The underground Flatiron poker club robbery that left one player dead on Friday may be connected to a robbery at a swank Upper East Side club back in June. The Post notes that the two robberies were similar, with gunmen holding up patrons and making off with a lot of cash. The Upper East Side robbery at the National Card Room (a joint that Alex Rodriguez used to frequent) did not turn violent, whereas the... more ›

Lance Bass took a bite of the Big Apple, only to spit it right back out. NY Mag reported that the ex-'n Syncer, who is in town starring as Corny Collins in Hairspray, said he doesn't like New York too much.

“There’s a lot of pieces of crap here for a lot of money,” he says. “And I don’t think anyone here has any style. I was looking at fully furnished places and it was like, you can either have a bunch of floral prints or some dusty couch from the 1960s.”

The aftershocks of the explosion that destroyed 34 East 62nd St., which Dr. Nicholas Bartha blew up in a suicidal fit of pique directed at his former wife in 2006, continue to reverberate on the Upper East Side. The New York Times describes how neighbors are complaining to the Landmarks Preservation Commission that the proposed plans for its replacement fit neither the style nor the personality of the block. Instead of rebuilding the destroyed Victorian brownstone, the current property owner Janna Bullock and her architect Preston Phillips want to build a modern-style building. Because the property is within the Upper East Side Historic District, LPC approval is needed before any building can proceed. more ›

Bruni awards Sfoglia two stars. The Upper East Side Italian restaurant "hits a sweet spot between simplicity and sophistication, both in its look and its food," he says. He raves about most of the food, including the desserts and the bread, and recommends that you go for lunch as it takes about a month to get a dinner reservation (longer after his review, no doubt). more ›

Red Alligator, by Soupflowers. more ›

Well, this wasn't a surprise: An Upper East Side community board committee moved to reject plans for a 30 floor apartment tower at 980 Madison Avenue. The design by Lord Norman Foster, ballyhooed for his addition to the Hearst Building and a design for the World Trade Center, is shorter than the Carlyle Hotel nearby, but the Carlyle's height is less obtrusive due to set backs. more ›

After temporarily restricting airspace over the East River just after a small plane crashed into an East 72nd Street Building - and the restrictions were lifted shortly after the situation was under control - the Federal Aviation Admistration has decided to exlude all fixed wing aircraft from the East River corridor, excluding helicopters and seaplans. Airplane pilots must now get permission from air traffic control. Various politicians, from Governor Pataki to Senators Schumer and Clinton, asked for the FAA to restrict airspace, while Mayor Bloomberg thought that as long as the FAA thought the rules worked, so be it. The Mayor's office now says, “The mayor said he believes this decision should be left to the experts at the F.A.A., and he appreciates that they have acted swiftly." more ›