Last October, a fire was started outside the Engine 34/Ladder 21 firehouse on West 38th Street. The fire was put out, but upon investigation, it turned out the ones who set it were firefighters from different firehouses! A surveillance cameras actually captured Michael Izzo and Richard Capece purchasing the gasoline at a gas station and later splashing the stationhouse's garage door and igniting it, setting off what was described as a fireball. The pair were......

More Rescue Me for Next Season Cable network FX has picked up the Denis Leary FDNY dramedy Rescue Me for a fifth season. The show which films in the city and all over the tri-state area will not be getting the standard cable 13 episode season as it has for the past four seasons, but instead will be getting a 22 episode run split into two runs. Bolaris is Officially Heading South After months of......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Series 6: Natural Causes (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., WNET 13; Tuesday, 9:00 p.m., WLIW 21) The first part of series 6 of this contemporary British police series finds Inspector Lynley and his new boss searching for a killer in the English countryside. 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., MTV) Yet another useless awards show this time it is from MTV, which according......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: American Body Shop (Sunday, 10:00 p.m., Comedy Central) A spoof of the fakeality vehicle tweaking genre with former NYC Transit cop John DiResta as part of the ensemble cast. World Series of Pop Culture (Monday, 9:00 p.m. VH1) NY1's Pat Kieran hosts this trivia battle royal show starting its second season. The Bronx is Burning (Monday, 10:00 p.m., ESPN) The first part of an eight part miniseries......

In October 1977, Howard Cosell leaned into his announcer's microphone and intoned to the worldwide audience watching the World Series, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning." He was reporting yet another burning building marring the NYC skyline from his vantage point at Yankee Stadium. His line would eventually become the partial title of a superb book written by Jonathan Mahler: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle......

THEATER: HERE Artistic Director Kristin Marting concludes the OBIE-winning art center’s season by directing performer/dancer Alexandra Beller in us, “a highly athletic, sensual and dynamic blend of movement with song, text and a layered soundscape. Beller created this deeply personal commentary on the state of the union from the perspective of a woman who is at a crisis point in a love relationship.” As we haven’t seen it, we’ll defer to The New Yorker on......

When we last left our anti-hero Tommy Gavin he was drugged and out cold burning in a house on Long Island thanks to Sheila, the wife of his dead cousin who was quite angry after Tommy decided not to retire. In tonight's return, Tommy is accused of arson and insurance fraud, may or may not be the father of the baby of his estranged wife who he is living with and has to face the......

John Scurti is an actor originally from Long Island and a graduate of Fordham University. He currently he plays Lt. Kenny “Lou” Shea on FX's Rescue Me. We recently talked with him about the show, filming in the city and of course if he really does yoga. You are from the Island, is it good to be working close to home? That is where I was born and raised, but I don’t live there anymore.......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: The 61st Annual Tony Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WCBS 2) If you are a theatre fan you probably know this is already on. If you haven’t seen anything this year, think of this as a highlight reel. It also appears that they have broken tradition and have gone hostless this year. The Sopranos (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., HBO) Undoubtedly this will be the most watched Tony on Sunday,......

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.......

Gothamist is a big fan of the FX show, Rescue Me - it's incredibly funny, realistic, and riveting but also difficult to watch. And last week's episode was no different, as Denis Leary's character may or may not have raped his estranged wife in the final scenes. The ambiguous scene, where firefighter Tommy Gavin overpowers his wife into having sex (she protests some, but seems to have enjoyed it by the end; he leaves with......

- The father of Christopher Rose, the 15 year old boy fatally stabbed for his iPod last year, testified in court, and told reporters, "Day by day, I hurt, I cry. I can't get over it. I still can't believe it." - NYC school kids may be telling the City Council why they need their cellphones in school, but they can be dangerous - a NJ teen died when trying to retrieve hers (she......

Aha, the cast changes we've been wondering about: The Hollywood Reporter says Dennis Farina is leaving, while Conviction's Milena Govich will come on board. And since Govich played an ADA on the now-cancelled Conviction, she'll probably be playing an ADA on Law & Order. Lucky for her to get another season of work, but L&O will be on Friday nights at 10PM (GASP!), moving from Wednesdays at 10PM for the first time ever, so some......

We may have to contemplate many of a cliffhanger this summer, but we are grateful for the return of the NYC fire department black comedy (or is that drama with mordant wit) Rescue Me. Last season, we followed the escapades of firefighter/ alcoholic/ pill-addict/ cheating husband Tommy Gavin to the point of being emotionally wrecked by the season finale where his son was killed by a drunk driver and a violent revenge is planned. Also,......

Tonight is a BIG night, TV-wise, so much so that we can't stand to DVR anything - we need to see it actual time. (Well, we are DVRing it so we can watch it over and over again, but you get the idea and urgency.) There's the Gilmore Girls finale, the Veronica Mars finale, and then a Kathy Griffin special on Bravo! (Okay, the Kathy Griffin special will probably repeat 10 times before the weekend,......

Yesterday, the Daily News reported that the Fire Department was starting a new advertising campaign to attract female and minority recruits. The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating the FDNY's diversity, and at a City Council meeting, the FDNY said its 8.6% of its 11,491 members are minorities and 0.2% are women. Yeah, that's not very diverse. The NY Times reports the ads will shower a softer side of the FDNY: "firefighter in civilian dress......

- Transportation Alternatives is worried about the "duck" water-land touring vehicles being a problem for bikers - Carroll Gardens is so popular that of course the rats are having a field day - We love this building on Prospect Park West, too - Police are still looking for the man that killed one man and injured another in an East Harlem shooting last night - Citibank and NY Community Bank will help Housing Here......

Lanaird Granger is suing the fire department and city, claiming he's been harrassed and discriminated against by his fellow firefighters during his service as a firefighter. Granger, who is black, says that he found a noose in his gear last year, and his lawsuit also notes that he was told to "step and fetch it." Granger says that when he complained, he was transferred, versus the whole firehouse being disbanded. He is also worried that......

While it's all about the season premieres this month, there's one season finale tonight that we're excited about. Gothamist has really gotten into watching Rescue Me, catching up on this season by watching the first season DVD, and we've been loving it. Rescue Me is profane, racist, questionable, hilarious, sweet and tragic, with characters that seem like real people and less like stereotypes networks revert to because that'll make advertisers happy (probably why it's on......

Pop culture is really paying attention to those of larger dimensions and girth lately. We have had reality TV's take on this with The Biggest Loser, and a Gothamist fave Rescue Me has had a featured storyline between a fireman dating a largish gal, to the disdain and ribbing by his crew. Now off- Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, we have that same actress (Ashlie Atkinson) in a similar role as one of the......

On Sept. 10 and 11, readings of Sarah Tuft?s play 110 Stories were held at the Public Theater as benefit events for the Leary Firefighters Foundation. Writer Tuft (also the Director and Producer) created this work as a response to September 11th. Immediately after that day, she sought out and recorded first-person accounts from survivors and recovery personnel. Tuft wove them into narrative form, and the result made for an extremely compelling evening of theater.......

Actor and comedian Denis Leary donated a mobile command center to the FDNY Monday. Leary raised the half million dollars for the vehicle through his charity, Leary Firefighters Foundation (founded after firefighters from his hometown of Worcester, MA died, including his cousin and good friend), which donates equipment for equipment and training facilities in firehouses, and said, "Basically, people give me money because I am a celebrity. Then I turn around and say the fire......