Earlier this year Bravo announced their "Real Housewives" series would be moving from Orange County to The Big Apple. The show premieres tonight, and critics have already gone sour on it. The NY Post describes the five women chosen to represent NYC as "status-hungry, money-mad matrons" (a real life Cashmere Mafia living in a Lipstick Jungle?). Appalled that out of "8 million residents representing every known corner of the globe" the network picked five who......

The NY Post spoke to two Park Slope residents before declaring the new Babeland sex toy shop would be giving off some bad vibes to the locals when it moved into their 'hood. But NYMag points out the Park Slope parents, if the Brooklynian message board is any indication, are rather delighted by their future neighbor. One stroller pusher declared, "How silly of the Post. Where do they think all the babies come from?" Well,......

Everyone is abuzz about the latest art world scandal, and here's what is known about the life of the Warhol painting at the center of the controversy.1981: Andy Warhol creates a number of his "Dollar Sign" pieces, using the same theme with different colors and sizes. Medium: polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas. February 14th, 1998: One of the two "Dollar Sign" pieces measuring at 16 by 20 inches is reported stolen from the......

Photograph of the crowd outside the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home by David Karp/AP Yesterday, over a hundred people - made up of "fans, reporters and photographers" - waited outside the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, where the body of actor Heath Ledger had been kept since ME's autopsy. Ledger had been found dead in a SoHo apartment by his masseuse and housekeeper on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of death is inconclusive, but he......

Photograph of Obama, Clinton and Edwards at an event in Columbia, S.C. by Elise Amendola/AP With the South Carolina's Democratic primary on this coming Saturday, the three leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards gathered together at a Martin Luther King Day Jr. debate in Columbia, S.C. When Clinton addressed the crowd, she said, "We have come so far together. Barack Obama, an extraordinary, young African-American man with so much to......

A 22-year old Manhattan deli clerk that took the late shift on New Year's Eve lucked out when he bought himself a winning scratch-off ticket. While everyone else was welcoming 2008 with friends and family, the Yemen native's wife and baby were still living a world away, so Waleed Alsaidi bought himself a little present at his family's deli in Harlem to pass time on the lonely shift. The NY Post reports on the feel-good......

Stereo, the scene where just two days ago Brione Schneider was shot and killed, is now closed. Sorry clubland kids! The Daily News reports that last night "a police van and five unmarked cars rolled onto W.29th St. at 9 p.m., did a 30-minute sweep of the open but empty nightspot, posted the closing notice and bolted the club's doors." WABC was also on the scene, and has a video of their report here. While......

The NY Post warns the women of New York that their bag habits may be bad for them. Some women sling up to 11 lbs over their shoulder on a daily basis, and doctors warn that "Any time there's an unequal weight distribution on the shoulders or upper back, it's going to affect alignment of the spine." While we think it's more about living in New York and carrying around what you need to get......

Earlier this year the law started cracking down on illegal bootleggers of all kinds, so those looking for more inexpensive gifts like Prada bags or not-yet-released DVDs on the city sidewalks may be barking up the wrong Christmas tree. The NY Post reports that cops are paying extra-special attention to the counterfeiters this year, leading to a big decline in sales for the sidewalk entrepreneurs and aiming the consumers to (gasp!) legit storefronts.That's great news......

Governor Spitzer's sudden Tuesday announcement that he would ask the MTA to keep the base subway and bus fare at $2 continues to draw skeptics of all kinds. Since the MTA just found an extra $220 million on their balance sheets, though additional revenues, real estate taxes, underspending and debt service costs, Spitzer said that the additional funds could be used to avert a base fare hike. Hurrah? Well, yes, but... ...the cost of unlimited......

The NY Post has been claiming that Mayor Bloomberg is flirting with the idea of a gubernatorial run in 2010, and the Mayor keeps on denying it. After the latest "Governor Bloomberg" rumor offered by the Post, Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that the Post never contacted his office to confirm whether reports of him discussing plans with a GOP strategist were true: "I categorically will not run for governor." The Post, however, has an article......

The NY Post has video and renderings of what downtown Brooklyn will look like in 2012. With $9.5 billion in development projects in the works, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is proudly touting its future. The DBP's president Joe Chan told the Post, "This sends a message to the entire city - and even the world - that Brooklyn is in a period of unprecedented growth." The video, which will be released later today but......

It's more like "will he or won't he"...yesterday we heard about a scuffle between Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy) and Steven Acevedo (aka someone we've never heard of), and today there are conflicting reports about what has happened since the dust has settled. The Daily News is reporting that "the hip-hop mogul is already making nice with the guy who got socked in the kisser at Kiosk. Combs and Steven Acevedo were spotted Monday night......

As Park Slopers discuss the elementary school pigeon killers lurking about Prospect Park, the animals decide to strike back! The NY Post reports that "a masked marauder" was on a rampage yesterday in the Park as he took a bite out of a woman who was on an outing with her family at The Lake.The animal had been lurking unusually close to people when it struck, sinking its teeth into the woman's thigh. Her husband......

This week's big election news will likely center around former Senator and former Law & Order actor Fred Thompson, who will finally announce his presidential campaign this week. Newsday reports that earlier this summer, Rudy Giuliani's fund-raisers were "pleasantly surprised" that Thompson hadn't announced his candidacy, with one source saying, "They though they were getting a break that he didn't get in." The NY Post's DC bureau chief Charles Hurt says that once Thompson makes......

Josh Schwartz left the sunny beaches of O.C. to bring his brand of teen drama to the gritty city. His new show, Gossip Girl, will premiere on the CW September 19th, and it's been filming all over town lately. The series, which was gabbed about in The Observer recently, is based on the young-adult books of the same name and puts the spotlight on "the struggle for social supremacy among teens from both sides of......

Yesterday evening, a 19-year-old was fatally shot on a northbound Q train. According to witnesses, Trevell Belton was shot as the train pulled into the Avenue U stop. Belton collapsed on the platform, while the shooter and his friend ran away. The Post reports that the train was packed with teens leaving Manhattan Beach, where Belton had been visiting (it's unclear if the shooter had also been at the beach). An investigator told the Post......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a double shooting at Belmont and Christopher Aves. in Brooklyn, a body was found on Otis Ave.on Staten Island, and there was a jumper up on the Brooklyn Bridge this afternoon. The Gotham Book Mart is closing and having a going-out-of-business sale. There's a new Subway Idol. American Idol is in America's hands now with a slight NYC vote for Staten Island-born Jordin Sparks necessitating our regional favor. If......

The Post says that David Blaine has has lost 25 pounds (sometimes riding his bike in Central Park) as he gets ready for his next stunt. And what is the stunt? A jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, which would be a reprisal of a stunt by Steve Brodie who jumped into the East River while tied up in the 19th century. The thing is, Brodie didn't jump - a dummy was thrown off instead.......

We love scurrilous political gossip! The NY Post's Fred Dicker says that Mayor Bloomberg wants to run for Governor in 2010! For some reason, Mayor Mike thinks that Albany might be his kind of town. A "senior" Republican source spills the beans:"On two occasions in recent weeks, the mayor brought up the possibility of running for governor, of running against Spitzer in 2010. "He's saying he can do for the state what he did for......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A large fight at Heritage High School in Manhattan, a trench rescue in Queens, and a suspicious substance at Canal & 6th Avenue Aw, Hakan Yalincak, the NYU student who conned people out of millions, filed an ethics complaint against his lawyer; his lawyer's lawyer told Yalincak (who faces prison time), "You are the ultimate evil person. Have a good time in jail. Watch out for the bathrooms." Peter......

The NY Post reports that a 23-year-old woman was attacked when a man forced his way into her apartment last Sunday. The article states that around 8:10PM, the man pushed her into her foyer and punched her in the face when she opened the door. The woman's roommate appeared and started to yell; with both roommates screaming, the attacker left. The police believe the attacker meant to rob the apartment. A tenant in the building......

The NY Post reveals what many people were wondering in the Sean Bell shooting: Who fired the shots that actually killed Bell and hit his friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. It turns out Detective Michael Oliver fired the shots. Oliver fired the most shots, 31, of the detectives and was charged with first-degree and second-degree manslaughter last week. The other detective charged with manslaughter, Gescard Isnora, fired 11 times, but didn't hit anything. However,......

According to the 31 Down website, until October of this year there will be some mystery theater happening underground. Not so much the mystery of when your train will arrive, but an interactive murder mystery. It's set in the Canal Street subway station, picked for its noir feel, and features Tajna Tanovic and Mike Sharpie. All you have to do to participate is call Toll Free 1-877-OR-WHAT-31 (1-877-679-4283) from any pay phone inside the......

- While browsing this NYT article about pulperías in Galicia, Spain we are reminded about how good the octopus is at the initially-jeopardized E.U. was when we went Friday. Come to think of it, the Baked Rigatoni with Milk-Braised Berkshire Pork, the Fried Smelts and the meatballs were darn tasty as well. - Any occasion to talk about Bill Telepan's food is something to take advantage of. Here is a short interview with the Upper......

Three years after his death, Spalding Gray: Stories Left To Tell has opened at Minetta Lane Theater. Running through May 13th, the performance features five actors surrounded by stacks of marble notebooks, similar to those Gray filled in his lifetime (up to 300). Selections from "Swimming to Cambodia," "Monster in a Box" and other monologues are read, but perhaps more insightful and often eerie are his unpublished works. From his last entry (a tape recording......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced plans to expand the city's response for World Trade Center-related health illnesses, after a panel found many things, such as many people didn't even know there's a WTC health program at Bellevue. Now the city plans to ask Washington D.C. for $150 million a year for programs; establishing new to keep everyone aware of what's going on; and, perhaps most importantly, reopening the Victim Compensation Fund and ending various legal disputes......

Hillary Clinton, the junior Senator from New York, make the cover of the local papers after announcing her entry into the 2008 presidential race, by way of starting an exploratory committee. The NY Post proclaims Hill's "Chat" is in the Ring, referring to how she, on her web video, says she's "beginning a conversation" with American voters. The Daily News says, Hillary makes herstory, noting the history she'd make if she were elected as......

This is plain crazy. The NY Post reports that a quartet of foreigners who now live in the United States were forced to pay an 18% tip by SoHo restaurant Aquagrill. The group, who did order in "accented English," questioned the gratuity and was told by the waiter, "We do that because you're foreign, and foreigners don't tip." When Ludovic Audesson, who lives in Manhattan, spoke to the manager, who said sorry, explained he was......

It was bound to happen: Supporters of former mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions are in talks with various September 11 victims' families. Why? To perhaps create a 9/11 halo/force field around Giuliani when he may be attacked by opponents. The NY Post had the exclusive scoop on how some families have been contacted, including high-profile FDNY widow Marian Fontana, who was invited to a Giuliani exploratory committee dinner. Fontana says that while she appreciates Rudy's......