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  • Not for Hillbillies: Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car now in NYC

    Monday June 30, 2008 12:43 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Being super rich just got more fun in Manhattan.

    While the rest of us find ways to avoid even paying for gas to get away this weekend, wealthy folk are figuring out what sports car they want to rent for their drive out of town.

    The luxury rental market is expanding with the introduction of Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car’s first Manhattan — and East Coast — location set to open Tuesday.

    Rent a Bentley for $2,000 a day or just $12,000 a week, according to the Web site. But the site also says that rate is for 50 miles a day and it will cost $1 for every extra mile.

    Here are some other rates:

    Rolls Royce drophead: $7,500 a day or $45,000 a week

    Aston Martin Vanquish: $3,500 a day or $21,000 a week

    Lamborghini Gallardo : $3,000 a day or $18,000 a week

    1959 Cadillac Convertible: $595 a day or $3,570 a week

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: beverly hills, gas prices, manhattan, economy

  • Holocaust imagery added to designer's Obama shirt

    Monday June 30, 2008 11:10 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Photo by Jefferson Siegel

    Culturally sensitive shoppers might be warned: Fashion designer Doron Braunshtein has pushed his politics to the next level.

    Not content to rest with his headline-grabbing “Obama = Hitler” and “Jews Against Obama” T-shirts, the Israeli immigrant who goes by Apollo Braun has brought Holocaust emblems into the mix.

    A mannequin at Braunshtein’s Lower East Side shop displays a “Who Killed Obama?” T-shirt with a “Jude” star safety-pinned to its shoulder, which was famously used in Nazi Germany to identify people of the Jewish faith.

    A memoir on surviving the concentration camp Auschwitz is tucked into a USA flag-themed belt. Another holocaust patch is on the mannequin’s shorts and a keffiyeh (a scarf similar to one warn by former Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat) is tied around the neck.

    The designer, who says he is practicing Jew, said he’s regaining a piece of Jewish identity that was manipulated to be degrading.

    “I take it back, like when younger African Americans use the ‘N’ word,” he said, referring to the star. “I’m taking back something that was meant to separate me from others. I am enjoying it and I’m proud to be a Jew.”

    But what’s the Obama beef?

    “’Obama’ sounds a little bit like ‘Osama,’” Braunshtein said. “And his middle name is Hussein. It’s a fact.”

    Braunshtein added that he doesn’t trust the Democratic candidate’s likeability factor.

    “Obama is such a charismatic person,” he said. “If I were to meet with him face-to-face in a room, I would fall in love with him. He will say what you want to hear. People admire him like they admired Hitler.”

    The “Jews Against Obama” shirt retails for $250.

    Unsurprisingly, not everyone’s a fan of Braunshtein’s work.

    Burkina, a clothing store around the corner from Braun’s shop, proudly displays a pro-Obama shirt.

    “People can have whatever shirt they want but I don’t think they should have one that’s wishing death. It’s morally not acceptable,” said Burkina’s owner, Hamed Burkina.

    Fans and foes should be prepared: Braunshtein says another explosive T-shirt is just around the corner.

    “It’s the most extreme one ever,” he says. “Someone is going shoot me over it. And it’s okay; I don’t mind being killed for my art.”

    — Kathleen Bulson and Megan Stride

    More here and here.

    Click to see more art inspired by Obama

    Tags: apollo braun, barack obama, manhattan, race and ethnicity, neighborhoods

  • Pass the pita ...

    Monday June 30, 2008 9:40 AM By Julie Gordon

    ... and take a bite out of Barack Obama?

    Strange thought, we know, but right now at the Javits Center three giant hummos sculptures are on display: the heads of Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton.

    As part of the Fancy Food Show, Mediterranean food brand Sabra had sand sculptor Kirk Rademaker create the massive heads from 100 lbs. of hummus. We know what we're NOT having for lunch today!

    Though they resemble Mr. Potato Head, the sculptures are still pretty cool. They are on display until Tuesday.

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: politics, candidates, food

  • Observations from the WTC bedrock

    Sunday June 29, 2008 3:06 PM By David Freedlander

    Work at Ground Zero continues on Friday. Explore

    a photo gallery of a tour Urbanite took of the site

    on Friday. (amNY/Emily Anne Epstein)

    Almost seven years after it became a target of the worst tragedy in American history, Ground Zero is today a site caught between states of being.

    For some, especially those who lost a family member or loved one, it is still a place of grief. For the visitors from the around the world who come to snap pictures, it is one more monument on the tour of the city. Developers, neighbors, planners, and politicians still project their visions on to the empty site even as tentative progress peaks its head above the street.

    Eighty feet down, the footprint where the Towers stood has the dusty, uneven terrain of another planet.

    Earthmovers and tractors scramble up and down steep, rocky inclines. Cranes tower overhead. Every few hours, the 800 workers there pause so that the blast team can dynamite through Manhattan schist.

    The sixteen acres are today a palimpsest of urban use. Still visible are traces of the old Hudson and Manhattan railway, the precursor to the PATH train, which today cuts a wide swath through the middle of the site. The scraggly remains of the Twin Towers are stubbornly still rooted into the rock.

    But even as workers labor to make the site new again, pieces of progress poke through the pit like flowers in the crack of a sidewalk. The base of the Freedom Tower is nearly complete and rearing its head above street level. The rest of the sixteen acres are steadily being cleared so work can begin in earnest, and the hole in the heart of Lower Manhattan can finally begin to heal.

    -- David Freedlander

    Tags: ground zero, world trade center

  • The city business that made eyes for Columbo, Sammy

    Sunday June 29, 2008 2:45 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Peter Falk (aka Columbo), Sammy Davis Jr., Helen Keller, Joseph Pulitzer, Jay Vanderbilt: That’s a diverse bunch that share a common trait.

    They all needed at least one artificial eye in their lifetimes and used the services of eye-maker Mager and Gougelman here in the city.

    Mager and Gougelman started as Gougelman & Co. in 1851, when Peter Gougelman — originally from Sweden — emigrated from France to New York City. He brought with him knowledge of his unique craft: fashioning artificial eyes. It’s a trade he passed on to his descendants.

    Today, Mager and Gougelman is one of the oldest family-run businesses in the city with a distinguished list of clients as you can see.

    Last week, David Gougelman spoke with amNewYork about growing up in a family that crafted eyeballs. Check it out here.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: columbo, peter falk, sammy davis, television, manhattan, history

  • Macy's, Gimbel's went dark during '83 Con Ed strike

    Sunday June 29, 2008 12:17 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The last time Con Ed workers went on strike was 25 years ago, and during the nine-week walkout, a blackout briefly shut down the Garment District.

    The 16,500 members of Utility Workers Union Local 1-2 walked off the job on June 18, 1983. At the time, the workers -- plant operators, repairmen, clerks and meter readers -- had an average pay of $12.16 an hour.

    The only service disruption during the strike occurred on Aug. 10. Some 12 blocks around Herald Square and the Garment District -- including Macy’s and Gimbel’s -- suffered a blackout when a broken water main shorted out power lines and started a fire in a Con Ed substation.

    The department stores quickly switched to emergency generators.

    It took three days for Con Ed managers to restore power, leaving the city and the garment industry to find temporary showroom space for local businesses.

    In the meantime, picketers marched up and down in front of Con Ed plants in New York and Westchester.

    The two sides finalized a new contract on Aug. 18, when the employees accepted Con Ed’s offer of a 14.5 percent raise over three years. The workers also received stock options and improved health, retirement and disability benefits.

    Prior to the 1983 strike, Local 1-2 members had walked out for 13 days 1968.

    - Matthew Sweeney

    Gimbel's photo via www.wm.edu; Macy's photo via Wallyg on Flickr

    Tags: con edison, strike, 1983

  • The Dish: Jahn's in Jackson Heights

    Sunday June 29, 2008 2:30 PM By Rolando Pujol

    You may not realize it when you stroll by, but Jahn's restaurant on 37th Avenue is something of a landmark, in a loose sense of the word. It's the last of what was once a popular chain of ice-cream shops that could be found around the city, and even down in Florida.

    If you're still mourning the unexpected loss of the Jahn's in Richmond Hill, consider a visit to the Jackson Heights locale. Of course, it lacks the old-fashioned ice-cream parlor charms of the vanished Richmond Hill locale, and nothing can replace that, or its rich history, traceable to John Jahn himself, who founded the first Jahn's in the Bronx.

    But the Jackson Heights spot still has plenty of old-school vibe, and the diner staples you would expect, as the photos below demonstrate.

    Later this summer, Urbanite will post a photo essay on the Richmond Hall branch, from our final visit their on a muggy day in the summer of 2006. Yes, we consumed the Kitchen Sink Sundae!

    -- Rolando Pujol

    The awning proudly displays the Jahn's logo ...

    but beneath lurks gold in the old plastic sign. Our vote? Lose the awning.

    The menu is the closest you'll find to the 19th century ice-cream parlor vibe that was beautifully intact at the Richmond Hill location. More interior shots of the Jackson Heights shop are after the jump.

    Tags: jahn's, jackson heights, diners, nostalgia, architecture, restaurants, queens, old school, neighborhoods, endangered nyc, signs

  • Victorian Flatbush: Its charms find a national audience

    Friday June 27, 2008 8:48 AM By Rolando Pujol

    This home is part of Victorian Flatbush, but is most assuredly not one of the fixer-uppers This Old House magazine says you can find for under a million bucks. (Photo by Rolando Pujol)

    When you mention Brooklyn real estate, people tend to think of the brownstones of Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens.

    They don’t think of huge Victorian houses sitting on tree-lined streets, but This Old House magazine may help change that after it designated Victorian Flatbush the “Best Place for City Slickers to Buy an Old House.”

    “Flatbush is a hidden treasure in our midst and the proximity to midtown is key if you work there. You can get there in under an hour and still have the amenities of a nice single family home,” said Deborah Snoonian, senior editor of This Old House magazine.

    Its diverse homes, good craftsmanship, and devoted residents helped put Flatbush on top. “Flatbush embodies all these qualities,” Snoonian said.

    The neighborhood still offers fixer-upper architectural gems for less than a million dollars, which the magazine thought was a great deal by New York standards.

    “We’re excited we got the title. I wouldn’t say surprised. There’s such neighborhood pride,” said Robin Redmond, executive director of the Flatbush Development Corp.

    Residents of Flatbush have long known the value of their collection of exemplary homes. The Flatbush Development Corp. has been running house tours of Victorian Flatbush for over 25 years.

    The tours are self-guided, as proud home owners open up their homes to give visitors a closer look at the meticulous architecture.

    This year, a heat wave hit the same week of the housing tour, but it didn’t keep people away.

    “We had shy of 500 people on the tour on a day of 90 degrees. It was a great mix of people. People came from as far as Connecticut and all over the tri-state area,” said Redmond, “You’d be surprise how many people liked it. They appreciate and enjoy the care people put into keeping up their houses from the turn of the century.”

    But Victorian Flatbush is more than just big beautiful houses; it has a true sense of community. There are annual meetings, potluck suppers, and parades.

    “You move in and you’re embraced by the community. It’s a place where you can lay down roots,” said Redmond.

    -- Simone Herbin

    More: An Urbanite jaunt through Victorian Flatbush

    Tags: victorian flatbush, this old house, brooklyn, architecture, endangered nyc, neighborhoods

  • Frying Pan update: Not sizzling just yet

    Thursday June 26, 2008 3:41 PM By David Freedlander

    Owner John Krevey at the Frying Pan during its renovations. (amNY photo by Jefferson Siegel)

    We just spoke with Frying Pan restaurateur John Krevey, who, with a sigh, described a bureaucratic nightmare which will keep the riverboat boarded up through the weekend.

    "It's just day by day," he said, and then proceeded to unspool a Kafkaesque nightmare involving Certificate of Occupancy permits, which we will, mercifully, spare you.

    The upshot though, is that if you wanted a burger and beer while you admire the sunset this weekend, you're sorta out of luck

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: frying pan, bureaucracy, kafka, restaurants

  • Florent -- gone in name, but not in menu!

    Thursday June 26, 2008 2:03 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Eater is reporting the surprising news that Meatpacking District pioneer Florent, set to close Sunday after 23 years, will reopen on Tuesday as the R&L Restaurant. That's the name of the diner that preceded Florent in that space, and Florent never took the sign down, nor did it change much of the original restaurant's basic design.

    In a further surprise, R&L will retain the menu and the staff. (Those great wall maps, however, have reportedly been auctioned off.)

    So, the question arises, why not just keep Florent Morellet in business?

    Says Eater, quoting landlord Joanne Lucas:

    When asked why Florent isn't involved in the new evolution she responded, "Florent from what I understand is moving on to a new chapter in his life." Many will see this as a happy ending for the Florent saga. He may be gone, but the space will remain unchanged., which never took the R&L sign down.

    Lucas is part of the original family that owned R&L back in the day. Eater theorizes that this move is a mere stopgap measure until another tenant is found for the space. But we doubt this development will cut down on the crowds this weekend as Florent calls it quits.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: florent, restaurants, meatpacking district, manhattan, real estate, old school, endangered nyc, signs

  • Throwback Thursday: The Albert Merrill School

    Thursday June 26, 2008 4:25 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The Albert Merrill School was one of those vocational institutes that promised computer training back in the days when Macs were just a fruit.

    You can't train there anymore (thank goodness Apex and DeVry are still among us!) but on West 28th Street, you can still survey a mural for the defunct school.

    Most New Yorkers will remember the school for its ubiquitous commercials (an example is below) shown on weekday mornings and afternoons in the 1970s and early 1980s. They starred a dapper fellow by the name of Jimmy Randolph, who is accosted by an eager fan who recognizes him from the commercials. He happily takes her to the nearest Albert Merrill School, about which Mr. Randolph is very proud.

    The commercial offers vanished views of Columbus Circle, including the Coliseum lurking in the background. You'll also enjoy how it promotes the school's phone number, with a solid old-school exchange: CIrcle5-3900.

    As for the merits of the Albert Merrill School, we quote a commenter on the YouTube video, who says he attended the school in the mid 1980s:

    Yeah, I wish I knew that before going to that school, I went in October 1984 and graduated in 1985 and you know what my job was after school, Messenger! Wow what a ripoff, the stuff they train you on was so outdated for example the IBM 360 was a computer setup from the late 60's, we did not train on anything new, I can say that they only thing I got out of the classes was keyboarding, they started me on my way to typing, no surprise they closed shortly after 1985!

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: throwback thursday, nostalgia, television, old school, manhattan

  • Duly Noted

    Thursday June 26, 2008 10:41 AM By Rolando Pujol

    The wonderful sign for the J.J. Hat Center in midtown. (Photo by Rolando Pujol)

    * Manhattan has the waterfalls, but Queens gets into the action, too, but replaces the water with sand! [Queens Crap]

    * Taxi cab TVs will be enriched with even more content, giving us even more incentive to shut them off. [City Room]

    * Brooklyn Bridge Park will begin to emerge next year. [Curbed]

    * Crazy:The former Hotel Riverview on Jane Street goes for hobo chic, and you might even run into one if you are lucky. [Curbed]

    * Latest opening date for UWS Shake Shak: Oct. 1. [Eater]

    * Bad week for book stores: First comes news of the Strand Annex shuttering, then Biography's battle for survival, and now 12th Street Books. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * Lost City explores the wonders of Third Avenue in the 20s, including Molly's pub. He also visits MT Food Store, the former Smilers that we have taken a shine to.

    * Check out the Keith Haring show at Skarstedt Gallery. [Postcards from Hell's Kitchen]

    * Ephemeral New York answers an Astor Place subway mystery, and it has nothing to do with the beavers.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: duly noted, signs

  • The Hotel Carter: A short trip from wherever you are!

    Thursday June 26, 2008 1:44 PM By Rolando Pujol

    In the strange event that the Joe Buck character from "Midnight Cowboy" needed a place to stay in Times Square again, he'd be delighted to find the Hotel Carter is still catering to the budget-minded.

    Now, we don't want to knock the Carter too much. We rather appreciate its throwback qualities. Its marquee carries the razzle dazzle of an old-school Times Square spectacular. The cursive Carter has a graphical quality seemingly inspired by the Castro Convertible or Canadian Club logos. Its massive neon sign lends a spooky glow to the stone facade. A unique mix of humanity shuffles through its lobby.

    We could go on, but let's just cut to the chase. What ultimately inspired this post is the hotel's two bizarre slogans.

    Here's the first, which you see on the east side of the marquee: A short trip from wherever you are.

    Possibly translation: The Carter is in the heart of it all or "Everything in New York is a short trip away."

    Or perhaps another meaning is intended. The Hotel Carter is a state of mind, easily summoned no matter where you are. Yes, that's got to be it.

    OK, onto our second mystery phrase: You always wanted in Time Square, and less.

    Let's see. This kind of reminds us of the old Miller slogan. "Everything you wanted in a beer, and less," and seems to date to the same period.

    Clearly, they are telling us that you'll get a sweet deal if you stay the night at the Hotel Carter ... in "Time," not Times Square.

    Or something.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    MORE:

    A fantastic New York Times appreciation from 2005.

    The hotel's Web site, where the language mangling continues. The hotel is "The Pleasure of Budgeting New York City"

    More pictures after the jump

    Tags: times square, hotel carter, signs, advertising, real estate, old school, manhattan, hotels, endangered nyc, architecture, urban archaeology

  • City Hall Dispatch: Reading the releases

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 2:27 PM By David Freedlander

    Interesting news release pumped from those folks across the lobby in City Hall.

    It's titled: "STATEMENT BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON THE CLOSE OF A PRODUCTIVE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN ALBANY THAT DELIVERED REAL RESULTS FOR NEW YORK CITY" and proceeds to itemize all the things Albany did right for NYC (OTB, cigarette tax increase, ACS, etc. etc.)

    Some of the mayor's aides tell Urbanite not read too much into it, the mayor frequently comments on Albany goings-on, etc, but we checked the back press releases and couldn't find one where the mayor does an "Albany session analysis" quite like he does here.

    We've stated previously here that it's unlikely that Bloomberg would make a play for the Governor's chair, but still, when elected officials start weighing in in areas outside of their job description, you know something's going on

    by David Freedlander

    Tags: governor, bloomberg, press releases, city hall dispatch

  • A wild yet industrial vision for the High Line

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 12:46 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The final design for the High Line preserves the site's wild nature and industrial roots.

    The Friends of the High Line unveiled the landscape plans Tuesday and said the park’s phase-one portion — from Gansevoort to 20th streets, will open at the end of the year.

    The narrow abandoned rails along Manhattan's West Side were almost demolished before two concerned residents, Robert Hammond and Joshua David united nine years ago and formed the Friends of the High Line.

    Construction is well under way.

    The designs for the park preserve the steel and rails — the industry — and the landscaping stays true to the wild growth that overtook the High Line in all its years of abandonment.

    “The wildscape is the opposite of tulips in spring,” Hammond says. “It’s all wildflowers and much more organic.”

    -- Garett Sloane

    Here's a photo gallery

    Tags: high line, development, real estate, manhattan, architecture

  • Jackson Heights whodunit: Where's that Scrabble sign?

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 11:29 AM By Rolando Pujol

    The beloved Jackson Heights Scrabble sign is missing. (Photo via phantom xtl on Flickr)

    It’s green, it’s playful, and it gives Jackson Heights another bit of distinctive charm.

    But the 35th Avenue street sign that’s marked with Scrabble scoring has been missing for at least a month, and no one seems to know why, or even who’s responsible for the sign in the first place.

    Reports of the missing sign, which denotes the street where Alfred Mosher Butts invented the board game, first popped up on the Jackson Heights Life blog in late May. Residents were sad, and, being a Scrabble fan myself, I felt their pain.

    So I rang up Jackson Heights Beautification Group, hoping someone there might have some insight. That was a no-go; no one there was even aware the sign was missing.

    Next, I called up Ted Timbers at the Department of Transportation. He said he had no record of the Scrabble sign, but suggested I call the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

    The commission, however, also had no record of the sign, said Lauren Charles, the assistant to the LPC’s executive director .

    The sign, interestingly, is brown, which the city uses to denote landmarked neighborhoods.

    Nevertheless, the hunt continues, and I’ve got a call out to the Jackson Heights Community Board to see if they can help me out.

    As Timbers said, “This is part of the great bureaucracy that is New York City government.”

    If you know anything about the sign's whereabouts, let us know!

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: scrabble, jackson heights, signs, landmarking, queens

  • 'Babylon 5' fans keep show alive at Museum of the Moving Image

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 11:20 AM By Pete Catapano

    A group of dedicated sci-fans have made an out-of-this world donation to the Museum of the Moving Image. And it wasn’t easy to make to happen.

    According to the Museum, 11 fans of the ’90s cult favorite Babylon five bought a “pristine, prosthetic” mask used on the show on eBay and donated it to the museum.

    The 11 fans, didn’t know each other and come from U.S. and Europe.

    The mask was worn on the show by late-actor Andreas Katsulas as the character G-Kar on the show.

    Amy Guskin, of Pennsylvania, discovered the G’Kar mask up for auction on eBay, and spread word online through a longstanding “Babylon 5” Usenet newsgroup, to ask for donations as a way of honoring Katsulas and keeping the mask in the public view.

    You can also see what other gems are on display at the museum here.

    This mask from "Babylon 5" is on display at the Museum of the Moving Image thanks to 11 fans.

    — Pete Catapano

  • It's Famous Ray's ... we mean Amadeus

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 10:11 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Fellow blogger Lauren overheard that classic tourist question: Where's Ray's Pizza? Well, if you're a longtime West Sider and your answer is West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, you'd be wrong.

    This longtime Ray's location is still famous all right, but Ray is nowhere to be found. Amadeus is now in charge. Famous Amadeus has been around for 25 years, its Web site says, though this was the first time we'd heard of him.

    This location displays what the Wikipedia entry describes as the Ray's "classic clone decor." Below is the way it looked a few weeks ago, and, via Wikipedia, the way it looked before Amadeus took his post behind the counter.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: ray's pizza, food, real estate, hell's kitchen, neighborhoods, signs

  • Hair's to fashion

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 8:00 AM By Julie Gordon

    Maxi dresses, tie-dye, beads — and the Public Theater's presentation of musical HAIR this summer — are all bringing out our inner flower child.

    If you're as psyched as we are for HAIR and this season's neo-hippie trend, you'll love that brand Theory and HAIR are collaborating.

    Theory's three New York store locations (40 Gansevoort St., 151 Spring St. and 230 Columbus Ave.) are offering a limited-edition collection of clothing and accessories inspired by the sixties ($45-$95).

    And on July 9, a mini-performance of HAIR will take place in front of the Gansevoort Theory.

    Peace.

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: fashion, theater, shopping

  • NYC tourist seeks elusive Ray's pizza

    Wednesday June 25, 2008 7:22 AM By Lauren Johnston

    It's a New York City conundrum. How do you direct a tourist to Ray's pizza?

    Overheard last night in the vicinity of Eighth Ave. and 46th Street: Two women visiting the Big Apple stopped two New Yorkers and asked this question: "Could you please tell us where is the Ray's pizza?"

    How do you begin to answer? A simple Google search produces this result: "Results 1-10 of about 783 for ray's pizza near New York, NY"

    Said city natives started laughing: "Well, Ray's pizza is everywhere," but couldn't think of an exact location off-hand. (It appears the closest would have been 51st and 8th Ave.)

    Said tourists wandered off into the night. We can only hope they found a slice in the nabe -- hopefully a 9th Avenue Pizza slice, which we find far superior to the gummy uptown Ray's.

    Tags: food, manhattan

  • Lively Coney Island hearing

    Tuesday June 24, 2008 6:27 PM By Ryan Chatelain

    Reverend Billy and others react at last night's Coney Island public hearing. (Photo by Getty)

    Government public hearings are usually snore fests. Not so at Tuesday night’s Coney Island meeting, the first opportunity for New Yorkers to sound off on the city’s revised plan for the area.

    Colorful Coney Island regulars turned the public comments portion of the evening into a rock concert of sorts. There was Reverend Billy standing on a first-row chair screaming “Coney-lujah” to the audience at Lincoln High School. Then there was songwriter Amos Wengler strumming on his acoustic guitar while singing “Save Coney Island” as though he were at an open-mic night.

    Dick Zigun, founder of the arts organization Coney Island USA and the unofficial “mayor of Coney Island,” resigned from the Coney Island Development Corp., accusing the CIDC of scrapping an earlier plan that the community largely favored.

    “Two months ago, the process broke down,” he said. “I didn’t change my mind on the plan; the city gutted our plan. I didn’t leave the CIDC; the CIDC left me.”“Who is this plan for?” asked Savitri D., the Memaid Parade queen who had been on a hunger strike since Saturday to protest the proposal. “Is it for a developer? Is it for an elected’s legacy? Is it for an elected’s pocket? Because I don’t see the people of Coney Island in very many of these drawings.”

    In an effort to protect Coney Island’s historic amusement district and create a year-round destination, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan last November to designate 15 acres as parkland. In April, the city announced a modified proposal that reduced the protected area to 9 acres to allow existing property owners the opportunity to retain some of their land and create a “larger footprint for enclosed amusements.”

    A single operator would be brought into run a glitzy new amusement park within the designated parkland.

    Critics oppose the plan because it reduces the protected amusement area and allows for three high-rise hotels and entertainment retail, such as a Dave & Buster’s and a Niketown.

    Of course, there were some supporters for the city’s proposal among the 100 or so people who signed up to speak – some of whom had left before their names were called.

    “We need economic development now,” said Kevin Davis Jr., 14, who graduated from P.S. 209 earlier in the day. “Do not put my future and the future of Coney Island on hold.”

    Purnima Kapur, director of the Brooklyn office of City Planning, started the meeting by responding to some misconceptions that city officials had heard about the project, namely that existing public housing would be threatened and that the city would invoke eminent domain. Neither is true, she said.

  • Use your Cosi coupons somewhere else

    Tuesday June 24, 2008 3:18 PM By Julie Gordon

    While walking around the Village last night, I was upset to see that Cosi on Sixth Avenue and 13th Street had closed. (Monday at 3 p.m., to be exact)

    Sure, Cosi is a big chain, but that particular branch actually had a homey feel, as evidenced by numerous signs in the windows thanking loyal customers and saying how sad the employees would be not to see area residents' faces.

    I guess locals will have to get their s'mores fix at the 13th and Broadway outpost.

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: food

  • OMG!!! AYSM???

    Tuesday June 24, 2008 1:38 PM By David Freedlander

    Good times in the Tarheel State. Apparently the North Carolina DMV sent out the first round of a new batch of license plates with the letters "WTF," which, as anyone with cell phone with text capabilities knows, is inappropriate for the rear bumper.

    According to the News and Observer

    WTF was the first random letter combination available when DMV switched from blue- to red-lettered plates. DMV spokeswoman Marge Howell received a sample plate WTF-5506 to use as a prop for news stories about the switch.

    No one made the connection.

    "If you are not looking for something you usually don't see it," Howell said.

    The DMV was alerted to the vulgar message last July when a 60-year-old technology teacher from Fayetteville complained about the plate. Her teenage grandchildren clued her in.

    The agency apparently also featured a dummy license plate on their website with the combination "WTF-5505" in an advertisement for personalized license plates.

    Those who got the vulgar plates are apparently able to exchange them at no cost.

    No word on what those who want the WTF plates should do.

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: license plates, internet vulgarities, transportation

  • Urban archaeology: Encore for the Hickory House

    Tuesday June 24, 2008 9:21 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Hickory House sounds like a delightful name for a coffee shop. It compels us to have a hearty serving of pancakes with a side of bacon, washed down with a cup of coffee.

    If these signs look just a little worse for the wear, and you've never heard of the place, there's a good explanation. For a long time, the southeast corner of West 28th Street and Seventh Avenue had been a Ranch One. But now the place is being cleaned out and the Ranch One sign has been pulled ... and look at the gem that lurked beneath.

    Bonus treat: The signs are topped with a little cornice concealing lights. We'd guess the signs date to the 1970s, but tell us if you know the history of this corner.

    If you want to see this specimen of urban archaeology for yourself, we'd suggest you hightail it there pronto. From the time we noticed the sign last night to late this morning, the words "coffee shop" had been stripped from the Seventh Avenue side of the facade.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    MORE:

    Urbanite coverage of signs and urban archaeology

    Tags: hickory house, signs, urban archaeology, restaurants, manhattan, architecture

  • Book your Restaurant Week tables

    Monday June 23, 2008 4:02 PM By Emily Ngo

    Here's a reminder to all those who say they'll make Restaurant Week reservations but never do: Do it! Book your tables by Wednesday (the deadline) for summer's Restaurant Week, which runs from July 21 to 25 and July 28 to Aug. 1.

    Where? How? What? Visit nycvisit.com. At $35 for a three-course, prix-fixe dinner with more than 230 eateries participating, there's simply no excuse not to.

    — Emily Ngo

    Tags: restaurant week, restaurants

  • Carlin: The city boy who loved Morningside Heights

    Monday June 23, 2008 4:00 PM By Rolando Pujol

    “New York City Boy” was the show that George Carlin never got on Broadway. But he never left a doubt that his love for New York ran deep.

    Indeed, the acerbic legendary comic, who died Sunday of heart failure at 71, left for California in 1960 but always kept a soft spot for the city, and the neighborhood where he grew up, Morningside Heights.

    Just six month ago in an interview with this reporter, he called the neighborhood “the greatest place in the world,” expressing amazement that he had the good fortune to grow up there.

    “We had it all. We had the largest cathedral in the world in square footage, St. John the Divine. We had ... Grant’s Tomb, the Juilliard School of Music, the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University.”

    Aside from the neighborhood’s cultural advantages, Carlin celebrated the diversity of Morningside Heights.

    “Besides that there was a great black, Cuban and Puerto Rican enclave, where I lived. We hung around the street people. Everything was around. As my mother used to say, ‘You can buy anything here.’ You can get it as cheap as anywhere in the world or as expensive as anywhere in the world. You had choices.”

    Carlin said his mother almost aborted him, a subject he planned to discuss on that Broadway show.

    “She was in the office waiting to have the procedure and decided not to,” Carlin said. “I was 50 feet from the drainpipe. That’s the opening of my Broadway show. ‘I thought I’d never get here.’ ”

    The performer accomplished a great deal during his extraordinary 52-year career. The Grammy-winning actor and author was first and foremost one of the most cerebral and influential comics ever.

    Politically incorrect and provocative only begin to describe Carlin, who belongs on the comedic Mount Rushmore, along with Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor.

    Carlin wasn’t your typical comic. He was not one for the Los Angeles scene. He rarely hobnobbed with Hollywood types.

    “I’ve never had show business friendships. I live inside my head.”

    Carlin always welcomed his Manhattan homecomings, when he would play the Beacon Theatre.

    “I always love coming back,” Carlin said. “I relate to how New Yorkers are. That city has something no other place has and I love it.”

    Photos of Carlin through the years

    -- Ed Condran

    Tags: george carlin, morninside heights, broadway, comedy, manhattan, entertainment

  • The Queen Mermaid: Still fasting (and still strong)

    Monday June 23, 2008 3:28 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The Reverand Billy and Savitri D. at the parade Saturday. (Photo by bluecinema on Flickr)

    The Queen Mermaid has a growling stomach, but she’s staying strong.

    Savitri D., the crowned fishy one of Saturday’s Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, vowed to go without food from the end of the parade until a community meeting on at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

    Residents are invited to testify at the meeting about the city’s development plans for the neighborhood. In an effort to raise awareness and motivate people to turn out, Savitri has been sitting in the storefront window of Coney Island USA at Surf Avenue and 12th Street, on display and feeling hungry.

    “We’re trying to bring the energy forward to this meeting tomorrow,” she said of the meeting at Lincoln High School. “It’s so important to the future of Coney Island, where people can come and have fun without spending that much money.”

    Savitri says she last ate at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and while she’s feeling the support from most passersby, a few have been testing her self-depravation.

    “Of course the smell of Nathan’s sometimes gets to me, and when people walk by with french fries to torture me, that’s funny, too,” she said. “I’m feeling good, but tired.”

    If you’re curious, you can video chat with Her Majesty right now at revbilly.com/mermaid. She’s got her mermaid outfit on and her computer handy.

    Photos from this year's parade

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: mermaid parade, savitri d., reverend billy, coney island, manhattan, brooklyn

  • Strand Books to close its downtown annex

    Monday June 23, 2008 1:27 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Updated 8:20: Downtown bookworms are losing a favorite shop.

    This will be the final summer for the Strand Book Annex at 95 Fulton St., the younger, smaller cousin to the Strand Book Store at Broadway and 12th Street.

    The Annex, purveyor of discounted books both new and used, has been at its current location for 12 years. But store owner Fred Bass says that recent construction in the area has decreased customer traffic and lowered profits.

    “We were doing very well with that store, and then they started the construction, which really hurt our sales,” Bass said. “The lease was up, and of course the landlord wanted the normal increase. But we figured the construction will last at least another year, and we just felt that it wasn’t viable to do that.”

    The Annex currently houses 15,000 square feet of books, and Bass said employees will be selling as many as they can and moving the rest to the Broadway store. Starting June 30, all books will be 20% off, and the Annex is promising additional surprises to shoppers as well.

    There is hope for another Annex in the future, Bass said.

    “As time goes on, we’ll have to figure something else out,” he said. “We’ll close it, and when an opportunity comes up again, we’ll think about expanding.”

    In the meantime, the Broadway store and two Central Park Strand kiosks are standing strong, Bass said. He added that no employees will be laid off in the closing and can all be absorbed by the other locations.

    -- Megan Stride

    Strand Book Annex

    95 Fulton St.

    212-732-6070

    Mon-Fri, 9:30-9:00

    Sat-Sun 11:00-8:00

    Photo via AuntLN on Flickr

    Tags: strand, books, bookstores, manhattan, endangered nyc

  • Farewell to Ayveq the walrus

    Monday June 23, 2008 11:15 AM By Lauren Johnston

    He leaves a legacy of kisses.

    Ayveq the walrus was known to blow kisses to visitors through an underwater window at the New York Aquarium, and it's one of the things his caretakers will remember best as they mourn his passing. The aquarium had recently celebrated the one-year birthday of Ayveq's calf Akituusaq.

    The 14-year-old Pacific walrus died Sunday after a short illness, despite intense efforts to save him. Ayveq arrived at the aquarium in May 1994 as one of three walrus orphans from the village of Gambel on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.

    Tags: brooklyn

  • Breaking: 1 killed after Fung Wah jumps curb

    Monday June 23, 2008 7:36 AM By Lauren Johnston

    A pedestrian was killed and several people injured after a dump truck apparently rammed into the back of a Chinatown bus and caused it jump the curb.

    A witness on the scene said the dump truck hit the Fung Wah bus - which makes budget-priced trips between New York and Boston - causing the bus to jump the curb and plow into a bank.

    The bus had just come off the Manhattan Bridge, authorities said, and passengers were boarding it to go to Boston.

    There three incidents of cars jumping curbs in Manhattan last week, see [HERE].

    Tags: manhattan

  • No Kojak sightings, alas, but plenty of old squad cars

    Sunday June 22, 2008 7:45 PM By Rolando Pujol

    This housing police car dates to 1989; more photos are after the jump. (Kathleen Bulson)

    Tom Dulligan, a retired NYPD officer, brought his 1941 Dodge police transport wagon to the New York City Police Museum, which held its eighth annual police car show this weekend

    His father, Jim Dulligan, 76, also a collector, explained his 48-year hobby as though it were a disease that transcends generations. “Warning: automobile parts, no known cure,” he said.

    The Dulligans, however, were among many Sunday afternoon who were disappointed to see most of the cars were pulled early because of the threat of rain.

    Some of the 40 vehicles on display, including the Batmobile, were convertibles that had to be brought indoors.

    Miguel Pineda, 41, of Richmond Hill, brought his mother and sons Miguel, 7 and Esteban, 11 to view the cars.

    “I’m definitely disappointed but the museum makes up for it,” said Pineda as he looked at vintage guns, including one belonging to Al Capone.

    Other exhibits at the museum — the original home of NYPD’s First Precinct — include police-gear artifacts and a tribute to Sept. 11 heroes.

    “The 9/11 movie was really good, moving. It starts with the real first 911 call. It gives you goose-bumps,” said Erica Zahn, 41 visiting from Florida with her mother Patricia Mechaw, 64 and her son.

    This was Mechaw’s third visit to the museum and Zahn’s first. Said Zahn: “I’m surprised! It’s great and should definitely be on tourists’ stops.”

    -- Kathleen Bulson

    Tags: police museum, museums, nypd, manhattan, crime

  • Duly Noted

    Sunday June 22, 2008 12:30 PM By Rolando Pujol

    An perfect old-school corner along Roosevelt Avenue. (Photo by Rolando Pujol)

    * Ephemeral New York gathers up a nice collection of old store signs and asks a question we and other bloggers have asked: How will these beauties be saved? Treasures that have been around for decades, they often end up in the trash when the store is inevitably priced out of existence. At least one person recently had the right idea. [Ephemeral New York]

    * Kinetic Carnival has a collection of Mermaid Parade photos on Flickr.

    * Froyo watch: For Tasti D-Lite, a new logo and a green-tea addition may not be enough to reverse the effect of Pinkberry, et. al. [Serious Eats]

    * Starbucks gets the message: The people want the char back in Charbucks. [Serious Eats]

    * A midtown YMCA: The evolution from home for "transient young men" to apartment building. [Ephemeral New York]

    * That was fast: Film-adaptation rights have been purchased just days after the publication of a New York Times story about an architect who "built hidden puzzles and games into a wealthy family's apartment for their children to discover and interact with." [Unbeige]

    * Dr. Ruth honored on the Bronx Walk of Fame -- only thing is, the Washington Heights mainstay never lived there. [Talk the Bronx]

    * Bond's, Gimbels, E.J. Korvette: A vanished world preserved in old newspaper ads. [Queens Crap]

    * Why, oh, why does this subway station have this extra, stumble-friendly step? Torts law, anyone? [Queens Crap]

    * Happily alive and well: the Village Gate sign. Thank you, CVS, for leaving it alone. [Lost City]

    * An interview with the creator of Make Music New York, who took a Parisian tradition and made it work in Gotham. Anyone up for organizing a citywide White Night? [Gothamist]

    * From the pages of The Onion comes sad news that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been spotted sleeping on the F train. Kudos to The Onion for the wicked Photoshop job. [The Onion]

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: duly noted, signs

  • Filmgoers guide to Asian Film Festival/Japan Cuts

    Friday June 20, 2008 10:11 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    Two festivals are bringing the best of Asian film to New York City, today through July 13th.

    Subway Cinema is up first with the 7th annual Asian Film Festival, at the IFC Center today through July 2.

    After that the festival finishes its run through July 6 at Japan Society--which is copresenting several films as part of its own Japan Cuts festival, July 2 through July 13th.

    There are a lot of films on the schedule, which you can find here (with tickets and other information too).

    So I asked a trusty friend, who runs one of the big West Coast film festivals, to give me his personal list of must-see films from the festivals, below.

    I've got a pile of screeners at home, and along with a couple of coworkers will be attending several of the films at the fests, so we'll have more coverage to come.Note: All film descriptions are from Subway Cinema.

    Adrift in Tokyo (Japan Cuts)
    Joe Odagiri (Japan’s Johnny Depp) is a broke student forced to take walks around Tokyo with a middle-aged gangster in this bizarre comedy kaleidoscope of cos-playing superheroes, the power of character actor Ittoku Kishibe (Kishibe Power!), the taste of dirty socks and the plight of the pygmy hippopotamus.

    Dainipponjin (Japan Cuts)
    Why is a middle-aged loser the subject of this documentary? Because when giant monsters attack Japan he turns into a 500 foot tall superhero and beats them with a stick. The movie CLOVERFIELD should have been, starring and directed by Japan’s most famous comedian.

    King Naresuan
    Thailand’s number one and number two box office hits of all time, these massive epics tell the saga of the warrior king Naresuan. Sets drip gold, political intrigue simmers and swashbuckling action scenes explode with war elephants, nine-foot-long rifles and warrior princesses.

    The Rebel
    An old time Republic serial, pumped up on politics and super-charged with ONG BAK style action scenes, THE REBEL is Vietnam’s biggest box office hit ever. Set in the 1920’s, it’s a bloody knuckled ode to Vietnamese freedom. Starring Dustin Nguyen from “21 Jump Street!”

    Sukiyaki Western Django
    Takashi Miike’s English-language spaghetti western is bigger! Louder! Faster! More! Wild shoot-outs, female gunslingers and Quentin Tarantino in a supporting role – pure maniac movie overload orgasm!

    Sparrow
    Johnnie To woke up in love one morning, because this sparkling caper about a gang of pickpockets working old Hong Kong feels like having your soul dipped in a glass of sparkling champagne for 87 minutes.

    Yasukuni (Japan Cuts)
    This documentary about Japan’s Yasukuni shrine to its war dead set off a firestorm of controversy in Japan and cinemas showing the film were threatened with bombings. A hair-raising look at the protestors, nationalists, thugs, patriots and misguided Americans who use the Yasukuni shrine to rage against the world.

    Tags: movies

  • Record crowds expected for Prospect Park Opera

    Friday June 20, 2008 6:35 AM By Lauren Johnston

    Cheers to the Met for bringing culture to the masses -- for FREE!

    If you can't normally afford a night at the opera, here's your chance to hear the best songs from all the great operas you may never see - and you can go in your flip-flops.

    More than 150,000 spectators are expected to converge on the Long Meadow in Prospect Park for tonight's one-time-only free concert with Metropolitan Opera stars Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna - who will be singing a "best of" set of everyone's favorite arias and duets.

    That means two things: First, it's an event not to be missed. And second, to see it, you're going to have to arrive plenty early to stake out a spot. Which means while you're waiting, you might get hungry. SO - we're compiling here some spots to hit along the way, some directions and info on where you can get a free MetroCard for this lovely free event.

    Getting there free: Event sponsor Bank of America will hand out 25,000 free MTA MetroCards at one bacnk in each of the five boroughs. First come, first-served. For bank locations, click [HERE], then scroll a little.

    How to find the Long Meadow: Prospect Park has many entrances. The Met peopel say the park entrance at 9th Street and Prospect Park West and the one at the Bartel-Pritchard Circle (15th Street and Prospect Park West) are the closest to the concert. Both are stops on the F line , the seventh and eighth stops into Brooklyn.

    To scope the area for eats, drinks and more, check our big bad guide the Park Slope. Yes, we covered all corners and crannies on foot so you don't have to. Click [HERE] for video, photos and maps.

    And if you want to stock on sundries for a delicioso picnic - we tell you how [HERE].

    And if you like the Long Meadow, come back in the early morning with your dog for a romp and splash at nearby dog beach. Video of dogs a' frolicing.

    But mostly -- of course -- just go for the opera!

    A sample of these two singing:

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: opera, today's freebie, entertainment, brooklyn, arts

  • Pimps & Pinups: From East London to the Lower East Side

    Thursday June 19, 2008 5:03 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Updated story here.

    A boutique hair salon is bringing its pompadours and beehives from London’s East End to the Lower East Side.

    Pimps & Pinups opened almost three years ago in a gritty neighborhood in London and is now scheduled to open its second branch at the end of the summer on Stanton Street.

    “The Lower East Side and East London are so similar it’s unbelievable,” says John Hoad, who will move from England to manage the New York store. Hoad, speaking from the London salon, said that the store’s owners looked all over Manhattan and Brooklyn — Chelsea, the Meat Packing District, the West Village and Williamsburg — for the right neighborhood before settling on the LES.

    “Just pacing up and down the block we were able to see it’s cool,” he said.

    The salon will be almost a replica of the London one — black, sparse and industrial. Music and complimentary beer and wine are coming as well.

    The store specializes in “period hair-ups” but all styles are offered.

    More in Monday's amNewYork.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: pimps & pinups, lower east side, london, shopping, real estate, manhattan

  • VIDEO: The Real Incredible Hulks are in town

    Thursday June 19, 2008 2:19 PM By Lauren Johnston


    Strong man Phil Phister pulls a bus down Seventh Ave. Photo/Getty Images

    They tore a 700-page phonebook in half, flipped a 900-pound tire and even pulled a double-decker bus down Seventh Avenue using brute strength alone [PHOTOS] .

    Oh yeah, and they hefted Hawaiian Tropics gals aloft.


    The world's strongest men are in town and their sole mission is to show off their huge muscles with terrific feats of strength.

    We got a freebie show today outside Madison Square Garden, starring the reigning champ, America's Strongest Man Derek Poundstone, Europe's Strongest Man Jarek Dymek and the 2006 U.S. strongman champ, Phil Pfister -- who pulled the bus and imparted this wise credo that we call words to live by:

    "You don't know if you can pull a bus until you try."

    Phil and the rest of the beefcake clan are on hand for Saturday's "World's Strongest Man Super Series" at Madison Square Garden. Tickets don't come cheap, they range $50 to $150. But then, how often to you have the biggest guns in the world assembled under one roof?

    Check out this morning's show here:

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: madison square garden, zany, manhattan

  • Forecast calls for sunshine

    Thursday June 19, 2008 11:56 AM By David Freedlander

    With the legislative session drawing to a close, it appears that a plan to limit New York's Freedom of Information Law has died.

    The bill, S.8446/A. 11432, would limit disclosure of correspondence, memoranda, and other documents arising out of an examination, investigation or inquiry and make these documents exempt from freedom of information laws, disclosure under public officers law, or subpoena."

    It passed the Senate without a sponsor, which lead NYPIRG's Blair Horner to tell the Albany Times-Union, "that's how you know a bill really stinks."

    Robert Freeman, of the Committee of Open Government and New York's resident FOIL expert, told Urbanite that the law was "unnecessary."

    "As a principle I don't like to see blanket exemptions. I just don't believe there is a strong rationale for this."

    The bill was at the request of the state's Department of Insurance, who wanted to make companies more forthcoming in their insurance disclosures, and feared that they wouldn't be if prying reporters interfered.

    "I don't think it's going anywhere in our house," said Assemb. Mark Weprin (D-Little Neck) who serves on the Insurance Committee. "If you believe in open government you have to have serious concerns about this."

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: open government, politics

  • Throwback Thursday: Caldor and Woolworth's

    Thursday June 19, 2008 10:26 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Your eyes do not deceive you. The shell of a Caldor still remains in downtown Flushing. (Photo by Elisabeth Stuveras)

    During a visit to Flushing Tuesday night for a Korean barbeque feast, we stumbled upon the massive Caldor building and were stunned to see it still there, the sign still up, almost a decade after the chain collapsed into bankruptcy. Here's some background on recent attempts to develop the site -- we were interested to see it was once a Masters, which as a child was one of our default shopping locations, up in Elmsford.

    Anyway, in searching YouTube for Caldor commercials, we found something far more interesting. A video of the Flushing Woolworth's from its final days of business in 1997. The footage is an amazing time capsule that takes you from the street (where you catch a glimpse of the Caldor building) right into the store itself. Definitely worth your time. It's directly below, followed by a few vintage Woolworth's and Caldor ads.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: caldor, shopping, retail, flushing, throwback thursday, television, queens

  • Not to be a snob, but.....

    Thursday June 19, 2008 7:54 AM By -- Diane Goldie

    So I'm walking my daughter to school this morning and I notice an armada of Sleepys trucks parked on the west side of Church Street between Warren and Chambers streets.

    A large man with a clipboard is directing a team of movers as they unload mattresses into the empty corner store festooned with a red, white and blue banner that barks: "Grand Opening!"

    Ok, us Manhattanites need mattresses that will help us get "the rest of our lives" just as much as our suburban neighbors, but that, paired with the finishing touches being put on the 7 Eleven next door, gave me flashbacks to a strip mall on Staten Island's Hylan Boulevard that I once Iived near.

    While Manhattanites have grown to accept the two K Marts, a Home Depot and a slew of GAPs, Payless shoes, Body Works and McDonalds outposts, the sight of a Sleepys and 7 Eleven -- with their bold signage glimmering in the sunlight -- adjacent to each other on a TriBeCa street was a bit jarring -- even for a girl from Staten Island.

    -- Diane Goldie

    Tags: shopping, sleepys, 7 eleven, advertising, architecture, gentrification, manhattan, signs

  • Don't these events belong in Flushing?

    Thursday June 19, 2008 6:25 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    In an odd coincidence, there are a bunch of bathroom-related events in Manhattan today.

    To revive a cheesy pun that never gets old, we're wondering why they weren't slated to go down in Flushing ... but anyway ... if you're interested in potty-humor ... read on:

    First off -- from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., the publisher of “Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader” humor series celebrates National Bathroom Reading Month; automatic public toilets at Madison Square Park, 23rd Street and Madison Avenue.

    And second -- at 10:30 a.m. -- Display of top entries in Toilet Paper Wedding Dress contest; Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Odditorium, 234 W. 42nd St.

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: zany

  • In Flatiron District, 'cobblestones' come up for air

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 5:44 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Repaving projects are a bane to drivers, but for the history-minded pedestrian, they can represent a trip to a time before horseless carriages ran amuck on Gotham's streets.

    Case in point: The area around 25th Street and Fifth Avenue, where today's boring asphalt has been stripped down to cobblestones (or really Belgian block, see comments). With the charming Madison Square Park across the street and the 1902 vintage Flatiron Building down the street, you could squint, and just for a second, ponder the New York of 106 years ago.

    The cobblestones are there for a limited time, before they disappear again under their asphalt prisons.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Photos: Elisabeth Stuveras

    Tags: flatiron district, cobblestones, architecture, urban archaeology, manhattan

  • New Yuck architecture

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 4:19 PM By Rolando Pujol

    We asked you a few weeks ago to give us your picks for NYC's ugliest buildings, and your choices included the Citigroup tower in Queens (that glass middle finger to Manhattan.). Urbanite's David Freedlander also put the question to a range of observers, who helped us with Thursday's cover story, 10 to Lose, a play on our annual list of 10 buildings that need protection, part of our Endangered NYC coverage.

    Here are six buildings or public spaces we left out that have inspired their share of hostility. And, of course, let us know which buildings New York City would be a better place without. There's certainly no shortage. This list is also very Manhattan- and to a lesser extent Brooklyn-centric, so tell us what ails the streetscape across the city. Don't be shy, we know your list is long. We'll print some of your best suggestions in Friday's paper.

    Cooper Square Hotel

    Karrie Jacobs, author of “The Perfect $100,000 House: A Trip Across America and Back in Pursuit of a Place to Call Home”

    “I think it's hard to beat the nearly completed Cooper Square Hotel. The

    bloated 22 story tower by architect Carlos Zapata rips off its best

    stylistic moves from Frank Gehry's much nicer westside IAC headquarters

    and is otherwise unforgivably out of scale and out of place. (So much so

    that I kind of wonder whether it's one of the building department's

    "self-certified" specials.) It seems to me that it would be best for the

    developers to simply disassemble the thing before the hotel actually opens and disappear quietly into the night. It’s nickname among its neighbors is Dubai.”

    NYU Bobst Library

    Rick Bell, executive director of NY Chapter of American Institute of Architects

    “Bobst Library. It is one of the most reviled buildings in New York City, eliciting negative comments from people who are usually fastidiously polite. Tearing down Bobst, the library, a funereal hulk inappropriate to the scale and extroverted character of Greenwich Village, should be part of the re-envisioning of the need for NYU to have a more community-friendly character.”

    220 Greene Avenue

    Jonathan Butler, editor, “Brownstoner”

    “220 Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill pretty epitomizes much of what has been wrong with the building boom in Brooklyn. Shoddy workmanship? Check. Non-contextual design? Check. Unlicensed workers? Sure. Poor layouts? Got that too. In a sign of just how much the current owner cares, the second-floor window has been cracked for months. The "Greene Avenue Atrocity" (as we've dubbed) is such an eyesore that it has made the adjacent lot, on the market for more than a year, effectively unsellable. Talk about value destruction!”

    Mount Sinai Hospital

    Walter Grutchfield, photographer, editor of 14to42.net, a website devoted to chronicling Manhattan signage:

    The big fat ugly building at Mount Sinai Hospital on Fifth Avenue at approximately 100th Street gets my vote as one of the most offensive buildings in the city. This is particularly true when viewed from the west side across the Central Park Reservoir, where it sticks out like some kind of brown blot against the sky.“

    Grand Army Plaza

    Deborah Marton, executive director, Design Trust for Public Space:

    Grand Army Plaza is New York City’s greatest unrealized asset. Home to powerful architecture, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch, the elegant Bailey Fountain, the entrance to Frederick Law Olmsted’s greatest park, and an important transit hub, the sum of these parts is today emphatically less than the whole. Currently hazardous for pedestrians and bicyclists, a redesigned Grand Army Plaza would be one of the city's grandest public spaces.

    Renaissance Times Square

    Kristen Richards, editor-in-chief, Arch News Now:

    Renaissance Times Square, 1580 Broadway (1991): I watched this being built when my office was at 45th and Broadway. All I could think of was: Darth Vader has landed in Times Square! The shiny, dark glass made it seem to glower over the square. It looked better - if one didn't look too high -when the massive electronic signs were installed in the narrow southern facade. To this day, if al tourist asks me where the entrance is, I have to say, "I'm not sure."

    Photos: Tiffany L. Clark

    Tags: 10 to lose, 10 to save, endangered nyc, architecture, skyscrapers, skyliner

  • Free Thursday: Monica Seles & Jim Courier face off

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 2:53 PM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    It's a little bit of Wimbledon right in our very own city.

    Tennis greats Monica Seles and Jim Courier will face off in a match to celebrate the start of Wimbledon, with kicks off June 23. You can see them FREE as they play a mini-match on a replica Wimbledon tennis court Thursday at 1 p.m. in front of HSBC at 452 Fifth Ave. at 40th St.

    Also free: The traditional Wimbledon Strawberries & Cream

    If you didn't know about this Wimbledon tradition, don't worry. Neither did we. But according to the BBC:

    "Every year about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, together with 7,000 litres of cream. The popularity of serving strawberries with cream is possibly as old as the event itself."

    Bon appetit!

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: today's freebie

  • Fashionably proud

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 2:16 PM By Julie Gordon

    Designer Zac Posen showed off his Obama love Tuesday night in a fashionable way (because, really, how else would he do it?)

    He sported this "Yes We Can" T as part of his ensemble for a cocktail event at the Harold Pratt House and a dinner at Philippe, both held in celebration of the upcoming New Yorkers for Children Fall Gala.

    Is this a preview of what's to come at September's Fashion Week? And, more importantly, will anyone dare to sport a John McCain shirt?

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: zac posen, obama, politics, fashion, shopping

  • Duly Noted

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 5:25 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Standing guard in Jackson Heights. (Photo by Rolando Pujol)

    * Taxi Ray, a city icon, has died. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * A spelling challenge in Glendale. [Queens Crap]

    * The thing that will eat South Street Seaport. [Curbed]

    * In Queens, plant trees here and and rip-em down next door. [Queens Crap]

    * So Bruce Willis is not "really a partner" at the Bowery Wine Company. [EV Grieve]

    * Classic hamburger joint alert: Tasty visits to White Manna in Jersey City and Hackensack. [Serious Eats]

    * La Cote Basque is long gone, and now so is its sign. [Lost City]

    * Gramercy Pawn Brokers has managed to survive, but look at all the glass and white stone around it. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * As Ikea settles in, a Brooklyn Library exhibit looks at the waterfront heritage that has moved out. [Gothamist]

    -- Rolando Pujol

  • Rock out in the Stuy Oval

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 1:19 PM By Rolando Pujol

    If samba, rock, funk, jazz, or reggae is your vice, go down to the Stuyvesant Town Oval to get your fix.

    The free concert series, Music on the Oval, begins tonight at 7 p.m with a performance by the funk band Sugarman 3.. The series continues every Wednesday through July 16.

    The pre-shows, which kick off at 6 p.m. will include DJs spinning tunes as well as giveaways.

    Verizon, which is sponsoring the series, will host a “Moto Hero” contest, where audience members rip on air guitars.

    Here’s the schedule:

    June 18 - DJ Rich Medina, Sugarman 3

    June 25 - DJ Sean Holland, Tortured Soul

    July 2 - DJ Pocketknife, High Places

    July 9 - DJ Busquelo, Slavic Soul Party

    July 16 - DJ Duane Harriott, Easy Star All-Stars

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: manhattan, entertainment

  • Ikea opens in Red Hook

    Wednesday June 18, 2008 5:27 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad


    Anna Roca (right) waits for her couch. Photo/Simone Herbin

    Well, the long-awaited Ikea opened in Red Hook this morning at 9 a.m., an hour earlier than their regular opening hour that kicks in tomorrow.

    If you were there, let us know in the comments below; we'll have some reports from the scene--until then, check out our coverage from the past few days of the earnest souls who have been camping out in line for their chance at a free sofa.

    -------

    Anna Roca, 23, a receptionist for a real estate firm, got to the IKEA line early, and brought along her boyfriend to make food runs. But he's a supervisor at Starbucks, so he can't stay around the clock - and IKEA's line rules stipulate contenders get only 10 minute breaks.

    IKEA is sort of isolated, so what to do when hunger pains pang? Roca's excellent solution:

    “Hey, we can order pizza here, that’s not against the rules. We know what we’re having for dinner,” Roca said this afternoon after she'd been in line for several hours.

    So pizza delivery people of Brooklyn, get ready for some orders, destination, "the IKEA line."

    Even this early in the game, she's outlasted several couch-comers who gave up after reading the IKEA line guidelines. But she didn't think of everything. Looking at the huge tent ahead of her - pitched by frontrunners J. and Brandis Sanchez - she said, "It’s like they’re the king and queen and we’re the peasants.”

    Check out some more photos from the line here.

    Earlier:

    -Free IKEA couches ... so where are all the crazies?

    -When you're first in line, you need a jumbo tent

    -Hanging out in the IKEA Red Hook line

    -Here's a story about a New York comedian who moved into an IKEA

    - Simone Herbin & Lauren Johnston

    Tags: ikea, red hook, gentrification, development, brooklyn

  • Old-school sights on Smith Street

    Tuesday June 17, 2008 10:18 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Scene from a stroll down Smith Street:

    Above: On the corner of Smith and President streets. there has been some form of cafe/bagel store for years. But as an old canopy was removed, a sign from a former business is visible again. Park Lane Florist, according to Gowanus Lounge, occupied that corner 20 years ago.

    2. A block down Smith Street, among the new bistros and drug stores is "Wholesale Confectionary" with some very old candy and gum displays in the window.

    Text and photos: Jefferson Siegel

    Tags: endangered nyc, shopping, smith street, brooklyn, real estate, signs

  • Rihanna to light up Empire State Building

    Tuesday June 17, 2008 10:04 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Please don't stop the lighting: Rihanna will light up

    the Empire State Building on Thursday. (AP)

    Want to spend a romantic afternoon at the Empire State Building with Rihanna? Here’s your chance -- she’s scheduled to flip the switch to the skyscraper’s lights on Thursday at 1 p.m.

    OK, you might not actually get to spend the afternoon with her, but you might catch a glimpse of the “Umbrella” singer as she attends the media event. Nor will she technically light up the tower -- she'll be flipping the switch on a replica in the lobby.

    Nevertheless, she'll stick around for a bit and also visit the tower's observatory.

    Rihanna is doing the lighting honors on “Cartier’s Declare Your Love Day,” and guess which color will shine from the Empire State Building that night? Red, of course.

    Expect a scene: When Mariah Carey flipped the switch at the building last month, it was a madhouse.

    -- amNY

    Tags: empire state building, cartier, rihanna, architecture, fashion, entertainment

  • Check out these wheels

    Monday June 16, 2008 1:18 PM By David Freedlander

    Remember when Dick Cheney said that Americans would just have to adapt to global warming?

    Well, he couldn't have meant this. In light of our report on gas prices today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Segway sales are at an all time high, boosted by $4 gasoline prices.

    The end of American car culture seems to have come to a quicker and more horrific than anyone could have imagined.

    Engadget

    --David Freedlander

    Tags: segway, gas prices, technology

  • Needle exchange programs look to avoid budget axe

    Monday June 16, 2008 12:54 PM By David Freedlander

    AIDS activists rallied on the steps of City Hall Monday to maintain the City Council to restore funding for needle exchange programs.

    “The issue is not about supporting someone’s drug habit, it’s about educating them on what drugs can do and preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS,” said councilwoman Annabel Palma (D-the Bronx,) who has lead the fight on funding.

    “We are still at the forefront of this issue. We have made huge progress in New York City.”

    The city began syringe exchange programs in 1993 and has seen the number of intravenous drug users with HIV drop considerably over the last 15 years, from 6,630 reported cases to just 759 in 2004, according to the New York City Aids Housing Network, an umbrella organization.

    Between September 20007 and April 2008 nearly 100,000 clean syringes were given out at various locations in the five boroughs

    “The impact in New York City has been extreme,” said Joyce Rivera, executive director of the St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction, a Bronx-based needle exchange program.

    “This is like distributing condoms. It is a direct primary intervention.”

    But in a recession, city budgets are lean and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed steep budget cuts across all city agencies.

    “I know there is a tremendous pressure from parents and from unions to put money back into things like education, but this is a small number compared to that,” said councilman Oliver Koppel (D-Bronx.)

    “Everything may get cut to accommodate those other priorities but I hope not. This is important.”

    Those that use them say the needle exchange programs are more than important—they are life saving.

    “In the old days syringes were so hard to come by, people were constantly passing them around,” said George Bethos, a decades long intravenous drug user who has been clean for a month and a half. “If it weren’t for needle exchange, I’d be HIV positive or dead.”

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: needle exchange, budget cuts, politics

  • When telephone poles crack in half ...

    Monday June 16, 2008 12:29 PM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    At 4:45 p.m. Friday afternoon, when this Urbaniter walked by with her dog, the telephone pole on the northeast corner of North Ninth and Roebling streets in Williamsburg was intact.

    By 5:30 p.m., after a quick trip to the McCarren Park dog run, it was cracked in half and hanging parallel to the street. A few stunned witnesses could say only, "it just cracked." Nothing rammed it. Lightning did not strike, it just cracked.

    There were no injuries, but it sure was unnerving.

    We didn't witness the actual breakage (if you did, please comment), but we can't help but wonder whether the drilling, razing and blasting coming from the construction site behind (yeah, the one with the big crane) had something to do with it.

    That was the theory from this Time Warner guy on the scene anyway.

    We've made calls to ConEd and Verizon about the break - and are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.

    According to Con Edison spokesperson Elizabeth Clark, the pole belongs to Verizon. She was shocked by the photos. When asked if such breaks are usual, she said, "Something would have to cause it. They don’t just crack."

    Verizon spokesman John Bonomo confirmed that his company responded to a call from Con Edison Friday afternoon in regards to the cracked pole, and shortly after, repaired it, but he could not immediately provide information on what caused the break.

    Both spokespersons noted the poles are often shared between the power and phone companies and it's not unusal for all parties to communicate back and forth about who's responsible for what.

    Clark said it's possible a ConEd crew in the area caught wind of the fractured pole and passed the news along to Verizon.

    So, back to the phones and we'll report back when we dig up more on what might have caused the crack, and if it could happen to a pole near you.

    - Lauren Johnston

    Tags: williamsburg, brooklyn

  • Free IKEA couches ... so where are all the crazies?

    Monday June 16, 2008 9:28 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad


    Photo by Simone Herbin

    What gives people? You wait in line for Shake Shack. You waited in line for the opening of Trader Joe's. Year after year you queue up for Shakespeare in the Park ... and a few weeks ago, you even lined up for the 31-cent ice cream at Baskin-Robbins.

    So we felt sure you'd be out in full-force for a free IKEA couch (first 35 in line at the new IKEA Red Hook) or the free armchair (next 100 in line).

    But you aren't. Where are you? As of 12:45p.m., there were STILL only about 18 of you devoted fans of Swedish-made furniture in line for the free couch. That means - if you're reading this in your office, thinking you don't have a chance at the couch, you're wrong.

    Fake and illness immediately and get there. NOW.

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: ikea, red hook

  • 12:30 p.m. IKEA Update: Live from Red Hook ...

    Monday June 16, 2008 9:12 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    Dynamic duo J. Sanchez and daughter Brandis, 27, mean business, and they have the jumbo-tent to prove it.

    We introduced you to the father-daughter pair earlier this morning, they're No. 1 and No. 2 in line for the free IKEA couch, having arrived last night to spend some quality time together for father's day. Three days of quality time, in fact.

    But that was before they pitched their tent and hunkered down. Check their expressions - no one's going to be messing with these two - likely not even intreprid Racked blogger Adam Rob, who's also in for the long haul, liveblogging from spot No. 5 in line., and who's still hanging in there despite his reports that the porta-potties are already out of toilet paper [Racked]

    .

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: ikea, red hook, gentrification, development, brooklyn

  • Live from IKEA Red Hook ...

    Monday June 16, 2008 6:20 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    They've come for the couches.

    As of 10:15 a.m. Monday, there are 18 people waiting on line at the new Red Hook IKEA and they will be camped out there until the Wednesday Grand Opening, where the first 35 people in the line will be awarded a free couch. Retail value: $399

    Father-daughter duo J. Sanchez and Brandis Sanchez – the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders in line – are no strangers to IKEA feats of endurance. Over the winter they won $100 for dressing up as holiday packages at the IKEA in Paramus, N.J.

    They arrived last night, on Father’s day in the Jay family motor home, ready to camp out for the next three days. Jay, a retired military police officer from the Norwood section of the Bronx, says the camping is “second nature” for him thanks to his military training.

    Brandis, 27, a stay-at-home-mom from Park Slope, says she'll miss taking a shower, but the thrill of the couch stakeout is worth it.

    The couch contenders just signed IKEA's queue rules, which allow them periodic 10-minute breaks - some meatball fans fled the scene after reading the guidelines.

    But not Hardik Patel, a 25-year-old grad student at St. John's University in Queens.Patel arrived Monday at 8:30 a.m. with food and a comforter. The Flushing resident doesn't even care so much about the couch - testament to the epidemic nature of the IKEA frenzy - he's here for the sociological aspects.

    "I don’t think the couch is worth it, but I wanted to come for the experience,” he said. Patel is currently No. 18 in line.

    Alberto Perez, 25, a supervisor at Starbucks, is just there to support his girlfriend, Anna Roca, 23. The couple lives in East New York. He’s making supply runs. She has a stock of reading materials and nail polish to keep occupied during the long wait.

    More to reports and photos to come ...

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: ikea, red hook, gentrification, development, brooklyn

  • Sample sale picks of the week

    Sunday June 15, 2008 1:43 PM By Julie Gordon

    Shoshanna

    June 17 to 18, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. 231 W. 39th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, suite 422. 212-719-3601.

    Get dresses from Shoshanna’s spring 2008 collection that are up to 75 percent off.

    Alice and Olivia

    June 17 to 21, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 80 W. 40th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues. 212-840-0887.

    Flirty frocks from Alice and Olivia are 40 to 70 percent. Dresses that originally cost between $297 and $396 are now just $119 to $238.

    L.A.M.B. and Jill Stuart handbags

    June 18, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; June 19, 10 a.m. to8 p.m. 145 W. 18th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues. 212-388-0339.

    L.A.M.B., Gwen Stefani’s rock-and-roll line, meets Jill Stuart’s vintage-inspired collection at prices that are half off. A Jill Stuart tote that was originally $550 is now $275. A wallet from Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers collection regularly retails for $285 and is now $148.

    Rafe

    June 18 to 19, 10 a.m. to 7.p.m.; June 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 85 Fifth Ave., between 16th and 17th streets. 212-609-1199.

    What could be better than doing good while looking good? Shoppers can stock up on Rafe bags, shoes and small leather goods at 80 percent off, and half the net proceeds go to Shoes that Fit, an organization that provides new shoes to children in need.

    Tags: shopping, fashion, sample sales

  • Breaking: OTB avoids the glue factory

    Sunday June 15, 2008 1:43 PM By David Freedlander

    The bets will continue as they have for decades at the Winners Circle OTB at West 38th Street. (Photo by Tiffany L. Clark)

    Updated story here.

    In a photo finish, it’s OTB by a nose.

    Hours before a threatened shutdown, officials from the state and city government struck a deal to keep the city’s 68 off-track betting parlors alive.

    The deal came after a weekend of bizarre announcement regarding the future of the beleaguered institution.

    On Friday, Gov. David Paterson announced at an afternoon press conference, surrounded by legislative leaders and OTB union officials, “There is a deal. The mayor and I have talked, and he is relieved that there will be a continuance of activity.”

    Less than three hours later however, Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a statement saying, “The city of New York still has substantial legal and economic issues," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. "Without a settlement of these outstanding issues, we will have no choice but to go forward with our plan to close the city's OTB parlors on Sunday."

    Last minute negotiations centered around whether or not the city would continue to reap a percentage of OTB profit if the state took over operations.

    More details soon.

    --David Freedlander

    MORE:

    PHOTOS: A visit to the OTB Winners Circle

    Video: OTB regulars and employees, in their own words

    Tags: otb, deal, governor, mayor, economy

  • The subway line with 9 lives

    Sunday June 15, 2008 10:59 AM By Rolando Pujol

    No, the 9 isn't back, you "skip-stop" enthusiast, you. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)

    A bit of recent subway history is now on display at the entrance on 14th Street and 6th Avenue station as the former No. 9 line number is once again visible.

    The No. 9 was originally part of the IRT Dyre Ave. line from 1956-1966. In 1989 the No. 9 became a "skip-stop" service as part of the Seventh Avenue local. After the 9/11 attacks, the No. 9 was suspended for just over a year; it was discontinued in May of 2005.

    -- Jefferson Siegel

    More: Tracker blog posts on the persistence of the 9 train in signs.

    Tags: subway, no. 9 train, irt, transit, signs, manhattan

  • Russert's death: Brokaw's emotional news bulletin

    Friday June 13, 2008 3:24 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The NBC bulletin announcing Tim Russert's death is a remarkable piece of television. NBC brought back the retired Tom Brokaw, whom we thought we'd never see deliver another bulletin, to announce the news in a wrenching report that began at about 3:40 Friday.

    Here's the bulletin, delivered by a visibly shaken Brokaw. And for more on Russert's New York political roots, click here.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: tom brokaw, tim russert, television

  • The ex-ugliest building in NYC to welcome Fossil shop

    Friday June 13, 2008 2:20 PM By Rolando Pujol

    We told you recently about the demise of the facade of NYC's quite possibly ugliest building. As workers rehab the exterior, it seems the gritty Dr. Locke Shoes building is getting a serious makeover.

    The space will be taken over by a Fossil shop. It will be Manhattan's second Fossil outlet -- there's one already on Fifth Avenue. Another one in the city can be found in Elmhurst, at the Queens Center.

    Fossil has moved beyond just offering funky retro watches -- it's basically a lifestyle accessory business these days.

    Per Fossil's Web site:

    34th Street

    Fossil Accessory Store

    Coming Summer 2008

    38 W. 34th. Street

    New York, NY 10001

    (212) 594-5850

    The Dr. Locke building was a throwback to Herald Square's gritty past; the increasingly shiny present has caught up with 38 W. 34th St.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: dr. locke, fossil, 34th street, herald square, retail, architecture, real estate, manhattan, endangered nyc, development

  • Digital Downtown: Sampling the tech wares

    Friday June 13, 2008 12:48 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Sampling the Dr. Dre headphones, above, and the HD-1-V Drums, below. (Photos by Simone Herbin)

    Digital Downtown continues through Saturday at the World Financial Center. Urbanite’s Simone Herbin stopped by and shares five gizmos that caught her eye.

    1.) Headphones by Dr. Dre

    Manufacturer: Monster Cable

    Price: $399

    Availability: Apple Stores and Best Buy locations this summer

    These headphones allow you to hear the most subtle of notes. They were specifically designed to capture the low bass sounds of rock and hip-hop music with the help of legendary music producer Dr. Dre. You will hear music artists intended for their listeners’ ears. They are perfect on the go, folding up neatly into a little portable case.

    2.) HD-1 V-Drums

    Manufacturer: Roland Corporation

    Price: $799

    Availability: Guitar Center, Sam Ash Music, and other music stores

    This small, compact set is easy to use and designed for home players to refine their drumming skills. The volume can be controlled with both the volume knob and headphones so you can play discreetly while hearing your music in peace. It includes a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), which functions as a USB for music. You can record performances and later alter the speed of the music without affecting its pitch. With the external input, you can also play along with your CD player, iPod, and other music playing devices.

    3.) 5.2” Modero Viewpoint

    Manufacturer: AMX

    Price: $4,200

    Availability: www.amx.com

    This wireless touch panel puts the control of all your home devices in the palm of your hand. It can be programmed to control your home entertainment system, lighting, thermostat, as well as security system. Its wide screen allows for easy navigation and lets you view your security cameras. It also accesses the Internet through Wifi, giving you information such as the weather when you need it. It’s sleek design blends in seamlessly into any décor.

    4.) Eco Television

    Price: $1,399

    Available at major electronic stores

    This flat high-definition 42-inch LCD television gives the sharp picture viewers crave with several built-in energy-saving features. Using proprietary dimming technology, it measures the amount of natural light in the room and lowers LCD backlight, reducing energy consumption. All this is done without sacrificing picture quality. The television was made using lead-free and flame-retardant materials and is shipped in recycle materials.

    5.) LifeBook U810 Mini-Notebook

    Manufacturer: Fujitsu

    Price: $1,000

    Available at most computer stores

    This compact notebook performs all the tasks of a traditional notebook but is nearly half its size. It runs Windows Vista and through USB you can easily transfer work from your home computer to your mini-notebook to work on the go. It accesses the Internet via Bluetooth or Wifi. The 5.6-inch pivoting screen provides a sharp image and it all weighs only 1.56 pounds.

    Tags: digital downtown, world financial center, technology, manhattan

  • Their 'kea to furniture sales

    Friday June 13, 2008 5:47 AM By Emily Ngo

    It's known far and wide that the Red Hook Ikea is opening this week (Wednesday at 9 a.m., to be exact), but the Swedish furniture giant wants it to be known even farther and wider.

    Those strolling pass the Brooklyn Library near Grand Army Plaza today can stroll into a living room setup that Ikea has placed front and center on the sidewalk. That's right, a living room outside. It's all in good, promotional fun.

    The nice but overdressed lady with the earpiece and clipboard tells me it'll be around until 7 tonight. Check it out.

    -- Emily Ngo

    Tags: ikea, red hook, shopping, prospect park, advertising, parks, brooklyn

  • Isaac Hayes plays Prospect Park tonight

    Thursday June 12, 2008 1:45 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Go see Isaac Hayes for free tonight!

    That’s right, the man who brought you the music of Shaft is playing a free show at 8 p.m. at Prospect Park’s bandshell.

    There’s a $3 suggested donation, but we’ll leave that to your conscience to sort out.

    Hayes is opening this year’s Celebrate Brooklyn program, which will feature free shows in the park by artists like the Cold War Kids, Philip Glass and Deerhoof.

    We say the funkmaster is a great choice to get things grooving at the bandshell this summer. Just don’t ask him to reprise his role as Chef from South Park.

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: isaac hayes, prospect park, brooklyn, stuff that's cool

  • BMX rider tries to break jump record in Central Park

    Thursday June 12, 2008 1:24 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Kevin Robinson, via fatbmx.com

    Those looking for a little vicarious thrill tonight will be able to check out BMX rider Kevin Robinson’s record-breaking attempt in Central Park at 7 p.m.

    The daredevil will be trying to break fellow BMX-er and mentor Matt Hoffman’s 2001 jump record of soaring 26.5 feet above a ramp.

    Robinson is shooting to soar about 30 feet above his ramp tonight, meaning that he’ll be hovering 57 feet off the ground. That’s about six stories, just to be clear.

    Should the jump go according to plan (and we certainly hope it does), Robinson will be celebrating on the second floor of 15 Watts St., underneath energy drink Red Bull’s New York offices.

    Spectators should head over to the park’s bandshell area at 72nd St. tonight to catch a glimpse of the triumph or the carnage.

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: kevin robinson, stuff that's cool

  • From Radio Row to Digital Downtown

    Thursday June 12, 2008 4:22 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The technological descendants of these radios, once found on Radio Row, can be found at Digital Downtown at the World Financial Center, a stone's throw from where Radio Row once stood. (Photo via montanaman1 on Flickr)

    The gadget industry has come home to New York, where consumers’ love affair with all-things electronic started, says Martin Porter the executive producer of Digital Downtown.

    “New York is the birthplace of the $161 billion consumer-electronics industry,” he says. “Ever since the 1920s and Radio Row.”

    Radio Row was a cluster of electronics stores in lower Manhattan that existed for about a half-century, before construction of the World Trade Center displaced it. Now, down the block at the Winter Garden is a first-time electronics expo, Digital Downtown, which has brought together 30 companies to show off their latest products.

    Thursday was the first day and event organizers said it was packed, drawing crowds from the Wall Street set to those just out for a stroll on a nice day.

    The Winter Garden is a sprawling public space — with palm trees — and the expo, running through Saturday, is free and open.

    Two of the larger attractions are a Best Buy trailer and a Pioneer dome. Porter says a display of a brain-powered remote control at Best Buy is a big draw: “You put on a helmet and control [things] with your mind.” Hmmm.

    The Consumer Electronics Association, which holds the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas every year, is a partner in Digital Downtown.

    Martin says he hopes this is the first of many years to come for the event. Eventually, there will be a whole week dedicated to gadgetry with displays all over the city.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: digital downtown, radio row, world trade center, winter garden, electronics, technology, today's freebie, shopping, media, manhattan, history

  • Bowery brou-ha-ha

    Thursday June 12, 2008 4:14 PM By David Freedlander

    Penley, in red cap, with fellow conspirators

    If, on Friday evening, while sipping a light chardonnay at Bruce Willis' new wine bar on the Bowery you happen to notice a bunch of graybearded anarchists yelling at you and chanting, "Die Yuppie Scum!" do not be alarmed.

    There are merely there to protest what they see as the takeover of their neighborhood by the forces of evil, incarnated in the New York Young Republican Club.

    Turns out, the NYYRC held one of their monthly socials last month at the very spot where you are now swishing wine, proof, if ever one was needed, that the neighborhood is going to hell, says John Penley, a long time Lower East Side character leading the protest.

    "This is my answer to the Young Republicans who have been calling for a showdown," said Penley. "I don't have anything personal against Bruce Willis--I kind of like his movies but I just had to make a point."

    The protest is called, "A March Against Real Estate Developers, Landlords, Yuppie Wine Bars and Republicans," and will end up at 47 E. 3rd Street, where the Economakis family has purchased a 60-room, five story building that they are trying to convert to a single family home and evict all of the tenants living in rent stabilized units.

    "It's because of things like Bruce Willis' wine bar that people want to come here and do things like that," said Penley. "We are seeing ourselves get more and more pressed in on all sides. People are getting nervous about their living situation."

    For their part, Lynn Krogh, president of the New York Young Republicans, said the choice of wine bar did not constitute an endorsement.

    "He's making this more than it is," she said, "Talking about how we all come in with blackberries and briefcases. Just because we have an event somewhere doesn't mean that a place is pro-Republican or anti-Democrat."

    --David Freedlander

    Tags: protest, lower east side, republicans, gentrification

  • Obama and McCain: Vote for your favorite ... condom?

    Thursday June 12, 2008 3:57 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Forget campaign buttons. There’s a new way to show which candidate you support.

    The company Practice Safe Policy is now selling condoms emblazoned with the images of presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain.

    The Obama wrapper begs the user to “Use with good judgment” and the Web site asks “Who says experience is necessary?”

    McCain, who at 71 is certainly the elder of the two candidates, has a wrapper that boasts that the product is “Old but not expired.”

    Benjamin Sherman, creator of Practice Safe Policy, told the Associated Press that while the campaign is serious, he wanted to have some fun.

    Interested voters can order the personalized protection at mccaincondoms.com and obamacondoms.com for $9.95 for a pair.

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: politics, obama, mccain, condoms, zany, stuff that's cool

  • Throwback Thursday: At Your Good Olds Guys

    Thursday June 12, 2008 3:20 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Oldsmobile. No matter what GM did to make this brand appealing to younger drivers, it didn't work. Bringing on Ringo Starr and his daughter to remind us that "this is NOT your father's Oldsmobile" certainly didn't help the cause much.

    Yes, Olds is long gone, and in the New York area, the brand's demise took the Good Olds Guys with it. Don't know the Good Olds Guys? You're definitely under 30. The Good Olds Guys were simply a consortium of the tri-state Olds dealerships, and they became a household name in the 1970s and '80s thanks to the power of television.

    That fame came from a five-second spot that would run at the end of every Oldsmobile commercial. It was a disco-infused jingle that simply said, "At Your Good Olds, Good Olds Guys," coupled with some wicked '70s strings.

    The image was a rotating photo grid of Olds dealers. Most were men, but at one point, The Brady Bunch-style grid did include a woman.

    So here, from 1983, is a commercial for Oldsmobile Cutlass, available "At Your Good Olds, Good Olds Guys!"

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: throwback thursday, oldsmobile, old school, nostalgia, television

  • City Hall Dispatch: Mayor Cuomo?

    Thursday June 12, 2008 2:30 PM By David Freedlander

    Grace Rauh kicks the Cuomo-for-mayor can down the street with a story on the front page of yesterday's NY Sun.

    The article points out that:

    A) none of the current candidates are exciting voters much

    B) As current Attorney General and former HUD secretary (and former gubernatorial candidate) Cuomo is perhaps more qualified qualified than anyone else.

    c) He's put forth a good record in the AG's chair, continuing on the Eliot Spitzer tradition of crusading attorneys general, and the people have responded, giving him a 62% approval rating, higher than either Christine Quinn's or Bill Thompson's.

    Plus, as City Hall News noted earlier this month

    Cuomo's options for advancement are slim. With a Democratic field lacking a towering figure, the mayor's race may provide an opening. City Hall, after all, is just a short walk from his apartment.

    It is also worth noting that, unlike some other '09 mentionables like Scott Stringer and Jerrold Nadler, Cuomo is outside the whole Manhattan political orbit, so wouldn't need to worry about upsetting the boat anywhere.

    Except, of course, at the polls.

    --David Freedlander

    Tags: politics, andrew cuomo, mayor race, city hall dispatch

  • Breaking: City Files Charges Against Robert Scarano

    Thursday June 12, 2008 1:34 PM By David Freedlander

    The Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigations announced today that charges have been filed against architect Robert Scarano for make false or misleading statements on applications for two new buildings in Brooklyn.

    Both the buildings are in Greenpoint. One, at 158 Freeman, can not legally be a residential building. The other is approximately 2,000 square feet taller than is legally permitted, according to the department of buildings.

    "Flouting building and zoning regulations undermines the quality of life for all New Yorkers, and we will continue to identify and hold accountable individuals who abuse the rules,” said Acting Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri.

    If proven true, Scarano faces possible suspension or revocation of his ability to file documents with the Buildings Department.

    Scarano has been one of the most prolific--and most reviled--architects during the construction boom in Brooklyn. Critics allege that is gaudy buildings are out of place with neighborhood character and frequently cut corners in zoning and construction safety.

    In 2006, the DOB stripped him of his right to self-certify that his plans meet building codes and zoning laws.

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: breaking, building department, architecture

  • WNYC memorabilia stoop sale NOW!

    Thursday June 12, 2008 10:58 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    Calling of lovers of really New Yawkish paraphnernalia -- WNYC is movin' on up out of its home (of 84 years) in the Municipal Building and it has memoribilia to unload. The solution to this problem is as "New York" as the knickknacks themselves -- a good old-fashioned stoop sale.

    The event is going on NOW in the public plaza on the south side of the Municipal Building at the corner of Chambers and Centre streets. Up for grabs will be: books, CDs, posters and other mementos. It's WNYC history on sale, folks.

    See last night's post for the list on what you'll find [HERE.]

    In attendance will be WNYC stars: Brian Lehrer, Leonard Lopate, Soterios Johnson, John Schaefer, Jad Abumrad, Adaora Udoji, Danny Stiles, Beth Fertig, Richard Hake, Amy Eddings and Sara Fishko will be in attendance.

    All proceeds go to Radio Rookies, WNYC’s Peabody Award-winning youth journalism program.

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: radio, media, manhattan, history

  • Free Today: "Anyone and Everyone" screening/Q&A

    Thursday June 12, 2008 9:35 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    In a precursor to the city's Gay Pride Week, which runs June 22-29, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center will host a free screening of the new PBS documentary "Anyone and Everyone," a collection of coming-out stories, followed by a Q & A and panel discussion with filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz and some of the parents featured in the film.

    When: Today from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

    Where: 208 W. 13th Street (map below)

    Trailer: [HERE].

    The title explains the film: these parents find out that to be part of the LGBT community is not to be "other," it can be anyone and everyone. The parents come from all walks of life, and candidly talk about the ways their kids came out, and how they responded -- often times, it was badly.

    Most poignant perhaps, is the Cherokee father, a regular gay-basher who beat up several people for their sexual orientation. Then he finds out his own son is gay. A mother, through tears, seems to speak for all of them when she says she will always remember the ten words that changed her life forever, "Mom, did you even think that I might be gay?"

    The screening tonight includes an hors d'oeuvre reception and the panel, but if you miss it tonight, catch "Anyone and Everyone" on Thirteen Monday June 16, 10 p.m.


    View Larger Map

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: today's freebie

  • It's not the first time a Virgin bolts out of Times Square

    Wednesday June 11, 2008 9:41 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Richard Branson shows off his newborn, the Virgin Megastore, on April 22, 1996, the day before it opened. (AP)

    Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, remembers the darker days, when neon signs in Times Square flickered: Peep Show, Nude Girls, XXX.

    Then came the Virgin Megastore flashing its giant red “Virgin” logo at the Crossroads of the World. The international retailer was among the first — the move was announced in 1994 — to see the potential of one of the city’s most famous locations. Today, the megastore is on the brink of closure.

    “We’re very sorry to be losing such a pioneering retailer. But alas, this won’t be the first time in Times Square’s long and colorful history when a virgin has high tailed it out of the neighborhood,” Tompkins texted from his Blackberry on Tuesday.

    For Tompkins, news of Virgin’s closing comes with some sadness, because of how big a part the store played in Times Square’s renaissance.

    “It was a huge psychological shift for Times Square,” he said by phone yesterday. “It was a name brand that people didn’t expect to have.”

    The Virgin Megastore didn’t only chase the seedier elements from the neighborhood, it also took a whack at the city’s independent music stores, which represents a certain irony for Frankie Smith, 36. He bartends near Times Square, lives in Washington Heights and has shopped at Virgin almost twice a week since it opened.

    “These guys have knocked the little guys out,” he said while checking out the store’s alternative-music aisles at 1 a.m. yesterday. “And now the little guys are long gone.”

    If the Virgin closes he’ll have nowhere left to go: “It’s ridiculous to have to go to Best Buy to buy music.”

    Smith laments the erosion of the music industry, losing ground as digital downloads kill the CD.

    “It’s sad commentary the music industry when Times Square can’t support a music store,” he said.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: virgin megastore, times square, endangered nyc, shopping, real estate, manhattan, history, gentrification

  • WNYC holding moving sale --- cool stuff on stoop

    Wednesday June 11, 2008 9:18 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Sorry, Mayor La Guardia's mic is not for sale.

    As WNYC prepares to leave its cramped studios in the Municipal Building after 84 years, the radio station is having a stoop sale.

    You can stop by and scoop up your own piece of WNYC history Thursday between 11a.m. and 2 p.m. in the public plaza of the Municipal Building.

    Some mementos up for grabs include:

    * A softball signed by The WNYC Independents, the station’s softball team

    * Vintage WNYC baseball cap signed by Brian Lehrer

    * Copies of the Spy Magazine anthology autographed by Kurt Andersen

    * Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama press passes, signed by WNYC Political director Andrea Bernstein

    * A selection of vinyl from host David Garland’s secret stash, including Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High” signed by Garland

    * “On the Media” host Brooke Gladstone’s Neil Tillotson bobbing-head doll. Tillotson, of New Hampshire. was for many years the first person to vote in the presidential primaries

    All the proceeds will go to Radio Rookies, WNYC’s youth journalism program.

    Several of WNYC’s radio personalities will be at the event, including Brian Lehrer, Leonard Lopate, Soterios Johnson, John Schaefer, Jad Abumrad, and Garland among others.Lehrer, by the way, will officially flip the “On Air” switch at the WNYC’s new home located at 106 Varick St. on June 17th at 10 a.m.

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: wnyc, history, radio, old school

  • The Iron Triangle: Queens residents step up fight

    Wednesday June 11, 2008 5:27 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The Iron Triangle in Willets Point. More photos here. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)

    Queens residents tonight will be urging City Council members to support an alternative to the Bloomberg administration’s $3 billion plan to redevelop Willets Point.

    The Queens Congregation United for Action in New York, a tenants advocacy group, developed the plan that will be proposed tonight at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Sorrow Church in Corona.

    The plan calls for reserving one-third of housing for people with incomes of $25,000 or less and one-third for people with moderate income. Another third would remain at market price, according to the plan.

    In addition, the group is asking that the Iron Triangle businesses that depend on proximity to one another be relocated in clusters and given a range of options. They also want fair compensation for the workers’ relocation.

    The group is also asking opponents to attend a Community Board 7 meeting to testify against the Bloomberg plan.

    The Bloomberg administration seeks to oust, possibly though the use of eminent domain, the longtime mix of automobile supply and repair stores and replace them with a massive mixed-use development. It would include retail, housing, a hotel and a convention near the new CitiField stadium.

    The Rev. Thomas Healy of Our Lady of Sorrow Church will lead the meeting. City Council members Helen Sears, Eric Gioia, Hiram Monserrate, and Thomas White, Jr. will attend.

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: iron triangle, willets point, real estate, queens, gentrification, economy, development

  • Go on a road trip --- to Lunch

    Wednesday June 11, 2008 2:49 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Lobster Roll began as a tiny clam bar. (Photos by Rolando Pujol)

    amNY's Linda Perney has put together a handy list of places to get your lobster roll fix in the city.

    If you happen to be Hampton-Jitney minded (and even if you're not), we'll suggest one place out east that has stayed authentic and maintains a wonderful clam-shack vibe.

    We're talking about a place called Lunch (or Lobster Roll). The Amagansett classic on Montauk Highway is called Lunch because of its wonderful eponymous old sign, an East End landmark.

    It's truly one of those great Roadside America joints, a piece of Americana within day-trip distance.

    If you're an old-school enthusiast and appreciate great signage, (and don't object to decent seafood), that's all the excuse you need for a quick road trip.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: lunch, amagansett, hamptons, long island, road trips, restaurants, food

  • Duly Noted

    Tuesday June 10, 2008 8:50 PM By Rolando Pujol

    The Lumber Boys in Murray Hill displays a terrific exchange telephone number. The MU stands for Murray, naturally.

    * It's the last chapter for the last independent book shop in the Bronx. [Talk Bronx]

    * Jeremiah surveys the small-business destruction at the Hotel Breslin. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * Murray Hill homeless shelter gets to share the slickly branded scaffolding of another towering condo. Isn't that nice? [Welcome to Murraytown via Curbed]

    * What did New Yorkers do before air-conditioning? [City Room]

    * Nathan's hot-dog contest may be shorter this year, to the obvious chagrin of these athletes. [Gothamist]

    * An old sign discovery that's like a refreshing cold front. [Gowanus Lounge]

    * Get a head start on tomorrow's nostalgia today. The Kinkos name is about to disappear. FedEx is dropping the brand in favor of FedEx Office. [Kottke]

    * Explore these photos of Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 funeral procession from New York to Washington. They're on display at Danzinger Projects in Chelsea. [Kottke]

    * Paul Richard, the artist who affixes art-show labels on street objects and gives them ludicrously high prices, strikes again, this time in Greenpoint. See a related Urbanite post one of his works in Chelsea.

    * Henry Miller just hates New York, and he'll tell you in a rant excerpted from a 1975 film. [Gothamist]

    * Take a cool swim beside the Hell Gate's Bridge. This 1936 photo is quite inviting during this early heat spell. (It's actually still spring!) [Ephemeral New York]

    * Here's a classic Queenscape. [Queens Crap]

    * Big changes are transforming First Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * At 90, Mike Wallace, recovering from health setbacks, may not return to the tube. But we have a feeling that this New York institution -- whose show Nightbeat on Channel 5 in the 1950s introduced the world to his iconic interview style -- will return in due time. [Daily Intelligencer]

    * Yuppie scum (and Bruce Willis), stay away from the Bowery on Friday night if you know what's good for you. [Curbed]

    * Once upon a time in New York, horses were quite the public health hazard. [City Room]

    * Ikea "pop ups" are unleashed around town in advance of Red Hook store's grand opening. [Racked]

    * Hotel developers just adore Sunset Park. [Brownstoner]

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: duly noted

  • Struggling to find lifelines for endangered mom and pops

    Tuesday June 10, 2008 7:03 PM By Rolando Pujol

    One of the endangered shops along Ninth Avenue in Chelsea. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)

    With New York in danger of becoming a suburban strip mall, city officials are trying to find a legislative solution to the crisis facing mom and pops.

    Faced with rising rents, competition from big retailers and a slowing economy, many small businesses are struggling to survive. News of the closures of longtime businesses makes headlines seemingly every day.

    “Small businesses are the first to get hit by an economic downturn,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “They are the backbone of our neighborhoods, and are the first to get whacked when there is a drop in the economy.”

    Legislators are considering a range of options, including offering tax breaks to small businesses. Another possibility is to widen protective zoning rules already introduced in Harlem. Those prevent bank branches from occupying ground-floor space, among other measures.

    Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has organized a neighborhood forum tonight to discuss the crisis. State and local officials are expected to attend.Stringer has also created a small-business task force. Its findings and policy recommendations won’t be ready for a couple of months, Stringer said.

    “We want to galvanize the community and organize,” Springer said. “We are going to work with the state and the city.”

    Development pressures are shuttering businesses all across the city.

    Residents of a block in Chelsea are taking particular interest in the discussion. A row of small businesses on Ninth Avenue between 16th and 17th streets may disappear after the large building that houses them was sold.

    The stores may be shut to make way for high-end retailers more in line with the high-end face of Chelsea.

    It may be too late for that block.

    “We may not save these, but we might save the ones several years down the line,” Miguel Acevedo, a member of Community Board 4 in Chelsea who lives near the endangered block.

    If you go: The forum is at 7 p.m. at the West Side Institutional Synagogue, 120 W. 76th St.

    -- Rebecca Wolfson

    More: Urbanite's Endangered NYC posts

    Tags: endangered nyc, small business, politics, history, gentrification, economy

  • Cosby Sweaters not feeling the love

    Tuesday June 10, 2008 4:30 PM By Rolando Pujol

    One of three Cosby Sweaters currently up for grabs on eBay.

    Who doesn’t love the Cos? But even his most ardent fans aren’t jumping to buy some of his famously loud “Cosby Sweaters,” which he made famous on his 1980s sitcom. So far, there hasn't been a single bid.

    Perhaps the $5000 starting bid on eBay is a bit too much to swallow.

    Bill Cosby played Dr. Cliff Huxtable, the perfect husband to Claire and ideal dad to Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. The sweaters, seemingly inspired by the work of Kandinsky, were arguably as much a part of the show as any character.

    If you cough up the dough and snagged one, think of all the costume contests you’d win -- and the benefits surely don’t end there.

    The sweater will offer great comfort on a cold winter day – and perhaps you’ll be able to pick up a whiff of Jell-O Pudding Pops. The possibilities are endless.

    So no collection of ‘80s kitsch is near complete without a Cosby Sweater.

    While, yes, you could dig through most thrift-store bins and probably salvage a decent look-a-like for a buck, why do that when you can own the real thing!

    There are some serious bragging rights up for grabs.

    Each sweater comes with a hand-written letter of authenticity signed by Cosby. And the best part is that all the money goes to Cosby’s charity, Hello Friend, for children with learning disabilities. The auction ends on June 12th.

    -- Simone Herbin

    Tags: bill cosby, cosby sweaters, ebay, fashion, zany, stuff that's cool, shopping, old school, entertainment

  • Virgin Megastore's fate: Little guy cackles with glee

    Tuesday June 10, 2008 3:35 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Bleecker Street Records and other small CD shops aren't exactly teared up over the coming demise of the Virgin Megastore. (Photo by nicolettesara on Flickr)

    The looming demise of record goliath Virgin Megastore in Times Square has some of the city’s gritty, independent music stores gloating a little.

    Ask Nino at Bleecker Street Records how he feels about the announced closing of Virgin: Good riddance or sorry to see you go?

    “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,” he bellows.

    You can take that as you like. It’s clear there is no love lost between the city’s small record shops and Virgin, a company that helped the renaissance in Times Square and now appears to be a victim of the success there.

    It will be forced out by higher rents, Reuters reported last week after talking with an executive vice president at Vornado, the company that owns the Time Square location.

    Virgin’s downfall would signal the end of super record stores in the city, as Tower and FYE have already vanished. That means small stores might see a boost from fans who don’t want to buy at big-box stores that don’t specialize in music.

    “I don’t think it will dramatically change things, but people will notice a big hole on 14th Street (where Virgin is also said to be closing). It’s sort of a looming figur,” said Matt Pullman, manager at Generation Records on Thompson Street.

    But now, out from Virgin’s shadow, Generation might see a little more foot traffic.

    “It will be interesting to see where kids turn to,” he said. “I hope they do what I did, and they start walking and shopping and finding awesome stores like this one.”

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: virgin megastore, times square, gentrification, record shops, music, endangered nyc, manhattan, media

  • Erector set skyscraper rises at Rock Center

    Tuesday June 10, 2008 10:43 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad


    Manhattan's newest skyscraper goes up today, measuring in at 65-feet-tall, 7 tons and constructed completely from stainless steel replica Erector set pieces.

    The skyscraper, a sculpture by artist Chris Burden titled "What My Father Gave Me", will be celebrated today at Rockefeller Center (b/w 49th and 50th streets) from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

    You may remember Burden, now 62, from your art history lessons as that crazy "body as art" guy who back in the early 1970s let a friend shoot him in the hand with a rifle and later nail his hands to the roof of a Volkswagon bug.

    But he's over that, now.

    This work entails no bodily punctures. The Erector set tower will be on view through July 19 and is part of a series of outdoor exhibits sponored by the Public Art Fund.

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: stuff that's cool, manhattan, arts

  • Urban archaeology: Abe Beame planted this tree in 1977

    Monday June 9, 2008 9:36 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Mayor Abe Beame was the city's cursed leader -- his mayoralty stuck in the sour spot between those of pretty boy John Lindsay and "How am I doing?" Ed Koch. For Beame, nothing seemed to go right. The word "beleaguered" seemed to hound him, and he often looked hounded.

    After all, he was trying to run the Ungovernable City in the mid 1970s, back when it seemed New York was not only ungovernable, but was perhaps unsalvagable.

    And that was pretty hard medicine for Beame to swallow. He had entered office with much promise in 1974. As a former comptroller and a clubhouse politico, Beame had the keen fiscal experience and understanding of city politics that seemed to position him well -- an ideal candidate come forth just as the city was on the brink of financial ruin.

    But soon Beame, the city's first Jewish mayor, would find himself standing on the precipice.

    This little tour through 1970s history was prompted by the plaque you see above. The next time you're on the west side of Third Avenue, just shy of East 23rd Street, make a point of looking down, to the base of a tree. And there, you will find a rather humble relic from the Beame administration, and it's not just the stone plaque. It's the tree the mayor planted on Sept. 9, 1977, a tree that's still thriving some 31 years later.

    In fact, there's an awful lot that the plaque doesn't tell us. For one, it doesn't say that Beame, some 24 hours earlier, had lost the Democratic primary in his re-election bid, and was aware the great promise he'd once shown would never be realized.

    Indeed, we'd like to think that Beame embraced this tree planting as a welcome respite from his electoral troubles, and from the summer that was just ending -- the Summer of Sam, the blackout and the wave of arson and looting it unleashed.

    For Abe Beame, planting a tree on Third Avenue must have felt pretty good on that September day.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: abe beame, 1977, summer of 1977, urban archaeology, real estate, manhattan, signs

  • Update: Longtime shoe store battles for its life

    Monday June 9, 2008 4:32 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Lord John's Bootery in Murray Hill might be on its last legs, but for now, it's still standing.

    Store owner John Kyriannis is in final rent negotiations with the Third Avenue property's landlord, which Kyriannis said should wrap up this week.

    In recent years, the store has been struggling thanks to the withering economy and the age of Internet shopping, Kyriannis said.

    "Times are a little tough," Kyriannis said. "It's just been a little harder to compete."

    Lighter wallets seem not to have lessened the shop’s community appeal, though. This past week, customers from years past have been stopping by the store to wish it well.

    "A lot of people have come in, hoping that we don't have to go," Kyriannis said. "Hopefully our

    landlord will agree and we can go on for another 55 years."

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: lord john's bootery, manhattan, rent increases, gentrification, shopping

  • Barney Greengrass turns 100; dishes out 1908 prices

    Monday June 9, 2008 2:33 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Barney Greengrass opened in 1908 in Harlem, and moved to its current location on the Upper West Side in 1929. It would be dubbed "The Sturgeon King" in 1938. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)

    There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but on Wednesday, June 11, the historic Barney Greengrass will offer something pretty close.

    Meals will be sold at 1908 prices to celebrate the restaurant’s 100th anniversary.

    Nicknamed “The Sturgeon King” in 1938 by James J. Frawley, the state senator and Tammany Hall leader, the restaurant specializes in smoked fish platters such as salmon or sturgeon with eggs, onions or liver.

    With the rollback prices in effect, coffee costs 5 cents, cola 20 cents and their famous borscht, a cold beat soup (usually $3.75) for 50 cents. For a buck and half breakfast can be Nova Scotia Salmon scrambled with eggs and onions. At lunch, $1.75 gets you a sturgeon sandwich usually priced at $17.75.

    Barney Greengrass, named for the original proprietor, has remained a family business. Besides adding refrigeration, the only thing that’s changed is the customers who, despite being in a rush, want to sit down and enjoy their meal, rather than order at the counter, said fourth generation and current owner Gary Greengrass.

    Greengrass also says the clientele used to be primarily Jewish but over time that too has changed, along with the Upper West Side.

    “In the 1970s it [the Upper West Side] really was a dump. You’d walk on main streets like Broadway,” Greengrass said. With the gentrification of the area in the 1980s, Greengrass says the area became safer.

    “You’re able to walk on Amsterdam at night now,” he said. Greengrass is at 541 Amsterdam Ave., just north of West 86th Street.

    The rollback idea originated in 1979 when Greengrass celebrated its 50th year at the Amsterdam location. (The original restaurant was in Harlem.)

    “This is our way of thanking customers for all their years. They’re very loyal, local repeat customers day in, day out and week in, week out,” said Greengrass

    Greengrass says it’s all been worth it.

    “The business is our life. I love it. On weekends, it’s like being on stage. We’re an institution to people because it’s comfort food to them.”

    -- Kathleen Bulson

    A timeline of Barney Greengrass history is after the jump1908 – Original Barney Greengrass store opens in Harlem on 113th Street and St Nichols Avenue

    1929 – Barney Greengrass moves to its current location at 86th and Amsterdam.

    1938 – James J. Frawley a state senator and Tammany Hall leader coined the phrase "The Sturgeon King."

    1939 - Barney Greengrass shipped an order of smoked sturgeon to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Warm Springs, Ga. for Thanksgiving.

    1955 – Barney Greengrass passed away and handed the reigns to son Moe.

    1969 – First time the store was used for a movie location was in "The Angel Levine" starring Eli Wallach and Harry Belafonte.

    1982 – Gary Greengrass takes over the business.

    1995 – Barney Greengrass headed west and opened in Beverly Hills. As Gary Greengrass says, "Out there it's fancy-schmancy. Here, we're just schmancy."

    1999 – When asked about the approaching millennium, Gary assured the carbon paper to take orders would be Y2K compatible.

    2000 – BarneyGreengrass.com was launched. Don't wait on line; Shop online.

    2002 – Moe passed away. His card tricks will be missed.

    2006 – Fourth generation Greengrass, Moe Benjamin was born.

    Barney Greengrass received the James Beard Award as "an American classic."

    2007 – 10 years in a row Rated #1 deli in New York City Zagat Survey.

    2008 – Barney Greengrass turned 100

    Tags: barney greengrass, upper west side, restaurants, nostalgia, manhattan, stuff that's cool, food, endangered nyc, economy

  • Moondance on the move

    Monday June 9, 2008 1:10 PM By David Freedlander

    Apparently, as can be gleaned from the above photo (courtesy of the Jackson Hole Star Tribune) the relocation of the Moondance is proceeding along apace.

    After barely surviving the tough mountain winter, the new owners just installed a new kitchen and are aiming to be open and flipping flapjacks later this summer.

    The piece also includes a nice little bit from Hizzoner, who seems quite content to ship out iconic pieces of the city so long as he get a little something in return

    Dear Mr. and Mrs. Pierce:

    "Thank you for the t-shirt and stickers and congratulations on a truly Herculean effort! I like to think of the Moondance, a longtime downtown staple, as a kind of bridge from New York City to the great state of Wyoming. I'm sure the diner will be a great success in LaBarge, and will be as beloved out West as it was back here on the west side of Manhattan.

    "On behalf of all New Yorkers, my best wishes for many years of good health and great happiness at the Moondance.

    Sincerely,

    Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor.

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: moondance diner, mayor, restaurants

  • M.T. is mighty fine!

    Monday June 9, 2008 2:19 AM By Rolando Pujol

    We love the stark, old-school simplicity of the sign for M.T. Food Store Inc. on Third Avenue near East 23rd Street. The name makes us think of an "empty" food store, not the typical thought that a deli's name brings to mind. Perhaps the store is "empty" because the food is so good?

    Anyway, this sign enters the realm of true classic because it has a clock on the right hand side. It no longer works -- even though the words "never closed" are smack in the middle of it -- which kind of makes it all the better.

    Update: The clock, Jefferson Siegel points out, is a relic of an earlier incarnation of this deli. It was part of the Smilers chain, which offered 24-hour service -- no doubt with a smile -- as advertised in the clock.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: signs, third avenue, clocks, manhattan, endangered nyc

  • Is this the last of the 1970s yellow street signs?

    Monday June 9, 2008 1:05 AM By Rolando Pujol

    We couldn't believe it when we saw it in Union Square Sunday night, in a spot we've passed countless times.

    Could this possibly be the last yellow street sign left in Manhattan? The yellow coloring has mostly disappeared, and the flip side is gray, with all the flecks gone.

    But on the side shown here, there's enough of that unmistakable yellow left to be immediately identifiable for what it is -- one of the great yellow signs that dotted every corner of Manhattan from the 1960s to the mid 1980s, when they were phased out for the very green and very boring ones that all five boroughs are largely stuck with today, thanks to federal uniformity mandates. (Similar rules helped deprive us of our iconic Don't Walk/Walk signs.)

    Each borough had its own color scheme back in the day: Manhattan was black on yellow, Queens was blue on white, Brooklyn was white on black and the Bronx was white on blue. Staten Island didn't enjoy the dignity of its own color combination, sharing Manhattan's scheme.

    The yellow signs seemed to be spiritual brethren to the orange license plates that, alas, also began to disappear in 1986, in favor of the white Lady Liberty plates, which have themselves vanished.

    At any rate, this yellow sign, near 17th Street, may be the last of its kind. At least, we know of no other that's still in service. Forgotten NY has an excellent page on this matter, and points to other ones in Manhattan, but we're not sure whether they're all still there. (We'd like to think a few more are.)

    The last ones we recall seeing were north of Lincoln Center, around 68th Street, and that was about a decade ago.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: yellow street signs, urban archaeology, endangered nyc, stuff that's cool, manhattan

  • Will Murray Hill melt for Red Mango?

    Monday June 9, 2008 12:37 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Red Mango, the South Korean fro-yo chain that is said to have started it all but got eclipsed in the United States by PinkBerry, has its sights set on a prominent corner in Murray Hill.

    Well timed for the arrival of a prematurely hot summer, the Red Mango location has signage up announcing its new store at East 34th Street and Third Avenue, on the northeast corner. Hiring is already under way.

    This spot has been home to a rotating number of chains, including a Haagen Daaz for many years, but will the fro-yo stick?

    Murray Hill, like practically every other neighborhood in the city, already has its share of fro-yo places, but except for the ever popular Tasti D-Lite, not along Third Avenue between 34th and 39th streets, the heart of Murray Hill twentysomething frat life. So its location and the relative paucity of spots immediately around it initially seem to bode well.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: tasti d-lite, murray hill, red mango, pinkberry, frozen yogurt, food, restaurants, manhattan

  • You don't need this bus stop to know ...

    Sunday June 8, 2008 8:01 PM By Rolando Pujol

    ... it's hot. We spotted one of the new Cemusa bus shelters in Times Square this weekend that feature time and temperature. Those readings will be testing -- and likely smashing -- records Monday. The National Weather Service is calling for a high of 102! That's pretty amazing, considering the hottest it has ever gotten in Central Park is 106, set on July 9, 1936. And, based on this weather service link, Monday could be the earliest in the year on record that the temperature has hit 100. The official books date back to 1870.

    And the power-outage problems have begun in parts of Westchester and the city. Brooklyn manhole fires have left some people in the dark in Park Slope and Boerum Hill, (and stuck in slow-moving subway trains) but it wasn't yet clear whether those blasts were linked to the heat.

    And it'll be much the same on Tuesday, possibly hitting 101. Keep in mind our normal high for this time of year is in the high 70s -- it'll "cool off" to the 80s on Wednesday.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: weather, heat wave, record heat, manhattan

  • Duly Noted

    Sunday June 8, 2008 4:28 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Costa del Sol is no mas. A few more exterior shots await after the jump. (Rolando Pujol)

    * A batch of sad closings: After 50 years, Chez Brigitte is no more on Greenwich Avenue in the Village. And Costa Del Sol has set in Hell's Kitchen. We'd been to Costa Del Sol in the mid 1990s and enjoyed a good meal; now, we'll definitely check out the owner's other, still extant place, Spanish Taverna on West 38th Street. Costa's demise was coming for a while ... this photo was taken in February, with the lease sign plastered on the facade even though the restaurant was still in business. We had meant to stop by one last time and blog about its endangered status. Happily, Chez Napoleon is alive and well next door, and Lost City paid a visit.

    * Don't even think of sitting on Carrie Bradshaw's stoop. The owners of the West Village home where the fictional sex-columnist-who-destroyed-New-York lived have taken the stoop back from the shutterbug masses. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York and EV Grieve]

    * New York magazine was mourning the loss of the Lower East Side as early as May 28, 1984. [EV Grieve]

    * The East Village Other was a short-lived but scrappy alternative paper whose history mirrors the hippie era. Check out the cool cover art by R. Crumb. [Ephemeral New York]

    * The steps at the Met: Don't even think of sitting there. Well, kind of, and there's a good reason. [City Room]

    * Renaming the Triborough Bridge for Robert F. Kennedy is something we just can't support. To be sure, we do not object to honoring the memory of RFK, but picking the Triborough, an iconic structure with an authentic New York name, seems ridiculous. Just leave it be. We'd say that most New Yorkers will keep calling it the Triborough regardless, but then again, we've gotten around to calling the Interborough Parkway by its new name, the Jackie Robinson, thanks to 1010 WINS traffic reports. [Gothamist]

    * Tragic: An 1873 church in College Point was gutted in a blaze. [Queens Crap]

    * The New York Times installs "repellent" to keep the human flies away. That repellent involves plywood. Oh, Renzo Piano isn't going to like this at his sleek and eminently scalable tower. [Curbed]

    * Learn about Father Duffy, the Fighting 69th chaplain and your companion in discounted Broadway ticket buying starting June 20. [Curbed]

    * A view seen by few since the 1960s: the High Bridge pedestrian overpass. It's coming back by 2011, we are told. [Ephemeral New York]

    * Sure, it's hot, but at least something called The West Indian Monster isn't burying our barrier islands. [Gowanus Lounge]

    * This time of year is great for organized house tours and neighborhood walks. We enjoyed a visit to the gardens of Jackson Heights yesterday, which we will blog later. Next week, a tour of Weeksville, the historic African American community, seems well worth undertaking. [Gowanus Lounge]

    -- Rolando Pujol

    But next door, Chez Napoleon is still going ...

    Tags: duly noted

  • Fashions on the cheap

    Sunday June 8, 2008 2:36 PM By Julie Gordon

    A model walks the runway at 3.1 Phillip Lim's fall '08 fashion show. Pieces from Lim are discounted at Castor & Pollux's sample sale this week. (Photo: Getty)

    Sample sales worth checking out this week:

    Robert Graham

    June 9 to 11. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 264 W. 40th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues. 212-869-8001

    Get discounted pieces from prep-master Robert Graham. Men’s jackets that retail for $598 are now $125; women’s jackets that usually cost $398 are on sale for $70; women’s blouses that normally cost $198 are selling for $40. You can also buy three blouses for $100.

    Jeff Cohan

    June 9 to 13, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. 214 W, 39th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, fifth floor. 212-840-0600.

    Showrooms for brands Jeff Cohan, Fusun, Allora and Chaudry combine forces to offer items at half off or more.

    Veka Bridal Couture

    June 9 to 13. 12 p.m.-6 p.m.; June 14, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; June 15, 12 p.m.-5 p.m. 262 Mott St., between Houston and Prince streets. 212-925 -9044

    Veka Bridal Couture boutique is offering gowns by designers including Victorio and Lucchino and Suzanne Ermann at 30 to 75 percent off retail.

    Eugenia Kim

    June 10 to 13. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. 347 W. 36th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, suite 502. 212-674-1345.

    Headbands, belts and men’s and women’s hats are 50 to 75 percent off the retail price. The Straw Max fedora, a style worn by Cameron Diaz, was originally $285 and is now $125. Two Paris Hilton favorites, the Marissa engineer cap and Muffy equestrian cap, retail for $185 and are now $95. Silk headscarves, which Fergie has worn, were $155 and are selling for $65.

    Castor & Pollux

    June 11 to 12, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. 265 W. 37th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, suite 703. 212-268-8774

    Like this West Village hot-shop? Then you'll love the sample sale. Pieces from designers including Acne, Filippa K. and Sonia by Sonia Rykiel are up to 70 percent off. Pare Gabia wedges that were originally $118 are now $30. A Phillip Lim top that was $312 is now $93.

    Monique Leshman

    June 10 to 12, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. 240 W. 35th St., suite 403. 212-244-7776.

    All tunics, caftans, dresses and blouses are now up to 80 percent off retail. Caftans that retail at more than $800 are now $200. Beaded tunics that are in stores for $700 are now $250. Cotton tunics that retail for $235 are now $40.

    Tags: shopping, fashion

  • How to beat the running heat

    Sunday June 8, 2008 2:10 PM By Emily Ngo

    Photo via Flickr by AndreaBo

    Despite this weekend’s torrid temperatures, runners in New York City seemed to be out in full force. But even the fittest of athletes need to be aware: Extreme precautions need to be taken in extreme heat.

    Avoid hot spots like the Brooklyn Bridge (I know, I know; it’s my favorite, too) where the sun will undoubtedly be beating down on you. Instead, try these running routes:

    Central Park: The trees provide plenty of shade. And the reservoir cools you off a little. Outer borough residents can find similar benefits at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens and Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

    Riverside Drive: Or any path by the Hudson River, for that matter. The breeze from the water will help a lot.

    The gym: Outdoor runners love marking their progress with landmarks and taking in the scenery, but during a heat wave like this one, consider hitting the treadmill. With air conditioning and bottled water galore, there’s a slimmer chance of dehydration.

    It may seem obvious, but preparation is key. Here are tips to beat the heat outside:

    Run in the early morning (when the air quality is better) or at night. Never midday. A good rule of thumb is to run when your shadow is longer than you are.

    Drink a ton of water before you leave and carry a bottle with you. It sucks to carry something around, but heat stroke sucks even more.

    Wear light-colored clothing that’s micro-fiber. Cotton will get sweaty and weigh you down.

    Sunscreen!!!

    Take it easy. It will take some time for your body to get used to running in the heat, so pace yourself and build up your mileage.

    And here’s more. Stay cool.

    — Emily Ngo

    Tags: parks, sports, weather

  • 'Idol' Taylor Hicks takes on Broadway

    Friday June 6, 2008 11:37 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    Well, the gray-haired, crazy-dancin' crooner hasn't made much of a splash since he took top honors on American Idol Season Five.

    But starting today, Taylor Hicks will take a shot at being "the one that you want" in his Broadway debut playing the role of "Teen Angel" in "Grease." He's just another in a long line of "Idol" contestants to hit the Great White Way.

    Others include: 2005 winner Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple"), 2005 finalist Diana DeGarmo ("Hairspray") and 2003 finalist Josh Strickland (Disney's "Tarzan").

    Hicks starts today and will hold the role through Sept. 7. And apparently, Hicks and his "Soul Patrol" are so sure he'll be a hit, immediately after tonight's performance he'll celebrate his stage debut with a handprint ceremony at the Planey Hollywood in Times Square, tonight at 10:45 p.m.

    We're pretty sure he's happy to sign autographs.

    For those of you who want to relive the Hicks 'Idol' glory ... here it is:

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: american idol, theater, manhattan, arts

  • Le Burrito: The burrito of champions

    Friday June 6, 2008 10:40 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad


    Click for the Chipotle cycling game

    It's an unlikely pairing: Chipotle and the Tour de France, and yet the Mexican fast food chain today unveiled "Le Burrito" in honor of the cycling race, so you too can eat like a world-class athlete.

    It may surprise you to learn that Chipotle is sponsors the U.S.-based cycling team Slipstream, and has for three years, because the team enforces a strict anti-doping policy.

    “We have sponsored team Slipstream-Chipotle for three years because we share their belief in doing things the right way,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and CEO of Chipotle.

    For the cyclists, that means dropping drugs from professional cycling and Chipotle offers its own interpretation by axing antibiotics, hormones and other drugs from the meat it uses.

    Le Burrito, which will be offered for a limited time only during the dates of the Tour de France from July 5 - 27, is stuffed with naturally raised chicken fed a pure veggie diet, black beans, cilantro lime rice, mild tomato salsa, and fresh guac.

    According to chipotle, the combo will offer an energy boost that "allows cyclists to perform at their best while racing." It may taste good, but we still think that snarfing the notoriously gigantor Chipotle burrito before a 3,500 bike race might not be the best idea ....

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: quick bite, food

  • It's National Donut Day!

    Friday June 6, 2008 9:25 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    And that means a free Krispy Kreme donut for you! Someone has designated today, June 6, National Donut (Doughnut) Day and to celebrate, Krispy Kreme - serving up tasty treats since 1937 - is ready to hand over one of their doughy, glazed delicacies for Free.

    There aren't too many Krispy Kremes in NYC, we're more of a Dunkin' kind of town - but all Penn Station commuters are in luck. The store in the Amtrak Rotunda will hand out free donuts all day long. Get 'em while they last. (More info at: 212-947-7175)

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: food, manhattan, today's check it out

  • 2nd man scales Times building

    Thursday June 5, 2008 6:44 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Photos by Rolando Pujol

    We took these photos of the second Times tower climber, and police waiting to apprehend him, from our offices on 34th Street. The man made it to the top safely and was promptly apprehended. Updates here.

  • Something gets Times Building climber's attention

    Thursday June 5, 2008 4:26 PM By Pete Catapano

    According to the New Jersey Nets, the New York Times Building climber paused on the 38th floor to check out the Barclays Center Showroom of suites that will go into the new arena slated for Brooklyn. " 

    The Nets might like to think the the climber, reported to be Alain Robert, was interested in a suite, odds are he was just taking a break Perhaps the guys over at the Nets got a little too excited, though, photoshopping "I Want A Suite" on the daredevil's shirt.

    “We appreciate Mr. Robert’s potential interest in purchasing a Barclays Center luxury suite and we look forward to giving him a special tour of the Showroom,” said Brett Yormark, president and CEO of Nets Sports and Entertainment. “To make things go more smoothly, however, we strongly encourage Mr. Robert to take the elevator to the 38th floor where we will have someone to greet him.”

    — Pete Catapano

    Here's Robert checking out the suites, according to a Nets spokesman.

  • Throwback Thursday: 11's Alive with nostalgia, next!

    Thursday June 5, 2008 4:15 PM By Rolando Pujol

    As old-school NYC enthusiasts, we here at Urbanite have been waiting for this since we first told you in April that WPIX was going retro to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Well, the CW 11 will briefly become "11 Alive" during its special marathon of classic programming on Saturday, June 14 (from 12 noon to 9pm) followed by a one-hour documentary hosted by news anchors Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong. PIX is also inviting you to share your memories at http://cw11.trb.com/60 (not yet "Alive") where they will gather a great collection of WPIX nostalgia. Let us know of your memories, too -- after all, this is the station that coined the phrase "What's your opinion? We'd like to know."

    The schedule will be composed of programs that were once a big part of the WPIX schedule. Here's the rundown:

    The Little Rascals

    12-1230pm: Teacher’s Pet

    1230p-1pm: Hearts Are Thumps/ Feed ‘Em and Weep

    Abbott & Costello

    1pm Getting a Job

    130pm The Actor’s Home

    The Three Stooges

    2pm Gents without Cents

    230pm A Plumbing We Will Go

    The Adventures of Superman

    3pm Crime Wave

    330pm The Perils of Superman

    Get Smart

    4pm Mr. Big

    430pm A Spy for A Spy

    My Favorite Martian

    5pm My Favorite Martian

    530pm A Loaf of Bread, A Jug of Wine and Peaches

    I Dream Of Jeannie

    6pm The Lady In The Bottle

    630pm Tomorrow Is Not Another Day

    The Odd Couple

    7pm Password

    730pm My Strife in Court

    The Honeymooners

    8pm Better Living Through TV

    830pm The $99,000 Answer

    WPIX 60th SPECIAL

    9-10 pm

    Hosted by CW11 News Anchors Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong

    Fire up your Betamaxes -- err, DVD recorders -- and have fun. And check out some more vintage WPIX and old school TV stuff here and here. Release is after the jump.

    -- Rolando PujolTHE BIRTHDAY BASH BEGINS ON JUNE 14 with A CLASSIC COMEDY MARATHON AND RETROSPECTIVE SPECIAL

    June 5, 2008--NEW YORK--The year was 1948, the price of a stamp was 3 cents, a subway ride 10 cents, and a gallon of gas a whopping 16 cents when WPIX hit the air on June 15 as New York City’s first independent television station.

    For 60 years, the award-winning WPIX-TV has been New York’s home for groundbreaking television, and to celebrate, WPIX will air WPIX AT 60 BIRTHDAY BASH, a special marathon of classic programming on Saturday, June 14 (from 12 noon to 9pm) followed by a one hour retrospective hosted by News Anchors Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong.

    Beginning at noon, the PIX AT 60 BIRTHDAY BASH will feature 9 hours of vintage programs including: The Little Rascals, Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, The Adventures Of Superman, Get Smart, My Favorite Martian, I Dream Of Jeannie, The Odd Couple and The Honeymooners (program schedule attached).

    9 hours…19 episodes…and all the nostalgia you can cram into a day. Did you know Abbott and Costello were the first non-baseball players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (for “Who’s On First?) or that Jeannie’s bottle in “I Dream of Jeannie” was actually a bottle of Jim Beam painted gold? Interstitials will run throughout the BIRTHDAY BASH and will feature PIX program trivia and fun facts.

    At 9 pm, WPIX will air a 60th Anniversary Special hosted by Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong. The hour-long program will take a look back at WPIX from 1948 to 2008. Today, WPIX is the CW11, the home for great programs like “The CW11 News,” “America’s Next Top Model,” New York Mets baseball and many first run and syndicated hits. In the last 60 years, WPIX has celebrated many milestones including the first instant replay (July 17, 1959 Yankees vs. White Sox) and The Rolling Stones’ first New York TV appearance on WPIX’s “Clay Cole Show” (1964). From the Giants to the Yankees to the Mets…from Cap’n Jack McCarthy to Officer Joe Bolton to Bozo the Clown…From Dawson to Buffy to Serena, the WPIX 60th Anniversary Special will track the stations’ growth from a small independent station to the powerhouse it is today.

    Remember playing the PIX PIX PIX game? Did you warm your hands over “The Yule Log” fire? Do you long for “Peanut Butter and Jelly Time?” WPIX is inviting viewers to share their favorite memories at cw11.com/60 which will also feature expanded online coverage of WPIX’s rich history.

    In addition, WPIX has created a commemorative insert which will run in Newsday and amNewYork on June 13 featuring a comprehensive timeline of PIX’s greatest moments with vintage photographs.

    The PIX AT 60 BIRTHDAY BASH….It’s better than birthday cake…

    Tags: wpix. 11 alive, throwback thursday, television, nostalgia, old school

  • Student reality schmeality

    Thursday June 5, 2008 3:53 PM By Julie Gordon

    As if there wasn't enough reality TV out there already, here's another show that MTV is throwing into the pot. I just got this e-mail from an MTV casting director:

    "MTV is casting outgoing individuals with talents in fashion design, art, graphic design, marketing, or public relations for their newest reality show. Are you a student looking for something to do for the summer? We are searching for people with bold personalities and true skills. Are you the one who sets the bar for style in your hood or the designer label lover who would die for the chance to create your own fashion line? If you think you have what it takes to make it big in the fashion business, email us ASAP at: FashionBiz@mtvnmix.com. Please include the following information:

    *Name, hometown and contact details (phone numbers, email address and website).

    A little bit about your background and why you’d be perfect for a reality show about the fashion industry.

    Photo of some of your work (if you’re a designer or artist).

    *Our search is limited to applicants in the tri-state area, PA, and Delaware.

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: mtv, reality, entertainment

  • At Empire State Building, Versace chic with Deco style

    Thursday June 5, 2008 2:09 PM By Rolando Pujol

    versaceesb1.bmp versaceesb2.bmp

    It appears that fashion at the Empire State Building is ahead of the runways in Milan, or at least that’s what the landmark's press people are saying.

    The Empire State Building is in the middle of a half-billion dollar renovation to restore the Art Deco mammoth to the way it looked when it was built in the 1930s. In the spirit of the project even the staff at the building got a makeover with Art Deco-inspired uniforms.

    The uniforms are a bold burgundy with chevrons on the sleeves and custom-silk ties.

    Now the people at the Empire State Building are happy to point out that Versace’s fall 2008 collection is surprisingly Empire State Building chic: Burgundy with a vintage ’30s flare.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Tags: empire state building, versace, art deco, fashion, architecture, manhattan

  • Man scales New York Times building

    Thursday June 5, 2008 11:48 AM By Rolando Pujol

    Updated story here

    Alain Robert, also known as The French Spiderman, hangs a banner on the New York Times building, a new 52-story tower, while climbing it with his bare hands Thursday. (AP)

    A French stunt man known as Spiderman used only his bare hands to scale his way to the top of the 52-story New York Times building before being apprehended by authorities around 12:20.

    Alain Robert, who has scaled the Eiffel Tower among other towering structures, rapidly ascended the building before being brought in by authorities at the top. He was arrested. The Renzo Piano-designed building is between 40th and 41st streets and Eighth Avenue. The man scaled the north face of the building, and authorities cordoned off the sidewalk at the base.

    Pedestrians and construction workers alike cheered and gasped as Robert made his way to the top.

    Robert was carrying a banner decrying global warming, which he unfurled. It said "Global Warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.” Robert later told the Times that he chose the NYT tower because it is a "green building," and hoped to attract attention to the cause by scaling it. He had announced a press conference earlier in the day to draw attention to his global-warming campaign, which he said would be followed by an event “to show you how he

    climbs!” according to the AP.

    The building has a exterior grid that facilitated Robert's rapid ascent.

    The incident recalled the scaling of the World Trade Center towers, among other "human fly" events around the world, something to which this stunt man is no stranger. Robert himself had scaled a 42-story building in Brazil as recently as February.

    City Room is live blogging, with remarkable photos.

    Keep checking here for updates. Here's some related past coverage: (big buildings, big media seems to make NYC the world capital of these stunts)

    * Photos: Man tries to parachute off top of Empire State Building

    * Philippe Petit, who walked tightrope between WTC towers, still at it

    * Here's video of George Willig climbing the World Trade Center in 1977.

    Tags: architecture, stuff that's cool

  • Slumber party at Jerry Springer's house!

    Wednesday June 4, 2008 9:18 PM By Julie Gordon

    (Photo: Getty)

    Any way you slice it, you can’t help but love Jerry Springer — especially because he’s a native New Yorker.

    “I still sleep in pinstripe pajamas. I worship the Yankees,” the talk-show host told us at before the Bravo A-List Awards Wednesday night.

    Slumber party! We’ll bring the popcorn and pinstripe bowls.

    So has Springer ever seen anything as crazy as his show’s antics on the streets?

    “I could do a show on any street corner. What the heck? Turn the camera on,” he said.

    Your wish is our command, Mr. Springer.

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: jerry springer, enteratinment, bravo, entertainment

  • Tyson wants to make love

    Wednesday June 4, 2008 9:04 PM By Julie Gordon

    (Photo: Getty)

    Tyson Beckford’s next gig could help Hillary Clinton in the romance department.

    “Hillary’s style — we need to help her out. Bill will be all up on it when we’re done with her,” the "Make Me a Supermodel" stud told us before Wednesday’s Bravo A-List Awards.

    Ha!

    That said, Beckford thinks Hillary — or another woman — would make a good running mate for his choice candidate, Barack Obama.

    “I think it should always be a male and female all the way through because women have a sensitive side. They don’t want to fight all the time. … We don’t want to fight anymore. We’ve lost so many already. Let’s stop. Let’s make love,” Beckford said.

    Um, is that an offer?!

    Anyway, Beckford says his man Obama has a debonair way about him, wears ties that work and dons suits that actually fit.

    “The dude knows what he’s doing, not only cause he’s a black man. He’s just smooth baby. The ladies seem to love him,” Beckford said.

    How about McCain? Well, apparently his thick-striped tie Tuesday night wasn't jiving with Beckford's taste.

    “Hey, call fashion people,” Beckford said. “We will help you out.”

    — Julie Gordon

    Tags: entertainment

  • Mega Starbucks to open at Empire State on Friday

    Wednesday June 4, 2008 5:38 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Work was under way Wednesday at the city's newest Starbucks, opening Friday at the Empire State Building. (Photos by Kathleen Bulson)

    Just when you thought the Seattle coffee chain couldn't possibly get a larger presence in New York, Starbucks goes and opens an outlet at the base of Gotham's most famous landmark. The coffee shop opens Friday on the West 34th Street side of the Empire State Building, with a grand opening celebration set for June 12.

    Previously billed as New York's largest Starbucks, the store is now being described by the Edelman public-relations firm as one of the largest Starbucks in the city. It will also be one of the few locations in the city that is two stories.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Urbanite Starbucks coverage

    Tags: starbucks, empire state building, restaurants, development, architecture

  • Duly Noted

    Tuesday June 3, 2008 9:35 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Protesters outside the Port Authority's offices on Tuesday.

    (Courtesy The Humane Society)

    * Protest over JFK cat roundup is taken to Port Authority headquarters. [City Room]

    * The Rainbow Cafe is closed in Sunset Park, but the iconic neon sign remains. [Best View in Brooklyn via Lost City]

    * Google, please fix this on your map: "Charles A. Dana Disocvery Center" [North of 96th]

    * Now why didn't we ever stop in here: The Mercantile Library, an august retreat in midtown, has closed. [Lost City]

    * Alice's Tea Cup is suing DOH over slow inspection following closure. [Eater]

    * Two endangered churches have been spared of late -- will Bay Ridge United Methodist Church become the third? [Curbed]

    * And the fancy new stairs/TKTS booth will be ready -- maybe -- on June 20. [NY Post]

    * Playing in 1971 -- Straw Dogs. Now playing in 2008 -- Starbucks! [newyorkshitty via Curbed]

    * Sarah Jessica Parker recalls her early days in New York -- when she lived on Roosevelt Island.[Roosevelt Islander]

    * Farewell, Cafe Le Figaro. [Eater]

    * The designer of the Pringles can was buried in, well, a Pringles can, at least some of his ashes were, at his request. [Unbiege]

    * A look at the Forward building, home to current-tabloid-favorite Tatum O'Neal. [EV Grieve]

    * The International Bar returns to life June 18. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * John Teti captures the crazy scene last week on the Tudor City overpass, the de rigeur place to savor the marvel that is Manhattanhenge, an Urbanite obsession. (We are proud Hengies.) [Geek Out New York]

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: duly noted

  • Air Guitar championships start today in Manhattan

    Tuesday June 3, 2008 3:15 PM By Rolando Pujol

    airguit.bmp

    It’s time to put on your best air-guitar face, because the championships start today at the Bowery Ballroom.

    The New York regional round of the national Air Guitar Championships is the first leg of the tournament that will eventually take the winner to the world competition in Finland.

    Air guitarists will take the stage at Bowery Ballroom tonight at 8 p.m., but if you miss it the tournament winds back to Brooklyn on July 9 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

    -- Garett Sloane

    Photo: Craig " Hot Lixx Hulahan" Billmeier, of San Francisco, performs his air guitar piece in June 2006 at The Air Guitar Championship held at The Bowery Ballroom. (AP)

    Tags: air guitar, bowery ballroom, manhattan, stuff that's cool, entertainment

  • Farewell to New York's ugliest facade

    Tuesday June 3, 2008 2:50 PM By Rolando Pujol

    It was ugly. It was bizarre. It was mind-boggling. It was a New York original. And now it's gone.

    We're talking about what had to be the ugliest facade in all of New York City. Known variously as the "Foot Saver" or the "Dr. Locke" building, it was quite a streetscape aberration.

    At some point -- we dare suggest it was the 1960s or 1970s, but bad taste truly has no vintage -- the townhouse-style building was insanely covered up in rust-colored metal sheets. Windows were of course, necessary, so openings were very crudely cut, apparently by a saw-wielding, blindfolded amateur.

    There it stood, a testament to bad taste and to another time in retail along 34th Street. Dr. Locke/Foot Saver belongs to an era when low-rent retail, shoe stores and fast-food joints ruled the roost around Herald Square. There's still plenty of that, but more and more, it's high-end retail that you'll find along this stretch. Dr. Locke/Foot Saver survived the arrival on the street of Banana Republic and Club Monaco.

    Below is the building today, covered in scaffolding with the ugly metal facade carted away. However the facade winds up looking, it will be an epic improvement. Sure, that's easy enough, but we doubt the new facade will be as perversely transfixing.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Check out this post by Transfer on the Dr. Locke building, with plenty more pics. A little background on the Dr. Locke we imagine inspired the name. And chime in on your favorite ugly building here.

    Tags: architecture, ugly buildings, 34th street, dr. locke, shopping, real estate, manhattan, endangered nyc, signs

  • Will they add pizza to the neon "chicken and ribs" sign?

    Monday June 2, 2008 8:16 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Until recently this restaurant on West 42nd Street near Ninth Avenue was the Texas Chicken and Grill. Now the canopy reads "Margherita Pizza" with assorted other specialties.

    Located on the ground floor of a narrow, four-story building on what may have once been the far western limit of Times Square, the eye is drawn to the old two-story-high sign "Chicken Ribs." As twilight falls, most of the letters illuminate, so that, from a distance, it

    reads, "chick ibs" in red and green.

    The restaurant is right next door to the luxury hi-rise rental building Orion. Although there is a gelato case as you walk in and the back is filled by a pizza oven, the place offers a varied menu, including chicken and rib dishes.

    Text and photo: Jefferson Siegel

    Earlier: An Urbanite post from February with the old business in view, as well as signage from the Elk Hotel next door.

    Tags: times square, neon, endangered nyc, signs, restaurants, real estate, manhattan, gentrification

  • Dylan to play Prospect Park

    Monday June 2, 2008 4:42 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Bob Dylan is ending his world tour in an unlikely place: Brooklyn.

    The weathered troubadour will play the Prospect Park Bandshell on Aug. 12 to close his "Modern Times" tour.

    Diehard fans had to be on their toes to grab tickets, which went on presale yesterday at 10 a.m., the same day that Dylan’s official web site announced the show. The advantage in the ticket scramble went to readers of the blog Brooklyn Vegan, which posted the added tour date on Sunday.

    Tickets cost from $55 to $100, and any seats not sold yesterday will go on sale June 13 through Ticketmaster. The Bandshell has a capacity of 2,000 seats plus room for 5,000 on the lawn.

    So far, the "Modern Times" tour has featured a mix of classic songs from the '60s and tunes from his most recent album, which won a Grammy in 2006 for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.

    Dylan will be touring Europe until his Brooklyn show and is scheduled to perform in St. Petersburg, Russia, tonight.

    * See historic Bob Dylan photos and instruments here

    -- Megan Stride

    Tags: bob dylan, prospect park, brooklyn, parking, entertainment

  • Take a Taste of Times Square -- Today!

    Monday June 2, 2008 3:49 PM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    Just in time for the after-work commuter rush, that's plus the usual tourist crush, it's the annual Taste of Times Square, today at 5 p.m.

    And no - this does not mean buffet tables from TGI Friday's or Red Lobster set up outside the military recruiting center. This means truly tasty tastes from the many-starred (Becco and the Firebird to name just two) restaurants along the historic restaurant row on West 46th Street between 8th and 9th avenues. For the complete list of participating restaurants, click [HERE] .

    Tickets available at the main ticket booth at 46th Street and Broadway (3 p.m. on) and other booths throughout the neighborhood at starting at 5p.m.

    And after that, Bon Appetit!

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: food, manhattan, quick bite

  • Starrett City to stay affordable

    Monday June 2, 2008 9:57 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad


    Photo by Kathy Willens/ Associated Press

    After months of bitter bickering, owners of the 34-year-old Brooklyn housing complex Starrett City -- one of the last vestiges of affordable housing in the five boroughs -- say the development will STAY affordable after its sale goes through, the New York Times reports.

    According to the Times, Starrett City owners reached a deal with federal, state and city officials to keep the housing units designated as affordable living space for working and middle-class families. The sale starts this week. Owners are looking for a contract by Sept. 1

    Starrett City: PHOTOS

    -- Lauren Johnston

    Tags: starrett city, gentrification, endangered nyc, development, brooklyn

  • Duly Noted

    Sunday June 1, 2008 8:00 PM By Rolando Pujol

    * The Armando's sign is gone. A bartender there had told us shortly before the restaurant closed that the sign might survive in place, regardless of tenant. (He also told us the sign was a new version of the original sign.) Alas, the lobster is gone for good. We stopped by Armando's about a month ago for one last look. [Eater]

    * Why do yunnies (young urban narcissists) hate old-school places that hold neighborhoods together? A theory emerges, inspired by the same suburban sources that brought these transplants here: Property values. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

    * Deciphering the origins of a mansard-roofed house in Ridgewood. [Queens Crap]

    * Yet another example of a landmark facing the dreaded "demolition by neglect." [Brownstoner]

    * And will Chumley's ever reopen? Part of the building is now missing! [Eater]

    * When getting to a Chinese restaurant around Fulton Street proves a labyrinthian task, it's safe to say construction there is hurting mom-and-pops. [EV Grieve]

    * A City Hall protest seeks restoration of $300,000 in budget to Landmarks Preservation Commission. [The Observer]

    * Still waiting for the Red Hook soccer-field food vendors to return. [Eater]

    * When in Red Hook and shopping at Ikea, you'll be able to park your car at the former site of the domed Revere Sugar Factory. We doubt most of the shoppers will even know what was lost there. [The Brooklyn Paper]

    * Street-cart signage goes high-tech. Hope this is not the beginning of a hideous trend. [Serious Eats via Eater]

    * Rudy! Theo! Cliff Huxtable's "Cosby Sweaters" are heading to eBay. We'll pass. While the '80s are hip again, $5,000 opening bids are not. [Gothamist]

    * The syrup smell made a brief comeback. [Gothamist]

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: duly noted, signs

  • 'The Real World: Brooklyn' heads down(town)

    Sunday June 1, 2008 3:42 PM By Julie Gordon

    Hey, "Real World" cast member wannabes. Don't get your sights set on trendy Williamsburg or Carroll Gardens as the home of show's next installment.

    "The Real World: Brooklyn" will most likely film at BellTel Lofts in Downtown Brooklyn, though negotiations aren't finalized, the sales office told us Sunday. The seven strangers will supposedly reside in the condo building's penthouse, TMZ.com reported.

    The luxury building's amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, roof-top terrace and screening lounge. Apartments sell for $540,000 to $3.2 million, according to the sales office.

    The Brooklyn Paper first reported on May 17 the BellTel lofts as a possible location. Jim Johnston, executive producer of the show, told The Paper that he has looked at the building but wouldn't confirm it as the show's future home.

    "The Real World" Brooklyn is set to air in January 2009, with filming beginning this summer.

    — Julie Gordon

    Urbanite Q&A with 'Real World' executive producer

    Tags: real world, brooklyn, entertainment, television

  • Icons of New Yorkiana burn to ground

    Sunday June 1, 2008 1:24 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Preserved on film, the New York lot at Universal studios is no more. (Photo via lorenpremier on Flickr)

    When you're watching a Universal film or TV show set in New York, and the producers were too cheap to come to Gotham itself, you're in the dreamland that is the fabled Universal back lot. But those famous New York street scenes, along with those used in "Back to the Future", have been damaged or destroyed in a massive fire that has consumed the studio's back lot.

    The New York set evokes a nostalgic view of the city. Its design is Jane Jacobs approved, with brownstones, stoops and mom-and-pops around every corner. Its disappearance carries a touch of irony, given how the vision of the city it represents is itself vanishing by the day.

    Notably destroyed too is the "Back to the Future" set, including the courthouse square area with its famous clock tower. Ironically, a scene in the movie involves a campaign to "save the clock tower" from destruction. And a video vault with thousands of titles has also been damaged. NBC Universal reassuredly offers that there are duplicates elsewhere.

    LAist has an insider's view of the set. Some other views here. And here's the latest from the Los Angeles Times.

    -- Rolando Pujol

    Tags: universal back lot fire, television, movies, architecture, history, entertainment, endangered nyc

  • City Hall Dispatch: New poll show no one cares about new poll

    Wednesday May 7, 2008 11:40 AM By David Freedlander

    Quinnipiac just released their latest poll on the '09 mayoral contest which seems to reveal that no one much cares about the '09 mayoral contest.

    And why should they? Spring is in the air, the presidential election is consuming all the political oxygen, Water Taxi Beach opens in 2 weeks.

    And despite a few months of real news since the last QU poll was released two months ago--the Sean Bell verdict, the council slush fund scandal, etc---no real movement in the numbers.

    Police Commish Ray Kelly, who has said he is not and will not be a candidate, still tops the field, despite a diminishing approval rating among black voters. U.S. Rep Anthony Weiner, who has been upping his public appearances, is the choice of 16%, following by Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz at 13 and comptroller Bill Thompson at 10.

    Speaker Christine Quinn has suffered slightly with the council shenanigans, dropping from 13% to 10%.

    Still, and we've said it here before--it's hard to picture the commish as Hizzoner. As we see it, he's Wesley Clark with a badge.

    Regardless, NYers still seem to love Mayor Mike, giving him a crazy-ass 70% approval rating.

    And many insiders tell us the real sleeper in '09 is some other billionaire businessman who can carry on the Bloomberg legacy, paying for the campaign himself and governing in a similar post-partisan kind of way.

    Who that will be, however, no one seems to know.

    ---David Freedlander

    Tags: politics, polls, ray kelly, bloomberg

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