Neighbors protesting the trendy Beatrice Inn's effort to renew its liquor license were outraged last week to find out that they were effectively wasting their breath.

By the time the issue had come to local Community Board 2 for a vote on Sept. 18, the hip celebrity hangout's renewal had already been approved by the State Liquor Authority .

"Advise us on how to get rid of this place," pleaded one aghast neighbor.

Raymond Lee, chairman of the board's SLA committee, explained that there was really little that the panel could do because -- despite allegations of the popular hot spot's "coke den" reputation -- the Beatrice on 285 West 12th Street had no record of violations with the SLA (an apparent prerequisite for nixing a renewal).  read more »

We have long been fascinated by the new Kirsten Dunst—the rehabilitated Downtown girl whose dinners at Freeman's and late night outings have grabbed New Yorkers' attention—but until now, we have not heard Ms. Dunst discuss her reinvented self. It seems she has grown and evolved since spending time at Cirque Lodge in Utah earlier this year (she checked out in late March), which was the final step to leaving her child actress self behind and becoming an adult, she tells Harper's Bazaar in their October issue.

Here we thought we were the official Kiki experts, but given the rich detail in the profile, we bring you a 10-point summary of what we learned about the rehabilitated Ms. Dunst  read more »

"Holy shit. As a resident of the greater AC region--and as someone who is a bit ambivalent about the fact that I'm from here--all I can say is fuck off, douchebags. Whatever inherent (albeit at times ironic) charm Atlantic City might offer doesn't need to be helped along by any hipster dilettantes. You're the reason I stay here instead of moving to Philly or Brooklyn. Seriously, YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! A Minor Threat Lacoste shirt? C'mon. . ." ["Beatrice by the Beach"]

It was a scene straight out of an American Apparel ad: A half-dozen or so good-looking guys and gals in their 20s, sporting beachy garb and body piercings, lounging around on an unmade bed, while two skinny dudes made out on a leopard chair in the corner.

It was almost sunrise and there was no more beer. Empty bottles lay scattered around the room, along with some glasses full of cigarette butts.

On the nightstand, beside a white lamp shaped like a cockatoo, a shiny new iPod docking station blasted out an eclectic mix of dance hits, ranging from the contemporary (the Killers’ “Somebody Told Me”) to the classic (Neneh Cherry’s 1989 smash “Buffalo Stance”).  read more »

At around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 7, someone identifying himself as a plainclothes police officer began poking around the Beatrice Inn with a flashlight. “It was very strange,” said a source who was there.  read more »

Editors' Note: This article has been corrected from an earlier version which misidentified the grandfather of Simon Hammerstein. We regret the error.

This Thursday, Valentine’s Day, The Box, Simon Hammerstein’s Lower East Side burlesque nightclub, will celebrate its one-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, the exclusive watering hole has arranged an evening of special return performances by the past year’s most popular acts—entertainers like Buck Angel and the Porcelain Twins.

Talking to the Daily Transom today about the past year, Mr. Hammerstein, the grandson of acclaimed lyricist Oscar, said the highlight of the past 12 months was “that we had a small little idea and a lot of people checked in and made it pretty exciting.”  read more »

Whatever do they put in the water at Paul Sevigny’s Beatrice Inn? Booze! (We just got feeling back in our legs, ourselves.)

Basically it seems the giant multiheaded monster of New York celebrity heads to the West Village watering hole every other weekend to savor its salad days with a side of saliva.

Heath Ledger, for one, reportedly spent a recent evening at the exclusive nightspot “kissing and making out” with Kate Hudson.

Then there's Mary-Kate Olsen...  read more »