Better redeem any Tower Records gift certificates you have soon, because the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in recent years. And what's more, many people have been speculating about its chances for survival, since various labels have stopped sending product because Tower hasn't been paying its bills. Huh, is that why we've been having trouble locating certain products, or is the BBC deluxe DVD of Pride & Prejudice just always sold out? Various publications have suggested that Trans World Entertainment, which owns the f.y.e. stores, Sam Goody, Coconuts, and Suncoast may buy Tower. more ›

Along with the "Broken Windows" crime prevention theory, one of the big success stories of Gotham's dramatic revitalization over the past two decades has been the BID (that's Business Improvement District, FYI) where business and property owners in a designated area work with the City and make a collective effort to boost business. The most famous BID success is probably Times Square, but they're all over the place nowadays (of the 53 BIDs in New York State there are 45 in NYC), and often are quite successful. Which is why this article on the Village Alliance BID in this week's Villager is so interesting: Efforts to revitalize West Eighth Street have been an unmitigated disaster:

As anyone who has recently walked down Eighth St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves. can’t help but notice, the block resembles a retail ghost town, as if the Great Depression had hit all over again. Virtually every other store is vacant, with For Rent signs prominently posted. In all, about 20 stores were empty when a reporter walked the street two weekends ago. On Sixth Ave., the former Sam Goody space, also in the BID’s district, is vacant.

What if Seattle rock legend Kurt Cobain had married a local Pacific Northwestern Phil Collins-loving waitress instead of Courtney Love? And what if the Cobain-esque rock star had left behind one special song when he died, so special that his widow clings to it, not sharing it with the world, and prompting freak groupie types to try to do anything to get their hands on it? Playwright Christopher Shinn (Four, Where Do We Live) runs with this idea in his new work On The Mountain, with its New York premiere currently being presented at Playwrights Horizons, one of Gothamist's favorite not-for-profit theater companies. more ›