Gansevoort Hotel tangled in $5M stiletto-stab suit

What a heel!

Amanda Keisoglu went to a Manhattan hot spot for fun and ended up the victim of a stabbing — by a stiletto.

Keisoglu, 26, was out on the town for her cousin's bachelorette party in August when the group of 12 friends and relatives hit the Ganse­voort Hotel's rooftop bar, Plunge.

They'd paid extra for a private ­table and were having a blast, Keisoglu says, despite the allegedly drunken, violent antics of a woman nearby.

"I didn't know her whatsoever," Keisoglu told The Post.

When the woman, Marie Thys of Belgium, got into a fight with someone next to her, Keisoglu tried to distance herself — but Thys had other ideas.

"I felt my wrist get pulled, and it forced me to turn around," Keisoglu recalled. "Then she kicked my inner thigh."

Thys struck with her stiletto heel just so, puncturing Keisoglu's leg, leaving the shoe stuck in the wound until someone pulled the drunken woman away, Keisoglu said.

The bloody fashion attack left the New Jersey woman stunned.

"I felt hot liquid," she said. "I sat down and plugged [the wound] with my finger."

Bleeding heavily, a friend helped her to the restroom, and eventually the dental assistant was rushed to a hospital for intravenous antibiotics, but the wound was too deep for stitches.

Keisoglu, who was laid up for three or four days and still undergoes physical therapy, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Thys and the Gansevoort for failing to prevent the attack.

"I thought I'd be safe there," she said. "I feel like this could have been prevented."

Thys, who was in New York on vacation, was arrested and charged with assault in the incident. The case is pending.

The Belgian woman "was visibly intoxicated for several hours prior to the attack" but the bar continued to serve her, failing to give her the boot even though she was "belligerent and violent against other ­patrons for some time prior to the attack," according to the Manhattan Supreme Court papers.

"They completely failed at keeping me and the other girls safe," Keisoglu said.

The Gansevoort did not return a call for comment.

A lawyer for Thys declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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Stalwarts push to revive cursive in city schools

If your kid can't sign his or her name, here's why: Most city public schools stopped teaching cursive handwriting years ago.

The focus on high-stakes testing and rigorous Common Core math and reading standards has reduced handwriting to a "lost art." The city Department of Education leaves the decision to teach it up to each school.

But some school officials want to bring cursive back.

Marlon Hosang, principal of PS 64 in Alphabet City, plans to launch a cursive curriculum this spring, saying it will boost learning — and students love it.

"We should use technology, but not at the expense of being able to write your thoughts on paper," he told The Post.

The act of handwriting is "soothing," and research shows it stimulates a different part of the brain, Hosang said.

"It helps kids get smarter," he said.

His fifth-grade teacher, Amanda Roccanova, used to teach in city Catholic schools, where handwriting is still taught in second grade.

She has already taught her PS 64 class the basics: the slant, downcurve, undercurve, overcurve and loop.

Every Friday, she demonstrates a letter or two and sends kids home with practice sheets for homework.

"The hardest thing for them is holding the pencil correctly," Roccanova said. "A lot of them still hold it in a fist."

Hosang visits classes and writes kids' names to pique their interest.

The students seem eager to learn the "grown-up" skill.

"I like script because it's more curly than the straight lines," said fourth-grader Kasidee, 9, whose grandma has bought her handwriting manuals.

"It's a fancy way to write," said 9-year-old classmate Eric.

"It's like you're drawing, but you're making a word," chimed in Eliana, 8.

Fourth-grade teacher Meghan McElligott wants her students to eventually be able to read the script on the original Declaration of Independence and US Constitution, as well as sign their John Hancock.

Handwriting develops fine motor skills, she added.

In most city schools, students learn only to print or tap laptops.

"It's time-consuming to teach cursive writing," said Sheila Durant, principal of PS 69 in The Bronx. "We prefer to use that writing time to focus on the content rather than what it looks like."

But Hosang and other principals where handwriting is still taught say cursive benefits kids through their academic years and beyond.

"Writing in cursive is a necessity when they transition into high school. They need to write on exams — all the way to the SAT," said Angelo Sacco, assistant principal of PS/IS 180, the Seeall Academy in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

Seeall students learn cursive in second grade and use it in writing assignments through eighth grade, Sacco said.

This year, Seeall's Daniel Chi, now in fourth-grade, won a cursive award in a national handwriting contest sponsored by publisher Zaner-Bloser.

At least 10 states recently passed laws or added standards requiring the teaching of cursive, but no such move is afoot in New York.

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School hires monitor for girls’ ‘exposed collarbones and calves’

The morality police aren't just patrolling Iran or the Islamic State — they're standing watch at a school in Brooklyn.

Female students at ­Yeshiva of Flatbush are outraged that two monitors were hired this school year to patrol hallways for exposed collarbones and calves.

The modesty crackdown comes as the school enforces a new, stricter dress code, including longer skirts.

"We're walking in and we're being scrutinized every morning," said 16-year-old senior Melissa Duchan. "We can't just walk in the halls because everyone's looking at us and judging us every second for our clothing. Obviously, it's degrading."

"They're overly harsh," agreed senior classmate Jaclyn Klein, 17. "They scream at you. They bring down your confidence. One time, I got pushed into a corner by this one lady who stood in the front . . . and she said, 'You better go change your skirt right now.' "

Two mothers called the inspections by the modern Orthodox day school "horrible."

We can't just walk in the halls because everyone's looking at us and judging us every second for our clothing. Obviously, it's degrading. - senior Melissa Duchan

Duchan wrote a desperate letter to her school in September, published on the Jewish news site JTA, begging administrators to "stop the madness" and describing the skirt-chasers as "predatory" who make female students "feel hunted."

Three days after her plea went viral, officials met with her. "They couldn't really discipline me because I didn't do anything that was against school rules," Duchan told The Post. "They just talked to me, and nothing's really changed."

Aside from the long skirts, the school mandates that girls have no more than one earring per lobe, wear loose-fitting and conservatively colored clothing, cover their collarbones, wear shoes that have backs, and not wear tight shirts, or V-necks and "cap" sleeves.

The only time the girls can ditch their long skirts is when they're away from the boys, in separate gym classes. But they're required to put on a wraparound skirt to use the bathroom, because it's across the hall and they might encounter boys in the hallway.

Boys are far less limited: They must wear yarmulkes, traditional tzizit (strings hanging from the waist), shoes and socks, conservatively colored pants, collared shirts and be clean-shaven.

Students in violation of the dress code are usually sent home to change, or forced to wear a school-supplied outfit. Either way, they must use one of six annual "sign-outs," where students are permitted to miss school for sickness or appointments.

Duchan said that in her private meeting with school officials, she was told the two female fashion cops are not Jews. "They want to make it not like a Jewish thing," she said. "They just want you to follow the rules of the school, so they specifically hired non-Jewish people."

Last May, the school officials tried to drum up the dress code enforcement themselves but were met with hostility, recalled Duchan, who was insulted by a scolding. "[The administrator] said . . . 'You're a smart girl, why do you dress like that?'

"They put a stop to that because parents complained. They were acting like it reflects on your self-worth — what length skirt you wear!"

"It's terrible," fumed a mother who wouldn't give her name in fear of yeshiva backlash. "We're spending this money to send them to the schools … the rules are just wrong."

Seth Linfield, the executive director of the 2,100-student school on Avenue J in Midwood, where tuition is upwards of $34,000 a year, refused to comment.

Yeshiva of Flatbush dress code for girls:

• Must wear dresses or skirts and blouses

• Skirts are mid-calf or longer

• Shirts and tops have a neckline that covers the collarbone

• Tops are long enough to cover the middle of the body, even when leaning over or raising one's hand

• No tight, sleeveless, "cap"-sleeved, tank and sheer tops

• Only conservatively colored T-shirts and sweatshirts allowed; no shirts with inappropriate prints or lettering

• Only one earring per earlobe

• Leggings to the ankle are permitted

• No beaded, cornrowed or unusually colored hair

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Two girls’ 10-hour-long sorority hazing hell

Two Medgar Evers College freshmen have blown the whistle on a CUNY ­sorority's secret hazing.

Wooed by Gamma Beta Delta, Shawntee Caton, 17, and Gabby Jones, 18, had planned to join the impressive-seeming sisterhood when things turned ugly. They were blindfolded, interrogated about sex acts, humiliated and asked if they could be tied to a tree naked, the girls told The Post.

Their 10-hour ordeal began Sept. 21 when suddenly strict sorority sisters took the girls' bags and cellphones, ushering them and six other pledges into a stifling, dark basement with a radio blaring static.

They got questionnaires asking whether they were sexually active, how many sex partners they had, whether they were gay or bisexual, whether they had engaged in a threesome or were willing to, and whether they had ever gone to an orgy.

Each was blindfolded and led separately upstairs to a room and surrounded by 20 to 30 women, they said. The tone got "nasty."

Both girls were chided for not following instructions — they came together after being told not to tell anyone and wore black sweaters with white designs after being told to wear all black.

When Jones questioned the criticism, a sister said, "We got a smart ass, don't we?"

"Where are you from?" one asked Caton. "You weren't taught to take off your shoes in people's houses?"

Shawntee Caton and Gabby JonesPhoto: J.C. Rice

Scariest, each was told the other recruits had been tied to a tree outside, naked.

"Can we tie you up?" a member asked.

With a cloth tied over their eyes, each was then separately led into a room of 25 to 30 women, where they were grilled, insulted and mocked.

After the repulsive ritual, members told the shaken girls to "lighten up."

"We all had to go through this," one said.

But Caton was rattled.

"I've never been in a situation like that before, with everybody attacking me and I couldn't do anything at all," she recalled.

Both girls left sobbing.

The sorority, founded in 1988 at Brooklyn College, has a second chapter that recruits at other CUNY colleges, including Medgar Evers, where it is not sanctioned.

The colleges claim "zero tolerance" for hazing but have not yet responded to a complaint by Caton's mom.

"I'm mad as hell," said Alicia Gabriel, who had gone with Caton to the sorority's information session at Brooklyn College in September. "My daughter I thank God my daughter's situation wasn't worse. doesn't need to be a part of any group that belittles or tarnishes her self-esteem."

The girls were first approached by sorority members at a Medgar Evers club fair. It sounded like a way to meet pals and mentors, they said.

I've never been in a situation like that before, with everybody attacking me and I couldn't do anything at all. - Shawntee Caton

Caton plans on law school. Jones seeks a degree in social work.

They attended a friendly "Taco Night" and "Game Night" with other recruits and members. Then each got an invitation — printed with an image of white roses and the sorority motto, "Friendship. Sisterhood. Loyalty." — to the initiation at a member's house in Brooklyn.

It said to bring a $100 "non-refundable initiation fee" for pledge "materials."

The students didn't have $100, but were told they could pay in installments later.

Upon arrival, members took their bags and cell phones, saying they didn't want the girls to check the time.

New York psychologist Susan Lipkins called the tactic "Hazing 101." said such groups typically pull a "bait and switch" by acting nice to draw recruits, then play mind games with them, she said.

New York psychologist Susan Lipkins called it a typical "bait and switch," in which groups lure recruits with kindness only to play mind games with them later.

"The main goal is you make you feel as badly about yourself as possible. They break you down, so they can build you back up and develop a group identity," Lipkins said.

She predicted the hazing would have worsened — and possibly gotten dangerous — had the girls not quit.

A spokeswoman for Gamma Beta Delta said it is "vehemently against any type of hazing" but refused to answer questions.

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Police find nunchucks in South African man’s luggage

No nunchucks for you!

A South African man passing through JFK Airport found himself thrown in the slammer after police found nunchucks in his checked luggage, according to a lawsuit.

Karate brown-belt Jef d'Engle, 59, and his wife, Barbra, checked their bags, which held the nunchucks — also known as nunchaku, a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain or rope —, upon leaving Belgium. They didn't expect to see them again until they reached their final stop in Kingston, Jamaica.

But when they landed at JFK for a connecting flight, American Airlines handed back their bags and told them to go through security again, the d'Engles claim in a Manhattan federal court lawsuit against the city, the NYPD and the airline.

Nunchucks have been banned in the city since 1974, but the d'Engles never intended to set foot outside JFK during their October 2011 trip.

"We were supposed to be in the airport for two hours. It was an absolute nightmare," Jef d'Engle said.

Travelers can include nunchucks in checked baggage, according to the Transportation Security Administration — but an airport security officer confiscated them anyway.

As the couple left to catch their next flight, Jef d'Engle said, the security officer chased after them and suggested they might be able to get the forbidden items back.

"It was a ruse to get me back to that area," d'Engle says.

They were met by an NYPD officer who allegedly handcuffed d'Engle and dragged him out of the airport.

Then, while being detained in a filthy Queens jail cell, the vegan was offered a choice of meat or cheese sandwiches and denied access to his asthma inhaler, he says.

"This was like being in a horror movie," the father of seven recalled.

Terrified, he stood throughout the night, his asthma only worsening as an officer burned incense to try to relieve the smell from the dirty cell.

He was released the next morning after pleading guilty to disturbing the peace and paying a $270 fine.

"I was just so scared, I just wanted to get out of there," he said. "South Africa is a rough country, it's really bad — but I feel safer [there]."

The city said it will review the lawsuit. American Airlines declined comment.

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Walmart pulls offensive Halloween costume from shelves

Halloween was another diplomatic disaster for Walmart.

The retail giant got blasted Friday for selling a costume called the "Pashtun Papa" (right) — a mock-up of traditional Afghan robes and turban, coupled with a big, fake silver beard.

"Whether you're making a serious political statement or staging a polical [sic] parody, this authentic-looking outfit is sure to fit the bill!" the outfit's description on the store's Web site read.

"Nothing is sacred this Halloween," the blurb continued. "Shock your friends with this Islamic costume."

Walmart removed the offensive outfit later in the day after it sparked an uproar online. The retailer said it was sold by a third-party vendor.

"We are deeply sorry that this costume is on our Web site, and we are pulling it down as soon as possible," a Walmart spokeswoman said. "We are calling on all of the other retailers to pull it down as well."

Earlier this week, Walmart sparked an outcry when Halloween merchandise on its site included a section of "Fat Girl Costumes."

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Starbucks introducing delivery service to NYC

Hot coffee delivered right to the office — that's what Starbucks is promising with the launch of a coffee-delivery service where customers will be able to place ­orders from a mobile app.

"Imagine the ability to create a standing order of Starbucks delivered hot to your desk daily . . . That's our version of e-commerce on steroids," Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz told CNBC.

The coffee giant is planning to expand beyond brick-and-mortar shops following a recent slump in sales — due in part to competition from coffee-hawking fast-food joints.

The company has not determined the cities where it will roll out the pilot program — but New York City is on its short list, a rep for Starbucks told The Post.

"Delivery is an in-demand market in New York — so it's something that we're looking at," she said.

A launch date for the delivery program is scheduled for the second half of 2015.

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Forbes sells directory that catalogs Old Money families

The Forbes family has quietly sold off The Social Register — the 128-year-old biannual directory that has cataloged the country's old money families, particularly of the WASP elite.

"The ownership of the Social Register Association, previously owned by a subsidiary of Forbes Family Holdings, was transferred for the first time in nearly 40 years to Christopher R. Wolf, noted financier and longtime listed member," a Forbes spokesperson confirmed Friday.

Terms were not disclosed. Wolf did not return e-mails for comment.

In some ways, TSR was a forerunner of the numerous wealth lists — including the Forbes 400 — that have proliferated in recent years.

While it is seen as anachronistic to some, the 25,000 names still carry clout among those to the manor born.

Mimi Alford, in her 2010 memoir, "Once Upon a Secret," about her affair with President John F. Kennedy when she was a White House college intern, noted, "He just could not resist a girl with a little Social Register in her background."

The listings have their own shorthand. "P" after the name meant "Princeton" while "BtP" meant the person belonged to the Bath and Tennis Club of Palm Beach.

Wealth and fame have never been the sole criteria for admittance to the black book. Donald Trump, for instance, is not a member, nor is Kim Kardashian. Being Jewish or Black is no longer a bar to membership — as President Obama is in.

The Forbes family acquired TSR in 1976, but it was held most recently as part of the Forbes Family Holdings — which has been shedding its real estate holdings.

It was not part of Forbes Media, which includes the flagship magazine that finalized its sale to Asian investors in September.

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Taylor Swift’s label eyes over $200M in sales

Big Machine, the record label of Taylor Swift, Rascal Flats and Tim McGraw, is on the block, The Post has learned.

Owner Scott Borchetta, who started the label in 2005, is looking for a price in excess of $200 million, sources said.

While Borchetta has been building out the label of late — he just signed a new joint venture with Reba McEntire and Cumulus Group — the sale process is being clouded by a number of factors, including the fact that Swift is nearing the end of her contract with the label.

The 24-year-old singer has just one album left on her current contract.

Plus, Swift's family owns a piece of the label.

Without Swift, the label's value is likely worth a lot less.

Swift, the centerpiece of the Nashville, Tenn., label, has stunned the record industry yet again with first week sales of her latest album, "1989," forecast to hit 1.2 million units.

If those forecasts prove correct, "1989" will be the first platinum album of the year.

Sales of the new offering may even top first week sales of her prior album, "Red," which hit 1.2 million.

One of the hottest acts in the music business, Taylor could be the first artist in history to have three albums sell more than 1 million units in their first week.

A tireless promoter, Swift appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and staged a live concert for Yahoo! and iHeartMedia this week to promote the album.

The lanky artist does not stream her new music and drew some criticism from Spotify users for its absence this week.

With music labels suffering from a drastic decline in iTunes downloads year-to-date, Swift's performance is dominating music industry headlines as a rare piece of good news.

The young singer, who recently moved to an apartment in Tribeca and is fronting a "Welcome to New York" marketing campaign, has moved away from her country roots and could opt to take her business in-house.

To keep her, Big Machine may have to pony up an advance of between $10 million and $20 million, some music executives said.

Only with Swift back under a long-term contract will Borchetta get his high sale price, the executives said.

Big Machine is also nearing the end of its distribution partnership with Universal Music Group.

Lucian Grainge's UMG, naturally, could be a likely buyer of Big Machine, sources said.

The two companies also have a joint venture label called Republic Nashville and jointly began a sister label called "Dot Records" earlier this year.

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Apple investors feel ‘gay’

One day after Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed he was gay, any fear — no matter how remote — that investors would punish the stock disappeared.

Apple shares closed Friday at an all-time high, rising 1 percent to $108.

Cook on Thursday became the most powerful business leader to reveal he is gay when he opened up about his sexuality in an essay in Bloomberg Businessweek.

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now," Cook, 53, said in the essay. "So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

Cook, who took over the CEO role from Steve Jobs in 2011, is the first Fortune 500 company CEO to openly proclaim he is gay.

Apple shares, fueled by solid sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — and from Cook-initiated stock buybacks — have soared 35 percent this year.

Cook has also felt pressure from activist shareholder Carl Icahn to return some of Apple's cash to its investors.

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