Decades ago the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx had a singular purpose: to keep wealthy people in the standard of living that they were used to in case they ever went broke. But now, rich people are all too big to fail so the giant mansion fell into disrepair. The Jewish Daily Forward documents the property's transformation into a community center and temporary art gallery. See if you can spot any of the ghosts of the "Cultured Poor" lurking in the decrepit hallways (hint: they wear monocles). more ›

The five people arrested after Tuesday night's melee outside Tammany Hall (which sent five cops were to the hospital) appeared in court yesterday to blame the violence on police. "Everyone was leaving the club peacefully," said Luis Pena, who is charged with assault, riot, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Then the police "came, rushed the door and just started throwing people out." more ›

A high density of bars and nightclubs combined with manic out-of-town revelers and wary locals gives the Lower East Side an electricity all its own. It also provokes scenes like the one late last night at the intersection of Rivington and Orchard around midnight. Nightclub Tammany Hall was hosting an album release party for rap group Smif N Wessun. more ›

When you're a public employee who threatens a City Councilman with assassination, the logical step would be to A) apologize B) lay low and hope people forget about the incident C) accept a temporary suspension D) sue the city for $1 million. Charles Barron's chief of staff Viola Plummer is going with the latter choice and suing New York City for "severe mental anguish and emotional distress." Mind you, this is for an incident that began when she threatened to have a man killed for voting the wrong way in the City Council. Plummer was then suspended from city employment for six weeks by Quinn, initiating the lawsuit. more ›

- Governor Pataki's office said, "After almost eight years as Shelly Silver's silent partner in Albany, Rip Van Spitzer today awoke from his slumber to talk about ethics in government. New York's top law enforcement official needs to look no further than across the convention hall and see his pal Speaker Silver for the most obvious source of concern. From Michael Boxley to Ryan Karben, Speaker Silver routinely conducts the affairs of the Assembly majority with the secrecy of the old Kremlin and the ethics of Tammany Hall. New Yorkers deserve better. Even old Rip Van Spitzer knows that."Rip Van Spitzer! Plagues! Awesome! What with Spitzer calling Ground Zero's slow development an "Enron-style debacle" and an "abject failure," this might be an exciting war of the words! And Spitzer's running mate is State Senator David Paterson of Harlem - son of Basil Paterson, former NY Secretary of State and the lawyer for the Transport Workers Union on the arbitration panel. more ›

OK, so you know how in all of those movies where for some reason the audience needs to see what lies beneath an urban environment the camera just slides down underground giving the audience a cut-a-way of all the pipes and tunnels and detritus one would expect to see below a bustling city (something kind of like this)? You know what we're talking about? Good, so you also know how like half the time some prop guy gets a funny idea and throws a dinosaur skeleton in there for good measure? Yeah, well what if that weren't so silly? more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist publishes essays about topics relevant to life in New York. The one below is by our favorite poet historian, Matt Levy-- master of the extended metaphor: more ›

On Sundays, Gothamist asks our friends and neighbors for Op-Ed contributions-- essays about things related to life in New York City. For instance, below, local history expert Matt Levy schools you in some mayoral history: more ›

Jonathan Mandell & Mark Berkey-Gerard, Gotham Gazette more ›