NYPD

Still reeling from the fallout of its highly publicized 2007 prostitution bust, embattled Manhattan strip club Scores West has filed for bankruptcy.

Court papers filed on Friday point to "mounting tax debt" and a "loss in sales" at the voluptuous 10,000-square-foot venue at 536 W. 28th St. "as a result of the actions by the New York State Liquor Authority proceeding against the [club] to revoke its liquor license."  read more »

On Broadway and Canal Street things appeared normal the day after the NYPD raided what it dubbed “the counterfeit triangle” of Chinatown. Tourists milled around, trying on the knock-off sunglasses and stroking the rows of fake bags hanging on the walls.

(As an aside, the word "counterfeit" implies the copies actually resemble the original and the goods on display in Chinatown would not fool even the most casual readers of Vogue.)

“Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada. What do you want? I got it all,” one man offered not so surreptitiously.

When I approached another vendor to ask about yesterday’s events, he asked me in a thick Chinese accent if I wanted to buy a designer bag. A few stalls had sheets draped across portions of their merchandise.  read more »

West Chelsea's bipolar nightspot Club Myst/Retox Rock Bar will be closing its doors for two whole weeks on Jan. 7, pursuant to a settlement agreement with city prosecutors.

Or, as the club spins it, "CLOSING FOR RENOVATIONS."

See our previous coverage here.

But before shutting its doors, Myst/Retox is throwing some high-profile parties this weekend, including tonight's featured performance by ex-con cum sex-tape star turned turntablist Amy Fisher, which earned a Page Six mention today.  read more »

Embattled strip club Scores West continues to bet its future on disgraced cop Michael Oliver.

According to Thursday's Post article:  read more »

City Hall blogger-gadfly Rafael Martinez-Alequin, who's been buzzing around this building for about two decades and has recently had an issue with getting into press conferences because he doesn't have a press pass, had his application for a press pass denied today.

The NYPD, which issues press credentials in the city, turned down Alequin because, according to their letter to him, he "failed to establish that applicant is a full-time employee of a news gathering organization covering spot or breaking news” and “failed to provide…one letter from one media employer indicating there were three articles or photographs published within twelve months immediately preceding the application.”

Alequin said he's appealing. The case is interesting because it tests the definition of a journalist in a day and age when anybody with a blog can lay claim to the profession.

Alequin has a blog, but he has also been poking at mayors with his off-beat questions at press conferences for years now. So Alequin is a recognizable figure to every reporter in City Hall.

He has been consulting noted civil rights attorney Norman Siegel about a response and they're keeping their legal options open, Alequin said.