A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the City of New York, the NYPD, Brookfield Properties and other agencies allowing protesters back to the space with their belongings. more ›

For three weeks, the sexual assault allegations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn had to take the backseat to now-former Congressman Anthony Weiner's social media oversharing. However, now the wait is over: Details of the ex-IMF head's arrest have been released, and apparently the French politician tried to invoke diplomatic immunity... which he didn't have. Oh, and he complained about being handcuffed from behind. Mon dieu! more ›

The Senate might have overstepped its bounds and broken the law when it voted to expel embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, according to insiders and the disgraced Queens Democrat. After being acquitted on felony charges but convicted of misdemeanor assault charges for slashing his girlfriend in the face, the former cop has vowed to fight the ruling—and he might turn out winning. more ›

After a lengthy debate, the New York State Senate voted 38-24 against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The Marriage Equality Act was finally brought to the floor for an up or down vote today after overcoming legislative roadblocks from opponents. During the emotional debate, one of the bill’s sponsors, State Senator Thomas K. Duane of Manhattan, who is gay, said, "This legislation would merely provide me and tens of thousands of other New Yorkers with equal rights in New York State. It would make me equal in every way to everyone else in this chamber." more ›

Marc Dreier, the once high-flying lawyer whose firm had over 200 lawyers, will plead guilty a $700 million scam involving fake promissory notes. According to his lawyer, Dreier—who does not have a deal—will "enter a guilty plea to...conspiracy, securities fraud, money laundering and five counts of wire fraud," the Wall Street Journal reports. Dreier was arrested in December, after returning from Canada where he was arrested for impersonating another lawyer in an attempt to get business from a Canadian pension fund, and has been under house arrest. Dreier faces over seven counts, the New York Law Journal says, "Each count carries a potential sentence of 20 years in prison except for the conspiracy count, which carries a five-year term." more ›

Talk about a hot mess, the Project Runway powers-that-be barely made it work but word is that the show will finally be able to hit airwaves again. Earlier this year the finalists for the yet-to-be-aired season weren't even allowed to show their faces at their own Fashion Week shows because of the legal battle, but now it's being reported that "the long and bitter litigation over the hit reality series came to an end Wednesday when the Weinstein Company, which owns the show, agreed to pay NBC Universal a settlement fee, acknowledging it had improperly sold the show to a competitive network without giving NBC a right to match the offer." This past September NBC successfully prevented Lifetime from airing the show, and now the Weinstein Company will pay NBC a fee for the right to move the show to Lifetime. Expect the new season to air this summer, and according to their deal, there's five more years to come! more ›

Today Brooklyn Based has some tips on growing the perfect garden...on your fire escape. The site eases cases of outdoor space envy by saying, "If you’ve got window sills, a fire escape or a stoop, you’re two months away from homegrown tomatoes and morning glory vines." One commenter quickly sounded his safety whistle with warnings of such an urban escape being illegal—but it's certainly been done before. In fact, earlier this month SustainBlog had a list of vegetables one could grow on their fire escape. more ›

Drinking in New York has long been reserved for private homes or establishments with liquor licenses (or speakeasys!), but how well is the law enforced when it comes to drinking on a stoop or in a public park? Apparently, and unfortunately, the law is still being upheld very well. A few years back the tabloids wondered why cops looked the other way when it came to Chardonnay swilling audiences listening to the symphony in Central Park, while the beer-drinking crowd at a 9/11 memorial in Rockaway incurred plenty of fines. more ›

After 50 Cent's ex, Shaniqua Tompkins, accused him publicly of burning down the home he owned that her and their son were living in -- she followed up with a restraining order. 50 may have had to surrender any guns he's been toting around as a part of the ruling, but the rapper then responded with his own legal papers...a $20 million defamation suit against Tompkins. It's been about one week since they were last in court, guess it's time to up the ante. more ›

It's not uncommon to hear about animals being housed in New York apartments -- not just cats and dogs, but tigers and monkeys, oh my. The latest animal house can be found in a 50-story luxury condo complex on the East Side. more ›

Snoop Dogg, in town shooting BET interviews last week, was caught green-handed with the drug he claimed to give up at age 30: pot. The rapper was busted outside of hotspot Lotus last Wednesday for marijuana possession, and was issued a desk appearance ticket. The Post reports that didn't stop Snoop from partying the very next night, with his 25-strong posse, at Serafina and the tapas lounge Lollipop (somewhere in between they ordered 15 pizzas, so we're guessing there may have been some weed around that night, too!). During one of the BET interviews, he claimed the accusation was "bogus". more ›