The rumor mill's in motion and word is that The Knitting Factory will be moving out of its long time home on Leonard Street. The news doesn't come as a surprise as last April brought word that the building the venue is housed in would be sold. This will be the third location for the club, which started off at 48 East Houston Street some 20 years ago (it's been on Leonard Street for 14......

Over the weekend, hundreds rallied for Pier 40's next transformation to be a park. This Thursday, the Hudson River Park Trust is meeting to discuss two existing bids for the pier located off Houston Street, but a more recent plan, from a group of local parents who hope their $120,000 study, has been gaining some recent momentum. Previously, the Related Companies had proposed an elaborate plan with a Cirque du Soleil theater and restaurants, while......

The “Beer Kir” at Marco Moreira’s 15 East is a Japanese beer-based mixed drink: Sapporo is floated on a shot of honeyed sweet potato vinegar, adding a sweet-sour edge to the dry lager. For the purposes of home experimentation, we found Benímosu ($11.35 for 4 oz.), the same artisanal vinegar used in Beer Kir at Katagiri, a Japanese food store on 59th Street. Made in Kyoto from purple potatoes and koji rice, Benímosu has clean,......

The fate of Pier 40, located at West Houston Street on the Hudson, was much discussed and debated last year, and 2008 seems to be a year of further reflection. At one point, there was a $625 million idea for it to become an elaborate entertainment venue with a Cirque du Soleil theater, restaurants, and more, while opposing forces wanted there simply to be more green space. In the waning weeks of December, another......

As the ones who first reported on the mysterious tall bench on the median of East Houston Street, we feel some responsibility in bringing closure to the story. (fYI amNY: Link.) Contrary to some of the comments in our original post claiming that the bench was just an amateurish photoshop gag, it turns out the surreal furniture was real, quite real. And now it is quite gone. We spoke to Ted Timbers at the DOT......

A Gothamist tipster emailed us this photo of a prohibitively tall bench on the median of East Houston Street near Suffolk. Is this guerrilla art or city-sanctioned furniture? The new cool “Bench Club” for East Village scenesters? A lawsuit in-waiting from the city’s more vertically challenged residents? A prototype anti-homeless bench? A photoshop hoax? Lots and lots of phone calls to the City Council representative, the Community Board, the Parks Department and D.O.T. have......

At least a few buildings on or near Mercer Street lost power when a fire or an explosion occurred in a manhole at Mercer and West 3rd Street exploded this morning. The block was closed off by the Fire Department. We hear there were no injuries, but it's unclear what caused the fire. One witness saw a billowing black smoke and said it smelled "acrid, like maybe it's an electrical fire." And contributor Gideon......

The holidays are upon us, which means that it's busy season, and you probably have little time to do the grocery shopping, let alone cook yourself a hot dinner. Gothamist opted for one solution at the Whole Foods Market on Bowery, the megalith of a grocery store that you either love for its fromagerie, Ciao Bella gelateria, and free wi-fi upstairs--or hate for being so enormous you find it impossible to find anything--which offers......

It's time to start polishing up your leaving-work-early excuses, because CMJ is just around the corner. This means day shows, night shows, after parties and nearly every space downtown turning into a venue for the week. One of those spaces will be our very own Gothamist House, which is located at White Rabbit at 145 Houston Street (between Forsyth & Eldridge) October 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th from 2pm to 8pm each day. There will......

Ok, so we understand the knocks on Gossip Girl. It's an awful, vapid, shallow show...which would be all fine and good if it wasn't for the poor writing, empty characters and boring, predictable plotlines. YET, what trumps all is that it is filmed on location in New York City. The shows shortcomings aside, it is a genuine local show with some great city scenes. So we trudge on... Four weeks in and we're getting ever......

We've already announced the lineups for days one, two and three at Gothamist House, and here comes day four (the final day). As a reminder, this year WOXY will be broadcasting from the space -- so if you find yourself at work you'll still be able to listen in! At the end of the week stay tuned for a Best of Gothamist House podcast, also provided by WOXY. Now, without further ado: Saturday October 20th......

We've already announced day one and day two for Gothamist House, and here comes number three. As a reminder, this year WOXY will be broadcasting from the space -- so if you find yourself at work you'll still be able to listen in! At the end of the week stay tuned for a Best of Gothamist House podcast, also provided by WOXY. Now, without further ado: Friday October 19th 7:30pm - Bound Stems (MySpace) 6:45pm......

Last week we announced the lineup for day one at Gothamist House, and here comes day two. As a reminder, this year WOXY will be broadcasting from the space -- so if you find yourself at work you'll still be able to listen in! At the end of the week stay tuned for a Best of Gothamist House podcast, also provided by WOXY. Now, without further ado: Thursday October 18th 7:30pm - iLiKETRAiNS (MySpace)......

With just over a week to go before the CMJ music marathon takes over the venues and random spaces in this city...we're finally ready to announce the Gothamist House lineups for this year. One day at a time. As a reminder, this year WOXY will be broadcasting from the space -- so if you find yourself at work you'll still be able to listen in! At the end of the week stay tuned for......

Yesterday morning, around 7AM, Queens resident Hope Miller was fatally hit by a truck turning right onto Houston Street from 6th Avenue. The driver, Roger Smiley, was fleeing the scene of an accident at Prince and 6th Avenue. Miller had been crossing Houston Street, near a construction site. 1010 WINS reported that the impact "knocked her out of her shoes." Smiley was arrested and charged with "leaving the scene of an accident, driving under the......

CMJ is coming up next month, and as we've mentioned we'll be opening the doors to Gothamist House again this year. We've got a big announcement to share, along with some little details of interest if you plan to attend any of the shows: Our favorite radio station has come on board! WOXY will be broadcasting live from Gothamist House all week. The show will be streaming on their website, and later the "best of"......

Next Tuesday night, Whole Foods Market Bowery and Gothamist will be holding a singles event, Check Out. Attendees will rock to the sounds of Terry Diabolik and DJ Never Forget of Finger on the Pulse while they taste hot, spicy, and sultry foods from Chocolove, Rick’s Picks, 5 Boroughs Ice Cream, Coffee Lab Roasters and many more. Plus there's a raffle, scavenger hunt and much mingling! Register here (if you've already signed up, no need......

Does your summer seem to be winding down without a fling? Stop by the Whole Foods Market Bowery for Whole Foods Market & Gothamist's Check Out, a singles event on August 28th. The event will offer plenty of mingling time, as well as activities, raffles, music and refreshments (we'll be updating with more details later). It's also free, and you can register here: (Your email address will only be used to confirm your attendance.)......

It seems every day we get an email from CMJ urging us to tell our musical readers that there is "only one day left to apply!" followed by an email two days later saying there's an extended deadline. Well, bands, apply here if you want to be a part of the festivities because apparently the clock is ticking. The countdown prompted us to start working on our own CMJ-week event a bit early this......

Yesterday, a five people were injured on Queens Boulevard at 47th Street when a Jeep Cherokee slammed into a Honda. The Jeep, which witnesses describe as trying to beat a red light, lost control and hit the Honda. The Honda, which had been making a turn onto Queens Boulevard, was crushed from the impact and then "plowed up onto the crowded sidewalk, pinning a 16-year-old boy against a lamppost." Both legs of the boy, Tonpo......

With brick and mortar sales declining, and the future of the music industry uncertain - at least live shows are always dependable. Sure, there are a lot of venues closing, but how about the ones thriving? The NY Times reports on some of the big players in the New York venue scene. In New York heated competition among concert promoters has driven a building spree of small and midsize spaces over the last two years.......

SoHo, Lower East Side, Nolita, and other residents and workers, you'll want to make sure you have your library card, because today at 3PM, the New York Public Library opens its 87th branch in SoHo. The Mulberry Street library, located at Mulberry and Jersey Streets just south of Houston Street, is 12,000 square feet of books, DVDs, computers, WiFi access and more. We visited the branch last Friday when NYPL staffers were getting ready......

It seems a week doesn't go by without more news of venues closing. This week The Real Deal reports that the 27,000-square-foot building that houses the roughly 11,000 square foot Knitting Factory, is up for sale. The sale, which includes the venue and 18 decontrolled residential loft apartments, is expected to go for $15 million or more. With last years announcement of Knitting Factories opening up all over the country (maybe even Boise, Idaho!),......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Bldg Collapse | Maulberry [sic] St & East Houston Street Manhattan, NY | 3/31/2007 4:37 p.m., Construction Accident | W 60th St & Amsterdam Ave Manhattan, NY | 3/31/2007 12:06 p.m., and Ballistics Search | 2750 W 33rd St Brooklyn, NY | 3/31/2007 10:58 a.m. (In other words, heads up.) Long live Photoshop: Did you see today's Nancy Pelosi cover? They'll leave the light on: hotel at 6 Columbus......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: "crack in wall of building" in Williamsburg, three alarm fire on West 65th, and an overturned truck on Park Avenue. Just what the meatpacking district needs: dirty bingo. "A Queens man is suing his ex-girlfriend for $1 million, claiming she just used him to get pregnant before running off with a man who was better endowed." Like that's never happened to you! Is Matzoh made in a converted schoolbus......

Tribesmen and women city-wide are frantically polishing off the last crumbs of their chametz and stockpiling matzo in preparation for Passover. April 2-10 is a torturous time for many and, though crispy potato kugels and nutty bowlfuls of charoset may soften the blow, there’s still a grim specter that hovers over Gothamist’s Passover table. We’re referring of course to gefilte fish, that jellied quenelle-like bitch of a dish whose nuances are often lost on the......

amNew York reveals that the MTA will sign a construction contract for the Second Avenue Subway on March 29. We can't believe that the MTA is actually signing a contract - it's only been about four years since the first of the recent-Second-Avenue Subway public hearings! Heck, the Second Avenue Subway was a cover story for New York in 2004. The MTA hopes to have a groundbreaking ceremony in late April or early May......

THEATER: Adam Rapp’s Stone Cold Dead Serious is being revived at Theatre Row on the West Side. The surreally dark comedy deals with a struggling family on the outskirts of Chicago who pin their hopes on their video-game obsessed teenage son. The kid just has to put his skills on the line in a real-life fight-to-the-death video game competition. Fun fact: When Stone Cold Dead Serious was presented at Chashama in 2003, stagehands changed the......

Manholes on West Houston Street near Sullivan have exploded, creating a smoky, chaotic scene. Windows are blown out and civilians are panicking. Firefighters, police, Con Ed and other rescue workers are everywhere. Jake just went down to the scene-- it's total chaos. Houston is shutdown from Laguardia to 6th Avenue, traffic being diverted. Pedestrians are gawking behind fire lines on the corners of Thompson and Sullivan. A smokey fire is still raging in the......

You may have noticed that we've added another data source to our Gothamist Newsmap: now twice as much mayhem! Today's catastrophes: a water rescue in the Hudson off Houston Street, a "scaffold incident" at Leonard and Broadway, and double and triple shootings in Queens and Brooklyn. Yikes! On tonight's Nova science Now, Neil deGrasse Tyson (from the Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History) "mass extinction, the 1918 pandemic flu, robot engineer Cynthia......