Photograph by Jake Dobkin Later today, the city will discuss whether the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers should be landmarked. The Observer reported that NYU announced its support today, a reversal from an earlier position over three years ago. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation pushed for landmarking the complex, located between Bleecker and Houston Streets and LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, a few years ago, calling it "an innovative modern design by I.M.......

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......

BarFry: Sumile's Josh DeChellis is bringing New York our first ever tempura bar. Not only will he be perfectly battering and frying fresh veggies, seafood, and meat and serving them up with his signature dipping sauces (wasabi remoulade and pickled jalapeno soy, to name a few), but he'll be offering made-to-order tempura Po Boys. Wash everything down with Gaijin Pale Ale from Oregon's Rogue Brewery, made especially for BarFry. And -- they deliver in the......

We don’t know if you heard or not, but apparently the “sexiest event of the year is back and better than ever.” That seems to be an awfully big promise but considering the dangerous combination of wine, chocolate and adult toys, the Erotic Wine Tasting Soiree at Babeland NYC, has the potential to really heat up. The promotions for the event suggest that this is for the fun, adventurous and not faint of heart. If......

Earlier this afternoon, we watched Scholastic transform Mercer Street between Prince and Spring Streets in "Harry Potter Place" in anticipation of the 12:01AM release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - early reviews be damned! Not only was the Whomping Willow ready, there were owls (stuffed), messages on the Muggle Message Board, and a copy of the book signed by JK Rowling. There were also already people on line to buy the book.......

What do we make of the fact that the NY Times book critic Michiko Kakutani purchased a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a NYC bookstore yesterday and was able to sift through its 1.8 pounds to write a review in today's paper? There are no true spoilers, just confirmation that there is a fitting ending (but if you are worried about spoilers of any kind, don't read the blockquote):J. K. Rowling’s......

Okay, who went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at 12:01AM? Was it good? Is it better when you draw a lightning bolt on your forehead or wear a Hogwarts scarf? The movie has a 77% Freshness rating, as per Rotten Tomatoes (though it may go up or down as more reviews come in), and offers Harry Potters devotees another way to bide time until the final book, Harry Potter......

EVENT: Upstairs at the Square, the bookstores series featuring musicians and authors in conversation & performing their work, is happening tonight. This one will be featuring musician Badly Drawn Boy and author Dana Spiotta, with host Katherine Lanpher. 7pm // Barnes & Noble [33 East 17th St] // Free THEATER: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, by New Yorker scribe Lawrence Wright, was one of The New York Times Book Review's "Top......

Kevin Spacey is coming back to Broadway with the acclaimed London production of A Moon for the Misbegotten. (Spacey last appeared on the Stem in two other Eugene O’Neill plays, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Iceman Cometh.) A Moon for the Misbegotten will begin previews on March 29th at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, which was recently befouled by the Twyla Tharp/Bob Dylan catastrophe The Times They Are A-Changin’. The incoming Spacey might bring......

In case you haven’t been counting down, today marks the beginning of the New York International Fringe Festival, the country’s largest theatre festival! Though ten years is typically the amount of time people say one needs to be in New York before being a “New Yorker,” the Fringe Festival has had such an impact on the downtown Broadway theatre scene that, were it a human, it probably would have attained resident status without anything near......

It's not secret that we love panoramic imagery of NYC-- and one of our favorite sources has long been Urban75. Their NYC panorama page has dozens of 360-degree images of the city-- and the November 2005 update added at least a dozen more. Some of the new ones: Orchard Street (seen above), Mercer Street, Battery Park, Ellis Island, Grand Central, East River, Williamsburg Bridge. Awesome!......

A five-alarm blaze hit a historic building in SoHo last night that injured six firefighters and one civilian. The fire was brought under control this morning by 198 firefighters and 44 units. 1010 WINS is reporting that the fire is being called "suspicious" as it started in a utility room and spread through the building's ventilation system. The historic 575 Broadway, estimated to be worth $15 million, is home to the flagship $40 million......

Fall is in the air, bringing with it a handful of new restaurant openings. Both the Daily News and New York Magazine have released their Fall preview lists to get us ready for the season. Gothamist has whittled down the lists to create our own short list of places we'd like to hit first: Lure Fishbar, 142 Mercer Street, opening mid-September. We're always up for seafood, so we're eager to take a peek at this......