After years of work, New York's gay hotel/resort/nightclub The Out NYC is almost ready. But before they start letting gay (and, presumably, straight or at least curious) guests grind in their bedrooms, the massive venture is doing something lowkey flamboyant and opening its enormous zombie club, XL. There will be gay. more ›

If you haven't taken your air conditioner in yet (really? Have you noticed it is January?) the NYPD has a good reason for you to do so ASAP. Especially if you live in Hell's Kitchen. According to the police a burglar has been breaking into apartments in the area by pushing in air conditioners and crawling through windows. more ›

Hell's Kitchen residents are up in arms over the decline of their neighborhood, which, despite its roots as a gang-and-hooker filled, ahem, hellhole, has been a perfectly nice place to raise your kids for the past few years. Until now, because dastardly legions of drunk twentysomethings are getting drunk and being loud and puking up mango-flavored vodka all over the sidewalk. more ›

Hell's Kitchen residents say they can't hear what you're saying at all, thanks to the all-encompassing noise from the exhaust vents of a new Mercedes-Benz dealership that's slowly driving them insane (and deaf). more ›

Hundreds of people packed a Community Board 4 meeting in Hell's Kitchen last night to debate Boxers, the popular Chelsea gay sports bar that wants to open on 10th Avenue near 52nd Street. That's just down the block from Public School 111, and many parents are concerned about its proximity to their children—because of the "alcohol exposure," not because it's a gay bar, of course. All that firm, rippling gayness has nothing to do with it! Please let area resident Nivia Cefello, who has lived in Hell's Kitchen for 65 years, explain: more ›

Open those peepers wide, cowpokes, here's your first look at Flaming Saddles, the new "kick ass Country Western Gay Saloon" opening in Hell's Kitchen Monday night with a rootin' tootin' rodeo party. We could try to describe what awaits inside Flaming Saddles, but there's no way we can top the press release, which describes the establishment as a place "where the Bad to the Bone Bartenders strut their stuff (behind and on top of the bar) & always aim to please. Customers are advised that they best pull themselves up by your boot straps, put on their Tight Ass Jeans and boot scoot and boogie on over to the Wild Wild West Side of NYC. Saddle Up for a Yippee Ki Yay MotherTrucker of a Night!" Eat your heart out, Coyote Ugly. more ›

The drunken construction worker who admitted to brutally beating a nurse at a Hell's Kitchen bar last year was sentenced to 16 years in prison yesterday. Mbarek Lafrem, a 32-year-old Moroccan man, had pleaded guilty to charges of assault and attempted sex abuse in July, with his lawyer saying Lafrem thought it was the "right thing" to do. But at the sentencing yesterday, he tried to withdraw his plea deal at the last minute, which was rejected by the judge. “It does appear to be a boilerplate motion filed by many defendants who are often having buyer’s remorse, so to speak, after having time to contemplate their plea. It appears to be a last-ditch effort,” said Shanda Strain, an assistant district attorney. more ›

The city might be underwater come Sunday, so you might as well get your last gluttonous hurrahs out the day before! Head over to Hell's Kitchen wine-and-snack bar Ardesia for their second annual shrimp boil this Saturday, bubbling up rain or shine. more ›

Those who can't stand to hear the echo in a 90-square-foot apartment, seek cozier refuge in even smaller confines. Back in April we met architect Luke Clark Tyler, who lives in a 78-square-foot apartment in Hell's Kitchen, after spending two years in a 96-square-foot apartment. Now we have video evidence of his digs and his monthly rent: Tyler says he couldn't find a place with roommates in his budget in the neighborhood, so he pays $800 a month to live in a space that doubles as his home office. Curbed reports that he pays $750, but Tyler doesn't mince words in the video. more ›

Could the dreams of thousands of transplanted Midwesterners finally be coming true? It appears that beloved Illinois-based burger chain Steak n' Shake, which prides itself on thin, crispy "steakburgers" and hand-dipped milkshakes, is indeed coming to New York, at least according to this job posting on Monster.com. more ›

The tour bus driver charged with DWI after fatally hitting and dragging a pedestrian for blocks in Hell's Kitchen reportedly had a 1.75 liter jug of vodka on the bus with him. And the Post adds that he had a "silver travel mug nearly-emptied of vodka" and the Daily News says that Steve Drappel, 57, a Florida resident, initially blew a 0.14 on a breath test. more ›

A tour bus driver was charged with a DWI and arrested yesterday after he fatally ran over a pedestrian in Hell's Kitchen. Fifty-seven-year-old driver Steve Drappel hit the 29-year-old victim as he was walking eastbound across Ninth Avenue at 47th street just before 10 p.m. last night, and witnesses say the victim was pinned under the bus' wheel, and dragged for half a block: “I saw him lying under the back wheel and he was moving, but then the cops made the bus driver move the bus back and then he died. They put a sheet over him...It was horrible. I’m visiting New York City. This is my fourth day here and this is the second death I’ve seen,̶ eyewitness Ashley Fishner told CBS. more ›

A junior chef at a posh midtown restaurant associated with Gordon Ramsay has filed a complaint with the State Division of Human Rights, accusing cooks at Gordon Ramsay at The London NYC of sexually harassing her. And after she couldn't take it any more and complained, the male chefs refused to work with her and staged a walkout. Commis chef Janet Kim claims she was groped, called a "whore" and propositioned for oral sex while working in the kitchen, and she tells The Post, "We're way past 'Hell's Kitchen'. It's more like Dante's Inferno." more ›

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that the owner of Manganaro's Grosseria in Hell's Kitchen had put the building up for sale, and would be closing as soon as it's sold. However, their "Eatery Closes After Decades-Long Family Spat" headline rubbed the owner's son the wrong way. Proprietor Seline Dell'Orto told the Observer, "We're not closing! No one said that to that idiot reporter!" And apparently all the attention has Ms. Dell'Orto feeling guilty about their service. more ›

Prosecutors want bail for banker Daniel Brown upped from $300,000 to $700,000 after police found a stash of cocaine in a safe in his apartment. Cops were in Brown's home looking for evidence in a gruesome sexual assault case brought forth by a 25-year-old ex-girlfriend who alleges that, among other things, he attacked her with a lacrosse stick while shouting "you ruined my Thursday night!" The young woman also claims over the course of their relationship he "punched her in bed, smashed her face into a mirror and rammed his fist down her throat to make her throw up." more ›

Hell's Kitchen continues to be a highly desirable neighborhood for many New Yorkers, but living in the HeKi (our coinage&msash;you're welcome Corcoran) isn't without sacrifice. Local residents who don't have washer/dryers in their buildings are finding it increasingly annoying to get their laundry done! One of the neighborhood's last laundromats, on 53rd Street and Ninth Avenue, recently closed, leaving behind, the Post reports, "a mile-long, laundry-less desert between Eighth and Tenth Avenues." This heavy news comes on the heels of Second Wave Laundry, the largest Laundromat in the neighborhood on 55th Street and Ninth Avenue, closing because the landlord threatened to raise the rent from $14,000 to $20,000 a month and demanded an $80,000 security deposit. more ›

Click on the images for the scoop on the upcoming Vegan Pizza Safari, the Ommegang Dinner at MexiQ in Astoria, and Chef Eric Hara's tasty reboot of 9 in Hell's Kitchen. more ›

It's hard to muster much surprise every time we hear about a luxury midtown apartment getting busted with coke heads, weird marble sculptures, and Real Housewives of Orange County DVD sets. Those things come with utilities, right? But it's not everyday that you hear about a multi-million dollar "heroin mill" business operating out of one such luxury midtown apartment building, a stones throw away from Times Square. more ›

In a completely redundant "shocking state report," the Public Transportation Safety Board says that the bus driver who struck and killed a pedestrian last November could have avoided the accident if he had simply "followed his training." Training that involves teaching drivers not to drive too fast and to pay attention to the road? Avoiding accidents: It's as simple as following driving rules! more ›

Every since city mainstays Gray's Papaya raised their "Recession Special" to $4.45, we've been more inclined to indulge in 99 cent slices for our cheap meals. But the Gray's location on 8th Avenue and 37th Street is drawing the cheapskates back. Midtown Lunch confirms that outpost is now offering dogs for 50 cents each. Just in time to outdo Papaya King during their grand reopening. The counter clerk "wouldn’t say how long the deal would last," but one Yelper commented yesterday, "Right now, there is a 2 hot dogs and small drink deal for $2.50. A single hot dog alone is 50cents. Yea crazy midtown recession special!" more ›

Actor Bobby Spillane, who fell to his death from the window of his sixth-floor apartment last weekend, reportedly owed money to at least two people at the time of his death. Bobby, the son of notorious Hell's Kitchen gangster Mickey Spillane, had allegedly been leaning on his window (he had recently had shoulder surgery) and calling out to his brother on the street when the window screen gave way. His sister-in-law told the Pioneer Press, "It was 100 percent an accident." more ›

After falling to his death on Saturday from the window of his sixth-floor apartment, friends and family gathered at Bobby Spillane's uncle's funeral home to make arrangements for a wake. As they shared stories of their experiences with Spillane, a picture of a caring, honest man seems to emerge. Comedian Colin Quinn told the Daily News, "[Bobby Spillane] was a standup guy. He was the most loyal of friends...he was my best friend." But now, officials are unsure if his death was an accident. more ›

The son of Hell's Kitchen mobster Mickey Spillane died yesterday after falling out of the window of his sixth-floor apartment. Robert "Bobby" Spillane, an actor on shows like "Rescue Me" and "Law & Order," had allegedly leaned on the window to call out to his brother, who was on the street below. The screen collapsed and he fell to the ground. Spillane's uncle, Jim McManus, said, "Michael [Bobby's brother] said he'll never forget the thump when he hit the ground. He said, 'That will be in my mind forever.'" more ›

Argentina fans packed into a Hell's Kitchen bar to watch the Germany-Argentina game yesterday were furious to find one fan dressed as what the Post calls "their opponent's biggest fan": Adolf Hitler. Fan Steve Staso allegedly walked into Café Andalucia with a taped-on mustache and a swastika armband, saluting fellow Germany supporters. One bar-goer said, "I said, 'Why are you doing this?' and he said it was funny. I said, 'Is genocide funny? Is history funny?'" History can be funny sometimes, but genocide is not. more ›

Reader ccwhite sent us this photograph, and we chuckled. We're also hoping that someone just decided to add some artistic flair to a discarded box spring, because bed bugged items should be discarded in plastic (see this PDF from the city). And in case you were wondering, pouring gasoline on your mattress is not the way to get rid of bed bugs. more ›

Your real estate jealousy meter is about to be turned up to 11... ScoutingNY recently spotted a small alley on West 46th Street, and lucky for us, he had no problem finding a way through the gate closing it off from the rest of Hell's Kitchen. more ›

15-year-old Leo Perez, a student at Graphics High School in midtown, was in the wrong place at the wrong time Tuesday afternoon when a gang fight broke out on at Eighth Ave. and 49th Street, conveniently located near the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square hotel. Police sources say that around 3 p.m., Isaiah Taitt, 17, of Brooklyn, a member of the Latin Kings gang, was confronted by three Crips. "They motion for him [Taitt] to take your hands out of your pockets. He takes his hands out. He has a knife. They jump him," a source tells the Daily News. Perez was one of bystanders who saw Taitt being kicked and beaten, and when he broke free from his assailants, he brutally stabbed Perez, mistaking him for one of the Crips. more ›