Hey! Wouldja look at that! It's a "Katrina Relief" donation option below the tip line on a dining bill.

This is a cool thing they're doing at otherwise so-so NYC restaurant Tabla. Making the charity even nicer is that it's not a three-year anniversary, limited-time-only addition; reportedly, Tabla's been doing this since December of '05.

[Source]

Al Sharpton, his National Action Network, and hundreds of protesters briefly made good on their promise to shut down New York City in the wake of the Sean Bell verdict by blocking traffic at the entrances to Queensboro Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel this afternoon.

Around 3:30 p.m. they stepped onto the lanes of the Queensboro Bridge, blocking traffic for about 30 minutes. The Rev. Dock Johnson, pastor of Community Baptist Church in South Ozone Park, Queens, kneeling with both arms extended and wearing a pin-striped suit, a leather cap and sunglasses, led the protesters, who sat down in the middle of the traffic lanes. After they resisted police orders to disperse, the protesters — including Mr. Johnson — were placed in plastic handcuffs and arrested. About 100 protesters marched east on 34th Street before turning north of Second Avenue. A group of about 40 formed a line across the entrance to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and formed a line, chanting. They blocked traffic for about 10 minutes until about 20 were arrested; the remainder continued their protest but stopped blocking traffic.

The largest protest occurred outside of police headquarters in Lower Manhattan — it ended about 20 minutes ago when police began mass arresting the protesters. [NYT]

UPDATE: Sharpton and Sean Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, were arrested at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge.