Blind and Deaf Acting Company to Make American Debut at NYU

MANHATTAN The world's only professional blind and deaf acting troupe is coming to the Village from Israel for its first performance stateside.

Nalaga'at Theater will put on its first U.S. productions at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts starting in January, the center announced. The troupe's play, "Not By Bread Alone," is about memories and dreams.

Actors from the Tel Aviv-based company will bake bread onstage in a performance piece that delves into fantasy, reality and a longing for human connection during the show, which runs from Jan. 16 to Feb. 3.

"Eleven deaf-blind actors take the audience on a magical tour in the districts of their inner world: the world of darkness, silence and bread," the company's website reads. 

Director Adina Tal worked with the actors for two years to create the play and devise a system of communication among the actors and with the audience. 

The performers communicate through Hebrew sign language, mime and touch, a statement about the show said. Each performer has an interpreter who signs into their hands during the show and leads them around the stage. 

Drum beats, whose vibrations the actors can feel, are used to announce new scenes, the statement said. 

At NYU, the Hebrew speech and sign language will have English translation and subtitles. 

Tal, who founded Nalaga'at Theater in 2002, told The Guardian that blind and deaf actors have the advantage of being one-of-a-kind. 

"Because they can't see each other, they can't imitate each other," she said. "So every action they make is very personal. If you ask them to mime eating grapes, you get 11 entirely different ways of eating grapes. That wouldn't happen with seeing actors. They can't be like anyone else. Nobody has ever seen Marlon Brando or Al Pacino act. They can't copy. That's why they are great." 

Tickets for the 80-minute show run from $40 to $75 each and can be purchased online or by calling (212) 352-3101. 

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Bridesmaid Hairstyle Steal Kourtney Kardashian Red Carpet Hair

The beautiful mom-to-be Kourtney Kardashian kept her red carpet look simple, opting for loose waves parted in the middle.  Keep those perfect loose waves for your bridesmaids, no fuss and still elegant.

Are you looking for bridesmaid jewelry or bridesmaid gifts?  Click here for affordable bridesmaid jewelry for your special wedding day.

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Gang War Crackdown Nets 63 People Accused of Terrorizing East Harlem

LOWER MANHATTAN Dozens of alleged gang members accused of terrorizing East Harlem with 69 shootings since fall 2009 have been rounded up by the NYPD after their members incriminated themselves on social media and in recorded phone calls full of code words.

Authorities said Thursday morning they have indicted 63 members of three rival street gangs accused of crimes including three murders, more than 30 shootings, gang assaults and gun trafficking.

Members of crews called Air It Out, True Money Gang and Whoadey are responsible for six homicides, 46 non-fatal shootings and 17 incidents in which shots were fired since October 2009, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said at a press conference.

"Today's indictments chronicle a bloody gang war that claimed the lives of at least three teenagers, led to the shooting of dozens of individuals and put bounties on people's heads," he said.

The charges include conspiracy, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, and carry sentences of up to 25 years to life in prison.

Authorities provided a two-page glossary of code words gang members are said to have used, including "biscuit," "flamingo," "girlfriend," "yammer" and "Mariah" all of which meant gun.

The gangs operated in the area bound by East 116th Street, Third Avenue, East 106th Street and Fifth Avenue, authorities said. They centered on the three public housing complexes there.

The three-and-a-half-year joint investigation by police and the district attorney's office uncovered hundreds of Facebook and Twitter posts, cell phone videos and calls made from Rikers Island that plotted the deaths of rival gang members.

"God forgives I dont somebodie gotta die," a member of Air It Out wrote on Facebook, according to the DA's office.

Vance said postings like this are an important part of prosecutors' evidence.

"The internet is our 21st century crime scene," Vance said. "There's isn't a crime here in Manhattan that doesn't leave an electronic fingerprint on the internet.

He added, "Four or five" of the accused criminals are still on the loose."

"We expect and hope that the impact of these indictments will be felt quickly in East Harlem," said NYPD chief Anthony J. Izzo.

Multiple defendants are set to be arraigned Thursday. 

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'Millionaire Madam' Anna Gristina Pleads Guilty

MANHATTAN 'Millionaire madam' Anna Gristina pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a single count of promoting prostitution, ending a five-year saga that pitted the suburban mother of four against the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors originally billed the Gristina probe as a public corruption case, claiming they had wiretaps where they heard Gristina boasting of high-profile johns at the bordello she was supposedly running out of an Upper East Side apartment and of having close contacts among cops who were protecting her.

DNAinfo.com New York broke the story in March that Gristina lived a double life as a soccer mom who ran a premium escort service out of an East 78th Street apartment.

After her arrest in February and four-month stint on Rikers Island, Gristina never named names and prosecutors weren't able to make the corruption allegations stick.

Over the years, the defendant made numerous claims that she had connections and influence in any number of city, state, and federal agencies, including the NYPD, the FBI, the DAs Office, the Governors office, and Customs, among others," Assistant District Attorney Charles Linehan said in a statement read during the hearing Tuesday where Gristina entered her plea.

"We have spent time investigating the defendants claims and we have not found evidence to support any of those claims," he said. "We are left with a straight-forward promoting prostitution case a defendant who ran a brothel for many years and who profited from the sex trade. That is all.

Gristina took the deal in exchange for time she already served on Rikers Island, Judge Juan Merchan said. Her sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Under the terms of the deal, Gristina will also serve five years probation.

Gristina arrived at Manhattan Supreme Court about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday with her husband, two sons, and daughter. She was greeted by a mob of reporters, but kept her head ducked and let her blond hair cover her face as she walked silent into the courtroom.

Once inside, she replied, "Yes, sir," when Merchan asked if she "knowingly advanced and profited from prostitution."

Gristina also admitted that she made calls and texts and had at least one face-to-face meeting to arrange a rendez-vous between prostitutes and a client called "Anthony." 

Judge Merchan warned Gristina a Scottish national that her plea could mean she'll be deported. "It is my job to inform you that you very well may be deported as as a result of this plea," Merchan said.

Gristina was arrested after a five-year public corruption investigation that spanned the terms of two district attorneys.

Prosecutors contended Gristina's client list included high-profile public officials, and law enforcement sources said she brokered a sex romp for former U.S. Sen. John Edwards.

Gristina's bail was originally set at $2 million because prosecutors believed she was a flight risk with connections worldwide.

Gristina argued in June that her bail should be reduced because she needed to care for her 9-year-old son Nicholas Gorr, who has a heart murmur. On Tuesday, she brought the little blond boy to the press-filled courthouse with her, a move that earned her a scolding from Merchan.

"I cannot see the benefit to that young child to exposing him to this," Merchan reprimanded Gristina. The judge said he wasn't pleased with Gristina's conduct during the case.

"I don't expect anyone to nominate Anna Gristina for sainthood," her defense attorney Tuesday said as he asked the judge for the time served sentence.

Gristina's bail was eventually reduced to $250,000, and in June, after spending nearly four months in jail, she was released from Rikers Island and returned to her family's Orange County pig farm.

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The Rules: Bridesmaid Etiquette

Dont know the etiquette when it comes to choosing your bridesmaids?  Not sure what the duties involve?  Here are some tips and also what some may call the rules and etiquette

Whos who? The role of the chief bridesmaid is usually by a sister or your closest friend and, of all your attendants, shell be trusted with the most responsibility.  She is also referred to as maid of honor.  As well as your chief bridesmaid, you may have other adult bridesmaids, junior bridesmaids (typically aged between eight and 16) and flowergirls (young children of your friends or relatives).

Size Matters With the maid of honor, bridesmaids and flowergirls all josting for space, things can get crowded.  The general rule of thumb is the bigger the wedding the more bridesmaids, so its best to think about this before you ask too many of your friends or family members to fill these roles.  Another factor that will affect how many bridesmaids you have is your budget, as youll be expected to pay for all their dresses as well as any accessories.

Click here for affordable bridesmaid jewelry and gifts.

Hitting the shops When it comes to choosing your bridesmaids dresses, its a good idea to take at least your maid of honor with you when you go out shopping.  Its important all the girls feel comfortable in what theyre wearing so you might decide to go for different dresses in the same colour to ensure you flatter everyones shape.

Duty Calls Its the maid of honors job to be your main source of support in the run up to the wedding.  This could mean sitting up all night making favours or talking you down when the nerves kick in, but one duty that almost always falls on her shoulders is the hen party.  Send her a list of who youd like to invite, tell her you ideas and cross your fingers that she doesnt ignore them in favour of a male stripper!

On the day Even if youre the most independent woman in the world, youll be glad of your bridesmaids help on the morning of the wedding.  Youre bound to be full of butterflies so its their job to make sure you eat breakfast and are done up properly in your dress.  Its a good idea to give your maid of honor an emergency kit to carry containing a mirror, painkillers, plasters, tissues, hairspray, lipstick and breath mints.  And give her your mobile phone and the telephone numbers of all your key suppliers if theres a disaster with flowers or the caterers break down on the motorway she can deal with any problems on your behalf.

Party Time Your maids dont have to be glued to your side all night, but if there are specific jobs you want them to take responsibility for, such as helping you with your dress in the little girls room, you should let them know in advance.  And once their duties are done, theyre free to do what they do best PARTY!  After all, if theyre having fun on the dance floor, its more likely your other guests will join in too.

And finally This may sound obvious but in the run up to your wedding, its very easy to become a little (dare we say it?) self-involved.  Its important to acknowledge the help of your nearest and dearest, so as well as giving each of your bridesmaids a gift on the day as a gesture of your appreciation, remember to thank them face-to-face.  After all, you want them to still be your friends after the wedding too!

Heres a great bridesmaid gift idea you can WOW your dearest with.

Bridal Party Gifts @ www.SparklesForever.com

Do you have any Bridesmaid tips for us that you would like to add or share?  Please comment below and share the love.

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Nolita Playground Could Get $1.9M Makeover

GREENWICH VILLAGE All-new play equipment and a horizontal rock-climbing wall are headed to a rundown park at Spring and Mulberry streets.

The city Parks Department is seeking additional funds to revamp DeSalvio Playground located where SoHo, Nolita and Little Italy meet after elected officials committed the majority of the money needed.

A total of $1.3 million has been dedicated to the renovation of the playground by City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Parks Department representative said.

But to outfit it with all the features locals have asked for will cost $1.9 million.

"The cost went up due to community desires," District 1 and 2 parks and recreation manager Ralph Musolino said at a Community Board 2 meeting held in the Village Wednesday night.

DeSalvio playground, which is now dingy with old play structures and faded hopscotch squares, is slated to get new play equipment, a water feature, a new basketball court and a horizontal climbing wall. The renovations will also give the playground new shrubs, trees. lighting and benches.

The funds committed for the playground so far are $620,000 from Chin's office, $375,000 from Stringer's office and $305,000 from Quinn's office, CB2 records show.

The local groups Bowery Babes, Friends of DeSalvio Playground, the Partnership for Parks and the Citizens Committee of NYC advocated for the renovation, holding a community input session there in June 2012.

The Parks Department expects to begin the design process for the playground once the city adopts its budget for financial year 2014, a spokesman said Thursday. 

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New School 'Creative Lab' to Feature Chicken-Raising Workshop

MANHATTAN Nearly three months of off-the-wall art and ecology programming at Parsons The New School for Design kicks off this week with one of the first of dozens of workshops to be co-hosted by none other than a chicken.

"Art, Environment, Action!" classes, talks and performances at Parsons begin Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a reception and workshop on how to raise an urban flock.

The chicken-raising class, by the Staten Island art collective 5 P.M., is one of many events planned for Parsons' "creative laboratory" running from Sept. 28 through Dec. 15. 

The lineup includes two-day food education and cooking workshops with Chez Panisse chef Jerome Waag, a lesson on how to plant an "anti-cancer garden," and a session on making illustrated Wikipedia pages. 

The interactive events are intended to get the public involved in art and conversations about the environment, curator Radhika Subramaniam said in a statement. 

We see the galleries as spaces with which to think, rather than as venues for display, she said. 'Art, Environment, Action!' is about catalyzing a culture of conversation, creative experience and action. It is co-created by participants and artists.

Trade School New York the educational project in which participants can barter classes in butter-making, for example, in exchange for music lessons or sewing tips will make an extended appearance at "Art, Environment, Action!"

Trade School will be at Parsons from Friday until Oct. 28 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m., as well as Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. 

Artists who will get in on the fun include dancers Jennifer Monson and Kate Cahill, who will lead a dance tour through the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 10 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

"Participants will create simple movement, listening and compositional exercises that continually shift our point of view as we experience the refuge," a description on Parsons' website explains.

Dancer Jill Sigman will create and perform site-specific pieces on The New School campus Nov. 28 to Dec. 15, building a structure out of discarded plastic bottles to raise questions about waste, sustainability and home, according to Parson's website. 

All events, unless otherwise noted, will take place at 2 W. 13th St. Some workshops require registration. The full calendar is available on Parsons' website. 

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Man Cracks Ketchup Bottle on Woman's Head in Anti-Gay Attack, Cops Say

GREENWICH VILLAGE   A man is accused of hurling homophobic slurs at a woman before smashing her in the head with a ketchup bottle in a diner just a block from the famed gay-rights landmark the Stonewall Inn, cops said.

The victim, 33, whose identity was not immediately released, was dining in the Waverly Restaurant at 385 Sixth Ave. with several other women on Monday when the suspect and a group of friends began arguing with them at about 4:40 a.m., police said.

The suspect, who cops described as 6-feet tall and about 200 pounds, hurled epithets before he grabbed a ketchup bottle and struck the victim with it, according to the NYPD.

The attack left the woman with a gash to the forehead, cops said.

A Friday morning visit to the popular diner, which reopened in December 2011 after six months of renovations, revealed the restaurant uses only plastic ketchup bottles, which workers confirmed. 

The suspect was last seen wearing a dark colored baseball cap, a gray "baseball-style" shirt with dark sleeves, blue jeans and dark sneakers, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

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Hugo Boss Celebrates 20 with New Men's Scent

Hugo is turning 20 and what better way to celebrate the soul and brand identity by creating a new fragrance?  Hugo Red, the newest fragrance is set to launch in January, the 20th anniversary of the Hugo fragrance brand at Proctor & Gamble Prestige.  

Hugo Red is said to aim to 'bypass the "top note, heart note, base note"' structure and rather, starts with a punch of grapefruit and rhubarb, transitioning to contrasting cedarwood and hot amber notes".  
What is innovative about this is that it is a two-phase fragrance, and you have this almost extreme freshness followed by the beautiful warmth, said Will Andrews of P&Gs Fragrance Creation Team. 

Jared Leto is the face of Hugo Red, the daring new fragrance for men, where red means GO! 
 Photo Courtesy: Hugo, Hugo Boss RED

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Ivanka Trump Enters Fragrance

As if a jewelry collection, footwear and handbag lines, sportswear, dresses, suits, suit seperates, sleepwear, activewear, jeanswear and intimates weren't enough, Ivanka Trump thinks it's the perfect time to step foot into the fragrance arena. 
I think of fragrance as such a strategically important category and wanted to wait to make sure retailers understood what I stood for, and the customer understood what the brand represented because theres a lot of noise in that category, said the 30-year-old career woman and mother of  a 15-month-old daughter. 

Photo: Thomas Iannaccone 

Trump's first eau de parfum, a deal signed with Parlux Fragrances Inc., is called Ivanka Trump, and will be hitting fragrance counters next week!  The scent is made up of a floral oriental opening with a blend of sparkling Italian bergamot, lush apple and pink pepper. The middle notes consist of jasmine, rose and peach blossom to add lushness.  The base includes golden amber, creamy vanilla, patchouli and smooth cedarwood, the perfect mis to add just a 'kick'.  
Trump pointed out that she used coral in the fragrance packaging because it is her signature color. There is coral always with white gold embossing. It feels delicate and fresh but theres a strength to it. The bottle is evocative of one of the pieces in our jewelry collection, so you have the octagonal shape and looks like an emerald cut or cut diamond. As for the fragrance itself, she said, my tendency is towards more floral, but I wanted give it a little more complexity and a little more youthfulness than a classic. 

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Hudson River Park Repairs to Cost $20M, Double the Initial Estimate

WEST VILLAGE Joggers, bikers and dog-walkers who once used Hudson River Park after nightfall have been shut out since Hurricane Sandy knocked out the lights in the 5-mile-long park but officials revealed last week they plan to have most of the waterfront recreation space lit again by mid-May.

Hudson River Park Trust crews working overtime to repair the damage are trying to restore the full hours of the waterfront park that runs from Battery Park to West 59th Street from its current dusk closing time to its previous 1 a.m. closure, officials said Friday.

But the pricetag of repairs to the park, which has closed come nightfall since Sandy hit Oct. 29, are now expected to top $20 million double the initial estimate of $10 million given in November Trust president and CEO Madelyn Wils said.

"It's just a massive project, like repairing a small town," Wils said, adding that the entirety of the repair work, which also seeks to mitigate the damage of potential future flooding, is set to be complete by early July.

"I expect by mid-May the lights will be back up," Wils said about the waterside esplanade. The damaged electrical cables along the Hudson River alone stretch 30,000 feet, she said.

The repair work is initially being covered by the Trust's reserve funds, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to reimburse the Trust for the "majority" of the cost, she said. The Trust is seeking city and state funding for the remainder, Wils said.

Locals say they look forward to being able to stroll through the greenery at night.

West Village resident Kimberly Wang, a photographer, said she missed being able to walk her 8-year-old border collie Theodore and 1-year-old foster dog Lila along the river at night.

"This is such a beautiful park, especially when everyone is out in the evenings," she said.

Community Board 2 chairman David Gruber praised the efforts of the Trust to restore the park. The nighttime outage hurts locals, he said.

"It cuts down on people's use of the park."

For a neighborhood with limited park space, the longstanding power outage means city kids who get little time surrounded by greenery can't ride their bikes or scooters along the Hudson River after they leave sports activities at Pier 40, West Village resident and father of two Chris McGinnis said.

"The Hudson River Park, for families who live on the West Side, is a critical resource," he said. 

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Alleged McDonald's Bias Attack Slasher Says 'I'm Not a Hater'

MORRISANIA A Bronx man charged with a hate crime after he allegedly sliced a man's face outside a West Third Street McDonald's last week in an epithet-laced attack denied that he is anti-gay, saying it was an act of self-defense.

Keith Patron, 44, was arraigned on charges of assault as a hate crime in Manhattan Criminal Court early Wednesday morning, after prosecutors said he yelled homophobic slurs at Jamar McClod, 24, and his transgender girlfriend at the fast food chain on the evening of Sept. 19, then slashed McClod in the face, neck, back and arm, sources said. 

"I'm not a hater," Patron said, covering his face with his hands and sobbing as a judge read the accusations against him, "I love everybody."

Jalisa Griffin said an attacker slashed her boyfriend, Jamar McClod, with a straight razor at the West 3rd Street McDonald's Sept. 19, 2012.

View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Jesse Lent

The 350-pound Patron, whose lawyer said he had never been arrested before, told his sister that the fight began outside the troubled 136 W. 3rd St. McDonald's when the man he later slashed kneed him in the groin, the sister said said.

Patron told his sister he acted out of self defense, not anti-LGBT bias.

"Because it's a heterosexual against a transgender, now it's a hate crime," Patron's sister, who did not give her name, told DNAinfo.com New York on the condition that her name be withheld.

"He's never expressed any hatred to me or anyone in my family towards another gender," she added.

"Someone kneed him and hurt him and he was trying to defend himself," she said her brother told her. "The girlfriend was egging on the boyfriend to defend her."

Patron's sister said he's been homeless for eight years and has grappled with mental illness.

But prosecutors, police and slashing victim Jamar McClod's girlfriend, Jalisa Griffin, told DNAinfo New York a different story about the attack.

Patron allegedly repeated "You f---ing f----ts" to the couple, according to the criminal complaint.

Griffin, 22, said the couple was with friends and "minding their own business" when they stopped at the McDonald's to use the bathroom.

"We were talking about the gay life and Patron said [to me], 'Sir, the men's room is over there,'" remembered Griffin. When she exited the restroom, McClod and Patron were "going back and forth," Griffin said.

"Jamar said 'Let's go,' and Patron said, 'Let me get my sandwich and then let's go outside,'" Griffin said.

Patron and McClod took their dispute outside, where the heavy-set Patron pinned McClod down, Griffin said. McClod fought back by kicking Patron in the knee and groin, she said.

Griffin wanted to join in the fight too, but McClod who she said was released from prison in December for armed robbery wouldn't let her, Griffin said.

"Jamar kicked him in the groin. [Patron] said, 'You think you did something?' And that's when he picked up the straight razor," Griffin said.

Griffin said McClod will recover from the vicious attack, but she wants justice for her boyfriend.

"He should go to prison for this because it's a hate crime," Griffin said. "We should have the right to be whoever we want."

Patron's sister, 42, said she first heard that her brother was a wanted man on Sunday.

"On our way home from church, a friend called us and said, 'Your brother's in the news,'" she said. 

When she searched for information about the incident online, she found police surveillance photos of her brother. After countless phone calls, Patron's sister said she drove her brother to the 42nd Precinct station house Monday. 

"While we were escorting him [to the precinct], he said it's not true, he didn't use any sort of weapon," she said. 

Still, Patron's sister apologized on her brother's behalf for the victim's injuries.

"I wish this never happened because a person is scarred and a family is scarred," she said. 

Patron's sister, who is planning her wedding, said that when she left Patron at the police station, he expressed sadness that he might not get out in time for the ceremony.

"I guess I'm going to miss your wedding," Patron said. 

"I guess you are," she replied. 

At his arraignment Wednesday, Judge Anthony Ferrara set Patron's bail at $50,000 cash or bond.

He is scheduled to be back in court on Friday, Sept. 28. 

With reporting by Jefferson Siegel

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Greenwich Village Groups Sue City to Stop NYU Expansion

MANHATTAN Eleven groups that oppose NYU's plan to expand its Greenwich Village campus over the next 20 years filed a lawsuit against the city Monday to try to cease construction and get the city to reverse its approval of the project. 

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan State Supreme Court, accuses the city of illegally granting public land to NYU while ignoring the impact construction will have on residents. The lawsuit also accuses the city of conducting a decision process that lacked transparency. 

The city and state made a series of erroneous and irrational decisions to overhaul local zoning, alienate public parkland, and green-light NYUs project, despite the unanimous objection of the local community board, the affected communities, historic preservationists and much of NYUs own faculty," the groups' pro bono lawyer, Randy Mastro, said in a statement. 

After seven months of public hearings, City Council approved a scaled-down version of the NYU 2031 plan in July. The plan calls for four new buildings on the two large blocks bordered by LaGuardia Place, Mercer Street, West Houston Street and West 3rd Street. 

The plaintiffs in the case include the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, NYU Faculty Against the Sexton Plan, the Washington Square Village Tenants' Association and the SoHo Alliance. 

The city's Law Department is reviewing the claim, a spokeswoman said. 

"The expansion plan, which enables NYU to add much-needed academic facilities and housing, is lawful and followed all applicable processes," the Law Department said in a statement. "It was approved by both the City Council and the City Planning Commission after substantial and thorough public review."

NYU spokesman John Beckman also defended the legality of the approval procedures.  

"The City Planning Commission and City Council overwhelmingly approved NYU's proposal after holding extensive public hearings and engaging in a thorough and rigorous public review process as required by law," he said in a statement.

"We are confident that we will prevail in court against any claims that are made."

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Jimmy Choo Unveils Second Fragrance

Jimmy Choo has announced it's new fragrance launch, due this spring, for new evening fragrance, Flash.  

Jimmy Choo is a brand which was born in shoes and grew up on the red carpet, said Simon Holloway, who is a creative director for the company along with Sandra Choi. This fragrance plays naturally to that concept. 

Jimmy Choo's first fragrance, launched in January of 2011 was said to be "very much sensual and intimate" and in contrast, Flash is all about "having a sparkle, being multifaceted and confident and outgoing."   

The white floral scent has top notes of pink pepper and strawberry, a heart of tuberose, jasmine, and white lily, and a drydown of heliotrope and white woods.  

Photo Courtesy: Jimmy Choo; Robert Mitra

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Hundreds Vaccinated After Hepatitis A Scare at Village Bistro Alta

MANHATTAN Hundreds of people who recently ate dessert at the high-end Alta Restaurant in Greenwich Village got vaccinated for hepatitis A this weekend after the city Health Department warned Friday evening they could have acquired the virus via an infected food handler. 

Nearly 240 people, including 31 Alta employees, received hepatitis A vaccines at a city health clinic Saturday and Sunday after they ate dessert at the top-rated Mediterranean bistro between March 23 and April 2, a Health Department official said Monday morning. 

We are asking these restaurant patrons to get this vaccination as a precautionary measure, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. If people experience symptoms, they should see a doctor immediately. This incident serves as an important reminder to always wash your hands thoroughly to prevent the spread of disease.

Anyone who ate dessert at the 64 W. 10th St. restaurant and has not yet been vaccinated can do so at the Chelsea Health Center at 303 Ninth Ave. until 5 p.m. Monday. 

Alta manager Manny Solano said a part-time employee who makes pastries contracted the virus while traveling in Mexico. She realized she was ill on Monday, he said, and is now feeling better.

"She's OK," said Solano, adding that all employees will be getting vaccinated.

On Friday, the Health Department and Alta's owners frantically reached out to customers known to have eaten at the restaurant , which they estimated to be about 3,000 people, officials said.

The restaurant's owner, Christopher Chesnutt, estimated that as many as 450 patrons may have eaten dessert over the course of the two weeks.

Hepatitis A is spread when fecal matter is inadvertently eaten, the Health Department said. The disease, which targets the liver, can cause jaundice, fatigue, stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, health officials said. Most people who contract the virus recover completely, according to the Mayo Clinic.

We are working closely with the Health Department to ensure the safety of our customers, Chesnutt said in a statement. This is an isolated incident and the infected employee is no longer on premises.

Alta offers a romantic bistro atmosphere and 11 different desserts, including dark chocolate "liquid" truffles for $7. The restaurant garnered an "extraordinary" rating from Zagat.

On Friday night, health officials, who most recently gave the eatery a top "A" rating, stopped by to discuss the possible outbreak.

Hungry West Villagers had mixed responses to the scare.

Vikram Shankar, 28, and his date ducked in to check out the menu, but decided to dine elsewhere.

"Thank God we didn't eat there," said his surprised date, who found out about the health scare after being told by DNAinfo.com New York.

"Oh my God, that's why they didn't have the pastries," said Martine Seiden, 23, from Morningside Heights. "We asked for dessert and they told us the oven was broken."

But Christian Steiner, 41, a Midtown lawyer, who said that he ate at Alta during the time period in the Health Department's warning, seemed unfazed by the potential for infection.

"Luckily we didn't want dessert. We wanted to keep drinking," he said before heading inside for dinner.

Officials encourage diners who think they may have been infected to call 311 and get vaccinated.

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VIDEO: 'Gangnam Style' Flash Mob Hits Washington Sq. Park

MANHATTAN Everybody Gangnam Style flash mob style.

Dozens of dancers hit Washington Square Park to perform the high-energy routine from Korean pop star Psy's "Gangnam Style" video on Sunday, video posted to YouTube shows. 

Circled around the park fountain, a high-energy crowd danced in lockstep choreography as cheering fans looked on.

The flash mob was coordinated by the Korean hip-hop dance group I Love Dance, which taught the routine in two-hour, $30 sessions on Saturday, according to a Facebook invitation for the event. 

Psy, who was born Park Jae-sang, has been taking the world by storm with his pop video that's racking up a record number of YouTube "likes" and has been performed by everyone from Britney Spears to members of the U.S. Naval Academy got some love in Washington Square Park over the weekend.

Psy told CNN that the song refers to the posh Gangnam district of Seoul, Korea. 

"People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are its only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are 'Gangnam Style,'" he said. 

More than 2.8 million YouTube users have "liked" the official video for the song, beating out previous record-holders LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" and Justin Bieber's "Baby," according to Entertainment Weekly.

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West Village Wine Bar Aria Shut Down by Health Dept. for Mice, Roaches

WEST VILLAGE The Perry Street restaurant Aria Wine Bar gets rave reviews for its hip vibe and Italian food, but it's left city health inspectors far from impressed.

The 117 Perry St. eatery was shut down by the city on Thursday after inspectors found live roaches and evidence of mice, according to the city's website.

Aria racked up 52 violation points for infractions that included workers touching prepared food with their bare hands and improper protection of food from contamination.

Owner Tanya Hira said Monday afternoon she expected Aria would be ready to reopen for lunch Tuesday. She pointed out the restaurant earned "A" grades after inspections last March and August, and said adjacent construction projects had attracted vermin.

"We're stuck being closed for something we couldn't control," she said, estimating the business lost $10,000 each day it was closed.

The health department closure particularly stings combined with Aria's losses because of Hurricane Sandy, Hira said. The restaurant, which serves dishes including grilled lamb chops and vegetable lasagna, was closed for a month and a half because of storm damage.

Under the restaurant grading system the city introduced in July 2010, the Health Department immediately closes restaurants and bars with "conditions that may be hazardous to public health," according to its website.

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Miss Universe Organization Signs Fragrance License

Moving past the ball gowns, swim suits, equality and world peace, the Miss Universe Organization has signed a fragrance license with Neil J. Katz and his Omni Scents.  Just in time for back to school shopping, there will be 3 new fragrances on the market, a trio of scents for women that are inspired by Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA contests.  
According to WWD, "focusing on modern perceptions of beauty, the global release will be the first license to launch from Omni Scents, Katz said. Miss Universe fragrance collection will, we believe, resonate with women all over the globe who look to each contestant as a representative of what every girl dreams of becoming beautiful, talented, a winner in every sense, said the Omni Scents founder and president. Truly, this is a fragrance concept that captures aspirational glamour, as it appeals to every girl who wants to feel confidently beautiful. 

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Heidi Klum's Surprise Fragrance

Surprise! Heidi Klum's latest fragrance, named Surprise, is due to launch next month.  The fragrance, a balmy, floral, citrusy scent, contains notes of mandarin, pink pepper, magnolia, rose, benzoin, and sandalwood.  Heidi Klum says her fourth fragrance will stimulate all of your senses.

"Surprise will stimulate all your senses. The fragrance is cheerful, playful and sexy,'' announces Heidi Klum.

Will you try this modern and sensual fragrance with floral-fruity notes that blend with warmed resins and wood? 

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Questlove of The Roots Plays Surprise Show in SoHo Parking Lot

MANHATTAN If they're good enough for "The Tonight Show," they're good enough for Lafayette Street.

Current and former members of The Roots the house band on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" that will soon follow the star to Jay Leno's seat surprised SoHo residents and visitors Monday afternoon with a set performed in the parking lot on the southwest corner of Prince and Lafayette streets.

Perched on top of a car lift, Roots member Questlove played the drums as former bandmate Rahzel beatboxed and sang a rendition of the reggae classic "Murder She Wrote," video by the men's lifestyle website the Crosby Press shows.

The seemingly impromptu concert was sponsored and promoted on Twitter by Red Bull, which has music and educational events planned worldwide as part of its Red Bull Music Academy.

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Transgender New Yorkers Face Scorn and Violence Using Public Restrooms

MANHATTAN Long before her boyfriend was slashed for defending her against an alleged gay-slur-spewing McDonald's patron who questioned her use of the ladies' room, Jalisa Griffin came to dread each time she needed to use a public bathroom. 

Griffin, 22, who identifies as transgender, said she is harassed at least once a week when she uses women's bathrooms, where people seem to feel free to bombard her with dirty looks and nasty comments.

That hostility led to violence on Sept. 19, when McDonald's customer Keith Patron allegedly began calling Griffin and boyfriend Jamar McClod names when Griffin tried to use the women's bathroom at the West Third Street fast-food eatery.

"You're going to the wrong bathroom," Patron, who has been charged with assault as a hate crime, allegedly told the couple before following the pair out of the eatery and trying to take a swing at McClod, who returned the punch and kneed Patron in the groin, sources said.

"You f---ing f----ts," he told them, according to a criminal complaint. Patron allegedly slashed McClod with a straight razor on the face and body.

But Griffin said that while Patron was arrested for the incident, there are countless others who have harassed her and people like her who have gotten off scot-free.

Three weeks ago, Griffin was visiting a friend at Bellevue Hospital Center when she said a female security guard tried to block her from entering the ladies' room. 

"You need to go to the men's bathroom, sir," the guard told Griffin.

"No, ma'am, I'm a woman," she replied. "I don't use the men's room." 

The guard left her alone when another guard intervened, but Griffin said the constant harassment weighs her down. Sometimes she opts to head home rather than try to use public bathrooms.

"A lot of times my friends and I will just get in the car and go, to just avoid the trouble," she said, "It's very aggravating. It adds so much stress to your life."

Transgender advocates say that for many transgender and gender-nonconforming people, something as simple as visiting a restroom can make them targets for harassment and violence. 

Statistics on such incidents are hard to come by, but a staffer for the Chelsea-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund said that since January 2010, the group has fielded 89 calls from around the country from transgender people who were barred from using the restroom of their choice or had acts of violence committed against them when they tried to do so. 

More than half of these calls were made from New York City, TLDEF staffer Noah Lewis said. 

And more than half of participants in a 2011 study conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reported being harassed in public accommodations like restaurants, stores, hotels and hospitals. 

Nearly 10 percent reported being physically attacked. 

One of the most well-known attacks on a transgender person in a public restroom occurred in April 2011 in a McDonald's outside Baltimore. Teonna Monae Brown, 19, and an unnamed 14-year-old girl brutally beat 22-year-old transgender woman Chrissy Lee Polis inside the restaurant's ladies' room after questioning Polis's right to be there. Video of the attack filmed by a McDonald's employee was posted online and went viral. 

In May, Polis told The Baltimore Sun that the attack still haunts her.

According to New York City Human Rights Law, businesses and employers that bar people from using restrooms consistent with how they identify their genders expose themselves to charges of gender-identity discrimination. 

Still, there are a number of schools, facilities and public spaces that have implemented gender-neutral restrooms, prompting some to hope the restrooms are a sign of a growing recognition of the needs of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. 

The New School opened "gender-inclusive" restrooms at its 6 E. 16th St. building in March, in the spirit of "fostering an open and inclusive environment," a spokesman said. 

The College of Staten Island announced plans in April 2010 to make 20 of its restrooms about one in each building gender neutral, The Staten Island Advance reported.  

"The CSI community is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and diverse as we attract more and more students from across the five boroughs, and faculty from across the world," said psychology professor Darryl Hill, who supported the restrooms. "We have to respond to their needs and provide a safe environment."

The LGBT-friendly West Village synagogue Congregation Beit Simchat Torah converted the men's and women's bathrooms at the Jacob Javits Center into all-gender facilities for last week's Yom Kippur services, which were attended by more than 4,000 people. 

"At CBST, we are made up of many diverse communities coming together, and one of the ways we embrace this ideal is by providing all-gender bathrooms, where everyone can feel safe," interim executive director Bruce Anderson said. 

The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School in Greenwich Village opted to convert some single-sex restrooms to gender-neutral restrooms about two years ago, director Philip Kassen said. 

"If we did have somebody who was dealing with gender issues, we could take one hurdle away from them," said the head of the private pre-K through 12th grade school. 

The problems transgender people face using public bathrooms even prompted the creation of a website and an an app for those looking for safe spaces. 

TranSquat, an iPhone map application that launched in April, shows users the closest gender-neutral and single-stall restrooms. It includes more than 4,000 user-submitted bathroom locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom 59 of which are in Manhattan. 

"Transgender people face so many struggles. Going to the bathroom should not be one of them," said the software developer behind the creation of TranSquat, who spoke on the condition that his name be withheld.

The designer, who's based in Portland, Ore., created the app using the gender-neutral bathroom directory Safe2Pee.org, which launched in 2006. Both the website and the app are fueled using submissions by users, who indicate whether a restroom is gender-free, single-stall and whether bathroom users need to buy something in order to use the facilities.

Still, advocates warn that the dangers transgender people face go far beyond their choice of restroom.

Carrie Davis, director of community services at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center, said alternatives to men's and women's bathrooms take some weight off the shoulders of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, but she cautioned that they don't guarantee users' safety.

"The little sign on the door doesn't make the bathroom safe," she said. "We have more gender-neutral bathrooms now, but we live in a world where stigma and prejudice exist freely."

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Despite Hepatitis A Scare, Alta Restaurant Patrons Stay Loyal

GREENWICH VILLAGE As management of Alta Restaurant in the Village assured patrons the eatery was safe after a staffer was recently diagnosed with hepatitis A, some New Yorkers said they were willing to give the Mediterranean bistro another chance.

The city Health Department warned Friday night that anyone who ate dessert at Alta between March 23 and April 2 may have come in contact with the hepatitis A virus because a part-time member of the kitchen staff had been diagnosed with the disease after a trip to Mexico.

No additional cases of hepatitis A have been reported in connection to exposure at Alta, according to the Health Department.

While staff of the top-rated restaurant at 64 W. 10th St. prepared for the dinner crowd Tuesday night, some customers said they would return to the restaurant.

West Village resident and Alta regular Rafi Av, 50, said he planned to go back to Alta, which he called "awesome and authentic."

"I know the reputation of the restaurant and they fixed the problem right away," he said, pointing out that the Health Department never closed Alta.

But not everyone was ready to dig in.

Artist and designer Jen Larkin, a Williamsburg resident, sympathized with Alta's staff but said the scare left a bad taste in her mouth.

"It's sad that it's going to hurt their business, but I wouldn't eat there," said Larkin, 40.

West 10th Street resident Ann Silverman, a 75-year-old retired from a career in advertising, agreed.

"I wouldn't eat there," she said. "I wouldn't risk it."

Nearly 240 people, including 31 Alta employees, received the vaccine at a city health clinic over the weekend, a Health Department official said Monday.

The restaurant said in a statement released Monday night that it immediately responded to the risk of an outbreak.

"It is completely safe to eat at Alta," the statement said. "Beyond the individual infection, the DOH has not determined any evidence of any contamination whatsoever."

Patrons of the restaurant with health questions can contact the Health Department via a direct line at (347) 396-2600.

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Village Halloween Parade 2012 Brings Zombies to Life

MANHATTAN It's time to dust off your "Thriller" zombie makeup again. 

More than 2 million people are expected to swarm Sixth Avenue Wednesday, Oct. 31 for the 39th annual Village Halloween Parade. This year's festivities will include hundreds of puppets, 53 bands and thousands of parade participants in some of the world's most creative costumes. 

This year's spooky theme, "Tick! Tock!", explores the end of time in the final year of the Mayan calendar. 

"We think of time as infinite, yet modern physicists tell the story of its beginning, and ancient calendar-makers tell of its end," the parade's website explains.

Halloween Parade Map 2012 (Redesign)

View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Mike Miguez

The lead float in the parade which officially starts at 7 p.m. and will move north on Sixth Avenue will include pocket-watch-bearing white rabbits and winged alarm clocks, the site said. 

The giant spider puppet that dangles ominously from the Jefferson Market Library Clock Tower will return to the parade this year after a four-year absence while the Greenwich Village library was renovated. The giant spider puppet will be joined by a giant octopus, which will be made by master puppeteer Basil Twist.

The theater education group Camp Broadway will salute two cult classics with a mashup dance inspired by "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Carrie: The Musical." The dance will be performed for the first time this year. 

The annual "Thriller" dance opened for registration Monday, and four rehearsals will be held before the big night, according to ThrillerNYC.com. The site notes that zombie bouncers are still needed for the dance.

On the night of the parade, anyone in costume can line up to join the parade between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Sullivan and Broome streets just east of Sixth Avenue, at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street, or at Watts Street just west of Sixth Avenue. 

Everyone in the parade is eligible to win the costume contest. "Secret scouts" will canvas the parade looking for the best get-ups and will hand out contact cards to contenders. The winner will be selected from those that respond to the organizers, according to the parade's website. 

Prizes for the winners of this year's contest haven't been announced yet, but last year's victors went home with a weekend stay at the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel on East 48th Street and tickets to the off-Broadway plays "Stomp," "Fuerza Bruta: Look Up," "Standing on Ceremony," "The Fartiste" and "The Voca People." 

The official Village Halloween Parade After Party will be held at Webster Hall, at 125 E. 11th St., which will be dubbed Webster Hell for the evening. Starting at 8 p.m., revelers aged 19 and up can be engulfed by "heart-pounding dance music" in a four-story "twisted mausoleum," according to the club's website. 

Webster Hall will hold its own costume contest "at the stroke of midnight," when one lucky winner will be awarded $5,000. But make sure to step up your Halloween game. 

"This is not an ordinary costume contest where some CVS makeup and fake blood will get you the cash," the club's website reads. "This is the king of all costume contests Expect to see some of the scariest, sexiest and most creative and complex costumes seen anywhere." 

The makers of the fruity malt liquor Four Loko will be at the party to fete the holiday as "Lokoween," according to maker Phusion Projects' website. 

General admission tickets are available online for $40 each. 

Those who prefer to get their frights from afar can watch the parade on WPIX 11 starting at 7:30 p.m. and NY1 starting at 8 p.m. 

Information on street closures and changes to subway and bus service because of the parade was not immediately available. 

People from all over the world have taken to Facebook to tell the organizers they're getting into the Halloween spirit. 

Chris Foott, who lives in Manchester, England, wrote that he and his new wife will attend the parade as Jack Skellington and Sally from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas." 

"Looking forward to [this] as part of our honeymoon," he wrote. 

Facebook user Kelly Larkin said she was traveling even further for the Halloween festivities.

"We will be coming from Tasmania, Australia to participate!!! Can't wait!" she wrote.

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FiFi Consumer's Choice Submissions

Don't forget fragrance lovers...submit your consumer's choice submissions by January 25th, 2013, for a chance to be chosen as one of the five women's or five men's fragrance finalists, in the Consumer Choice category.  This award will be widely promoted to consumers through print, online, and media outlets.  

The criteria, process and validation form can be downloaded here. Have fun!   

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Spanish Fast-Food Chain to Replace Longtime Village Pizza Shop

GREENWICH VILLAGE Goodbye, classic slices. Hello, $1 serrano ham sandwiches.

The Spanish fast-food chain 100 Montaditos is preparing to open its first New York location this summer in the current home of Pizza Box, which has sold slices on Bleecker Street since 1957.

Selling 100 varieties of the Spanish mini-sandwiches known as montaditos priced between $1 and $3 the chain is set to open at 176 Bleecker St. near Sullivan Street in mid-July, Brian Crawford, a representative for exclusive New York franchise owner Crown Acquisitions, told DNAinfo.com New York on Tuesday.

The southern Spain-based chain will offer an ultra-low-cost "Spanish culinary experience," said Crawford, who is a former executive chef at Dean & DeLuca.

"It's affordable elegance with charcuterie and jamon at a reasonable price," he said.

Sandwich stuffings include chorizo, Spanish omelet, Iberico cheese and fried calamari. Patatas bravas ($3), French fries ($2.50) and mini-cups of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream ($2) are also on the menu. 

The festive fast food joint also wants to serve cheap drinks, with sangria, tinto de verano and multiple bottled beers available for $3 to $5 each, and just $2 every Wednesday.

Crawford asked Community Board 2 on Tuesday night to support a beer and wine license transfer from Pizza Box, but board members instructed him to first discuss the restaurant's plans with local block associations. 

Lease documents provided to CB2 show the 900-square-foot space with an additional 900-square-foot back garden was rented for $19,500 per month with 3-percent annual increases over the course of its 10-year lease.

Management of Pizza Box which the pie-focused website Slice ranked one of Manhattan's top five pizza joints  was not immediately available Wednesday to comment on when the restaurant will close.

Fans can anticipate additional 100 Montaditos locations in the Big Apple, as the the chain has 20 locations in the works for New York City, Crawford said.

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Kenny's Castaways Closure Marks End of an Era, Music Fans Say

GREENWICH VILLAGE After 45 years in business, the Bleecker Street rock club Kenny's Castaways prepared to host its last concert Monday night and say goodbye to a piece of Greenwich Village music history.

As the club at 157 Bleecker St. got ready Monday evening to host rockers The Smithereens and guitarist Willie Nile, people who had come to the club for decades called its closure another blow to Manhattan's live-music scene. 

Smithereens singer Pat DiNizio, who first performed at the club in 1980, said he was mourning the loss of a "second home." He added that Kenny's closure was as important as that of the legendary Bowery punk club CBGB. 

"This is another of the rock clubs that have disappeared," he said. "This is like putting the period at the end of the sentence." 

The late Patrick Kenny opened the club in 1967, offering a stage for a bevy of now-famous artists including Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Buckley, Phish, Aerosmith and The Fugees. 

Artist Arthur Miller, who traveled from York, Maine, to attend Kenny's final send-off, called the closure "another nail in the coffin" for the New York rock scene. 

"The joints in Manhattan used to have a little character," said Miller, 55. "Now all the grit from decades in the making is getting cleaned up." 

Bleecker Street resident Judy Cleary, 71, said she was sad to see a family-run business shut its doors. 

"It's been a wonderful place to come. You're always welcome," she said. "There's nothing left in this area." 

Austin O'Malley, who was a bartender at Kenny's from 1992 to 2004, came down from Boston for "the final send-off."

"This was always a launching place for new bands," he said. "Hopefully new artists will still have someplace else to go."

Owner Maria Kenny called the closure "bittersweet."

"Tonight is sad but it's going to be a very fitting tribute," said Kenny, adding that she is considering opening another music venue.

"We're going to try possibly, in the future, doing something. Maybe not in Manhattan," she said. She added that she is moving out of her residential space above the bar to an apartment in the Bronx.

In July, Community Board 2 approved an application by restauranteur Sergio Riva of the Meatpacking District restaurant The Diner for a music venue and eatery at the address tentatively named Carroll Place. 

"The concept is American bistro and wine bar with a lot of Italian dishes," said Riva, whose bid for the location was first reported by DNAinfo.com New York.

Riva was planning live music four nights a week inside the 2,500-square-foot space. The board committee's approval of a liquor license at the venue was contingent on musical acts finishing by 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 

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Azzedine Alaïa Introduces First Fragrance

30 years later and fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa introduces his first perfume.  He has signed a 13 year fragrance and cosmetics license with Beauté Prestige International and says, I am delighted to work with them in launching this new project. I have total confidence in Beauté Prestige International to accompany me in creating a perfume that interprets my work and my world.

Alaïa's first fragrances will hit the market in 2015, so we have quite some time to get excited for it!

Photo: WWD; Stéphane Feugère

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Crystal Renn for Reem Acra

Crystal Renn, an American fashion model and author, is the face of Reem Acra's first fragrance, Reem Acra.  Acra told People StyleWatch that the new fragrance is a blend of ginger, jasmine, and assorted fruity notes -- "reaches out to all of my fans, and that's exciting." 

Photo: Reem Acra

Watch the fragrance ad video here. 

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$25-a-Month Coffee Club Offers Unlimited Joe at Village Cafe

GREENWICH VILLAGE If $25 for unlimited coffee each month sounds too good to be true, you haven't been to Fair Folks Cafe.

The new space, which opened Friday in a sunny storefront at 96 W. Houston Street, is one part furniture store and art gallery, one part community space and one part bargain-basement cafe where members pay $25 per month for unlimited coffee, tea and espresso drinks. 

The cafe was created to expand upon both the ordinary art gallery and the standard coffee shop, co-owner Anthony Mazzei said. 

"In a typical art gallery, no one speaks to you," he explained. "And in a [typical] coffee shop you plug in and tune out. Here we want people to engage with each other." 

Anyone can walk in for a cup of joe at Fair Folks, but customers who sign up for $25-per-month memberships will get unlimited refills of Crop to Cup coffee, co-owner Victor Jeffreys II said.

More than 100 people have already signed up to be Fair Folks members in its first four days open, Mazzei noted. Membership will be limited, he said, but he declined to provide the cutoff number.

"We're interested in creating community," he said. 

Members will be invited to art openings, jewelry shows and other "happenings" at the space, which will offer whimsical icebreakers to try to get people to connect with each other like asking every attendee to be photographed with whomever RSVP'd right after them. 

"The point is to have a memory, a new souvenir, a new connection. For people in New York, that's an exciting thing," said Mazzei, a 31-year-old Upper East Side resident whose wife, Aurora, is also a co-owner. 

The store hopes to make most of its cash on people purchasing its unique artwork including furniture, paintings, sculpture and merchandise all of which is on display inside the cafe.

There are a set of poured latex paintings by Leah Durner (price available upon request), a long wooden communal table that can be yours for $5,200, and jewelry displayed in cases in the front window from $50 to $280.

"It's like a magazine you walk through rather than read," Mazzei said, "and you get a new issue every month."

An antique white loveseat, which is available for customers to sit on while they sip, goes for $1,800.

Mazzei said he would be heartbroken if a clumsy customer spilled espresso on any of the furniture, but that creating a homey environment is worth the risk.

"That's what separates us from other companies," he said. "Things here are here to be used."

Member Blake Fortson, a 26-year-old urban design student, said he signed up at Fair Folks to be part of a new community, as well as cut back on his coffee spending. The Bedford-Stuyvesant resident estimated he shells out $80 per month on the lattes he buys five days a week. 

"This is a nice place to get stuff done," he said, "and the membership fee is nothing compared to what you'd spent on coffee anyway."

Fair Folks Cafe, located at 96 W. Houston St. near LaGuardia Place, will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  

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$2.9M Village 2-Bedroom Offers Art Gallery-Style Open Space

GREENWICH VILLAGE Why just look at art when you can feel like you're living in a museum?

A two-bedroom on East 11th Street near University Place recently listed for $2.89 million boasts huge expanses of fresh white walls and 12-foot ceilings designed to showcase art and design collectors' prized pieces.

Exclusive broker Jordan Hummel of the firm TOWN Residential said viewers at the first showing of the sixth-floor unit at 56 E. 11th St. on Sunday raved about the creative possibilities of the home.

"Given its minimalist and sleek design, there's a tremendous amount of wall space for art," Hummel said.

With windows on the northern and southern ends of the 88-foot-long floor-through, the apartment gets ample light. The sunshine is multiplied by a unique ceiling covered with embossed tin, Hummel said.

"When the light shines through, it hits these ceilings and disperses throughout the space," he said.

Renovated in 2000, the apartment has wood floors made of "rustic" plywood finished with stain and high gloss, a built-in speaker system and two full bathrooms.

A key-operated elevator gives direct access to the unit.

Scaffolding currently covers the pre-war building because facade and brickwork repairs are being done, but it should come down by the fall, according to the information on city permits posted outside.

Hummel called the apartment a rare opportunity.

"Nothing has traded on that block in the last two years," he said. 

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El Faro Restaurant in West Village Closed by Health Department for Mice

WEST VILLAGE The city closed longtime Greenwich Street standby El Faro Restaurant last week after health inspectors found evidence of mice and improper sanitation practices.

The 822 Greenwich St. Spanish restaurant, which opened in 1927, was hit with 57 violation points for "evidence of mice or live mice present," improper handling of food to prevent cross-contamination and improperly maintained plumbing, according to the city's website.

El Faro, whose old-time menu includes everything from tapas to paella, was also cited on Friday, Sept. 28, for a lack of signs posted at sinks about hand-washing.

Metal gates were pulled closed over the windows of El Faro Tuesday morning. No one responded to knocks at the door, and the restaurant's phone had been disconnected.

The restaurant received a warning from the Health Department May 1, when it issued El Faro 58 violation points, citing the eatery for mice, improper hand-washing facilities and cold food being kept at temperatures that were too warm, city records show.

Queens residents Zona Schreiber and Mort Harrison, both 80, said they planned to return to El Faro if and when it reopened. They said they had gone to the restaurant for favorites like chicken ajillo and paella for more than 20 years.

"If it's a good restaurant, we feel that it will turn around," Schreiber said

West Village retail manager Michael Nitis, 36, said he would also come back despite the violations.

"It's a staple. It's where I had my first date," he said. "It's just part of this neighborhood."

On the restaurant's website, owner Mark Lugris, who did not respond to a request for comment, touted the restaurant's dependability.

"El Faro is the same as it was when [customers'] parents came here on their first date, 30 years ago!: he wrote. "They can sit in the same booth, eat out of the same pot, the food is the same as when they first came!"

Under the restaurant grading system, which the city introduced in July 2010, the Health Department immediately closes restaurants and bars with "conditions that may be hazardous to public health," according to its website. An establishment that receives 28 or more violation points gets a "C" grade, the lowest mark it can receive before being shuttered.

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Village Bistro Alta to Be Hit with Lawsuit After Hepatitis Scare

MANHATTAN  A diner at the Village restaurant at the center of a hepatitis scare last week is planning to sue the Mediterranean bistro for negligence, his lawyer announced.

Attorneys for Alta customer Michael Piacente are set to file a class-action lawsuit against the restaurant in New York State Supreme Court Thursday, after an employee was diagnosed with hepatitis A stemming from a trip abroad.

Piacente, a Fairfield County, Conn. resident who shared an ice cream sundae at Alta with his fiancée as a pre-wedding treat on March 28, decided to sue the top-rated 64 W. 10th St. restaurant because he believes management acted negligently by selling unsafe food and not requiring its food-service employees to be vaccinated for hepatitis A, attorney Bill Marler said.

"What the restaurant did wrong is not having their employees vaccinated and putting customers at risk," Marler said.

The city Health Department warned Friday night that anyone who ate dessert at Alta between March 23 and April 2 may have come in contact with the hepatitis A virus because a part-time member of the kitchen staff had been diagnosed with the disease after a trip to Mexico.

No additional cases of hepatitis A have been reported in connection to exposure at the tapas restaurant, according to the Health Department. Piacente ate dessert there during the period in question and has not yet received the results of his hepatitis test, his lawyer said.

Alta owner Christopher Chesnutt declined to comment on the suit because he had not yet seen the filing, but he said the 10-year-old restaurant was working closely with the city Health Department.

"We're following and cooperating with the Department of Health's advisories," he said. "The Department of Health found no contamination here and we still have a letter grade A."

Chesnutt said that while Alta does not require its employees to be vaccinated for hepatitis A, neither does the city.

Piacente and any other diners who participate in the suit will ask for damages incurred because of medical expenses, wage loss, physical pain and emotional distress, Marler said. He noted that about a dozen people who ate dessert at Alta during the risk period have contacted his firm, which specializes in food-safety law.

Piacente and his wife are still waiting on the results of their April 9 hepatitis A tests as they prepare for their honeymoon to the Caribbean, Marler said.

"After going to a restaurant, the last thing you expect is that you're going to get a phone call [saying] that you've been potentially exposed to a pathogen that can kill you," Marler said. "A $50 vaccine would have obviated the need for all of this to happen."

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Calvin Klein's Dark Obsession

Ladies, and more importantly, gents, welcome the flanker of CK's OBsession for men with Dark Obsession for men, an aromatic oriental fragrance for 'a man driven by adoration' according to the comapny.  
Photo Courtesy: Calvin Klein 

Notes for the fragrance include Brazilian green mandarin, guarana and absinthe, french clary sage, fir balsam and white vetiver, Madagascar vanilla bean, labdanum and suede.
Now, for the advertising, ladies let's drool over Calvin Klein model Matthew Terry who stars in the video campaign below (which you can watch here), directed by Dan Jackson.  

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Babbo's Future Unclear as Board Rejects Mario Batali's Zoning Request

GREENWICH VILLAGE The popular Mario Batali-owned restaurant Babbo needs a special zoning permit to continue serving its highly sought-after Italian fare but the local community board wants the city to think twice about its renewal in the face of complaints over noise and fumes.

Community Board 2 refused this week to support a 10-year extension of a waiver Babbo is required to have to operate on its block of Waverly Place, which is officially zoned only for residential use.

Batali himself chimed in on CB2's decision via Twitter on Friday morning.

Asked by DNAinfo.com New York how he would characterize the situation, he tweeted "In progress toward peaceful resolution."

Some Twitter users came to Babbo's defense.

"It seems like you are doing everything to be considerate. I think your plans will help. Bravo mario!" user @Toga1601 wrote.

"@BabboRistorante neighbors shld be honored to have Babbo nearby. World class restaurant and owner," Twitter user @LarryFundler wrote. 

Board members said at a Wednesday night meeting of its land use committee that the city should force Batali and company to show they have solved neighbor-reported problems with idling limos, smashed bottles and cooking exhaust at the 110 Waverly Place restaurant before its 10-year zoning variance is rubber-stamped.

"You should have to prove [the solutions] are working before you get the permit," committee chairman Tobi Bergman told restaurant representatives.

Babbo neighbors Doris Diether and Nuri Akgul have battled the restaurant for more than a decade, arguing it does not belong on the quiet block.

Akgul brought two lawyers to the CB2 meeting, one of whom said vibrations and noise from Babbo's air conditioning and ventilation systems are so powerful they have left the retired 57-year-old suffering from a sleep disorder.

Babbo attorney Deirdre Carson said the restaurant is planning extensive measures to respond to neighbors' complaints, including extending the kitchen's exhaust duct to reduce cooking fumes and having soundproofing materials installed around the exhaust fan.

Declining to disclose how much Babbo has spent because of their neighbors' gripes, Carson said the restaurant has already trained a video camera on the curb to ensure that garbage and recycling are not picked up in the middle of the night, as well as hired a fleet of experts: an architect, a mechanical engineer, a structural engineer and an acoustical engineer.

CB2 will ask the city Board of Standards and Appeals, which has the final say on the permit, to find an alternative to granting Babbo a 10-year variance renewal, perhaps by renewing the permit for a single year, or by approving it with new stipulations.

The variance expired in December, but Babbo is currently operating on a temporary permit while applying for the renewal.

A Waverly Place resident who declined to provide her name defended the restaurant, saying management had been responsive whenever she griped about garbage and delivery trucks coming to the restaurant too early in the morning.

"I like having Babbo on our block," she said. "They have been good neighbors." 

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El Faro Restaurant to Stay Closed Indefinitely, Owner Says

MEATPACKING DISTIRCT The longtime eatery El Faro Restaurant will stay closed indefinitely as its owner tries to raise more than $80,000 to pay city fines and other expenses, he said.

Mark Lugris, the owner of the 822 Greenwich St. Spanish restaurant that was closed Friday after city health inspectors found evidence of mice and other infractions, said Wednesday that his family would need more than $80,000 to pay off fines to the Health Department, eliminate debts to food purveyors and renovate the space inside the landmarked 150-year-old building to help it meet city standards.

Lugris said his restaurant, which opened in 1927, owed about $12,000 in fines to the Health Department before last week's closure.

"We're exploring our options now, but we're limited financially," said Lugris, a Long Island resident whose family bought the restaurant in 1959.

The owners of El Faro owe the city $11,195 in fines from health code violations issued in June 2011, July 2011 and May 2012, records from the city Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings show.

OATH determines the amounts of fines for health violations issued by the Department of Health, restaurants can contest charges of violations through OATH.

Health inspectors visited El Faro, which serves steaks and Spanish classics like tapas and paella, and posted "CLOSED" stickers on the windows Friday night, Lugris said.

He said the restaurant was committed to keeping the kitchen clean but is hobbled by operating in an old space full of "tiny cracks and holes."

"We hose down our kitchen three times a day and try to do whatever we can," Lugris said.

El Faro has received an outpouring of support for the restaurant in response to the closure, with at least 40 calls and 25 emails coming from as far away as Hawaii, Germany and Japan, he noted.

"A lot of people are distraught," Lugris, 50, said. "We have people who have come here for four generations with their families. I am receiving a great amount of kindness from my customers."

For decades, El Faro has served as a kind of "general store" for the neighborhood's remaining longtime residents, Lugris said.

"People have their packages delivered to us. It's like an extension of their house," he said. "We delivered food to some of our elderly [customers] and even brought them milk and bread if they couldn't leave home. It was more than a restaurant."

The Health Department hit El Faro with 57 violation points for "evidence of mice or live mice present," improper handling of food to prevent cross-contamination and improperly maintained plumbing, according to the Health Department's website.

The city immediately closes restaurants and bars with "conditions that may be hazardous to public health," the website says.

Lugris said the possibility of permanently losing the restaurant is devastating.

"I lost my brother two years ago," he said, "and this is about as close as that."

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Jean Paul Gaultier Summer 2013 Fragrances

Ah summer time, and the summer fragrance launches start coming out for a limited time.  Jean Paul Gaultier has launched his annual limited edition summer versions of Le Male and Classique for Summer 2013.  

Photo Courtesy: Jean Paul Gaultier 

Le Male Summer consists of notes of lavender, mint, cardamom, grass, leaves, vanilla, musk and sandalwood.

Classique Summer is made up of notes of mandarin, lemon, rose, orange blossom, jasmine, ylang-ylang, iris, vanilla, musk and amber.   

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Futuristic Hip-Hop Art Exhibit Opening at Children's Museum of the Arts

MANHATTAN The Downtown artist, graffiti writer and MC Rammellzee walked the streets of Manhattan in the '80s and '90s wearing elaborate, full-body costumes, showing his art in a jam-packed TriBeCa loft he called "The Battle Station."

Starting Thursday, selections from Rammellzee's invented mythological world including costumes, figurines, large-scale paintings and masks will go on display at the Children's Museum of the Arts.

CMA board president Elizabeth Fearon Pepperman said she hopes "The Rammellzee Galaxseum" exhibit will open children's minds to the wild possibilities of art. 

At a time when many are concerned that young people are plugged in and tuned out, CMA's exhibitions seek to ignite our visitors' imaginations and to inspire their creativity," she said in a statement. "CMA is honored to promote the work of an artist whose constant creative output consistently pushed the boundaries of imagination." 

The exhibit traces Rammellzee's career and the complex network of characters he created that fall into categories like "Recyclers," "Trashers" and "Monster Models." His work has rarely been shown since his death in 2010 at age 49, museum staff said. 

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Laight Street building that housed the Battle Station was sold and Rammellzee and his wife, Carmela Zagari, moved to an ordinary apartment, the New York Times reported. Rammellzee's work subsequently went into storage. 

Zagari said children made a good audience for the science-fiction-inspired art of her husband, who recorded the 1983 hip-hop single "Beatbop" with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. 

Its very fitting that Rammellzees work is now on display at the Childrens Museum of the Arts, she said in a statement. Many children visited the Battle Station through the years and were enthralled by the characters and mythology my husband created.

"The Rammellzee Galaxseum" will be on display at the Children's Museum of the Arts through Feb. 3, 2013. The 103 Charlton St. museum is open Monday and Wednesday 12 to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 12 to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Tuesday. Admission costs $11 per person, with infants under a year old free. Admission Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. is pay-as-you-wish. 

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From Pasta Flour to Parmesan, New SoHo Bistro Imports Everything From Italy

SOHO Chef Philip Guardione spends his days on Prince and Spring streets, but you won't catch him buying ingredients at Dean & DeLuca.

Only foods specially shipped from his homeland of Sicily pass the test for the man in the kitchen at Piccola Cucina Enoteca at 184 Prince St., as well as at his new spinoff eatery Piccola Cucina Osteria, located at 196 Spring St.

Three to four times a week, Guardione, a 31-year-old Sicily native, receives shipments of cheese, produce, oil, fresh fish and more.

"Everything tastes different. The ocean is different. It has more salt. The fish tastes different," he explained. "We import everything, even the people," he added, pointing to the all-Italian staff in the tiny Spring Street restaurant's open kitchen.

Since opening the last weekend in March, Piccola Cucina Osteria has served traditional Sicilian entrees a slight departure from the small plates and tapas-like items served at its Prince Street counterpart, which opened in May 2009, Milan-born manager Davide Poggi said.

"There is for a younger crowd," he said of the Enoteca. "Here it's more classic."

Fresh pasta dishes at the casual, 28-seat restaurant include pasta alle sarde with Sicilian sardines, pine nuts, raisins and wild fennel, and run anywhere from $14 to $24 each.

The wine list showcases selections from Sicily and Tuscany.

Guardione said he hopes to provide the same level of dining at Piccola Cucina Osteria that he created at Piccola Cucina Enoteca, which won a Michelin Bib Gourmand award in 2012 for providing good cuisine with good value.

"I want to bring the same as before quality, design and service," he said. 

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Donald Trump's presidential announcement just destroyed my cellphone

Getty Images/David BeckerReal-estate mogul Donald Trump kicked off his 2016 presidential campaign announcement on Tuesday by teasing his rivals for holding their events in what he described as inadequate facilities.

"It's great to be at Trump Tower," he said. "It's great to be in a wonderful city, New York. And it's an honor to have everybody here. And, I can tell, some of the candidates, they went in. They didn't know the air conditioner didn't work. They sweated like dogs. They didn't know the room was too big, because they didn't have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS? I don't think it's gonna happen."

While Trump Tower may be nice, it's far from perfect! I had a big problem with his building. It wrecked my cellphone.

I got to the event a few hours early. There were no seats set up in the press area in front of Trump's podium, but I managed to snag a spot on a small ledge where a handful of reporters sat and crouched over their computers.

As the event progressed, I heard many reporters complaining about the lack of seats. I was cramped, but I thought I was lucky to have my place on the ledge. Oh, how wrong I was.

I was using my phone as a hotspot for my computer until, at one point, my internet dropped out. I looked for my phone, and it was no longer next to me on the crowded ledge.

With the help of some friends I searched for it and realized it fell in a dirt planter behind the ledge. This was bad news because the planter included a large round hole filled with standing, dirty water. My phone fell right into this fetid pool.

Courtesy of Jacob Kornbluh

I pointed out the dirty water pool to a pair of workers in Trump Tower uniforms and said they may want to cover it up.

"That's definitely not supposed to be there," one said.

Trump regularly boasts of the high quality of his real-estate properties, and at this very event he suggested you could judge a presidential candidate based on the conditions of his or her event space. So, by his own standards, it seems Trump may not be ready to fight ISIS. My phone certainly won't live to fight another day.

The Trump campaign declined to comment on this story.

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