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). The sculpture by Daniel Edwards - whose Paris Hilton and Britney Spears sculptures are familiar eye-openers - is scheduled to be unveiled on April 30th to coincide with this year's Kentucky Derby. Unlike the beloved statue......

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......

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! Firmly holding the statement, prior to taking the decks, the former......

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,......

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......

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......

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."......

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? Urban Outfitters originally wanted the new Trader Joe's property, so we suppose they'll be hawking "Ski Cobble Hill" T-Shirts soon enough. Just last week......

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. Bill Corgan chose (recent interviewee) Shepard Fairey to design the album art for the new album, saying: “Like a great artist can do, Shepard......

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. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they......

Switcharoo at CBS 2 This week, veteran anchors Jim Rosenfield and Dana Tyler, who were anchoring at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., switched newscasts with Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson, who were anchoring the noon and 5 p.m. We think that moving younger talent to the higher profile 11 p.m. newscast is probably an attempt to get some younger viewers. Channel 2 has been the least stable of the local newscasts over the past ten......

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. What......

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......

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. Hilton told Walters, "I used to act dumb. That act is no longer cute. Now, I would......

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......

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. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

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. To summarize: Judge Michael Sauer was angry that the......

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......

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......

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......

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......

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! Chicagoist had an interview with Audrey Niffenegger, whose popular book, The Time Traveler's Wife, was based in their fine city. They also had a heated discussion about Rush Limbaugh's controversial Barack Obama parody, talked about whether Uncle Julio's Hacienda is a good place to get......

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. Flash forward to May 5th and over to the East Coast where Sauer's daughter, Michelle, was enjoying Cinco de Mayo with family and friends in Brooklyn. The festivities quickly turned to the Hilton case: “Once my cousins showed up and made sure......

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. All Weekend // St. Ann's Warehouse [38 Water St, Brooklyn] // $12 per day THEATER: Porn star-cum-performance artist Annie Sprinkle returns to the New York stage with her artistic and domestic partner Elizabeth M.......

She's asking her also-famous Governor for a pardon, and will likely get a shortened sentence, but Paris Hilton has some fans rallying for her freedom, too (though we suspect some of these websites are mainly to push merchandise). Seems like many don't want to see the heiress pay her dues...here in New York, however, Paris is a little light on a fanbase. Yesterday two "Free Paris" rallies took place and AMNY reports they had a......

WCBS 2 reporter Andrew Kirtzman takes up rumors of Mayor Bloomberg wanting to run for Governor (which the mayor denies) by way of looking at how everyone wants to talk about him. Given that he's frequently cited in national publications (writing about gun control in Newsweek, named a Time 100 influential), political consultant Norman Adler says, "Mike Bloomberg is kind of the Paris Hilton of politics. People want to report about him and want to......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

It's a tabloid Saturday jackpot as a Los Angeles County judge sentenced "celebrity" Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail. Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer agreed with prosecutors who felt that Hilton's driving with a suspended license (she was busted for DUI on September 7, 2006, ordered to go to alcohol education this past February, and then was pulled over yet again in late February) deserved jail and sentenced the infamous sometimes New Yorker......

Chloroform. High-heeled shoes. A message written on the bathroom mirror. All these were things mentioned during the first day of Peter Braunstein's criminal trial, which proved graphic and upsetting. Braunstein's lawyers do not deny that the journalist attacked a former Women's Wear Daily co-worker in her apartment on October 31, 2005, by posing as a firefighter. But his defense team says that he's so mentally ill that his actions could not intentional and that Braunstein's......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......