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The Last Magazine Standing

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:53:38 -0500

Magazines are shrinking—smaller staffs, fewer writers, fewer stories written per writer, fewer words for each story—but The New Yorker continues to look, remarkably, about the same as it did five years ago, even as its parent company has cut hundreds of jobs and folded a handful of titles in the past few weeks.

The New Yorker has never published a masthead. But four and a half...

Professor Skyscraper

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:52:33 -0500

In a late September planning conference at N.Y.U., Vishaan Chakrabarti strode into the college's Kimmell Center a healthy hour after the event began.

Taking his place onstage, the former city planning official and development executive began to speak about his favorite project: the redevelopment of Pennsylvania Station-in the planning stages for nearly two decades-an effort he led for developers Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust.

"What I've finally come to realize about this is that as...

City Opera's Long Weekend

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:30:53 -0500

When the lights went up Sunday afternoon on a shirtless man next to a pantsless man—both American, both young—I knew that City Opera was back. It was the start of the second act of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and the two men were playing the eponymous antihero and his servant, Leporello.

Christopher Alden’s new production of Giovanni was the highlight of a long weekend marking the start of the company’s 2009-2010 season. Mr. Alden’s staging...

Send the Google Street View Trike to Central Park (Or the Zoo)!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:18:17 -0500

Last month, Google announced that they had invented a "Street View trike." Their Street View car could roll down traditional roads and take pictures for their popular maps feature. But it couldn't document hard-to-access trails, parks, landmarks and sports venues. A Google mechanical engineer who did some mountain biking in his spare time decided to build an alternative. With the trike, they could bike where they like. They asked users to send suggestions on...

The Pickle Posse

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:00:42 -0500

"There’s something in the air that makes people want to make pickles,” said Joya Carlton, 28, one of three partners in Brooklyn Brine, a local pickle start-up, sitting in a booth at the Greenpoint Coffee House with her two partners, Shamus Jones, 29, and Josh Egnew, 34, both covered in tattoos.

“We’re getting requests from Philly, Atlanta, California … a Japanese magazine wants to do something on us,” Mr. Jones said. “It’s like, ‘Whooaaa!”

...

When Only a $9.5 M. One-Bedroom at the Sherry Will Do

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:58:47 -0500

Earlier this year, the investor Christopher H. Browne put his 515 Park Avenue duplex on the market for $32.5 million, even though the place was basically a one-bedroom apartment. There was a guest room, to be fair, but it was smaller than the master suite’s walk-in closet.

The duplex was taken off the market in September, leaving a gaping hole in New York’s inventory of wildly expensive one-bedrooms. The house-hunter who wanted to spend an...

Sloane Mansion’s $25 M. Price Slide: ‘Owners Have a Real Need to Sell’

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:03 -0500

The 104-year-old, 36-foot-wide, 17-bathroom, 15-bedroom, 11-fireplace mansion at 18 East 68th Street was the most expensive house in New York when it was listed last year for $64 million. Even when that tag came down in January to $54 million, the price was still higher than any Manhattan mansion had ever sold for.

It was pulled from the market in July, but is being re-listed this week with a new broker at a very new...

Outside Art

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:42:30 -0500

On the day before his first day as director and head curator of the Public Art Fund, Nicholas Baume took the ferry to Governors Island to admire a group show of emerging artists called “This World & Nearer Ones.” The show was a multidisciplinary affair that consisted of works including a tent city and a cinder-block wall riddled with bullet holes. It had been curated and mounted by Creative Time, an organization that most...

Rare and Well-Done

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:53:55 -0500

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The War at Home

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:01 -0500

The Messenger
Running time 105 minutes
Written by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
Directed by Oren Moverman
Starring Ben Foster, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton

The box office has not smiled on movies about the Middle East conflicts or the men who fight them. Stop-Loss, Grace Is Gone, The Lucky Ones, In the Valley of Elah, Home of the Brave, Redacted, Rendition, Lions for Lambs, Body of Lies … they all tanked.

Now comes...

Battle of the Holland Tunnel

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:54:59 -0500

It was Oct. 13, and inside the wood-paneled lobby of the Newport Office Center, which rises like a glass punctuation mark from the Jersey City shore of the Hudson River, Governor Jon Corzine was gleefully announcing a huge score in the Garden State's long-simmering battle with Manhattan for office tenants.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation had signed a long-term lease to relocate 1,600 of its employees from 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan to...

After Push by Extell, Landmarks Backs Down Over West 57th Street Building

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:44:12 -0500

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission backed off its effort to landmark a B.F. Goodrich Company building on West 57th Street, a rare retreat by the commission and one that follows aggressive pushback from development giant Extell, which plans a mixed-use skyscraper on the property.

The LPC on Tuesday voted 6-3 to remove the building, 225 West 57th Street, from consideration as a landmark, just four months after the same board voted to consider it.

Typically,...

Christine Quinn Stands Pat

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:28:40 -0500

For City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, things are probably going to be less fun now.

The mayor whose wagon she hitched her fortunes to spent $100 million to win reelection by less than 5 points against a member of her own party whom she endorsed late and with undisguised indifference. Four incumbent council members she backed were ousted in primaries by labor-backed candidates who don’t owe her anything, except maybe payback. And with increasingly...

To the Bitter End With Paterson, Proudly

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:22:45 -0500

ALBANY—Next Thursday, Sally Minard will commit an act of political courage.

Ms. Minard, a strong presence on the Democratic donor circuit in New York and a supporter of Hillary Clinton and the DNC, will host a breakfast at her Upper East Side house in honor of David Paterson. It shouldn’t be courageous for a Democratic donor to fete the incumbent Democratic governor. But given Mr. Paterson’s current political standing—his job approval is less than...

Big-Time Fight Over St. Regis Retail; Chera Cries 'Conspiracy' in Lawsuit

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:16:49 -0500

Crown Acquisitions chairman Stanley Chera, owner of 15 million square feet of real estate, may have recently added a few of New York's most valuable retail properties to his portfolio: three exclusive Fifth Avenue storefronts occupied by Bottega Veneta, Pucci and De Beers. But that hasn't stopped him from accusing his onetime business associates of a Machiavellian "civil conspiracy" to cut him out of the group that was initially vying for ownership of the...

The War on Facts

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:10:37 -0500

Within hours after the House of Representatives approved health care reform by a narrow margin, Republicans predicted retribution at the polls next fall. They promised to make every Democrat regret that historic vote as the first step toward the reversal of power in Washington. And as the current debate has proved, they aren’t going to let honesty become an obstacle.

For a preview of coming attractions, simply turn on the Fox News Channel or...

It Depends on What Your Definition of Manufacturing Is

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:27:45 -0500

A software development company is in contract to buy two commercial condominiums in a Time Equities building, and it’s able to do so thanks largely to a bit of lexicographical acrobatics buried deep within the 2009 stimulus plan.
In short, the verb “to manufacture” no longer means what you think it does, at least within the context of the “Nimble: Small Issuance Bond Program,” and that, oddly enough, has bearing on the commercial condominium...

Esquire's Augmented Reality Issue

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:18:34 -0500

A few weeks ago, Hearst Corp's Esquire announced that they'd debut a snazzy new "augmented reality" issue and be the first publication to take the relatively new technology into its pages. AR, the hot new trend in iPhone apps, layers data, images and video that users can interact with in real-time. The issue is now on stands and after users download some software (and, oh, P.S., buy a Web cam) they can take a...

Planned Extell Skyscaper Faces Landmarks Test Over B.F. Goodrich Buildings

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:10:59 -0500

Extell Development's skyscraper planned for 57th Street and Broadway will face a big test Tuesday, as the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission is set to decide the fate of two connected buildings built by the B.F. Goodrich Company in 1909.

Just what that fate will be is unclear to many involved, a rare twist with a commission where decisions almost always seem predetermined.

Tuesday morning, the LPC is slated to vote on whether to landmark the...

SoHo Properties Buys Chelsea Building for $45.7 M.

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:45:22 -0500

SoHo Properties has invested in Chelsea.

Sharif El-Gamal, chairman and CEO of the real estate investment group, has dropped $45.7 million on the property at 31 West 27th Street, which PropertyShark describes as a 12-story, 108,594-square-foot office building.

"We just bought it for the income," Mr. El-Gamal told The Observer. "It's got great long-term leases, and the financing was really attractive. We have five years at a very attractive interest rate, and it's probably the best B...

The Democrats Who Voted No

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:50:37 -0500

Pushing a health care reform bill through the House on Saturday night was a trickier task than Democrats anticipated.

But it still wasn't that suspenseful: Somehow you knew that party leaders - and the White House - would manage to squeeze out the necessary 218 votes, something they ended up accomplishing by killing a plan to peg reimbursement rates for a government-run insurance program to Medicare and by granting a big concession to abortion...

Box Office Breakdown: No Lumps of Coal for Christmas, Precious Explodes

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:26:30 -0500

Christmas came early at the box office this weekend as A Christmas Carol bah humbugged its way to $31 million in ticket sales and a first place finish, ahead of newcomers The Men Who Stare at Goats ($13.3 million in second) and The Fourth Kind ($12.5 million in fourth). The big story, though, was the limited release debut of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. The much-discussed indie exploded on the scene...

The Week in DVR: Remember Frost/Nixon? Plus, Sexy Alien Ladies and Gossip Girl Has a Threesome

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:30:10 -0500

Monday: Gossip Girl

There is some wear on these treads—specifically with regards to Blair, who has been spinning her wheels in a swampy mess of weekly plotting and scheming for no real reason other than the script telling her to do so—but those breathlessly wailing about the demise of Gossip Girl couldn't have it more wrong. This is a teen show that sidestepped the pitfalls of sending its teens off to college by excising the...

David Letterman's Alleged Blackmailer Headed to Court; Sources Say Halderman Intent on Trial, Raising Money For Defense

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:14:37 -0500

Joe Halderman, the CBS News producer accused of attempting to extort $2 million from CBS Late Show star David Letterman, will be headed to a Manhattan court on Tuesday morning for the first hearing in the criminal case against him.

Will Mr. Halderman, as it is widely assumed, try and reach a hasty plea agreement with prosecutors, beginning with Tuesday's motions hearing?

That's unlikely, according to a source close to Mr. Halderman.

Over the weekend, Dr. Bob...

Fitch: Stuy Town Loans Transferred to Special Servicer

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:49:55 -0500

The main $3 billion mortgage for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village has been transferred to a "special servicer," according to the rating agency Fitch, a significant step taken when loans are in default or on the verge of default.

The owners of the giant 11,200-unit Manhattan apartment complex, a partnership led by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, had just $24 million left last month in a reserve fund to pay off debt, and default...

Philip Gourevitch Stepping Down as Editor of The Paris Review

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:34:02 -0500

Paris Review editor Philip Gourevitch told his staff this afternoon that he will be stepping down in April after five years on the job.

Mr. Gourevitch, who is also a New Yorker staff writer, said in an interview that his decision to resign was motivated by a desire to focus his energies on his writing, and that his current book project, which is about Rwanda, is proving too time-consuming to allow for a successful balancing...

The Observer's Kingdom of New York

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37:13 -0500

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Google Books' Wacky Magazine Archives

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:07:17 -0500

Google Books has just launched a digitized magazine stand. In their never-ending quest to archive all media, from Web sites to books, Google is taking on the publishing world and scanning entire issues of magazines, ads and all. Most issues are two or three years old--or even a few decades old. It's kind of like crawling into your parents' attic and flipping through yellowing LIFE issues--only online.

Jeffrey Pang, a software engineer at Google Books,...

City Opera's Big Night: They Seem to be Adopting Wainwright

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:58:40 -0500

Opening night at New York City Opera felt like New York City Opera can sometimes feel: like the Metropolitan Opera, but scrunched up. Rather than unfolding majestically along Lincoln Center like the Met's, City Opera’s red carpet was crammed into the lobby. Then, when the gala ended, those who hadn’t been invited to the post-concert dinner had to squeeze past tables crammed with flowers, candles, and salads before emerging into the cold November night.

...

Walt Disney's Grandniece Finally Sells West End Co-ops, But Loses Millions

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:34:33 -0500

Back in April 2008, Abigail Disney, the mogul's grandniece, put her two 300 West End Avenue apartments on the market for a combined $13,445,000. It was an ambitious thing to do, considering that a year and a half earlier she'd paid the singer Harry Belafonte just $10.75 million for them.

The pair of nine-room co-ops, listed with mega-agent Dolly Lenz, got less pricey as the economy drooped--though the combined tag was cut only to $11.95...

Opening This Weekend: Jim Carrey Gets Mean, George Clooney Gets Silly and Precious Gets Controversial

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:28:51 -0500

It looks like all it took for some movies that you actually might consider seeing to get released into theaters was a flip of the calendar. The first full weekend of November arrives with no less than five new films, and, as usual, there is something for everyone. As we do every Friday, here's a handy guide to the new releases.

A Christmas Carol

What's the story: Are you ready for Christmas? Yeah, we...

NYU Crawling Out of the Doghouse Over Signs on Landmarked Property

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:20:54 -0500

New York University is in the process of resolving a landmarks violation, issued after the school placed new signs on the landmarked Silver Towers, just south of Washington Square Park.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation first complained to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission in June, after the school installed new signs in the spring, which tell visitors to curb their dogs.

The I. M. Pei-designed Silver Towers...

Brodsky: ‘More Than Optimistic’ on Authorities Reform

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:07:25 -0500

If one Googles the term "Soviet Style bureaucracies," Assemblyman Richard Brodsky owns the top four results, each with quotes of his that refer to New York's public authorities--his favorite term on the topic.

The Westchester Democrat has long been pushing a bill to reform such public quasi-agencies--including the M.T.A., the Empire State Development Corporation and the New York Power Authority--and now it seems that reform could come within days.

On Thursday afternoon, the governor called...

Citing Albany Dysfunction, Rudin Says No to a Senator in Need

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:32:21 -0500

Bill Rudin, the civic-minded real estate billionaire, admired in New York for his family’s remarkable success, apparent functionality, and steadfast devotion to New York civic life, made a startling declaration on Wednesday morning at the Harvard Club.

“I got a call the other day from an Albany politician,” said Mr. Rudin, the chairman of the Association for a Better New York, speaking in his capacity as the head of one of New York real estate's...

Kyle Pope Is the Next Editor of The Observer

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:09:31 -0500

Kyle Pope, formerly the number two editor at Conde Nast Portfolio, has been announced as the next editor of The New York Observer.

Observer publisher Jared Kushner announced the appointment today. Editor Tom McGeveran, who announced last week that he will be leaving the paper at the end of the year, introduced Mr. Pope to the editorial staff at a meeting this afternoon.

Mr. Pope started his career in journalism in 1994 as reporter and editor...

State Senate Records Get More Transparent

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:28:34 -0500

The New York State Senate's chief information officer team just launched an early version of their Open Legislation Portal today.

The site allows users to search for bills by sponsor, committee, recent actions, and recent votes. You can also search by keyword, like, say, "bicycle" and find relevant bills and data available in four different formats.

Most of this information was already available online, chief information officer Andrew Hoppin told the...

The Cubicle Queue: Running, Bo Ssam and Bon Jovi!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:26:55 -0500

Tired of clicking around YouTube and iTunes for online videos of substance? Search no more! The Observer has your weekly handy guide to what's worth watching on the Web.

The New York City Marathon in video form - Brooklyn photographer Mehmet Dokumcu created this beautiful time lapse video, capturing all those crazy marathoners who pounded the pavement last Sunday. He set up his camera on 4th Avenue between miles 6 and...

Susan Plagemann is the New Publisher of Vogue; Tom Florio Gets Additional Responsibility

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:51:51 -0500

Condé Nast announced today that it has poached Susan Plagemann from Hearst and has made her the new publisher of Vogue.

Ms. Plagemann has spent the better part of her career at Hearst. She's been the publisher of Marie Clare since 2004, she was the publisher of Cosmopolitan before that and worked as an advertising manager at Esquire even before that. She began her career at Condé Nast in advertising at Mademoiselle in the early...

Tony Shafrazi and John Herring After Last Night's Christie's Sale

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:22 -0500

After the sleepy Modern and Impressionist Art Sale last night at Christie's, the gallerist Tony Shafrazi and John Herring stood outside and beamed at each other.

"Is this guy a living legend or not?" Mr. Herring said, pointing to his friend. "It's not a question. That's academic."

Mr. Herring and his twin brother, Paul, work together as high-end art dealers, and are known for their discretion. According to a charming 1994 profile in the New York...

Four More Years

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:58:52 -0500

Mayor Michael Bloomberg now has the time and the mandate to create a legacy of LaGuardia-like proportions. His reelection after a catastrophic economic collapse on Wall Street, leading to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, is a tribute to the high regard New Yorkers have for his managerial skills, economic vision and common sense. Voters clearly understand that as bad as things are in some sectors of the economy, matters could have...

Hollywood or Bust: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin to Co-Host the Oscars!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:21:04 -0500

Don't look now, but the Oscars just got interesting. No, not because of the ten potential Best Picture nominees—as we've already discussed , this has a chance to be the worst field of Best Picture candidates since ... well, last year—but rather because of the actual telecast. The improvements started with the news that so-boring-paint-drying-itself-would-flip-the-channel honorary awards would be given out on a separate night; continued when the rules for Best Original Song were adjusted...

Bill Thompson's Moment

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:31:53 -0500

For a brief while in the Hilton Trianon Ballroom Tuesday night, there was a collective feeling that somehow, the widely held expectations of an entire city might actually be wrong.

The Hilton was host to Comptroller Bill Thompon's post-election party, where a healthy set of elected officials, Democratic Party stalwarts and other supporters gradually filled a small ballroom (a tiny closet compared to the capacious Bloomberg venue at the Sheraton two blocks away).

The...

How Bill Owens Spoiled a Republican Narrative

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:28:17 -0500

So there we were somewhere around 10 o'clock on Election Night, watching as county after county reported devastating news for Jon Corzine.

New Jersey's governor—for whom Barack Obama made two splashy campaign appearances in the home stretch—was going down, the first Democrat to lose a statewide race there in 12 years, and only the second in 37 years to lose one by more than a point. And the national Republican Party was ready to...

Hoffman, And His Movement, Sputter Out

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:18:15 -0500

SARANAC LAKE—Doug Hoffman and his supporters gathered here to proclaim a great victory, the first peak in a populist right-wing movement that would sweep the ruling class out of office starting with a win in this Congressional district. Instead, they came up short, settling with a campaign that asserted conservative dominance over the moderate wing of the Republican Party, even if it couldn't stand up to the Republican agenda.

"This is a race that...

Four More Years! But for What? Experts Opine on Economic Development Through '13

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:45:38 -0500

Almost indisputably, the mayoral race this year was a desert of big new ideas for New York City. Be it the lack of a competitive Democratic primary, the billions in budget gaps or the challenger's preference for blanket criticism over policy prescription, the incumbent and-at the time of this writing-presumptive winner, Michael Bloomberg, was never forced to offer much in the way of innovative policy.

This was particularly true in the realm of the physical...

The Last Days of Candidate Bloomberg

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:05 -0500

Michael Bloomberg is on pace to spend more than $100 million on his reelection campaign—more than anyone has ever spent to become mayor of anything, and many, many times more than his effectively resourceless Democratic challenger, City Comptroller Bill Thompson.

But even as his campaign blanketed the airwaves with ads and clogged mailboxes with glossy literature in the run-up to Election Day, the mayor’s handling kept him on a full schedule of...

30 Rock's Hard Rocker

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:56:26 -0500

Jon Bon Jovi kissed Ann Curry on the cheek. It was a chilly morning in mid-October outside the Today studios at Rockefeller Plaza. Ms. Curry was wearing a peacoat and dark stockings. Mr. Bon Jovi had on jeans and aviator sunglasses. Matt Lauer stood between them. They had news!

Mr. Lauer explained to the guests on the plaza and the viewers at home that, henceforth, Mr. Bon Jovi would be serving as the first...

Chuck Schumer, Legislator

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:53:13 -0500

Back when Senator Charles Schumer was a freshman from an embattled minority party, he used to say that if you put his distant predecessor Jacob Javits—the legendary liberal, antiwar, nonconformist Republican—into a centrifuge and spun it around, it would produce a pair of New York isotopes: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, an intellectual who churned out sesquipedalian tomes on social policy, and Al D’Amato, a profane tactician who seemed to understand his office in purely parochial...

Sun's Seeley to Head New, New York–Centric Section at WSJ

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:45:22 -0500

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal drafted plans for a New York–only culture section. It didn’t take long for that project to be shelved, and Rupert Murdoch’s Journal decided to take on the city itself—with a New York–only news section that will cover everything you’d expect from a local newspaper: politics, news, sports and, yes, culture.

“They want to do everything,” said one source familiar with the project.

Inside sources...

The Jazz Mambo King in Exile

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:32:52 -0500

On the first night of the World Series, there were only six people in Puppets Jazz Bar in Park Slope. Three of them, including a reporter, had come to see the pianist Arturo O’Farrill. The rest worked there.

But Mr. O’Farrill, a cherubic 48-year-old pianist-composer who was dressed casually in a black turtleneck, black slacks and white sneakers, played as if the house was full. He attempted a dangerously up-tempo rendition of “Lullaby of...