Armin Amiri Sets Sights on Hollywood After Socialista Shuts Down

Armin Amiri, the mastermind behind the now closed West Village nightclub Socialista, is moving on. He’s about to start work on indie flick The Imperialists Are Still Alive, in which he plays the protagonist’s “30-something scruffy, sexy, Middle Eastern ex-boyfriend.” (He also recently played Mickey Rourke’s doctor in The Wrestler.)

The Read More

Days Before The Box Turns One, Owner Simon Hammerstein Reflects

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 Read More

Round Up the Usual Suspects

Striding about his nearly completed $2 million West Village café-lounge, boldly called Socialista, former Bungalow 8 doorman Armin Amiri’s giddy body language rivaled that of the sandblaster being wielded by a nearby worker.

“The design is all me,” said Mr. Amiri, gesturing first to the molding that lined the ceiling, then to the stained Read More