A pingpong hall was a Chinatown brothel's way into the wallets of public high school students. The Post reports that a brothel at 39 Eldridge Street was shut down after parents of Pace High School students realized the brothel owners were targeting their sons. more ›

Broadway star Michael Cerveris (Hedwig, Sweeney Todd, 21 Jump Street) has joined the already exciting cast of King Lear, which opens next month. He’ll be squaring off in the role of Kent across from Kevin Kline’s hotly anticipated Lear. But according to Isaac Butler’s Parabasis, the production’s real star is “genius-level Shakespearean actor” Philip Goodwin in the role of the Fool. But that’s not all! The Public Theater is giving a young upstart named Stephen Sondheim his big break by enlisting him to compose the music. (Tickets go on sale at the Public Theater’s box office this Sunday.) more ›

The Post reports that crime along the "club row" of West 27th Street has jumped since last year. With the bouncer shooting club patrons incident on West 22nd Street in May and last week's murder of a NJ teen who had been clubbing on West 27th, there's a lot of attention on the nightlife ways of Chelsea. In July alone, there was a 58% increase in assaults inside or right outside clubs, and 200 summons have been issued for "public drinking" and "disorderly conduct." (Question, is public drinking also taking a drink out of a bar/club and walking down the street?) One new way police are monitoring club activity is with a sting. From the NY Post:

Since Jan. 1, cops in the 10th Precinct have engaged in 15 undercover operations using a 19-year-old police cadet accompanied by an older cop to determine if the clubs were serving minors. more ›

There is an awesome NY Times story about how the police "covertly join in" various city protests, possibly to rile things up. Gothamist knew that those ads for NYPD recruitment were to attract a hipper, younger force, sort of like a 2005 version of 21 Jump Street! It seems that the operation has been to surveil crowds ever since the start of the Republican National Convention, back at the end of August 2004. The NYPD claims that the undercover officers are trying to keep the peace, not "investigate political activities." The Times looked at some footage that showed "at least 10 officers...incognito at the events," seeming to affirm what civilians are saying:

Ryan Kuonen, 32, who took part in a "ride of silence" in memory of a dead cyclist, said that two undercover officers - one with a camera - subverted the event. "They were just in your face," she said. "It made what was a really solemn event into something that seemed wrong. It made you feel like you were a criminal. It was grotesque."

The Post has been loving the Julia Diaco story since the beginning. They dubbed her the "Pot Princess" and today's headline, "See Ya Tater, Pot Princess" certainly has a bit of fondness for the co-ed drug dealer. Today, the Post runs a photograph of Diaco going to court (left), looking quite polished and put together, and emphasizes that Diaco's family wealth played a part in her getting a sweet probation deal. A Legal Aid attorney tells the Post, "I would love for our clients to be offered the same deal. But Legal Aid wouldn't be representing a princess." Well, of course - money talks in this world. It's not right, but that's what happens. Diaco's lawyer says the probation at Clear View is not "the lap of luxury" and notes that while Diaco was selling a variety of drugs, Mary Jane was her biggest problem: "She had a very heavy marijuana habit. The morning began with marijuana, and the day ended with marijuana." Gothamist hopes that Diaco manages it through probation; she's the most high-profile bust of a college drug dealer we've heard of, and let's face it, they are a dime a dozen. We'd actually be interested in Law & Order: Class of 2009 where undercovers have to attend NYU, Columbia, Fordham, St. John's, Brooklyn College, Hunter, you name it - it's totally Law & Order meets 21 Jump Street. more ›

Candice Holmes, Recent Grad more ›

Gothamist doesn't know what to make of Johnny Depp's gold teeth. A Johnny Depp fan says that Depp "forgot" to take out the teeth which were put in during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. We know that Johnny Depp is pretty Method-y and a somewhat grungy Johnny is cute, but this might be too much. And keeping in teeth from the making of a movie based on a Disney ride? If he had contributed a voice to the Country Bears movie, would he have asked for a couple pints of ursine blood? more ›

This is like Jump Street, the Pick Pocket Division. Law and Order: Anti- Pickpocket Unit.Watching Your Back as You Watch the Back Pocket more ›