Results tagged “greenwichvillage”

The front steps of brownstones throughout the West Village are now decorated with police sketches of a man suspected in a string of home invasions during the past few weeks. The man has sometimes posed a UPS worker to gain access to five apartments since his first job on October 16th, when he entered the home of an 84-year-old woman on Bank Street after asking her for a glass of water. While she retrieved the refreshment, he fled with a cell phone and a watch.

This year (and last) the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade was scaled back after sponsors were hit with budget cuts and donations slowed down. As of October 12th only three floats were expected (down from the normal 20).

Director Spike Jonze, actress Catherine Keener and third grade students from P.S. 41 temporarily renamed the intersection of Greenwich Avenue and Christopher Street "Maurice Sendak Way" and "Wild Things Way" earlier this afternoon. Marketing is alive and well in Greenwich Village! The movie comes out this weekend, and the wild rumpus has already begun as it's Wild Things Week in the city.

Police shut down part of West Third Street today so President Obama and former President Bill Clinton could enjoy a leisurely lunch at Italian restaurant Il Mulino, a Village mainstay. The two political powerhouses dined for about an hour and a half following Obama's big speech at Federal Hall urging Congress to pass stronger regulations on the financial industry. Did they chat about that one time Barry wrested the Democratic nomination from Bill's wife? No one knows, but according to reports they dined alone in an empty restaurant, so there was probably no standing ovation, like when Barack and Michelle finished their meal at Blue Hill. As they walked from the restaurant to their waiting limos, Clinton lapped up a reporter's question about the quality of the food, saying, "It was good. It was Il Mulino, how could it not be?" Suck it, Yelper B.D.! As for what they ate, Clinton remarked, "We had fish, pasta and salad. It was very healthy. Even I was healthy." Meanwhile, over on Hudson Street, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich glumly dined at a picnic table outside at Lucy Browne's. The street was not closed for security, and no one stopped Eater from getting this classic photo.

Police are looking for a teenage trio responsible for a new mugging spree in the West Village and SoHo. The gang of two males and a female in their late teens went on a tear early one morning a couple weeks back, hitting up four victims in less than five hours. The Post reports the first robbery took place as the bar crowd spilled out onto the streets of Greenwich Village just after four in the morning on August 28th. The initial mugging occurred at Washington Place and Washington Square West and the three subsequent incidents were all within a short distance from there. The trio is then suspected of committing a fifth robbery on August 31st on West 9th Street. The gang is said to have flashed a knife at their targets, but none of the victims were injured. The two male suspects were described as 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds and the girl thief as 5-foot-4 and 115 pounds, police said. Last year the West Village was on alert after a spate of violent muggings went down in a small area.

Organika: This new organically-oriented Mediterranean restaurant opens today next door to Sushi Samba in the West Village. Restaurateur and designer Marcello Assante (Boom, Bacco, Porta Toscana) promises "quintessential cooking with an emphasis on Italian cuisine, approached in the most sustainable way." Salads and appetizers range from $5-$14, pastas and pizzas from $13-$16, and the entrees are all daily specials determined by the local markets. The menu currently features pastas like Tagliatelle al Salmone Affumicato (Tagliatelle, Onion, Smoked Salmon, Chives, Cream) for $15 and Tronchetto (Rolled Pizza stuffed with Rocket, Fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella) for $14. There's no liquor license yet, but cocktails will one day feature fresh juices, rotating to highlight seasonal fruits and vegetables. The kitchen stays open nightly until 1 a.m. 89 Seventh Avenue South; (212) 414-1900

After a recent end-to-end walk through the newly renovated Washington Square Park, there was a certain ring missing from the din— had anyone polled us to see if we smoke (smoke). To make sure that the new-look park stays on the up-and-up, there's word that a local community group is planning to hire additional security that the Post says "will soon be booting druggies and lowlifes" out of the square.

The NYPD has recently beefed up its presence in Greenwich Village, but it wasn't enough to stop an elderly WWII veteran from becoming the latest victim of the area's mini crime wave. The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Friday, when an unknown assailant followed 91-year-old Eugene Schaffer from a bank to his West 12th Street apartment. Schaffer, who needs a pacemaker and a cane, had just withdrawn $400. The mugger slipped into the building behind him as he entered, walked past the front desk security, and joined Schaffer in the elevator, where he accosted the senior citizen once the doors closed.

Last week's Page Six item about the rats of Morton Street terrorizing Greenwich Village residents (including Gisele Bundchen!) prompted this Fox 5 report. Aside from choice quotes like "They are ruling the streets," "One night, I saw a rat come across the street, catch a mouse and eat it. It was disgusting. There are rats coming across the street, they're having parties in the street," and "They are like the big, giant disgusting Secret of NIMH rats," neighbors also tells Fox 5, the rats are headquartered at 42 Morton Street: "Acting on complaints, the city Health Department sent out the rat patrol in full force. Inspectors found rat droppings inside the building and told the owner to clean it up or else." Ew (and video is after the jump). Also, per the city, property owners are responsible for keeping rat-free environments while tenants are required to store their garbage properly.

An unidentified man was stabbed in the neck at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street just after 4:40 a.m this morning, ABC 7 reports. The stabee is now at St. Vincent's in stable condition. Two suspects were witnessed fleeing the scene; one wearing a black shirt and another in a... grey shirt. So give those two a wide berth if you spot them! Last Thursday a Buffalo man was hospitalized after an alleged late-night gay-bashing assault in the Village, and on Sunday another man was stabbed in the back and arm during a heated pre-dawn argument. Some local residents are complaining that their quaint neighborhood is becoming sketchy, and NYPD stats support those anecdotal reports, at least in the category of violent assaults, which are up about 40% over last year thus far. Robbery, burglary, and grand larcenies are all down, though, so try not to panic—but do check back often for updates on this alarming crime wave!

If you follow along with this sort of thing, you'll know how earth shattering it is that outgoing Times dining critic Frank Bruni has bestowed three out of four precious stars on Keith McNally's casual-yet-elitist reboot of Minetta Tavern. That's a lot of stars for a place like this, especially considering Bruni's past ambivalence to the restaurateur, who famously accused Bruni of sexism after the critic gave his restaurant Morandi (which had a female chef) a tough review. Anyway, Bruni hearts McNally's Minetta, which he declares "the best steakhouse in the city." Meanwhile, the Post's Steve Cuozzo has some thoughts on Bruni's depature. (The take away's basically, Who cares, the Times is now a paper tiger.)

Greenwich Village residents are calling for increased police presence after a Sunday morning stabbing left their sidewalks stained with blood for the second time in three days. But unlike the unprovoked Thursday morning beating that hospitalized Buffalo resident Allen Williams, this second attack does not appear to be gay-bashing. Police sources tell the Post that the victim, 41-year-old Derek Brown, has a record of 23 arrests. It's believed he was stabbed in the back and arm during a heated argument with an unidentified man at West Fourth and Grove streets about 5:45 a.m. The fight occurred remarkably close to Thursday morning's near-fatal assault, which police are investigating as a hate crime. When cops found Brown collapsed a half a block away, he refused to identify his assailant or answer questions; he's currently in stable condition at St. Vincent's. A reader tells us that on Sunday morning there were "TONS of blood in front of Gristedes on West 4th Street," and another resident tells the Post, "There are shady guys out at night dealing drugs and having heated arguments even outside my window. I'm honestly considering moving. This is the worst it's been in years."

A 50-year-old man is clinging to life at St. Vincent's hospital after being savagely beaten by a group of unidentified men in the West Village around 2 a.m. this morning. Police tell Eyewitness News that the victim, from upstate New York, got into a "verbal dispute" with a group of men outside Riviera Cafe and Sports Bar (pictured), which had closed down for the night an hour earlier. Witnesses saw at least two men flee the scene, but no arrests were made, and no weapon was recovered; police believe the assailants beat their victim with their bare hands. He sustained life-threatening injuries to the back of his head, and is currently in critical condition. Earlier this year, cops arrested two men accused of a violent mugging spree in the West Village, and on May 3rd, unidentified thugs broke the jaw of a 28-year-old man on Christopher Street near Washington Street, also around 2 a.m.

The Giants might not be sure who will step up and lead their receiving corps next season, but at least we know that baby catchers should be well-supported at the just announced new birthing center at St. Vincent's Hospital, named after Eli Manning and his wife Abby. The newlyweds don't have any children yet themselves, but are helping to bankroll what the News calls a "state-of-the-art center focusing on natural childbirth and holistic care" at the hospital which has one of the lowest C-section rates in the city. The quarterback said, "We're enjoying being married right now. There's no exact plan, but we do plan on starting a family in the future." The construction of the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center will take place over the next five years and cost $10 million. Manning said, "We wanted to make it a special place to bring new life into the world."

A 29-year-old man fell to his death on Wednesday night when he seemingly tried to find a way into his locked apartment in Greenwich Village. The Post reports that Matthew Morahan had been drinking earlier and was "trying to climb onto his balcony from the roof... Though police had not officially ruled out suicide, a police source and neighbors said [he] had told the super he lost his keys -- only minutes before he fell at 11:45 p.m." Apparently there was a "three-foot wall that separates a rooftop walkway from his terrace" and it's suspected he slipped on that and fell 11 stories. Morahan, a bond trader, landed on a truck "with a bang so loud that 911 callers reported hearing an explosion." He was dead by the time responders arrived. Morahan's neighbor told the Post, "This guy was very friendly, very happy... This was a tragic accident."

Times they are a changin'. Cafe Wha?, the Macdougal Street club that put many legends (including Dylan, Springsteen, Hendrix, even Bill Cosby) on the map by giving them a start on their stage, is being sued for playing one of the musician's songs without a license. The Post is reporting that the venue is "named in a pair of copyright-infringement suits charging unlicensed performances of Billy Roberts' 'Hey Joe' and more than a dozen other hits." BMI and ASCAP (who busted Jay Z's 40/40 Club in 2007) are behind the suits, which could yield up to $30,000 per claim (of which there are 16 total). But should they turn a blind eye to the legendary club that's managed to keep its doors open in the now high-rent Greenwich Village?

After the controversy over the "Drunken Negro Face" cookies he claimed were in honor of President Obama, Lafayette French Pastry proprietor Ted Kefalinos has finally apologized. He told the Daily News, "I'm sorry that people were offended by the cookie. We were just trying to make a large number of people happy, and instead we made a large number of people confused and angry."

Permanent residents of the The Jane Hotel in the West Village say conditions at the shabby-chic reinvention of the old Hotel Riverview are so horrid that they've no choice but to picket outside the landlords' other establishments, which include celebrity favorite The Waverly Inn. On Wednesday night they made quite a scene outside the restaurant, and apparently won the sympathy of Hugh Jackman. The Post reports that as they chanted "Slumlords!" and "Rats!" outside, Jackman approached them to talk. Looking at photos depicting the dilapidated conditions at The Jane, he reportedly gasped, "Oh, my God." Diane von Furstenberg also showed some pity, asking, "Who are the slumlords?" That would be Eric Goode and Sean McPherson, who also run the Bowery Hotel, where the group protested last night over what publicist Ronn Torossian, their representative, calls "appalling conditions. Rats run [around] daily, asbestos lingers and 99 complaints have been filed in recent months with city housing authorities."

After shuffling through three chefs since opening about a year ago, ridiculously good looking restaurant Bobo seems to have hit its stride with James Beard award-winning chef Patrick Connolly at the helm. Writing for the Times last month, restaurant critic Frank Bruni praised his "fine sense of balance when it comes to flavors and textures...The cooking during my visits was often impressive."

Memo to lazy dudes: If you buzz your girlfriend into the building and she's not at your door in a timely manner, you need to put Guitar Hero on pause and get your ass downstairs. On Saturday night the girlfriend of a Greenwich Village man was taking longer than usual to get upstairs to his apartment, and when he finally went down to see what happened he found that she was being raped in the building's vestibule. This happened around 7 p.m. on lower Fifth Avenue, according to the Post. So be alert! At least in this case the boyfriend was able to subdue the attacker and call the cops; the alleged rapist, 28-year-old Dean Rogich, told detectives, "I followed her into the building so I could rob her."

Some Greenwich Village-residing celebs are finding their garbage is a goldmine for one outdoor prowler. The NY Post notes that one recent victim is Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker -- and they report on the invasion of privacy by printing what the garbage gossip found, naturally. In an anonymous letter, it says the actress fills prescriptions for an underactive thyroid at Bigelow Pharmacy on 6th Avenue (good to know she pays her co-pay $20 at a time, just like the rest of us). Other famous targets have included Charlie Rose and Graydon Carter...perhaps this snoop should start sifting through the younger Hollywood set in order to come up with something a little more scandalous than legally prescribed goiter medication?

The 8th Street Winecellar is a cozy subterranean spot in Greenwich Village that opened up just over a year ago. But don't let the name fool you -- owners and longtime restaurant industry vets Michael Lagnese (left) and Jonny Cohen (right) want this to be your all-around neighborhood bar, even if you don't live in the 'hood.

             

All those Banksy billboards that popped up around Manhattan proved to mean something after all - they were to promote Banksy's show/installation in Greenwich Village, which opened today.

While a Tropical Storm may have rained on the Deitch Art Parade this summer, one part is being saved: the Ferris Bueller parade reenactment! According to Urban Prankster, "provided there are no tornadoes, dust storms, or shifting tectonic plates," artists Mina Karimi and Kara Suhey are working on the reenactment for the Greenwich Village Halloween parade. And Project Bueller 2.0 will be bigger-- they are recruiting "2000 secret agents to capture the spirit of the scene along the parade’s 20 block path." If you want to join in, there are some (flexible) rules of course, mainly that you should dress in 80s business casual attire (more details at the project's blog). Fun fact: In the movie (filmed during the Von Steuben Day Parade in Chicago) some of the dancers you see were simply random onlookers caught up in the moment and filmed when John Hughes spotted them.

Kampuchea was one of two Cambodian restaurants recently profiled in the Times, where it was accurately pointed out that there is a dearth of Cambodian cuisine in New York. Chef/Owner Ratha Chau and Co-Executive Chef and Partner Scott Burnett are attempting to rectify that. Veering from a more traditional route, they base their menu on Cambodian street food, but add their own creative twists. Ratha and Scott took a break between lunch and dinner service to discuss Kampuchea and Num Pang, their upcoming sandwich shop.

This story goes out to anyone with a case of the Mondays: That 12-year-old girl who survived a fourteen-story fall down a chimney by landing on collected soot appeared yesterday at a music festival in the courtyard of her Bethune Street building and sang the spiritual "Deep River." Afterwards, Grace Bergere had some inspiring words for a NY Post reporter: "Everything is a bit more intense now that I'm still alive. I appreciate things that I didn't before. You see the beauty in a lot of things that you didn't - like walking in the park. I used to walk around with my eyes closed." Bergere dislocated her hip and fractured five back vertebrae in the 100-foot fall, which occurred as she tried to show a visiting cousin a view of the city from the roof. After a month in the hospital, she finally returned home two weeks ago: "I still have back pain, but I'm able to walk."

Yesterday afternoon, a window washer fell 12 stories to his death from a Greenwich Village building. The incident occurred at 40 Fifth Avenue, a 17-story apartment building near 11th Street. A witness said, "Around 4:30 p.m., I hear the people screaming, screaming and screaming call the police." The NY Times reports that the victim was a "well-liked," "self-employed contractor who had been washing windows and doing other work at the building for 20 years." While the incident is being investigated, the man was wearing a harness. Earlier in the day, two window washers were rescued after their scaffolding basket stalled around the 30th floor of a Times Square skyscraper.

Some more details in the amazing survival of a twelve-year-old girl who fell 15 floors down a chimney shaft at the Westbeth Building in the West Village. The FDNY believes she owes her life to the two feet of soot at the bottom of the shaft.

Last night, a 12-year-old girl fell 15 stories (according the Post--the Daily News says it was 14 stories) down a chimney at the Westbeth Building on Bethune Street. Apparently the girl, who was on the roof alone (it's unclear what she was doing up there), managed to climb up to a two-story chimney and fell inside.

Well Sex and the City fans, any hopes you had of sitting on the Carrie Bradshaw's stoop are now being dashed by the people who really live in there. The Villager reports that "Last week, residents won a reprieve, when, on July 15, the largest of the tour operators, On Location Tours, announced it would take Perry St. off its route." Sure, your MySpace, Flickr and Facebook photo albums are going to be an utter embarrassment if you're lacking the carefully posed shot of you and your best gal pals sitting on the 66 Perry Street steps, but wipe those tears, your mascara is running -- and besides, there's plenty of time for photo ops while waiting on line outside Magnolia Bakery! [via Curbed]