Fans sad as Conan packs up for L.A.

Photo credit: Urbanite

(AP Photo)

By Pete Catapano

There’s always been something very New York about “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

From the comedy bits around Rockefeller Center to conversations with New Yorkers on the street, O’Brien’s off-the-wall show connected with the city since it first started in 1993.

But tomorrow, O’Brien will say good night from his midtown studio for the last time as the show packs up for Los Angeles, where he will become the new host for “The Tonight Show” beginning in June.

While his fans in the city are fairly confident Hollywood won’t change Conan too

much, they say he belongs in New York City.

“It’s sad to see him go. He seems more New York, but you’ve got to take the opportunities where they come,” said Heidi Newhart, 28, a fan from Astoria who’s watched the show for 10 years.

Last night Mayor Bloomberg appeared on “Late Night” and gave Conan a key as a gift. When Conan said, "I'm stunned. I'm receiving a key to New York City," the mayor replied it was actually the key to the Port Authority men’s bathroom.“It’s really sad he’s going to go because he’s done so much comedy related to New York,” said Kumar Kintala, 25, of the Upper East Side.

O’Brien, who took over “Late Night” in 1993 when David Letterman moved to CBS, will take his band and most of his writers to California with him. He’s assured fans the change of scenery won’t change him.

“It would be a mistake to reinvent myself as a completely different person now,” he told the AP.

It’s not as if fans didn’t try to convince NBC execs to keep the wildly popular host in town.

Aaron Weyenberg, a 33-year-old web programmer from Connecticut, got 318 signers to his online petition at www.keepconan.com, which he started three weeks ago.

“The goal was to let the network and Conan know that they’re part of the city now,” he said, adding that when Conan leaves “a slice of the city will go with it.”

“I was hoping it be in the thousand to get some traction,” said Weyenberg, who’s spent a lot of time in the city. “The idea was to get a mention on there (Conan’s show).”

He also said he’s worried that the new “Tonight Show,” with its 11:30 p.m. timeslot and new location won’t be the same as the “Late Night” Conan fans have grown to love.

Mary’s Fish Camp, a restaurant in the West Village, also had its own petition. The eatery got more than 70 signatures in one day, and when Conan found out, the show did a segment on it, which resulted in hundreds of more signatures, waitress Marianne Shiel said.

“I was pretty surprised by the enthusiasm and zeal that people has to sign,” Shiel said “It was fun, even though we knew it was a lost cause.”

“It would be nice if he stayed,” she added. “His own kind of idiocy works well in New York City.”

O’Brien reportedly joked on the show that he would need 1 percent of the world’s population to sign keep him in New York.

An NBC spokesman said Conan and his staff have “truly enjoyed” their 16 years in the city and will be sad to leave Rockefeller Center’s studio.

(Marlene Naanes contributed to this story)

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