Police arrested a former chauffeur and his cousin in the 2006 stabbing death of real estate mogul Andrew Kissel (pictured). The crime baffled Greenwich, CT police, given the long list of people who could be upset with Kissel. He had embezzled millions, including from fellow residents in his Manhattan co-op. His own father was quoted, "Andrew did bad things. He took money from a lot of people. He was killed in an extremely vengeful, angry......

Turns out the number parking placards sloshing around New York is over 142,000, twice the number guesstimated by Mayor Bloomberg’s office when he announced a 20% cutback on the placards, which allow police, teachers and civil servants to park for free at meters and many off-limits areas. The new total does not take into consideration the number of counterfeit and expired placards, and the city is still not done counting, so this preliminary total is......

Five different car crashes in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens have left five people dead yesterday. At Atlantic Avenue and Buffalo Street, a Honda Accord carrying four people hit a subway station pillar (pictured; via the Post) after midnight. Two of the passengers, a 25-year-old Naquana Kilpatrick and 17-year-old Gilberto Howard, died while the 19-year-old driver and another passenger were injured. Another car crash in Brooklyn claimed two lives: A car hit an unoccupied box truck......

Rendering via Curbed. The NY Times has some new news on the Battery Maritime Building. They pose the question, "What if you had a majestic skylighted, columned hall in a Beaux-Arts ferry building at the tip of Manhattan and were required to use it as a public space? What would you do with it?" This is something that Dermot along with Rogers Marvel architects have been slowly figuring out. Plans were set to include......

EVENT: The Greenwich Village Antiquarian Book Sale is going on all weekend, so now is the time to go searching for that first edition you've been wanting on your bookshelf. You'll also find out of print books, maps and much more! Friday through Sunday // P.S. 3 [490 Hudson St] // Three-day pass $12 ART: Monday's interviewee, James Top, shows off his work tonight at the opening of his first solo NYC show, titled......

A judge has finally ruled on a long-simmering dispute between a restaurant and its deliverymen. Last March deliverymen at the popular Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Grill, which has locations in Greenwich Village and on the Upper West Side, demanded a raise from owners Simon and Michelle Nget. The deliverymen reasoned that since the chain was pulling in more than $2 million a month, they ought to earn more than $120 for a 75-hour week. They were......

Better late than never: The Port Authority turned over part of the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein. This parcel of land is where two of the five planned towers will be built. As part of Silverstein's deal with the Port Authority back in 2006, the PA would control the land but Silverstein, who held the lease to the WTC during the attacks, would be able to build on top of it. The......

The new NYC Condom campaign carries a secret Canadian tourism message: One of the ads features Toronto's Flatiron Building. Darn those confusing stock image searches using "Flatiron Building"! Toronto’s Gooderham Building (photo at right) makes an appearance in the ad entitled “The Village” (image below, highlighted on the right). This landmark Toronto building, often called the “Flatiron Building” by those in the Greater Toronto Area, predates Manhattan’s (properly known as the Fuller Building) by ten......

Photograph by Jake Dobkin Later today, the city will discuss whether the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers should be landmarked. The Observer reported that NYU announced its support today, a reversal from an earlier position over three years ago. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation pushed for landmarking the complex, located between Bleecker and Houston Streets and LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, a few years ago, calling it "an innovative modern design by I.M.......

Today Lego celebrates the big 5-0, even getting some Google-love for hitting the half century mark. New York has long been recreated in Lego-form, our favorite was at an exhibit housed in the Storefront for Art and Architecture late last year. Do you have a favorite Brick Apple? We love Sean Kenney's Greenwich Village (pictured) and Nathan Sawaya's Brooklyn Bridge. In a related story, this past Saturday was the city's first Lego League Citywide Championship,......

Although Rev. Al Sharpton appeared with officer Christopher Ridley's family after the Mt. Vernon cop's death, advising people not to rush to judgment, questions about the shooting are turning in the direction of race and societal divisions. The Friday night shooting occurred when Ridley, off-duty police officer, tried to stop a fight and Westchester police shot at him. White Plains is less than 20 miles from the South Bronx and about five miles west of......

Dean’s: A third Dean’s Restaurant is now open in Tribeca. The Italian eatery has won fans with their signature thin crust brick oven pizza made with homemade mozzarella and a dozen potential toppings. But if amazing brick oven pizza isn’t your thing, Dean’s also has a full Italian menu with pasta dishes like Parpardella Toscana, a wide ribbon pasta with wild mushroom and sundried tomatoes in a light cream white wine sauce. There are also......

Even after only being open since October, Dell'Anima, the brainchild of some Babbo and Del Posto alums, is already tough to get into. Sure, it's partially because it's a small space, with seating for just over forty, but it's also due to the cozy, warm and inviting atmosphere, friendly and knowledgeable staff, and for the delicious rustic Italian fare. Grab yourself one of the six seats in the open kitchen and watch Chef Gabriel Thompson......

FOOD: Drinking With the Professor: a Look at Jerry Thomas and His Liquid Legacy: Join cocktail maestro Dave Wondrich as he shares recipes from his latest book, Imbibe! plus a few that were cut in the editing process. Wondrich has an in-depth knowledge of nineteenth-century classic cocktails, so step up and taste the benefits. - Laren Spirer Friday // 6:30pm // Astor Culinary Center [399 Lafayette St] // $75, tickets available online THEATER: As you......

After posthumously leaving $12 million to her dog, Leona Helmsley is ready to spread the wealth with humans through her own charitable trust (created in 1999). Yesterday Christie's announced they would be auctioning off paintings, sculptures, furniture and other property from the late real estate mogul's numerous homes. Spokesman Rik Pike stated that each auction will take place this year, and "the collection reflects a sophisticated taste and a wonderful sense of style across a......

Photograph of an injured worker being unloaded from the construction bucket from reader Nick Sonderup There are reports that a crane lost its load of concrete beams at Spring and 6th Avenue. The beams hit the building and sidewalk scaffolding and people are trapped. One fatality is being reported. Photograph of workers on the sidewalk pointing by from stconrad on Flickr The reports indicate the accident occurred at a building under contraction at 246......

There are a number of restaurants opening in 2008 that we've been eagerly awaiting and we thought we'd highlight some that particularly piqued our interest and have us drooling in anticipation. John Dory -- this new meatpacking seafood spot comes from Spotted Pig owner Ken Friedman and Partner/Executive Chef April Bloomfield. Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich are also partners, not to mention neighbors. Sara Ochs will serve as the Chef de Cuisine. It is designed......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: person under a train at 71st St. and 16th Ave. in Brooklyn, a stabbing on 112th St. and Lexington Ave. in Manhattan, and a bank robbery at Ave. of the Americas and West 18th St. in Manhattan. The Times wonders if people will be hoarding pre-rate-increase Metrocards the way token buyers used to stock up before a fare hike. A 17-year-old from Mt. Vernon was being held at Rikers......

New Yorkers have been known to live in some pretty dismal conditions just to avoid the hassle of finding another apartment. Roaches, rats, mice, bedbugs, loud neighbors with thin walls, odd smelling hallways...but where does one draw the line? The Post has a story about a brother and sister who ran screaming from their new Greenwich Village digs after finding out it was above a clinic for sexual deviants.William and Amy Grace claim landlord Dr.......

Cats in delis: they are ubiquitous, loved, objected to, necessary, and illegal. City inspectors are constantly on the prowl to ferret out deli felines, but deli owners say they are necessary fixtures to keep their businesses free of pests like mice, rats, and roaches. The New York Times has a story today on the ongoing battle between the city and the cats that are the sentinels of its delis--feline samurai who serve their masters in......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a ceiling collapse at Franklin Ave. and Union St. in Brooklyn, a pedestrian was fatally struck on Queens Blvd. in Woodhaven, Queens, and an unusual rescue on the south bound tower of the Throgs Neck Bridge in Queens. An undercover cop forgot to turn off the wire he was wearing while discussing 11 bags of cocaine he seized in a Brooklyn bust that were never turned in. He was......

After years of protesting renovations to it -- this evening community members will be grieving Washington Square Park, and protesting those with its blood on their hands: the Parks Commissioner, Mayor Bloomberg, and City Council Members. Yesterday we received this letter, sent out by the Open Washington Square Park Coalition.It is with frustration and remorse that I write to inform you of a memorial service for the spirit of Washington Square Park. I join with......

A Brookings Institution study reveals that New York is a great place for walking, with 21 out of 21 walkable urban places. But Washington D.C. is the most walkable on a per capita basis while New York is ranked 10th, because New York is measured as the NYC metro area, including NJ, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The study's author, Christopher B. Leinberger, admits there are issues with the methodology, namely that walkable places are weighted the......

ART: Tonight a group of artists take what one would normally put in the paper shredder, and look at it in a whole new light. The Dotted Line "presents work that assumes the form of official documents ubiquitous to everyday life. The participating artists seek to imbue these commonplace documents with new meaning and to consider the implications of those moments when we are asked to sign along a dotted line." Open through December 21st.......

FILM: Ease in to Halloween with classic horror flick The Innocents, based on Henry James' novella The Turn Of The Screw. Evil and innocence, the strange and the everday, will mingle as you...enjoy complimentary vodka an tapas! 6pm // Mantra Lounge [986 2nd Ave] // Free, RSVP here EVENT: Neurologist Oliver Sacks explores "the complexities of human response to music and its powerful ability to move us physically and emotionally" tonight as he shares experiences......

EVENT: The NY Horror Film Festival kicks off with a party at Don Hill's tonight. Terrifying short films and some creepy classics are promised throughout the fest, as bands M-16, Kaos From Order and more set the sonic tone tonight. Free Wychwood Brewery beer from 8 to 9pm. More details here. 7pm // Don Hill's [511 Greenwich St] // $10 FILM: Karl Lagerfeld's personal style sort of freaks us out (see photo), so this may......

Five architectural firms have banded together to brainstorm ideas for adding green space to the far west side from the Village to Tribeca, also known as Hudson Square. A plan to add more garbage trucks to the neighborhood, writes Downtown Express's Patrick Hedlund, led local stakeholders to elicit architectural visions. Five firms - Arquitectonica GEO , FLAnK, LTL Architects, SPaN and Zakrzewski + Hyde (in association with Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners) - were......

Anthony Bourdain has repeatedly professed his undying affection for Fergus Henderson’s roasted marrow bones with parsley salad, and even considers the British chef to be his “favorite food person.” For eaters who willingly choose seared squab hearts over heart-healthy turkey burgers, Henderson’s offal-heavy cookbook The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating is considered a classic. It contains recipes such as Blood Cake with Fried Eggs, Tripe Gratin, and Crispy Pig’s Tail. Stuff like that. This......

Residents of the West Village are calling for the removal of Community Board 2 Chairperson Brad Hoylman and CB2 District Manager Bob Gormley because of two little letters: S and M. The two approved the permit for the S&M; Street Festival, which is set to take place this Sunday on Weehawken Street. Parents in the area are voicing concern and flyering around Greenwich Village public schools P.S. 3 and P.S. 41 and at Bleeker Playground.......

A huge crowd fathering in Washington Square Park last night to hear Senator Barack Obama speak. He mentioned that he "used to hang out in Washington Square Park" and that he knew "a little something about Greenwich Village." His speech touched upon issues like making college more affordable and how his relative lack of experience didn't matter, "Longevity does not guarantee good judgment. A long resume says nothing about your character.” And there was love:......