Can hotel guests get some peace and quiet in Lower Manhattan? The Millenium Hilton is suing the Port Authority and Silverstein Properties for $8 million, claiming the noise from the construction at the World Trade Center site is costing them business. "On numerous occasions, guests have checked out of the Millenium Hilton days before their scheduled departure date due to the noise from the construction," the lawsuit alleges. According to the Post the Hilton has installed 200 "white-noise machines" and "complimentary ear plugs" to rectify the noise, none of which are available to regular citizens who come in contact with Paris Hilton. more ›

Lurking beneath Paris Hilton's wasted party girl veneer, there is apparently a delicate flower whose feelings are easily hurt, or it would at least seem that way based off of her behavior during today's interview with Good Morning America's Dan Harris. more ›

Friends and fans continue to mourn the death of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, who was found dead in his SoHo apartment Friday afternoon. The Daily News and Post are both reporting that police found a half-empty bag of crack underneath his chest. Initial reports mentioned a crack pipe and prescription drugs at the scene—among them the Post now says were bottles of Xanax, painkillers Vicodin and oxycodone and antacid Prilosec. more ›

Larry King has two interesting guests tonight: The main guest is JetBlue CEO Dave Barger, who will discuss his airline's changes as higher costs hit the airline industry. And more humorously, writer-director Adam McKay will also be on, to discuss the Paris Hilton response ad on Funny or Die. The ad was shot in the Hamptons--and Paris apparently memorized the entire script! more ›

After John McCain's campaign rolled out an ad criticizing Barack Obama, essentially equating him to "celeb" du jours Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, here's the Hilton family response: Kathy Hilton writes on Huffington Post, "It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States." Hilton and her husband Rick have donated $4,600 to the McCain campaign, which has said about the ad, "We think it's got a lot of humor in it, we're having fun and enjoying it." more ›

Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, now LAPD Chief of Police, offered his blunt assessment that a paparazzi taskforce was a "waste of time" since, for one, favorite paparazzi target Lindsay Lohan "has gone gay." While LA City Council members were disturbed by Bratton's remarks--and outing of the Mean Girls starlet--Bratton refined his remarks, saying Lindsay's relationship with Samantha Ronson apparently "quieted her down...nobody is more of a supporter of gay rights than I am." Naturally, there were paparazzi were on hand to ask Lohan and Ronson how they felt about being outed by Bratton; we doubt Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will be discussing Lohanson any time soon. more ›

We were encouraged to hear a statue would be unveiled in Central Park memorializing the racehorse Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who remained undefeated in all of his races before tragically breaking a leg in the Preakness Stakes (video). more ›

May 29, 2007 was the last time Stepha Henry, a John Jay honors graduate, was seen. The Brooklyn resident had been visiting an aunt in Miami when she went missing and as months went on, her mother quit her job and moved to Florida to search for Stepha while John Jay classmates and faculty held fund-raisers to help the family. Today, Miami-Dade detectives, along with members of the NYPD, arrested a man in New York for killing Henry. more ›

Yesterday we mentioned Amy Fisher would be at Retox last night deejaying for her sex tape party. She hit the club with a statement she claimed to have written herself, after tossing aside the one her publicist wrote. She did this after, she says, she was edited to look bad on her Good Morning America appearance...despite her plastic surgery and leopard-print fur vest, shocking! more ›

THEATER: The salty, electric dynamo that is Elaine Stritch shows no sign of waning – about to turn 83-years-young, the show biz legend has kicked off 2008 with a reprise of her Tony-winning cabaret show. Backed by a six-piece band and performed in two acts for a dining audience at the newly restored Café Carlyle, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, co-written with the New Yorker’s John Lahr, is a hilarious, old-fashioned ride through star-studded post-war Broadway, bursting with stories from her roles in such legendary productions as Company, Bus Stop, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Times raves: “Every story in her arsenal of seamlessly stitched personal anecdotes is illustrated with body language that erupts like lightning out of words spoken in the gravelly voice of a tough old dame with a tender heart. Because she has the gift of gab, this loudmouthed life of the party could go on forever.” It’s an expensive night, but worth it. Dining reservations are almost booked through the end of the run on Jan 19th, but they do accept walk-ins for the bar seating. – John Del Signore more ›

ArtCal calls him, "the most controversial and downright interesting graffiti artist at large in the UK today" and whether or not you agree -- Banksy is decorating our streets, galleries...and even Brangelina's household walls. In New York he has pranked his way into the Met, MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Recently it was announced that his images would be used to sell luxury condos in Williamsburg...and just yesterday... more ›

Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro was not happy when DA and former aide Daniel M. Donovan Jr. recused himself from the trial of Molinaro's grandson Steven for violating his probation and intimidating a paperboy he'd previously assaulted. Last week, the borough president placed a full page ad in the Staten Island Advance newspaper expressing his displeasure with Donovan punting the case to the Manhattan DA, feeling that it improperly biased the eventual jurors in the case. Steven Molinaro wound up being convicted and a will be serving several years in prison. more ›

The center of the paparazzi universe might be the Waldorf Towers at 100 East 50th Street. That's because Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their brood of children are renting a $100,000/month apartment at the hotel. The Post reports that the Jolie-Pitts "began recently living in a newly renovated, roughly 6,000-square-foot apartment" that has "five bedrooms plus a library that they have converted into a sixth, up to six baths and a huge gourmet kitchen." And there are terraces (plural!). more ›

The NY Times takes a look at Smith Street and the corporate companies creeping into the area and setting up shop. The most recent big announcement is that Trader Joe's is taking over the old bank on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. How long until more big fish come to feed? more ›

The Smashing Pumpkins have officially made their return. The comeback (yeah, we're gonna call it a comeback) appears to be met with little fanfare. The new album, Zeitgeist, came out Tuesday - and was met with a lack of good reviews. The cover art is what we're concerned about here though. more ›

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. more ›

Switcharoo at CBS 2 more ›

Many times, the city's two tabloids will put the same, salacious celebrity dirt on their covers. But today is a good example of how the Post and Daily News can sometimes diverge: The Post goes lowbrow with Paris Hilton coverage, while the Daily News take a high road by focusing on the funeral of a Brooklyn firefighter. The News did concede to the news of a freed Paris Hilton with a teaser, though. more ›

If you're still reading the paper version of The New York Times, get ready to spend a little more. Cover prices will go up to $1.25 from $1 starting July 16th. Sunday prices will increase on July 15th, going from $3.50 to $4.00. The last increase for The Times in the New York area was in 1999. The increased prices are projected to add $7-8 million in revenue this year and $14-16 million in 2008. Home delivery prices will increase 3-4%. Time will tell whether the price increase will cause subscribers to cancel their subscriptions and read the paper online. more ›

Barbara Walters may not have the controversy-ratings dervish Rosie O'Donnell on the roster of The View anymore, but what she does have is her reputation as the go-to interview for many celebrities. Last week, it was announced that Paris Hilton would be giving her first post-jailhouse interviewed with Babs. One release and re-jailing later, Hilton called Walters collect. more ›

That medical condition Paris Hilton had that led the LA County Sheriff to release her from jail? The Daily News reports that the socialite was worried guards would take a photograph of her using her jail cell bathroom and then put it on the Internet. From a Hilton insider who spoke to the News:

"She didn't eat or drink a single thing for three days because she didn't want to use the toilet. She was in real danger." more ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. more ›

The tabloids and cable news media got a weekend windfall when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered socialite Paris Hliton back to jail. The Post called her a "Wailbird" while the Daily News described her as a "blubbering blond". And let's not even discuss the ridiculous coverage of her arrest at her home and the TV helicopters following her to court on TV. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a North Fork Bank was robbed on Union St. in Queens, a Sovereign Bank on Ave. A in Manhattan was also robbed, and a stabbing on Chauncey St. in Brooklyn.
• A man and his cow return to New York City after 68 years (it's a different cow).
• Al Sharpton doubts that poor minorities would be let out of jail on request, and is upset that Paris Hilton is getting preferential treatment.
• A red Jeep Cherokee with Florida license plates rear-ended a silver sedan stopped at a red light on Queens Blvd. in Sunnyside, Queens, sending the latter car headlong into a group of pedestrians crossing the Blvd. at 46th St. Five people, four of them pedestrians, were injured and a 16-year-old boy will likely lose both of his legs. The Jeep driver fled the scene in his car.
• The cop shot four months ago, while sitting in an unmarked police van with two other officers, returned to work at the 78th Precinct this week. He has still not recuperated enough to return to full active duty, but it's reported that he's happy to be back at work.
• Criss Angel's Times Square encasing-himself-in-concrete stunt was dedicated to Cameron Diaz, who he described as beautiful, talented, and smart.
• Unable to find any children that hang out in bars, Charles Schumer vowed to block OTB terminals in drinking establishments to protect the college students, who he likened to children.
• Streetsblog reports that parking spaces in Williamsburg, Brooklyn are being eliminated to make way for bike parking.

Former Brooklyn political boss Clarence Norman Jr. and former Justice Gerald Garson appeared separately in a Brooklyn courtroom yesterday, but both left in handcuffs and headed off to prison after sentencing on corruption charges. Actually, Garson received a stay on his imprisonment while he appeals his conviction. The two disgraced public officials were sentenced in successive hearings, but both cases are related and part of the Brooklyn DA's office five year investigation into governmental corruption. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a carjacking on 130th St. and 15th Ave. in Queens, an overturned auto on Spring St. and West Broadway in Manhattan, and a stabbing on Caton Ave. in Brooklyn.
• Remember when Paris Hilton forgot that she'd left her Tinkerbell with her grandma and papered her neighborhood with Lost Dog flyers? New Yorkers hire private detectives and publicists to get the job done right. A tiny dauchsund is missing.
• New York Magazine re-examines the "conceptual-Marxist street-art supervillain" daubed "The Splasher."
• We're no "law-talking guy", but find the Times' account of a police officer posing as a legitimate news outlet's reporter to lure a protester to an arrest fairly alarming.
• Roller skaters continue to boogie down in Central Park just north of the Sheep Meadow every weekend, and have been doing so since 1977. If you have never seen this in person, you must.
• A bolt out of the Jet Blue struck a plane flying into JFK yesterday and the passenger jet carrying 140 people made an emergency landing. There was no fire or injuries, but the passenger cabin was filled with the smell of ozone.
• The Daily News continues its report on Building Boondoggles, setting its sight today on disasters in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
• On Memorial Day, The New York Times examines the efforts of praiseworthy volunteers to identify and re-mark more than a thousand graves of New Yorkers who were killed during the Civil War and are now buried in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetary.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a cyclist struck on Fresh Meadow Lane and 67th Ave. in Queens, a water rescue north of the GW Bridge in Manhahattan, and someone fatally jumped from a building on West 15th St. in Manhattan.
• The NYPD will boost efforts to get citizens to respect their authority by mounting Big Wheels Segways at beaches and parks this summer.
• Satellite radio duo Opie and Anthony have been suspended for laughing at the prospect of the Queen of England and Condoleeza Rice being violently raped.
• The last public figure who blamed NYC for the 9/11 attacks just died yesterday, so Rudy Giuliani tensed at the mention of an opponent's platform, probably out of concern for the guy's safety, when a candidate reiterated the allegation.
• Andrew Cuomo doesn't give a crap if the Dell Dude did attend NYU. The new NY State Attorney General is suing over allegedly deceptive advertising practices by the computer company.
• Plans for a new Hunts Point House of Detention in the Bronx have been arrested, as the owner of the illegal dumping ground adjacent to Rikers Island claims it's worth is $375 million and the City is considering eminent domain. We honestly do not know who to root for in this one.
• Seeking to rein in governmental waste, The New York Times reports that Albany lawmakers are seeking to rein in government authorities, in a colossal waste of publicly funded irony and spent credibility.
• We wonder if it's child abuse to expose an infant to Paris Hilton's spread-wide-open legs. Only time will tell the eventual damage.
• Because the military isn't experiencing enough heat these days, an F-16 fighter jet dropped a flare that ignited a good portion of the Garden State.

The nicer the weather gets, the busier we get across the Ist-A-Verse. But we like being busy. Here's a peek at what we've been up to since last week! more ›

When Judge Michael Sauer sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in prison (which she may not even fully serve), Kathy Hilton asked, "May I have your autograph?" - insinuating he was seeking publicity. more ›

EVENT: BKLYN DESIGNS 2007 kicks off today. The design expo will not only provide the latest trends and lots of fabulous things for your home - but all day panel discussions, interviews and of course parties, after parties and much more. more ›