Iraq, which was a precursor to ISIS, expressed interest in attacking targets on American soil during its heyday. He pointed to the Western fighters who have joined ISIS as a particular concern. 

"They have so many Americans, so many Europeans with passports that can come to the US on visa waiver," King said of the group. "Whether there's 15,000 or 30,000 [Western ISIS fighters], we have to assume at least five of them are going to try to get into this country. And so, I would say the threat is as much from them as it is from Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula."

King also dismissed concerns military action against ISIS could make them more inclined to target the US or "bring us into it more than we are now." He cited videos published by the group showing the execution of American citizens as proof a desire to avoid US military operations wouldn't orevent them from staging an attack here. 

"Hey, if they beheaded two Americans on television, they're not going to be afraid to put a bomb in Lower Manhattan," said King.

Though he believes there is widespread support for military operations against ISIS, King said he is not sure lawmakers agree on the best strategy to fight the group.

"Congress agrees that right now that we do have to have airstrikes in Syria and we should try to train and arm the Syrian moderates," King said. "But there's so much difference, I think, on the specifics. Like, for instance, how long do we wait on the airstrikes? Can we really count on the Free Syrian Army? And should we be ruling out ground troops so definitively the way the president is?"

Despite his concern about ISIS and support for attacking them, King offered some criticism for Obama's handling of the group. Specifically, he said Obama is putting too much faith in the coalition he has assembled to combat ISIS. Citing the examples of the Bosnian War and Iraq War, King said the president should realize the US will have to do the majority of the fighting and be more frank about that with the American people. 

"No matter what happens ... we're going to have to carry the brunt of this because the other countries are not able to," said King. "The president should make that clear to the American people."

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The 11-year-old son of GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino is going on the offensive against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

The son, Sean Astorino, is upset that Cuomo supporters edited him out of an attack ad going after his father's support for the Miami Dolphins. The ad was paid for by a local Democratic Party in Western New York, but the Astorino campaign clearly believes Cuomo needs to answer for it.

"Dear Gov. Cuomo, I went to a football game with my dad when I was seven. It was a really great day for me. It was one of my favorite pictures ever with my dad. It wasn't very nice of you that you cut me out of it. Do you really like chopping up Astorino family photos?" Sean Astorino asked in a campaign ad released Tuesday morning. "We wouldn’t do that to you."

He then challenged Cuomo to edit him out of other family photos.

"How about this one, governor? Want to cut me out of this for a TV ad? How about this one?" he asked.

The younger Astorino squeezed in one more jab at the governor before signing off with a seemingly sarcastic "best regards."

"Oh, while I got you, stop telling lies about my dad," he added.

The Cuomo campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the 11-year-old's broadside.

Update (3:51 p.m.):The Erie County Democratic Party, which reportedly worked with Cuomo's campaign to film the ad, released a short statement to Business Insider: "It is illegal to use the image of a child in an ad without the parents' permission - we simply followed the law."

View the Astorino ad below.

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Inspired by the success of the cronut, Al Tak decided to create his own culinary mashup.

Tak, 44, who just opened his first cafe on the Lower East Side, spent three months experimenting before finally making what he believes is the perfect dessert: a "creffle," a cross between a Belgian waffle, French crepe and Chinese eggette.

“It’s crispy on the outside [and] it’s light and fluffy on the inside,” said Tak, who named his newly opened Creffle Cafe, at 115 Stanton St., after the invention.

To make the confection, Tak pours batter into a special hexagonal iron, which creates the oval imprints that give creffles a texture similar to eggettes. On the inside, the creffles are soft like a crepe. Customers can eat them plain, or add toppings like fruit, nuts, chocolate and whipped cream, he said.

Tak, an Elmhurst resident, also makes savory creffles, including one with bacon and cheese mixed into the batter and another topped with pork belly or a coffee-marinated meatball.

“When you eat the meatball, you don’t even taste the coffee,” he said. The acidity in the coffee helps tenderize the meat, he explained, and gives the meatballs “a very light coffee fragrance.”

Plain creffles cost $4.95 and toppings are 50 cents each. The bacon and cheese creffle costs $6.95, and the meatball and pork belly versions are $11 and $10, respectively, Tak said. The creffles are served on a plate or wrapped up in paper for those on the go, he added.

But Tak didn’t stop there. Last week he developed what he has dubbed the “meatball puff."

“Basically the outside is like croissant. Inside, I’ll put a meatball in and I’ll bake it,” he said. The pastry is served with a homemade tomato sauce on the side.

Tak said his creations were a way to differentiate the cafe from other establishments in the neighborhood.

“Nowadays, because of the competition and everything, you have to be pretty inventive, to come up with something new,” he said.

Creffle Cafe sells more conventional fare as well. Coffee starts at $2.50 and is brewed using beans the cafe roasts in-house. The cafe also bakes its own cookies, scones and croissants.

Creffle Cafe is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.

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I thought I understood driving in New York City. I thought I understood stress.

But then I drove a 2014 Bentley Flying Spur in Manhattan and my ideas about stress were changed forever.

The Flying Spur is a 17-foot-long, 5,500-pound, $250,000 engineering marvel that's a unique pleasure on the roads outside New York City. I enjoyed every mile and minute of our all-too-brief weekend together.

But then I drove to Gotham to meet friends for dinner and everything changed.

I'm no novice when it comes to driving in New York. I've navigated the city in exotic sports cars and utilitarian SUVs. City driving is never stress-free, but I've learned to manage. 

Bentleys, however, operate on a different plan of risk analysis. Every time a cab dove into a gap near my car, I feared for the Bentley's $4,400 Kingfisher Blue paint job. My terror would be temporarily drowned out by the $7,500 Naim premium audio system. But then another cab would come diving into the another gap!  

I felt like I was running with the bulls in Pamplona while holding a priceless Ming vase. 

No Parking For Bentleys

If that sounds like an exaggeration, just try parking a Ming vase — I mean, a Bentley— anywhere in Manhattan. There are rules against it, and those rules are clearly posted to discourage such behavior.

I met up with friends at their apartment on the Upper East Side before going to dinner in SoHo, a few miles south. I figured the parking garage of a luxury building in the generally posh neighborhood would gladly accept the car.

Wrong. Nobody on the Upper East Side wanted to take the Bentley, probably because of insurance risks.

Being unable to park the Flying Spur was worrisome. But then we started to run out of gas (10 miles per gallon will do that to a car). With little fuel to spare, I headed south toward Business Insider's offices, where I knew I could find parking and, more important, gasoline. As I inched along Park Avenue, the stress from the 4.4-mile trip became ulcer-inducing. More cabs entered the fray. I could feel my blood pressure rising as I gripped the $2,200 steering wheel more tightly.

I finally found a small gas station, which should have relieved some of the pressure. But remember when I said the Bentley was 17 feet long? A Honda Civic beat me to the spot closest to the station's entrance. Five feet of Flying Spur jutted out into the street. My passenger hopped out to divert traffic from an unimaginably expensive bumper and presumably priceless taillight.

By this point a crowd had gathered, both out of a curiosity and because I had blocked the sidewalk. As countless cellphone photos were taken, I managed to maneuver the Bentley in front of another pump. I was afraid that filling the tank would be like refueling an Abrams tank, but I was finished, mercifully, in 10 minutes. During the fill-up, the Bentley's big twin-turbocharged W12 engine radiated so much heat that the station attendant ask if I needed a mechanic. 

It all worked out OK in the end, but the next time I see a Bentley in the city, I'll understand what the driver is going through. I'll feel their pain.

But What A Car!

Fortunately, I also got the chance to assess the Bentley on the calm roads of Northern New Jersey and the soothing byways of Upstate New York. 

The 616-horsepower Flying Spur is stylish, powerful, and athletic, everything a Bentley should be. Even better, the super-sedan's raw horsepower is wrapped in civility. This is a car that coddles passengers with almost otherworldly luxury. 

The car is massive. However, thanks to its aluminum construction, it feels surprising light on its feet, whether navigating country roads — far from marauding cabs — or cruising in the left lane of a highway.

There's no lack of pep, either. When you stomp on the gas pedal, that W12 comes life (and, yes, you read that right — with 12 cylinders the Flying Spur proves that there's no replacement for displacement).

Zero to 60 whizzes by in just 4.3 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 200 mph (I obviously didn't come remotely close to testing that limit). This is surprising supercar speed in a four-door that some might liken to a road-going mega-yacht. But acceleration in the Flying Spur isn't the gut punch it is in many supercars. Bentley simply wouldn't subject occupants to such vulgarities. Instead, the power come on in a steady, confident surge — a continuous tidal wave of thrust. 

All in all, I marvel at what Bentley's engineers have been able to accomplish with the Flying Spur. Sure, it was a difficult to drive in Manhattan. But then again, that's not where it's supposed to shine. The Flying Spur is a high-speed cruiser. It's a throwback to the days before the private jet, or commercial air travel in general, when the well-heeled used big-engined chauffeured sedans to cover long distances in style.

In that role, the Flying Spur is a world-beater. And the next time I want to drive to my ancestral castle in the distant New Jersey countryside, the Bentley will be my ride of choice.

SEE ALSO: A Hong Kong Tycoon Just Placed The Largest Order In Rolls-Royce History

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Human enterovirus 68, the rare respiratory virus that has sickened hundreds of children across the US, has now been detected in New York and New Jersey, NBC New York reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 140 cases in 16 states: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The illness caused by HEV68 is similar to a cold, but with worse symptoms that may include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, mouth blisters, body and muscle aches and rash. Some children who have fallen ill with the virus have had to be hospitalized. Those with asthma are at increased risk of suffering more severe symptoms. 

Most cases of HEV68 that had been reported previously this year were concentrated in middle America and the South, but the virus has now been detected on the East Coast. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed cases in New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey, according to NBC 4.

The CDC noted that "in the upcoming weeks, more states will have confirmed cases," but that this will be expected as clusters of unspecified respiratory illnesses are investigated. Such increases "will not necessarily reflect changes in real time, or mean that the situation is getting worse."

Earlier this month, hospitals in Kansas City and Illinois saw dozens of children turning up for treatment of the rare virus. Some were placed in intensive care.

There is no vaccine, but most of those infected are able to recover on their own. According to the CDC, "We're currently in middle of the enterovirus season, and [HEV68] infections are likely to decline later in the fall."

The virus spreads like the common cold, so to avoid being infected, wash hands frequently and avoid sharing cups and utensils with those who are sick.

SEE ALSO: A Mysterious Virus Is Infecting Children All Over The US

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Everyone wants the new iPhone.

The line for the phones at the Flagship Apple Store, which opens at 8 a.m. Friday to the public, stretched 12 city blocks — from 59th and 5th to 71st and 5th — by 6 a.m. Friday. 

People on 71st street were camped out.

Some were in beach chairs playing cards, but these folks made a box fort and were sleeping.

Overnight the temperatures dropped to about 54 degrees; everyone had blankets and coats.

Once you got to the Apple Store a few blocks later, things seemed to be more organized and cheerful. 

Press was lining up at the edge of 5th Avenue:

There were tons of NYPD cops. When we asked some of the folks in colorful sweatshirts how long they had been waiting, they cheerfully replied, "SINCE SUNDAYYY!"

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If you live in New York City, chances are you use the subway system daily. Love them or hate them, New York's subway cars are an iconic symbol of the city. But have you ever wondered how those cars came to be? 

We did, so we decided to take a trip (via subway, of course) up to Yonkers, New York, to the Kawasaki Rail Car Manufacturing Facility, where many of New York's subway cars are completed and readied for service. What we found gave us a new perspective on the way we get to work every morning.

Kawasaki has been making heavy rail cars since 1906. Their Yonkers factory recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Why Yonkers? Legislation stipulates that subway cars made for the Port Authority of New York must have final assembly done within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty.

Rolling stock makes up 10% of Kawaski's manufacturing, which includes commuter rail, high speed rail, light rail, and heavy rail. At this site, they do final assembly of brand new cars, as well refurbish older ones.

Kawasaki is the second largest manufacturer of train cars, owning 23.5% of the passenger rail market, just behind Bombardier with 30.1%. The third largest competitor is Siemens. Subway cars are built on contract from various authorities. The Yonkers plant has built and overhauled cars for the Port Authority, LIRR, PATH, SEPTA, and others.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A large sailboat ran aground on a sandbar near the Statue of Liberty in New York on Saturday, triggering the evacuation of all 121 tourists aboard but causing no injuries, authorities said on Saturday.

The Clipper City, a 103-foot touring boat, got stuck at around 1 p.m., Petty Officer Frank Iannazzo-Simmons, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, said.

The U.S. Coast Guard and several local agencies used small rescue boats to ferry the passengers to safety, he said.

The condition of the ship was not immediately known, but an attempt was planned to get it afloat at high tide and assess the damage, Iannazzo-Simmons said.

The nine crew members remained with the ship, he said. 

(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Leslie Adler)

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Cadillac is coming to the Big Apple. Some of it, anyway.

General Motors Co. said on Tuesday its Cadillac brand will open a headquarters in New York next year in a move to remake the luxury marque's image and broaden its appeal outside North America.

The move will affect sales and marketing, while product development, design, engineering and research and development staff would remain in place, mostly in the Detroit area.

Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said the brand expects the office, including display and event space, in the trendy Soho neighborhood of Manhattan to open around the second quarter of 2015.

GM said the move will establish the brand as a separate business unit.

“With the relentless upward repositioning of successive new-generation Cadillac products, the next logical step is to provide Cadillac more freedom to cultivate the brand in pursuit of further global growth,” GM President Dan Ammann said in a statement. 

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen, who took over the brand in August, told the Detroit News that the automaker wanted to put "distance between Cadillac and the rest of the General Motors entity."

Reuters previously reported that Cadillac was looking at expanding to New York. De Nysschen told the News he expected the New York office to employ about 120 people.

De Nysschen, in his previous role as head of Nissan Motor Co's 7201.T Infiniti brand, relocated the unit from Yokohama to Hong Kong, in part to give the Infiniti team more autonomy from the Japanese parent and the opportunity to explore new ways to expand in global markets.

GM has been on a similar quest to expand the 112-year-old Cadillac, one of the world's oldest surviving brands, beyond its home base, while resurrecting Cadillac's earlier status as one of the world's top luxury vehicles. De Nysschen is Cadillac's third leader in two years.

Cadillac said last Friday it would begin production of a new high-end car by the end of 2015, positioned above today's CTS and XTS cars.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

SEE ALSO: Cadillac To Introduce High-Tech, High-Luxury Model

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There were dramatic scenes in the Financial District of downtown New York yesterday.

By the famous Raging Bull statue, hundreds of 'Occupy Wall Street' supporters protested against the connection between big business and climate change .

Ironically, that day some of the group's most influential sympathizers turned out to be among the biggest names on Wall Street, with the Rockefeller family joining over 70 other investors in a pledge to rid themselves of over $50 billion of fossil fuel investments.

On Sunday, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon joined a larger climate change protest in New York to urge heads of state to make firm commitments on climate change, clean energy, and deforestation at an upcoming summit on Climate Change.

Gatecrashing a planning huddle, we were there when protestors took a vote to march up to Wall Street. There, they clashed into a police blockade of Wall Street, and a tense standoff / sit-in began, ultimately ending in arrests later that evening when remaining protestors refused to leave.

Here's what we saw:

Caged Bull. Protestors planned to meet by the Financial District's Raging Bull, police were ready.

Police had shut down Wall Street and the stock exchange, we slipped past the security cordon and snapped pictures of their preparations.

Protestors were positioned by the Raging Bull, they played music and held signs. Police were laid back and relaxed.

Tourists were confused, "Excuse me, but do you know what they are celebrating?" one asked us.

This pair of tourists joined the protestors so they could get a selfie with the bull.

We asked police how long they expected the street to be blocked, they said "It's up to them, ask any one of them." Alison Ehara-Brown, right, came all the way from Richmond, California.

Pro-Republican students from Kings College in New York told me they came to protest against the protest. This one had a Reagan cardboard cut-out, others wore "Bush – Cheney '84" shirts.

Slipping into a huddle of organizers, we listened in as the group held a vote on what their next steps were. They resolved to march up to Wall Street for the closing bell.

Police shut-down the path along Broadway to Wall Street earlier in the day. They cleared emergency services vehicles from the route as the protestors began their march.

The march halted numerous times, a thick wall of photographers and journalists faced back towards them as they walked.

This man was crouching out of shot, pushing the photographers to keep them moving forward. This is what happens when you protest in the media capital of the word. 

Protestors round the corner from Broadway onto Wall Street, moments before crashing into the Wall Street Police Blockade.

The moment protestors hit, Police pushed them back against the first barricade to keep them off Wall Street.

In the only brief moment of violence during the otherwise peaceful protest, police struggled to hold the Wall Street / Broadway line. 

Police arrest a man who made it through the first of two police barricades at the end of Wall Street by Broadway.  

Behind the second barricade, police were clearly ready for an escalation, which didn't occur. Re-enforcements retreated out of sight when things calmed down.

After calm was restored, the protestors began their sit-in at the Wall Street / Broadway intersection. 

After initially appearing tense, police relaxed as the sit-in began. 

People look out at protestors from the BNY Mellon Building on the corner of Broadway and Wall Street. "This is a message to you!" shouted protestors.

Out of sight to most protestors, roughly 250 feet from them each side up Broadway, police had re-enforcements ready.

The atmosphere after the barricade clash was pretty calm. Here a kid plays soccer with activists and journalists in the middle of Broadway.

Organizers announced that the protest was successful in linking Wall Street to Climate Change, and said that people should feel free to leave. Dressed in blue, protestors threw powder in the air and many began to leave.

The woman pictured, 'Emily' urged people to stay "there are people willing to stay here until the police forcibly remove us" she told the crowd.

Later that night, over 100 activists were arrested by police, you can follow our full coverage here.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, operator of one of the world's largest public transportation networks, said ahead of a board meeting on Wednesday that it is facing a $15.2 billion shortfall for its infrastructure needs.

In a document posted on its website the MTA said it will "work with its funding partners to identify the additional resources needed to achieve full funding."

It said alternatives include reducing the size of the capital program or increasing fares and tolls.

But the MTA said reducing investment would jeopardize safety and hinder its ability to serve one of the most densely populated areas of the United States, according to the document that will be presented to MTA's board.

The document said that "A reduced program will not keep pace with state of good repair renewal needs" and will effect the MTA's ability "to continue delivering safe and reliable service at current levels."

The MTA is updating its five-year capital program for 2015 to 2019. The program envisions $32 billion in investments for projects such as replacing subway, bus, and commuter railroad fleets, and a major $10 billion project to enhance access to east Manhattan.

The MTA is a major borrower in the municipal bond market, with more than $34 billion in debt. As well as tapping the market to fund its capital plan, it could also tap state, city and federal funds for important infrastructure projects.

Joseph Pezzimenti, an analyst at Standard & Poor's who follows the MTA's finances, said the MTA has previously released 5-year capital plans that have not been fully funded and adjusted the plan in later years.

"They did something similar with the current plan they're in," said Pezzimenti. "They first made sure they identified funding sources in the first few years of that program and then they were able at a later date to identify the funding sources for the remainder part of the program."

Still, the size of the shortfall highlights massive capital investment the MTA needs to maintain and upgrade its aging infrastructure. It is also points to the difficulty of securing funds for major public projects at a time when government spending, both locally and nationally, is under scrutiny.

Despite its heavy debt load and extensive capital needs, MTA is in a favorable position, said Pezzimenti, enjoying a near monopoly position in a service area that has a population of more than 15 million.

In 2013 the MTA's farebox recovery ratio, the percentage of operating expenses it recovers through fares and tolls, was 66 percent, one of the highest of the mass transportation networks covered by Standard & Poor's, Pezzimenti said.

Standard & Poor's rates MTA's debt as AA-minus, the fourth highest investment grade, and says its outlook is stable.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Grant McCool)

SEE ALSO: The MTA Is Investigating A Report Of Bedbugs On A Third NYC Subway Line

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It all began when photographer Brandon Stanton lost his bond trading job in Chicago and moved to New York City without much of a plan. Initially, he wanted to create a massive collection of portraits, cataloging a large portion of NYC's inhabitants. Soon, however, he discovered he was much more interested in the individuals and their stories than creating an exhaustive compendium of people. 

So he began the blog Humans of New York, which showcases his portraits, coupled with a poignant quote from the subject. The blog is wildly popular and currently has more likes on Facebook than there are people living in all five boroughs of New York City. In 2013, Stanton published a book of his work and it quickly became a bestseller.

Stanton is currently on a United Nations-commissioned tour to photograph the humans of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Since Stanton's blog has thousands of portraits on it, we did you a favor and compiled his most talked about posts of the last 12 months (using Best of Tumblr), so you can become more acquainted with the humans of New York. 

"What’s your biggest dream for your child?""We’ll let him dream for himself." (New Delhi, India, September 2014)

“She speaks more languages than anyone in the family. Because she plays with all the children in the street.” (Erbil, Iraq, August 2014)

"I found him in the trash. I named him Shadow because he followed me everywhere." (New York City, July 2014)

Over the last century, American farming has experienced a consolidation towards large agricultural corporations. In 1935, there were approximately 6.8 million farms in the US. By 2000, that number had plummeted to 2.2 million. Today, we're down to 2.1 million. Meanwhile, the highest income bracket for farms now accounts for 66.4% of US agricultural products sold, up from 47.5% in 2002.

In this age of corporate agriculture, family farms that have survived have done so by capitalizing on the local food movement: selling to organic and specialty supermarkets, selling wholesale to restaurants, selling shares of a farm's harvest directly through community-supported agriculture (CSAs), and selling at farmer's markets.

We talked to one local farmer who has managed to adapt and thrive in this challenging environment: Kevin Smith of upstate New York’s Sycamore Farms. Sycamore, like many in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, has turned nearly exclusively to one source for revenue: the New York City Greenmarkets. 

The New York City Greenmarket was founded in 1976 by New York City architect Barry Benepe to support local farms that were too small to sell to wholesalers. What began as a one-day-a-week farmer's market in Union Square supporting seven farmers has exploded. Today, the Greenmarket runs 52 farmer's markets in different locations in the city, supporting 240 farmers in seven states. 

"We cut out the middle man between producers and consumers by providing regional farmers direct access to their customers," Michael Hurtwitz, the director of the Greenmarkets for GrowNYC, told Business Insider. 

Sycamore was one of the first farms at the market, joining up in 1981. Henry Smith, the founder of Sycamore Farms and Kevin’s father, recognized the potential of the Greenmarket early.

"Everyone was bragging about how much money there was in the greenmarkets and so we went down to see if there was any money left," Henry told The Times Herald Record last year.

It turned out there was, not just for Sycamore but for other farms as well. According to Hurwitz, the overwhelming majority of farms that sell at the Greenmarket derive their main source of income from the markets. 85% of the Greenmarket farmers told Hurwitz they would be out of business if it weren't for the markets.

Today, the Union Square market, Greenmarket's flagship market and the only one that Sycamore attends, runs four days a week, year round. On an average September Friday, 360,000 people pass through the market. More pass through on Saturdays. While other Greenmarket locations are equally lucrative, no other market has that kind of foot traffic. 

The Hard Numbers Of Small Farms Today

Sycamore hosts a stand at the Greenmarket three days a week, from June until November. In a typical week, the stand sells approximately 5,100 ears of corn and 5,000 pounds of tomatoes, as well as other produce, baked goods, and preserve, according to Smith. On a single day, Sycamore will sell to about 1,000 customers.

During a good year, Sycamore’s Greenmarket sales come out to about $15,000 to $25,000 per week during the selling season, which comes out to approximately $300,000 to $500,000 income.

That sounds like a lot until you start factoring in costs. Property taxes alone figure to be above $20,000. Operating costs for materials, equipment, and maintenance can be $100,000 to $250,000. Once you add in hourly wages (between $10 to $15/hour) for seven farm employees, liability insurance, farm insurance, employment insurance, and disability insurance, it becomes clear: margins can get very tight depending on the year.

While sales are generally constant year to year, running a farm today is as unpredictable as it ever was. Different weather conditions can wreak havoc on a season in different ways. A rainy season can make crops thrive, but it can also slow traffic at the Greenmarket or even shut the market altogether. Too little rain and some crops will have difficulty growing, but there are more days to sell at the market.

As the national climate for small farms has stiffened, the Greenmarket has expanded its reach. In just the last seven years, the market has increased from 174 farmers to 240 and 44 markets to 52. According to Hurwitz, overall revenue at the markets has increased during that time and a number of farmers have told him that last year was their highest-grossing year ever.

Part of the boom is due to what Hurwitz calls "an explosion in demand for local."

Smith has observed the same trend: “Customers today are more interested, engaged, and knowledgeable. 99% are repeat visitors and I never have to hard-sell the produce."

Even a decade ago, Smith spent countless time at the market trying to explain to customers why his local produce cost more than supermarket produce, often to no avail. Customers were baffled or frustrated and tried to haggle the price down. Today’s urbanites are obsessed with anything locally-sourced, organic, and especially farm-to-table, which Sycamore and other local farms are perfectly positioned to capitalize on. The flood of interest in farm-to-table has its downsides though.

“Because the demand is there, there’s way more competition at the Greenmarket and outside of it,” says Smith.

CSAs, co-ops, food boxes, gourmet grocery stores, Whole Foods, and non-Greenmarket farmer’s markets (some that have "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for where sellers get their produce) have sprung up are all over Brooklyn and Manhattan. Factor in the proliferation of farmers at the Greenmarkets themselves and its clear that local food has become a crowded market.

Nonetheless, no trend lasts forever. The Greenmarket similarly boomed in the early 1990s, when Henry Smith once boasted of selling 14,000 ears of corn in a single day. By the late ‘90s, however, overblown fears about the unhealthiness of carbs killed the corn market in Manhattan.

With that in mind, Smith has kept margins tight by reinvesting Sycamore's profits back into the business — “the Amazon plan,” he calls it. The Greenmarket has been good to Sycamore, but Smith is smart enough to recognize that relying solely on one revenue source is a bad business model.

Building A New Business Model 

Until five years ago, the farm’s income was 100% derived from the Greenmarket. Today, that percentage has been scaled back to 90%.

Towards that effort, Sycamore opened a 4,000-square-foot farm stand on site last year. At the farmstand, Sycamore sells its freshest produce, as well other locally-sourced produce from farms in the area that they trust. In addition, they now sell cooked and processed items made in their own kitchen and bakery, such as jams, jellies, pickles, tomato sauces, fruit pies, breads, and very popular tomato pies.

Smith is also looking to expand Sycamore’s presence at the market to year-round, selling the farm’s processed items during the winter months to stay in front of New Yorkers' faces and promote the farmstand.

Currently, Smith has been organizing events to get people to the farm: chef’s dinners using Sycamore produce, potlucks, and educational events for both young children and adults. He promotes the farmstand on social media and always talks up the farmstand at the Greenmarket. While he’s only in the beginnings of his grassroots efforts, Smith envisions a day when the stand gets enough foot traffic that Sycamore can stop trekking to Manhattan altogether. It will require a redoubled presence at the Greenmarket to get the message out to the people that care.

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Microsoft has confirmed rumors that it will open a store in New York, after reports suggested last month that the company was negotiating for the former Fendi store on 677 Fifth Avenue. 

A report in the Wall Street Journal confirms that Microsoft has leased the site, and that the negotiations took over five years.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, corporate vice president for Microsoft retail stores David Porter said "As our first flagship store, it will serve as the centerpiece of our Microsoft Stores experience, this is a goal we've had since day one—we were only waiting for the right location. And now we have it."

The new Microsoft store will be just down the road from Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue, a sign that Microsoft is looking to make gains in the same high-end retail market that Apple has been dominating for years.

There aren't many details on what will be inside the new Microsoft store, although Porter did tell the Wall Street Journal that it would be "much more than just a Microsoft Store" and would feature an "experiential space."

SEE ALSO: Microsoft Is Looking To Open A New Fifth Avenue Store And Become Neighbors With Apple

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Often chided as the "hipster" or "stroller central" outer borough, Brooklyn, New York, is home to a thriving and diverse small business scene.

We scoured its 71 square miles, as far north as Greenpoint and deep as Bay Ridge, to find the shops, restaurants, bars, and startups worth the trek from Manhattan.

What sets this collection apart from our regular Coolest Small Businesses lists is the number of companies run by native Brooklynites. 

"Owning a business in Brooklyn, as a lot of my family members had in generations before me, means a lot in terms of being able to make something and sell it in a place I was born and raised,"saysBridget Firtle, owner of small-batch distillery The Noble Experiment NYC. "It's super rewarding."

For this list we focused on businesses that opened within the past five years or so. Know a cool business we missed? Let us know in the comments.

A.L.C. Italian Grocery

8613 3rd Ave., Bay Ridge

What it is: An upscale Italian marketplace.

Why it's cool: Louis Coluccio, born and raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood where his grandfather started an Italian food importing business some 50 years ago, opened the upscale marketplace A.L.C. Italian Grocery in 2012 as a nod to traditional Italian salumerias.

The quick-service menu walks the line between old-school Italian and earthy-crunchy, serving both arancini — rice balls stuffed with fresh risotto, reggiano cheese, and parsley — and raw kale salad with beets.

Ample Hills Creamery

Multiple locations in Brooklyn

What it is: A neighborhood ice cream shop with addicting flavors.

Why it's cool: Named as a nod to a Walt Whitman Poem, Ample Hills Creamery is a new Brooklyn institution that churns out, quite literally, the best ice cream in the borough. Popular flavors include salted crack caramel, ooey gooey butter cake, and the munchies — a pretzel-infused ice cream with bits of Ritz crackers, potato chips, and mini M&Ms.

Founders Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna recently published a book of their best stories and recipes.

Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store

232 5th Ave., Park Slope

What it is: A gift shop for the person who has everything.

Why it's cool: Annie's Blue Ribbon is the store with anything and everything for people who love anything and everything. Browse the shelves full of Ryan Gosling coloring books, rockabilly temporary tattoos, wine candles, maps of all the best burger joints in New York, and other assorted tchotchkes. The shop also sells a ton of Brooklyn-themed goods and products.