Volume 18 • Issue 46 | March 31 – April 6, 2006
A bull of a blog
Elizabeth Spiers, the woman who made the New York-centric gossip blog Gawker.com, a must-read for everyone in the media, is attempting to do the same for C.E.O.s on Wall Street with Dealbreaker.com. The site, which went live this week, is “something like ‘The Daily Show’ does CNBC,” Spiers told UnderCover. “We’ll be wrapping finance news in entertainment.”
So how entertaining can hedge fund managers get? Aside from commentary on real news items like Wednesday’s interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve, it seems many of the posts are made fictional for sheer shock value. The inaugural entries included a fake letter from J.P. Morgan’s Chairman of the Board, William B. Harrison, in which he describes a maid who brings him “pancakes made in the shape of my initials” and a fictional post from a Harvard Business School grad named Muffie, whose father would have rather “written a fat check to start an art gallery or a boutique for me” than let his daughter get an M.B.A. So far, the site seems a bit fluffy. Then again, Spiers made many intelligent New Yorkers actually care about what Anna Wintour was wearing.
Who’s on board
Community Board 1 members are running scared, UnderCover hears. Of the 50 members, half of them are up for reappointment this week and Borough President Scott Stringer has made it clear that he’s prepared to make serious changes on the board. “Everyone’s nervous,” said Julie Nadel, a Tribeca resident and former C.B. 1 member. “No one knows what to expect.”
Board members are appointed to the volunteer position for two-year terms. Soon after Stringer took office in January, he announced that all current members up for reappointment must go through the interview process and every member on all 12 Manhattan boards had to fill out lengthy questionnaires. Stringer told UnderCover that as many as 20 percent of board members might be replaced in the process. According to Stringer, not everyone was pleased with the questionnaires. One longtime board member — known as something of a zoning wonk — was aghast when two Stringer aides asked him at his reappointment interview if he knew about the city’s arcane land use rules. He was confident, however, that he would not be getting the boot. “I’m a volunteer!” he declared. “I do this on my own time.”
Celebrating with the bubbly
Bubble Lounge owners Eric Benn, Eric Macaire and Immanuelle celebrated 10 years in Tribeca Tuesday night with free champagne for their legions of friends that include actor Jason Patric, Odeon owner Lynn Wagenknecht, film producer Michael Mailer (son of author Norman Mailer), Michael Fortenbaugh, commodore of the Manhattan Sailing Club in Battery Park City, and yes, even Janna Mandel-Townsend.
It was Mandel-Townsend’s objections to the Liquor Store Bar that revealed that both bars are near a mosque, thus putting their liquor licenses in jeopardy. Benn said Mandel-Townsend has made it clear that she never has had a problem with Bubble and he was happy to have her at the party.
No Joke
Battery Park City Cares is throwing an April Fools Day benefit for their Hurricane Katrina Fund—just kidding! No, they’re not kidding. The charity group really is throwing a April Fools Day Dance at P.J. Clarke’s at 4 World Financial Center at 8 p.m. For $35, guests get a “special” cocktail, snacks and live music by The Times Square Orchestra. This is all true, we swear. Well, everything except for the “special” cocktail. Just kidding… you’ll get your special cocktail. Oh this is too much fun. We can’t help ourselves….
WWW Downtown Express
