New Yorkers often fester in silence when they encounter rude subway behavior – the man who saunters up the left side of the stairs during rush hour, the woman who files her nails in the seat next to you, the kid who sings out loud to his iPod.

But Brooklyn comedian Tom Sibley doesn’t let public transit offenders off so easy. He targets them with his camera phone.

Sibley’s blog, Subway Douchery, exposes subway riders who violate the understood rules of public transportation, by plastering their pictures on the Web. The blog’s popularity has exploded in the past three months. But not everyone is a fan.

While some applaud Sibley’s nod to common courtesy, others say he’s violating his targets’ privacy.

With the Islanders out of the playoff picture, the RoughRiders are hoping to bring some hockey glory to Long Island.

The RoughRiders play sled hockey, a sport that lets mentally and physically challenged athletes live out their ice dreams. The team is headed to Ottawa for an international competition.

In the face of the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad and a shrinking publishing market, boutique publishers and book arts are thriving.

Corinna Zeltsman, a book artist and administrative aide at the New York Center for Book Arts, said  demand for classes in bookbinding has risen substantially in the last year. “Book arts have entered the mainstream because of a technological backlash and a new generation of artists and designers wanting to use their skills for something other than the digital realm,” she said.

Ugly Duckling Presse in Brooklyn is one publisher in the city creating boutique books, using letterpress and hand assembly for many titles. Business is booming – the company has published 17 books so far this year, compared to 24  in all of 2009. Matvei Yankelevich, one of the company’s directors, said submissions and demand are higher than ever.  In the accompanying audio slideshow, he and one UDP book artist, Normandy Sherwood, explain why.

Alex Johnson doesn’t crumble working under often brutal conditions, erecting walls, joining girders and welding steel as a carpenter.

But his first day of college terrified him.

“I was scared as hell,” said the 33-year-old Bronx resident. “I didn’t think I could do it.”

Johnson enrolled last September in a special two-year-old program organized through the New York City District Council of Carpenters that helps members earn associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.

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