A judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey man who blamed Wicked Willy's bar on Bleecker Street for getting him so drunk he tried to cross a highway and got run over. Alan Berger was 22 years old on that fateful night in 2009 when he dominated the beer pong table at Wicked Willy's. His lawyer argued that Berger should have been cut off, telling the Post "he was ‘winning’ and never left the beer-pong table." We were under the impression that you drink less when winning beer pong, but Berger's lawyer says his client got wasted because Wicked Willy's didn't monitor the action at the table. “They had just an unlimited amount of beer going on down there," the attorney says. more ›

A 6'1, 200-lb former chef at a posh Meatpacking District restaurant was found guilty of felony assault yesterday for "pounding an elderly man like a veal cutlet" during an unprovoked outburst in the West Village last year. more ›

SoHo might be making a shopping comeback but it ain't the city's top shopping strip. It isn't even third, at least in terms of property values. Thanks to a massive new real estate deal that honor goes to the western strip of Bleecker St. where three properties were recently sold for $34 million, or $6,700 a square foot. As the News notes, "the only retail units to fetch more since 2003 have been on Madison and Fifth Aves." more ›

The son of a top NYU fundraising official remain in critical condition after being shot in his Bleecker Street apartment on Monday night. Alexander Bongard, 24, was shot in the chest, and his mother, Debra LaMorte, issued a statement through NYU saying, “He is on the brink... There will be many challenges for my son and all of us in the days and weeks ahead, but right now, as his mother, I am only focused on two things: his making a full recovery, and the NYPD catching the gunmen who shot my son." more ›

On Monday night, the 24-year-old son of a NYU development official was shot in his Bleecker Street apartment, along with a convicted drug dealer in what police believe was a robbery during a drug deal. According to the Daily News, Alex Bongard, 24, and Luke Hinde, who served time for marijuana possession, "were selling marijuana from Bongard's third-floor apartment when two men posing as customers showed up at 11:30 p.m. Monday, police said. As the dealers opened the door, the intruders - who wore ski masks - stormed inside. One pulled out a handgun and opened fire." more ›

Last month Crain's published an article titled, Welcome to Jacobsville, which tracked the takeover of Bleecker Street by designer Marc Jacobs (he has six stores within a three-block radius). Local Gary Stern, who lives on Abingdon Square, was outraged, and tracked down Mike Joyce—the graphic designer who created the “More Jane Jacobs, Less Marc Jacobs” t-shirts years ago. According to the Villager, he wants to start a new movement. more ›

The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating an incident involving an allegedly pistol-flashing off-duty cop and a pissed-off cyclist on Bleecker Street Saturday night. Bike rider Ryan Stepka, 36, was pedaling home around 11:30 p.m. when a driver in a Volkswagen with heavily tinted windows almost sideswiped him. Stepka says he banged on the window to alert the driver to his presence, but the car continued to force him to the curb as they approached a stoplight. "That’s when I got off my bike and approached the window to talk to the guy," Stepka tells the Post. And when the window rolled down, shit got real: more ›

This afternoon, there was a water main break at Bleecker and Carmine Streets. As this photograph shows, it created a burbling, muddy-looking lake on the street. more ›

Just before 10 a.m. a report came over the newswire saying a female in a wheelchair was pinned under a truck. Shortly after a reader sent in these photos from the accident, which occurred on Bleecker and 8th Avenue, showing the truck was a City Parks vehicle. The vicitim was unconscious and transported to St. Vincent's Hospital, and there has been no additional word on her condition. more ›

Remember how back in April how the MTA's $133 million project to connect the uptown 6 train at Bleecker Street with the B, D, F and V lines at Broadway-Lafayette had local merchants in a panic? They said their customers were being driven away by the massive construction ripping up Lafayette Street, and it really did look like an inconvenient eyesore down there. Well, the latest fly in the ointment is a three-story brick landmark building on Lafayette and Bleecker; dubbed the "Peace Pentagon," it's owned by the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute, where various progressive groups have their offices. MTA contractors couldn’t proceed with work because the scaffolding outside building is right where they need to dig. And the scaffolding can't be removed because, according to amNY, it's actually propping up the building. Officials now expect the project to be delayed two years because peace activists, not known for their spectacular wealth, need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix the building. It's bad news for retailers like Jack Wu at the Adore Floral store; he says, "I have customers who call and ask if we are still open. They are trying to modernize the system, but it's killing me." more ›

Reader Sacha sent us this photo of a cupcake-carrying "cadet corps" spotted on Sunday near Magnolia Bakery. The public display of cupcake affection is part of a site-specific dance performance called Unison Fetish, created by choreographer Sue Hogan as an exploration of the crazy lines outside Magnolia, and what they suggest about the changing neighborhood. According to our tipster, the piece involves several women and one man dancing along Bleecker Street "singing 'god bless magnolia' (to the tune of God bless America). The song also heralded the shopping in the area...ugh." more ›

Biryani is classified as any number of spiced South Asian rice dishes, heavily spiced, and layered with meat—often chicken, lamb, or beef. The biryani at Sangam, a new hole in the wall spot on Bleecker Street just east of 6th Avenue, receives what owner Ishrat Ansari calls “an authentic royal haute cuisine preparation.” The description is definitely merited when it comes to his wife Rafat’s homegrown recipe, which is served all vegetable, with chicken, and—on special nights—with lamb. Her biryani is intricately flavored with freshly ground herbs and spices, bursting with heat and the taste of spices that have long simmered and melted into one another. more ›

Marc Jacobs, who is no angel himself, had a questionable employee managing one of his three stores in the Village. The NY Post reports that 24-year-old Kyle Avila stole approximately $62K from the designer in just 18 months. Gawker notes that the Kansas boy also once posed nude for a Jacobs t-shirt (pictured), so maybe he just felt he was due. more ›

The police arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of attacking two women in the West Village earlier this month. The Post reports Anthony Rosado was "picked up" on Friday for the assaults. more ›

Police are looking for a man suspected of assaulting two women in separate early Sunday morning incidents and released a surveillance video of him. more ›

The police released a sketch of a man suspected of attacking two women early Sunday in the West Village. In both incidents, the women were exiting cabs when he attacked. more ›

Elettaria: Hendrix shredded here once upon a time, when it was a music venue called The 8th Wonder, but now the stage is an open kitchen and South Asian-spiced American dishes are the stars. Decorated by the man behind Allen & Delancey, the seductive 72-seat interior (pictured) features a rustic reclaimed barn-wood ceiling, plush banquettes, old-world paintings and exposed brick walls. Appetizers include a dish of dayboat sea scallops with celery root puree, oxtail, Meyer lemon and cilantro leaves, while entrées like roasted chicken with sweet and sour tomato ravioli and smoked sunchokes sound irresistible. Behind the 14-seat steel bar, Death & Co. alums concoct their fancy cocktails. 33 West Eighth Street, (212) 677-3833. more ›

When one hears there are caves at Murray’s Cheese, images of damp, subterranean chasms loaded with mounds of exotic fromage spring readily to mind. As a recent tour revealed, the cheeses aren’t stored and aged in actual caverns, but rather climate-controlled walk-in refrigerators designed by France’s leading affineur, Hervé Mons. more ›

Sure, you could go to a traditional sports bar to watch the Super Bowl, but that would just be so . . . traditional. We've rounded up a few more options for you -- find one to suit your mood. more ›

Some people may prefer other bakeries, but from the looks of the crowd at the Magnolia Bakery's new Upper West Side location, people are hungering for some heavily frosted cupcakes. If the treats are available, that is. more ›

Easy, sugar fiends - the new Magnolia Bakery outpost on the Upper West Side (Columbus at 69th Street) isn't quite opening at 11AM as Eater reported yesterday. We walked by around 9:30AM and the sign said that they anticipated a noon opening. more ›

Another pot farm bites the dust: A small fire in Queens led the Fire Department to over 200 marijuana plants growing inside a home. more ›

THEATER: We like our comedy like we like our women: black and absurd. So it’s promising that the press release for a new play by Kevin Mandel uses those two irresistible words to describe A New Television Arrives, Finally. The strange story concerns “an American couple visited by a charismatic man presenting himself as a television set. Is the handsome stranger a charlatan or a guru?” Emmy award-winning actor Tom Pelphrey [Guiding Light] leads the cast at tonight’s premiere performance. - John Del Signore more ›

Vynl, 507 Columbus AvenueOn three separate nights cameras caught the critters feasting "on scraps that were left on the dirty kitchen floor and climbing over crates of glassware" at Da Silvano's (pictured top left). The owner there said the problem was caused by nearby construction and recent renovations and claimed he will be throwing out everything edible in the restaurant and starting fresh. Ah, not even the celeb hot spots can escape the wrath of roaches and rodents. more ›

After searching for the driver of a red Mitsubishi Eclipse that fatally ran over 7-year-old Christian Aceteopan in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon, the police arrested Queens resident Jose Vargas for leaving the scene of an accident. Vargas was arraigned last night with bail set at $300,000; the NY Times notes that it was "$50,000 more than the assistant prosecutor...had requested." more ›

A boy riding his scooter on Bleecker Street between Central and Wilson Avenues in Brooklyn was killed after two cars struck him yesterday. Christian Acetopan, who would have started first grade this week, was pronounced dead at the scene. more ›

The PR team over at Mercadito sent us a very disturbing email earlier today:

On Sunday, August 26, at 7:20 am Antonio Barranco Hernandez was killed, and Luis Romero and Augusto Bravo were seriously injured after a drunk driver slammed into the back of the van while the men delivered produce to Mercadito Grove restaurant, located at 100 Seventh Avenue South in New York City. more ›