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In Defense of Ali | The new issue of Page Six Magazine (which is now back as a quarterly) has an update on Ali Wise, the socialite/publicist who was arrested back in July for allegedly hacking into the voicemail of socialite/interior decorator Nina Freudenberger. More
We've received a bit more info on Ali Wise, the Dolce & Gabbana publicist and social fixture who was arrested this week for allegedly hacking into the voicemail account of interior designer Nina Freudenberger. And it looks like Freudenberger may not be quite as innocent as she's led on. As Page Six reported today, the man at the middle of this little squabble is Josh Deutsch, the founder of Downtown Records.
Scandal in Socialite-Land | Fashion publicist and social scenester Ali Wise was arrested earlier this week after she allegedly hacked into the computer of Nina Freudenberger. But other salacious details may soon come to light. "Wise's antics go beyond what's stated," an anonymous tipster tells us by email. "For that reason there's a restraining order in place against her now, effectual for 5 years. And there were multiple victims of her hacking hobby. A defamation suit is under way in addition to the felony charge of computer fraud she already faces. There are piles of irrefutable evidence against her." We have no idea if any of that is true, but it may be worth mentioning that Wise's ex-boyfriend, hotel owner Jason Pomeranc, was the victim of a hacking attempt himself last fall, as Cityfile first reported. The case is still open, though, and the identity of the person who managed to make off with some of Pomeranc's personal files has never been revealed. [Previously]
• The fashion publicist/socialite who moonlighted as a computer hacker? This is going to make for a fabulous movie. It seems Ali Wise (right), the Dolce & Gabanna public relations director, professional socializer, and ex-girlfriend of hotelier Jason Pomeranc was arrested this week for using her computer to wiretap and eavesdrop on interior designer/social butterfly Nina Freudenberger (left). The worst part? Wise was held overnight in an jail cell and wasn't given any special treatment, poor thing. [NYDN, P6]
• Wise wasn't the only nightlife fixture behind bars this week. Wass Stevens, NYC's most famous club doorman, was arrested for whacking a man with the metal end of a velvet rope outside Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss's Avenue the other night. Stevens says the man acted up when he was refused entry, which sounds a pretty likely scenario. [P6] More
• Sasha Petraske's Dutch Kills opens tonight. [Eater]
• The Sant Ambroeus team is taking over the lease at Lever House. [GS]
• Sumile Sushi, Josh DeChellis's former haunt, has closed its doors. [Eater]
• Hotelier Jason Pomeranc, who recently parted ways with chef Todd English, is now starting his own restaurant management company. [HC, NYO]
• The restaurants that opened—and closed—during the month of April. [Eater]
• A roundup of restaurants and bars slated to open by May 13. [TONY]
• Can people tell the difference between pâté and dog food? Not usually! [LAT]More
Happy Birthday | Jack Nicholson turns 72 today. Filmmaker John Waters is turning 63. Hotelier Jason Pomeranc is 38. Real estate developer Billy Macklowe is 41. Jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane is turning 77. Real estate super agent Kathy Sloane turns 64. The View's Sherri Shepherd is turning 42. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan turns 43. And State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is 66 years old today.
Hotelier Jason Pomeranc should be in a good mood today. His long-awaited, much-delayed Smyth Tribeca hotel has finally opened! The launch isn't probably quite as exciting as he imagined it would be, especially since Andre Balazs' new Standard has been soaking up all the limelight as of late, and rooms at the Smyth are available for as little as $107 a night, which makes it cheaper than New York's worst hotel, the Hotel Carter. But you sure get a lot for your $107! The rooms feature bath products by Kiehl's, snacks by Dean & Deluca and Zabar's, Sferra linens, flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, and free in-room Wi-Fi access, although you may want to skip that particular amenity. And you may want to consider bring your own food with you, too—or at least a stack of menus: The restaurant doesn't open until spring.
The Villency Emerging Fashion Program hosted a dinner at Bobo on Wednesday night to honor Elise Overland and threeASFOUR designers Adi, Ange and Gabi. Eric Villency and wife Kimberly Guilfoyle welcomed a collection of fashion and social fixtures, including Zani Gugelmann (left), Byrdie Bell, Daniel Benedict and Andrew Saffir, Ann Dexter-Jones, Richard Johnson, Hope Atherton, Kate Schelter, Maggie Betts, Horacio Silva, Jessica Joffe, Glenn O'Brien, Ferebee Bishop, Gigi Stone, Tom Sachs, Serena Merriman, Poppy de Villeneuve, and Stephanie LaCava. [PMc, FWD, VF, GoaG]More
• You can't afford to eat there any more, but you'll be pleased to hear that Daniel is still a four-star restaurant, according to Frank Bruni, who says Adam Tihany's recent redesign is "genuinely gorgeous." [NYT]
• Jason Pomeranc's Thompson LES is opening a rooftop bar. [GS]
• Gramercy Tavern gives away free $24.07 gift cards, chaos ensues. [GS]
• Chocolate Bar is re-opening at a new location in the West Village. [NYO]
• Kevin Adey is taking over as chef at Park Slope's Bussaco. [TONY]
• Your Tony Bourdain rant o' the day: "Alice Waters annoys the living shit out of me... There's something very Khmer Rouge about [her]." [DCist via Eater]
• Spotted: Adam Platt's photo appears in Conde Nast Traveler. [Eater]
Cinema Society, Nextbook and Grey Goose hosted a screening of Defiance last night with an after-party at Shang inside the Thompson LES. Host Andrew Saffir and the film's stars, Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber, and director, Edward Zwick, were joined by Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone, Naomi Watts, Olivia Palermo (left), Jason Pomeranc, Agyness Deyn, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, Donna Karan, Martha Stewart, Jay McInerney, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Eric Villency, Amy Sacco, Russell Simmons, Zani Gugelmann, Ivanka Trump, Andre Balazs, Steve and Christine Schwarzman, Ann Dexter-Jones, Ellen Barkin, Paula Froelich, Richard Johnson and Sessa von Richthofen, Larry Gagosian, Bettina Zilkha, Carson Kressley, Jennifer Creel, Valesca Guerrand-Hermes, Rachel Roy, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Douglas Hannant, Rosanna Scotto, Heather Matarazzo, Joshua Bell, Leelee Sobieski, Jill Hennessy, Debbie Bancroft, Marina Rust Connor, Nina Griscom, Caroline Murphy, Judah Friedlander, Patrick McMullan, Liam McMullan, Mary Alice Stephenson, Dan Abrams, and Dave Zinczenko. [PMc, Wireimage, The Daily] More
♦ Soon-to-be-single Madonna premiered her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, at the Sunshine Theater on Monday night. On the red carpet and/or the after-party at the Thompson LES: Lindsay Lohan (left), Jerry Seinfeld, Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, Ann Dexter-Jones, David Blaine, Alan Cumming, America Ferrera, Brooke Shields, Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone, Glenda Bailey, Jessica Alba and Cash Warren, Juliette Lewis, Jason Biggs, Jeremy Piven, Vanessa Williams, Becki Newton, Malin Akerman, Lake Bell, Max Minghella, Padma Lakshmi, Terry Richardson, Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson, Joe Zee, Byrdie Bell, Fabiola Beracasa, Ferebee Bishop Taube, Zani Gugelmann, Katie Lee Joel, Beth Ostrosky, Eleanor Ylvisaker, Kelly Klein, Minnie Mortimer, Maggie Rizer, Chace Crawford, Amanda Cutter Brooks, Ingrid Sischy, Ross Bleckner, Nancy Jarecki, Derek Blasberg, Ed Westwick, Rose Byrne, Taylor Momsen, Debbie Bancroft, Terry Richardson, Bruce Weber, Guy Oseary, and Ali Wise and Jason Pomeranc. [The Daily, PMc, Wireimage, Style.com] More
Pomeranc Talks Up the LES | Now that he has the Thompson LES to promote, hotelier Jason Pomeranc has all sorts of great things to say about the Lower East Side. In fact, "the Lower East Side is my favorite neighborhood in New York," he tells Fashion Week Daily. No word on whether that means he'd actually live there himself—his loft happens to be located in SoHo—although if he does decide to move and elects to stay at the Thompson LES while in transition, we'd recommend that he not use the hotel's WiFi. [Fashion Week Daily]
It seems hotelier Jason Pomeranc (left) and his two brothers have more to worry about than construction delays or declining demand for overpriced hotel rooms south of 14th Street. According to court documents filed this week, someone hacked into the Thompson Hotels email system two weeks ago by impersonating an employee, made off with confidential company documents, and is now threatening to disclose them to the public. The identity of the hacker is unknown, and the U.S. District Court complaint does not specify what sort of information was obtained—although judging by Thompson's reaction, we're guessing it wasn't a revised room service menu. Thompson's suit against "John Doe" after the jump. More
♦ Nightlife impresario Noah Tepperberg (left) says bottle sales at Marquee have slipped 10 percent this quarter. [GS]
♦ Jean-Georges Vongerichten is paying $1.75 million to settle a lawsuit brought by waiters over skimmed tips at his restaurants. [Reuters]
♦ Todd English's Libertine opened inside Jason Pomeranc's Gild Hall hotel last night. [NYO]
♦ The city's best restaurants are in Hell's Kitchen; the best bars are in the East Village. At least that's what Time Out says. [TONY]
♦ Now that Dessert Studio has closed, Will Goldfarb is planning a move to Bali. [NRN via GS]
♦ Armed robbers are targeting Starbucks locations. [NY1 via Eater]
♦ JE Englebert, the owner of Suzie Wong and Prime, may sue the developers of the Gramercy Starck building on East 23rd Street because he doesn't like the small emanating from the McDonald's on the ground floor. [NYP]
