Feeling the chill: Alec Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria, with their baby, were sitting at Liquiteria, at Second Ave. and E. 11th St., last Thursday morning “enjoying” their pricey cold-pressed juices. We use the term loosely for the photo-phobic Alec because he looks like he’s about to bite lensman Bob Krasner’s head off. Kraz told us he quickly snapped the shot right as Baldwin appeared to notice out of the corner of his eye that he was in the cameraman’s crosshairs, and then quickly went on his way. He was probably wise to pick up on the vibe emanating from the veggie juice joint’s bench. Last June, another contributor to The Villager, Jefferson Siegel, had a run-in with the hot-tempered Emmy winner when he was exiting the city’s Marriage License Bureau. “He said, ‘Stay away from me, or I’ll break your f—— teeth,’ ” Siegel, who was on assignment for the Daily News, was quoted saying at the time. “Then he grabbed my camera lens, and tried to shove my camera to the ground.” Marcos Santos, another News shooter, was nearby and didn’t take kindly to Baldwin’s bullying of Siegel, who is genuinely one of the nicest photogs in town. Santos warned the star to back off when he reached for Siegel, and the “30 Rock” actor responded by rocking him with a punch to the face. Our advice to Baldwin: Keep on drinking those cold-pressed Liquiteria juices — and chill out already!
Michelle meets local L.G.B.T. leaders: Village Democratic State Committeewoman Rachel Lavine and her spouse, Roberta Kaplan, who recently won the landmark Edie Windsor DOMA case, recently hosted First Lady Michelle Obama at a roundtable in their home to discuss issues facing the L.G.B.T. community and the country.
Comebacks (?) and kickbacks: The night before the public advocate runoff, we bumped into former Councilmember Alan Gerson, who told us he was definitely interested in running for Daniel Squadron’s state Senate seat should he pull off a win against Tish James. But the hopeful “Comeback Kid” expected James, his best friend on the Council when he was a councilmember and whom he endorsed, would win due to her heavy union support, which is exactly what happened. We also asked Gerson his thoughts on the shocking case of William Rapfogel — in which the former head of Met Council was recently arrested and charged with embezzling $1 million from the poverty charity over a 20-year period, allegedly storing at least $400,000 of the ill-begotten cash in the bedroom closet of his Grand St. apartment on the Lower East Side and also at a country home in Upstate Monticello. “He was always a mensch,” Gerson stated in support of Rapfogel. Judy Rapfogel, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s chief of staff, is saying she had no clue whatsoever that hundreds of thousands of dollars were stored right in her very own closet. If anyone could be so oblivious to something like that, it could only be someone like Judy Rapfogel, Gerson noted in her defense, saying, “Well, she’s always been so hardworking.” According to the Daily News, “friends insist the couple do not discuss work with each other.” As for Silver, he made the following statement on Aug. 12 as news of the massive kickback scheme came to light: “I am stunned and deeply saddened by this news. While there is still much that we don’t know, we do know that the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty has given tens of thousands of New Yorkers of all faiths and backgrounds lifesaving help over the past four decades. Met Council also played a critical role helping our communities recover from Superstorm Sandy, and its work should in no way be diminished by these developments.” Paul Schectman, Rapfogel’s attorney, told the News that his client’s wife — and the Assembly speaker, as well — were totally in the dark. “Categorically, Judy and Sheldon Silver had no knowledge of any wrongdoing,” he said.
Congrats! Sarah Sanchala, formerly Sarah Malloy-Good, has been promoted to the position of deputy chief of staff within the office of Assemblymember Deborah Glick. She will continue to attend meetings of Community Board 2, so you can congratulate her when you see her in person!
