Some would argue that dragging a chain gang of preschoolers through Union Square to witness "performance artist" Matthew Silver going HAM on a bass drum with the broken pink handle of a child's riding toy could be considered child abuse.

Last week, Jeffrey Babbitt was randomly attacked in Union Square, allegedly for being white. Yesterday, the 62-year-old from Sheepshead Bay died in Bellevue Hospital.

Have you used a Chase ATM near Union Square in Manhattan this year? If you live in or have traveled to Manhattan any time this year, I bet that you have! So, you should know that your ATM card information has been... not definitely stolen. But possibly! I'm sure you're just fine.

Normal Bob Smith is the Margaret Mead of Union Square Park. He is an artist who lives in Bushwick and comes to the park everyday to document the vagrants, drifters, street preachers, and free-hug-givers who hang out there. In the process, he has put together an extraordinarily extensive guide to the Square's peeping…

A tipster sent us this picture he took on Sunday night of a big, furry rat curled up in the window of the Skechers store in Manhattan's Union Square. (Click here to view the full-size photo.) Is that seriously nasty, or what? Who on earth would wear such hideous shoes?

[Looks like someone isn't happy about Craigslist's "censorship" of its "adult services" section. A tipster writes: "Seen at Union Square [in New York City] on Sunday...this guy has to be one of the most honest protesters ever!" Indeed.]

Union Square was needlessly shut down last night when a landscaper went to a Buzzcocks concert and left the gas cans he uses to fill lawn mowers in the backseat of his car. What other everyday devices are dangerous?

Young people will stop at nothing to get messed up. YouTube is flush with videos of misguided youths introducing alcohol to their nether regions, so we went to Union Square to get to the bottom of this mysterious trend.

[A shopper tries on some shades today in Union Square at the opening of Nordstrom's first store in New York. Image via Getty]

We were sporting our long johns all weekend, so we would have looked horrible at Improv Everywhere's annual No Pants Subway Ride. Luckily Gawker operative Stephen Kosloff was there to take pictures of all the panty raiders for our amusement.

Yesterday, 1:15PM, Union Square Uptown 4/5/6: Guy slips into the gap. "He suffered head, neck, shoulder and chest injuries after getting himself wedged between the train and the platform." Be careful out there, kids! Your mothers/bloggers are worried. [NY Post]

When we asked if you dropped by Tracy Morgan's Barnes & Noble reading yesterday in Union Square, we were feeling bad about staying home to watch 30 Rock instead. But, based on our reader reports, we made the funnier call.

Remember this? Tyra Banks had some kind of bizarre flash mob in Union Square a few weeks ago to promote the season of her new show, Tyra Banks: Attempting To Make You Hate Me Even More. And now, there's video!

The landscape of the city changes with each passing day as retail outlets come and go and older buildings are torn down to make way for new developments. But if you want to see what NYC looked like way back in the day, the Mannahatta Project has an interactive map that allows you to zoom in on any section of…

[In Union Square today, Skye Mazur found one of the few cool places in New York City today to play with her hula hoop; pic via Getty]

Crowds gathered in New York's Union Square last night to mark the religiously important 40th day since the death of Neda Agha Soltan in Iran. [Photo by Getty/Spencer Platt]

Can we interest you in 55,000 square feet of prime retail space in the middle of Union Square? The Virgin Megastore is closing its doors in late May/early June and The Related Cos. hasn't lined up a new tenant yet. (Nordstrom was supposed to move in, but it later backed out.) But the space can now be yours for $15…