Here we go again! Under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the city’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications made a couple of aborted tries at selling .nyc Web addresses to New York businesses or even for personal use, if we recall correctly. But, as we’ve reported many times before, Paul Garrin, the East Village connectivity guru, claims full ownership of .nyc and scores of other “top-level domain names” that he created before the Internet boom, and which are available for use, albeit on an “alternate root,” i.e. not the main Internet that most of us use, which is known as the “main root.” Now, Mayor Bill de Blasio is giving it another try, the New York Post reported on Tuesday. “There is no shortage of New Yorkers ready to claim their exclusive dot.nyc identities,” he said. According to the Post, “trademark holders with a physical address in the city will be able to apply through June 20.” We didn’t hear back from Garrin yet on what he thinks about this latest challenge to what he maintains are his legally protected domain-name rights.
Agent of P.I.Z.Z.A.: Actor Clark Gregg was spotted in the East Village Monday, at First St. and Avenue A. Gregg, Agent Phil Coulson of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and Marvel superheroes flicks fame, was chowing down on some super-’za.
Duane writes: We hear from Fred Stabbert, III, publisher of the weekly Sullivan County Democrat, that former state Senator Tom Duane has become a familiar presence around the Upstate county. Stabbert tells us Duane is using his impressive height to get the, literally, top-shelf cans of tuna that no one else can reach. He also said that Duane is doing political consulting and writing a book. We’ll definitely be looking forward to reading Duane’s insider take on city and state politics — and, of course, we look forward to some juicy dish, such as, say, on his longtime ally Christine Quinn’s mayoral bid.
Freed saddles up for campaign: Civil Court Judge Kathryn Freed is running for State Supreme Court judge. We caught up with the former District 1 city councilmember at the Downtown Independent Democrats’ swanky fundraiser on Sunday at, of all places, the New York Athletic Club. The event was fittingly billed “Downtown Heads Uptown.” Freed said she’s doing great and loves living on Grand St., which she noted, “still has some places that have an edge.” As for why Freed is aiming to “move on up” in the judicial system, her friend Sean Sweeney of D.I.D. offered, “They just do that. You get better cases, more important cases. Article 78’s [legal challenges of government decisions] go to State Supreme Court.” Also, while we were up there we couldn’t help but notice, of course, all the horse-drawn carriages. We had forgotten — or never really fully appreciated — just how many of them there are, stretching all along the south side of Central Park from Fifth Ave. to Seventh Ave. An army of grimly trudging beasts, with blinders clamped on and pathetically prettified with little pink plumes stuck on their heads. No, not the out-of-towners, the horses! It’s no wonder the tourist-towing equine industry is fighting like mad to maintain their “hoof-hold” on Central Park South. Oh, yeah, and there was that simply wonderful aroma, too…of horse doo. Pee-yoo!
Lovin’ brothers jam: Greenwich Village hometown boys John, center, and Mark Sebastian performed together for the very first time in public on Sat., May 3, at the Cutting Room, on E. 32nd St., celebrating the release of Mark’s new album, “The Real Story.” Joining them for a surprise encore of “Summer in the City,” the No. 1 hit Mark co-wrote for John’s band, the Lovin’ Spoonful, was Mark’s nephew, singer/songwriter Ben Vita, far left.
Ouch! We’ve been getting some increasingly panicked phone calls from the JASA senior residence, at E. Fifth St. and the Bowery, about the fate of the Beth Israel pain-management clinic in Zeckendorf Towers, on Union Square East. It seems some changes are afoot — or are rumored to be — now that Continuum Health Partners, Beth Israel’s umbrella health organization, has merged with Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Our source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she relies on the clinic for regular shots to manage her back pain. If this top-notch facility changes too much, it will seriously be a real pain for her and many others, she said.
