Meet Arlene Harrison: The self-described “Mayor of Gramercy Park.” She’s the one to talk to if undesirables are spotted infiltrating the private oasis, which requires a key for entry and exit, as two women recently discovered when a maintenance worker ejected them from the park during their Saturday picnic. How did he know they weren't quite the right material? They were probably breaking the rules by enjoying the park....

A Gramercy Park co-op board is suing the residents of one of the building's units for dressing up their interior door with holiday decorations. Richard Belza and his roommate Andrew Meehan have been decorating their apartment door for holidays like the 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas Valentine's Day, and Easter. Belza is a floral designer and has a knack for decorating, so he doesn't understand why he is being sued. He told the New York......

We can't believe it's been two years since we became acquainted with the Christmas home decoration stylings of Gramercy Park resident Joel Krupnik. Back in 2005, a Christmas display with a bloody knife-wielding Santa, severed doll head and more outside his East 18th townhouse caused much commotion after the Post dubbed Krupnik "Bad Santa" and put a photograph on its cover. Krupnik's 2007 display gets the Post up in a dander again, with the tab......

For the past few months, the Post has been detailing the problems of apartment mold at a new condo conversion - and how they have forced longtime New York City local news personality Kaity Tong out of her home. In September, Tong had been living in Gramercy Park Hotel for many weeks, as the floors and wall in her Chelsea home started to buckle, seemingly caused by the conversion of the O'Neill Building, on......

It appears the rumors of autumn's demise have been greatly exaggerated and you're going to have to start wearing a jacket outside after all. But the change of seasons is not without its perks; there are those hot winter drinks to look forward to, and a number of bars around town offer the perfect accompaniment for your hot toddy: a crackling fireplace. Below are some of New York's best places to chill out on a......

If you're impressed when you see homes and apartment windows with store-bought cobwebs and a carved pumpkin, then prepare to let your mind explode. NewYorkShitty quite possibly hits the mother lode of all Halloween decorating with this haunted house on Humboldt Street in Greenpoint. Miss Heather writesThese folks managed to outfit this most unhappy chap with a pump so he vomits a continuous stream of blood into this barrel. Could you imagine what would......

An engineering firm hired by the victims of Midtown steam pipe explosion say that there was a "crack-like flaw" in the pipe. Exponent Engineering's Robert Caligiuri wrote, "The observed crack-like flaw appears to be old and is large enough that, in my opinion, Con Ed should have detected it prior to the rupture. Once detected, good and accepted practices would have required that this pipe section be immediately replaced." Naturally, Con Ed said the findings......

Con Ed has filed a $25 million notice of claim against the city over the July 18 steam pipe explosion outside Grand Central. The Daily News got a hold of the notice of claim which says the event "may have been caused, in whole or in part, by acts or omissions of the city." Which then prompted the News to exclaim "Watt Nerve!" Con Ed says it may not sue, explaining, "This is a......

This week in the Times, Bruni goes to Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel, gives it no stars. “There’s a crushing sense of letdown” in the restaurant, he says, and “the slickness of the red and black setting and the poise of the best servers are undercut by dishes that too often look three times as good as they taste.” He likes the desserts, though. Also in the Times, Peter Meehan visits BarFry for $25......

No one has been surprised that Gristedes supermarkets have been closing steadily over the past ten years, given the influx of other grocery options and rising rents. But the NY Times has a fascinating article on why Gristedes still manages to exist, despite shrinking in size. Right now, there are 39 Gristedes locations, while there were 78 in 1997, and a supermarket consultant believes that there will be just 25 Gristedes locations in the city.......

This week in the Times, ">Bruni one-stars Wild Salmon. We’re surprised Chodorow let him in the door, after their feud over his review of Kobe Club. “The food runs the gamut,” Bruni says, “by turns excellent, ordinary and puzzling.” He recommends that you stick with the salmon, and try the different varieties offered (except the coho). Finds the service “oppressive” in its exuberance. In ">Dining Briefs, Bruni goes to Amalia. Says “Many of [chef Ivy......

Centro Vinoteca: The owners of Gusto have teamed up with Chef Anne Burrell in this two story corner spot in the West Village. Burell's experience as Batali's Sous Chef on Iron Chef America shines through in her Italian menu. 74 Seventh Avenue South, at Barrow Street, 212-367-7470. Omido: Designed by Avroko (who did Public, among others), this high-end sushi restaurant brings a bit of luxury to midtown West with touches like foie gras and gold......

As we know, Con Edison and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection have confirmed that asbestos was found in debris after the steam pipe explosion at 41st Street and Lexington, but that there is no airborne asbestos. If you were in the area of the explosion and have contaminated clothing, Con Ed is actually accepting clothes and will dispose of them:Anyone who was in that area around 6 p.m. who has dust or......

During the Wednesday-night rush hour, a steam pipe at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue exploded, sending steam, mud, and pieces of the street hundreds of feet into the air. One person died and at least 20 people were injured. Initially, many people's first reactions were that it was a terrorist attack, what with the loud, thunder-like rumbling that shook buildings and the cloud of smoke and steam. People ran from the area of the......

MOVIE: Last week Bryant Park was packed as Annie Hall played on the big screen. This week grab someone who's hand you'll be able to squeeze tight as the classic horror flick, The Thing, plays in the park. The timeless flick watches the sci-fi terror unfold as "scientists at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All hell breaks loose when they take......

Last week, the Sun reported that the "Bonnie & Clyde" burglars who robbed twenty-five apartments would face criminal charges next month. A couple from Savannah, Georgia, Robert Nestingen and Melissa Pavozehr, managed to steal about $350,000 in jewelry and cash since January 31 by targeting penthouse apartments. The couple hit buildings on the Upper West and East Side, Gramercy Park and Chelsea, and would pose as prospective buyers if building residents asked them questions. Pavozehr,......

SCIENCE: Since we spent the weekend thinking about the Earth, spend tonight learning about Mars with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ken Kremer. He'll take you on a tour of the planet through 3-D orbital views. 6pm // The Explorers Club at 46 E 70th St // $20 THEATER: Project Shaw is dedicated to presenting concert readings of everything – every sketch, full-length and one-act play – written by George Bernard Shaw. This month’s reading......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a fatal fall victim in Gramercy Park, a demonstration at City Hall, and an unusual animal rescue on the Brooklyn Bridge ("ESU IS O/S WITH A DOG THAT IS STUCK IN THE GIRDER ON THE WALK WAY OF THE BRIDGE... ESU IS REPORTING THE DOG HAS BEEN REMOVED, NO CONDITION GIVEN ON THE CANINE." --BNN), Congrats to shadowy Brooklyn graffiti artist Ellis G-- he got married in Northhampton this......

Busta Rhymes has been busted plenty of times recently. Now he's considering a plea deal for his latest offenses, attacking his driver and assaulting a fan in Gramercy Park last summer. The plea deal would keep the rapper out of jail (he rejected an earlier deal which included six months jail time) and instead serve him with some community service at non-profit organization. It would also have him speaking to youth there about the perils......

Police are searching for a man who has been jamming Bank of America ATM card readers, taking $5,000 from customers' accounts; the man has duped 17 customers since August 23. His M.O. seems to be to insert some sort of jammer into the ATM's card reader that will make it difficult for a customer to remove his/her card. When customers enters, he watches them enter their PIN number and then waits for them to give......

Bruni goes to Queens this week, two-stars Sichuan restaurant Spicy & Tasty. It has some of the most distinctive Sichuan cooking in the five boroughs, he says, and "deserves citywide attention from food lovers whose primary interest isn't simply a modestly priced meal off the beaten path, but a hugely enjoyable, eye-opening experience." Eater is back on the money, having put the odds on two stars. They've also got a link to the Gourmet magazine......

DISCUSSION: Tonight Dirty Dancing author Eleanor Bergstein will discuss the similarities between Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and her own masterpiece, which starred Patrick Swayze. Shakespearian scholars will be in attendence to agree or, most likely, refute the argument. This discussion may have been a bit more relevant in, say, 1987 - when the film came out. 7:30pm // National Arts Club [15 Gramercy Park South] // Free THEATER: The No Frills Company, which is dedicated......

What do you do when your private, exclusive park is repeatedly found with its gate wide open? You freak out. "The terrible threat,” a Gramercy Park trustee told the New York Times, “is that with the gate wide open, hordes of people may come in.” And who do you blame for the security breach? The transient newcomers, of course, VIP credentials be damned. Word on the block is that careless and/or ignorant guests at Ian......

An envelope filled with a white powder was delivered to former President Bill Clinton's West 125th Street office, causing the two floors of the building to be shut down yesterday afternoon. Most of the building was evacuated, but eleven people were quaratined as the police, fire department, FBI, Secret Service and Homeland Secuirty descended to the scene. A source told the Daily News, "An aide opened the envelope, and she went ballistic," when white......

The Health (and Mental Hygiene) Department released some interesting reports that detail New Yorkers' health by neighborhood. You can check out a profile for where you live, which turns out to be a 16-page PDF listing various stats, like alcoholism, smoking, death rates, and other health issues, as well as giving other interesting demographics (population with age breaks or ethnicity, compared with NYC as a whole). There are also a series of maps that......

When going out to send your bills, postcards, thank you cards, and the like have you found your regular mailbox suddenly gone? It isn't your imagination. While the Post Office doesn't keep track of permanently removed mailboxes (uhm, why not?) they do admit that since the Republican National Convention a sizable number have been removed and taken out of service. For instance the 10003 ZIP code (which covers much of the East Village and......

When Starlight, everyone's favorite place on Sunday nights for girls to meet girls that like girls on Avenue A, shut down recently, we had no be idea the newest incarnation would be so close at hand. While there isn't a phone yet, Starbar has set up shop in the former gay bar, Cock[tail], all of three blocks north, between 13th and 14th. If you like to pay more for your chilled lack of inhibition or......

Stuyvesant Park, on Second Avenue between 15th and 17th Streets, is one of our favorite parks in the city. We walk through it on our way home from work most days and always admire its calm and open proportions, especially compared to its closed-to-the-public neighbor Gramercy Park. So we'd been wondering what was keeping the restoration on the East side of the park from completing. Thank you Villager for providing ">the scoop along with......

Today's City section goes all Forgotten-NY on us today in an article on the city's more than 300 statues of notable figures. Specifically it talks about the statues of people who were once household names and are now... not. Roscoe Conkling, anyone? The article mostly focuses on the statues around Madison Square Park but it brings up a good point. New York City is littered with statues of people who the average New Yorker......

- Eliot Spitzer wants all New Yorkers to have affordable, hi-speed Internet service, which is something we can get behind, though we're suspicious it's a ploy to attract the bloggers - When you live near a city sewage treatment center whose boilers are broken (they used to reduce odor), of course it's going to smell like "20 dogs took a dump in" your yard - The Duke lacrosse team captain, aka suspect #3, was......