The NY Post reports that decidedly un-glitzy Columbus Avenue bar (which serves food, including bangers and mash) Emerald Inn will be closing next year. Another neighborhood joint closing isn't surprising, but it's a little depressing, given how owner Charlie Campbell found out: "he only got the bad news when he saw the location advertised for lease on the Web site of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis." Apparently the landlord is doubling the rent to......

Police say a Pennsylvania resident was fatally shot in his car last night, when "two gunmen walked up to the car and one...fired a single shot into the sedan." The shooting occurred at Columbus Avenue & West 91st Street; the victim's girlfriend had been sitting next to him. The wife of a witness said, "My husband saw the guy running by him" on West 90th. "There was blood on the back of his head and......

The holy Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, adored for its succulent burgers, righteous shakes and hellish lines, will soon expand into multiple locations. Owner Danny Meyer has signed a lease for a branch at 366 Columbus Avenue (at 77th Street), the former home of New Orleans import Jacques-Imo's. The new location will be entirely indoors, enabling delicate Upper Wide Siders to do their time on line out of the elements. And two Shake Shack......

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......

Starting in the afternoon, the masses traveled to the Upper West Side yesterday to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get inflated on West 77th and West 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. By 6PM, crowds were penned in for blocks - it took us about 30-40 minutes of shuffling and snaking around before we could get close to any balloons. We suspect the Broadway stagehands' strike as well as......

Tomorrow is one of our favorite days of the year: The annual Thanksgiving Eve inflation of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons! This year, there are twelve giant balloons: Dora the Explorer, Kermit the Frog, Healthy Mr. Potato Head (he's wearing a jogging suit), Scooby Doo, Ronald McDonald, Pikachu w/Poke-Ball, Energizer Bunny, Flying Ace Snoopy, and JoJo's Circus will be joined by new balloons Abby Cadabby, Shrek, and Super Cute Hello Kitty! As if Hello......

Eater confirmed that cupcake confectioner heavyweight Magnolia Bakery is opening its first branch location on Columbus Avenue and West 69th Street. Magnolia owner Steve Abrams, an Upper West Sider, told Eater, "My friends who know I own Magnolia keep asking when I'm going to open them a bakery up here. So I think it's time." Well, it's probably time and having the right retail space. The store will occupy the corner that Japanese restaurant Lenge......

This week Inside Edition aired footage of rats in some of New York's more popular restaurants. The statement we received from the program states: "In middle to late August, Inside Edition’s 'Rat Patrol' took to the streets of Manhattan between 1am and 4am peering their cameras and flashlights into the windows of a wide variety of eateries from fast food places to fine dining establishments." In total they found 22 restaurants harboring the urban......

Seething over their many, ignored complaints about new construction at 808 Columbus Avenue, residents of Park West Village held a rally to demand an investigation. All 280 apartments at one Park West building, 784 Columbus, were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed at the 808 site on Wednesday night. However, there were a number of calls to the Department of Buildings from 784 residents, complaining that the building was shaking as workers blasted in......

Residents of 784 Columbus Avenue are saying "I told you so" as the Department of Buildings continues its investigation into the retaining wall collapse at 808 Columbus Avenue. Residents at 784 have been complaining about the new constructions for some time and detailed how they've been wearing earplugs and noise-canceling headphones. A wooden retaining wall at the new construction site had been shoring up the land next to 784 Columbus; when the wall collapsed......

Hundreds of residents near West 97th Street and Columbus Avenue were evacuated when a retaining wall collapsed last night. The wall, at a three-block long construction site for the 808 Columbus Avenue development (which willinclude a big retail center with a Whole Foods), was next to 784 Columbus Avenue, which has 288 apartments. The "wooden" retaining wall fell, exposing 784's foundation. 784 Columbus Avenue's residents were taken to PS 163 as a temporary shelter; one......

Rappers Ja Rule and Lil Wayne both found themselves ending their weekend with arrests last night. The separate incidents both took place in the city. Lil Wayne, fresh off the Beacon Theater stage following his Sunday night show there, was found smoking pot by his tour bus on 61st and Columbus Avenue at 11:30pm. What not to do while smoking an illegal substance, on the street, in the city? Carry a firearm. Lil Wayne had......

Two robbers targeted the apartment of Juanita Pena, a 100-year-old wheelchair-bound woman, in the Frederick Douglass Houses at 100th Street and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side yesterday morning. The two men knocked on the door and pushed in when Pena's home health care worker went to answer. They tied her up and put her in a bathroom; when Pena's 71-year-old son came by, they also tied him up with duct tape and put......

If you were watching WABC 7 last night, you noticed that it suddenly went black - and stayed that way until around 1AM. The studio needed to be evacuated after a smoky fire started near the set of Live with Regis & Kelly at its Columbus Avenue and 66th Street location. According to the NY Times, a "light bulb had set a curtain on fire." Here's what WABC 7 said during their segment about......

There are special, electrical treats tonight. In Brooklyn, Prospect Park in Lights will be illuminated, with a special ceremony at Grand Army Plaza at 6PM. If you can't make it there in time, take comfort in knowing that four of the park's entrances will be lit up through January 7. And as mentioned just now,the Lincoln Center Holiday Tree will be lit, with help from Mickey and Minnie Mouse (thank you, ABC/Disney, which has offices......

September 16: Waldemar and Nadia at Telepan - Late Summer Cheeses Join cheese experts Waldemar and Nadia as they highlight late summer cheeses, including the aged goat and sheep's milk cheeses that were made from the first milkings of the season. They will be paired with wine from Telepan's cellar, selected by sommelier Aaron Von Rock. 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., $65 per person, all inclusive. Space is limited and reservations are required. Please call......

Sam Champion, the WABC 7 meteorologist weathercaster (thanks for correcting, Toby) (not the band), will be the new Good Morning America weathercaster. Crain's reports that since Champion has been at WABC for 18 years, "his imminent departure could hurt the station as it competes with WNBC and WCBS." Gothamist would have to agree - Sam Champion is a cornerstone of the local NYC weather. The only current city weathercasters we know off the top of......

July 29: Cheese and Wine at Telepan Fromagers Waldemar & Nadia team up with Telepan Restaurant for the third in a series of Saturday afternoon cheese and wine tastings. This time around they have paired summertime artisanal cheeses with wines from Telepan's list. You'll learn all about each pairing while you sip and taste. $65 per person, reservations are required. Call 212-580-4300 for reservations. 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., 72 West 69 Street, between Columbus......

June 24: QBQ BBQ Burger Bash Gothamist and A Hamburger Today bring you the best burgers from across the nation right here at Water Taxi Beach. We've told you about it plenty -- all the details are here. June 24: Cheese and Wine at Telepan Telepan joins forces with cheese team Waldemar & Nadia for the second of a series of Saturday afternoon cheese and wine tastings. Taste summertime artisan cheeses paired with Telepan's wines......

The NY Sun looks at Lincoln Center's redesign as the arts organization broke ground on the first part of their redevelopment plans:The project is already underway, and the public will start to see evidence of construction soon. The Paul Milstein Plaza, which extends over 65th Street and is a hangout for Juilliard students, will be destroyed, and a temporary footbridge constructed between the Rose Building and the plaza level by Lincoln Center Theater. This......

We were walking around the Upper West Side when we noticed that part of West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue had been cordoned off by a film or TV production. Was it more Bruce-and-Halle filming? Or August Rush? Or Dedication? Or a Law & Order? But actually it was Reign O'er Me. Gothamist wracked our brain, because the name had sounded familiar... and then we found a production letter: It's the September 11-related movie with......

Today's the day for Beaujolais. As we learned last year, Beaujolais Nouveau is a "light bodied, fruity, easy-to-drink red wine made from the Gamay grape" and it comes out every year on the third Thursday of November -- which is today, conveniently. Many, many wine shops are offering tastings. Visit LocalWineEvents.com to find a tasting in your neck of the woods tonight, this weekend, or sometime next week. From November 17th through the 20th, you......

The New York Times reports that the newest addition to the Rosa Mexicano empire is scheduled to open this Saturday. Fingers crossed -- it's always good to have another location for our passionfruit margarita and fresh guacamole fix. Also open: Cookshop, from the folks who brought you Five Points, (yes, we know about all the damn hype); 156 Tenth Avenue (20th Street), (212) 924-4440. Also "Loft, a lounge and restaurant mixing Asian and Mediterranean, 505......

September 12: Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour Restaurants and bars across the nation including Employees Only, Freeman's, and Flatiron Lounge in New York will serve New Orleans classic cocktails like the Pimm's Cup, the Hurricane, and the Sazerac from 5 to 7 p.m. All receipts from the $10 drinks will be donated to a relief fund established by the Museum of the American Cocktail, Go to the website for a full list of participants. September......

Tonight, be sure to catch a sneak peak at this summer’s upcoming movies: MoMA’s Department of Film and Media presents Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, inspired and "loosely" based on Kurt Cobain’s last days before his suicide (with Michael Pitt as the struggling, Seattle-based grungy musician), at 9:00 PM, as well as Van Sant’s Elephant at 7:00 PM. $10 If you’re uptown, check out acclaimed Director Werner Herzog, who will be at the American......

June 13 - 26: Festival de Helados Rosa Mexicano brings us ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream in exotic flavors and combinations at their annual celebration. Rosa Mexicano, 61 Columbus Avenue, at 62nd Street, 212-977-7700. June 16: Spanish Wine and Tapas Got a craving for Spanish wine and tapas? You've got plenty of chances to get your fix this week. First, on the 16th at Discovery Wines, 10 Ave A at Houston Street......

We were strolling through a relatively predictable street fair on Columbus Avenue yesterday when we came across this sign: We've been critical of Jacques-Imo's in the past, but when they start offering all the raw gulf oysters you can eat for $10, and then making a contest out of it, we have to pay attention. Whole trays of oysters passed in front of the intrepid contestants, each of them vying to beat the world record......

Gothamist is grateful to be within walking distance of a great concept in neighborhood dining. Chef Charlie Palmer, who made his bones at Brooklyn's River Cafe before launching to super-stardom through his Upper East Side flagship Aureole, is the author of the idea: a short-menu 3-course prix fixe for $25, offering the same skill of preparation that you might find at one of his pricier restaurants but with less fussiness. There are five choices for......

Belatedly, Gothamist went to check out the new New York outpost of New Orleans's famous restaurant, Jacques-Imo's Cafe. The Columbus Avenue incarnation is dubbed simply Jacques-Imo's, but they say the fried chicken plate is the same, so we went to check it out. N'awlins chef Jacques Leonardi is world-famous for this signature dish -- even Amanda Hesser acknowledged it. Gothamist will eat just about anything that's been breaded and deep-fried, so we had to see......

The middle-class neighborhood staple of the Mom and Pop coffee shop is rapidly disappearing from Manhattan. But nestled snugly on a corner halfway between Columbus Circle and Columbia University, the classic Upper West Side Greek family diner is alive and well. This is the Three Star Coffee Shop, where you can still get a greasy, filling breakfast for three or four dollars any hour of the day or night. As Columbia races headlong down the......