A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the City of New York, the NYPD, Brookfield Properties and other agencies allowing protesters back to the space with their belongings. more ›

With the announcement that Bloomberg's Schools Chancellor choice Cathie Black would serve with a second-in-command with extensive education experience, one would think that the controversy over her appointment would slowly roll to a stop. But no. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and other city pols say they will file a temporary restraining order to Block her appointment, which Jeffries said state Education Commissioner David Steiner didn't want to approve anyway. "Commissioner Steiner appears to have made this decision in the back room with Mayor Bloomberg whispering in his ear. By all accounts he was not comfortable with the appointment of Cathie Black, but he appeared to bow from immense pressure from City Hall and the mayor's rich and powerful friends to strike a compromise that is not in the best interest of our children." more ›

Yesterday, the Village Voice posted these photos of signs taped to the doors of Santos Party House, saying they were ordered closed because of "criminal sale or possession of controlled substances, marihuana [sic], or for any other violation of Articles 220 and/or 221 of New York State Penal Law." Undercover cops allege that they were able to purchase ecstasy in June and marijuana in July. They were also allegedly offered cocaine by "a female who was promoting party she was to host the following week at the subject premises" in August. Police arrested the woman the two men who were selling marijuana on the spot, but told the Voice, "It cannot be denied that the subject premises is a serious public nuisance, and as such should not be allowed to remain open even one more day." Santos Party House sent us this statement: more ›

Hey, remember that guy throwing f-bombs during the Novak Djokovic and Philipp Petzschner U.S. Open match, which raised the ire of a middle-aged woman and her 75-year-old dad and the three of them got into an ugly, perfect-for-Youtube fight? Well, Manhattan resident Joseph Pedevill is back in the news—and it's allegedly over an interview one of his neighbors did with the NY Post! more ›

In 2007 Foxy Brown gave her neighbor Arlene Raymond a little beatdown with her Blackberry, and has since been ordered to keep her distance. But on July 21st this year the two came face to face again, and Raymond claims that the rapper mooned her during the interaction, which she also claims consisted of a stare-down and spewing profanities. Foxy now faces felony charges for violating the restraining order, but denies all of it and is pleading not guilty. more ›

According to Foxy Brown's lawyer, Arlene Raymond—the woman who the rapper beat with a Blackberry in 2007 and verbally assaulted this week—is jealous of the 30-year-old rapper. The NY Post reports that Foxy has a gig coming up at B.B. King's in Times Square, and her lawyer says, "That is what we think this is about, people kind of jealous and hating." Foxy had been walking to her car to head to rehearsal for the show on Wednesday when the incident occurred. more ›

That Brooklyn bad girl Foxy Brown is back at it! The 30-year-old rapper served 8 months behind bars recently, and last night was slapped with one count of criminal contempt. Allegedly she went after her neighbor in Brooklyn, Arlene Raymond, who has a restraining order against her following an attack in 2007 (at the time, her Blackberry was her weapon of choice). more ›

A judge has issued a restraining order preventing the MTA from laying off 475 token booth clerks (also known as station agents) last night. According to the Daily News, "union lawyers argued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority failed to follow legally required steps like holding additional public hearings." Originally, the workers were supposed to go to a training center today to turn in their badges. more ›

Yesterday, NJ State Police recovered the body of an infant believed to be Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem. In February, the baby's father Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem claimed he threw her off into the Raritan River after abducting her from the baby's maternal grandmother's home. The Star Ledger reports, "The clothing and wrappings of the found baby are consistent with what [the baby] was last seen in," an official confirmation could take days, adding, "The day before the kidnapping, the baby’s mother...went to police seeking a restraining order against Abdur-Raheem. But because it was a holiday — Presidents Day — the order was not issued until the next day, when the court reopened." Abdur-Raheem was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder for injuring the baby's grandmother. more ›

The mayor of White Plains, NY held a press conference yesterday to proclaim his innocence after being arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife. Adam Bradley said, "I have to set the record straight... I did not in any way mistreat my wife. There have been problems in my marriage for some time, and I have made many efforts to deal with them." Oh, and he's not resigning. more ›

For a victim of domestic abuse, harassment, rape or stalking filing an order of protection (aka restraining order) can be as simple as filling out a form, but actually ensuring that it does anything is another matter. Last year 262,327 orders of protection were issued in NY state. Some, like the one handed to former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, did the job, but statistics aren’t kept on how many failed to be successfully served. One that never did reach its recipient was obtained against David Johnson, a close aide to Gov. Paterson, whose domestic abuse has recently come to the light. Turns out recipients can easily avoid the orders of protection by simply not answering a knock on the door or, as in Johnson’s case, by being out of town. When a judge asked Johsnon’s alleged victim whether she had served him with the papers, she said: “No ma’am, he refused to. He avoided it.” more ›

Earlier this week it was reported that Courtney Love had lost custody of her and Kurt Cobain's 17-year-old daughter Frances Bean. Reportedly Frances Bean said she preferred to live with her grandmother, and custody was handed over to her, Wendy O'Connor, as well as Kurt's sister. more ›

Everything would have been better had Anthony Michael Hall stayed his scrawny lil' lovable self, but the one-time geek had to grow up. Page Six reports today that the now 41-year-old has been ordered to keep his distance from ex-girlfriend Diana Falzone, "after he allegedly stalked her and attacked her in her New York apartment." more ›

When you've got a restraining order against your estranged husband, and he "helpfully" calls to say your car is parked too close to a fire hydrant and you should check on it, that's a red flag. Paul Greenwald was arrested last week for violating a restraining order against his wife Michelle Greenwald, who is an assistant adjunct professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, and wrote The Magic Melting Pot cookbook. Police say Greenwald lured his wife with the warning about her car, and when she arrived, an irate Greenwald allegedly grabbed her "with force and refused to let go." After a witness intervened, Greenwald jumped into a cab, still screaming obscenities at his wife. more ›

The Rihanna and Chris Brown saga has wormed its way into the Big Apple. Eyebrows are being raised after the pair both checked into the Trump International Hotel & Tower this weekend—separately of course. As far as everyone knows, the two stayed separate, something that Brown needs to do to keep his nose clean after a judge ordered him to stay 50 yards away from the onetime "Song of the Summer" queen. Still the Post tries its best to drum up intrigue about the possibility of the two crossing paths around the Columbus Circle lodge, noting the extraordinary effort they both put forth to throw off paparazzi with decoy vehicles. That didn't stop the paper from putting together a loose timeline for their time spent here, as well as postulating, "Could they be making sweet music again?" Brown, who just last week finally apologized for the violent attack of his ex back in February, is due in court next week to receive sentencing for the plea deal he struck with prosecutors. After spending the weekend going to the movies and visiting a childhood friend in Harlem, a member of his entourage told the Post he checked out of the hotel once he realized "that she checked in." more ›

The craziness in Albany continues, even after hours! According to the Times Union, "Senate Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith obtaining a temporary restraining order stopping breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada from utilizing any of the powers of the chamber's President Pro Tem -- a title that Espada claimed Monday after the tumultuous coup that returned Republicans to power. Smith's legal relief, however, may be short-lived: A state Supreme Court judge will hear arguments from both sides in the four-day-old battle for the Senate on Friday morning." You can read the ruling here; the Daily Politics hears the GOP spin, "The Senate Republicans are playing this down, saying all it means Espada can't be acting governor if something happens to Paterson or he leaves the state between now and 9 a.m. tomorrow, when there is hearing in the Supreme Court of Albany County on Smith's request for a declaratory order and injunctive relief, which would basically be a legal ruling proclaiming him - not Skelos - the majority leader." more ›

After 50 Cent's ex, Shaniqua Tompkins, accused him publicly of burning down the home he owned that her and their son were living in -- she followed up with a restraining order. 50 may have had to surrender any guns he's been toting around as a part of the ruling, but the rapper then responded with his own legal papers...a $20 million defamation suit against Tompkins. It's been about one week since they were last in court, guess it's time to up the ante. more ›

A 16-year-old Staten Island girl faces up to a year in jail for sending Myspace friend requests to three people. Melissa Fernino is charged with second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, because she violated a Family Court order of protection that barred her from contacting a 43-year-old woman and her two adolescent daughters. more ›