What is the deal with these bed bug rumors? Early this morning, a person claiming to be an employee at Lexington Avenue's posh Gramercy Park Hotel sent us an anonymous email accusing the hotel of dealing with bed bugs poorly, to put it nicely. The employee writes: more ›

A wealthy Icelandic couple is being sued for installing a cheap Ikea kitchen in their Gramercy Park Hotel pad. According to the Daily News, Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Ingibjorg Palmadottir own two apartments in the building, a full-floor co-op and the duplex penthouse above it. The duo rented out the 16th floor to the Paramount Realty Group last year, and now that group is suing them for $52,000, in part because of the "ugly kitchen." more ›

Danny Meyer, the powerhouse behind such hits as Shake Shack and Eleven Madison Park, is almost done reinventing the downstairs space at Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel. The spot was formerly home to the failed upscale Chinese restaurant Wakiya; as you can see here Meyer's team has been busy transforming the dreary cave into a rustic bar and Italian trattoria. Dinner service starts tomorrow, and yesterday the main dining space, which seats 70, was filled with staffers training for the big debut. more ›

The married NJ asphalt company executive admitted to the NY Post that he did have an extramarital tryst with Spitzer hooker Ashley Dupre earlier this week. Thomas "TJ" Earle said, via a lawyer, "I'm very ashamed." more ›

Restaurant lawsuit season is in full swing! The latest is a $5 million lawsuit filed by a former employee against the Gramercy Park Hotel Chinese restaurant Wakiya, which Times critic Frank Bruni once derisively described as “a swindle.” A Dominican Republic-born American citizen is suing the owners for firing her for speaking Spanish when she was allegedly assaulted by a Spanish-speaking co-worker in the employee cafeteria. Her lawyers are seeking $5 million, which is “the sum she expected to earn at the hotel in a lifetime.” more ›

For the past few months, the Post has been detailing the problems of apartment mold at a new condo conversion - and how they have forced longtime New York City local news personality Kaity Tong out of her home. In September, Tong had been living in Gramercy Park Hotel for many weeks, as the floors and wall in her Chelsea home started to buckle, seemingly caused by the conversion of the O'Neill Building, on... more ›

It appears the rumors of autumn's demise have been greatly exaggerated and you're going to have to start wearing a jacket outside after all. But the change of seasons is not without its perks; there are those hot winter drinks to look forward to, and a number of bars around town offer the perfect accompaniment for your hot toddy: a crackling fireplace. Below are some of New York's best places to chill out on a... more ›

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel, gives it no stars. “There’s a crushing sense of letdown” in the restaurant, he says, and “the slickness of the red and black setting and the poise of the best servers are undercut by dishes that too often look three times as good as they taste.” He likes the desserts, though. more ›

">Bruni one-stars Wild Salmon. We’re surprised Chodorow let him in the door, after their feud over his review of Kobe Club. “The food runs the gamut,” Bruni says, “by turns excellent, ordinary and puzzling.” He recommends that you stick with the salmon, and try the different varieties offered (except the coho). Finds the service “oppressive” in its exuberance. more ›

Omido: Designed by Avroko (who did Public, among others), this high-end sushi restaurant brings a bit of luxury to midtown West with touches like foie gras and gold leaf among the raw fish. 1695 Broadway at 53rd Street, 212-247-8110. more ›

Bruni goes to Queens this week, two-stars Sichuan restaurant Spicy & Tasty. It has some of the most distinctive Sichuan cooking in the five boroughs, he says, and "deserves citywide attention from food lovers whose primary interest isn't simply a modestly priced meal off the beaten path, but a hugely enjoyable, eye-opening experience." more ›

What do you do when your private, exclusive park is repeatedly found with its gate wide open? You freak out. more ›

An envelope filled with a white powder was delivered to former President Bill Clinton's West 125th Street office, causing the two floors of the building to be shut down yesterday afternoon. Most of the building was evacuated, but eleven people were quaratined as the police, fire department, FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Secuirty descended to the scene. A source told the Daily News, "An aide opened the envelope, and she went ballistic," when white powder fell from the manila envelope. It turns out the white powder was non-toxic and harmless, but the envelope did have a "rambling diatribe" inside. more ›

When Starlight, everyone's favorite place on Sunday nights for girls to meet girls that like girls on Avenue A, shut down recently, we had no be idea the newest incarnation would be so close at hand. While there isn't a phone yet, Starbar has set up shop in the former gay bar, Cock[tail], all of three blocks north, between 13th and 14th. more ›

- Curbed has renderings of Queens West... no word on developments called "Queens East/North/South" (we'd dig a "Queens North by Northwest") more ›