Ian Abercrombie, the veteran British character actor best known for playing Elaine Benes' boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld, has died. Abercrombie appeared in dozens of other parts over his 50-plus-year career. He was 77. more ›

Friday is Festivus (Observed), so stop crying and fight your father. Though laymen associate this alt-Christmas holiday with Seinfeld, the tradition, as zany as it sounds, is actually based in reality. Seinfeld writer Daniel O'Keefe, who later published a book called The Real Festivus, says the holiday was created by his father, who celebrated it "whenever the hell [he] felt like it, September to May." As you can see, it's funny cuz it's true: more ›

Yesterday, NYC Swim held its annual Brooklyn Bridge swim, a 1K across the East River. About 400 people participated, which apparently was less than in previous years. It seems that some may have been thinking about the warnings about raw sewage which was dumped into waterways after a four-alarm fire that devastated a wastewater treatment plant. more ›

Start preparing now for the celebrations of one of New York's more unique cultural institutions: the Nexus of the Universe. It's hard to believe, but it was 13 years ago this weekend that the Seinfeld episode ran in which Kramer (Michael Richards, pre-racist rant) got lost downtown at the beguiling intersection of 1st and 1st, and calls Jerry in a panic, exclaiming "I'm at 1st and 1st—how can a street intersect itself? I must be at the nexus of the universe!" more ›

There will always be burglaries, and recently there have been a fewparticularly in SoHo and the Village. And though police haven't necessarily found the thieves in each case, they have been able to successfully narrow down possible accomplices to one person: you!?! more ›

It seems that Donald Trump, the potential Ross Perot of 2012, has really been making friends during his fake presidential campaign. According to the Post, Jerry Seinfeld canceled an upcoming appearance at a benefit for his son's Eric Trump Foundation, because of Trump's hotheaded birther rhetoric. And Trump was none too pleased: "You should be ashamed of yourself!" he wrote Seinfeld in an angry letter. As Frank Costanza might say, "THEY DON'T WANT ME, I DON'T WANT THEM." more ›

Starbucks is striking back. Like others—and Kramer—before her, a Pennsylvania woman is suing a coffee company for burning her with their hot beverage. But Starbucks, the coffee company in question in this case, isn't just rolling over and offering the victim free Joe for life. Instead they are calling her a liar. more ›

Leo Lesser, better known as "Uncle Leo" from Seinfeld, passed away this week at the age of 88. Lesser, who died from cancer-related pneumonia, had hundreds of credits in the movies and television, but was best known for the 15 episodes he played Jerry's Uncle Leo on the show ("The Bookstore" and "The Package" being highlights); and in particular, his outlandish rendition of "Hello!" and endless anecdotes about his son, Jeffrey, who worked for the New York City Parks Department. You can see his full obituary here. more ›

Not everyone in the US is as obsessed with the snowpocalyptic Boxing Day Blizzard as we are. Some people are just going about their normal, regular, everyday lives, such as a 23-year-old man from South Carolina who was hit by an SUV while trying to play a real-life version of the arcade classic Frogger. more ›

What's the deal with ticket prices to see Jerry Seinfeld in London? The "lord of the manor" is performing one night at London's 20,000-capacity O2 Arena on June 3, his first UK gig since July 1998. British fans were already upset that ticket prices were high to begin with (between $108-155); but hours after the show was put on sale, the prices had already rocketed up to over a thousand dollars a piece thanks to ticket scalpers. more ›

Way back in 2005, the city began a hefty construction project to fix up the entire Houston Street corridor, starting with the area between West Street and the Bowery. At the time we were (rightly) incredulous that the city would get the project done in time for its January 2008 completion. Better late than never though: Today, most of the job is finally wrapped up (not including the madness that is the corner of Houston and Lafayette, which is a completely different project). But a late finish to the first phase hasn't stopped the city from moving forward. In fact, to little fanfare this summer, it started phase two, from the Bowery to the FDR, with a planned completion date in 2013. more ›

Here at Gothamist, we love all things Seinfeld. And we especially love all things Frank Costanza, whether it's cute old-man odysseys to Queens or real-life stories of Festivus. So we were happy to learn that his son, Ben Stiller, has started a new online video series starring his father and mother, Anne Meara, where the two plan on "talking about stuff." more ›

A Pennsylvania man wanted to make a point: David Kliss was upset that a mandated sewer tie-in would cost him thousands of dollars. So he put up a sign that read, "$10,000 to Take a Crap." He was ordered to remove the offending word, crap, because he was violating a zoning ordinance that "No Loud, Vulgar, Indecent or Obscene Advertising matter shall be displayed in any manner." He took off the word, but it didn't sit right with him, and he filed a federal lawsuit against what he viewed as a bogus, vague law. more ›

Last night in Delaware, Tea Party upstate Christine O'Donnell defeated mainstream Republican candidate Mike Castle to win the Republican Senate primary. The victory for O'Donnell, a marketing consultant who got a boost from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, is being called a "shocker" and "stunning" as well as a "GOP nightmare." But the most interesting thing that came out last night was when MSNBC's Rachel Maddow showed a clip of O'Donnell in a 1996 MTV "Sex in the '90s" segment: O'Donnell, looking like a dead ringer for Elaine Benes, explaining why even masturbation is a sin, "The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery. You can't masturbate without lust! " more ›

The Daily News extends their Seinfeld odyssey today, continuing a focus on the iconic show's relationship with Queens. Last week, they took actor Jerry Stiller, who played Frank Costanza, to visit the Astoria home used as the exterior of the Costanza residence on the show. Now you can see a video ("this documentary or something," according to Stiller) of that trip below, including Stiller reminiscing in the back of a car, and the surprising (and sweet) meeting with the home's owners. more ›

Who doesn't love a nostalgic visit to their old neighborhood? Who hasn't been curious about meeting who lives there now? A couple months ago, the New Yorker took Christopher Walken to his childhood home in Astoria for such a trip, and last week, the Daily News took actor Jerry Stiller there as well. But Stiller, who played Frank Costanza, originator of Festivus, on Seinfeld, was going to visit his TV home, the brick house on 37th St. that was used for the exterior shots of the Costanza residence. And Stiller decided to do a stop-and-chat. more ›

George Steinbrenner's hands-on ownership of the Yankees as well as his legendary feuds with managers, players and anyone who crossed him made him a figure ripe for caricature. And he played along—check out his unaired stint from Seinfeld and commercials with Billy Martin and Derek Jeter below. more ›

Life imitates Seinfeld, once again. In a Newman-esque operation, a Brooklyn postal worker was caught with 537 pieces of mail in the trunk of his car. The Dyker Heights Post Office employee, 26-year-old Peter Ramsdal, was pulled over while driving to the Catskills on April 21st. Police discovered he had a suspended registration, and, upon impounding his car they found the hoarded mail—which then led to contacting federal postal inspectors. more ›

“Sneaky Chef” author Missy Lapine is taking another stab at Jerry Seinfeld, claiming he slandered her character by calling her a “nutjob” on national TV. In a previous lawsuit Lapine accused the comic’s wife of stealing her idea for a cookbook that showed parents how to covertly feed their kids healthy foods (sweet potato in a grilled cheese sandwich, avocado in chocolate pudding etc.). A judge ruled against her but nonetheless Seinfeld felt compelled to call her a “wacko” during an appearance on David Letterman. According to the Daily News, the new suit targets the statements made by the sitcom star as well as Harper Collins, who the author says twice rejected her cookbook concept, before handing a book deal to Seinfeld’s wife. more ›

After the Leno-Conan disaster and the Black History Month menu NBC was reportedly so happy to see Jerry Seinfeld show up at the office, it didn’t even care what he was pitching. "If you know the Yiddish term kvelling, that's what the executives were doing. They were rejoicing. Jerry's back! Seinfeld's in the house again!" one source told the Post, adding that “a show based on a guy sitting with a paper bag over his head...would have been green-lighted." But it wasn’t a show about paper bags, or a show about nothing. It was a show about marital spats, which, since airing after the Olympics, has gotten bad reviews and ratings that aren’t much better, causing TV pioneer Al Primo to predict the Marriage Ref will come back to “haunt” Seinfeld and the network that broadcasted it. more ›

Those NYPD-issued parking placards are GOLD, Jerry, pure GOLD! Although Mayor Bloomberg has cut back on the number of placards issued to city employees, drivers still cling to the precious perk, which lets them park for free at meters and many off-limits areas. On Wednesday CBS2 noticed funnyman Jerry Seinfeld getting dropped off at his studios on West 57th Street. His driver, retired narcotics officer Sgt. Timothy Gallagher, parked the car and escorted the Bee Movie star inside to work on his new program, The Marriage Ref. And the vehicle was left behind with an expired parking placard in the window—which never even belonged to Gallagher in the first place. (And yes, Seinfeld's driver really is named Gallagher!) more ›

More proof that NY is just as seen on Seinfeld: Residents of an Upper West Side co-op fought to get a chair for their trusted but tired doorman, and after three months they finally won! The saga began last year when members of the board at 650 West End Avenue got rid of the building’s desk and chair while it was remodeling. It reasoned that the doorman would be quicker and more alert from a standing post, but after months watching him suffer upright, residents protested. "We believe that it is inhumane to require that our doormen must stand during an eight-hour shift without a break," they wrote in a petition. "We do not feel that they would slack off or do their jobs less efficiently." The board acted quickly, saying the doorman didn’t have to stand—however it was too stingy to actually offer him a seat. Funds have yet to be allocated for the purchase of a new stool, reported the NY Post. more ›

Today is Festivus, so stop crying and fight your father. Because New York (particularly Bayside) does not recognize Festivus as an official holiday, alternate side parking is still in effect, and banks and city agencies are still open. But hey, that just gives us one more grievance to air tonight! For the origins of this sacred tradition, watch this video: more ›

When we first caught wind of Jerry Seinfeld's new reality show, The Marriage Ref, he declared, "This is going to be a comedy show; I’m not interested in the reality of it.” more ›