Even while targeted in the Troopergate scandal, State Senate leader Joseph Bruno was living in high style. The New York Sun is reporting that Bruno enjoyed a 3,500 square foot, two-story penthouse suite at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, just weeks before the legislature selected the hotel chain to construct a luxury hotel in Albany.

On November 30, the nine-member board of the Albany Convention Center Authority, which includes a member appointed by Mr. Bruno, voted to begin negotiations with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, of which Sheraton is a subsidiary, as operator of a 400-room hotel to be built in downtown Albany near the senate leader's district. more ›

The three police officers facing trial for the November 2006 shooting of an unarmed man are requesting to their trial moved from Queens. Lawyers for Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper claim they won't be able to get a fair trial in Queens, blaming media attention for "incurably poison[ing]" any potential jury pool. more ›

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development has compiled a list of the city's 200 most poorly maintained buildings and has told the owners they must be repaired in 4 months. Or else, the NY Times reports, the city will be able to overhaul them and force the owners to pay. On November 11, a Local Law No. 29, the Alternative Enforcement Program, went into affect to help the HPD to "enforce the correction of... more ›

The police arrested a man for the killing of a poker player during a robbery earlier this month. On November 2, a group of robbers held up a secret poker club in an office building at Fifth Avenue and 28th Street. During the chaos, one of the robbers "accidentally" fired a gun, killing Frank DeSena (pictured), a math teacher at the Steven Institute of Technology in NJ. The robbers were wearing masks, making the police... more ›

Yesterday, people gathered for the sixth anniversary of the fatal American Airlines Flight 587 crash in Belle Harbor, Queens. It was the second deadlist aviation crash in U.S. history, with 265 victims. Mayor Bloomberg led the ceremony, saying, "Once again, we have come together to remember all of them, and to share the sorrow that all of us feel." On November 12, 2001, the Dominican Republic-bound plane had taken off from JFK Airport; turbulent air... more ›

Ten years ago today, Camden Sylvia and Michael Sullivan left their rent-stabilized loft in downtown Manhattan, went for a jog, rented a video and were never seen again. Today, the Daily News revisits the mystery and speaks to Sylvia's mother. Laurie Sylvia says, "I want to know what happened. Each year that goes by I think, maybe this year. I never imagined I would be doing that for 10 years." more ›

On November 23, 1990 a bouncer outside of the Palladium nightclub (now an NYU dorm on 14th St.) was shot and killed when a fistfight escalated to gunplay. A year later, David Lemus and Olmedo Hidalgo were convicted of the killing and sent to prison, despite their defense that they were not even at the Palladium that night. Hidalgo's conviction was later overturned and Lemus was released from prison after 14 years, only to face a retrial by New York prosecutors. The New York Times is now reporting, however, that a former prosecutor for the city who was arguing for that retrial had serious doubts about the man's guilt even as he argued for his prosecution. more ›

Speedy Delivery, by Jean Lafitte. more ›

"Last year Elton John declared that Rufus Wainwright was the greatest songwriter on the planet. Quite a profound statement from the king of pop himself. This was presumably based on hearing 2004's Want One, followed earlier this year by the groundbreaking opus, Want Two." Elly Roberts goes on to say that Wainwright's recent show at The Lowry was "An epic night, and a high watermark of a musician on top of his game, who has single headedly changed the possibilities of popular music." Our hometown (via Rhinebeck, New York and Canada) hero headlines the Beacon Theater two nights in row this week. We're especially excited about Wednesday's show. Regina Spektor is opening. more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes opinion pieces on issues relevant to life in NYC. Here's one: more ›

Yesterday afternoon, the Franklin Avenue shuttle derailed at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard, knocking some passengers out of their seats. Riders escaped serious injury but had to be evacuated as authorities investigated the trains. One early hypothesis is that signal problems caused the derailment - damn those signals! The Franklin Avenue shuttle is only two cars long and is conductorless, leading the NYC Transit to try to reassure people by saying, "All these shuttles are conductorless. These trains are no less safe than any other." more ›

On November 12, 2001, as New York was still reeling from 9/11, American Airlines Flight 587 to the Dominican Republic took off and then crashed into the Rockaways. The crash killed all 260 people aboard the plane and five people on the ground. Yesterday, nearly four years later, the city released six proposals for a memorial. The proposals were selected out of 68 that were submitted. Two things about the memorial are certain: it will be located on Beach 116th Street and the Boardwalk (about a mile from where the plane crashed) and it will contain a list of all of the names who died. Other than that, the proposals are striking in their differences and similarities. One contains a bell tower that would ring at 9:16 a.m. every day (the time the plane crashed), one incorporates a platform that rises over the boardwalk, one has all of the names listed on two giant tilted arcs (not to be confused with Richard Serra's infamous "Tilted Arc") and one includes a sort of limestone chapel. None of them seem particularly tacky. A final design should be picked by early October, groundbreaking is slated for later this fall and the if all goes well then the memorial should be completed by fall 2006. more ›

All your Christmas Tree detail at WNBC's Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree page. And there is a Tree Cam. And whatisee sent a link to his photos (one of which we've reduced at left). more ›

If you're anything like Gothamist, there are dozens of restaurants in the city that you're dying to try, but you can never seem to get around to actually trying all of them. That's one of the reasons we love tasting events, and we particularly like them when they're for a good cause. On November 8th, New York Magazine is hosting A Taste of New York at the Puck Building to benefit City Harvest. And although we won't be able to knock off all the spots on the list that we've been keeping, we'll be able to sample the cuisine of over 40 restaurants, including 5 Ninth, Extra Virgin, Dinosaur BBQ, and rm, along with champagne, wine and cocktails galore. Tickets, which are $110, can be purchased online. more ›

Hello, everybody. We've had a couple of exciting months, launching SFist and DCist as well as growing our staff, and have a busy fall/winter planned as well: more ›