With his strip club in dire straits amidst allegations of on-site prostitution, Scores West owner Elliot Osher is defending his business with tortured analogies to the Clinton era. Ranting to the Daily News, Osher called the State Liquor Authority's decision to revoke his liquor license "politically motivated and ridiculous,” and went on to point out that President Bill Clinton received oral sex in the Oval Office "and they didn't close the White House." Scores West:......

You'll only be getting babes, not booze, when you go to Scores West: The State Liquor Authority has taken away the strip club's liquor license after police found prostitution at the Chelsea joint (the Upper East Side location is not affected). An SLA administrative judge wrote that prostitution was "open and notorious such that the licensee knew or should have known of its occurrence." Back in 2007, a manager told police they could receive sexual......

When The Villager broke the news that fancy East Village cocktail lounge Death & Co. would be temporarily shut down by the State Liquor Authority, no one was as publicly dismayed as Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni. In a blog homage to the elegantly dark nightspot, Bruni gushed:There’s a drink on Death & Co.’s latest cocktail menu with bourbon and rye, along with Courvoisier and bitters. I may in fact have had it – or......

On the Gothamist Newsmap: A large fight/stabbing at Church and Remsen in Brooklyn, a stabbing on 5th Ave. in Manhattan, and a home invasion robbery on Cruger Ave. in the Bronx. An early morning fire damaged four businesses in Inwood; the FDNY is investigating, but the fire may have started in a business that's been closed for months. Senator Schumer releases a statement about his support for Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey (the senior......

Restaurants owned by the Cirpiani family, including the Rainbow Room, may lose their liquor licenses. Earlier this month, patriarch Arrigo Capriani and his son, Giuseppe Cipriani, who is the CEO of Cipriani U.S.A. Inc., pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. They agreed to pay a $10 million settlement, but now that they are convicted felons, the State Liquor Authority can strip their company of its liquor licenses. The Post explains that "state law forbids convicted......

In February, the State Liquor Authority suspended the liquor license for Scores West, the West Chelsea exotic club where some employees were arrested for prostitution. Now, in the latest chapter of Scores West vs. the law enforcement, the Post reports that the manager for Scores West was "roughed up by lawmen" and is now in the hospital! Manager Harvey Osher, other Scores employees and supporters were meeting with the State Liquor Authority, where a strange......

After last month's prostitution arrests at Scores West, the State Liquor Authority has suspended the strip club's liquor license. The SLA said that the West Chelsea "posed an immediate and imminent threat to the public." Now, while Scores West will still be able to operate, they won't be able to tempt their customers with drinks, which may very well impact the bottom bikini-wax line as it were. But there is always the original Scores location......

The NY Times City section looked at a fight between East Village bar Heathers on 13th Street and its neighbors, and we took away two things. First, there's a lot about how Heathers owner Heather Millstone and her upstairs neighbors Frank Hartin and Wai-Shing Lee are dealing with each other. Hartin and Lee find the bar so noisy the DEP and police regularly visit to monitor the situation - and they bought a $1,100 sound......

They say New York is home to a million stories, and so far this year, we've published 7021 of them here on Gothamist. So in case you missed any of those, let's take a little stroll back in time, and review the most significant stories the past 12 months, shall we? Here's part one of a semi-chronological look at 2006; part two will go up tomorrow: Nixzmary Brown and the Problem with the Administration for......

If you're planning on going to a club for New Year's, you might want to go to clubs without charges against them. According to the Post, the State Liquor Authority is cracking down on city clubs that have charges pending and prohibiting them to stay open late. More than 40 clubs may be affected. Owners are upset to have the news dropped on them so late, since many clubs have been planning New Year's parties......

Shock waves in West Chelsea: The Observer reports Amy Sacco wants to sell Bungalow 8, the club that made the area attractive as a late night hang out. Citing the increased police presence in the area after the death of Jennifer Moore, the 18 year old NJ resident whose drunken night at Guest House on West 27th Street preceded being kidnapped from the West Side Highway and then raped and murdered in NJ, Sacco......

The owner of Lower East Side bar Barramundi has sued over the liquor license moratorium the State Liquor Authority enacted in Manhattan in September. The SLA has indefinitely halted new licenses for any establishments within 500 feet of other watering holes - and in the Lower East Side, it's like you can't trip without running into a place that serves a drink. Anthony Powe was given community board approval to take over the bar in......

Try to hold back your laughter: NYU, aka "Las Vegas and Sodom rolled into one," told a Community Board 3 meeting last week that the school is interested in working with community and government officals to curb underage drinking. The school, an offical told the board, wants "a community partnership that includes local bar operators to devise a framework of 'education, responsibility and safety' regarding students and nightlife." According to the Villager, the school's......

On the Down Low The Daily News reports that 10% of New York men who claim to be straight are having sex with other men in what has been dubbed the down-low phenomenon. These findings (from a 2003 survey) were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (please, no snickering) which also relayed that 70% of this subgroup consisted of married men. An assistant health commissioner also suggested that these men are less likely to......

- Got a donut craving? Consider taking doing an international taste test. Time Out New York brings us donuts (or their equivalents) from around the globe. - Actually, no matter what you're craving, you're likely to be able to order it online. Thanks to MUG for an incredibly comprehensive list of online food purveyors. - Clinton Hill Blog takes a look at the recently opened Chez Lola. The verdict? "The food was wonderful." - Augieland......

Ooh - anyone planning on opening up a new bar in a trendy area but didn't get a liquor license may be outta luck: The state has decided to halt liquor licenses for "new nightclubs, bars or cabarets that want to open within 500 feet of three more establishments that already have a full liquor license." Nautrally, the New York State Restaurant Association is upset - president Rick Sampson said. "This is certainly going to......

Where's the best place to buy a keg (or 2) in Manhattan?If you are not lucky enough to have a kegerator, you might want to pick up a keg of beer for some celebrating. It seems like the largest places with the most selection are going to be outside Manhattan, but we did find out that Heartland Brewery sells kegs, and they have locations all throughout the city. (And we find their beer mighty......

You've gotta love a good election season crackdown. Hot on the heels of the increased NYPD activity around the West Side Clubland and Friday nights closing of Spirit the Post gives word of a new scheme being dreamed up by the City Council to "fix" the problem of drinking young folk. That solution? Kick the State Liquor Authority to the curb and give its power to a NYC-only authority. According to the Post, Councilwoman......

Has East Village restaurant LeSouk, infamous for being a haven of "fights, underage drinking, and legitimate noise comlplaints" over the years, closed? Reader Stacie who lives across from Le Souk (and loathes it for its chaos) heard from someone at the 9th Police Precinct that the restaurant lost its liquor license - and in fact, it was closed last night. Stacie continued to build a compelling case for why residents on Avenue B may be......

The NY State Senate has scheduled a hearing with the State Liquor Authority this September. While the Senate would have had a hearing anyway, since a new commissioner, Daniel Boyle, was appointed, the hearing will be weighted towards recent New York City bar and club incidents that have resulted in patrons' deaths. The Post reports that representatives from the Bloomberg administration will testify - we wonder if they'll come with their "quality of life" agenda......

No more false alarms: The Falls bar has been shuttered for good. Probable scene of at least part of the infamous Imette St. Guillen murder, the bar had been under-fire from the NYPD, State Liquor Authority, and various city agencies. The Daily News is reporting that the NYPD finally locked the gates yesterday, citing a lengthy investigation and nuisance abatement laws. The Post details some of the violations-- selling booze after hours and to......

The bouncer who fired upon four people outside a Chelsea club - killing one - allegedly told the police he killed two other bouncers last fall. The Post says Sakai is being questioned in the murders of Irving Matos, a topless bar bouncer who was found dead in his home, and Edwin Mojica, another bouncer at Opus 22, where Sakai worked. Sakai apparently did pass an exam to be a security guard, though he never......

Looks like the rumors were true: The Falls Bar is no more. We walked by last night, and the neon sign was gone. A small group of protesters stood outside, but the bar was empty. Looks like the Imette St. Guillen case finally caught up with the Dorian family. Hard to feel all that upset. [Related: WCBS is reporting that the State Liquor Authority is revoking the Falls' license-- although that might be a......

While the police touted the DNA evidence found on plastic ties (originally used on computer equipment) links Falls bouncer Darryl Littlejohn to the murder of Imette St. Guillen, the police's case may not be that strong. The NY Times reports that the police are still gathering evidence for the case where most of the evidence is circumstantial - even though there has been a lot of to examine. The Post looks at how the blood......

The Falls' bouncer, Darryl Littlejohn, continues to be the center of the police investigation of Imette St. Guillen's murder. In fact, the Daily News says that police consider him their "only suspect." Littlejohn is being held at Rikers Island, but not for anything related to the St. Guillen murder (he's just person a interest, still not arrested or charged) - he's there for violating his parole, as his past crimes have given him a 9PM-7AM......

Whoa-- the New York State Liquor Authority has issued a fatwa against a bunch of bars on West Broadway in Tribeca. Their crime? Apparently they are located a little too close to a low-profile mosque located in one of the nearby buildings (the Sufi Masjid al-Farah at 245 West Broadway.). The SLA has issued summons to The Bubble Lounge, Cercle Rouge, and the Tribeca Tavern. Another bar, The Liquor Store, has already been denied a......

City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz is set to release a report on the noisiest bars in the city today, says the Post. The report, based on complaints made to 311, cites Sutra Club on First Avenue as the noisiest bar in the city with a whopping 235 complaints (the owner chalks it up to an angry neighbor who "discovered her power in 311 and would call every single night as a strategy."). The runner-up in noise/complaint......

Amy Langfield uncovered this exciting news that got very little attention: Alcohol can now be sold at off-premise joints seven days a week! We had noticed it was easier for us to get some 40s from the local bodega, but who knew the wine store could be open too? Perfect for when you want to be a good guest at those Sunday evening dinners at someone else's we never get invited to. Here's the NY......

A couple of weeks back, Gothamist told you about the planned debut of the breathable booze machine at Trust Lounge. Trust apparently wussed out, as Slate reports: When Spirit Partners [the makers of AWOL, or Alcohol WithOut Liquid] prepared to introduce the machine on Aug. 20�with a launch party at Trust, a trendy Manhattan lounge�several, including Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, sounded the alarm. The matter came, inevitably, to the attention of Attorney General Eliot......