The vivid images found in one area of Brooklyn — knife-grinders on the street, bearded men in 19th-century frock coats — offer an anachronistic pleasure.

To keep their place pristine, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, above, and his partner usually wear shorts and T-shirts at home.New York City’s dirt level — a mix of soot and everything from ground-up car tires to sea salt — is high, and so homeowners who love white rugs and sofas pay a higher price. Call it the dirt tax.

An analysis of rainfall and homicides for the last six years shows that when it rains substantially in the summertime, there are fewer homicides.

An examination of rainfall and murders in New York City for the last six years shows fewer killings on wet days; however, some criminologists said that rain was not likely to stop many killers.

Robert Bowman, an aspiring lawyer, was refused entry to the New York bar because of $400,000 in student debt.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor withdrew from at least 141 cases, often for simple reasons. One scholar said her withdrawal from a case apparently based on her experience in health matters was exceptionally cautious.

The decision by Macy’s to move the Fourth of July fireworks from the East River presented a boon to New Jersey waterfront towns, but also a possible logistical headache.

To keep their place pristine, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, above, and his partner usually wear shorts and T-shirts at home.New York City’s dirt level — a mix of soot and everything from ground-up car tires to sea salt — is high, and so homeowners who love white rugs and sofas pay a higher price. Call it the dirt tax.

A ferry boat with about 800 passengers aboard lost power while docking and slammed into a pier, injuring 15 people.

After a drowning death, a push is on to improve security at a flooded quarry where teenagers go to cut loose.