A New Jersey man strangled his gay lover with a rope in the victim's Alphabet City apartment, police sources said yesterday.
Davawn Robinson, 22, of Paterson, NJ, allegedly wrapped the rope around the neck and wrist of Edgard Mercado, 39, in Mercado's apartment on Avenue C near East Eighth Street at 4 a.m. Friday.
Authorities found Mercado's body face up on the floor of his bedroom. Robinson had fled, police said, but was arrested the next day on murder charges.
A Manhattan condo is flush with amenities -- as in royal flush.
The city's newest legal underground card den is in a renovated condominium at 254 Park Ave. South, where a 1,400- square-foot poker room and lounge is being constructed in the basement of the 13-floor tower.
The developers of the condo, where the 123 units list for up to $3.28 million, are betting the poker room will attract a full house in a slow real-estate market.
"This isn't a gimmick amenity. The poker room is an extension of people's living space," said Daniel Rosen, a principal at Rosen Partners, one of the developers.
"We thought it was a good idea and then realized that no one else had done it before in Manhattan."
The poker den, pimped out with an eight-seat, green-felt poker table, a pool table and a posh bar, is already attracting residents lured by the idea of hosting their own weekly card games in style.
"The poker room and the high ceilings -- that did it for me. I knew it was the right fit," said David Stern, 30, who's moving into his two-bedroom unit in the next few weeks.
I knew if I didn't leave I would start texting offensive things to their balloon project..like "Your balloon needs to be all fro-yo'd up, bitches!" or "Let's all have a fucking crack binge tonight NYC!"..so I just wandered off. It didn't seem very exciting anyway.
Heather's Bar, which was under renewals with complaint histories, was by the far the most contested application of the night. The community came out in full force (signs reading "NO TO HEATHER'S BAR") to explain why they believe the owner is negligent and the space is a detriment to the neighborhood. Critics point to an overwhelming amount of noise and smoke, as well as Heather's inability to tackle any of these problems effectively. The owner of the space insisted that she has done everything to satisfy neighbors and comply with community board stipulations, but that it "doesn't seem to be enough." The fact that the establishment is on a side street only makes matters worse. The board agreed to hold off on a vote until the residents and the bar owner set up a meeting to attempt to work out their problems.
MTV Games has released the first frightening images of Iggy Pop as a Lego mini-figure from November's Lego: Rock Band. At least they got the crotch right.
