Photograph of Spitzer visiting a veteran at the Batavia VA Medical Center The alleged tryst that Governor Spitzer had with a $4,300 hooker took place on the evening of February 13 in Washington, D.C. But before the meeting, Spitzer had appearances in Rochester, Buffalo and Batavia, at the Batavia VA Medical Center. Before proclaiming February 14, 2008 as a "Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Day in the Empire State," Spitzer called Valentine’s Day "a time......

Not too long ago it was reported that Jennifer Lopez was ready to burst as her belly swelled with twins on the way. She had visited a Long Island hospital with husband Marc Anthony and her couture hospital gowns, but it must have been a false alarm, because soon after she was attending Fashion Week events. Initially it was reported she would have a Cesarean birth that was scheduled for Valentine's Day; no word yet......

THEATER: Multi-talented and multi-gender performer Justin Bond – the beloved Tony-nominated Kiki from Kiki & Herb – vows to heat up the frigid East Village with Lustre, A Midwinter Trans-Fest. The cabaret show, which opened last night, promises to be a "fast and loose" night of music, dance and monologues for, by, or about transgender people, with a smattering of "neo-pagan revolutionary Appalachian-inspired folk songs." Bond's joined in the festivities by musical director Our......

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay doesn’t give a damn about you, your girlfriend, or the special Valentine’s Day dinner you had planned – so drop your fork and get the hell off his set! That seems to be the way things went last Thursday night when diners at New Jersey’s fancy Hannah and Masons restaurant were summarily evicted – mid-meal – to facilitate production on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA series. No matter how romantic the rabble,......

The badly injured survivor of the incident where a garbage truck ran onto a Midtown sidewalk, killing a vacationing British couple, figures his New York instinct to bypass slow-moving tourists ultimately saved his life. Hollis resident Abayomi Henderson told the Daily News he had just finished working out at a nearby gym when he saw Jacqueline Timmins and Andrew Hardie (pictured) on West 35th St. near 6th Ave. Tuesday night. The British tourists were in......

Toward 2, by kerfuffle & zeitgeist at flickrToday on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on East 51st St. and Clarkson Ave. in Brooklyn, shots fired at Flatbush Ave. and Ave. I in Brooklyn, and more shots fired at the Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn. Philanthropist and Chairman of the Modell Sporting Goods Company, William D. Modell, passed away yesterday at the age of 86. Walk with love: Thundercut wishes a belated Valentine's Day......

Photo of Kathleen Horan by Bryan Smith On Valentine’s Day eve over seventy heartbroken singles assembled at Brecht Forum to give the holiday a pre-emptive kiss off with a “Wake for Love." The star of the night was an actual coffin set up for the bereaved to toss unwanted mementos from their dead affairs; according to WNYC reporter Kathleen Horan, who planned the wake, some of the items sent to their graves included a wedding......

Yesterday's high of 40 and low of 28 was exactly average for Valentine's Day. Today, like all the children in Lake Wobegon, will be above average with a high temperature close to 50 degrees. The reverse will be true tomorrow. A cold front tonight will usher in a quick blast of cooler air. The high tomorrow will only be around freezing. Earlier in the week the front looked like a rainmaker, but we should......

ART: Come help open up the new Chelsea gallery, Honey Space, tonight. Check out their inaugural exhibition whilst you nosh on fondue. The space is unique in that it will present "regular programming of site-specific installations and special events...and during normal daytime hours, the space will be open to the public, and unmonitored." Suggested attire for the evening is red (well that's not very creative!). 6pm to midnight // Honey Space [148 11th Ave]......

Hallmark isn't the only one capitalizing on the L-word today, Hollywood has a stake in your heart as well -- invading the big screen with yet another Valentine's Day release. This time Little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Breslin, and soon-to-be Mr. Scarlett Johansson (?), Ryan Reynolds, team up for a tour de force of l-o-v-e in Definitely, Maybe (a nod to Oasis's debut album?). The romantic comedy is brought to you by the same people that......

Don't have a Valentine's Day card yet? Print out this page, cut out the cards and give it to yourself! You can also download EPS versions of these Valentine's Day cards immortalized on the Simpsons' episode, I Love Lisa, at deconcept. Fun facts about Valentine Day's from the US Greeting Card Assocation: With an estimated 190 million cards to be exchaged, it's the second biggest card occasion after Christmas.1 billion "classroom valentines" will be......

Last year, the Health Department unveiled its free NYC Condoms on Valentine's Day. For this year's Valentine's Day, not only will volunteers from the Health Department be distributing condoms again, there's a new packaging and a new ad campaign with the tag "Get Some." Don't worry - the condom is the same lubricated Lifestyles latex condom as before. The Health Department gave out 36 million NYC Condoms last year and Assistant Commissioner for HIV......

Or so they say. Well, maybe, maybe not, but regardless, we wanted to give you some options for food and drink-related events on Valentine's Day. Targeted at those out there for whom Valentine's Day is not a welcome occasion, the Sunburnt Cow is having a "No Love at the Cow" party. $25 gets you all you can drink, beer, wine and “Anti-Love” juice, plus a "1980s style disco experience," complete with an ice slide for......

Forget about Missed Connections on the Craigslist, the only way to find love this Valentine's Day is by hailing Ahmed Ibrahim's cab. The Daily News reports on the cabbie with cupid tendencies, saying he's spent years playing matchmaker to his patrons. His record is pretty impressive, he's organized 70 "real dates," 19 of which turned into relationships that lasted over a year. The numbers could be higher but Ibrahim is selective on who he sets......

Roses or chocolate or, credit card be damned, both? Since time immemorial, men have spent February 14th scrambling to buy the right things without paying through the nose. But now there's a way to get both classic gifts in one package, and have some of the proceeds go to a good cause, thanks to Rhonda Kave of Roni-Sue’s Chocolates. Roni’s Roses are exquisite truffles packed with rose flavor as we found out upon tasting......

PARTY: Perhaps as a nod to Warhol, or simply as a reason to party, PBR has been on an Art Tour. Come check out their 18 PBR-inspired paintings, and more importantly drink free beer from 7 to 8 tonight as the tour hits the Knitting Factory. Music provided by DJ Awesome Derek, Cody Ranaldo, and Rezound. 7pm // Knitting Factory [74 Leonard St] // Free EVENT: The Women's Expressive Theatre storms the Angel Orensanz......

Fellas, if you’re in some sort of relationship and haven’t nailed down the V-Day itinerary yet, it’s about time to start making some quick decisions and, regrettably, commitments. Reservations fill up fast and no matter what she says about ‘not expecting anything special’, we all know that’s a big trap. But it doesn’t mean you have to submit to an overpriced prix fixe dinner at a stuffy, overcrowded restaurant; here are some less predictable ways......

When it comes to sushi our tastes skew authentic. Mackerel. Amberjack. Occasionally a tuna and natto hand roll, not Christmas or Dragon rolls. Nevertheless, Gothamist remains a sucker for a gimmick. So when Sakae Sushi, a Singapore-based kaiten – or conveyor belt sushi restaurant – recently opened its first New York City location we couldn’t wait to tear open our disposable chopsticks and begin grabbing tasty morsels as they paraded down the runway. Midtown......

Photo via Annulla's Flickr. Within the 843 acres of Central Park one will find 9,000 benches, and many of them tell a story (or at least a name). In 1986 the Central Park Conservancy began their Adopt-A-Bench program to raise money for upkeep. For $7,500 (way less than your yearly rent, and this is forever!) you will get an engraved plaque on one of the benches. There are also select locations with rustic handmade......

Photo of new and old Yankee Stadium by WNBC; photo of the new Yankee Stadium sign by the AP It may be the off-season, but Yankees fans can look forward to something other than February 14th (that's pitchers and catchers reporting, not Valentine's Day). With the installation of an etched sign at the new stadium for the Yankees that says "Yankee Stadium," Opening Day, 2009 seems a little closer. The sign, etched in gold-leafed......

After many airline passengers were kept on bad weather-grounded planes for hours without fresh water and working bathrooms, lawmakers backed a bill for a passenger bill of rights. Today, the bill goes into effect, after opposition from the airlines. Governor Spitzer signed the bill into law in August, citing "much needed consumer protections that will help guarantee greater passenger safety and comfort when severe delays impact their travels from New York airports." (Especially important......

Last week Gothamist was in San Francisco for the third time this year. It was sunny and warm and we took an odd pleasure in watching the natives hustle about wearing wool hats and gloves. In our three trips to the west coast we managed to avoid the Valentine's Day snow storm, the April nor'easter and resultant flooding, and last week's snowy/icy/rainy pair of storms. We will leave it to our readers to decide......

Brooklyn postal worker Michael Olivio was arrested by feds last week for stealing mail he was supposed to deliver when he suspected that cards contained cash or checks. After residents on his postal route began to complain that they were not receiving certain expected pieces of mail, postal inspectors began an elaborate investigation. First they mailed decoy greeting cards to establish that mail was indeed disappearing along Olivio's route. They followed that up by mailing......

Six months ago, ice storms on Valentine's Day walloped airlines, especially JetBlue, at the area airports. WABC 7 got a hold of some tapes between air traffic controllers and pilots on that crazy day where some flights were lingering on runways for more than seven hours, even up to 13 hours. Here are two of our favorite conversations:Air Traffic Control 1: "These [flights] were there before I got here. You got JetBlue 80, 1048,......

Governor Spitzer signed airline passenger bill of rights legislation that will ensure that passengers on delayed flights in NY State airports are "provided with basic customer protections." Spitzer said, "As a major international travel hub, it is our duty to take the lead in adopting measures that will ease air travel for passengers." The bill, backed by Queens Assemblyman Michael Gianaris and Long Island State Senator Charles Fuschillo, will "require airlines to have snacks......

In a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene two-fer, the DOH announced that 5 million NYC Condoms were given given away between February 14 and March 14, while the Times reveals that the DOH is also working on a campaign to promote circumcision. The condoms, which the city handed out to the public on Valentine's Day and distributed to community organizations and stores, are a "sensation" according to Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. Frieden said, "I......

Mayor Bloomberg has been leading the city for over five years, but the way he handles dealing with the public during crises - no matter how big or how small - remains curious. As some people think he should have stayed in NYC after Wednesday's brutal Bronx fire - and not gone to Miami, some people ascribe his cool "delegate issues to underlings" and "move onto the next thing" attitude to his business management......

Broken engagements are tough to deal with, and one of the tougher questions is what to do with the ring. An Upper East Side man is suing his ex to return a 4.06 carat cushion-cat diamond ring worth $48,000. The Sun reported that the man's lawyer "declined to say which partner ended the engagement," because the ex should return it. Says who, the judge of etiquette? Emily Post that the woman should return the ring,......

Ooh, take a look at this pretty satellite image. It was taken last Monday by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer onboard the Terra satellite. You can see the sharp snow line from Sandy Hook, across the Rockaways, and out to Sunken Meadows State Park, left by the Valentine's Day storm. Central Park shows up as a snow covered playground, while four days after the storm the snow has disappeared from Midtown. You can see......

A huge winter storm, another in a series of late-winter Alberta Clippers, that's dumped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow on the Midwest is headed our way tonight. We won't get a foot of snow here, but it is likely we'll have a bad case of Valentine's Day storm deja vu. The complex beast of a storm is currently centered over Iowa, but energy from that storm is kicking up a secondary low......