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Obama heads to Europe for G-20
Tuesday March 31, 2009 4:44 PM By Emily Ngo
President Barack Obama stepped onto the global stage yesterday, landing in London to help coordinate an international response to the wide-reaching economic crisis.
In his first trip overseas as president, Obama faces a chilly reception by some world leaders who blame Wall Street’s role in the recession and disapprove of U.S. policies for fighting it. Others, however, will welcome his celebrity and diplomacy, especially following the Bush administration.
“We’re gathering the G-20 at a time of the most severe economic crisis in generations,” said Michael Froman, deputy national security adviser for international economics. “The stakes for this summit are very high."The G-20 — a meeting of the world’s leading and fastest-developing economies — will attempt to balance stimulus spending with financial regulation. Obama and Gordon Brown, the British prime minister and host of the summit, are among those who promote government spending to jolt the economy, while some European powers, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, favor restraint in fear of inflation.
“Leaders meeting in London must supply the oxygen of confidence to today’s global economy,” Gordon said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy emphasized that progress must be made at the daylong meeting that officially begins tomorrow. “We have to obtain results, there is no choice, the crisis is too serious to allow us to have a summit for nothing,” he said.
This week will also mark Obama’s first face-off with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — who opposes U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe —and Chinese leader Hu Jintao, who wants alternatives to the U.S. dollar as the primary reserve currency.
The president’s eight-day, five-country visit will also take him to a NATO meeting in Strasbourg, France; an EU summit in Prague, Czech Republic; and to Turkey, the first visit of his presidency to a Muslim nation. (With AP and The Washington Post)
Tags: politics
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Start-ups key to revving city's economic engine
Tuesday March 31, 2009 3:36 PM By Garett Sloane
PlaceVine co-founder Adam Erlebacher said, “It’s a lot less expensive to start a Web-based business today than it was just a few years ago.” (RJ Mickelson/amNY)
Finance, fashion and insurance have powered New York’s economy for decades. But now that these old reliables are in a tailspin, the future of the city’s economy may well rest in the hands of laid-off workers who are trying their hand as entrepreneurs.
Interest in starting new companies seems to be swelling with the ranks of the unemployed, experts said, and the city is capitalizing on a unique chance to remake its economy and create a start-up culture that other areas, such as Silicon Valley, have long dominated.
“You have a whole pool of people who are potential entrepreneurs and that’s a great thing to see,” said Owen Davis, managing director of NYC Seed, which feeds companies with start-up money up to $200,000. “It’s not a great thing to see that people are losing their jobs. On the other hand it’s a great thing to see that entrepreneurial activity is one of the release valves for people.”The city has made entrepreneurship a focal point of its economic recovery plan by teaching laid-off Wall Streeters to launch start-ups, establishing business incubators, and encouraging the flow of venture capital.
Up from the underground
The city consistently comes in third or fourth in venture capital behind hubs such as Silicon Valley, San Diego and Boston. The difference between New York and those tech centers is that the community is not as organized here, and the ecosystem has not been fully cultivated, many in the community said.
“There’s a lot more going on here, and I think that has overshadowed the start-up scene, and I think now that there’s sort of been a fall-out in [other] industries we’re going to see more entrepreneurism,” said Jeevan Padyar, principal at the Connectors Group, a consulting firm that helps start-ups.
In Silicon Valley, all the entrepreneurs seem to know the circuit — from which restaurants to frequent to where the meet-ups are, according to Douglas Locke, director of Solidea, another consulting firm for start-ups.
“There is a ton of activity. There’s a whole underground that in New York most people don’t know exists,” Locke said. “There are meet-ups and networking groups. … It’s just that there’s no organizing source on where people should go and who they should talk to.”
Solidea and The Connectors Group have joined to offer a solution. At the end of April the firms will host Entrepreneur Week with the goal of joining the city’s disparate business groups. Locke said he expects hundreds to attend.
Taking root
NYC Seed started investing in companies just last month. One of the companies, PlaceVine, is in the growing field of digital advertising, a sector many have identified as New York’s sweet spot.
PlaceVine founders, Adam Erlebacher and Greg Neichin, are still just starting out. Their headquarters is an apartment in Chelsea, but that’s just part of the lean mantra many start-ups subscribe to.
“It’s a lot less expensive to start a Web-based business today than it was just a few years ago. So the amount of capital that you need to get started is far lower,” Erlebacher said.
The cheapness factor is fostering many Web entrepreneurs.
“The cost of start-ups is essentially driving down to zero because there’s essentially open-source software, and no longer do you have to buy a Sun server and bring it into your apartment for thousands of dollars. Everything is hosted in the cloud,” said Dave Ambrose, co-founder of Salescoop, a Union Square-based start-up that uses the Web to unite consumers who bargain for better deals when buying products en masse.
Not only are some Internet Technology costs cheap or free, Ambrose and his partner use free office space at a friend’s company where layoffs opened room for them.
Room to grow
Other companies have identified lower office leasing rates as a potential benefit from the downturn.
Brothers Josh and Dinesh Boaz founded Direct Agents, an online-marketing company. In their six years of business they have grown from a space at a shared office complex to a SoHo office with about 35 employees and still hiring. They need more space.
“One of the reasons we’re making that push now, to expand into a new office is that there are opportunities we see with the down market, and real estate is one of them,” Josh Boaz said.
Another opportunity, Boaz and other entrepreneurs identified: human talent.
“Whenever we put a job posting up we’re seeing people who maybe one or two years ago wouldn’t have considered marketing,” Boaz said.
Now, there’s a flood of highly qualified workers.
+UNITE
Meet-ups and events for entrepreneurs in the city:
Below Houston:
April 9 at 7 p.m.; Bread, 20 Spring St.
The founder of AppsSavvy, Chris Cunningham, organized this meet-up for SoHo companies.
Spring Meetup @ Shake Shack:
Friday at 6 p.m.; Shake Shack, Madison Square Park.
Entrepreneurs congregate at the famed burger joint.
Entrepreneur Week: NYC ENT ’09:
April 20-24; visit nycentweek.com
Network with budding entrepreneurs, mentors and investors.
Tags: entrepreneurship, beyond wall street, start-ups in new york city, revitalizing city economy, new york versus silicon valley, nyc seed, entrepreneur week, the connectors group, solidea, thesalescoop.com, direct agents, place vine, venture capital, angel investors
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Aging bus fleet limps along
Tuesday March 31, 2009 3:07 PM By Heather Haddon
The MTA bus fleet isn't aging gracefully.
Because demand is forcing more additional buses onto the street, more than one out of four in operation are at least 12 years old, the age when the vehicles are supposed to be retired.
Mechanics say they have increasingly found themselves tearing out engines and bus underbellies, while some drivers just blatantly refuse to get behind the wheel of the older models.
Expensive overhauls bring the old clunkers back to life, but it hasn't transformed ugly ducklings into swans - meaning more breakdowns and delays for riders.
“Everyday the rails are cracking, the bulkheads are cracking,” said Bob Keith, a bus mechanic for 24 years who is running to become a union leader. “We are welding them all and putting them back into service. But that's a temporary fix.”
One driver, who asked not to be named, said many of the buses are 10 to 15 years old.
New York City roads wreak havoc on a bus's chassis as it ages. Mechanics say they are gutting more of them, and would prefer customers had newer vehicles to ride in.
“When a chassis breaks, anything could be imaginable,” said Keith. “It's a scary thought.”Bus failures in January were up 20 percent compared to 2007, according to MTA figures.
"The buses just keep getting worse and worse, slower and slower," said Joseph London, of Manhattan. "It's always crowded, even at the off-peak times when I ride."
The breakdowns aren't an everyday occurrence, but when one bus fails, its passengers have to wait for a replacement, an inconvenience that backs up the entire route.
“The bus just doesn't show up, it's late or it's packed,” said William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
Sandra Darbasie, of Manhattan, said she recently suffered through a scary breakdown on a city bus.
“We smelled something burning in the back,” Darbasie said. “(The driver) stopped the bus and we had to wait a while for a replacement.”
Joseph Smith, president of MTA bus operations, recently told the agency’s board that the older buses have become a costly thorn in the its side.
“We have some serious structural problems with these buses,” Smith told the board.
Ironically, a growth of ridership has fueled the need to resurrect and maintain older buses, Smith said. In 2006, the MTA absorbed seven private routes operating in the boroughs. Those lines experienced a 10 percent increase in ridership between 2007 and 2008.
The MTA bought hundreds of new hybrid buses when it took over the private lines, but some of the old models remained in service.
By year's end, the MTA will receive 850 new hybrid buses that will allow them to replace many - but not all - of the vintage models.
“It's an old fleet as far as buses go,” Henderson said.
Smith said the buses in operations are safe and do not pose a danger to passengers.
“When (a bus) is too old, we stop it and sell it,” he said.
Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.
Buses in the Big Apple
1,700: buses in the fleet are 12 years or older.
6,200: total buses in the fleet
3,950: average number of miles between bus breakdowns in January, up 20 percent from 2007
968 million: total rides in 2008
2.4 million: average weekday ridership in January
390: routes in the city
(HEATHER HADDON)
Tags: transit
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The price of cigarettes rises again
Tuesday March 31, 2009 3:01 PM By Marlene Naanes
In New York City, even the cheapest cigarettes will cost at least $9 a pack now that a 62-cent federal tobacco tax kicks in today. Cigarettes bought in the city were already among the most expensive since the state raised its tobacco tax $1.25 last June. Now smokers can expect to pay a total of $5.26 in taxes when they buy a pack of cigarettes. At $9 a pack, this amounts to about 58 percent. Click here for information on quitting.
Tags: cigarettes, smoking, quitting, health
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Report: Minorities, women not equal at eateries
Tuesday March 31, 2009 2:51 PM By Marlene Naanes
Scoring a job at a Manhattan restaurant can be extra hard for minorities and women, and white people with slight European accents might have it easiest of all, according to a study released yesterday.
White restaurant job applicants are twice as likely to get a job offer after an interview while women earn 22 percent less than men, according to the study by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York.
“Discrimination occurs at all stages of hiring for workers of color and women…from the hiring stage to promotion and sexual harassment,” said Rekha Eanni, co-executive director of the group said.
What’s more, the study found that an applicant’s accent also played into the chances of being hired. White people with slight European accents were 23 percent more likely to be hired than white applicants with no accent.
The three-year study probed Manhattan fine dining restaurants, sending in pairs of applicants to 138 eateries. Interviews, census data and other data rounded out the study’s findings, which included wage disparities for women, immigrants and other minorities.Workers of color earn about 12 percent less than their white counterparts, and citizenship status also affected wages. The industry also suffers from a “culture of informality,” which sometimes allowing women’s chances at certain jobs—or being hired at all—to be reliant on their looks, Eanni said.
Chantal Georges, a woman who has worked in the industry for seven years, said one restaurant she worked at often took looks or age into consideration.
“In this restaurant, age and looks for women became a blessing or a curse,” said Georges, who also works with the organization that released the study.
Andrew Rigie, director of operations of the New York State Restaurant Association’s greater New York City chapters, said that inequality is not intrinsic to the restaurant industry.
“Any inequality is too much, but we stand by the restaurant industry—especially in New York City—that allows upward mobility of people of any background,” he said.
The association offers seminars on sexual harassment and hiring and firing practices, and also offers expert consultants and Spanish-language classes, he said.
Tags: restaurant, discrimination, race, gender, restaurants
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A taste of Citi Field
Tuesday March 31, 2009 1:43 PM By Lucy Blatter
Shake Shake and Blue Smoke are part of Citi Field's "Taste of the City" section. A full list of Citi Field eateries is at the end of this article. Photo credit: Michael E. Ach/ Newsday.
Special to amNewYork
Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and chef David Pasternack’s lardon-studded clam
chowder can be enjoyed side-by-side at Mets games this season.
In an effort to shed the reputation that even Mets executive Dave Howard called
“deficient,” the Mets have turned to city dining heavyweights Danny Meyer (of Union Square Hospitality Group), Drew Nieporent (of Myriad Restaurant Group) and Pasternack (of Esca) in hopes of bringing ballpark fare in line with the best dining city in the world.
Their menus were unveiled yesterday at Citi Field. Howard boasted that the new culinary establishments will “set the industry standard,” among ballparks, a title currently held by stadiums in San Francisco and Seattle, which paved the way by upgrading food options for discerning fans.Attempting to set the industry standard
A large part of attaining that reputation rests with the heavyweights who have put their names behind a handful of eateries intermingled among food service giant Aramark’s standard ballpark food stands.
Among the more upscale offerings include Meyer’s famous Shake Shack burger, Blue Smoke’s pulled pork sliders and a reservation-only restaurant from Nieporent called
Acela Club.
A tough road ahead
What was on the mind of New York’s food world was maintaining the standards,
a sticking point with the restaurateurs as they negotiated with the Mets.
In a question from New York food guru Ed Levine, the creator of the Web site
Serious Eats, all three say they have been working with staff to cook food
to order and uphold the standards they require in their restaurants. As an
example, Meyer said the Belgian style fries at his Box Frites will have a
two-minute shelf life before being tossed.
“I hope that he really makes good on this,” Levine said afterward. “If
anyone can do it, these guys can do it.”
But the obstacles were evident even during yesterday’s media event.
A fish sandwich Pasternack touted a few minutes earlier was crunchy, but the Long
Island Sound-caught flounder inside was bland and dry, the throwaway bun a
chewy afterthought.
The steak strips inside tacos from Tabla chef Floyd Cardoz’s El Verano Taqueria were succulent, but only a few seconds under the heat lamp and the corn tortillas were already dry.
“It’s going to be hard,” Pasternack admitted.
It’s not to say that the Mets won’t be the standard-bearers when it comes to
ballpark food — the specialty food is among the most impressive sports grub in the country — but there are limitations once the ump shouts play ball.
Citi Field’s full dining options, level by level:
Plaza Level:
Delta Sky360 Mini Lounge
Access: Delta Sky360 Club Platinum & Gold, Commissioners Box
– Beverages & Snacks
Sterling Level:
Delta Sky360 Club :
Access: Delta Sky360 Club Platinum, Gold, Silver, Sterling Suites, Delta Sky360 Club Seats, Ebbets Suites, Commissioners Box
– Market
Specialty coffee, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, fries, salads
– Restaurant & Lounge
Waiter service dining — seasonal menu by Union Square Hospitality Group
Field Level:
Ebbets Club
Access: Delta Sky360 Club, Ebbets Club, Commissioners Box
– Carver sandwiches, chop salads, hot dogs, sausage
Taste of the City
Access: all fans
– Shake Shack: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Fries & Shakes
– Blue Smoke: BBQ
– El Verano Taqueria: Tacos
– Box Frites: Belgian French Fries with dipping sauces
– Nonna Delia’s: Cascarino’s Specialties – pasta & pizza
– Catch of the Day: fish, chowder, etc. by chef Dave Pasternack
– Big Apple Brews: selection of beer
World’s Fare Market
Access: All fans
– Daruma: sushi
– Mama’s of Corona: sandwiches and pastries
– Grill: chicken, fries, burgers, hot dogs
– Pre-packaged items
Excelsior Level:
Caesars Club
Access: Delta Club; Ebbets Club, Caesars Club, Sterling Suites, Ebbets Suites, Empire Suites, Commissioners Box
– Deli sandwiches, Brooklyn burgers, wraps, fries, rotisserie, chop salads
Acela Club
Access: Delta Sky360Club Platinum & Gold; Ebbets Gold, Caesars Club Platinum & Gold; all Metropolitan Box and Field Box, Commissioners Box
– Seasonal menu by Myriad Restaurant Group — brunch, lunch and dinner menus
Promenade Level:
Promenade Club
Access: Delta Club, Ebbets Club, Caesar Club, Sterling Suites, Ebbets Suites, Empire Suites, Promenade Club seats
— Hot dogs, sausages, carver sandwiches, wings, nachos, chop salads
Tags: citi field
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Cops push for outdoor surveillance network in midtown
Tuesday March 31, 2009 1:15 PM By Jason Fink
The NYPD wants to install cameras and license plate readers on the streets of midtown, replicating the “ring of steel” around lower Manhattan.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday the department would seek up to $58 million in federal grants for the Midtown Manhattan Security Initiative, which would also include radiation and bioterrorism detectors. The department would install new equipment and integrate privately-owned cameras into the network.
“It will give us a comprehensive and real-time view of midtown,” Kelly told a city council committee.The security ring would stretch from 34th to 59th streets and from river to river.
The New York Civil Liberties Union, which sued the city last year over the $92 million Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, blasted the plan. It’s suit is still pending.
“It’s of grave concern that the government would be compiling a massive database on the comings and goings of innocent people,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.
No timetable was announced for the midtown plan. Kelly said the NYPD already has requested $21 million in federal funds for the first phase.
It is “another component of our broad counter terrorism strategy,” said Marc LaVorgna, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
New Yorkers in midtown Tuesday had mixed reactions.
“It’s good,” said Sean Long, 25, of Brooklyn. “When it's dark here it’s not nice to walk around.”
Meanwhile, Jason Weinstein, 27, of Manhattan, called it Orwellian. “I feel pretty safe already,” he said.
Data from midtown would be fed into the monitoring center connected to the downtown system, which now includes about 300 cameras. The NYPD eventually wants 3,000 cameras in lower Manhattan.
Melinda Hsia contributed to this story.
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Amusement gurus to help shape new Coney Island
Tuesday March 31, 2009 1:10 PM By Ryan Chatelain
The city has enlisted the help of amusement industry experts to shape its plans for an interim amusement park at Coney Island in 2010 and a permanent one later.
The Coney Island Amusement Advisory Panel, announced Tuesday by the city, includes executives from Premier Rides, Palace Entertainment, Ripley Entertainment, Atlantic City Steel Pier and Six Flags.
Also serving is Vin Cipolla, president of the Municipal Arts Society. Cipolla’s place on the panel is significant because the MAS had been a vocal critic of the city’s rezoning proposal for the waterfront area.“We applaud the city for bringing together a broad range of voices to help shape the future of this iconic neighborhood,” Cipolla said. “Only the city can create a great and sustainable amusements destination in Coney Island."
City officials are seeking to rezone 19 blocks of Coney Island and establish a 27-acre indoor and outdoor entertainment and amusement area. The Bloomberg administration also plans to find a single operator for a 12-acre amusement park on city-controlled land. An interim park, which could open as soon as 2010, would operate for five to seven years until a permanent park could be a built.
“Over the past months, the city has been working to develop an interim plan to ensure continuing summer fun and thrills at Coney Island,” said Robert C. Lieber, deputy mayor for economic development. “This panel formalizes our relationship with the leading industry experts and operators who will not only help us develop an exciting and dynamic interim amusement area for the summer of 2010 and summers to come, but also a financially feasible amusement plan for a year-round entertainment and amusement district, which will capture and continue the magic and iconic legacy of Coney Island."
Tags: coney island, development
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Recipe: What "fools"
Tuesday March 31, 2009 12:53 PM By Lucy Blatter
By Lucy Cohen Blatter
lucy.blatter@am-ny.com
In honor of April Fool’s Day tomorrow, here are two recipes for the classic British “fool,” (or "foole"), a dessert generally made of fruit, whipped cream and sugar.
The recipes come from West Village eatery Sweetiepie, where they're served in a tall parfait glass.
Sweetiepie’s Blueberry Foole
2 pounds of fresh blueberries
Pinch of salt
1 ¼ cups sugar, plus more for garnish
2 cups very cold heavy cream
½ cups blueberries rolled in sugar
Julienned orchid petals1. Put half the blueberries in a saucepan with the salt, ¾ cup of the sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the blueberries start to give off their juice and the sauce thickens. Let cool completely.
3. Whip the cream with the remaining ½ cup of sugar until soft peaks form.
4. Mash the uncooked berries.
5. Fold the mashed uncooked berries thoroughly into the whipped cream. Fold in the cooled cooked berries just enough to create a marbled effect. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving: if possible, serve from a glass bowl and into glass cups of dessert bowls.
6. Decorate the top with julienned orchids and 3 blueberries rolled in sugar.
Serves 4.
Sweetiepie’s Raspberry and Rose Petal Foole
2 pounds of fresh raspberries
1 ¼ cup of sugar
2 cups very cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons rose water
½ cup julienned organic rose petals
½ cup fresh raspberries rolled in sugar for garnish
1. Place half of the raspberries in a saucepan with ¾ cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer until the raspberries start to give off their juice, about 5 minutes. Push the raspberries through a sieve, discard the seeds, and let cool completely.
3. Whip the cream with the remaining ½ cup sugar until soft peaks form.
4. Mash the uncooked berries.
5. Fold the mashed uncooked berries and the rose water thoroughly into the whipped cream. Fold in the cooled cooked berries just enough to create a marbled effect. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving: if possible, serve from a glass bowl and into glass cups and dessert bowls. Decorate with the julienned rose petals and/or the berries rolled in sugar.
Serves 4.
Tags: food
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Tuesday March 31, 2009 12:05 PM By Sara Baumberger
Massive layoffs would fix the economic crisis
How would you fix the economy? The St. Petersburg Times asked readers for ideas. David Otterson nailed it: There’s about 40 million people older than 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance with stipulations. Forty million job openings — unemployment fixed. They buy new American cars. Forty million cars ordered — auto industry fixed. They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage — housing crisis fixed.
—Â Gene Towba, Plainview
No third track cripples Second Ave. subway
Of all the measures the MTA is taking to deal with the current financial crisis, the worst one must be their decision to eliminate the third track from the Second Avenue subway. All other measures are temporary and can be reversed when the economy improves; the two-track tunnel will be two tracks forever. Not that the MTA would not have the funds to build the third track right now. According to the published data, management apparently decided to save 0.4% or $50 million out of the $14 billion Second Avenue budget by irreversibly crippling the new, state-of-the-art subway line.
— Vlado Haluska, Manhattan
Mayor needs some of the blame for Wall Street
How is Mayor Bloombucks escaping blame for the collapse of Wall Street? Do people not know Wall Street is located in NYC, and is supervised by the mayor of NYC, especially after hearing the mayor say Wall Street accounts for 20 percent of NYC’s revenue?
— Milton Katzis, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Viral video: Facebook in real life
Tuesday March 31, 2009 9:59 AM By Sean Joseph
What if someone you barely know, and don’t even like, showed up at your door, poked you, asked you to be friends, wrote obnoxious comments on your wall and showed embarrassing pictures of you to the rest of your friends? Would you call it "social networking" then?
Tags: viral video, television, facebook, technology
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Nathan's hot dogs will be available at both Shea, Yankee Stadium
Tuesday March 31, 2009 9:00 AM By Lucy Blatter
Nathan's fans rejoice! Nathan’s announced a new multiyear agreement with the Yankees to bring their hot dogs to the new Yankee Stadium.
Earlier this month, Nathan’s announced a partnership with the Mets to carry over its longstanding relationship with the team to Citi Field.
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PC worm could strike on April Fool's Day
Tuesday March 31, 2009 8:02 AM By Mae Cheng
It’s no joke that a potentially nasty virus lying dormant in millions of computers could be activated Wednesday - on April Fool’s Day.
From Microsoft to the Department of Homeland Security, precautions are being taken against the worm, known as Conficker.
“A threat that potentially allows an individual to take over a computer is always of concern,” said Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security, which Monday began offering state and local governments a tool to scan for the bug.Experts say it’s not clear just how much damage the virus might cause.
“It can send out spam e-mail, it can do damage to discs, it can do anything,” said Dan Scolnick, CEO of Computer Support of New York, a technology security firm. “It could just say ‘April Fool’s Day’ across every infected machine and that’s it.”
The worm enters a PC through a weakness in Windows and communicates with hundreds of Web addresses to get updates from its creator. Microsoft has been able to identify and dismantle many of those sites but on Wednesday, the worm is expected to choose from 50,000 IP addresses, too many to shut down. Wednesday’s update could be D-Day for whatever Conficker has in store or it could just receive new marching orders that go unnoticed.
Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to whoever is responsible. The company also assembled a team of security experts who have been engaged in a frenzied cat-and-mouse game since October, trying to stay a step ahead of the worm, which has mutated several times.
“It was designed to keep ahead of the anti-virus companies and Microsoft,” said Joe Stewart, a member of the team, known as the Conficker Cabal.
Scolnick said that since he first heard about the virus months ago, he has installed security patches for his roughly 200 clients, most of which are city-based financial institutions.
Meanwhile, New York City sent out an alert Monday reminding its 200,000 users that Conficker — whose name stems from the words “traffic converter,” embedded in the worm’s code — might take some action Wednesday.
“We’re on alert,” said Nick Sbordone, a spokesman for the city’s information technology department.
Microsoft developed a patch last year to block Conficker, and those who regularly update Windows and use the latest anti-virus software are safe, experts say.
But those who have not been as vigilant could have a nasty surprise, said Carrie Tsui, of All Covered, a technology services firm in Manhattan.
“Let’s say you’re one of those companies, where maybe you didn’t patch or didn’t have automatic patching,” she said. “It’s Russian Roulette.”
Frequently asked questions about the Conficker worm
Who may be impacted?
Conficker may attack the computer of any PC user who runs the Windows operating system and who hasn’t been installing Microsoft’s security updates. The bug can infect any computer connected to the Internet without the user visiting any specific Web site.
How do I know if my computer is infected?
Commercially available anti-virus scanning software will be able to detect it. If you are unable to access Web sites for such software or for the Microsoft site, it may be a sign your computer is infected. Conficker blocks affected machines from contacting those sites.
What can I do to prevent an infection?
Enable the automatic updates setting on your computer or go to http://safety.live.com and run the free Windows Live OneCare safety scanner.
What should I do if my computer is infected?
An infected machine must be “cleaned” either by re-installing the Windows operating system or by contacting a computer specialist, who can run a de-bugging program. For more information, call Microsoft’s hotline at 1-866-727-2338.
Tags: conflicker, microsoft, computer, pc, virus, technology
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S.I. woman found dead with blow dryer cord around neck
Monday March 30, 2009 4:09 PM By Pete Catapano
(Photo courtesy Myspace)
A 26-year-old Staten Island woman was found dead today with a blow-dryer cord around her neck, police said.
According to reports, Caroline Wimmer was discovered face down by her parents with a hair dryer beside her beside noon in her West Brighton apartment.
An autopsy will reportedly be performed today on Wimmer, who was last heard from on Saturday.
There were no signs of forced entry at her home, on 196 Greenleaf Avenue, reports said.
A man who was identified as her father told the Staten Island Advance that his daughter was a very giving woman.
“She would give you the clothes off her back, and this is what happens," he told the paper.
Wimmer last logged into her MySpace page on Friday, but a sadly ironic quote remained next to her photo today:
"I will survive whatever life has to throw at me, I am ready and stronger than ever. Nothing or nobody will hold me back.”
Tags: crime
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Iconic bridges, roads receiving stimulus money
Monday March 30, 2009 2:57 PM By Heather Haddon
In a modern-day New Deal for some of the city's most cherished landmarks, the federal government is injecting $261 million in stimulus money to fix dozens of bridges, transit hubs and roads - from the Brooklyn Bridge to the ferry terminal on Staten Island.
The city is pooling the transportation-related cash to launch $1.1 billion worth of projects, creating a potentially dizzying amount of construction all at once.
Officials estimated Monday that the windfall will create or preserve 32,000 jobs clustered in the construction trades.
“It doesn't eliminate the pain, but it means things will be a little less bad,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, during an announcement Monday near the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, which will be resurfaced and weatherproofed.The work was designed and approved in the city's capital plan, but would have been shelved because of belt-tightening.
“There are no ridiculous projects in there,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “These were projects we were going to do with our own money.”
The big winner is the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, which stands to receive $175 million to renovate bumpy ramps and decks suffering from a pigeon infestation. The Brooklyn Bridge - one of two city overpasses not in a complete state of good repair - will also benefit with a paint job and ramp renovations.
The list includes two dozen smaller neighborhood redevelopment projects, and $4 million to repair sidewalks uprooted by street trees.
The MTA will receive $1 billion in stimulus funds for mass transportation projects that have yet to be announced. New York received one of the largest chunks of stimulus funding for transportation because it had so many shovel-ready projects, Schumer said.
To shed light on the spending, the city launched a Web site, NYCStat Stimulus Tracker, to monitor the use of the money.
Conducting so much simultaneous work could cause headaches for drivers, but more worrisome is its potential to inflate construction prices, said Anthony Shorris, director of the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.
“You need to be careful with the marketplace,” Shorris said. “If the prices go up, there's less work for the dollars.”
About three dozen transportation-related projects in the city will be funded with $261 million in federal stimulus money. The projects that will get the largest chunks of money are:
- St. George Ferry Terminal - $175 million to repair ramps carrying 60,000 passengers a day
- Brooklyn Bridge - $47 million for a full paint job and to rehabilitate and widen dilapidated ramps
- Queens Plaza - $37 million to create a public plaza and new streetscape
- East Houston Street - $24 million to reconstruct the road, build bike lanes and widen the sidewalk
- Rockaway Boardwalk - $15 million to reconstruct crumbling portions
(HEATHER HADDON)
Tags: transit
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Monday March 30, 2009 1:49 PM By Sara Baumberger
City should punish those who harm animals
Re “Council appears clownish with animal ban proposal,” March 27: Instead of banning animal performances completely, how about filing charges against those who treat their animals unfairly? The zoo animals are always trained with positive reinforcement and are not forced to perform. Children who see these animals develop an appreciation for them and desire to protect their wild relatives. It is important to keep these animals in public viewing, and treat them with respect and love.
—Â Angel Vail, Queens
Council right to talk about banning circus animals
What a disappointing piece this was. God forbid the majority of City Council wants to do something that is against the grain! The circus is not the place to educate the city kids who “will never have the chance to visit the wilds of Africa and Asia.” There are more educational and proper places to do this. I know many have a sense of nostalgia when it comes to the circus but it is time to recognize the use of animals in this capacity is wrong.
— Alison Mendez, Jersey City
Seniors need more aid for prescription drugs
As a retired social worker I find it imperative that this country provide some type of complete medical and drug coverage for its retired seniors. We pay the 20 percent Medicare doesn’t pay and we have to somehow figure out how to pay for necessary drugs.
— Kate Sheehan, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Paralegal networking event on Tuesday!
Monday March 30, 2009 1:31 PM By Lucy Blatter
Looking for a paralegal job? New York City Paralegal Association is throwing a networking event (complete with recruiters) Tuesday night at Latitude Bar and Lounge (783 Eighth Ave., btwn 47th and 48th sts.).
The event, which will take place from 7-9 p.m., is free for NYCPA members and $15 for everyone else. RSVP to events@nyc-pa.org.
NYCPA is a non-profit organization that works to progress and professionally advance paralegals within the city. They host a number of live networking events for members and nonmembers.
Tags: job front
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Capitol Fishing Tackle sign resurfaces better than ever
Monday March 30, 2009 12:32 PM By Rolando Pujol
The sign outside the shop's new location on 132 W. 36th St. (Melinda Hsia)
By Melinda Hsia
Special to amNewYork
The Capitol Fishing Tackle Co. has been around for more than a century and
boasts classic fishing rods among many beautiful antiques, but its most eye-catching piece is its brilliant red and green neon sign above its front door.
The sign had beamed above the tackle shop since 1941. But when the shop vacated its longtime home at the Hotel Chelsea on West 23rd Street in 2006 and moved to the Garment District, the sign went missing.
Just recently, it has been returned to its rightful place outside the shop’s new home following its first-ever refurbishing.
"I have a great love for it," said Richard Collins, the shop’s owner.The neon sign with its bold red capitol letters is unusual, because it is rare to find one for a tackle shop. According to Kevin Walsh, the editor of the Web site Forgotten NY, most neon signs in the city belong to liquor stores, bar, and diners. Other
well-known neon signs from the 1940s illuminate the storefronts of such
establishments as the Irish pub Dublin House on West 79th Street just off
Broadway.
Finding the right person to restore these glowing works of art is not easy.
After a harrowing experience with a larger sign company, Collins sent his neon sign to Paul Signs in Brooklyn. There, the sign was carefully disassembled part-by-part
and meticulously cleaned before being measured for new parts and put back
together.
In 2006, Collins contemplated closing the tackle shop. The rent had tripled
since he purchased the company in 1974 but Collins wanted to continue the
legacy of family ownership that began 112 years ago. "I am the third generation in
the fishing tackle business," said Collins, 54, and his son – whom he
describes as a “fishing nut” - will be the fourth.
After a year and a half of detailed work, the sign is not ready to light up the
street just yet. A few pieces are undergoing finishing touches before the
neon sign can relive its former glory but its owner eagerly awaits.
"I could have two new signs for how much that one cost me to restore," Collins said.
Tags: capitol fishing tackle, signs, neons, hotel chelsea, midtown, garmet district, endangered nyc, old school, neighborhoods, manhattan, history, development, arts, advertising
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Staycation: The big apple is your playground
Monday March 30, 2009 12:16 PM By Lucy Blatter
Economy Candy is a must-see spot on a Lower East tour
By Emily Mathis
Special to amNewYork
With the current state of the economy, you may be planning to spend some of your vacation days at home. Rather than spend hundreds on travel, you can reintroduce yourself with the city at your feet — a dream destination for many —with this weekend itinerary.
Friday: Get cultured
4 p.m.- 8 p.m: Drop whatever you’re doing and make it over to MoMA to take advantage of free admission.
Dinner: Dorothy Parker and “New Yorker” founder Harold Ross were frequent patrons of the Oak Room Supper Club inside the Algonquin Hotel. Emulate the literati — Dinner seating is at 6:30 p.m. and features a $50 prix-fixe menu. Or you can just opt for the 8:30 or 11:00 cabaret performances, Thursday through Sunday. Algonquinhotel.com/oakroom_supper_club.html, 59 W. 44th Street, btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 212-840-6800Saturday: Learn some history, do some shopping
Breakfast: Like a true New Yorker, sleep in a bit, and then head over to New York’ oldest delicatessen, Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side (205 E. Houston Street) or grab a bagel with a shmear at Russ & Daughters (179 E. Houston St.)
The Tenement Museum: A few blocks away, the walls at 97 Orchard Street can talk - telling generations worth of the city’s immigrants.
Call ahead to reserve 212-982-8420 open until 6:30 p.m.
Essex Street Market: A slew of gourmet treats available prove street vending has certainly evolved since 1940 — the year of the market’s birth. Open till 7 p.m. at 120 Essex Street
Economy Candy: This well-stocked, old-fashioned family owned candy store is perfect for any sweet tooth. Open till 5 p.m. on Saturdays
108 Rivington St., (212) 254-1531.
Chelsea shopping: Christopher Totten, Park Avenue Hotel’s concierge, recommends Chelsea and assures there are still great bargains to be found. He recommends indoor flea market The Garage (112 West 25th Street). Don’t forget: The stretch of art galleries from West 13th to 29th sts. and Tenth Avenue to W. Side Highway.
Have some dinner: If you spend $15 on food, you’ll get two rounds of sake or wine at Azuki Sushi.
239 Park Avenue South btwn 19th & 20th sts., 212-228-3611
See a spectacle: With women suspended in a watery world above the audience and a man running through a series of walls, Argentinean spectacle Fuerzabruta claims to invent nothing and have no purpose. It just is.
Saturday show times: 7 and 10 p.m. $75, day of $25 rush seats when available
212-239-6200 Telecharge.com or FuerzaBrutaNYC.com
Sunday: Relax
Rest up after your busy weekend at Clinton Hill’s Body by Brooklyn Spa and Lounge weekend brunch, where dining in bathrobes is the norm. For $54 per person, you’ll receive breakfast, a choice of Bloody Mary or Mimosa, unlimited tea and coffee, and full day (10 a.m. – 9 p.m.) access to the Wet Lounge – complete with a Turkish steam room, Swedish and Russian saunas, Jacuzzi, and an Artic Cold Plunge pool.
275 Park Avenue, corner of Washington and Waverly Ave in Clinton Hill, 718-923-9400, BodyByBrooklyn.com
WHERE TO STAY:
The Algonquin Hotel – The city’s oldest operating hotel has been the epicenter of New York’s literary and theatrical life for more than a century. Rates begin at $249/night. 59 West 44th btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 212-840-6800, AlgonquinHotel.com
Hotel Chelsea: Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg and Janis Joplin are just some of artists who have laid their heads here. It’s also where Sid Vicious allegedly killed Nancy Spungen and Dylan Thomas died. A room with two double beds and a kitchen is $169/night, and if you don’t mind sharing a bathroom is just $109/night.
222 west 23rd street 212-243-3700, HotelChelsea.com
The Gershwin: This Midtown hotel’s exterior is the pinnacle of modernity although the hotel itself is around a hundred years old. With bunk beds in the low-fare traveler’s second floor, the upscale ‘Fourth Floor Fabuloso’, and a special family floor there is something for everyone. Prices range from $45 to $405 night.
7 East 27th St, 212-545-8000, GershwinHotel.com
Abingdon Guest House РThe cozy d̩cor of a country bed and breakfast and the best of the West Village at your feet. Rates range from $279/night to $169.
21 Eighth Avenue, 212-243-5384, AbingdonGuestHouse.com
Read up:
Fun on Foot New York (April 2009) by Warwick and Nola Ford $16.95, FunOnFoot.com
Warwick Ford is an Australian-raised Canadian-American who grew up to be a Massachusetts-based executive of a California company. He’s covered a lot of ground in his day, but was always faced with the same problem: finding the time and trails to keep up his passion for fitness. Out of this gripe, the Fun on Foot series was born. Known in fitness circles as THE book for runners, joggers, or walkers who travel, Fun on Foot features over 90 maps the book is great for visitors and locals alike looking to familiarize themselves with undiscovered trails.
Blue Guide New York by Carol von Pressentin Wright, $24.95, BlueGuides.com
Since being bought by Somerset Books five years ago this almost century-old series has reestablished itself as the guide for what the Sunday Times called “the cultural high ground.” Staten-Island born author, Carol von Pressentin Wright’s fourth edition of the New York Version is packed with 584 pages of full-color maps, floors plans, photos, architectural drawings, expert essays on New York’s architecture and geology, and do-it-yourself walking tours. From South Street Seaport to Inwood, the book is broken up by neighborhood with scholarly descriptions of parks, museums, landmarks, and relevant history.
Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City Michelle and James Nevius, $16.95 SimonSchuster.com
For the chronically wandering walkers out there married couple, Michelle and James Nevius, would like to enrich you - taking on the gargantiuous task of organizing and relaying relevantly the city’s history from the sidewalk up. From colonial New Amsterdam to post-9/11 the book is broken up into mini-chapters focusing on a particular event, person, or place and features 14 self-guided walking tours, maps, and directions.
Tags: staycation, lower east side, chelsea, moma, spa, travel
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Remembering Helen Levitt
Monday March 30, 2009 12:06 PM By Rolando Pujol
Urbanite republishes a piece from last year on the work of Helen Levitt to mark the iconic street photographer's death:
All photos: Helen Levitt, published by powerHouse Books, used with permission
Think you’ve seen a lot of changes in the urban landscape? Helen Levitt has photographed an ever-changing New York for more than seven decades.
Long-vanished corner luncheonettes, neon “liquor” signs and second-floor button-and-notion shops are still readily accessible through her work. These old-time urban institutions and the people who frequented them are immortalized in a square, record-album-sized volume (Helen Levitt, powerHouse Books, 2008) recently released in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition at Germany’s Sprengel Museum Hannover.
An unsentimental souvenir of a grittier city, the collection includes images from the 1930s to the early 1990s. Before Starbucks and Duane Reade storefronts punctuated Manhattan, Levitt chronicled Sabrett’s hot dog cart awnings, old-time Coca-Cola signs and kids who amused themselves with tricycles and cast-off picture frames.
Born in Bensonhurst in 1913, Levitt has often directed her camera toward the edges of the city and the fringe of society. Today, she continues to peer beneath the patina of a bustling metropolis to chronicle New Yorkers’ everyday lives. In one iconic black-and-white image, an infant squeals with delight as a young girl immerses her head in the blankets of his baby carriage. Similarly Levitt urges the viewer to look beyond conventional scenarios on city streets, infiltrate strangers’ lives and draw their own conclusions.
The coffee-table collection presents Levitt’s images without captions. A small note on the book’s copyright page explains that with a few exceptions, all photos were taken in the city: black-and-white images were taken from 1937 to 1948 and in the 1980s; color photos from 1971 to 1991. Viewers must scrutinize the images – and their own memories—for clues to the photographs’ location and time period.
In a black-and-white photo, a girl clad in a white party dress, bobby socks and sandals, clutches the stomach of a wrinkle-faced, man in a suit and a tie. He looks amused. She is giggling. Behind them, an iron base of a street lamp supports a sign, “Never Sweep Refuse into Street.”
In another image, Levitt captures a more modern embrace. Against a backdrop of 20-story housing project towering above leafy trees, a middle-aged woman reaches toward a teenage boy, “Lee” label visible above back pocket of his jeans, tilted slightly backwards, as if to resist the hug. Behind them a yellow-orange New York State license plate with dark blue letters clings to the front of a car. Is this the Bronx? Brooklyn? Upper Manhattan?
Ultimately the frozen moment trumps the need to pinpoint an exact location.
-- Laura Silver
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Travel deals
Monday March 30, 2009 7:51 AM By Lucy Blatter
Orbitz launches biggest hotel sale of its history: Book by May 31st to take advantage of discounts at thousands of hotels in over 500 worldwide destinations. Some highlights include 50 percent off each night at Maui’s Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, 40 percent off at New York’s FlatHotel plus a $50 gift credit, 35 percent off three-night stays at Phoenix’s Xona Resort Suites, and 30 percent off nights at Fort Lauderdale’s Il Lugano Suite Hotel. Orbitz.com
Literature lovers’ walking vacation: This summer, set out on a six-day culturally enriching journey along England’s Bronte Trail. The path stretching from Haworth to Chatsworth was made immortal by works such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Visit the three sisters’ childhood home, enjoy a dinner and talk led by a Bronte expert, and discover the Haworth Village that nurtured their creative spirit. Price is $3,695/person. Book by April 30th and get $400 off per person.
TheWayfarers.com or 800-249-4620
Air France’s new Voyageur Class: Beginning tomorrow, Air France customers will be able to book the Premium Voyageur Class, complete with 40 percent additional space, a fixed shell to guarantee privacy, a 123 degree seat back recline, and a 10.4 inch wide individual video screen. A sample roundtrip airfare from New York to Paris is $1,431.AirFrance.usBahamas bridal bailout: Couples dreaming of a Bahamas wedding, but grounded by the current economy have somewhere to turn. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism is offering to bail out one lucky couple for a free destination wedding. Upload a short video or essay with photo by April 24th to be eligible.
BahamasBridalBailout.com
Hot dates, cool rates with Nantucket Island Resorts: Save big at family and romantic-themed rates Nantucket Island Resorts properties from family to romantic themed with already reduced spring rates and selected hot dates with additional savings. Spring rates at Jared Coffin House start at $220/night, $99/night on hot dates. The laid-back Cottages & Lofts at the Boat Basin start at $210/night, $125/night on hot dates. The family-friendly White Elephant start at $275/night, $175 on hot dates. The romantic Wauwinet starts at $380/night, $225/night.
NantucketIslandResorts.com to see hot dates
Tags: bronte trail, england, air france, voyageur class, bahamas, orbitz, nantucket island resorts, travel
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Martha Stewart talks travel
Monday March 30, 2009 7:22 AM By Lucy Blatter
This month’s Martha Stewart Living magazine features an all-new quarterly travel column. amNewYork asked Stewart about her travel experiences:
Is there a place you've always wanted to visit but haven't gotten to yet?
A: There are many places I'd like to travel to, such as the North and South Pole. I would love to see the polar bear migration and Glacier National Park.
What kind of trips do you like best?
A: For me, travel is all about learning new things and finding fresh sources of inspiration. My favorite trips are those on which I discover delicious new dishes and beautiful treasures, become acquainted with little-known customs and traditions, and encounter interesting people, especially artisans, artists and cooks who are passionate about what they do.
What do you like to take home from your travels?
A: When traveling I enjoy exploring local nurseries, gardens and antiques shops. I also love to sample the local cuisine-not just in restaurants that may be well known in the area but in small establishments that may be far off the beaten track. I often find things that inspire my work if it be for our magazines, books or our merchandise lines.
Photo: Getty
Tags: travel
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'Hair' cast models spring fashions
Sunday March 29, 2009 6:01 PM By Julie Gordon
From left to right, "Hair" cast members Allison Case, Kacie Sheik and Sasha Allen (Photos: RJ Mickelson/amNY)
Bryce Ryness
From left to right, Gavin Creel, Will Swenson, Darius Nichols and Caissie Levy
By Julie Gordon and Jessie Pascoe
The 1967 musical “Hair” is famous for its young hippie cast members shedding their clothing in a passionate declaration of freedom. But what inspires us in terms of spring fashion are those very threads — patched-up jeans, fringed vests, long dresses, flowing tops — that drop to the stage floor.
So we enlisted the eight principals of the Broadway revival, which opens at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on March 31, to show off styles that pay homage to the flower-child vibe of the 1960s as well as the shapes and trends of 2009.Translation: floral prints blossoming on jumpers, tights and tiered dresses; denim expressing its versatility with soft shirts, cropped jackets and acid-wash jeans; jewelry coming out to play with bright colors and flashy charms.
After winter’s drab palette, gleaming colors and styles provide a sartorial dose of vitamin D — an ideal way to welcome the dawning of the new season.
Let the sunshine in.
Click here to see more photos ... and click here to see even more photos.
Photos by RJ Mickelson/amNY
Styling by Julie Gordon and Jessie Pascoe
Hair by Amy Farid and Ruby Carrero for Bumble and bumble
Makeup by Chad Hayduk for Three Custom Color Specialists
Shot at Hotel Gansevoort
Where to buy
On Allison Case:
Rebecca Taylor jumper, $345; at Bloomingdale's. Rosena Sammi bangles, $49 to $89; at shoprosenasammi.com. Farylrobin flats, $200; at shoemall.com.
On Kacie Sheik
Built by Wendy dress, $162; at Built by Wendy, 7 Centre Market Pl., 212-925-6538. Levi's denim jacket, $98; at The Levi's Store, 25 W. 14th St., 212-242-2128. HUE tights, $22; at Macy's. Manic Trout ring, $25; at manictrout.com. Rebecca Taylor booties, $495; at Rebecca Taylor, 260 Mott St., 212-966-0406.
On Sasha Allen
Marc by Marc Jacobs dress, $358; at Bloomingdale's. Aqua vest, $198; at Bloomingdale's. Betsey Johnson necklace, $45; at Lord & Taylor. HUE tights, $22; at Macy's. Her own bracelets and ring. Vivienne Westwood for Melissa shoes, $149; at epauletshop.com.
On Bryce Ryness
Michael Kors denim shirt, $195; at Bloomingdale's. Levi's 514 slim straight jeans, $69.50; at The Levi's Store, 25 W. 14th St., 212-242-2128. H&M bracelet, $6.90; at H&M. H&M ring, $4.90; at H&M. Camper shoes, $160.
On Gavin Creel
Steven Alan shirt, $168, and tie, $70; at Steven Alan Annex, 103 Franklin St., 212-343-0692. Vintage Army jacket. Levi's Capital E Hesher jeans, $178; at Barneys, 660 Madison Ave., 212-826-8900. Camper shoes, $160; at Camper, 125 Prince St., 212-358-1842.
On Will Swenson
American Apparel T-shirt, $26; at American Apparel. Steven Alan linen blazer, $535; at Steven Alan Annex, 103 Franklin St., 212-343-0692. Levi's 511 skinny jeans, $69.50; at The Levi's Store, 25 W. 14th St., 212-242-2128. V. Fraas scarf, $38; at Lord & Taylor. His own jewelry. Camper sneakers, $130; at Camper.
On Darius Nichols
H&M T-shirt, $5.90; at H&M. American Apparel hoodie, $42; at American Apparel. Converse by John Varvatos suspender pants, $125; at Bloomingdale's. Original Penguin slip-ons, $115; at Original Penguin, 1077 Sixth Ave, 646-443-3520.
On Caissie Levy
Rebecca Taylor top, $275; at Saks Fifth Avenue. Levi's cut-offs, $49.50; at The Levi's Store, 25 W. 14th St., 212-242-2128. Tina Tang 'Aquarius' earrings, $75; at Tina Tang, 49 Greenwich Ave., 212-645-6890. Fergie shoes, $101; at fergieshoes.com
Tags: theater, hair, broadway, fashion, entertainment
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Green Depot offers eco-solutions for the home
Sunday March 29, 2009 3:13 PM By Garett Sloane
Sarah Beatty pours liquid soap from the tap, an environmentally friendly
way to stock up on supplies, at her Green Depot store. (Kristy May)
By Lana Bortolot
Special to amNewYork
All it took was one toxic scare and Sarah Beatty decided it was time to spread the gospel of green.
She even built a temple. The Green Depot, the brand’s flagship store, opened at 222 Bowery last month. The 3,500-square-foot store sells materials for the home that are deemed safe and environmentally friendly, from toxin-free paints and cleaning supplies to organic baby furniture.
Beatty, 43, a former media executive, turned to green entrepreneurship after her own home renovation revealed a mold contamination. She was on the verge of giving birth and was newly awakened to the relationship between health and the environment. She also saw the opportunity to get into the green construction business.“I thought there was a transition coming, a market for it, yet few supplies and no reliable access point for getting products,” she said.
In 2005, she founded Green Depot to supply construction companies with eco-friendly building materials. She expanded into retail to serve the do-it-yourself, home-improvement types who also want to keep it green.
“It was an imperative to create a place for people to enter the door, understand a definition of green, and let us help drive the conversation forward,” Beatty said.
Customers can shop according to their concerns, from chemical sensitivities to fair-trade practices.
“We offer options that are ‘good,’ ‘better’ and ‘best,’ not only in price point but in product attributes,” said store manager Bryan Tereza.
Beatty said her company is experiencing more than 200 percent growth a year. The construction business is ailing in the recession, but there has been an emphasis on using green materials to retrofit old buildings. In fact, that’s what Beatty did at her Bowery store, which was landmarked but updated using her green products.
The new store is an experiment in how deeply consumers embrace the recycle-reuse-reduce philosophy.
“I think it’s really to show people green is about more than mud huts and Birkenstocks,” Beatty said. “We want to show people you can do it from the ground up.”
Tags: green depot, eco-friendly, green home products, green construction, retail, small business, economy
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Mets fans get first look at Citi Field
Sunday March 29, 2009 2:20 PM By Jason Fink
Fans file into Citi Field through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda Sunday. AP photo
BY JASON FINK AND ANDREW BREINER
Mets fans got their first peak of the Amazins' new $800 million home Sunday, and many say the team finally hit one out of the park.
“It makes you proud to be a Mets fan.” said Daniel Gershburg, 28, of Brooklyn. “It's beautiful.”
A crowd of 22,000 packed into Citi Field on a rainy afternoon not to watch Jose Reyes steal bases or David Wright hit home runs but to see St. John's University lose 6-4 to the Georgetown Hoyas in the first game played at the new park.The stands, about half full, were filled with Mets fans eager to roam the unfamiliar concourses and check out the stadium’s unique offerings, like the fifth-floor bar.
“Everything is fresh and new,” said Jose Bisono, 21, of Brooklyn. “They definitely did a good job.”
Fans raved about the clear sight lines from the stands, the majestic rotunda entrance dedicated to Jackie Robinson and the expanded food selection, which includes a Shake Shack branch in center field.
“It reminds me of Ebbets when I was a kid,” said Leo Magno, 71, of Maspeth, referring to the former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, whose brick façade the designers of Citi Field emulated.
The game was sold out, though perhaps the weather kept many of the 42,000 at home. At $5, the tickets were far cheaper than most of what will be available once the stadium opens for real on April 13.
There is still some last-minute work to be done, like putting distance markers on the outfield walls and putting up the team’s championship banners and retired numbers.
Fans gave Citi Field high marks compared with the drab Shea Stadium, a concrete behemoth built in 1964, now nothing more than a pile of rubble in the parking lot.
“It's unbelievable, all the amenities they have,” said Mike Castella, 63, of Sunnyside. “Big hero sandwiches, real pizza instead of from a box, real leather lounge chairs in the bar area. They have soap and paper towels in the bathroom. After 1970, there was no soap at Shea.”
Of course there were some critics, like Alan Caufman, 51, of Forest Hills, who said he did not like the fact that the stadium is named for Citigroup, which is paying $20 million a year for the naming rights.
Still, Caufman, like many others, said what's most important is not the building but what happens on the field.
“I'm hoping for a good year from the team,” he said.
Tags: mets, citi field, sports
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Sample sales: Elie Tahari, Hayden-Harnett
Sunday March 29, 2009 2:14 PM By Julie Gordon
Elie Tahari
March 31 to April 3, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; April 4, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 510 Fifth Ave. at 43rd St., 212-398-2622.
Prices are slashed 70 to 80 percent on men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. Get a black tulle cocktail dress with a removable embellished belt for $129 instead of $898. Black snakeskin peep-toe platform sandals, originally $495, are now $79.
alice + olivia
March 31 to April 3, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. 80 W. 40th St., btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 212-840-0887.
Get must-haves from celebrity favorite alice + olivia. Party dresses that were $295 to $484 are now $139. Skinny pants cost $99 instead of $264 to $298, and boyfriend blazers are $149 instead of $385 to $440.
Hayden-Hartnett
April 1 to 3, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 16 W. 36th St., Suite 501, btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 718-383-4450.
Score 40 to 80 percent off apparel, bags, shoes and accessories from current
and past collections. The nylon-and-leather Bleecker backpack, originally $148, is now $74. Get the studded Ibiza leather slide sandal for $60, down from $120. A knit jersey dress with a braided belt is a steal at $78, down from $195.Rocawear
April 1 and 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed from 1 to 2 p.m.); April 3, 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. (closed from 1 to 2 p.m.). 1411 Broadway, 38th Fl., btwn. 39th and 40th sts., 212-497-2000.
Get discounts on men’s and women's clothing and accessories, handbags and childrenswear. Men’s jeans that were $70 are now $20. Men’s T-shirts, originally $30, are now $15. Cash only.
The Sak, Sakroots and Elliott Lucca
April 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; April 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 339 Fifth Ave., 2nd Fl., btwn. 33rd and 34th sts., 212-329-4500.
Bags from The Sak, Elliott Lucca and the eco-friendly line Sakroots are on sale for
$5 to $60. Highlights include The Sak leather styles, Sakroots drawstring and hobo bags, and Elliot Lucca leather and woven leather totes and satchels.
A model at the Elie Tahari spring 2009 fashion show (Getty)
Tags: shopping
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Albany looks to save straphangers
Sunday March 29, 2009 2:11 PM By Heather Haddon
This week's forecast is looking sunnier for straphangers, as Albany leaders are likely to unveil a MTA bailout that would stave off crippling service cuts and fare increases.
The compromise proposal being cobbled together could include a payroll tax, a smaller fare increase and a smorgasbord of additional fees for drivers, Albany officials said.
Lawmakers intend to strip out a controversial plan to toll free city bridges, but drivers are likely to still feel stung by increases among a menu of 13 car-ownership fees.
“It doesn't seem fair,” said Mike Krinke, 49, a Manhattan driver who also uses the subway. “I'd rather the tolls go up.”
Last week, the MTA board voted to raise fares by at least 23 percent in June and make dozens of service cuts, including eliminating two subway lines and 21 local bus routes. The agency's $1.2 billion debt has ballooned larger than expected, and officials may need to raise fares again next year if Albany doesn't come through with new money.
After the vote, Albany leaders held a closed-door meeting to negotiate alternatives to the tolls.“There's a definite determination to do something,” said Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Flushing).
Rank-and-file lawmakers have yet to be briefed on the details of the compromise bill, if it covers the MTA's capital plan, and how much drivers will be burned.
“I think there will be some resentment,” said Lancman, who supports the increase in car fees. “But saving the MTA is essential.”
A MTA spokesman said the agency would support a plan that funds both operational and capital expenses, and that the fare increase could still be reversed if funding came through in April.
Spokesmen for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Majority Leader Malcolm Smith said they are looking to pass the MTA funding alongside the state budget this week, but that the timetable was in flux.
Tags: transit
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Sunday March 29, 2009 1:14 PM By Sara Baumberger
Circus animals would be better off in the wild
Re “Council appears clownish with animal ban proposal,” March 27-29: It is not natural for a wild animal to be in captivity. Especially elephants, who are intelligent and social and need to be free to roam.
— Elaine Sloan, Manhattan
Performers make choice to be in circus
Ellis Henican says the circus is free to “exploit” its human performers. But those people choose to make their living in this way. They are not beaten into submission to perform stupid and unnatural tricks. They are not chained or caged. Smart and compassionate people are referred to by Henican as “elitist” and “zealots.” Who’s the clown here? Most certainly not the 23 members of the City Council, who agree that wild animals should not be a source of entertainment.
— Teresa D’Amico, Manhattan
WTC name appropriate for Ground Zero tower
The Port Authority ought to be congratulated for their decision to rename the Freedom Tower, to the stolid, austere and imposing One World Trade Center. The former name, a running joke to international tourists and affront to the men and women who died there, was the last vestige of the imprint of the totalitarian regime of George W. Bush on the city. The Freedom Tower was right up there with Ceausescu’s People House. One World Trade Center will be a fitting replacement, terse and businesslike — totally NYC.
— Jeremy Sykes, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Nurse your career back to health
Sunday March 29, 2009 11:45 AM By Lucy Blatter
By Karen Tina Harrison
Special to amNewYork
Healthcare is one area that may actually be recession-proof, and nursing is one of the most in-demand professions in the field.
“Nurses are the heart and soul of patient-centered care,” says National League for Nursing CEO Beverly Malone, Ph.D., RN.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
“Although training is relatively short, LPNs are valued and well-paid healthcare professionals,” says Patricia M. Dillon, deputy chair of LaGuardia Community College’s nursing program. “The job attracts career changers who want to feel needed.”
The Basics:
- LPNs are supervised by RNs. Varied duties include taking patients’ vital signs, administering medication and intravenous lines.
- LPNs work in hospitals, nursing facilities and medical clinics.
- The job requires a HS diploma, 12-18 months of clinical and classwork and a state exam. (LaGuardia’s accelerated LPN program takes 10 months.)
- The NYC starting salary is $45K-50K, rising to about $60K; some LPNs earn a signing bonus.Registered Nurse (RN)
Their responsibilities include treating and educating patients, diagnostic tests and treatment plans.
About 60 percent of RNs work in hospitals, “but RNs are doing more and more preventive, routine and outpatient care,” says Malone. RNs may specialize in one area — such as pediatric or home healthcare.
The Basics:
- There are 3 paths to an RN degree: a 3-year hospital-based diploma program: a 2-year associate’s degree from a community college such as LaGuardia (students may require additional time to meet science requirements) or a bachelor’s in nursing from a 4-year college.
- All grads must pass a state exam
- RNs can continue studying to become even higher-paid advanced practice nurses, nurse practitioners or Ph.D.s
-Local salaries begin around $60K, with signing bonuses and great benefits. “RN is the hottest job in America,” says Malone.
Tags: job front
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Tips for the recently laid-off
Sunday March 29, 2009 11:39 AM By Lucy Blatter
If you’ve recently been laid off, there are several items to check off of your checklist right away. Michelle DeAngelis, author of “Get a Life that Doesn’t Suck,” and a management consultant and corporate coach, offered amNewYork readers some suggestions:
1)Figure out how much money you are owed. First things first, you need to find out about severance, compensation and sick day pay that might still be available.
2)Ask for references. Make sure you get references in writing before you leave your company.
3) Understand unemployment benefits. Figure out what’s required to file for it, and do that right away.4) Figure out health insurance. “You need to have health insurance,” DeAngelis says, so figure out a way to get that.
5) Ask for outplacement services. Many times your company can give you counseling on updating your resume and other job search skills
6)Ask about relocation possibilities. You never know, your company may have a branch that’s hiring. You’ll never know unless you inquire.
7)Help your mood by identifying, and participating in a hobby. “So many people associate who they are with what they do,” DeAngelis says. “Focus on something you are really good at or you really love.”
8)Get a bridge job right away. DeAngelis says you shouldn’t hold off for your dream job. Pretty soon, you might find yourself behind in bill-paying.
Tags: michelle deangelis, job search, job front
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PWC launches online toolkit for job seekers!
Sunday March 29, 2009 11:25 AM By Lucy Blatter
PriceWaterhouseCoopers has launched a new online multimedia toolkit, “Recession-Proof Your Job Search: How to up your chances in a down economy,” aimed at helping recent grads find jobs in every field in today’s bleak job front. The kit features vignettes with career tips, Q &A videos, and downloadable worksheets.
To download, go to www.pwc.tv.
Tags: job front
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This week's job fairs and events
Sunday March 29, 2009 10:43 AM By Lucy Blatter
Monday — Gabrielle Bernstein’s Clear Fear from Your Career lecture
TIME: 7-9 p.m.
LOCATION: TheEventSpaceNYC (122 West 26th Street Between 6th and 7th)
PRICE: $20 ($10 for Students with ID at door)
Tuesday — Brooklyn Diversity Career Fair
Time: 10 a.m - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Brooklyn Academy of Music at the BAMcafe, 30 Lafayette Avenue
To register: No registration required, for more information EmploymentGuide.com
Tuesday — Careers in Healthcare: Beyond the MD
Time: 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University Morningside Campus, Broadway Residence Hall, 14th Floor Lounge, 556 West 114th Street at Broadway
To register: Free registration at CareerEducation.Columbia.Edu Open to students and alumni
Tuesday— Finding Balance: Career Options for Current and Future Parents
Time: 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Location: Center for Career Education Conference Room, 116th & Amsterdam enter through Wien Courtyard
To register: Free registration at CareerEducation.Columbia.edu Open to students and alumni
Wednesday — The “Stimulus Package” Event
Location: Schlessinger Eye & Face, 75 Froehlich Farm Blvd. Woodbury, NY
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Registration: Call 516-496-2122, free
Thursday — New York City Career Fair
Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St.
To register: Free registration at CareerBuilder.com
Friday —Career and Life Matters workshop: “Interviewing Skills”
Location:The Chanin Building, 122 E. 42nd St.
Time: 4:30-6 p.m.
To register: Go to careerandlifematters.com /careerworkshops.html or 888-423-5210. $45 (negotiable)
Tags: job front
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Viral video: Street hockey skills
Sunday March 29, 2009 9:52 AM By Sean Joseph
This guy is so skilled with a hockey stick that we cannot vouch that Velcro was not used in making this video.
Tags: viral video, television, sports, hockey
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DKNY mural, from pre-9/11, doomed
Thursday March 26, 2009 4:50 PM By Garett Sloane
The DKNY mural depicts a pre-9/11 Manhattan. (Andrew Hinderacker)
BY SERGEY KADINSKY
Special to amNewYork
SoHo’s iconic DKNY mural ad — a six-story painting of a pre-9/11 Manhattan skyline — is about to be wiped out, facing extinction like so many commercial frescoes in the city have before.
It will be replaced with 15,000 square feet of dark gray, and the name of the new tenants of the building: Hollister Co.
When the DKNY ad went up in 1992, it was met with community derision, but it has since earned legendary status. The black-and-white mural shows the Statue of Liberty emerging above a skyline that still features the Twin Towers.“It was a precursor to gentrification,” said SoHo Alliance president Sean Sweeney. “We have mixed feelings about it. It led to the invasion of other ideas and ads.”
Mural advertising may not be as strong as it once was, losing market share to vinyl billboards and LED screens, but still “wall dogs” carry on the art form.
Williamsburg-based Colossal Media, founded in 2004, specializes in mural ads, as does the graffiti-inspired Tats Cru of the Bronx.
Artkraft-Strauss Sign Corp. has been in the commercial mural game for 111 years, and once controlled a 225-foot high wall on 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, facing Penn Station. The wall hosted Joe Camel, an Amtrak train and a Gulliver-sized Levi’s jeans model.
“That wall has so much paint, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s holding the wall together,” said Bob Jackowitz, vice president of design and engineering at Artkraft.
Lamar now owns the space, which commands $175,000 a month, and it takes a team of about four workers up to 12 days to put up a mural, according to Jason Graham, a sales manager at Lamar.
Unlike Lamar’s high-altitude painters, the Tats Cru usually works on the sidewalk level using spray paint.
“We’re like performers, because we’re exposed to the public,” Sotero “BG183” Ortiz, a member of the crew, said. “It’s a mass experience,” added Raoul “How” Pierre.
The artists of commercial murals understand the transience of their work; all good ad campaigns must come to an end — just ask DKNY.
“They stay up for 1 to 3 months,” said Pierre. “Advertising is usually temporary.”
Tags: dkny, wall dogs, mural ads, commercial art, dkny mural, city advertising, billboards, economy, endangered nyc, gentrification, landmarks, manhattan
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Henican: Council bozos want to ban circus animals in city
Thursday March 26, 2009 4:32 PM By Garett Sloane
The World’s Worst Deliberative Body has finally confronted the Greatest Show on Earth, and here is where their silly encounter stands:
According to 23 members of the New York City Council, it’s perfectly OK for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to exploit any of the following for the delight of Children of All Ages: Clowns. Death-defying trapeze artists. Glittery showgirls. The Human Cannonball. The contortionists of the Chinese Qi Qi Har Troupe. Mr. Gravity. The woman splayed across the Double Wheel of Steel. Magical Zing-master Alex and his alluring assistant, Levitytia.
Go ahead, kiddies. Enjoy their performances at Madison Square Garden all you like. As far the council members are concerned, human circus performers can do whatever crazy stunts they want to.
Just don’t expect to see any animals in future center rings.That’s right, 23 council members — out of 51 — have introduced a bill to ban the “display of wild or exotic animals for public entertainment or amusement” such as the Asian elephants performing Saturday till April 13 at the Garden. And don’t you know that next the animal crackdown will move to the Bronx Zoo?
The truth of the matter, of course, is that most city kids will never have the chance to visit the wilds of Africa and Asia, assuming there are any wilds left in the decades to come. The only way most of us will ever see an elephant (or a tiger or a hippo) is on the National Geographic Channel, at a circus or in a zoo.
The elitist “animal-rights” zealots hate to admit this. But most zoos and circuses today, including ours, are delicately sensitive to animal well-being. And without their well-run breeding programs, many exotic species really could soon disappear from Earth for good.
So here’s my proposal as this crazy elephant ban stampedes through the Council:
Let’s plop these finger-wagging council members on the high wire, drop them inside the cannon barrel, slip a few beneath the elephants’ hoofs.
We’ll all turn out to cheer for them, while the animals run free on Seventh Avenue.
Tags: animal rights, circus, ringling bros. and barnum & bailey circus, elephants, circus comes to town, city council, ellis henican, animals
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Mayor Mike opens shop in all five boroughs
Thursday March 26, 2009 3:50 PM By Emily Ngo
Michael Bloomberg is expanding his mayoral campaign this weekend as his re-election team opens five campaign offices — one in each borough.
Bloomberg, running as an independent candidate, is still hoping for a spot on the Republican ballot in his quest for a third term, which required the controversial overturning of term limits.
The campaign of city Comptroller Bill Thompson, the billionaire mayor’s likely Democratic opponent in the November race, has an office now open at 321 Broadway, Floor 6. A representative for Thompson on Thursday sidestepped questions on whether the team will introduce branches in the outer boroughs, saying only, “We expect to have support from every neighborhood across the city.”The Bloomberg campaign is inviting voters to stop by for informational meetings at its new offices. They are:
Queens: 116-49 Queens Boulevard, Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Bronx: 2542A White Plains Road, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Staten Island: 2205 Hylan Boulevard, Sunday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Manhattan: 111 W. 40th St., Floor 5, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Brooklyn: 535 Atlantic Ave., Sunday, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Tags: politics
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Wineries uncork grocery debate
Thursday March 26, 2009 3:36 PM By Ryan Chatelain
New York is one of 15 states that limits wine sales to liquor and wine stores. (Photo by Getty)
A proposal to allow wine to be sold in grocery stores has pitted New York’s wineries against one another, as they argue about whether the change would be good for business.
Gov. David Paterson sees the plan as a way to generate more than $100 million during the next two years, through new licensing fees, to help fill the state’s $16 billion budget gap.
While liquor store owners, fearing they’ll be driven out of business by new competition, have railed against the proposal, wineries from the Hamptons to the Finger Lakes are split.
Proponents argue that selling wine in grocery stores, which is done in 35 other states, would allow state wineries to increase their sales.
“It’s Business 101,” said Scott Osborn, owner of Fox Run Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region. “The more outlets you have, the more opportunities you have to expand.”Osborn points to the fact that the number of liquor stores statewide has fallen from about 5,000 in 1993 to 2,700 today. Paterson’s proposal would put wine in about 19,000 new stores.
Some wine producers, however, said they believe supermarket chains would largely opt for cheaper, out-of-state brands that offer greater profits. They also worry that if some liquor stores go out of business, they would have fewer places to sell their products.
“With the supermarkets, quite truthfully, I probably wouldn’t even get my foot in the door to talk to them,” said Mike Migliore, owner of Whitecliff Vineyard, in the Hudson Valley.
Last Store on Main Street, a coalition of wine stores and wineries fighting the legislation, estimates that 1,000 liquor stores would close and at least 4,500 jobs would be lost if the measure passes.
As for supermarkets catering to brands such as Gallo Family and Yellow Tail: “That’s already happening in liquor stores,” Osborn said.
There’s little explanation for the differing views among wineries. Marco Borghese of Castello di Borghese Vineyard and Winery on Long Island theorized that upstate wineries favor the plan because liquor stores are more spread out there, but dozens of wineries near the Finger Lakes alone have denounced it. Many smaller operations, meanwhile, say that larger producers will have an easier time gaining access to supermarket shelves, but some smaller wineries, too, support the proposal.
The measure is embedded in Paterson’s proposal for the fiscal year 2010 budget, which lawmakers have until Wednesday to pass. The current law limiting wine sales to liquor stores has stood for 75 years.
New Yorkers largely agreed that they want easier access to wine.
“It’s just more convenient for customers, and it’s good for the city,” said Min Kang, 26, of Williamsburg.
“In terms of wine shops going out of business, that’s capitalism,” said Patrick Courtney, 26, of SoHo. “If they’re in the right neighborhood, they’ll survive.”
Melinda Hsia contributed to this report.
Tags: wine, david paterson
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MTA plans to can 800 station agents, bailout money or not
Thursday March 26, 2009 2:40 PM By Heather Haddon
If you see something, say something.
But to whom?
Lost in the MTA’s vote to hike fares and cut service Wednesday was its decision to axe more than 800 station agents across the city.
Even an Albany bailout won’t save the jobs of the clerks who work at 150 stations. In June, the MTA is making the cuts, which will save $52 million, regardless of any cash infusion.
“That’s insane,” said Jamal Raphael, of Brooklyn, standing in the Times Square station yesterday. “Look around and see how crowded this station always is.”
The MTA is primarily cutting roving station agents, the clerks in red vests who dispense directions to tourists and help riders buy MetroCards. Some of the pink slips will go to full-time token booth operators.
“It’s not something we want to do,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. “It’s something we need to do in terms of belt-tightening.”The MTA will raise fares by at least 23 percent in June and make dozens of service cuts unless Albany helps plug its more than $1.2 billion deficit.
Under the MTA station-agent plan, stations across the system will retain one full-time booth operator, with Union Square and a few other large transit hubs keeping two. All part-time station agents will lose their jobs, but a few full-time workers will stay on. Straphangers needing help can buzz an intercom located along many platforms. But many riders don’t know about the device, and station agents say they help keep platforms safe.
“Police respond to crime. We prevent crime from happening,” said John Mooney, a station agent at the Brighton Beach stop.
Robert McCrie, professor of security management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, thought the cuts could most immediately contribute to fare evasion, as the system has become generally safer.
But long-term, the MTA would have to beef up its security, he said.
“Any change of this magnitude is likely to have some effect,” McCrie said.
A 2007 study of station agents across 50 booths found that they spent most of their time answering questions and assisting with MetroCard machines, but also helped riders with disabilities use the subways.
Emily Mathis contributed to this story.
Tags: transit
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Deal near on Rockefeller drug law reforms
Thursday March 26, 2009 1:39 PM By Jason Fink
Lawmakers are expected to take up a bill as early as Tuesday rolling back the remainder of the state’s tough 1970s drug laws.
“We have the framework of a tentative agreement,” said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.
Leaders from the Assembly and the Senate are huddling with Gov. David Paterson’s office to hammer out a compromise on a series of reforms that would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, expand treatment programs and widen the state’s drug-court system.The legislature eliminated life sentences for certain drug crimes as part of the 2005 reform of the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, named for Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who pushed them through in 1973.
But advocates and many Democratic lawmakers have pushed for further repeal. For instance, selling a half gram of cocaine will now get an offender a minimum of 3 ½ years.
Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who heads the New York State District Attorney’s Association, opposes changing the laws.
“Further reform is not necessary,” he said Thursday. “Violent crime is at historic lows in New York state. It’s working, there’s nothing broken.”
Identical bills have been introduced in the Senate and the Assembly and state officials say a new version will likely be included with one of the budget bills being considered Tuesday.
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Office taste test: Fresh Direct's new tabla meals
Thursday March 26, 2009 11:55 AM By Lucy Blatter
We here at amNewYork are big fans of both FreshDirect, and Indian food so imagine our excitement when Tabla's new 4-minute meals arrived earlier today.
So far, we've only tasted two (the Tabla Masala-Spiced Macaroni with Creamy Spinach and Paneer and the Chicken Coconut Curry with Basmati Rice). And the verdict is:
For microwaveable meals, these are pretty good. The spices were balanced, chicken was moist and the portions were reasonable for the price ($6.99 for the vegetarian, $7.99 for the chicken dish). The vegetarian dish tasted like an Indian version of macaroni and cheese and it was the preferred choice.
If you want to feel less like you're eating a TV dinner and more like you're having a restaurant meal, we recommend spooning the dishes out of their plastic containers and onto a plate.
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Britney Spears is living it up Jersey-style
Thursday March 26, 2009 7:59 AM By Julie Gordon
Britney Spears performs a song from her "Circus" tour. (Getty).
Britney Spears is a Jersey girl until March 30.
The pop star has been staying in a suburban Alpine, N.J., mansion during the East Coast leg of her "Circus" tour.
"It's just a temporary housing arrangement till March 30 while on tour," said Douglas F. McLean of Sotheby's International Realty, which brokered the deal.
McLean declined to disclose a rental price, citing a confidentiality agreement with Spears.
However, Life & Style Weekly reports that Jive Records is paying $30,000 for the home, which is worth $8 million.
"They talked about Long Island, but she wanted something closer that could feel like home for Sean and Jayden," a source told Life & Style.
Added the insider: "It's a gorgeous neighborhood with big sprawling houses. Diddy has a house in Alpine, and Chris Rock and Mary J. Blige live nearby. People in the neighborhood are used to having stars there and won't bother her. It's peaceful."
Tags: entertainment, new jersey
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Fares grow, service declines
Wednesday March 25, 2009 2:56 PM By Heather Haddon
A $103 monthly MetroCard. Long, crowded commutes. Entire subway lines cut. Scads of subway stations shuttered at night.
By a 12-1 vote, the MTA board ushered these doomsday scenarios into reality, approving a range of steep fare hikes and service cuts and predicting yet another increase next year if Albany lawmakers don't immediately address the agency’s ballooning fiscal crisis.
“No less than the future of the MTA and the region is at stake,” said board chairman Dale Hemmerdinger to a packed room of officials and advocates.
Without state bailout cash, board members predicted the system would slide into a new era of dysfunction, rife with late trains, ridership declines and dangerously vacant stations.
“This is going to make New York a very different place, and it won't be a better place,” said Andrew Albert, a nonvoting board member.Fares will increase by at least 23 percent on May 31 and dozens of service cuts will be in place by year's end.
“We're furious,” said Quinn Raymond, 31, who collected 3,300 signatures to save the M8 bus from the chopping block. “The entire system is going to grind to a halt.”
Six subways lines will be eliminated or truncated, and 18 bus routes would be bagged.
The fares and cuts will plug the $1.2 billion deficit in the MTA's 2009 budget. But just to keep the subways moving, MTA officials will likely have to raise fares again next year because tax revenues have already declined by $120 million.
That would mean a fare hike three years in a row, a record for the 104-year-old system.
“My paycheck didn't go up,” said Amy Elizabeth Bravo, 27, of the Bronx. “I don't see the need for such a raise.”
Despite the support of Gov. David Paterson and Assembly Democrats, Albany failed to enact a MTA bailout that would have instated bridge tolls, a payroll tax and an 8 percent fare hike. Senate Democrats balked on the tolls and put forward a smaller plan that scraps funding for large subway repairs or construction projects.
“I think our friends in Albany have lost their way,” said James Sedore, a board member.
MTA officials held out hope yesterday that the state would act now that the cuts and fare increases are real. Some straphangers pledged to flood lawmakers with angry calls from constituents.
“They are going to pay for this,” said Raymond, the M8 bus rider. “These cuts are very undeserved.”
The MTA today will begin the process of reprogramming vending machines, bus fare boxes and turnstiles across the system. MTA officials said the changes could be reversed if Albany acts fast on new funding, but did not offer a firm deadline yesterday.
A source close to the MTA said reprogramming the machines takes a month, so the fare hike could be reversed if the agency receives more cash by the end of April.
Up in Albany, leaders have become consumed with passing the budget by April 1. Transit advocates believe leaders will not likely return to the MTA bailout until mid-month.
“This is the one shred of hope I'm holding on to,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign.
More Money, Less Service
The fare hikes take affect May 31, service cuts start in May and higher bridge tolls take affect July 11. Here’s just a taste of what you should expect:
-$2.50 base fare
-$103 monthly MetroCard
- M and Z trains shuttered
- G service terminated at Court Square at all times
- No N service at six stations in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn on evenings and weekends
- 21 local bus lines eliminated
Tags: transit
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New book alleges Piazza used 'roids
Wednesday March 25, 2009 1:10 PM By Jason Fink
Mike Piazza when he played for the Mets. AP Photo
In a baseball off-season once again dominated by talk of steroids, a new book alleges that former Mets superstar Mike Piazza took steroids.
The book, “The Rocket that Fell to Earth” by Jeff Pearlman, is about former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, but in a section about a feud between the two, Pearlman quotes two former players saying Piazza was juiced.
“‘There was nothing more obvious than Mike on steroids,’” an unnamed former player says. “‘Everyone talked about it, everyone knew it.’”Another former player, Reggie Jefferson, concurs.
“‘It’s amazing how all these names, like Roger Clemens, are brought up, yet Mike Piazza goes untouched,’” Jefferson is quoted as saying.
Perhaps even more damning, Pearlman writes that Piazza admitted to reporters that he used, but only off the record, and that none printed the confessions.
The book notes that Piazza has denied using performance-enhancing drugs. A message left Wednesday with Piazza’s agent was not returned.
The allegations in the book, which went on sale Tuesday, come on the heels of an online column earlier this month by former New York Times reporter Murray Chass that raised questions about the former slugger.
Chass described seeing acne on Piazza’s back, which, he writes, can be a sign of steroid use.
Piazza, who has retired from baseball, played for the Mets from 1998 to 2005 and holds the record for most career home runs by a catcher.
Tags: mike piazza, steroids, sports
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Celebrities' cheap beauty picks
Wednesday March 25, 2009 12:58 PM By Julie Gordon
Jessica Biel likes $.99 eyeliner from wet n wild, while Denise Richards uses $4.99 shave cream from eos. (Photos: Getty)
Even celebrities aren’t immune to the sinking economy. Here, they share their favorite beauty buys for $10 or less.
• Actress Jessica Biel lines her peepers with wet n wild Eyeliner in Black Black ($.99 at drugstores). All the better to see Justin Timberlake with.
• Halle Berry keeps her lips kissably soft with Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 ($8.50 at Kiehl’s).
• Singer Alicia Keys doesn’t always have time to wash her face, so she uses Simple Skincare’s Cleansing Facial Wipes ($5.99 at Duane Reade). “I found them in London and went to virtually every Boots and wiped them out,” she says. “I am so excited I can now get them in the States.”
• “I like good old Vaseline for everything — chapped lips, whatever,” says “Lipstick Jungle” star Lindsay Price. (7.5 oz. jar for $3.99 at Duane Reade)
• Denise Richards keeps her legs smooth with eos Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream ($4.99 at drugstore.com).• Molly Simms keeps her locks in place with RickyCare Bungee Hairbands ($4.99 at Ricky's)
• Brittany Snow, star of the upcoming "Gossip Girl" TV spin-off, likes to use the LUSH Honey Trap Lip Balm ($8.94 at LUSH). Snow is also a fan of POP Beauty Nail Glams ($10 at popbeauty.co.uk)
• Victoria Beckham is a fan of the Goody Colour Collection StayPut Hold Headband ($3.99 at drugstores).
• “Ugly Betty” star Becki Newton’s makeup artist uses L’Oreal Bare Naturale Mascara on set ($9.95 at drugstores) because, as Becki puts it, “It’s easy and looks good.”
• Christina Applegate of "Samantha Who?" fame uses Physician Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free Perfecting Mineral Concentrate ($9.95 at drugstores) to conceal blemishes, serve as a foundation and create a flawless finish.
• Actress Emmy Rossum smooths her tresses with John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serums ($10 at drugstores).
Tags: shopping
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Wednesday March 25, 2009 12:09 PM By Sara Baumberger
City should start their rat war from within
Re “New traps, old enemy in city’s battle with rats,” March 24: While the city is planning to wage war against rodents by installing new bait boxes in the subway, perhaps a better location might be MTA headquarters.
— Joseph J. Tauber, Manhattan
Enough with the painful fare hike!
Bush may not be president, but his legacy continues to erode the life of America’s poor and middle class. And in this case the eroding force is the MTA. Paraphrasing then Treasury Secretary Paulson’s mantra, that “AIG is too big to fail,” the MTA is playing Russian roulette with the riding and commuting public. The bullet, an ultimatum to Albany, bails us out by March 25 or we will see fares raised across the board. A “monkey-see, monkey-do, if Wall Street can do it, why not us,” mentality is taking root. Gross mismanagement is the real culprit here, thus a complete overhaul of MTA management and an audit is in order. In the meantime get rid of VPs who do little to nothing and collect CEO-type paychecks, and stop extorting the public.
—Â Sheila Gray, Astoria
Albany Dems fail to stop subway increase
Once again Albany has proven how dysfunctional it is, no matter what political party is in charge. The Democrats, who are supposed to represent the poor, have failed to come together to help save the subway fare when economic times are hard. So who will pay for this? The poor, of course.
— Brian Hochberg, Richmond Hill
Tags: letters to the editor
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Culinary high$ and low$
Wednesday March 25, 2009 11:56 AM By Lucy Blatter
Serendipity's Golden Opulence Sundae is the world's most expensive sundae
Special to amNewYork
Traditionally, comfort food leaves one’s belly and wallet equally full, but in New York, sometimes the price tags are shocking. Below, comfort foods at both ends of the pricing spectrum.
DOUGHNUTS:
High: Atria, $12 for three
At this Midtown east spot, pastry chef Seth Caro’s signature butterscotch doughnuts come with bacon powder and braised pineapple ice cream.
13-15 W. 54th St. btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 212-262-4600
Low: Dunkin’ Donuts 99 cents
The omnipresent donut chain offers the cheapest one around. You can’t watch them coming fresh off the line as you can at Krispy Kreme – but it still beats their prices.MAC 'N CHEESE:
High: Waverly Inn $55
The $55 macaroni n’ cheese adorned with truffles is as equally reviled and admired as the restaurant itself. Either way, the issue is moot, unless you can actually get a table.
16 Bank St. at Waverly Place, 212-243-7900
Low: Mama’s $4 large mac n’ cheese, $1 side
If comfort food is meant to be cheap and evoke memories of childhoods passed Mama’s delivers on both fronts – with cafeteria-esque seating and serving and home kitchen wall décor.
200 East 3rd St. btwn A and B, 212-777-4425
BURGERS:
High: Wall Street Burger Shoppe $175
The crisis on Wall Street hasn’t driven down the cost of this $175 Kobe beef burger with black truffles, seared foie gras, aged gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flecks of gold on a brioche bun.
30 Water St. btwn Broad and Coenties Slip, 212-425-1000
Low: Hollis Famous Burger & Hip-Hop Museum $1
A dollar will get you a mini-burger and museum entrance, with over 100 hip hop artifacts from neighborhood locals such as Run DMC, LL Cool J and Ja Rule.
Hollis Avenue & 203rd St, Queens, 718-740-6114
GRILLED CHEESE:
High: GILT $35
GILT’S Gossip Girl Grilled Cheese rose to fame in the show’s pilot episode Serena van der Woodsen’s drunk munchies. Originally priced at $50, the price has been lowered.
455 Madison Avenue, 212-891-8100
Low: Dale Bagels on Fifth $3
If you happen to live or find yourself around Bay Ridge take advantage of the $3 grilled cheeses at Dale’s - open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
7715 Fifth Avenue, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 718-680-5700
ICE CREAM:
High: Serendipity 3, Golden Opulence Sundae $1,000
This is the world’s most expensive sundae – Guiness certified and all. It includes dragets, truffles, rare cocoa beans, and is topped with the world’s most expensive chocolate - Amedei Porceleana. It’s all served in a crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon.
225 60th street btwn Second and Third aves., 212-838-3531
Low: Ray’s Candy Store $2
Open 24 hours, this tiny space with minimal counter seating has somehow managed to survive gentrification of Tompkins Square Park and Ray himself continues serving dollar ice cream cones in neighborhood corner store style.
113 Avenue A, btwn Seventh St. and St. Marks $1 212-505-7609
Tags: serendipity, waverly inn, dunkin' donuts, gilt, restaurants
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Go out to eat for less
Wednesday March 25, 2009 11:51 AM By Lucy Blatter
Julia Scott, aka Bargain Babe, is a “cheapskate by nature” and “journalist by training” who now runs the fiscally savvy blog by the same name. The now-L.A. based Scott lived in New York for 10 years, and shares some tips for saving dough when you go out to eat:
1)Look beyond the mainstream. New York has plenty of good hole-in-the-wall places where prices are low but quality is high.
2)If you’re going out with another person, split an appetizer and an entrée instead of ordering two entrees. It will be cheaper, and since appetizers are often large, there will be plenty of food.3) Eat out for lunch instead of dinner. Even if you foot the bill, it’s a much more affordable option.
4)Buy discounted gift certificates at Restaurant.com, which offers certificates to various restaurant at much-discounted rates (a $25 gift certificate is $10; a $50 gift certificate is $20). Scott says to keep in mind that there are a lot of restrictions, though (like having to spend a certain amount first), so read the rules carefully.
5)The site HalfOffDeals.com has fewer restrictions and offers gift certificates too.
6)Buy the Entertainment book. The book (which is $15 online at entertainment.com) has lots of coupon for 50 percent off or buy one get one free deals. Flip through the latest version at a bookstore so you can see if it has the restaurants you like.
7) Lots of mid-level chain restaurants like IHOP and Applebee’s have deals where kids can eat free on certain nights.
Tags: bargain dining, bargain babe, restaurants
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Sign of the times: Burberry replaces New York
Wednesday March 25, 2009 9:22 AM By Jason Fink
As we told you in November, Burberry is moving into the old New York Magazine building at 444 Madison Ave.
Yesterday, the Web site racked.com posted photos of the London retailer's sign replacing the iconic "New York" script atop the 42-story tower, between 49th and 50th Street.
Tags: signs
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Dining briefs: Cupcakes at The Ritz, Spanish at Le Cirque, Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market, and more!
Wednesday March 25, 2009 7:06 AM By Lucy Blatter
Tea and cupcakes at the Ritz: The Star Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton (50 Central Park South) will host a tea and cupcake party from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from April 1-June 28. For $25, guests have a choice of Ritz-Carlton blend teas (or one non-alcoholic drink) and a selection of five petite, freshly-baked gourmet cupcakes. For reservations call 212-521-6125.
Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market: On Sunday, from 7-11 p.m., 40 chefs from across the country will serve food and wine to 240 guests at one long supper table in Chelsea Market. Tickets are $220 and $176 for James Beard members. Proceeds go to James Beard Foundation and the Robert Fulton House’s Culinary Scholarships. For more go to JamesBeard.org/chelseamarket. To make reservations call 212-627-2308.It’s World Water Week: Now through Saturday, city restaurants participating in UNICEF’S Tap Project — aimed at providing safe and clean drinking water to children around the world — are inviting individuals to donate $1 for tap water. For a list of participating restaurants visit TapProject.org.
Spanish wine and dine: On April 7, Le Cirque (151 East 58th St.) will host renowned Spanish chef Daniel Ochoa Pascual of legendary Spanish restaurant Llanten. A $75 three-course dinner and wine pairing chosen by Le Cirque’s own wine director will be offered. Begins at 7 p.m. For reservations call 212-644-0202.
Shellfish & hops beer pairing dinner at Resto: On Monday night, March 30, 20 guests can enjoy a $65 three-course shellfish dinner paired with carefully selected beers, such as Urthel Hop-It and Houblon Chouffe at Resto (111 East 29th St.). Beer dinners run every third Monday of the month. Call 212-685-5585 for reservations.
A reason to drink: Appetizers such as roasted pepper and eggplant caviar, chickpea fries and fried mushrooms are free with a drink Sunday through Thursday at vegetarian bistro Counter (105 First Ave., 212-982-5870).
Jazz and unlimited food and wine for $50: Hudson River Café (697 W. 133rd St., 212-491-9111), the Latin Eatery overlooking the Hudson, hosts its first ever Food and Wine Festival Thursday at 7 p.m. Chef Ricardo Cardona is preparing a special Latin “Soul” tasting menu and acclaimed wines will be served.
Tags: le cirque, chelsea market, ritz-carlton, hudson river cafe, counter, resto, unicef, tap project
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Ex-madam: Spitzer bargained for call girl rates
Tuesday March 24, 2009 2:42 PM By Jason Fink
No matter what the transaction, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer is apparently a tough negotiator.
The infamously hard-charging pol, who resigned last year in a prostitution scandal, used skills that served him well as governor and a top prosecutor to get lower rates for call girls, according to an ex-madam who claims he was a client.
“He was one of my more consistent bargainers,” said Kristin Davis, who ran a high-priced prostitution ring in Manhattan.
Davis, 32, who is hawking a book about her years running the $5 million business, said Spitzer, a regular customer when he was governor and attorney general, would pay $800 to $1,200 an hour for dates, the lower end of the scale, which went up to $2,500.
In her book, which is available on Davis’ Web site and excerpted in the April issue of Penthouse magazine, Davis said Spitzer, who called himself James, was “too aggressive” in trying to avoid using condoms, prompting complaints and a 2006 ban.
“He’d be a real weasel about it, too,” Davis wrote. “After the begging, pleading, and commanding didn’t work, James would pretend to relent, only to change to another approach.”When she confronted him, Davis recalled yesterday in a phone interview, he lost his temper. “He started yelling at me, and I said that’s the kind of aggression I’m talking about,” she said.
After he was blacklisted, Spitzer booked dates under a different false name, Davis said.
A message left yesterday at Spitzer’s office was not returned. He resigned in March 2008 after it was revealed in court documents that he was “Client No. 9” for a different high-priced hooker ring.
Davis, who once worked as a call girl for Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss, was arrested last year and spent 3½ months in prison.
She is expected to decide soon what to do with the reported 10,000 names on her client list. The roster, she said, includes prime ministers, Middle Eastern royalty, pro athletes, titans of Wall Street and the governor of an East Coast state that is not New York.
Reports last week linked Davis to Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. She would not comment on A-Rod yesterday, saying only “there has been some involvement on a personal and professional level.”
Tags: eliot spitzer, prostitution, politics
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Second avenue subway scaled down
Tuesday March 24, 2009 2:34 PM By Heather Haddon
The Second Avenue subway will be more economy, less luxury.
That's how a transit official put it when the MTA board voted Monday to scale back the $16 billion project in light of growing costs.
“We're getting a Chevy,” said Michael Horodniceanu, president of MTA Capital Construction.
To save money, the MTA is removing the new line's third track that would have allowed trains to bypass stalled cars. The switch will result in longer wait times when cars go out of service.
“It will make it much slower if you have a problem,” said William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
Horodniceanu said the change will save $90 million, but the MTA is spending $26 million to revise the subway's original three-track design.
Tags: transit
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Green light for fare hike
Tuesday March 24, 2009 2:29 PM By Heather Haddon
Despite the empty wallets of city straphangers, the MTA board intends to OK unprecedented fare hikes and service cuts Wednesday.
“It's really unbelievable that they are going to do this,” said Xxendraa McQueen, 25, of Far Rockaway. “How are people going to travel?”
State lawmakers failed to come through with a bailout for the MTA's $1.2 billion deficit, leaving the agency with little choice but implement its doomsday plan:
• Fare hikes of at least 23 percent beginning June.
• Eliminating and reducing service on six subway lines
• Twenty percent more crowded trains.
• Axing 3,000 jobs through layoffs and attrition.
The plan is all but guaranteed to pass Wednesday, as only one out of the 17 voting board members has expressed intent to descent.“I don't even know how I'm going to make it,” said Wanda Gordon, 58, a postal clerk from the Bronx.
More than 2,300 straphangers wrote to Albany leaders to pass a package of new funding for the agency. Today, transportation advocates are holding a mock “MTA Call-A-Thon” in Union Square today to flood Albany with angry calls.
Assembly Democrats and Gov. David Paterson supported a proposal for bridge tolls, a payroll tax and an 8 percent fare increase, but the Senate Democrats couldn't muster enough votes.
On Tuesday, Albany leaders were working furiously on the state budget, not the MTA. And it’s unlikely they’ll return to the bailout until the budget is passed in the coming weeks.
“The vortex of the state budget has taken over,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign, who met with Albany leaders yesterday.
The MTA could reverse the hikes and cuts within a week or so if the state comes through with new cash for the agency. But negotiating a compromise bailout is looking like a long, painful process, Russianoff said.
“It will be weeks, to months, to never,” he said.
Melinda Hsia contributed to this story
Tags: transit
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Market research: Comparing chocolate chip cookies
Tuesday March 24, 2009 12:52 PM By Lucy Blatter
Photo credit: Ryan Thatcher
By V.L. Hendrickson
Special to amNewYork
Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies are a favorite for many, but few have the time to make them from scratch when the craving strikes. Several packaged mixes are available to aid the time-crunched baker, from tubes of dough that just needs to be scooped out and cooked, to mixes that seem no less convenient than grandma’s favorite from-scratch recipe.
Recently, a brave, multi-generational team baked and tested five types of pre-packaged cookie mixes. Each recipe made between 16-20 cookies and called for oven temperatures between 350-375 degrees. Cooking times vary.
There's no such thing as a "bad" cookie, but...
Pillsbury cookie mix can be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery stores, and takes little more effort than opening the package and spooning out the dough onto a cookie sheet.
The tube costs $3.49 and each cookie has 130 calories and 7 grams of fat. The cookies bake up fluffy and have a good texture, but taste a bit bland, according to testers.
The uncooked dough, the best part of cookie making some might say, has a slightly “chemical taste.”Best taste for the least effort
In a blind taste test, the classic Nestle Tollhouse cookies, also scooped from a refrigerated tube, was rated the second best of all the brands.
Another tester said the cookies, with 130 calories and 6 grams of fat, had better chocolate than the Pillsbury variety.
This dough also seemed to slip out of the package more easily and the uncooked mix got better ratings. A third tester said these cookies are “sweet, but not very tasty.”
You won't believe it's from a mix
The boxed Barefoot Contessa cookie mix was the winner among the five brands for taste, but the process of making the cookies is nearly as time-intensive as making the cookies without a mix.
The mix costs nearly $8, not including butter and eggs, so a from-scratch method may be more economical as well.
But the high-quality ingredients and big chocolate pieces bake up into delicious cookies with a crisp outside and gooey inside. They have 120 calories and 3 grams of fat.
For the health conscious
Pamela’s Products offers a wheat- and gluten-free Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix with dark chocolate chunks, making the mix itself dairy-free, although the recipe calls for butter or margarine and an egg or egg substitute.
The cookies are much darker than the other brands and the dough has a much chunkier texture. The intense dark chocolate chips give the cookie a strong flavor, but the cookie itself is “bland.” Each cookie has 150 calories and 8 grams of fat, and the mix costs $6.59 at health food stores.
Most economical, least delicious
Betty Crocker is the least expensive of the mixes, $2.89, though the recipe calls for you to provide a stick of butter and one egg.
The box mix was also the least favorite variety in this test. Testers complained that the raw dough, with 170 calories and 8 grams of fat, was “disgusting” and had an unpleasant aftertaste.
Tags: chocolate chip cookies, cookie mix, food
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Tuesday March 24, 2009 12:20 PM By Sara Baumberger
Gay marriage support is welcome news
Re “Schumer: Repeal gay marriage ban,” March 24: While I won’t congratulate Sen. Schumer for realizing that basic rights are being denied his gay constituents, his support of same-sex marriage is welcome news. I hope the senator will include in his talking points the words of James Madison during a speech in 1789: “The civil rights on none shall be abridged on account of religious belief.” Now, how can you argue with Madison?
— David Terhune, Brooklyn
Fine humans instead of killing subway rats
Re “New traps, old enemy in city’s battle wih rats,” March 24: The MTA has declared war on four-legged subway vermin: rats, mice. They don’t litter the tracks and platforms with garbage and food. They are trying to survive like everyone else. A proposal was made in the past for a pigeon czar, a squirrel czar and now a rat/mouse czar. The city’s strapped for money? Go after the two-legged vermin and fine them $100 for a first offense.
—Â Michael Perez, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Starbucks launches premium ice cream line
Tuesday March 24, 2009 11:24 AM By Lucy Blatter
Starbucks is rolling out a new premium ice cream line inspired by its signature drinks.
Flavors include:
Caramel Macchiato - swirled Coffee and Vanilla ice creams caramel
Mocha Frappuccino - swirled coffee and chocolate ice creams
Java Chip Frappuccino - Coffee ice cream with dark chocolate chunks
Coffee - swirled Coffee and Espresso ice creams
The line is now rolling into grocers across the U.S. The ice cream is made with high-quality, all-natural ingredients, including milk and cream supplied by farmers who pledge not to treat their cows with rBGH.
Starbucks introduced its first coffee-flavored ice cream in 1996.
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Whats in Season: Colorful potatoes
Tuesday March 24, 2009 10:34 AM By Lucy Blatter
By Ben Muessig
Special to amNewYork
If you think that potatoes are bland, it's time to wake up and smell the hash browns. Local farmers grow dozens of varieties of tasty tubers, and each one offers its own distinctive flavor — and color.
Many home cooks stick with traditional Idaho potatoes, but a wide array of colorful tubers are available if you know where to look.
The Adirondack Red is an obscure variety of potato that boasts crimson colored flesh and a creamy, buttery flavor that's perfect for a colorful mash.
If fries, chips, or hash browns are your favorites, the blue-fleshed Adirondack Blue potato can make for a lurid and tasty treat.
"Adirondack Blues are the best for frying — they get brown around the edges, but the rest of them stays blue," said Rhonda O'Brien, of Healthway Farms in Highland, N.Y., which grows a handful of hard-to-find potato varieties.
Potatoes have a bad reputation of being loaded with empty calories, but these root veggies — both colorful heirloom varieties and grocery store standards — are packed with nutrients.
Potatoes are full of minerals and stuffed with vitamin C and potassium. They're also fat-free and cholesterol-free, and low in sodium.
Fresh Adirondack Red and Adirondack Blue potatoes cost about $2 per pound at farmers markets around the city.
Tags: food
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Viral video: Double knockout
Tuesday March 24, 2009 10:22 AM By Sean Joseph
Neither of these mixed-martial arts fighters were the last one standing after delivering simultaneous knockout blows.
Tags: viral video, television, sports, mixed martial arts
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More New Yorkers selling sperm, eggs and hair for extra cash
Tuesday March 24, 2009 1:22 PM By Marlene Naanes
Whether it’s to pay for rent, mortgage or school tuition during these tough times, New Yorkers are more often trying to make money off natural resources — their own hair, sperm and eggs.
TheHairTrader.com reports a four to five-fold increase nationwide in listings from people selling their hair while New York City sperm and egg banks are reporting having up to twice as many inquiries.
“Business is flying,” said Melinda Mullin, a spokeswoman for TheHairTrader.com, which currently has 8,500 listings of potential hair sellers. “The whole economy has driven the numbers up.”
Hair sellers’ postings are rife with economic reasons to sell their hair — with sales ranging from $600 to $3,000, Mullin said. Women can get up to $10,000 for donating eggs, while men can make about $100 for a sperm donation.While sperm and egg donor agencies don’t necessarily know the reason people are trying to sell, the number of applications has increased since the economy took a nosedive. Andre Speckert, 21, a film student and personal trainer who lives in the East Village, said he twice donated sperm for money during a particularly tough time.
“I had to pay for rent and tuition,” he said. “It was a lean month. I probably wouldn’t do that again unless I’m really strapped.”
He is not alone. At The Sperm Bank of NY, there’s an 18 to 25 percent increase in applications since December, said Albert Anouna, its director and CEO. However, when Anouna warns potential applicants they will not be paid for several months while a battery of regular screenings are done on them, potential donors start shying away.
“It’s very involved,” he said. “It’s not a casual ‘come today, we’ll give you money.’ It’s not an open invitation to just walk in.”
However, those who pass the screening can make up to $10,000 over 12 to 18 months for donating twice a week.
There are also a lot of variables that also rule out a donor, which ironically could include economically induced stress, he said.
“They may be under a lot of stress to the point where their sperm count might be affected,” Anouna said.
Similar to sperm donor applicants, while the number of women wanting to sell their eggs has doubled at one local program, very few end up qualifying to donate, said Kathy Benardo, co-owner and egg donor program manager at the Northeast Assisted Fertility Group.
“We get a dozen inquiries every day and maybe I’ll make a hundred matches a year,” she said. “The vast majority don’t make it.”
While money is usually the reason many sell eggs, sperm or hair, many give of themselves —for reasons that don’t pad the wallet. Olena Borkovska, 18, of Bensonhurst, considered donating her eggs after reading an article about couples struggling to get pregnant.
“[I] thought maybe I should do that some day,” she said. “It doesn’t seem dangerous. If my hair grew faster I’d probably sell that too.”
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Fare hike moves forward
Monday March 23, 2009 3:16 PM By Heather Haddon
As Albany dithered on a MTA rescue plan, the transit agency's finance committee approved drastic fare hikes yesterday that will roll out in June unless state lawmakers quickly cough up bailout money.
“There isn't anyone on this board that wants to do this,” said chairman Dale Hemmerdinger. “It's very painful to everybody who uses the system.”
Under the plan, a single fare would rise to $2.50 and a monthly pass would jump by $22 to $103. Subway and bus riders could suffer increases of at least 23 percent, with travelers on some commuter rail lines enduring hikes of up to 70 percent.
The full MTA board will vote tomorrow on the fare resolutions and dozens of service cuts to fill its $1.2 billion deficit. Board members said they could reverse the measures if Albany comes through with new funding within a week or so of the vote, an agency spokesman said.
Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and a coalition of advocates have come out strongly in favor of the rescue package, which would implement bridge tolls, a .33 percent payroll tax and 8 percent fare hike to help the agency. Senate Democrats are holding out for their plan that would eliminate the tolls and reduce the payroll tax and fare increase.Paterson yesterday sounded a defeated tone in urging the MTA board to adopt its budget tomorrow. The Senate has not updated its own plan or reached any compromises, said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for State Senator Malcolm Smith.
Transit advocates have meetings scheduled with Silver and Smith today to keep the pressure on lawmakers as budget talks take up nearly all of Albany's schedule.
Also yesterday, the MTA presented a sobering budget update. Revenue from taxes on real estate sales have declined by 50 percent more than expected.
“The MTA is really in a deep hole, and unfortunately, the hole is getting deeper,” said Andrew Saul, the finance committee chairman.
Tags: transit
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Transit ups attack on rats
Monday March 23, 2009 2:58 PM By Heather Haddon
The city is testing bait boxes in the subways that lure rats to eat poison (shown in green).
(NYC Transit)
It's the war on rats 2.0.
The city has upped its ammunition against rodents foraging on food and litter in subways, installing boxes of bait to track and poison rats.
The $10 contraptions contain lethal bait that is vermin's version of a “granola bar,” said Robert Corrigan, a pest control scientist for the health department
“It's like they went into a cafeteria,” Corrigan said.
About a dozen bait boxes commonly used by exterminators were placed last month underneath the platforms at the Franklin Street stop that serves the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 trains.
The subways have not experienced an increase in rat activity, city and transit officials said. Instead, the city's rat taskforce is using the pilot program to increase its understanding of which stations attract rodents.
It's the first change in the city's underground battle against rats in 20 years, said transit president Howard Roberts.“Clearly, [rats] are a problem for us,” Roberts said. “This is a more targeted approach.”
The bait boxes will be added to other stations and monitored for eight months before the city decides whether to expand the program. The contraptions are tamper-proof, Corrigan said.
Tags: transit
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In weak economy, city trains entrepreneurs
Monday March 23, 2009 2:53 PM By Jason Fink
When Michael Bloomberg was laid off from his Wall Street job 30 years ago, he started a company that eventually made him the richest man in New York.
And while that goal may not be realistic for the average small business owner, a group of aspiring entrepreneurs got a pep talk Monday from the billionaire mayor at a city-sponsored training program for start-ups.
“Out-work the other guy,” Bloomberg told the 28 students. “Be lucky. But that comes out of hard work.”The six-session course, which is free and began Monday, includes workshops on marketing a new business, assembling a work force and budgeting. The students were selected from about 200 applicants based on their business plans.
Another class will be offered next month for current business owners looking to adapt to the changing economic landscape.
Lynn Gray, 59, of Manhattan, lost her job at Lehman Brothers in October and hopes to start a recruiting firm targeting college students.
“It’s phenomenal,” she said of the class. “We’re learning from each other and it creates a networking platform.”
City officials predict about 1,000 people this year will enroll in the courses, which are run by the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes entrepreneurship.
Two-thirds of the current class once worked in the financial sector.
Tags: business, mayor michael bloombeg, economy, city hall dispatch
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Out of nowhere, Letterman gets hitched
Monday March 23, 2009 2:03 PM By Pete Catapano
David Letterman and Regina Lasko, taken two years ago in Italy, courtesy Bauer-Griffin.com
By Pete Catapano
No joke — David Letterman has finally married his long-time girlfriend, the 61-year-old TV icon announced at the taping of his show this afternoon, according to reports.
Letterman married Regina Lasko, whom he dated for at least 10 years on Thursday at a Justice of the Peace in Montana, US Weekly reports. The two of have a 5-year-old son, Harry.
This is the second marriage for the “Late Show” host, who stayed with his college sweetheart, Megan Cook, from 1969 to 1977.
Lasko, 49, met the Letterman while working on his show more than a decade ago.
Letterman also reportedly joked on the show lthat it took he and Lasko so to wed because "we wanted to get the pren-up just right."
Tags: david letterman, regina lasko
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Travel Q and A: Martha Stewart
Monday March 23, 2009 2:00 PM By Lucy Blatter
This month’s Martha Stewart Living magazine features the debut of a quarterly travel column chronicling Stewart's travels. amNewYork asked Stewart to spill on her travel tips:
Any packing tips you can give our readers?
A: The key to packing is to keep everything in separate, neat bundles. For example, I plan my outfits ahead of time, complete with shoes and accessories, and put each outfit on a single hanger (unless the top is a sweater).
Shoes are usually the heaviest items in a travel bag. To prevent them from crushing delicate clothing, I put each pair in an individual drawstring shoe bag and tuck them around the perimeter of the suitcase.
Accessories are packed in separate bags; belts are in one bag, undergarments in another, etc. This ensures the suitcase stays organized, even in the rare event that it is searched at the airport.
Any extra travel tips?
A: It is a good idea to begin your day at a popular cafe where you can soak up some sightseeing advice from the locals and learn about the best restaurants-the places where natives rather than tourists like to eat.
Next week: Martha talks about her favorite travel spots, souvenirs and where she’d still like to go.
At Strahov Monastery in Prague in front of a cabinet containing preserved acquatic life. Photography by Kevin Sharkey.
Tags: martha stewart
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Vacationing like a star
Monday March 23, 2009 1:54 PM By Lucy Blatter
Special to amNewYork
Celebrities are luxury travel gurus. With mind-blowing budgets and flexible schedules, they’re well-versed in global jet-setting. Here is a list of up-and-coming and tried and true celebrity hotspots, with some suggestions for us mere mortals. Dubai: This playground for the richest of the rich boasts the world's only seven-star hotel, Burj Al Arab. David Beckham gave an $8 million Dubai mansion to his in-laws, and is looking to a buy a unit in the Burj Dubai — set to be the tallest building in the world.
Despite the country’s stand against homosexuality, Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are reportedly looking at a $1.5 million property at the famed Palm Island development.
Splurge like a celeb: Designed to look like a billowing sail, the Burj Al Arab is the most luxurious hotel in the world. The pampering begins from the moment a chauffer picks you up in a Rolls Royce. Nights cost anywhere from $1,300 to $13,000. http://www.jumeirah.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/Destinations/Dubai/Burj-Al-Arab/
For mere mortals: The four-star Country Club Hotel, sandwiched between beautiful beaches and the city, offers rates for just $110/night. TheCountry-Club-Dubai.hotel-rez.comEleuthera, Bahamas: Surrounded by the Atlantic to the east and Great Bahamas Bank to the west, this one-mile wide island is certainly off the beaten track. The island’s pink sand beaches, ancient coral reefs, and relative seclusion are just a few of the reasons Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer chose it as the site of their Valentine's Weekend getaway.
Splurge like a celeb: The on-again off-again couple stayed at Gregory Town, where many private luxury homes are available for rental including the famed, Windemere Island, where the royal family used to stay. Average rate is $2,000/week. For mere mortals: Prices for villas and cottages at Gregory Town are more manageable: The Oceanfront Bahamas Villa can be rented for $995/week. La Tera Resort offers rooms and apartments for anywhere between $85-$185/night. Cheaper still is a dorm option during off-season at The Island School on Cape Peninsula. Contact school for pricing IslandSchool.org.
Eleuthera-map.com
St. Lucia
Earlier this year, English singer Amy Winehouse took an extended break from her tumultuous London life and found peace on this Caribbean Island.
Splurge like a celeb: With its "“Gives us your body for a week and we’ll give you back your mind," motto it isn't hard to see why Winehouse holed up at the posh Le Sport hotel. The hotel's Body Holiday package promotes wellness, relaxation and rejuvenation through exercise, good food, great facilities, and anything else your heart could desire. Book by April 30th for travel through October for rates as low $230/night. 800-544-2883 or TheBodyHoliday.com
For mere mortals: The plantation-style Bay Gardens Hotel is offering $77/night rates on their standard rooms.
BayGardensHotel.com
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Schumer, in reversal, backs gay marriage
Monday March 23, 2009 1:47 PM By Jason Fink
Sen. Charles Schumer said Monday he supports same-sex marriage and called for a repeal of the federal ban.
It was a reversal for Schumer (D-N.Y.), who as a congressman in 1996 voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act.
“It’s time,” Schumer said in a statement. “Equality is something that has always been at the hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it.”Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Gov. David Paterson also back gay marriage, as does Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Schumer did not say if he would introduce legislation to overturn the ban.
He revealed the change in his position to gay rights advocates Sunday night following a meeting in Manhattan.
“We look forward to working with him to win marriage equality in New York state and around the country,” said Alan Van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda.
With Democrats controlling in Albany, supporters have expressed hope that the state would legalize gay marriage but no bill has been introduced and many political observers say there are not enough votes in the state Senate.
Tags: charles schumer, gay marriage, politics
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Monday March 23, 2009 12:08 PM By Sara Baumberger
Pollution tax would solve many transit problems
A rather simple plan to help the MTA and avoid tolls on bridges, subject to lawsuits, potentially long and costly, is a pollution tax on all vehicles in the state not operated by a state or municipal agency. State vehicles, and those that come into the state regularly, would get a computer card to put in the window. Any one-time visitor would buy a day pass.
—Â Rayner Colton, Brooklyn
Let shareholders vote on bonuses
AIG, Citigroup and other companies have been giving bonuses for years. They are not looking after the shareholder. Even now while the markets goes up, they are planning on their bonuses while the company is worth less, and they are laying off employees to maximize profit. Let the shareholders vote on
bonuses. That way they cannot be surprised when the company collapses.
—Â Luis Perez, North Arlington, N.J.
Mayor’s comment shows ignorance
Mayor Bloomberg seems to think that the state attorney general should not divulge the names of the people who got huge bonuses when their corporations were bailed out. Once these thieves came hat in hand and accepted taxpayer bailouts, secrecy is gone. His comment is yet another foot in the mouth for the man who doesn’t understand the hardships that regular taxpayers face.
— Donald Cannon, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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James Beard Awards discount starts today!
Monday March 23, 2009 11:33 AM By Lucy Blatter
It's another sign of the times. For the first time in the James Beard Foundation Awards' 19 year history, the foundation is offering an "Early Bird Special - Ticket Buyer Discount" for the May 4 event.
A $50 discount will be available from Monday, March 23rd - April 3rd. The ticket price is $450 for general admission, $400 for members.
The $50 discount is off both general admission tickets and those for members.
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Yankee Stadium grass is going, going.. gone
Monday March 23, 2009 11:00 AM By Pete Catapano
(Photo courtesy wcbs880.com)
Tom Kaminski of WCBS-880 posted photos today on wcbs880.com, taken from his newscopter, of Yankee Stadium with all of its grass gone, a sight probably no one has seen since, well, probably 1922.
Something kind of unsettling about this, almost looks abandoned, but in reality it's just a step in the stadium's fade into history.
See all the photos here.
Tags: yankee stadium
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MTA advances painful fair hike
Monday March 23, 2009 10:48 AM By Heather Haddon
By Heather Haddon
The MTA approved a schedule of drastic fare hikes Monday while pleading with Albany lawmakers to act fast on a bailout package that could spare straphangers.
“It’s a sad day for the MTA,” said Andrew Saul, chair of the MTA’s finance committee, which approved the resolution before moving it on to the full board for a vote Wednesday.
Under the MTA plan, a cost of a single ride would rise to $2.50 and a monthly pass would jump by $22 to $103 in June. Subway and bus riders will suffer through increases of at least 23 percent, with travelers on some commuter rail lines having to endure a hike of up to 70 percent.
“Paying 20 more dollars per month, 12 months a year is not negligible,” said Matt Siegel, 27, of the East Village.
During the weekend, Albany leaders made little progress in finding new cash to relieve the agency's $1.2 billion debt.Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and a broad coalition of advocates want to implement bridge tolls, a .33 percent payroll tax and 8 percent fare hike to help the agency. But Senate Democrats are continuing to cling to their plan that would eliminate the tolls and reduce the payroll tax and fare increase.
The alternative proposal was widely panned last week as slapdash and reliant on fuzzy math.
Senate Democrats have not scheduled any conferences on MTA funding this week, and negotiations will be held on an “as-needed basis,” said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for State Senator Malcolm Smith.
(Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.)
Unfortunate Fares
The MTA is likely to approve a fare increase of at least 23 percent this week:
Single ride: $2.50
1-day MetroCard: $9.50
Weekly: $31
14-day: $59
Monthly: $103
Tags: transit
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James Beard Award nominees announced!
Monday March 23, 2009 10:43 AM By Lucy Blatter
The 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards nominees have been announced and the New Yorker nominees include (drumroll, please):
For outstanding restaurant: Babbo and Jean Georges
For outstanding chef: Dan Barber (Blue Hill) and Tom Colicchio (Craft)
For best new restaurant: Corton, Momofuku Ko and Scarpetta
For best New York City chef: Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern), Terrance Brennan
(Picholine), Wylie Dufresne (WD-50), Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune) and Gabriel Kreuther
(The Modern)
The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, May 4.
Tags: james beard awards, restaurants
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Viral video: Camels go for a ride
Monday March 23, 2009 9:22 AM By Sean Joseph
Have you ever seen a camel in a four-door sedan? How about two? Didn't think so...
Tags: viral video, television, animals, car, camel
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Old Navy SuperModelquin eerily similar to Michelle Obama
Monday March 23, 2009 7:29 AM By Emily Ngo
The Old Navy SuperModelquins are an odd advertising campaign, yes. It's odder still that one of the characters, which the company aptly named Michelle, looks conspicuously like first lady Michelle Obama. Yes?
Tags: midtown, old navy, shopping, politics, michelle obama
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Travel deals!
Monday March 23, 2009 6:40 AM By Lucy Blatter
$200 air credit: Book a three-night air-inclusive Nassau/Paradise island vacation by April 6 (for travel through December 15th) and receive a $200 air credit promo. Travel not available April 5 through 15; additional blackout dates apply. NassauParadiseIsland.com
Spring deals at Occidental hotels & resorts: All-inclusive Occidentals Resorts throughout Mexico, Costa Rica, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic are slashing rates. The Allegro Playacar in Mexico begins at $60/night and the Occidental Grand Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic begins at $80/night. Book by March 31.
OccidentalHotels.com or 800-858-2258
New Web site compiles coupons and checkout codes: Currentcodes.com lists deals from 30%-50% off on everything from luggage, airfare, rental cars, hotels, and travel accessories. CurrentCodes.com
Luxury Mexican Rental: The 1,500-acre gated community of Punta Mita is offering four-night condo rentals and access to the private beach club and golf course for up to four people for $1,750. Offer expires December 15.
concierge@ayiapuntamita.com, AyiaPuntaMita.com or 888-447-7312
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Celebrity matchmaker unites famous people with brands to market
Sunday March 22, 2009 3:44 PM By Garett Sloane
Mike Heller, 32, left his career as an attorney to work in marketing with celebrities, such as Lindsay Lohan. (Marie Claire Andrea)
By Lana Bortolot
Special to amNewYork
Sometimes when Lindsay Lohan is seen out at a club, she’s just doing her job.
Celebrities get paid to attend special events and, sometimes, the products they carry are planted, too.
Mike Heller, the founder of Talent Resources based in the city, is often behind such marketing tactics.A former entertainment lawyer and nightclub marketer, Heller, 32, had a Rolodex full of contacts, and saw the opportunity to marry pop culture, corporate branding and celebrity marketing.
“I was always interested in marketing, and the synergies between that and entertainment and the law,” he said from his townhouse office in Murray Hill. “And I realized the creativity just wasn’t there for me as a lawyer.”
Now, his clients include the controversial to the wholesome, from Lohan and Paris Hilton to Rachel Hunter.
In some cases, Heller tracks the schedules of celebrities — their tour dates, their premieres — and he books them for appearances on their downtime in the cities they visit. He also unites celebs and brands.
Lohan is sometimes seen with a smoke-free tobacco product called Ariva. That’s no accident; it’s a bit of “organic marketing.”
“We’re very out of the box in the way we think and market the opportunities,” Heller said. “A lot of big agencies are antiquated because they look down on commercial work.”
Sometimes he even matches celebrities with products that focus on their maladies, spinning a negative into a positive.
He recently brokered an endorsement between Raptiva, a psoriasis medication, and CariDee English, an “America's Next Top Model” winner and a psoriasis sufferer.
In three years, Heller has gone from two to 10 employees with an office in Los Angeles, and satellite partners in strategic markets across the world.
He would not say how much revenue his company generates, but he did say that by his second year he was making at least as much money as he did as a lawyer.
He attributes his success to his unique approach to celebrity endorsements.
“I was creating my own business model as I went along, because there wasn’t really another agency doing what I do,” he said. “A lot of people thought I was either crazy or a genius, but I knew it was out there.”
Tags: mike heller, talent resources, lindsay lohan, paris hilton, rachel hunter, caridee english, raptiva, ariva, celebrity marketing, organic marketing, small business, economy, advertising
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Beyond Wall Street: How the fiscal crisis yields new opportunities
Sunday March 22, 2009 3:41 PM By Emily Ngo
The city’s worst economic downturn since the days of Fiorello La Guardia could claim up to 70,000 financial-services jobs and a breathtaking total of 300,000 positions, easily transforming how Wall Street works, but more significantly, how many New Yorkers make their livings, observers said.
And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
New York is poised to grab a historic opportunity to remake itself, experts said. The city is working to develop a more diverse economic base beyond the canyons of the Financial District by teaming up laid-off financial wizards with creative academics to create unheard-of products and start-ups. Officials also are renewing a focus on jobs for the middle class and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship.
The result could be an economy whose fate is not so tied to the staccato of the stock ticker.
“We’ve been way too dependent upon Wall Street and the finance sector for a generation now,” said Jonathan Bowles, director of the Center for an Urban Future. “Wall Street has always come back. When it does come back, the urgency of diversifying [the economy] often goes out the door. This might be different.”
Biotech advances at the AIDS Vaccine and Design Development Lab in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and similar facilities could propel New York toward better times. (Katya Pronin)
The city’s initiatives
The Bloomberg administration has been working for years to diversify the economy, and amid the financial crisis, is taking steps to retrain Wall Street workers and foster a range of initiatives, from new media and fashion to entrepreneurship, said Robert Lieber, deputy mayor for economic development.
In fact, the city today will hold the first day of classes for the FastTrac program, which will train entrepreneurs, including former financial workers.
Some 250,000 jobs have been created during Bloomberg’s two terms, most outside of finance. But that doesn’t make other numbers any less real: Financial services two years ago employed less than 10 percent of the people who generate payroll tax, but they paid 35 percent of that tax.
That challenges the city, which wants to replace or create 400,000 jobs by 2015.
“We don’t know what the revenues associated with that job creation will be, but we feel that we are so well positioned competitively that we will be able to meet that target,” Lieber said.
To get there, the city is embracing public-private initiatives; retooling small businesses to adapt; pushing initiatives in biotech and life sciences; renewing its focus on the green sector; and pressing old standbys such as the fashion industry and the ports.
What to do
Many experts agree that the city should embrace:
1. The creativity business: There are specific opportunities for growth. “Maybe it’s in design-related sectors, maybe it’s in video games or digital media,” Bowles said.
2. Higher education: The extensive research universities produce has enormous potential to lead to entrepreneurship.
3. Immigrant communities: Thirty-seven percent of New York City residents are foreign-born, and many are entrepreneurial, but “too few of the immigrant businesses end up growing to the next level,” Bowles said.
The road ahead
As the city tries to recalibrate, there’s one thing experts advise: Do not panic.
“Every time we’ve had a recession since 1929, there’s a batch of books that comes out with titles or subtitles that include ‘The End of New York’ ... The fact is, it’s still there, and the city in terms of population and economic activities has never been greater,” said Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association.
Indeed, what may ultimately get New York out of this crisis is the strength of its people, which Lieber calls New York’s “single greatest asset.”
According to the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget:
— Without action, tax revenues are forecast to fall by $3.3 billion between FY 2008 and FY 2009, and fall an additional $1.7 billion between FY 2009 and FY 2010 for a total decline of $5 billion, a 13 percent decline.
— Economically sensitive tax revenues, which include personal income, sales, business and real estate taxes, are projected to fall by 28 percent, or nearly $7 billion, in FY 2010 when compared with FY 2008.
— New York City is expected to lose approximately 294,000 jobs from mid-2008 into 2010 and New York City wage earnings are expected to decline by $39 billion.
— Wall Street firms were expected to lose a total of $47.2 billion in 2008 and further losses are expected in 2009.
Tags: economy, industry, science, wall street, immigrants, fiscal crisis, development, careers, banks, arts
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A-Rod's image takes another hit from NYC madam
Sunday March 22, 2009 2:46 PM By Jason Fink
Alex Rodriguez in a file photo. AP
Not a pitch has been thrown in this year's baseball season but Alex Rodriguez seems to be striking out just about every day.
The beleaguered Yankees slugger, who is recovering from hip surgery in Colorado, was again at the center of scandal Sunday, this time involving the former madam of a high-priced call girl ring in Manhattan.
Kristin Davis, whose agency was patronized by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said in published reports that she dated A-Rod while he was married and set him up with a prostitute.Two former agency workers said A-Rod had trysts with prostitutes half a dozen times at the Four Seasons Hotel, published reports said.
"In regard to Alex, all I can say is our paths have definitely crossed personally and professionally," Davis was quoted as saying.
There was no response to the accusations by Rodriguez or the Yankees.
It was just the latest in a string of scandals surrounding the superstar, who admitted earlier this year to taking banned substances while with the Texas Rangers in 2003 and last week was ridiculed for a magazine photo showing him kissing his reflection in the mirror.
Add to that his high-profile divorce and relationship with Madonna, and A-Rod’s image has taken a beating.
“This is just getting worse and worse, it’s spiraling,” said Tammy Brook, who owns a public relations firm in Manhattan. “It’s almost like a Britney Spears situation. It’s an open playing field for negative publicity.”
John Fuller, who runs a marketing firm that represents athletes, predicted the off-field woes will hurt A-Rod’s endorsement value.
“Any time you have negative publicity, they will distance themselves a bit, very similar to what happened to Michael Phelps,” he said, referring to the Olympic swimmer photographed taking a bong hit. “When people see athletes with a lot of money make mistakes it’s going to ruin their image a little bit.”
Davis, whose spokesman declined to comment Sunday, has written a book about her $5 million-a-year business which, she says on her Web site, boasted a roster of 10,000 “rich, powerful and famous clients.”
Tags: alex rodriguez, prostitution, sports
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Coming soon: the $103 MetroCard
Sunday March 22, 2009 2:46 PM By Heather Haddon
Few thought it would come to this, but an MTA committee Monday is poised to consider drastic fare hikes and service cuts that could be avoided only if a controversial bailout package ever gets out of Albany.
Under the MTA plan, a cost of a single ride would rise to $2.50 and a monthly pass would jump by $22 to $103 in June. During the weekend, Albany leaders made little progress in finding new cash to relieve the agency's $1.2 billion debt.
After the MTA finance committee meets Monday, the full board is set to approve the cuts and hikes on Wednesday. The board could still tinker with the fare-hike structure before that.
“It's the best of a terrible bunch of options,” said Andrew Albert, a nonvoting board member representing riders, who yesterday seemed resigned to the coming pain.
“Paying 20 more dollars per month, 12 months a year is not negligible,” said Matt Siegel, 27, of the East Village.In Albany, sources said top staffers met yesterday to discuss the bailout logjam, and the leadership is expected to caucus Monday.
Gov. David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and a broad coalition of advocates want to implement bridge tolls, a .33 percent payroll tax and 8 percent fare hike to help the agency. But Senate Democrats are continuing to cling to their plan that would eliminate the tolls and reduce the payroll tax and fare increase.
The alternative proposal was widely panned last week as slapdash and reliant on fuzzy math.
Senate Democrats have not scheduled any conferences on MTA funding this week, and negotiations will be held on an “as-needed basis,” said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for State Senator Malcolm Smith.
(Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.)
Unfortunate Fares
The MTA is likely to approve a fare increase of at least 23 percent this week:
Single ride: $2.50
1-day MetroCard: $9.50
Weekly: $31
14-day: $59
Monthly: $103
Tags: transit
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Radio anchor found dead in his apartment
Sunday March 22, 2009 2:28 PM By Marlene Naanes
(George Weber, via his blog)
A former WABC radio news anchor was found dead in his Carroll Gardens apartment yesterday morning with stab wounds to his neck, authorities said.
Police found George Weber, who worked at WABC/770 AM until early 2008, stabbed to death in his bed.
His home was ransacked — and a bathtub faucet was running — but there was no sign of forced entry, The New York Post reported yesterday.
Friends at ABC News Radio, where he worked as a freelance correspondent, had reported Weber, 47, missing after he didn’t show up for work for two days.
No arrests have been made, and investigators have not released a motive.
Police found the body at 9 a.m. yesterday after a neighbor led police to a side door Weber kept unlocked, the Post said. News reports said that he may have been killed in Friday at the Henry Street brownstone, where he lived alone on the ground floor.Weber last wrote on his blog Friday, relating his battles with bedbugs and ranting about a city task force that will deal with the pests.
He had worked as a WABC radio news anchor for about 12 years, most recently on the “Curtis and Kuby Morning Show” until Citidal Broadcasting fired 100 people in a cost-cutting move, according to Weber’s Web site.
He then was hired to do spot coverage for ABC News Radio, a national network. Mike Caragliano, a WABC engineer, said Weber was a very funny, warm and approachable man who loved his dogs.
“He will definitely be missed here,” Caragliano said.
Weber, a Philadelphia native, worked at radio stations all over the country, including ones in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver, before he moved to New York to work at WABC. His love for radio began during childhood when he pretended to do a radio show in his parents’ basement, Weber wrote on his Web site.
Police said they are waiting for the medical examiner to determine Weber’s official cause of death.
Tags: george weber, wabc, police, murder, brooklyn
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L train a slow caboose
Sunday March 22, 2009 2:02 PM By Heather Haddon
Advice to L train riders - bring extra reading material.
Delays on the L jumped in January, with nearly half of the trains arriving late on weekdays, according to MTA figures to be presented today.
“Service ended up being really lousy on the L,” said William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.
The delays stemmed from switch work and concrete replacement at the 8th Avenue station in Manhattan, NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said. While the three-month job was finished in January, Fleuranges did not say if service has since improved.
The transition to running the L line through a computer signal system did not add to the delays, he said.The L's sluggishness stood out in what was otherwise one of the better months for the city subways. Delays on the numbered trains fell by 20 percent, and eight lines made double-digit improvements.
Equipment repair accounted for some of better performance progress, Fleuranges said, as did attention to improving service on seriously delayed lines like the No. 2 and 3.
Least delayed lines: M, J/Z, W
Most improved: 4, 2, B
Most delayed lines: L, 4, F
Least improved: L, V, E
Tags: transit
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Dinkins, Ferrer, back Weprin for comptroller
Sunday March 22, 2009 12:57 PM By Jason Fink
In one of the first major endorsements of the election season, former Mayor David Dinkins and former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer Sunday backed City Councilman David Weprin for comptroller.
“I’m an elder statesman, with the emphasis on elder,” joked Dinkins, 81, in discussing his decision to wade into a primary race in a citywide election.
Weprin (D-Hollis) is facing fellow council members Melinda Katz, John Liu and David Yassky in the Democratic primary in September.Neither Dinkins, the city’s only African-American mayor, nor Ferrer, who was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 2005, would say if they will make endorsements in other citywide races. They will serve as co-chairs of Weprin’s campaign.
“When David Dinkins decides to make an endorsement this early in the race, it’s remarkable,” Ferrer said.
Weprin said he had been seeking Dinkins endorsement for about six months.
“The Latino vote and the African-American vote are key votes in the Democratic primary,” Weprin said.
Former Mayor Ed Koch, who lost the primary to Dinkins in 1989, said Weprin would benefit from the support.
“These are people whose names are still relevant in politics and who have a cache,” Koch said.
Tags: david dinkins, david weprin, fernando ferrer, city comptroller, city hall dispatch, politics
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Sample sales: Cynthia Rowley, DDC Lab
Sunday March 22, 2009 12:09 PM By Julie Gordon
March 25, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; March 26, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Warwick Hotel, 65 W. 54th St., 2nd Fl., at Sixth Ave. [Don’t have a phone number]
Gowns and other evening wear is up to 80 percent off. Pieces that retail for $750 to $7,000 are now $200 to $2,650.
March 26 to 28, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 376 Bleecker St., btwn Charles and Perry sts., 212-242-3803.
Get up to 80 percent off Cynthia Rowley’s girly apparel and accessories, including 20 percent off all current full-price merchandise. A satin tunic that was $275 is now $89. A taffeta skirt that cost $255 is just $69. Originally $375, a cherry blossom-adorned dress (shown at left) is now $199.
March 26 and 27, noon to 7 p.m. 153 Lafayette St., 4th Fl., at Grand St., 212-925-7030.
Anna Sheffield’s Bespoke and Bing Bang jewelry collections are discounted. A three-bangle set is $118 instead of $295. A sterling silver chain necklace that was $265 is $106. Silver oval earrings are just $48, marked down from $120.
Until April 5: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 7 Mercer St., at Howard St., 212-226-8980
Casual-wear from DDC Lab is 80 to 90 percent off. Men’s and women’s jeans are now $40, down from $228, and men’s and women’s T-shirts are now $20, down from $98. Women’s tops that were $358 are now $60, and men’s shirts that were $198 are now $50.
Tags: shopping
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Afraid the axe could fall? Stay productive
Sunday March 22, 2009 11:12 AM By Lucy Blatter
Michelle DeAngelis, the author of “Get a Life that Doesn’t Suck," is also a management consultant and corporate coach.
By Lucy Cohen Blatter
Afraid the axe could fall your way? Try not to panic. Worrying will not change the outcome; it’ll just makes your day-to-day life intolerable.
Michelle DeAngelis, author of “Get a Life that Doesn’t Suck” and a management consultant and corporate coach, gave a couple of tips on handling pre-layoff anxiety.
1) Don’t lose one ounce of professionalism. Though she admits it’s hard, DeAngelis says to avoid complaining, gossiping and coming in late to work. If you act professional, DeAngelis says you can avoid being the one on the chopping block when cuts are made. Or, you may get a furlough — a temporary leave of absence — or just a reduction in days.
2) Prepare for the job search. While this tip may seem to conflict with the first suggestion, DeAngelis says it doesn’t, and that it’s about putting you in control rather than in victim mode. “I always tell people who expect they may be laid off to begin looking for jobs, beefing up their resumes and identifying their three greatest skills, which can apply even to another industry,” she says.
Next week: DeAngelis offers suggestions for handling a layoff.
Tags: layoffs, job search, job front
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New Job Countdown: Acing the interview
Sunday March 22, 2009 11:02 AM By Lucy Blatter
BY KAREN TINA HARRISON
Special to amNewYork
McBane’s interview look is “aspirational.
This week, recruitment expert Barbara Safani (careersolvers.com) gives our candidate, Allegra McBane, tips on facing her interviewers. Step-by-step:
Do your research:
Peruse the company’s website, plus annualreports.com, glassdoor.com and vault.com
• “Have an insider-y question ready,” says Safani.
• Check out your interviewer on linkedin.com and zoominfo.com.
• Rehearse mock interviews with a friendLook the part:
“Dress for the rung above the job,” Safani says. “Wear a suit, quiet shoes and trim bag or portfolio.”
• “Guys, shine your shoes, not your hair.”
• Accessories can blur your picture. Show your style sense with one tiny detail.
Open with your “elevator pitch”:
Communicate your value with a 30-to-60-second “personal commercial”.
• ID yourself. McBane will say: “I’m an experienced PR and marketing professional.”
• Then ID your three core strengths, or what you can deliver. McBane’s strengths involve her ability to harness the media to convey her employer’s message.
Expect interview curveballs:
You may be asked about a failure or weakness.
• “Show how you confronted and corrected it,” says Safani. “Then describe a successful project.”
Avoid salary talk unless you get an offer.
• It’s OK to ask what the range is, but you may be asked for your own range.
“Benchmark the market realistically by checking salaries for the job title,” recommends Safani. “Ask recruiters and contacts, and look on payscale.com, salary.com and job boards.”
Wrap it up with flair:
“Conclude by noting how your skill set meets the job’s demands,” advises Safani.
• Leave a plain business card with just your contact info. Don’t use an old company card.
• Ask what the next step is, and follow it.
• Within 24 hours, email a brief thank-you note summarizing your qualifications. “Here’s a final opportunity to sell yourself,” Safani says.
Tags: interview skills, interviewing, job interview, job front
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Career events Week of March 23
Sunday March 22, 2009 10:58 AM By Lucy Blatter
Tuesday — Advertising Women of New York Networking Clinic: “Relationship building and business development in a changing economy”
Location: Time, Inc., 1271 Avenue of the Americas at 51st St. btw 6th & 7th Aves.
Time: 6- 8 p.m.
To register: RSVP at awny.org/EventsCalendar.html or call 212-221-7969. Tickets per event: $10 for members; $25 for guests
Tuesday — New Career in New Economy (Alternative Energy)
Location: The Roosevelt Hotel, 45th and Madison Ave.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
To register: Call Vlad Licko, 347-563-254. Free orientation
Friday — Career and Life Matters’ Workshop :“Exploring Careers & Job Search Techniques”
Location: The Chanin Building, 122 E. 42nd St.
Time: 4:30-6 p.m.
To register: Register at careerandlifematters.com /careerworkshops.html or 888-423-5210. $45 (negotiable)
Tags: job fairs, job events
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Viral video: Burger oil painting
Sunday March 22, 2009 9:34 AM By Sean Joseph
You may opt to order a salad for lunch after watching this artist recreate the Mona Lisa with hamburger grease.
Tags: viral video, television, art, food, arts
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Bailouts help expose culture of greed
Thursday March 19, 2009 5:41 PM By Jason Fink
When will enough finally be enough?
The corporate culture of greed laid bare in an age of bailouts and skyrocketing unemployment has sparked outrage by those left on the sidelines watching top executives lavish themselves with perks.
“People will never stop being greedy,” said Luis Rivera, 23, of Manhattan. “Whenever there’s money involved, people are going to want more and more. It’s sad.”Psychologists say those who rise to the top of the cutthroat world of high finance can be overtaken with greed and often will not stop acquiring and spending even when others suffer the consequences of financial excess.
On Thursday came word that Citigroup, which has gotten $45 billion in federal funds, will spend tens of millions of dollars on new offices for its CEO and his deputies. Two months earlier, the company received a public lashing for ordering a new private jet.
For many New Yorkers, this was a slap in the face after almost a daily barrage of news about bailed out companies continuing to throw swanky parties and pay out hefty bonuses.
“This is one of the craziest things I’ve heard,” Francois Merazga, of Manhattan, said of Citigroup’s plans. “I have friends who lost a job and who are running to an unemployment agency.”
Some experts believe greed is a sickness akin to alcoholism, others say it is a result of overindulgence early in life or the typical behavior of a narcissist.
“They’re never satisfied,” said David Salvage, a Manhattan psychologist. “People who experience this sense of greed often think they are above the rules that apply to everyone else.”
Steve Salmi, a psychologists who helps screen applicants for executive jobs, said attributes like greed and an inflated self-image are common in the field. They are often paired with traits such as risk-taking and an ability to perform under pressure, which lead to success in corporate America. Once surrounded by like-minded people, material excess becomes an admired status symbol.
“You see behaviors that for the average person seem out of bounds,” he said.
In the case of those who pursue wealth at great personal cost, such as admitted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, many experts see a kind of compulsion or personality disorder.
“They drive further and further to get more and more because it’s the only carrot they see in front of them,” said Mel Schwartz, a psychotherapist in Manhattan.
Marlene Naanes and Heather Haddon contributed to this story.
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No. 7 extension a money train
Thursday March 19, 2009 3:16 PM By Heather Haddon
Call it the money-sucker train.
The already overbudget plan to extend the No. 7 line will get even more expensive Monday, when the MTA board is expected to approve an additional $10 million for design work on the extension of the line into the Far West Side. The environmental impact statement and design work, which began in 2002, has already tripled in cost to $124 million.
“That's a little on the high side,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign. “It makes you question the planning.”
The city is picking up the $2.1 billion tab to construct the 7,100-foot tunnel that will ferry the No. 7 to 34th Street and 11th Avenue from its current terminus in Times Square. A mayoral spokesman said the additional costs are within budget.“It's not out of the ordinary, it's covered and this will cost the MTA $0,” said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for the mayor, said in an email.
In its explanation to the board, the MTA states that the 18 additions to the original $41 million contract were necessary because of the “repeated” changes to the project by the city and private developers.
“Coordinating the extension of the 7 line ... is a complicated process where there is a need for flexibility,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.
Tags: transit
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A bridge between art and the community
Thursday March 19, 2009 2:46 PM By Julie Gordon
"ArtBridge 2009: First Exposure," displayed on London Terrace Gardens in Chelsea (RJ Mickelson)
Scaffolding in New York is as ubiquitous as it is ugly. Artist Rodney Durso decided to do something about the latter issue.
His organization, ArtBridge, is displaying the works of 26 local artists for the next six months around West Chelsea’s historic London Terrace Gardens apartment complex.
“I wanted to find a way for artists to get their work out there in a highly visible area,” said Durso, 44.
He lives in London Terrace and hatched the idea about a year ago, when the current round of construction started.He put out a call for entries for his show, “ArtBridge 2009: First Exposure,” via the Web and got replies from about 100 interested candidates. The list was narrowed down to 26 by a seven-person panel of gallery owners, architects, artists and Durso.
The judges were looking for modern, abstract pieces, which they thought would complement the brick of London Terrace.
Artist Jennifer Bell, 28, kept that sentiment in mind when she submitted “Good Life” — a confetti-like, heavily patterned painting.
“Chelsea is stark and hard,” said Bell, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “This painting has so much energy. Hopefully it’ll add a sense of life to the neighborhood.”
Painter Jacob Gossett describes his piece “Strobe” as architectural, with geometric forms and bands of color.
“I thought it would fit in with the aesthetic of the streets and the building,” said Gossett, 25.
The total cost of producing ArtBridge was about $50,000, Durso said. Funding came from London Terrace, Spring Scaffolding and the artists, who paid $195 each to have their work displayed.
After the current art is taken down, Durso said he’d like to open up the contest again to new entries.
“I want to somehow beautify the neighborhood,” Durso said.
"Strobe," by Jacob Gossett
"Good Life," by Jennifer Bell
Tags: arts
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Vintage C cars are laid to rest
Thursday March 19, 2009 1:48 PM By Heather Haddon
Photo by Frankenstein via Flickr
The first city subway cars to feature AC quietly bowed out of the system Wednesday night.
The last R38 car took its final run on the C line before retiring to transit history.
Dating back to 1967, the silver cars with ribbing on their sides were born at the St. Louis Car Company in Missouri. The 200 cars ran on the A and C lines. Other than air conditioning, their claim to fame was a cameo in “Coming to America.”
Last year, Transit starting replacing the cars with the snazzy new trains making their way through the system. The old cars were sent to their grave at the 207th Street yard.
If you’re feeling nostalgic, a pair of R38 cars can be viewed at the New York Transit Museum.
Tags: transit
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Thursday March 19, 2009 1:47 PM By Sara Baumberger
How much are AIG employees worth?
If a person receives a $4 million bonus for running a company into the ground, try to imagine how much that individual deserves if he or she did a good job?
—Â Louis Phillips, Manhattan
Banking industry treated differently
If, regarding the employment contracts at AIG, “a contract is a contract is a contract,” then why were the contracts with the UAW and the UFT not as equally inviolable? Is it that, in the words of George Orwell, “some people are more equal than others”?
— Gregory B. Holman, Manhattan
Movie re-creates misery to make money
Re “Getting to ‘Know’ a dark director,” March 19: I wish you would have asked in your Q&A with Alex Proyas why he unnecessarily re-created the tragedy of Sept. 11 in the movie “Knowing.” There is a scene in the movie that is unbearable to watch. A made-up tragic event occurs (post-9/11) and you would swear
you are watching footage of people covered in soot and running on the street on the morning of 9/11. Why? To bring in the big Hollywood bucks? We do not need to
see that. We experienced it once already. I do not see the point of re-creating misery to make money.
—Â Stefanie Cardillo, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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"Top Chef: The Tour 2" to kick off in New York March 27
Thursday March 19, 2009 9:59 AM By Lucy Blatter
Last year's Top Chef: The Tour truck
"Top Chef: The Tour 2" will kick-off on Friday, March 27 at the Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza, before moving on to 21 cities across the country.
As part of the tour's launch event here, three finalists will compete in the first-ever Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge, preparing an original dish featuring Quaker Oats.
Dishes will be judged by season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg and season 4’s Nikki Cascone. The grand prize winner will receive the chance to attend a future "Top Chef" taping.
Finalists for the challenge were chosen as part of a nationwide challenge where viewers submitted original recipes showcasing Quaker Oats to BravoTV.com.
The truck will be in the big apple through March 28.
The tour— which will feature a brand new state-of-the-art 18-wheeler semi-truck, with an expansive space to accommodate more fans for each cooking demonstration — will also include gourmet tips, show secrets, and food tastings.
Tags: top chef, top chef tour, food
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Q&A: Shift of power in Pakistan has ripple effect
Thursday March 19, 2009 9:58 AM By Emily Ngo
Tariq Ali, author of “The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power,” spoke with amNewYork about the situation in Pakistan.
What is the general sentiment in Pakistan now that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry has been reinstated?
There is a euphoric mood in the country. A massive non-violent movement has succeeded in restoring the chief justice widely regarded as one of the few honest people amongst the top elite in the country.
Has President Asif Ali Zardari’s influence been weakened?
Considerably. He is seen by most people as a wooden-headed but greedy politician, by others as a U.S. drone. He was following orders but the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad changed its mind and did a deal with the opposition.
What do this week’s events mean for relations with the United States and the West?
The same day that the chief justice was restored a U.S. drone killed nine people in Pakistan. The U.S. remains deeply unpopular because of the war in Afghanistan. And Obama’s election has not made any difference here. So any government that reflects the will of the people has to bear that in mind.Have the people of Pakistan redefined democracy in rallying with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and getting results?
They rallied behind Sharif only because he demanded the restoration of the chief justice. But that has made the Sharif brothers popular and were there an election today they would probably sweep the polls.
Do you foresee more political conflict in Pakistan’s immediate future
Yes. The state is decaying internally. And externally the war in Afghanistan is spilling into Pakistan.
What would a change in leadership mean for the Taliban-heavy regions, like Swat Valley?
The Pakistan version of the Taliban can only be dealt with by a government that is seen as independent of the United States and that begins to implement a series of social reforms inside the country: free education, healthcare, subsidized dwellings, food subsidies. Crucial to weaken religious extremism.
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Viral video: Ratting on the King
Thursday March 19, 2009 9:30 AM By Sean Joseph
A man was so upset Burger King ran out of lemonade that he called 911. This reporter brings you his fate.
Tags: viral video, television, food, crime, burger king, 911
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Spring cleaning (and shopping) the green way
Thursday March 19, 2009 8:25 AM By Emily Ngo
It's spring — time to clean out closets and ready your wardrobe for warmer weather. Clothes swaps are the best way to do both and feel good about it. Here's a big one this weekend:
Spring Clothing Swap and Book Drive: Swap-O-Rama-Rama Returns to Astoria
Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
A.R.R.O.W. Community Center, 35-30 35th Street in Astoria
Directions: N/W to 36th Avenue or R to Steinway
You bring clothes, other people bring clothes ... and then you swap. It's that easy. Remaining items will be donated to Hour Children thrift store.And it's also a book drive: Gently used or new books will be donated to the Queens Library. Local branch libraries will have first dibs.
This event is sponsored by Triple R Events: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, the Astoria Book Club and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. RSVPs appreciated but not required: *queensisgreen@gmail.com* or call (646) 202-0825.
— Emily Ngo
Tags: shopping
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Lots of luxe: Luxury stores keep opening in Manhattan, but will their economic gamble pay off?
Wednesday March 18, 2009 5:17 PM By Rolando Pujol
By Danielle Sonnenberg
Special to amNewYork
When Diesel moved into its flagship store last month on Fifth Avenue, the purveyor of high-end jeans seemed to be saying: Let them eat steak.
Models chowed down on beef in its window, a show of luxurious solidarity against these considerably unflashy times.
Indeed, Diesel and other tony brands are still expanding in the city despite slumping retail sales. In fact, some retail observers said that now is the time for healthy brands to capitalize on sagging rents, but others insist it’s a fool’s mission.Chrome Hearts is among the high-end brands taking the plunge. It opened its eyewear store on Madison Avenue in November, and the owner, Larry Sands, said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“What I did took no guts. We are right on track. We look at the numbers every day and we are shocked. Someone recently spent $21,000 on sunglasses in one day,” he said.
If sales at Sands’ store are as sunny as he says, then Chrome Hearts seems to be the exception. He opened amid a number of closures on his stretch of Madison Avenue.
In the Meatpacking District, British designer Matthew Williamson recently opened his first boutique U.S. store in a “ginormous” space, with an outdoor garden that resembles a rain forest, sales rep Candy Montijo said.
While it’s slow going, Montijo said, “I feel like we’re going to kick ass.”
In SoHo, another European import, Bang & Olufsen, moved into its flagship space, where it sells home-entertainment systems that can cost upward of $50,000.
“Had it been today I can’t tell you what we would have done. We are where we are and we are making the best of it,” said Kim Gravesen, head of retail division of Bang & Olufsen.
At least landlords are negotiating better deals and rates are down a third across the city, according to Faith Hope Consolo, the head of the retail leasing division at Prudential Douglas Elliman.
Consolo called this “one of the best times in retail history to sign leases.”
On Fifth Avenue yesterday afternoon, foot traffic appeared heavy, but few customers were entering the recently opened Fifth Avenue retail palace.
Boris Grande and Brook Stevenson, art students at the New York Institute of Technology, were inside just looking.
“$145 for a scarf is a little too much for me,” Grande said.
Stores like it are not just about how much money they bring in, Consolo said.
“Flagships have no relativity to the market, they’re not solely in business to make retail sales, they are making statements,” she said.
Even still, a number of stores have backed out of plans to come here, such as high-end watchmaker Hublot, and fashion stores Scoop and Intermix, she said.
Not everyone is proclaiming this the time to conquer New York.
“I don’t think there is a way [for stores] to take advantage of this economy. The luxury space is horrendous given what happened to the finance industry which drives our city,” said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail-consulting firm.
As for Armani’s bold new store? Opening it, Davidowitz said, was akin to “suicide.”
Garett Sloane contributed to this report.
***
Stores either recently opened or scheduled to open this spring:
Madison Avenue
Lalique: 609 Madison Ave.
Armani Collezioni: 601 Madison Ave.
Fifth Avenue
Giorgio Armani: 717 Fifth Ave.
Diesel: 685 Fifth Ave.
Spa
Chakra: 663 Fifth Ave.
Meatpacking District
Matthew Williamson: 415 W. 14th St.
Ports 1961: 3 Ninth Ave.
Vince: 833 Washington Street at Little West 12th Street
West Village
Thom Browne’s Black Fleece from Brooks Brothers:
351 Bleecker St.
SoHo
NYC Timberland: 474 Broadway
Topshop: 478 Broadway
Escada: 560 Broadway
(Prudential Douglas Elliman)
Tags: economy
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Subway floors look good, smell bad
Wednesday March 18, 2009 3:54 PM By Heather Haddon
RJ Mickelson/amNY
A woman dashes through a Chambers Street subway station with a white napkin covering the lower part of her face. She’s not guarding herself against the usual odors of a decaying subway system; she’s warding off the pungent smell of progress.
The odor, a cross between solvent and nail polish remover, has been irritating commuters in the station serving the No. 1, 2 and 3 train lines since December when workers began installing the shiny, multi-colored floor tiles on the mezzanine.
“I actually feel like I've been smoking when I'm there,” said Adrinna Paulino, 21, a college student who uses the station daily. “It’s been going on for weeks and I’m concerned about it.”
The flooring, made from acrylic and resin, is not toxic and the smell dissipates soon after installation, said a NYC Transit spokesman.
It was tested last spring at Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal and at an outdoor stop in Inwood, he said, adding that it may be used on subway platforms and mezzanines on elevated lines in the future.Both transit and Community Board 1 members have received complaints about the odor, which ebbs between faint and overwhelming.
“We take every precaution to ensure proper ventilation and circulation,” said Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges.
The tiles are cheaper, more durable and easier to clean than the flooring currently used in the system, Fleuranges said. The flooring costs $25 a square foot, less than the granite floors in some stations.
Installation of the floors should be completed at the Chambers Street station in the next few weeks, Fleuranges said.
While Queens rider Erick Pinedo, 44, thinks the new floors look better, he said: “It smells like markers, but you have to take the good with the bad.”
Flooring Facts:
- Developed by the European fishing industry to provide a durable, washable surface.
- Used in the Oslo subway system.
- Chewing gum resistant.
- Features iridescent gold flecks that can light up exit routes.
Source: NYC Transit
Tags: transit
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Wednesday March 18, 2009 1:15 PM By Sara Baumberger
Terms should have been agreed to before bailout
Resignation letters should have been the first order of business before a single dime was paid out. Starting with the CEO, board of directors and financial officers. Otherwise let them declare bankruptcy, get reorganized and let the government put people in place who won’t give bonuses. Didn’t anyone in the Obama administration think this through before turning Pennsylvania Avenue into the yellow brick road?
— Michael Perez, Manhattan
Gov. Paterson is not listening to the Senate
Re “Guv to Senate: Work together for MTA,” March 18: I thought the purpose of an elected legislature was to engage in debate and come up with reasonable solutions to problems. Tolls on the free East River bridges are opposed by many. Under the circumstances, our un-elected governor needs to realize that the Senate has come up with a reasonable compromise to an almost annual problem — the MTA claiming it needs more money.
— John Ost, Manhattan
Obama’s Leno visit a plea for favorable opinion?
What’s a president to do? With his popularity sagging and the nation’s
confidence in him on the decline, Obama is about to do the only natural thing for a president to do — go on Leno! Last month he went on a city-to-city tour to try to sell his economic plan — now he’s planning a media blitz. If I were the networks, I would think twice about losing all that revenue — they’re better off airing reruns of “Law & Order.”
— Michael Chimenti, Oakland Gardens
Tags: letters to the editor
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Conflicting Reports Still Surround Natasha Richardson - Is She Off Life Support?
Wednesday March 18, 2009 11:23 AM By Mae Cheng
Current reports, including Liz Smith, indicate that Natasha Richardson is either about to be or has been taken off life support at Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side following the severe brain injury she suffered two days ago. In any case, it appears to be certain that Richardson was left brain dead following the accident.
- Matt Windman
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This ancient Citibank sign sleeps no more
Wednesday March 18, 2009 3:13 PM By Rolando Pujol
Long before it was "Citibank," the now-hobbled financial concern was known as the First National City Bank, as this recently revealed sign demonstrates in Downtown Brooklyn. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)
A bit of history emerges from under a scaffolding on Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
The First National City Bank was originally the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. In 1976 FNCB became Citibank and in 1998 it merged with Travelers Group to become Citicorp and finally Citigroup.
This year the government ended up taking an almost 40% stake in Citigroup.
--Jefferson Siegel
Tags: citibank, first national city bank, endangered nyc, history, signs, urban archaeology, downtown brooklyn, manhattan, architecture, advertising
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New kids on the block: Recent restaurant openings
Wednesday March 18, 2009 2:53 PM By Lucy Blatter
Inakaya
By Pervaiz Shallwani
Special to amNewYork
The economy can’t keep a tastemaker down. A host of restaurateurs are hoping New Yorkers will be willing to part with a few dollars and give their new eateries a try.
Anchored by the opening of Keith McNally’s much-awaited sophomore Italian
spot, here are six eateries that have opened in the past month.
Minetta Tavern
113 Macdougal St. at Minetta Lane,
212-475-3850
When tastemaker McNally’s name is associated with a project, the city’s
ravenous food blog world follows with a blow-by-blow of every artistic flourish and construction delay. A few weeks past its scheduled opening, the doors were finally unlocked last week to reveal the restaurant impresario’s classic touch. A mainstay in the West Village for 72 years, this once forgettable Italian restaurant where the gritty restaurant scenes of Sleepers took place, this rendition features plush maroon banquets, white tablecloths, tin ceilings and a series of black and white photos of boxers and beatniks who frequented it back in the day. The new menu shows more ambition with French undertones giving way to classic Italian fare such as the Arrosto di Agnello: slow roasted lamb shank in a rosemary & natural jus ($19).
Farinella Pizza
90 Worth St. at Broadway,
212-608-3222
Schooled in the art of four-foot Roman pies at the famous Il Forno pizzeria, Italian hip-hop artist Alberto Cretera is recreating the masterpieces at this 15-seat TriBeCa pizza joint. A triple-decker electric oven anchors the open kitchen — Cretera had it shipped in pieces from Parma and put it together himself. He’s put the same care into the ingredients for his pies, paninis and calzones, using organic high-gluten flour, tomatoes from San Marzano and mozzarella that arrives fresh from Italy twice a week. Pies range from classic margarita to the more ambitious potato, onion, mozzarella and black pepper. Slices range from $2.50-$3.50, whole pies begin at $22, but the Roman beat-box croon is… well, priceless.Butcher Bay
511 E. 5th St., between Avenues A and B,
212-260-1333.
The hard-luck owners of now closed gastropubs E.U. and Seymour Burton have joined forces to convert the former Burton space into an urban seafood shack on a quickly gentrifying block of Alphabet City. The menu mixes down home cookin’ with seafood — fried chicken shares space with a bacon-oyster po’ boy and the once-dry space now has liquor and a raw bar to boot.
Choice Atlantic
999 Atlantic Ave., Clinton Hill, Brooklyn,
718-636-8996
Not long ago, Thierry Cabigeos was making a modest living selling charcuterie, pastries and flowers out of Choice Market, a small spot on Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn. In December, Cabiegos expanded to Choice Greene, a well-stocked market on Greene Avenue. And just a few weeks ago Choice Atlantic became a colorful addition on the otherwise industrial Atlantic Avenue. For now, Choice Atlantic is his largest space, serving as a coffee shop, bakery, patisserie that will double as a catering space and central kitchen for continued expansion. A claret façade and cursive yellow typeface projecting a homey feel. Haven’t had enough? A fourth Choice will sprout soon in Dumbo.
Inakaya
231 W. 40th St. between Seventh and Eighth aves.,
212-354-2195
Japanese chains continue to take a hold of New York. Following in the footsteps of recent newcomers Go-Go Curry, Ramen Setagaya and Ippudo, the owners of this robata-style spot opened their first stateside location in the New York Times building. In the classic grilling style, chefs cook over coals — right in front of the customer — and use a three-foot stick (hara) to serve customers. Along with fresh vegetables and wagyu beef, the menu boasts seafood shipped daily from the legendary Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. There is no music for a reason: Entertainment is meant to be limited to the calls of servers and cooks.
Fatty Crab
2170 Broadway, between 76th and 77th sts.,
212-496-2722
After more ambitious ventures that have now failed (Borough Food and
Drink, Chop Suey), pork-authority Zak Pelaccio is back on the Malaysian
street food wagon that made him a culinary hit. The second location
of Fatty Crab is what one might expect when a successful restaurant moves
uptown. With 74 seats made up of salvaged chairs, the new space means a
littler easier time getting a table than at its Meatpacking counterpart. As
for the food, classics, such as spicy chilli crab and the heavenly watermelon pickle and pork salad, share the menu with Fatty sliders (mini pork-and-beef burgers), and a chicken and scallop satay, a safe bet for the more finicky neighborhood.
Opening soon:
Chelsea takeout hotspot, tbsp, will open TBSP brunch (17 W. 20th St., 646-230-7000) on March 28th. Dishes such as the “best ever” granola with fresh house made yogurt and locally caught brook trout with grits, show Spoon founder Melissa Chmelar’s dedication to local and organic ingredients. The table service brunch will be served on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
On March 27, the W Hoboken hotel’s new Tuscan steakhouse, ZYLO (255 River St., 201-253-2500), will open for dinner. Designed by the architects of Gramercy Tavern, the restaurant boasts indoor and outdoor dining rooms and great views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. Organic and grass-fed beef, handmade pastas, fresh seafood, and made-to-order pizzas will be prepared by executive chef Troy Unruh —formerly of Del Posto, and an extensive Italian wine list and it’s a done deal.
Breakfast and lunch launch on March 28th. (Emily Mathis)
Tags: restaurants
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Small bites: Dining goings-on
Wednesday March 18, 2009 9:29 AM By Lucy Blatter
Sushi Samba's sashimi platter
Brooklyn Restaurant Week starts Monday: Brooklyn’s Restaurant Week begins Monday, March 23 and will last through April 2. More than 175 Brooklyn restaurants will offer three-course menus for $23. Some such as Fort Green’s General Green are doing even better — $23 for two patrons. To view a complete list of participants and menus go to VisitBrooklyn.org or 718-802-3846
Inaugural First Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market: On March 29, from 7-11 p.m. 40 chefs from across the country will serve food and wine to 240 guests at one long supper table. Tickets are $220 and $176 for James Beard members. Proceeds go to James Beard Foundation and the Robert Fulton House’s Culinary Scholarships. For more, go to JamesBeard.org/chelseamarket. To make reservations call 212-627-2308.SushiSamba tasting menu: Until March 20, SushiSamba* on Park Avenue (245 Park Avenue S., 212-475-9377) will be serving a five-course tasting menu inspired by their recent dinner at the famous James Beard House. The meal begins with ceviche-like tiradito served with hot aji pepper, followed by olive-oil poached prawn, and then a beef fusion of Kobe and Wagyu, a variety of sushi before ending and, finally, an arugula sweetened pear, fresh cream spheres, and yuzu custard. Seating is at 11:45 a.m. and costs $80/person ($110 with sake and wine pairings).
*If you really love a SushiSamba dish, explain why in 150 words or less and become eligible for a $500 SUSHISAMBA gift card and two tickets to the restaurant’s 10 year anniversary party this November. Submit entries to sushisamba10year@gmail.com before midnight on March 31st.
Veritas launches a la carte bar menu: In response to guests’ increasing desire for a casual meal and a couple of glasses of wine, executive chef Gregory Pugin of Veritas (43 E. 20th St, 212-353-3700) has created a more accessible alternative to his refined $88 prix-fixe dining room menu. The menu features items such as escargot sautéed in butter and garlic and topped with mushrooms and brioche, seared cod with La Ratte potatoes and squid ink and Kobe beef cheeks braised in red wine and served with celery root puree and sauce daube. All items on the menu range from $9-$30. Still want the prix-fixe? A new morel mushroom-focused menu will be unveiled March 23rd.
Wine lessons from the best: This Saturday, study Chardonnay with Le Bernardin’s sommelier, Aldo Sohn, recently dubbed “Best Sommelier in the World” by the World Sommelier Association. The class, which will run from 3- 4:30 p.m., costs $125. Seminars will also be held on April 4th and April 25th. Le Bernardin, 155 W. 51st St., 212-554-1108
All-you-can-eat Sundays at Georgia Eastside BBQ: Beginning at 3 p.m. on Sundays, the Lower East Side’s Georgia’s Eastside BBQ (192 Orchard St., 212-253-6280) is offering all-you-can-eat crab for $25, ribs for $28, and crab and ribs for $35.
A seminar on Asian cuisine: The Asia Society and New Asian Cuisine will co-present "An Evening with Star Chef Martin Yan, Ambassador of Chinese Food and Culture" on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 6 p.m. at the Asia Society and Museum in New York. Chef Martin Yan will be joined in conversation with New York Times reporter and author of "The Fortune Cookies Chronicles," Jennifer 8 Lee.
Tags: restaurants
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Viral video: Flight attendant busts a rhyme
Wednesday March 18, 2009 9:19 AM By Sean Joseph
A Southwest flight attendant makes the trip to Oklahoma City interesting with lyrical boarding instructions:
“Fasten your seatbelt.
Then put your trays up.
Press the button to make your seat back raise up.”
Tags: viral video, television, travel, music, southwest airlines
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Create your own donut and make $12,000
Wednesday March 18, 2009 8:58 AM By Lucy Blatter
Dunkin' Donuts has launched its first-ever "Create Dunkin's Next Donut" online contest, offering Americans the chance to win a $12,000 grand prize and have their tasty treat sold in participating Dunkin' Donuts locations throughout the country.
Beginning today and running through April 7, visitors to DunkinDonuts.com/donut can build their virtual personal donut from among dozens of flavors, toppings, fillings and shapes.
A dozen finalists, selected by a panel of Dunkin' Donuts judges, will travel to Dunkin' Donuts University, the worldwide in Braintree, Massachusetts, in May for a bake-off. The public will also be invited to vote for their favorite finalist online beginning May 15.
Tags: dunkin donuts, food
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Wall Street firm part of the solution, not the problem
Tuesday March 17, 2009 5:30 PM By Garett Sloane
Barry Silbert, CEO of Second Market, meets with Kevin O'Connor, left,
and Brendan O'Connor at their office in lower Manhattan. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)
Wall Street is being vilified for leading the world to financial ruin, but from those same doomed streets one company hopes to play the savior.
On March 31, the Wall Street company SecondMarket is set to open the trading floodgates on “toxic assets” that are dragging down banks and their ability to lend.
“We really are part of the solution,” said Barry Silbert, CEO of SecondMarket. “The stuff that is clogging up our system right now, it’s pretty common for a commentator or an expert to say, ‘If only a market existed.’ And from that perspective we are becoming [that market], and so we are going to help provide clarity on pricing. We are going to help unclog the system.”The “stuff” in the system is the toxic assets — or mortgage-backed securities — that have proved hard to price and sell, partly because there is no transparent market to trade them. Uncle Sam owns plenty of the assets thanks to the financial bailout.
The company has met with officials in Washington about trading the assets, and buyers and sellers already are lining up, according to Jeremy Smith, the chief strategy officer.
Creating a marketplace for complex-financial instruments is nothing new at SecondMarket. It’s done the same for seven types of “illiquid assets.”
Illiquid assets are anything not easily convertible into cash. So they can be stock in a private company, which SecondMarket already has a market for, or they could be an antique collection.
If a seller had an antique collection, he might go to a site such as eBay to find a buyer. SecondMarket facilitates the trading of more exotic financial instruments. Like eBay, SecondMarket is an impartial third-party.
Until now, there has not been a similar venue for mortgage-backed securities to find their fair market value. The owners of the assets, the government or major financial institutions, don’t know how to price them accurately.
Starting at the end of the month, SecondMarket will also unite buyers and sellers for CDOs, collateralized debt obligations, another pernicious financial instrument.
Getting the “toxic assets” flowing off the banks’ books and into investors’ hands is a major component of the Obama administration’s plans, which are still being worked out.
SecondMarket expects a boost in trading on the site once the mortgage-backed securities — including commercial mortgage-backed securities — and CDO markets are fully open. Smith sees the potential for tenfold growth in its markets, which have already doubled in volume to $1 billion since August. The company went from $1 million in revenue when it opened in 2005 to $20 million last year, Silbert said. He said the boom is only beginning.
“The top story of the day is illiquidity, toxic assets and things like that, and as the largest marketplace for illiquid assets it would be embarrassing if we were not seeing the growth that we’re seeing,” Silbert said.
Tags: secondmarket, wall street, bailout, toxic assets, mortgage-backed securities, unclogging credit markets, illiquid assets, marketplace for toxic assets, cdos, barry silbert, wall street solution, economy, banks
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Leaders divided on MTA bailout
Tuesday March 17, 2009 4:00 PM By Heather Haddon
Stymied by a handful of state Senate Democrats, Gov. David Paterson is appealing to Republicans to reconsider their opposition to a plan to bail out the MTA.
Democrats opposed to the idea of tolls for East River bridges have so far squashed the funding plan and the Senate’s 30 Republicans are uniformly against a proposed .33 percent payroll tax. Support of the plan would result in an 8 percent fare hike instead of a proposed 23 percent increase, transit officials have said.
“We need the Legislature in Albany, particularly the Senate, and I’m willing to work with both (Majority and Minority) Leaders of the Senate to find a plan we can pass,” Paterson said.
Meanwhile, observers expect Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith — all Democrats — to quickly try to cobble together a compromise between widely divergent proposals. The MTA board votes next week on the fare hike, slated to take affect in June.
“It will be negotiated over the next couple of days,” said Richard Ravitch, the former MTA chairman who helped devise the proposal to fill the agency’s $1.2 billion deficit and pay for systemwide improvements.Yesterday, Senate Democrats broke with the Ravitch plan. They in turn proposed support for a .25 percent payroll tax, a 4 percent fare increase and no bridge tolls.
During a news conference, city leaders and advocates joined Paterson in calling Smith’s proposal short-sighted, saying it does nothing to fund the MTA’s capital plan or a regional bus authority.
MTA officials also said that fuzzy math would require them to raise fares by 17 percent this year, instead of the 4 percent the Senate calculated.
Senate Democrats agreed their proposal is a work in progress, but said they want to be more involved with writing the five-year capital plan before funding it. They also want the MTA to undergo an independent audit.
“We cannot keep putting money into an MTA that is a black hole,” Smith said.
Tags: transit
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A-Rod talks Phelps, Obama, and kisses himself in the mirror
Tuesday March 17, 2009 3:28 PM By Jason Fink
Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez made it back into the headlines today with the release of a widely-mocked photo in which he is seen kissing his own image in a mirror.
The photo and others showing A-Rod wearing a sleeveless T-shirt appear in the April 2009 Details magazine.Among the A-Rod revelations in an accompanying article were:
- Rodriguez, seeming relaxed and knocking back tequila shots, did the interview hours after a Sport Illustrated writer approached him about his positive drug test from 2003.
- A-Rod frantically called the reporter that night to beg that his favorite Madonna song not be published.
- He feels bad for Michael Phelps, who was photographed smoking a bong and lost at least one endorsement as a result.
- He swiped a souvenir seat from the old Yankee Stadium before it was torn down but what he really wanted was an old scale that had been used by greats such as Babe Ruth: “I would have paid a funny number for that,” he admitted.
- He voted for Barack Obama.
- He set fire to his Manhattan apartment as a child, ruining thousands of dollars worth of the shoes his father sold.
- Asked about Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig handled the steroids issue, he responded: “I think Bud Selig has done a phenomenal job, that issue being one of them.”
Tags: alex rodriguez, sports
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The Good News: Shamrock Shake found ...
Tuesday March 17, 2009 1:20 PM By Rolando Pujol
The elusive Shamrock Shake was finally in our grasp. Alas, we found it in Buffalo. Below, the McDonald's sign announces the arrival of Shamrock Shakes. At bottom, the menu board promotes the shake. (Photos by Rolando Pujol)
... but the bad news is that it's in Buffalo. On a road trip to Canada last week, we stumbled upon this deliciously minty Shamrock Shake at a McDonald's near the airport.
We've been on a rather frustrating hunt for the annual treat for years -- they simply won't offer it in NYC anymore-- but we knew we'd hit pay dirt when we saw the sign boasting "Shamrock Shakes Are Here!"
The trip inside did not disappoint.
The cashier who served us our shake told us her McDonald's orders 20 cases (40 gallons) worth of the minty mix, and that they run through it fast — sometimes not making it to St. Patrick's Day. What's more, it's the most popular "specialty shake" this particular McDonald's outlet offers.
It tasted just as we remembered -- the only thing missing was an image of Uncle O'Grimacey on the container.
When we told her they don't offer it in the New York City area anymore, she was baffled. And so are we. Bring back the Shamrock Shake!
Read amNY's story from earlier this month. And these folks feel the same way.
-- Rolando Pujol
Tags: shamrock shake, mcdonald's, holiday traditions, food, junk food, stuff that's cool, advertising
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Tuesday March 17, 2009 12:58 PM By Sara Baumberger
Obama’s outrage toward the AIG bonuses was fake
President Obama’s outrage at AIG’s bonuses is both comic and fake. Hasn’t he actively retained or recruited from the same tainted group of investment bankers/Federal Reserve officials? What do you expect when the same polarized cartel running the Federal Reserve and Treasury that deregulated the financial industry, keeps crying “too big to fail,” made Congress too give $170B overnight to AIG and now standing at the door of AIG begging them to take $30B more? Watch out! Unless this Federal Reserve/Treasury cartel is fired, more and more scandals will be coming!
— Chandrakant Pancholi, Jackson Heights
MTA needs to reform before spending more of riders’ money
The mentality toward the AIG contracts should also be applied to the MTA. They are on the brink of going broke. They seek taxpayers to save them. They will skip the federal bailout middleman and try to take the money directly from our pockets via new taxes, tolls and fees. Like AIG, the MTA has managerial incompetence. Someone decided that — even though they can’t afford to keep up services that are already in place and have canceled routes — they can still do billion-dollar infrastructure expansion projects. All new MTA infrastructure projects must be put on hold until they can afford them! Until then, get your hands out of my pockets!
—Â Jonathan Volkel, Patchogue
Tags: letters to the editor
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Critics slam Nets arena deal with bank that got AIG funds
Tuesday March 17, 2009 12:21 PM By Jason Fink
Add one more voice to the anti-AIG outrage.
The community group formed to oppose the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn is crying foul over the news that Barclay's Bank, which in 2007 inked a $400 million naming rights deal for the proposed Nets arena, received money from AIG.
The insurance giant, which got $170 billion from taxpayers, released a list Sunday of financial institutions that benefitted from some of those loans, including Barclay's, which got $8.5 billion."Thus the American taxpayer is, in essence, picking up the tab for a British bank’s $400 million vanity project," said a statement from the group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.
The connection is, at best, indirect, considering the arena hasn't even broken ground and the ultimate fate of the project is still up in the air.
The group sought to link the issue to Citigroup's naming rights deal at the Mets' new stadium, Citi Field, a contract that has been criticized in light of the bailout funds the bank received.
Tags: atlantic yards, nets, a.i.g., barclay's, development, economy
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The delicious simplicity of Basque food
Tuesday March 17, 2009 11:12 AM By Lucy Blatter
Txikito serves traditional Basque pintxos.
Special to amNewYork
While Basque cuisine is technically a Spanish regional cuisine, dismissing it as simply Spanish would be unfair.
The three provinces that form the Basque country have their own distinct language, government and culinary style, which Alex Reij, chef at Chelsea’s Txikito (pronounced “chee-kee-toe”) describes as “more connected to France than Spain.”
Food is such an important part of the Basque community that men, who normally wouldn’t be caught dead cooking at home, form secret gastronomic societies where they socialize by cooking together.Unconvinced? Just look at the Michelin Guide and find the greatest concentration of stars in San Sebastian, Spain - the Mecca of foodies and gastronomes.
The quality of Basque cuisine lies in the ingredients derived from three distinct micro-climates. Rain provides for the fertile soil that yields beans, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions. Close to the coastlines, seafaring Basque fishermen catch cod, hake, octopus, spider crabs and sea urchins. Inland, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, Basque Shepherds raise beef and lamb.
“They have such incredible products: great produce, seafood, cheese, lamb and beef that really resonate with people that are into cuisine and care about food,” says Seamus Mullen, executive chef at Boqueria.
Many ingredients used in Basque cooking are locally grown others can be ordered online or purchased from Despana in SoHo. Like most ingredient-driven food traditions, Basque cooking techniques are very simple and the dishes can be replicated by any home cook with basic kitchen skills and the proper ingredients. In his cookbook Pintxos (Ten Speed Press, 2009), San Francisco chef Gerald Hirigoyen writes about how easily he cooked for a party of unexpected friends with things found in his pantry.
There is also the convivial spirit of eating. The Basque tradition of catching up with friends at a bar, before lunch or supper, for a glass Txakoli, a light effervescent local wine, and a few pintxos (pronounced pinchos), bite-sized snacks, is perhaps the most beloved part of this cuisine. Natalie Sanz, owner of Las Ramblas in the West Village, speaks fondly of the tapas bars in San Sebastian: “The bars are crowded with patrons seeking the house specialty. Go alone and you will feel like you are close friends with everybody within arm's reach.”
While New York does not have a pintxo culture, some of this is rubbing off at Basque eateries like Txikito, where diners from different parties often talk and share food with each other.
Five Cool Facts about Basque cuisine
1) The Basque were into offal before it became fashionable to be into offal: The Basque diet includes a steady staple of innards with delicacies like sweetbreads, kidney, liver and tripe.
2)Using canned and preserved food is sometimes okay: While most Basque dishes are created with the freshest ingredients, many Basque dishes actually taste better made with canned goods. This is especially true for white asparagus, piquillo peppers, Vantresca tuna and anchovies. Of course, a Basque pantry is never complete without salted cod.
3)Pintxos are great alternatives to canapés at parties: These bite-sized snacks are often bits of sausages and cheese or shrimps skewered together with toothpicks or open faced sandwiches with eggs and anchovies that make them great finger food for parties.
4)It’s the perfect food for the culinary commitment-phobe: The pintxo culture makes trying lots of different food very easy; and one can wander from bar to bar without committing to any one place.
5)Basque cuisine is also pretty good for weight conscious: The largest Basque meal is lunch, which is served around 2 pm. Supper or dinner is usually something small like a few pintxos or some yogurt.
Q and A with Alex Reij:
As one of the chefs and owners of Txikito, a Basque restaurant in NYC, Alex Reij is known for her authentic yet modern interpretation of Basque food.
Q: With the sophistication of New Yorkers’ palates, why do you think there are not more Basque restaurants?
AR: I think up until recently New York wasn’t ready to sustain them. New Yorkers who have traveled know that Basque food is synonymous with quality. But Spanish regional cooking hasn’t resonated with New Yorkers. Outside of the Basque country, the food and the community were not clearly distinguished from the rest of Spain.
Q: Being that Txikito is one of two Basque restaurants in New York; do you have problems explaining the cuisine to New Yorkers?
AR: Not at all. What’s beautiful about Basque cuisine is it values a bean as much as it values a crab so I found that is a way to really engage the American diner. We don’t want to tell people how to eat. The menu is composed of ingredients that people know. If you like the ingredient, you’ll like the dish because in Basque cooking everything taste like what it is and there are no hidden flavors.
Q: With all the exotic ingredients Basque food demands, do you have problems sourcing your ingredients?
AR: Sometimes the stuff is outside of our price range. Other items, like the spider crab, aren’t available here. You could import many things but the prices are so prohibitive that it makes more sense to use local ingredients and cook it in the Basque spirit.
Q: Most of the dishes on your menu are very traditional. Are you inspired by the modern Basque cooking?
AR: I am really inspired by contemporary cooking – by Basque as well as other innovative chefs in Spain. But I am more interested in how they maintain the Basque identity - the things that are thoroughly Basque and thoroughly original. I like the continuity between the gastronomic legacy that it comes from and the food.
Five NYC Places to Enjoy Basque Food:
Txikito
One of the two Basque restaurants in New York City
240 Ninth Ave. NYC
(212) 242-4730
Euskadi
The other Basque place, on the East side of Manhattan
108 East 4th Street, NYC
(212) 982-9788
Boqueria
Try the kokotxas.
53 West 19th Street, NYC
(212) 255-4160
Las Ramblas
Basque dishes include: piquillo con morcilla, bocadillo crujientes, pintxos de setas rebozadas among others.
170 West 4th Street, NYC
(646) 415-7924
Pamplona
Try the poached eggs with white asparagus or the braised short ribs.
37 East 28th Street, NYC
(212) 213-2328
Recipe: Garbanzos de Vigilia: Lenten Chickpea stew with Salt Cod and Spinach
1 pound dried chickpeas
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot peeled
1 Spanish onion split in half
1 unpeeled head of garlic plus 3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced thin
Salt to taste
6 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 pounds rehydrated good quality salt cod, (torn in small pieces), or substitute 2 pounds fresh cod well-salted for 10 minutes and rinsed.
• In a large pot cover the dried chickpeas with 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand ½ an hour to rehydrate.
• Drain the rehydrated chickpeas and restore them to the same pot with the onion, head of garlic and carrot. Add 3 teaspoon of salt, and cover with fresh water by about 4 inches.
• Add 2 tablespoon olive oil and bring to a boil for five minutes. Turn the heat down and simmer until tender checking frequently after the first hour and adjusting seasoning if necessary. Approximately 2 hours. Remove the garlic and discard.
• In a small pan heat the remaining olive oil, toss in the garlic until just golden, pour into a blender. Add ½ a cup of chickpeas from the pot, a cup of cooking liquid and the carrot and onion to the blender and carefully blend to a smooth puree.
• Add the chickpea puree back to the chickpeas to thicken the stew.
• Stir in the cod and spinach until cooked. Top with a thread of good olive oil.
Tags: basque food
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Viral video: Deer-beer run
Tuesday March 17, 2009 9:28 AM By Sean Joseph
Three deer make a beer run at a Pennsylvania convenience store. Some good country lyrics have to come out of that.
Tags: viral video, television, deer, beer, animals
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Thompson has $5 million in campaign cash, trails Bloomberg in spending
Monday March 16, 2009 5:18 PM By Jason Fink
City Comptroller William Thompson has raised just over $5 million for his mayoral run, according to the latest campaign filing, and still trails Rep. Anthony Weiner, who indicated last week he may drop out of the race.
Thompson, however, has spent twice as much as Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens) - shelling out $1.4 million to Weiner's $700,000 - but is still being outspent by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Monday marked the latest filing deadline for all races in the city this year. Bloomberg, who released details of his spending Friday, reported $2.9 million in expenditures since January. The billionaire mayor did not raise any money from donors and has provided his own campaign with an even $3 million so far, according to records.Monday's filing showed Thompson received 186 donations between Jan. 12 and March 11, ranging from $5 to the maximum $4,950. Three employees of the city of
Mount Vernon gave Thompson money during this period, as did a worker from the comptroller's office.
He also got four donations from attorneys at the Texas firm Stutzman Bromberg Esserman & Plifka.
On the spending side, Thompson's campaign paid $36,350 to Blue State Digital, a consulting firm specializing in technology that was founded by veterans of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential race.
Tags: william thompson, mayor michael bloomberg, anthony weiner, mayor's race, city hall dispatch
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Home business tips from New Yorkers who know
Monday March 16, 2009 4:29 PM By Garett Sloane
Ira Fox is the owner and principal photographer of Gramercy Park Photo,
which he runs from his home. (Jefferson Siegel)
By Lana Bortolot
Special to amNewYork
The home business: It’s an alluring idea, but it takes more than a laptop and a phone to succeed.
Karen-Michelle Mirko, director for the Lower Manhattan NYC Business Solutions Center, said home businesses are “very attractive for people to launch,” but require thorough self-examination.
“The two questions I ask entrepreneurs: One, do you have the guts to do this? ... And two, do you have a market for your goods and services?” Mirko said.
Here are some tips from home-business owners in the city:Get organized
Setting up a physical environment that supports your work is key, according to Abby Strauss, a personal-development facilitator.
She advised creating a physical separation between your business and your living space — whether it’s a door or a screen.
Also, make sure you have the tools to organize.
“Think about the systems you need to put in place so you run your business and it doesn’t run you,” she said. “Make sure you have a working system for retrieving and organizing information.”
Get attitude
Alan Cohen started Acts of Balance, a career and leadership consultancy. He said one of his early issues while starting a business was his lack of confidence, which he addressed by consulting an executive coach.
“You have to have a lot of attitude when you’re an entrepreneur; attitude often precedes ability,” he said.
To keep focused, he relies on a support network of like-minded people.
“Surrounding yourself with people who see the possibility, and knowing a lot of people in the same situation is really useful.”
Get out there
When Ira Fox moved his photography company to his Gramercy Park home, he saw it as an opportunity to rebrand, add services and network locally.
He renamed the company Gramercy Park Photo and started shooting family portraits — perfect for the family-friendly neighborhood.
He also markets himself through local businesses.
“I can ... do more pro bono assignments with organizations I have a connection with and try to network off of that,” he said.
Tags: gramercy park photo, acts of balance, ira fox, alan cohen, lower manhattan nyc business solutions center, karen-michelle mirko, small business, home business, small business tips, entrepreneurs, economy
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Tyra wants aspiring models to try again
Monday March 16, 2009 3:32 PM By Heather Haddon
Beautiful, petite women of the world, Tyra Banks still has got your back.
The host of the cult hit America’s Next Top Model announced yesterday that she will hold another audition for the fashion aspirants trapped outside of casting Saturday, when a near riot erupted.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that ALL the girls who weren’t seen get an opportunity to audition,” Banks said in a statement. “I’m rooting for all of you!”
On Saturday, three people were arrested and six others suffered minor injuries after a chaotic scene enfolded outside the Park Central New York hotel. Hundreds of women had waited hours to try out for the hit show, leaving a trail of shoes and clothes as they fled the disturbance.Police are still determining what prompted the melee, but it has been reported that an overheated car triggered the confusion. Banks and the show’s producer have said they are cooperating with the investigation.
Begun in 2003, the show is the highest rated program on the CW.
Auditions for its 13th season were restricted to women 5-foot-7 and shorter.
“It is so important to me to redefine beauty, and make sure that everyone gets a fair chance to pursue their dream,” Banks said.
Details about another round of auditions will be announced “very soon,” she said.
Tags: fashion
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New Yorkers: AIG bonuses are bogus
Monday March 16, 2009 3:10 PM By Marlene Naanes
By Melinda Hsia and Marlene Naanes
AIG executives expecting millions in bonuses after the company was bailed out with billions in tax dollars should join Bernie Madoff in jail, enraged New Yorkers said yesterday.
“I think they're all crooks, and they know exactly what they are doing,” said Michael Galante, 50, of the Financial District. “These guys should be put in jail. It's ridiculous.”
New Yorkers were flabbergasted that executives could get richer on the tax-payer’s dime when they may have contributed to the collapse that required a $170 billion government bailout in the first place. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama yesterday promised to do everything he could to prevent the bonuses and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued subpoenas yesterday for names of the employees receiving bonuses to see if any were responsible for the company's downfall.
“If I single-handedly ran a business into the ground, I shouldn't get a bonus,” said Georgia Boyce, 28, of Greenpoint. “On principal, if you perform poorly you should get fired.”
AIG, an International insurance and financial services organization, announced over the weekend that it was contractually bound to give out $165 million to executives by Sunday as part of a larger package of $450 million. The execs in line to receive bonuses are part of the AIG unit that sent the company into financial ruin, which added to many, including the president's outrage. The treasury secretary has reportedly pressured AIG to cut the amount this time and to restrain future bonuses.“There should be no more bonuses until the money is paid back to the government,” said Horace Rhoden, 46, an attorney from Fort Greene. “They are a business. They don't care how they get the money … It's greedy.”
The company has said it faced lawsuits if it reneged on contracts to make bonus payments. New Yorkers said anything AIG says should not be trusted, especially after executives received huge bonuses and company trips to a spa resort in October, the month after its first installment of bailout money.
Some blamed the government for the debacle.
“That's not AIG's fault it's the government's,” said a man on Wall Street who didn't want to give his name because he works in the finance industry. “They have to give that \[money\] with rules about how the money is being spent.”
However, some experts don't think the government has any recourse to recoup AIG bonus money and such an action would be a waste of the government's investment.
“If the government were to go in now and try to renege on these contracts, people would just leave the company and the company would collapse,” said Jesse M. Fried, a University of California, Berkeley law professor and co-director of the Berkeley Center Law, Business and the Economy.
Garett Sloane and the AP contributed to this report.
Tags: aig, bailout, government, obama, cuomo, bonus, executives, economy
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New sandwich shop coming to Union Square area
Monday March 16, 2009 2:42 PM By Lucy Blatter
Asian-style Num Pang Sandwich Shop (21 E. 12th Street, btwn. University and Fifth Avenue, 212-255-3271) will open on Friday. It’s an off-shoot of Rivington Street’s Kampuchea Restaurant, which also features creative sandwiches.
Tags: food
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New chocolate cafe to open tonight!
Monday March 16, 2009 1:25 PM By Lucy Blatter
Just in time for St. Patty's Day, Irish chocolatier Lily O’Brien is making its U.S. debut with the opening of the Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Café at 36 West 40th Street tonight!
The Irish prime minister even stopped by today!
The Café features the full range of Lily O’Brien’s: 60 types of boxed chocolate, individual chocolate sweets and their signature hot chocolate drinks based on a special combination of signature molten dark, organic and/or milk chocolate dribbled from a blending kettle and topped with hazelnut, orange peel and/or marshmallow.
Lily’s offers special seasonal chocolate drinks year-round.
Tags: chocolate cafe, lily o'brien, food
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Nathan's and Citi Field announce partnership renewal
Monday March 16, 2009 1:21 PM By Lucy Blatter
The Mets today announced a new multiyear partnership with Nathan’s Famous to continue their longstanding relationship into Citi Field, the Mets’ home beginning April 13.
Nathan’s Famous will bring its signature hot dogs and crinkle-cut French fries along with a full menu of classic New York fare to concessions stands, club spaces, and suites at Citi Field, according to a release.
Tags: citi field, mets, nathan's, food
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Despite leaks, new station debuts
Monday March 16, 2009 12:56 PM By Heather Haddon
Riders got their first taste of a 21st century subway station with the opening of the much-anticipated South Ferry stop today. But already, some of its age is starting to show.
Water was visible on the tracks of the $527 million station during its grand opening ceremony, where Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Charles Schumer and a cadre of officials took the first train leaving from the new terminus of the No. 1.
The station’s location deep under the water table makes it vulnerable to leaks. In January, an independent engineers report found that the contractor’s solution to the water will minimize but not permanently stop its infiltration.
A NYC Transit spokesman agreed that water will be “an ongoing challenge” at the station, and the authority is developing a regular maintenance program to handle it.
“The leaks are being addressed, and will continue to be addressed,” Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said.
South Ferry is the system’s first new station in 20 years. The stop, which serves as the entryway to the Staten Island Ferry, handles roughly six million riders a year.The new station, located a short distance from the old one, can accommodate a full 10-car train instead of the old bow-shaped platform built in 1905. For years, passengers had to scurry to the five front cars to leave the train through one exit.
“It was really a struggle,” said Mary Moser, 62, of Staten Island. “The station was just a nightmare.”
The new terminal is expected to increase capacity on the No. 1 line by 10 percent. It also provides a free transfer to the R and W lines at Whitehall Street. The light-filled terminal features walls of original art and pieces of a pre-colonial wall found during excavation.
The station was originally slated to open in 2007, but was delayed because of leaks, a platform gap and the discovery of thousands of historic artifacts.
The old South Ferry stop was shuttered Monday and will be used to store trains for the foreseeable future.
Tags: transit
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Eastern Europe up close: Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Krakow
Monday March 16, 2009 9:31 AM By Lucy Blatter
Budapest lies on the Danube. Credit: Getty
By Linda Perney
Vienna: A city of palaces, pastry and psychiatry
Vienna is still the city of Mozart and Beethoven, of palaces and of pastries. But it’s also the city of the Secession – the artists’ movement that, at the turn of the 20th century declared itself opposed to all things baroque – and it’s also the city of the Wiener werkstadt, with its splendid hand-crafted but eminently practical design. And, dare we forget, it’s also where psychiatry was born.The city’s roots sink deep into the past, symbolized by the Gothic spire of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which dates to 1144. Inside, the church is a riot of decorative sculpture, all meticulously restored after the ravages of WWII, when the cathedral was severely damaged. (Stephansplatz, 1st District; guided tours available).
To follow the vagaries of the Hapsburg dynasty, one need only wander through the 40 or so public rooms of the Schonbrunn Palace – which make up only a fraction of the total of 1400. Among them are the grand state salons, with their finery and frippery, and the simple, almost monastic rooms occupied by the emperor Franz Josef.
The Belvedere palace, built between 1714 and 1722, is a spectacular example of Baroque architecture complete with elaborate French-style gardens. Once the residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered WWI, its glories include a fine collection of paintings, including work by Klimt, Schiele, and Kokoschka.
At the Spanish Riding School, the famous Lippizaner Horses have been going through their paces for the past 300 years. Even without the magnificent horses the building is a marvel, with its crystal chandeliers and elaborate ceilings. (Hofburg, A1010).
Berggasse 19 is one of the city’s most famous addresses – the house where Sigmund Freud practiced between 1891 and 1938, when the Nazis forced him into exile in England. His onetime consulting rooms are now a museum, which includes some of the original furniture as well as signed copies of some of his work.
Café society
The cafes of Vienna are legendary: places where you can relax over a cup of coffee and pastry, read a newspaper, or sample some of the city’s traditional cooking.
Café Central, with its soaring vaulted ceilings, is among the city’s most famous: Among its onetime habitués were Leon Trotsky, who played chess here, and Sigmund Freud. (Corner Herrengasse/Straussgasse; three-course lunch special, about $25).
Caf̩ Landtmann, opened in 1873, has played host to luminaries like Gustav Mahler, Max Reinhardt, Marlene Dietrich Рand Hillary Clinton. (4 Dr. Karl Lueger Ring; dinner main courses, about $20-$36)
Where to stay
Style Hotel, a grand boutique place, is located in a landmark Jugendstil building, just across the street from the Café Central. Rooms are modern, and there’s a small gym, sauna, and steam room (12 Herrengasse; 011-43-1-227-800; stylehotel.at; doubles, from $225).
Prague: A most romantic city
Is there a more romantic city in Eastern Europe? Probably not. With its baroque facades and slender spires, this is one of the loveliest cities on the continent.
High atop a hill, Prague Castle offers breathtaking views of the Lesser Quarter and Old Town.
You can spend an afternoon wandering its picturesque streets. Hradcany Square is a jumble of baroque and renaissance buildings; probably the finest of them is the rococo Archbishops’ palace. The castle itself is a collection of buildings – some of which go back to the 10th century; among the must-sees: the soaring Gothic cathedral of St. Vitus, one of the most beautiful in Europe. Nearby is Golden Lane, a collection of cottages built in the 16th century for the castle guards. Generations later the guards were replaced by artists and writers, among them Franz Kafka, who lived at no. 22.
The city’s most famous landmark is probably the Charles Bridge, which arcs across the Vltava. Expect crowds during the day; the best way to see it is to walk across it at night, when the cathedral, the castle, and the church of St. Nicholas are all illuminated, silhouetting the statues on the bridge itself.
Take some time to wander through the Old Town – spared the bombings of WWII. Stop to see the astronomical clock (on the side of the town hall), the neighborhood’s splendid churches, and the Old Town Square, with its conglomeration of artists and musicians.
In the New Town, don’t miss the Mucha Museum, devoted to the work of the Czech artist, which includes theater posters, photographs and art nouveau design. Also in the New Town is Wencesclas Square, where, in 1989 hundreds of thousands of demonstrators brought about the Velvet Revolution, bringing down 40 years of Communist rule and bringing in the new government of Vaclav Havel.
Have a beer
Pilsner was invented in the Czech town of Pizen, and Budweiser has its roots in the Czech town of Ceske Budejovice. There are countless pubs in Prague where you can relax over a stein, but the oldest of them all is said to be U Fleku, which has been open since 1499 and offers its own dark brew. The restaurant also serves up traditional Czech dishes. (Kremencova11, Nove Mesto; www.ufleku.cz)
Where to stay
Close to Old Town Square, Hotel Maximilian has been renovated into a modern classic, with comfortable rooms. (Hastalska 14, Stare Mesto; www.maximilianhotel.com; doubles from about $155)
Budapest: Where old and new combine
Sprawling over both banks of the Danube, Budapest is a relatively new city – incorporated only in 1873 and drawing together the towns of Pest, Obuda and Buda.
Start at Varhegy, Castle Hill, an area of fine baroque and Renaissance buildings situated on cobblestone streets.
The Royal Palace itself was originally built in the 13th century, however, through wars and invasions, it was repeatedly destroyed – in the 18th century, then again in the 17th. Damaged again in 1849, it was restored in 1905. In 1945, it was wrecked again under Soviet guns; what you see now was pieced together from ancient plans and texts. In the southern wing is the city’s history museum.
Also in the castle complex is the Hungarian National Gallery, with its collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings. Nearby is the Matthias Church, recognizable by its ornate steeple.
City Park is also well worth exploring, with its zoo and botanical garden. Elsewhere in the park is Vidam Park, with Europe’s longest wooden roller coaster.
If you’re in the mood to splurge on a meal, the park offers two possibilities: Gundel, Hungary’s most famous restaurant, with its meticulously restored interior, offers classic Hungarian cuisine (Allatkerti ut 2; about $26 for Sunday brunch). Robinson Restaurant looks across an artificial lake to the Vajdahunyad Castle. In summer, take a seat on the terrace (about $40 for a three-course meal).
TAKE A BATH
Baths have been part of the city’s culture throughout its history. The most famous of them is the Gellert Thermal Baths in the Gellert Hotel, with separate steam and sauna rooms for men and women as well as shared pools (Gellert ter 1). Rudas baths have been in existence since the 16th century; women are welcome several days a week. (Dobrentei ter 9) Lukacs Baths are a relative newcomer, built in the 19th century. (Frankel Leo u, 25-29), and the Szechenyi Baths are the largest in Europe. (Varosliget, Allakerti krt.11)
Where to stay
Hotel Pest has simple, high-ceilinged rooms and big windows. The hotel was converted from an 18th-century apartment building overlooking a central courtyard. Paulay Ede utca 31; www.hotelpest.hu; doubles, from $180)
Poland’s former capital has an academic feel
A center of both learning and power, Krakow was once the capital of Poland, and is also home to the Jagiellonian University, founded in 1361. A visit here takes you through palaces and castles as well as one of Europe’s oldest market squares.
Rynek Glowny, the market square is a vibrant place, with cafes and souvenir sellers scattered among the historic buildings. Of the latter, the Sukiennice, or Cloth Hall, is the standout, incorporating both Renaissance style and Gothic arches. Inside, traders still sell local crafts among the arcades.
Ulica Kanonicza’s superb 14th- and15th-century buildings make it a fine street to wander. Check both numbers 19 and 21: Pope John Paul II lived in both of these houses. The Archdiocesan Museum, now housed in no. 21, shows off his former room as well as a collection of 13th-century paintings.
The Royal Castle dates from the 16th century. Rooms open to the public are hung with tapestries that migrated to Canada during WWII to keep from being seized by the Nazi invaders. They were returned in 1961.
The Collegium Maius is the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University; linger here awhile among the Gothic arcades, then head upstairs to the second floor to the museum, where you can see the first globe to include the Americas. (ul. Jagiellonska 15)
Before the Second World War, the Kazimierz quarter was one of the most important areas of the Jewish Diaspora. The Old Synagogue dates the 15th century and now houses the Museum of the History and Culture of Krakow Jews (ul. Szeroka 24). Also in the area, the baroque Synagoga Izaaka is a museum of the History of Polish Jews (ul. Kupa 18).
Where to stay
Right in the Old Town, Hotel Polski Pod Bialym Orlem has flourished since the 18th century. Family-run, its rooms are simple and airy. (ul. Pijarska 17; Podorlem.com.pl. Doubles, from about $125)
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Viral video: Parking lot psych out
Monday March 16, 2009 9:18 AM By Sean Joseph
Big space, little car, not even parallel parking — many New Yorkers would love to be in this situation. But this person can’t pull it off to save their life.
Tags: viral video, television, parking, transportation, travel
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Fare hike will force pain choices for riders
Monday March 16, 2009 8:57 AM By Heather Haddon
Fewer trips to the museum. No new Air Jordans. Only shopping at the 99 cents store.
With unprecedented subway fare hikes looming, New Yorkers are preparing to make their belts painfully tight to absorb a possible price jump of at least 23 percent.
“It will be beyond difficult,” said Janine Johnson, 31, a single mother from Brooklyn who expects to eliminate movies for her 9-year-old son.
Next week, MTA board members will vote on fare increases across the system that will begin in June. The agency must close a $1.2 billion budget gap that is likely to grow this year as the economy hammers its revenue.
If there’s no state bailout, a monthly MetroCard would jump from $81 to $103 and a single fare would go for $2.50 in one scenario. The board could also eliminate bonuses on straphangers who pay for rides valued at $7 and greater.
“It's greed,” said Judy Weissman, 32, of lower Manhattan. “We get charged more money and the trains are still late.”Transit officials are appealing to Albany to bail out the agency with a package of new funding that would bring the fare hike down to 8 percent.
The proposal for a payroll tax and tolls on the free bridges has met seemingly insurmountable opposition in the state Senate. Six Senate Democrats oppose the tolls, and all 30 Republicans have come out against the payroll tax.
“If we stay on the road we are currently on, we're going to lose,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign.
During a special MTA board meeting Friday, officials threatened to go forward with the fare hike and dozens of service cuts if lawmakers fail to act. The board will vote on the fares on March 25, though the decision could be reversed within “a week or so” if Albany passes a bill, said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz.
Even if the MTA gets the bailout, agency heads said Friday that it will need to increase fares by 5 percent every other year to keep up with inflation. It will also cut token-booth agents and station cleaning shifts.
(Andrew Breiner contributed to this report)
Things New Yorkers said they would do if the drastic fare hike is approved:
- Forgo monthly MetroCards for single rides
- Walk to work
- Eat out less
- Switch to a cell phone with less service
- Start doing one's hair at home
- Skip on educational activities for the kids
Tags: transit
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Travel Deals: Eastern Europe
Monday March 16, 2009 7:24 AM By Lucy Blatter
Croatia boasts beautiful beaches.
Prague for less: Lufthansa Airlines is offering $233 one-way flights from New York to Prague when you book by March 24th and travel through April 2nd. Multiple travel sites such as Cheapoair.com found tickets from New York to Prague on Lufthansa for just $227 round-trip, with layovers in Munich or Frankfurt.
Lufthansa.com and cheapoair.com
Europe’s best kept secret: Discover the secluded islands and ancient ruins of Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast – along the Adriatic Sea. Intrepid Travel’s seven-day tour begins at $1,050 and includes hotel accommodations in the seaside towns of Dubrovnik, Korcula, and Split. Travel through December 31st.
IntrepidTravel.com or 800-970-7299
$59 Holiday Inn Warsaw: Beginning May 15, the Holiday Inn Warsaw is offering rooms from $59 a night. Located in the heart of Poland’s capital, the hotel is across the street from the iconic Palace of Culture and Science, a mile from Castle Square, a few minutes from the airport and train station, and within walking distance of the offices of most international companies.
Travelocity.com or 888-Travelocity
Cycle the Danube: Bike the almost 3,000 km route from Vienna to Budapest — along the Danube River. The tour is self-guided but luggage is transferred for you from each hotel. Average daily ride is 55 km. Price including hotel accommodations is $999 for departure dates through April 25th and $1035 through October 3.
AdventureCenter.com or 800-228-8747
Tags: prague, croatia, warsaw, danube, travel deals
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Sample sales: Michael Kors, Rachel Roy, Lauren Merkin
Monday March 16, 2009 7:17 AM By Julie Gordon
A look from Michael Kors' spring 2009 show (Getty)
This week's sample sales:
March 17 to 20, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; March 21, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 231 W. 29th St., suite 201, btwn Seventh and Eighth aves., 212-239-2459
Even if you're short on cash, don't bag the idea of getting a new purse this spring. Styles from designer Lauren Merkin are discounted, including a faux patent leather crocodile clutch for $80 (was $250), a textured turquoise clutch for $90 (was $180) and a goatskin shoulder bag for $225 (was $525).
Until March 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 230 Fifth Ave., btwn 26th and 27th sts., 212-920-1211
Rachel Roy’s elegant fall and pre-spring collections are up to 75 percent off. Get a black pleated dress for $500, originally $1,995. An embellished
cocktail dress is $400, down from $1,595. Originally $1950, the black Manhattan satin sheath dress with feather detail is now $490.
March 19, 12 to 7 p.m.; March 20, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; March 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 13 Crosby St., 2nd Fl., btwn Howard and Grand sts., 646-747-5900
Silver and gold jewelry from whimsical line Me&Ro is up to 75 percent off. An 18-karat gold heart and yellow sapphire pendant that was $1,030 is now $400. A sterling silver “Om” pendant was $270 and is now $80. A 10-karat gold-and-diamond ring that was $505 is now $165.
March 20 and 21, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; March 22, noon to 6 p.m. 7 Centre Market Pl., btwn Broome and Grand sts., and 46 N. Sixth St., btwn Wythe and Kent.
Pieces from past seasons are deeply discounted. A denim flare miniskirt that was $120 is now $20. Women's tie-dye jeans that were $193 are now $45. A $280 herringbone sport jacket for men is just $70.
March 20 and 21, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St., btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-463-0071
Get 75 percent off various items from the Michael Kors women’s collection. Deals include cashmere sweaters, originally $595 to $1,295, now $150 to $350. Get a tunic dress from spring 2008 for $500, down from $1,995. Silk pleated skirts are slashed from $1,495 to $375.
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New York City billboards are signs of the times
Sunday March 15, 2009 7:54 PM By Garett Sloane
Three billboards stare blankly down on 48th Street and Seventh Avenue
in Times Square. (Andrew Hinderaker)
By Danielle Sonnenberg
and Garett Sloane
Suddenly the city doesn’t seem so loud.
Billboards, the ever-present pitchmen, aren’t as full as they used to be. Like all real estate in the city, the spaces for outdoor ads — on billboards, buses and the sides of buildings — are not selling as well as they used to. Most noticeable at 48th Street and Seventh Avenue where three boards stare down blankly at the crossroads of the world.
“It’s certainly striking; simply because Times Square is a place that shouts at you and this clearly is a moment of silence amid the cacophony,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, noting that at one time it was rare for a billboard to be vacant for more than a day there.
Those three boards have been blank for about a month, according to Ben Martish, a sales representative at Lamar, the largest outdoor advertising company in the country. “It’s one of the best available boards in Times Square right now. It’s going to be booking within a few weeks I would imagine,” he said.
The asking rate for the cluster of signs is $100,000 for four weeks, Martish said, but Lamar, like other companies, has been willing to negotiate. Rates in the industry are down 10 to 25 percent from last year, he said.Skip Jones, founder of Media Lease, an out-of-home media company, said the market is so soft advertisers can basically coddle any deal they want. “During time periods when consumers are not spending the media isn’t attractive to corporate America,” he said.
He pointed to a billboard on the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel that CBS Outdoor is expected to rent for about $8,000 a month; it used to go for between $20,000 and $40,000, he said.
“Outdoor advertising is not immune from the dramatically shrinking advertising environment. … Both occupancy and rates are under pressure,” said Laura Martin, senior media analyst at the New York-based Soleil Securities.
One in five outdoor advertisers are not renewing leases, an unusually high figure, she said.
“Everything is negotiable in this economy," said Scott Alessandro, an account executive from Van Wagner, another top outdoor-ad company.
Industry observers cited several Manhattan spots where billboard space is moving slowly: Houston Street, Midtown West and the Meatpacking District.
If the billboards aren’t blank, in some cases they seem stuck in time. In Midtown West one still touts the movie “Despereaux,” a Christmastime animated tale. Another sign promotes the CBS show “Worst Week,” which debuted last fall and already is off the air.
“I wouldn't be surprised if a number of billboards are stale or leftover so it wouldn’t look like there was a void while they are looking to find another customer,” said James Goss, a media and entertainment analyst with Barrington Research.
Many ads in the subways also seem stuck in the past. In Union Square, the station remains festooned in promos for the movie “Notorious,” which debuted in January. And ads for “Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular” were seen months past the season.
CBS Outdoor, which handles ad space for the MTA, did not return calls for comment. An MTA spokesman touted the growth in ad revenue over the years, from $37 million in 1997 to $125 million last year, but couldn’t say how subway ads are faring these days.
According to numbers recently released by CBS Outdoor, overall revenue was down 15.5 percent last quarter. Clear Channel Outdoor, which was down about the same, said it’s getting creative in working with advertisers to strike deals.
“We are doing packaging that takes the less competitive inventory in other cities and plugging them in to add value to the client,” said Mitch Schwartz, vice president of government and public affairs at Clear Channel Outdoor.
“Clear Channel and CBS are lowering rates to move inventory,” said Andrew Hampp a reporter for Advertising Age, a trade publication. “One buyer was even talking about lowering rates in Times Square, a seemingly immune area.”
With space available and rates coming down, Tompkins said he sees opportunity. “Here’s a chance to put up a message, and get your message out at the crossroads of the world,” he said.
Tags: new york city, times square, billboards, outdoor advertising, advertising at crossroads of the world, lamar, clear channel outdoor, cbs outdoor, mta, real estate, subway, signs, economy
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Carson Daly loves beer, hates bars on St. Pat's
Sunday March 15, 2009 2:02 PM By Julie Gordon
Guinness brewmaster Fergal Murray, right, demonstrates to television host Carson Daly the craft of pouring the perfect pint. (Diane Bondareff/Guinness)
Carson Daly can't stand public displays of drinking on St. Patrick’s Day.
“Especially at the bars in New York, people get a little sloppy,” the TV host, 35, told us at a rally for Guinness' Proposition 3-17, which would make St. Patty’s a national holiday.
His favorite way to spend the holiday is at home with his Irish family.
"We eat corned beef and cabbage. We just talk and all hang out together and drink Guinness, listen to music, sing, do what every Irish family does,” the "Last Call with Carson Daly" host said.
That said, the L.A. resident did frequent Irish pubs when he lived in NYC for several years when he hosted MTV's "Total Request Live." His favorites? The Parlour on the Upper West Side (where he used to work as a bartender), Molly’s in Gramercy and The Perfect Pint in midtown.
Tags: bars
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Sunday March 15, 2009 1:57 PM By Sara Baumberger
Americans should have tax strike to protest AIG raises
If they let AIG give their execs bonuses, why don’t Americans go on a tax strike and no one files? Why not? Because Americans are “sheeple” and are scared to do anything on their own. And, FYI, the excuse the losers at AIG gave for the bonuses is that they need to keep good people. Well heck, they haven’t got any good people now or they wouldn’t be in this mess. And I would love to see the executive failures say, “If I don’t get a bonus, I’m going to quit and work somewhere else.” Who would hire these losers? Let them walk!
—Â Robert Yuknavech, Manhattan
Mergers were supposed to benefit society
Does anybody remember us being promised that corporate mergers would benefit society and lower prices? So why are movie tickets at Loews/AMC now an astonishing $12.50? Weren’t they suposed to go down as the mergers made companies more “efficient”? Hoodwinked again!
—Â Milton Katzis, Manhattan
Mayor’s wealth messes up process
One of the richest men in the world, Mayor Moneybags Bloomberg, does not see the irony in his statement that his money does not intimidate anyone. If everyone in this city gave $100 to a mayoral opponent in this next election, the $800 million would pale in comparison to what he has. His money intimidates the democratic process. Why do we equate accumulation of wealth as a requisite for good government?
—Â Paul Chechanover, Forest Hills
Tags: letters to the editor
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Citi Field ticket prices irk some fans
Sunday March 15, 2009 1:54 PM By Jason Fink
Tickets at Citi Field will go as high as $280. AP photo
The first tickets for the Mets’ new stadium went on sale Sunday, sparking outrage from some fans floored by the prices.
“I’m speechless,” said Matt Pignataro, founder of SevenTraintoShea.com, a blog about the team. “I was shocked by the pricing, especially the outfield seats.”
Seats at Citi Field, which hosts its first game April 13, range from a high of $280 to a low of $11. Prices depend not just on location within the stadium but on the opponent.
The most common category, Gold level games (those against the world champion Phillies, for example), will cost from $60 to $84 a ticket for outfield reserved seats and $150 to $210 for field level box seats. Of the 28 different seat types, 21 will cost $54 or more for Gold games.The cheapest game category, Value (several games against the Marlins and the Nationals), costs $120 for the most expensive seat but the majority range from $24 to $69.
“There’s a huge disparity between the cheap seats and all the rest,” said Neil DeMause, founder of fieldofschemes.com, a Web site critical of public financing for sports stadiums. “There’s no middle class in seating anymore”
The Mets did not return a call for comment.
Online sales began Sunday for games in April and May. Tickets will be available Monday at the box office and at the Mets clubhouse store.
It’s unlikely the Yankees will offer many bargains either.
The team has begun selling season packages — the smallest, an 11-game plan, ranges from $550 to $3,850 — but are requiring online registration for the first shot at buying single game tickets.
Fans have until 10 p.m. Tuesday to register on the team’s Web site for single game tickets and a drawing will be held for a chance to buy them online March 23.
The next day, whatever tickets remain will go on sale for everyone else.
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Extreme Commuter: Elmhurst to Englewood, N.J.
Sunday March 15, 2009 1:32 PM By Marlene Naanes
Virginia Ferreira rides two buses, takes two trains and trudges more than a mile on foot to get to work five days a week because the economy has forced the Elmhurst housekeeper to travel far from home to make ends meet.
Ferreira, 44, left her previous job in October, expecting to find another quickly. After two months of being out of work, she snatched up a cleaning job in Englewood, N.J., even though it came with a two-and-a-half hour commute.
“In these times of crisis, the job is not where you want, but you have to go where the job is,” she said.
Since December, Ferreira has taken the Q49 bus, the No. 7 train, the A train and a NJ Transit bus to get to work, but that’s the easy part. Once in Englewood, she has endured freezing temperatures, blustery winds and heavy snowfall during her 15 to 25 minute walk to the house she cleans.“One day I almost froze with the snow,” she said.
Though the walk can be tough, so is the unpredictability of the A train on the way to work.
“If the A delays, I miss my bus,” she said. The NJ Transit bus she takes runs about every 40 minutes.
Riding the bus over the George Washington Bridge during the evening rush also can be untenable.
“It took 45 minutes to get over the bridge [ONCE],” she said.
Though her commute is long, Ferreira, a journalist from Paraguay who came to New York 18 months ago to learn English, keeps in mind that spring will soon warm her walk to work and the economy also will someday thaw, hopefully providing a job closer to home.
In the meantime, Ferreira admits there is one upside to the commute.
“The 7 train is the most multicultural,” she said. “Everyday, people are reading Hungarian newspapers, talking in Polish and Chinese.”
If you have an extreme commute to share, e-mail mnaanes@am-ny.com.
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Monthly cost of Ferreira’s commute
$81: 30-day MetroCard
$78: Monthly NJ Transit bus pass to Englewood
$159: Total
Tags: extreme commuter, elmhurst, queens, englewood, new jersey, new jersey transit, subway, bus
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Viral video: Bored kid creates his own super powers
Sunday March 15, 2009 9:24 AM By Sean Joseph
Instead of sitting in front of the television after school, this kid uses Adobe After Effects to create his own super powers, which he doesn’t even seem that impressed with.
Tags: viral video, television, adobe after effects
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Take a look inside the newly renovated Pierre!
Sunday March 15, 2009 9:23 AM By Lucy Blatter
A deluxe king room at the newly renovated Pierre
The Pierre will re-open June 1 following a meticulous $100 million renovation. The renovation will include a new restaurant, Le Caprice at The Pierre, and a new lobby lounge, 2 East.
Guestrooms are being updated as well, to feature a "warm, inviting residential-style décor with a feeling of quiet luxury," according to a release.
A Pierre suite living room.
A Pierre suite bedroom.
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Where legal eagles nest
Sunday March 15, 2009 9:07 AM By Lucy Blatter
Special to amNewYork
Who needs three years of law school? Paralegals are the ones getting hired.
What paralegals do
Paralegals work in law firms, corporate legal departments and government agencies, doing “a lot of the work that lawyers used to do,” says Marge Dover, executive director of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Paralegals can’t give legal advice or argue in court, but they handle case research, client interviews and file official paperwork. They may also go to court as part of your lawyer's team.
Some paralegals specialize in one area such as malpractice, family or criminal law. Says Barry Chaifetz, director of paralegal studies at New York Career Institute (NYCI), “Paralegal work is varied and interesting, but with less pressure and better hours than lawyers.”
Becoming a paralegal
It’s relatively easy to transition into the job. Paralegals get trained in Associate’s Degree or BS programs, and can take a paralegal program like NYCI’s. Courses range from six-to-13 months. No certification exam is required in New York State, but optional certification by NALA enhances hiring and pay.
What a paralegal needs
“The job requires good research, computer and social skills,” says NALA’s Dover. “You must be a team player with strong ethics. Trustworthiness is key.”
The takeaway
Paralegals are in demand because their salaries are significantly lower than lawyers’ salaries, so they save money for employers and clients. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts paralegal job growth of over 20 percent in the coming decade.
Starting salaries in city law firms begin in the 30s, but experienced pros can earn north of 60K. “There’s a lot to like about the paralegal career,” concludes NYCI’s Chaifetz. “The jobs are there. Your work is valued, varied and interesting. And it feels so great to share legal victories.”
Job snapshot: Paralegal
SALARY RANGE: 30K- 90K
SKILLS NEEDED: Research, writing, confidentiality
EDUCATION: Paralegal major in an AOS, or BS; or special course.
SCHOOLS: listed on www.aafpe.org; NY Career Institute: www.nyci.edu
FORECAST The field is growing, and jobs are secure
NEGATIVES: You’re part of a support staff
LEARN MORE: www.bls.gov/oco/ocos114.htm, www.nala.org
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Job fairs and events Week of March 16
Sunday March 15, 2009 9:04 AM By Lucy Blatter
Tuesday — NEW CAREER IN NEW ECONOMY
(Alternative Energy)
Location: THE ROOSEVELT Hotel, Madison Ave. @ 45th Street
Time: 7:30 p.m.
To register: FREE orientation. Call: Vlad Licko at 347-563-2543
Friday — CAREER AND LIFE MATTERS’ Workshop: “Creating a Resume for the New You”
Location: The Chanin Building, 122 E. 42nd St.
Time: 4:30-6 p.m.
To register: Registration and more info at Careerandlifematters.com or
888-423-5210. $45 per session (negotiable). Preregistration required.
Friday — CUNY Big Apple Job Fair
Location: River Pavilion & Galleria, Jacob Javits Center, 655 West 34th St. and 11th Ave.
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (No entry after 4 p.m.)
To register: Free for CUNY students graduating this year from degree programs. Bring resume and college ID; CUNY alumni must bring resume to gain entrance
*No one else admitted even if guest of CUNY student
Friday— NYU-SCPS Career Management Workshop for Finance Professionals, “Navigating the Changing Landscape for Finance Professionals”
Location: Woolworth Building, 15 Barclay Street, Public Assembly Room, 4th Floor, Room 430
Time: 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
To register: Pre-registration is required at scps.nyu.edu . $10 for NYU alumni, $25 for others.
Saturday —MBA Tour
Location: Jacob Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th St. and 11th Ave.
Time: 9 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.
To register: Free registration at TheMBATour.com, space is limited
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Madoff finally behind bars
Thursday March 12, 2009 3:56 PM By Jason Fink
Bernard Madoff arrives at federal court in Manhattan Thursday
New York’s most notorious Ponzi schemer is finally in jail.
Victims of disgraced money man Bernard Madoff broke into applause Thursday at the federal courthouse in Manhattan as the admitted swindler publicly owned up to his $65 billion dollar fraud and was sent to the slammer to await sentencing.
“In my book, he’s the lowest of the low,” said Judith Welling, 71, of Manhattan, who lost $1.5 million.
Madoff, 70, pleaded guilty to 11 felony charges and detailed how for decades he had put investors’ money in his own bank account and sent them fictitious statements showing stock purchases.“When I began the Ponzi scheme I thought it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients,” Madoff told Judge Denny Chin. “However, this proved difficult, and ultimately impossible, and as the years went by I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come.”
Fueling the circus-like atmosphere at the courthouse, helicopters circled above as hundreds of spectators — victims and journalists included — turned out to hear Madoff’s first public accounting of his scheme.
In a soft but steady voice, Madoff detailed how he started the scheme as a short-term way to weather the early-1990s recession.
“I am actually grateful for this opportunity to publicly comment about my crimes, for which I am deeply sorry and ashamed,” he said.
Calling him a flight risk, Chin immediately revoked Madoff’s $10 million bail. The disgraced financier was led out of the courtroom in cuffs and will be locked up at a federal jail in lower Manhattan.
Prior to Thursday, the former Wall Street whiz who once served as NASDAQ chairman had been allowed to remain in confinement in his $7 million Manhattan penthouse after his arrest in December.
He faces up to 150 years in prison when he is sentenced June 16.
Many victims said nothing could make up for the savings lost, or for what they paid in taxes on the phantom income. A senate hearing has been scheduled for next week to look into how the IRS might compensate victims.
“They want this to be over,” said New Yorker Miriam Siegman, a wiped out investor. “It shouldn’t be.
So far, authorities have located only about $1 billion for investors. Madoff victims span the likes of celebrities Steven Spielberg and Kevin Bacon to retirees and Jewish charities.
Several victims said they doubted Madoff could have carried out a fraud this size alone. And legal experts have speculated that Madoff agreed to plea in hopes of protecting his family and friends from prosecution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt said that the government is continuing to investigate the case.
The AP contributed to this report.
Tags: bernard madoff, crime
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Thursday March 12, 2009 1:52 PM By Sara Baumberger
Nonresidents bring to the city plenty of money
Re Ives Maher’s letter, “Tolls won’t impact tourism,” March 12: Actually, nonresidents of the city do pay taxes, both to the state of New York as well as their state of residence. Not to mention the millions of dollars in revenue nonresidents bring to the city through dining out, shopping, entertainment, etc. The bridge-and-tunnel crowd may be obnoxious, but at the end of the day, money talks.
—Â Katie Falk, Manhattan
Tolls may bring end to illegal car registration
If tolls are charged for nonresidents only, maybe it will cut down on illegal out-of-state car registrations. In my Bronx neighborhood I see many, many out-of-state license plates that look to me like illegal car registrations because they are there all the time. If they had to pay the tolls because of out-of-state license plates, maybe they would register their cars in NY legally.
—Â Diana P. Ditzian, The Bronx
Sea treaty would cause more problems
As if the United States doesn’t have enough problems with government spending and taxation, our officials are about to turn over authority and jurisdiction of the world’s oceans and seas to the United Nations. This would be a big step toward the goal of world government sought by internationalists embedded in Washington, D.C. and New York. Citizens should contact their senators and tell them to reject the Law of the Sea Treaty.
—Â Frank St. George, East Rockaway
Tags: letters to the editor
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Angst on tap for Brooklyn A riders
Thursday March 12, 2009 1:44 PM By Heather Haddon
Brooklyn riders of the A train are out of luck for the next four weekends.
Service will be suspended between Jay Street-Borough Hall and Utica Avenue from midnight Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday until April 6 for construction work. Straphangers will have to board a free shuttle bus to reach the eight skipped stops in Brooklyn.
New York City Transit is installing new platform edges to help the blind navigate the subways. The work is part of a $108 million capital project that includes renovating the booths and lights for the Jay Street and Lawrence Street stops.
Transit is also building a transfer passageway between the two stations.
“Everything has to be moved around,” said Transit spokesman James Anyansi. “We're tearing out the platform edges, replacing the stairways.”The A train averages 525,000 daily passengers, the fifth busiest line in the system. It also links with the AirTrain to Kennedy Airport.
During the diversion, Transit is advising airport travelers to use the E because switching to the shuttle bus with luggage will be “difficult.”
Tags: transit
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Boogie on a budget
Thursday March 12, 2009 1:02 PM By Julie Gordon
New Yorkers get down at Meatpacking District club Kiss & Fly. (Marie Claire Andrea)
The recession is no excuse to spend your nights drinking PBRs in a dingy dive bar. But it also isn’t the time to shell out tons of moolah for admission to a club. Thankfully, some of the city’s nightspots understand the need to shake your money-maker while being a money-saver.
218 Sullivan St., btwn Bleecker and W. Third sts., 212-252-2151
Sullivan Room’s weekend nights are known for world-class DJs — and $10 to $20 cover charges. But on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, lesser-known spinsters offer the same type of tunes (house, drum and bass), but with a reduced $5 cover charge.
244 E. Houston St., btwn Aves. A and B, 212-982-3532
Stay has the feel of a trendy club (bottle service, ’60s decor), but it doesn’t have a cover charge or obnoxious bouncers. Partiers dance to a mix of Top 40, hip-hop, rock, house, classic rock and ’80s music.
6 W. 25th St., btwn Fifth Ave. and Broadway, 212-832-4040
On weekend nights, rapper Jay-Z’s high-style sports bar turns off the games and turns on the dance music for its “club nights” (no cover on Fridays, $10 on Saturdays). The 12,000 square-foot space has two floors, several VIP rooms and a sleek, sporty decor. While you dance to the mix of reggaeton, pop and hip-hop music, keep your eyes peeled for owner Jay-Z, who frequently stops by.The Park
118 10th Ave., btwn 17th and 18th sts., 212-352-3313
The massive Park officially goes from a restaurant to a club at midnight on weekends. The multi-level venue has two loungers and three bars — each with different music, ranging from house to techno to hip-hop — plus outdoor spaces in the warmer months. Most cocktails cost between $10 and $12.
249 Eldridge St., btwn Houston and Stanton sts., 212-777-5153
Sapphire Lounge has a $5 cover on Fridays and Saturdays, and is free during the rest of the the week. On weekends, the tiny Lower East Side club is packed with partiers who revel in the down-to-earth ambience, tasty drinks and DJs spinning a variety of music, including reggae, house, hip-hop and Latin. Cocktails and beer range from $6 to $10. The club also has rotating art exhibits.
302 Broome St., btwn Forsyth and Eldridge sts., 212-334-9676
Happy Ending’s name is a cheeky homage to its seedy past; it’s a former massage parlor. The street level has a swanky Rat Pack vibe and red velvet booths, while the basement level, which retains the showerheads and saunas of the original parlor, has a more club-like feel, complete with electro, disco, pop, rock, hip-hop and reggae. Beer, drafts, wine, and mixed drinks are $8 or less, and there’s never a cover.
Get on the list
Sometimes the only way to gain admittance to a club is by getting on a list. Get reduced or no cover charge at venues like Kiss & Fly, Taj, Hiro, Suzie Wong, Country Club and El Morocco by signing up on one of these sites.
- nyguestlists.com
- clubplanet.com
- velvetlist.com
- promony.com
- newyork2night.com
Tags: bars
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Mexico: Sun, surf and strife?
Wednesday March 11, 2009 3:41 PM By Emily Ngo
New York City colleges have a message for sun-starved students off to Mexico this spring break: Less debauchery, more caution.
With the mid-semester vacation slated to start next week for many area schools, college officials are echoing a recent State Department alert that warns Americans of increased violence in Mexico.
“In recent years, dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped across Mexico,” the federal memo reads, adding that others are killed or injured. “Many of these cases remain unresolved.”
Heeding the warning, Fordham University professors have chatted informally with students about the potential dangers of a trip south. Meanwhile, officials at Columbia and New York University have circulated crime prevention tips to their campuses.
“The e-mail was kind of surprising. I wasn’t expecting something national security-related from the university,” said NYU freshman Alison Bryan, 18.
More than 100,000 young Americans make their way to Mexico each spring break, according to the State Department. While heavily favored party spots like Cancun and Acapulco are relatively safe, border regions such as Ciudad Juarez have reported more than 1,000 deaths relating to drug cartels this year.
Tyler Stehlgens, 23, who vacationed in Acapulco last spring break, said he’s not surprised schools have cautioned partying students to use common sense.
The reported violence is “combined with the fact that you’re drinking and your guard is down,” said Stehlgens, who has since graduated and works in midtown.Stehlgens said his friends are planning another trip across the border this year, but he has opted out. His buddies are “concerned, not enough to cancel trip because they’ve already committed a lot of money,” Stehlgens said. “My parents would refuse to let me go no matter how much I paid.”
Executives with STA Travel, which specializes in arranging youth travel, said they are fielding more questions but haven’t seen a significant change in Mexico reservations, most of which were made this past fall.
“These types of spring break packages are on resorts, and students don’t have any reason to leave the resort because they’re all inclusive,” said East Village branch manager Yung Mei Choi, noting that tourists wandering off resorts put themselves at greater risk.
Mel Fish, a Syracuse University freshman, is currently in Cancun. “It is really not that bad here at all,” the 18-year-old said via e-mail. “It really is safe here if you stay alert and travel in a big group.”
Non-student New Yorkers are also taking note of the State Department warnings.
“Our hotel was in Cancun’s tourist area known as the ‘Hotel Zone,’ which is like a different universe from the ‘real’ city of Cancun,” said 25-year-old Tiffany Sun, of the Financial District, who traveled to the area in February just as the federal alert was issued.
Others said their trips are too long anticipated to cancel.
“We live in New York City; I think we can handle ourselves in Cancun,” said Anna Diaz, 31, of Astoria, pledging to spend most of her time on the resort when she heads there later this month. “The advisory is mostly geared toward 16-year-olds getting crazy drunk and becoming easy targets.”
Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.
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Transit proposal "dead"
Wednesday March 11, 2009 3:30 PM By Heather Haddon
The plan to prevent a fare hike through a payroll tax and tolls on free bridges is over in Albany, observers say.
“It's dead,” said Sen. Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn), the transportation committee chair.
Dilan said five Senate Democrats who wouldn’t support bridge tolls essentially killed the plan, which was recommended by the Ravitch Commission, and supported by Gov. Paterson and the majority of the Assembly.
Also Wednesday, the MTA backtracked on its March 25 deadline for the commission proposals to be approved in Albany, saying if a bill clears within “a week or so” of that date, it could reverse its decision on the planned 23 percent fare hike, said spokesman Kevin Ortiz.
“There was never a hard deadline,” Ortiz said. “But the longer we have to wait, the harder it becomes to reverse the decision.”
Even with the added revenue, whether it comes from the Ravitch recommendations or other sources, an 8 percent hike will still be needed.
Advocates said it’s time for lawmakers to think of alternatives to the tolls.
“The last rights (for the bill) haven't been said, but it's pretty close,” said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign.Gov. David Paterson still supports the Ravitch Commission recommendations, but is “open to all suggestions during this process,” said spokeswoman Erin Duggan.
In the Assembly, Speaker Sheldon Silver says he has enough support for his proposal of a payroll tax and $2 bridge tolls.
On Friday, MTA board members will meet to discuss options for increasing the fares by 23 percent, or 8 percent if Albany moves on a package of proposals.
Tags: transit
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Dem candidate pulls back on mayoral race
Wednesday March 11, 2009 3:12 PM By Jason Fink
Rep. Anthony Weiner. AP photo.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, one of the top two Democrats vying for mayor, pulled back Wednesday on his campaign.
In a letter to supporters, Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), who was expected to face City Comptroller William Thompson in the September primary, said he will reassess the race this summer, an apparent about-face for the congressman who declared as recently as Monday: “I’m running for mayor.”
A senior campaign advisor, who asked not to be named, said that Weiner wanted to focus on his job in Washington and sent the letter because of speculation in the media that he would drop out.“I expect you’ll see a formal decision in the next few months,” the advisor said.
The Thompson campaign Wednesday took a shot at Weiner while re-affirming that the comptroller isn’t wavering about staying in the race.
“Bill Thompson doesn’t have to ‘look at the lay of the land’ in the summer to know that New York's working families need new leadership,” campaign manager Eddy Castell said in an e-mail.
The dynamics of the mayoral race were shaken up in the fall when Mayor Michael Bloomberg won the right to extend term limits and run for re-election, instantly making him the front-runner against whoever gets the Democratic nomination.
Weiner has so far raised more than $5 million and has maxed out on fund-raising for the primary.
Besides Thompson, the other Democratic candidate expected to run in September is City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside).
Tags: anthony weiner, mayoral race, william thompson, politics
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Bloomberg now the city's richest man
Wednesday March 11, 2009 2:56 PM By Jason Fink
Mayor Michael Bloomberg. AP photo
What economic downturn? Mayor Michael Bloomberg is rolling in it.
Bloomberg is the only one of the top 20 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people, released Wednesday, who has gotten wealthier since last year, clocking in at No. 17 with a net worth of $16 billion. And for the first time, he’s the richest person in the city.
The founder of the media and financial services company that bears his name, Bloomberg's worth has dipped since its high of $20 billion in September, according to Forbes, but is 40 percent higher than the $11.5 billion he was worth last March.With Bloomberg citing his financial prowess as the justification for extending term limits, his apparent ability to get richer even as Bill Gates loses billions, may bolster his claim.
“He's doing well,” said Anat Golub, 29, of Queens. “He's a smart businessman, so good for him.”
The mayor, who spent $150 million of his own money on his two elections, does not discuss his finances but estimates are that he owns 88 percent of Bloomberg LP, a private company that is not required to disclose its assets.
Matthew Miller, a senior editor at Forbes, said the magazine based its estimate on the $4.5 billion Bloomberg LP paid in July to buy back a 20 percent stake in the company that was owned by Merrill Lynch.
“He must have believed he paid the right price for it,” said Miller.
A spokesman for the mayor, Stu Loeser, emphasized Bloomberg's philanthropy. He was ranked the most charitable living individual last year.
“The mayor doesn't pay much attention to these lists, and has always thought that how you use your money to make the world a better place is a lot more important than how much of it you have,” he said.
And he certainly has a lot.
Alan Mattei, managing director of Novantas, a business consulting firm, said Bloomberg LP, which charges monthly subscriptions of up to $1,800, is among the few well-positioned media companies.
“If I was in his position I'd be looking to acquire other companies,” he said.
Of course being New York's richest man doesn't always endear you to voters.
“People are probably going to wonder how this guy keeps getting richer with New York City doing so poorly,” said Jenny Rodriguez, 44, of Manhattan.
Gabrielle Korn contributed to this story
Tags: mayor michael bloomberg, economy, billionaires, city hall dispatch
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Ashley Greene sinks her teeth into 2nd 'Twilight,' charity
Wednesday March 11, 2009 2:15 PM By Julie Gordon
Rumors have been flying about potential directors for the third “Twilight” movie installment — Drew Barrymore, Juan Antonio Bayona, Paul Weitz — but star Ashley Greene doesn’t ask producers for the inside scoop.
“One, I’ll probably slip and leak it to the media, and two, I want to focus on the second movie,” Greene, 22, told us yesterday from Vancouver, where the cast is rehearsing for “New Moon.”
“New Moon” introduces director Chris Weitz to the vampire crew. The first film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke, was not asked to direct the second.
“[Weitz] is focusing on the artistic side and showing some of our characters’ little quirks [more than the first film did],” Greene said.Because of her work on the film, Greene has had to get used to tons of teen and tween fans and tons of red carpet appearances — which she never minds.
"Oh my gosh, I love [getting dressed up]," she said. "I run around, especially during football season, in jeans and T-shirts. There's something about being a girl that's so fun — getting the perfect shoes jewelry and doing your makeup."
Though Greene now wears designs by Jimmy Choo and alice + olivia, she worked to buy herself extras — including her prom dress — while growing up in what she described as a poor family in Florida. That's one reason the actress got involved in DonateMyDress.org, which encourages teens around the country to donates their prom and special occasion dresses to girls in need.
"I started working when I was, like, 13 or 14," Greene said. "My friends were, like, 'Why are you always working?'"
Greene will appear at Saks (611 Fifth Ave., fourth floor) on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. Teens who bring a dress to donate will receive 20 percent off at the department store.
(Photo: Getty)
Tags: entertainment
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City Living: Lenox Hill is a tony neighborhood with a European feel
Wednesday March 11, 2009 1:37 PM By Lucy Blatter
Atlantic Grill is a seafood restaurant with an elegant atmosphere. Credit: Marie Claire Andrea
By Craig Raphael
Special to amNewYork
Lenox Hill is bordered by 79th Street to the north, 59th Street to the south, Third Avenue to the east, and Fifth Avenue to the west.
Boasting some of the city’s finest schools, real estate and cultural institutions, Lenox Hill has been one of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods ever since the Park Avenue railroad tracks were covered and electrified in the early 20th century.
The removal of noisy steam trains attracted a new wave of wealthy New Yorkers to the area, who built now famous churches, museums and schools.
Quality of life improved further following the elimination of the Third Avenue elevated train in 1955, when tenements and walkups east of Lexington Avenue were renovated to provide alternatives to the grand high-rises of Park, Madison and Fifthh avenues.Construction of luxury buildings brought even more housing to the area, cementing its status as a residential haven with a host of first-class amenities.
Chief among them are excellent schools and playgrounds, proximity to Central Park and downtown, as well as a vibrant high-end shopping district centered on Madison Avenue.
Commented longtime resident Rhoda Forman: “Walking on Madison Avenue is like being in Paris.”
Lexington and Third avenues add many convenience-oriented stores and restaurants to the rich retail mix. In recent years, a number of boutiques have set up shop there as well.
Lexington Avenue is also home to the area’s transportation lifeline —the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 subway lines—which are the most-used rapid-transit lines in the United States. Congestion on these trains is one of the neighborhood’s few drawbacks, though the Second Avenue Subway promises to provide relief beginning in 2015.
TO EAT
There’s plenty of culinary options to choose from in Lenox Hill, from upscale French bistros to the perfect slice of pizza.
JG Melon
Melon’s is famous for its juicy burgers — widely considered to be among the best in the city — in addition to crispy cottage fries and heavenly pecan pie. Try the Bloody Bull, a Bloody Mary with the tangy addition of beef stock.
1291 Third Ave., 212-650-1310
Atlantic Grill
This reliable, upscale fish restaurant features specialty sushi rolls, a full brunch menu and a bevy of Upper East Siders to gawk at.
1341 Third Ave., 212-988-9200
Payard Patisserie and Bistro
The pastries live up to their reputation—artful, rich and decadent—with savory offerings to match, including a frisée salad with cured duck and mini lamb burgers with baby arugula salad.
1032 Lexington Ave., 212-717-5252
Alice’s Tea Cup
Kid-friendly, Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant with a multitude of teas (including tea cocktails), salads and sandwiches, and artisan baked goods.
156 E. 64th St., 212-486-9200
Mariella Pizza
One of the best local spots to grab a slice, including the “Grandma Pizza”, a square pie with garlic, mozzarella, sauce and fresh basil.
965 Lexington Ave., 212-249-2065
Park Avenue Winter
Both menu and décor change according to the seasons at this upscale contemporary American restaurant, perfect for brunch or a romantic dinner. Try the lobster salad with avocado and fennel or grilled langoustines.
100 E. 63rd St., 212-644-1900
Afghan Kebab House II
Tasty lamb, chicken and beef kebabs broiled over wood charcoal are perfectly complemented by creamy vegetable dishes at this cozy, ambient eatery. Entrees come with salad and freshly baked bread.
1345 Second Ave., 212-517-2776
TO PARTY
Ubiquitous sports bars and pubs have a stronghold on the Upper East Side’s nightlife; a few alternative options are listed below.
Lexington Bar and Books
Dress up to mingle with well-heeled, cigar-smoking regulars at this private library cum bar, one of a handful in the city that still allow smoking. Drinks are pricey yet suitably alcoholic.
1020 Lexington Ave., 212-717-3902
Subway Inn
In the shadow of Bloomingdale’s lies this authentic dive, sufficiently grimy, eclectic and cheap, especially given its surroundings.
143 E. 60th St., 212-223-8929
Phoenix Park
More in line with traditional Upper East Side offerings, Phoenix Park stands out for its friendly bartenders, welcoming back area and satisfying pub grub.
206 E. 67th St. 212-717-8181
TO SHOP
Window shopping on Madison Avenue followed by a jaunt into Bloomingdale’s is a lovely way to spend a few hours in Lenox Hill. Other notable retailers are scattered throughout the neighborhood.
Ursus Books and Prints
A full spectrum of art books, rare books, and 16th-19th century decorative works on paper complement your stroll down Museum Mile. After you pick up that exhibition catalogue or monograph, finish off the day with a martini downstairs at the legendary Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel.
981 Madison Ave # 2, 212-772-8787
Bloomingdale’s
The flagship location of one of the city’s original upscale department stores sells clothing, furniture and accessories in a wide variety of price ranges, with friendly customer service to boot. Now, a multitude of sales make many previously unaffordable garments splurge-worthy or, depending on your budget, a bargain.
1000 Third Ave., 212-705-2000
Likitsakos Market
The freshest homemade Greek yogurt, salads and spreads, delicious, affordable prepared foods and a variety of cheap and attractive produce make this market a local favorite.
1174 Lexington Ave., 212-535-4300
TO SEE
Steps away from Museum Mile, Lenox Hill boasts a number of cultural attractions of its own. Stroll around the Conservatory Pond in Central Park, then spend a few hours at the venerable institutions below.
Conservatory Pond and Alice in Wonderland Monument
One of the prettiest spots in the park and site of mini-sailboat races in the spring and summer, the pond is also home to Alice and her friends, who have brought delight to children for decades.
Enter at Fifth Avenue and 72nd-74th streets
The Frick Collection
Henry Clay Frick’s collection of Old Master paintings, sculpture, porcelain and furniture is displayed in the turn-of-the-century steel magnate’s former mansion. On view through May 10 are five European masterworks from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, Calif.
1 E. 70th St., 212-288-0700
Park Avenue Armory
The former home of the Seventh New York Militia Regiment, a storied unit that was the first to respond to Lincoln’s call for volunteers in 1861, the Armory is an architectural triumph of Gothic design with an impressive array of interior flourishes in wood, marble and stained glass. The massive space hosts a variety of historical and cultural events throughout the year.
643 Park Ave., 212-249-5505
Asia Society
A nonprofit institution that fosters dialogue and understanding between Asia and the United States, the Asia Society showcases Asian art, history and culture in beautifully renovated gallery spaces. Admission is free on Fridays 6-9 p.m..
725 Park Ave., 212-794-1332âŽ
Whitney Museum
The preeminent museum of American art is well-known for its formidable permanent collection as well as its annual and biennial shows of new American art. Currently on view through the spring is “Artists Making Photographs: Chamberlain, Rauschenberg, Ruscha, Samaras, Warhol.”
945 Madison Ave., 212-570-3600âŽ
ESSENTIAL VISIT: Grab a burger at JG Melon, then spend a few hours wondering the halls of the Whitney or the Frick Museum. Cap off your visit with a stroll down Madison Avenue or a walk through Central Park.
REAL ESTATE
Lenox Hill boasts the nation’s wealthiest zip code, and it’s easy to see why, given the stately high rises of Park, Madison and Fifth avenues and the gorgeous mansions and townhouses that line the streets between them. There are, however, more affordable options in the area, especially east of Lexington Avenue.
“You can easily find a great rental or starter apartment—there’s a great variety,” said Liora Yalof, a senior vice president at Halstead Realty. She added, “Sellers are also realizing that it’s a buyer’s market, and for that reason, prices are coming down.”
TO RENT:
One-bedroom, full-length apartment in brownstone on East 60th Street with large living room/dining room and updated granite kitchen: $2,750
One-bedroom corner residence on East 61st Street with floor-to-ceiling windows, marble bathrooms and in-house health club: $3,300
One-bedroom, full-length apartment with terrace in elevator townhouse between Madison and Park Avenues with custom stone bathroom and fireplace: $4,750
Three-bedroom duplex off Madison Avenue with two full baths, high granite ceilings and prewar details: $10,000
TO BUY:
Studio between Lexington and Park avenues in the East 70s in doorman building with onsite laundry and exercise room: $450,000 ($2,400 to rent) plus 20 percent discount
One-bedroom in the East 70s between Lexington and Park avenues in doorman building with plenty of light and hardwood floors: $725,000 ($2,900 to rent) plus 20 percent discount
Two-bedroom co-op in the East 70s with hardwood floors and lots of windows: $1,100,000 ($4,500 to rent) plus 20 percent discount
One-bedroom, four-room apartment in pre-war building on Park Avenue and 73rd Street with sunny kitchen and access to roof garden: $899,000
Three-bedroom home on East 59th Street with eat-in, windowed kitchen and two large balconies: $1,295,000
For first three "To Buy," contact Rhoda Forman at 212-744-7374 or rhodaforman@gmail.com. For all others contact Liora Yalof at Halstead Property, 212-381-3322 or lyalof@halstead.com.
RECENTLY SOLD:
Two-bedroom condo off Park Avenue in the low 70s with new bamboo floors, granite kitchen countertops, and direct access to two roof gardens: $1,500,000
One bedroom, three-and-a-half room apartment on 67th Street one block from Central Park with hardwood floors, windowed dining area, and renovated windowed kitchen with granite counter tops: $1,350,000
Q&A WITH RHODA FORMAN
Rhoda Forman, a real estate agent, has lived in Lenox Hill for over 35 years.
What do you like most about the neighborhood?
The location -- there’s shops galore from Madison Avenue to First Avenue — for all types, shapes, sizes and pocketbooks. Between the museums and the movies and running in the park, there’s no shortage of great activities.
What do you like least about the neighborhood?
It’s hard to say. The parking can be a real drag. It’s also so busy and popular that when you want to go to a movie, they’re often sold out.
How has the neighborhood changed over the years?
When I moved to New York my brother asked me if I was bringing a guard dog with me! It’s gotten a lot better since then. The stores on Lexington and Madison Avenue used to only be nice until 79th and 80th street, and now they go much further north.
What are some of your favorite places to eat?
JG Melon’s has the flavor of a small town, but the sophistication of a New York restaurant. I also love the cafeteria in the Metropolitan Museum.
How do you see it changing in the future?
A lot of fancy stores have come to Lexington, but now many of them are going out of business. They’re empty but I’m sure they’ll come back again.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Lexington Avenue subway line is infamous for its overcrowding. When Phase One of the Second Avenue Subway is completed in 2015, it will relieve the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 trains of an estimated 200,000 passengers per day.
The 10021 zip code, which encompasses a large portion of Lenox Hill, is one of the densest and wealthiest postal districts in the entire country.
Lenox Hill is named for the farm of Robert Lenox, who owned land in the northern section of the neighborhood.
Winston Churchill was treated at Lenox Hill Hospital after being hit by a car while crossing Fifth Avenue in 1931.
Tags: lenox hill, upper east side, city living
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New Yorkers mouth off about Madoff
Wednesday March 11, 2009 1:18 PM By Heather Haddon
(AP)
Expected to plead guilty Thursday to the $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme that’s ruined thousands of lives, Bernie Madoff is getting a stinging sendoff from enraged New Yorkers.
“I hope he never sees sunlight again,” said Miguel Contreras, 60, a maintenance man in midtown. “He should come out of jail in a bag.”
The 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman is expected to plead guilty to 11 criminal charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.. Only a handful of the thousands of investors swindled by Madoff in his $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme will get to testify.
Madoff, who’s not expected to be sentenced for several months, faces a possible prison term of 150 years, a lifelong penalty that some New Yorkers considered too light.
“He deserves 60 billion years in prison for all he took,” said Benjamin Webb, 55, of East New York.Prosecutors are said to be investigating Madoff's wife, Ruth, along with nearly two-dozen members of his inner circle. Ruth Madoff also faces several civil suits and has hired her own lawyer.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin could remove Madoff from his $7 million Park Avenue apartment and send him to jail until the sentencing later this year. That suited Neil Tamayo, 28, of the Flatiron District.
“I'll be rejoicing the day he goes in,” said Tamayo, of the Flatiron District. “He could have saved the economy with all those billions.”
Other New Yorkers mouth off about Madoff:
"I'd say to him, Where's your heart? What rational allowed you to justify ruining people’ lives?"
— Ben Basalla-Taxis, 24, of Astoria
“He ruined a lot of lives. I feel bad, especially for the older people who have to go back and get jobs now.”
-Bob Brady, 54, Staten Island
“We should take his wife to court, too,”
Johnson Adams, 25, Staten Island
Gabrielle Korn contributed to this story
Tags: crime
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Wednesday March 11, 2009 12:49 PM By Sara Baumberger
Tolls won’t impact tourism
Re Steven Kalka’s letter, “Nonresident tolls are a bad idea for the city,” March 11: The tolls are not aimed at tourists but rather the out-of-city residents who work here and congest our roads while they pay no taxes to maintain them. The idea that this would have any significant impact on tourism is ridiculous. Most tourists use mass transit or cabs to get around our town and would not be affected at all. Additionally, at the Jersey Shore nonresidents have to pay just to walk on the beaches, while it’s free for the locals. I say if people want to make a living utilizing the opportunities that NYC provides, they should also shoulder part of the burden of maintaining our beautiful city.
—Â Ives Maher, Brooklyn
Let our visitors share the burden
Residents of this city are the ones who, for the most part, shoulder it financially. We pay higher taxes, more rent, more for utilities, more for groceries, more for 99.9 percent of things on the market. We do this because we love living in a global city. If someone wants to come witness and be a part of the grandeur that is NYC, let them pay for it as we do. Why should nonresidents eat for free? I doubt a nonresident, who most likely has specifically made the trip to see our city, would see the toll for $4.15 and say, “That puts me over budget, I’m turning around.”
—Â Matt MacPherson, Manhattan
SEC is partly to blame
The ill-fated Ponzi cruise of Bernie Madoff has collided with an iceberg. But, the voyage of the USS Madoff has only hit the tip of the iceberg. Let’s go after the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, who were asleep at the pilot house wheel and failed to heed the SOS signals.
—Â Peter Zaccone, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Viral video: Window washing gets complicated
Wednesday March 11, 2009 9:28 AM By Sean Joseph
Wait until the store closes and turn off the motion-activated doors before you try to wash the glass.
Tags: viral video, television, window washing
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Chain gang: New European franchises land in Manhattan
Wednesday March 11, 2009 9:16 AM By Lucy Blatter
Special to amNewYork
As Frank Sinatra crooned in "New York, New York," success here is a significant barometer for success almost anywhere — both nationally and internationally.
With this adage in mind, three very unique European restaurant franchises have recently opened up their first stateside locations here in the Big Apple.
Danku
47 W. 57 St., between Fifth & Sixth aves., 212-888-3777
This Dutch fast food restaurant features a medley of Dutch and Indonesian specialties, such as traditional Dutch "krokets" (long, cylindrical fritters with various fillings), mini pancakes, meat and tofu satays, curry stews, and noodle dishes.
Additions to the New York menu include an Indonesian sloppy joe, mac'n'cheese krokets, and fat-free frozen yogurt. It’s an ideal under-$10 lunch spot with wallet-friendly foods.
Food aside, Danku is an example of what many new restaurants are aspiring to in terms of environmental considerations: in addition to recycled building materials, low-energy appliances and lighting, all possible waste, including serving containers and dining implements, is recycled and composted.Le Rouge Tomate
10 E. 60 St., between Fifth & Madison aves., 646-237-8977
For some "feel-good" fare of another kind, head a few blocks north to this sprawling, sleek, bi-level space offering up healthful, yet elegant cuisine. The menu concept derives from owner/founder Emmanuel Verstraeten's S.P.E. (Sanitas Per Escam, or "health through food") doctrine, which was first applied to the original Rouge Tomate in Brussels, Belgium.
Here, chef Jeremy Bearman collaborates with an in-house nutritionist to create innovative dishes like barley and foraged mushroom "risotto," celery root and almond panna cotta layered with grapefruit and peekytoe crab, as well as several types of sustainable seafood.
"We try not to look at calories so much, but rather nutritional density," explains Bearman. By eschewing certain ingredients such as cream and butter and making simple substitutions, Bearman notes that the calories tend to fall within a certain range naturally.
In addition to a la carte entrees in the $20- $30 range, they also have an impressive, three course prix fixe lunch for $29 and dinner for $45.
Obika
590 Madison Ave. at 57 St., 212-355-2217
Perhaps the most anticipated of the three openings was this Italian mozzarella bar (with 12 locations worldwide). In Neapolitan dialect, the name means "here it is!" but the inspiration behind the concept stems from founder Silvio Ursini's first visit to a Japanese sushi bar. "I was fascinated with that way of simple, ingredient-based dining," he recalls.
And so Obika follows that very same philosophy: the ingredients and presentation are spare, but the focus is on the cheese and a few simple accompaniments. A selection of fresh "mozzarella di bufala" arrives from Italy three days a week, often less than 24-hours after leaving the farm. Obika also offers a domestic buffalo mozzarella from a Vermont creamery, Sullivan Street bakery bread, and an array of Italian meats. It’s $8 for a single mozzarella and $21 for your choice of three.
Tags: obika, danku, le rouge tomate, restaurants
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For foodies: This week's dining briefs
Wednesday March 11, 2009 7:40 AM By Lucy Blatter
Gotham Bar and Grill's seafood salad. Gotham is celebrating its 25th anniversary with special lunch and dinner prix-fixes.
Special to amNewYork
Inaugural First Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market: On March 29, from 7-11 p.m. 40 chefs from across the country will serve food and wine to 240 guests at one long supper table. Tickets are $220 and $176 for James Beard members. Proceeds go to James Beard Foundation and the Robert Fulton House’s Culinary Scholarships. For more go to JamesBeard.org/chelseamarket. To make reservations call 212-627-2308.
Gotham Bar and Grill Turns 25: Celebrate this New American restaurant’s silver anniversary with lunch and dinner prix-fixe deals made up of relics and new dishes. A $25 three-course lunch menu and a $75 five-course dinner will be served through the end of March. A special ‘25’ cocktail, mixing old and new liquors, has been introduced as well. (12 E. 12th St., btwn University Pl. and Fifth Ave., 212-620-4020)
Slumdog Millionaire party at Pranna: On March 19, Pranna Restaurant (79 Madison Avenue at 28th St.) is hosting a Slumdog Millionaire party with a DJ spinning Bollywood-inspired music. India-chic is the recommended attire. Entrance is free as are “Street Bites,” which will be served throughout the night. Complimentary Slumdog cocktails will be served for the first hour followed by a cash bar. Begins at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are preferable; e-mail Grace@prannarestaurant.com.
Sunday Supper has begun at Irving Mill: The Sunday meal at Irving Mill (116 East 16th St., 212-254-1600) features a three-course menu of salad, soup, choice of Dale’s Pale Ale beer-can chicken ($60), grilled loup de mer ($60), or a grilled 48 oz. shell steak ($90), and cupcakes — enough for two to three people. Or a $45 seven-course cook’s menu packed with pork, sausage, and adventurous items such as a pork rind rice crispy treat.
Tags: pranna, chelsea market, gotham bar and grill, irving mill, food
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Searching for the elusive Shamrock Shake
Wednesday March 11, 2009 7:34 AM By Lucy Blatter
Special to amNewYork
In a number of ways, McDonald’s Shamrock Shake is just like the leprechaun: it’s green, elusive, and supposedly all over Ireland.
Today, supposed spottings of the vanilla and mint shake are passed by word of mouth or recorded on the website ShamrockShake.com. Despite not being found in the New York City for five years, pleas from those hoping this will be the year it finally returns are strewn throughout ShamrockShake.com’s message boards. It isn’t.McDonald’s’ marketing supervisor for the New York Metro region, Marcelo Fajnerman, wrote by e-mail, “The Shamrock Shake has been offered seasonally in regions throughout the country. We are always listening to our customers' needs and changing tastes. It's a regional decision and currently the New York market is not offering the Shamrock Shake.”
The milkshake was introduced by McDonald’s in 1970 as a promotion tool served from mid-Feburary through the end of March (coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day).
During the ’90s the creamy shake developed a cult following throughout the U.S. and Canada – and then it mysteriously began fading away.
The hype was so big it even got its own promotional charcter – Uncle O’Grimacey.
If you are craving a shake you can always drive down to Union, N.J. If that seems too extreme, try this at-home recipe from The New Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst:
Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1-1/4 cups milk
¼ tsp. Mint extract
8 drops green food coloring
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Stop blender to stir with a spoon if necessary to help blend ice cream. Pour into 12-ounce cups and serve each with a straw.
Optional: Add Crème De Menthe, freeze, and eat with a spoon.
Serves 2
Tags: shamrock shake, st. patricks day, food
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Win the Mega Millions and LOSE money?
Tuesday March 10, 2009 4:53 PM By Ryan Chatelain
amNewYork reader Nick Parisi passes along this gem of a photo. The billboard is off the West Side Highway near 130th Street. Don't worry, if you win -- thanks to taxes -- you'll only have to pay like $8 million.
Tags: signs
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Reports of Rihanna, Brown duet shock NYers
Tuesday March 10, 2009 3:37 PM By Marlene Naanes
He allegedly left Rihanna bloodied on a Los Angeles street. But somehow, Chris Brown may be joined by Rihanna for a new duet on his next album, according to reports.
The shocking turn of events has experts and New Yorkers alike wondering who’s looking out for the 21-year-old star and worried about the message her young fans are getting.
“I don’t know how to put it eloquently, but that is not good,” said Annie Flook, 21, Manhattan. “There should at least be a break. Their people should be helping with that.”
Some fear the couple’s back-and-forth is overshadowing the real tragedy of domestic violence, embodied by the photo of Rihanna’s black-and-blue face that’s spread everywhere since Brown’s Feb. 8 arrest. They also worry about what message it sends to fans who read reports that the couple vacationed together and are now in the studio.“It’s very frightening because they are role models,” said Diana Kirschner, a psychologist and author of “Love in 90 Days. “A young teen might be in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, and she might think it’s appropriate to go back perhaps based on what Rihanna is doing. The message is that it is acceptable for a woman to be beaten up, and its not.”
Indeed, psychology experts and image consultants believe that in a case like this, a couple should seek help and let the legal issues play out before moving on with personal or professional relationships.
If the allegations against Brown, 19, are true, Rihanna may very well be in danger if she continues the relationship, a psychologist said.
“Not only do they have to deal with the inevitable disappointments that come in the love relationship, they have to deal with the disappointments that come with professional relationships,” Kirschner said. “This is pretty much a recipe for disaster. This kind of bobbing back and forth is characteristic of a couple with abuse, and what you predict is something more horrible will happen.”
If Brown wants to keep Rihanna, experts say it’s best to take responsibility and get professional help. Because Brown is facing prison time, he should fade out of the spotlight for the time being, they said. Last week, Brown was charged with assault and making criminal threats.
E! News reported yesterday that the couple is recording a duet for Brown’s upcoming record, and other reports show he has been asking fans to vote for his Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
“From an image standpoint its better to lay low and resolve this in a court with great legal advice and then resurrect your career and then tell your story,” said Adam Kluger, managing director for Adam Kluger Public Relations, who has represented celebrities in reputation management.
Despite the fear that this case could be damaging to many beyond just the couple, parents can take the reigns and send an important message to their children, experts say.
“I hope what teens do get out of it is that the idea that victims need support and not be criticized, and that offenders take responsibility for their actions,” said Bea Hanson, chief program officer at Safe Horizon, an advocacy and assistance agency.
Tags: rihanna, chris brown, domestic violence, assault, crime
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Meet Heather Haddon
Tuesday March 10, 2009 3:24 PM By Mae Cheng
Heather Haddon is the transportation reporter at amNewYork. Previously, she worked across the Hudson at the Herald News/Bergen Record of New Jersey. A city resident for the last decade, she is a fan of the boroughs, the No. 7 train and letters from readers. Please contact her at hhaddon@am-ny.com.
Tags: heather haddon
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Chinchillas: Perfect pets in NYC
Tuesday March 10, 2009 3:00 PM By Perrie Samotin
Queens resident James Gleason, 26, hangs with his two chinchillas Ogham and Olga. (Photo: Andrew Hinderaker)
By Sean Joseph
What bathes in volcanic rock, has teeth that never stop growing and has 60 hairs for every follicle?
The chinchilla — an exotic rodent from the Andes Mountains in South America — has become popular with New Yorkers, particularly those with pet allergies.“They’re perfect city pets,” said James Gleason, 26, of Ridgewood, Queens, who has two chinchillas, Ogham and Olga. “They have no odor and they’re nocturnal like many city residents. Also, they are quiet except for when they jump around in their cage.”
The critters, which typically cost less than $200, also have no dander, a major cause of pet-related allergies, vets said.
While chinchillas are easy to care for, they have very specific needs.
Their fur is so dense that if it gets wet, it’s very hard to dry, said Steven Kasanofsky, a Manhattan vet. Chinchillas’ coats are crucial to maintaining their body temperature and if they get wet they could become hypothermic. So they must be kept in air conditioning when it’s humid and they need to take dust baths to keep clean.
Dust bath kits can be found at pet stores and contain finely ground silver sand and lava rock, Kasanofsky said.
“They think it’s a reward,” said Wendy Culkin, who runs Katie’s Critters, an animal rescue group on Long Island. “They jump right in, roll around and love it.”
However, don’t overdo dust bathing because their coat may become dry and flaky, Kasanofsky warned. It can also dry out their eyes, resulting in pinkeye.
While they can be temperamental, chinchillas do interact with people and benefit from time out of the cage.
Ian Potter, 34, of the Bronx, said he lets his chinchilla, Julie, have free rein in the living room for a few hours a night. He and his wife cordon off the room with cardboard and blankets to keep her from escaping or chewing furniture.
“It’s been a constant evolution of shoring up defenses,” Potter said. “Our place is basically shrouded in cardboard.”
5 Chinchilla tidbits
1. They have the highest fur density of any land animal, with more than 20,000 hairs per square centimeter. It's considered the softest fur in the world.
2. They're close to extinction in the wild because so many were killed for their fur. Now, most chinchilla fur comes from animals bred on farms.
3. They can jump five feet in the air.
4. They can live up to 20 years, but most live 10 to 15.
5. Martha Stewart has 15 pet chinchillas.
Tags: pets, allergies, animals, nyc, chinchilla, fur, dust, bath
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Slinging sludge on the Hudson: All in a day's work
Tuesday March 10, 2009 2:47 PM By Jason Fink
Capt. Chris Reil, 58 observes the Electronic Chart Information System aboard the Red Hook. which roughly 1.2 million gallons of sludge between wastewater treatment plants. Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY
Most New Yorkers don’t think much about what happens after they flush the toilet, but for Steve Askew, that’s when the job begins.
As superintendent of the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, Askew oversees the processing of a third of Manhattan’s waste, some 125 million gallons per day.
“Anything that can fit in a toilet bowl makes it down here,” Askew said Tuesday in his office, at 137th Street and 12th Avenue.Though he swears he’s never seen an alligator, Askew said another plant once had a dog flow in — unharmed — from a street sewer.
North River is one of 14 plants that handle the 1.3 billion gallons that flow daily from the city’s bathrooms and sewers.
Aided only by gravity, waste water from Bank Street to Spuyten Duyvil enters North River’s vats, pipes and specially-designed tanks, where solids are separated, treated, and shipped to a second plant before being trucked off by fertilizer companies that sell the final product to golf courses and orchards along the East Coast.
The sludge — the organic material left after the initial treatment — is moved between plants by boats like the $30 million Red Hook, a state-of-the-art 350-foot vessel with an array of high-tech navigation systems that First Mate Mark Thomas dubs “the Star Trek Enterprise.”
Thomas, Capt. Chris Reil and a crew of four Tuesday hauled about 1.2 million gallons of sludge from North River to a plant on Wards Island, a typical 1-1/2-hour run made up to 10 times a week.
While the odor of sewage permeates North River, aboard the Red Hook, with the wind whipping off the Hudson, Manhattan’s jagged skyline looming port side, there is not a whiff from the eight tanks below deck.
“I don’t think about the cargo,” Reil said. “It’s not exactly the most prestigious but it’s safe — it’s not going to explode and it’s not going to give you cancer.”
Tags: wastewater, sewage, boats, environment
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Viral Video: "Forrest Gump" in one minute
Tuesday March 10, 2009 12:14 PM By Emily Hulme
Made by students at the University of York Filmmaking Society, this little number sums up the epic plot of "Forrest Gump" in, duh, one minute. They just saved us all more than 2 hours.
"Then Jenny came back; she left again."
Tags: forrest gump, viral video
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Tuesday March 10, 2009 11:55 AM By Sara Baumberger
Democrats won election, so why are they still scared?
Why are people (Democrats in particular) so paranoid of Rush Limbaugh? He may have 20 million listeners, but that is less than 10 percent of the U.S. population. If everybody listened to Rush, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Monica Crowley, et al, the outcome of the 2006 and 2008 elections would’ve been different. We wouldn’t have left-wing Democrats in control. Nor would we be on the path to a socialist nanny state — not to mention the bankruptcy this country may face to pay for pork-barrel earmarks.
—Â Earl Ireland, Ozone Park
Nonresident tolls are a bad idea for the city
Congressman Anthony Weiner’s proposal for an out-of-town toll is ridiculous. Our city is dependent on tourism. It’s poor public relations to treat tourists like second-class citizens. If I were a visitor, I would turn right around before entering a toll plaza with a sign reading: “nonresidents: $4.15, free for residents.” If additional toll revenues are necessary, let them be the same for residents and nonresidents.
—Â Steven Kalka, East Rockaway
City’s roads in rough condition
I was driving into NYC from the LIE and was startled: The LIE was smooth, but then it turned bumpy and potholed. I knew I had entered Queens! It’s City Hall’s baloney about winter weather causing the potholes. One must wonder how it is that they are allegedly created by rain and snow don’t appear once you leave NYC’s borders. Could it be that they have different weather over the LIE, or is more likely that Mayor Bloomberg would rather spend on stadiums for millionaires than repair our streets?
— Remy Shapiro, Manhattan
Tags: letters to the editor
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Creating a "stew"-pendous winter supper
Tuesday March 10, 2009 10:07 AM By Lucy Blatter
Chef Joe with his seafood creation. Recipe is below. Credit: Jefferson Siegel
The final days of winter are the perfect time to try a hearty, satisfying (and easy) one-pot stew.
In addition to being relatively straight forward recipes, dishes that culminate in one pot are ideal for small city kitchens, where pot and pan storage space is limited. All you need for dishes such as chili, paella or even a pot au feu is one really good, heavy bottom pan.
“We’re in a recession in the middle of the winter — it’s the right time to be making stews,” says Howard Greenstone, a partner at Rosa Mexicano, whose monthly “Flavors of Mexico” series focuses on one-pot dishes this month. “These are soul-satisfying, hearty meals people can actually make at home,” Greenstone says.As is the case with every “Flavors of Mexico series,” this one features a dinner tasting (tonight), menu specials and a cooking demonstration (on Saturday). At this month’s cooking demonstration, guests who bring their favorite pot can attend for free (and take the food home too). Go to RosaMexicano.com for more details.
Chef Joe Quintana, who will run the demonstration, says that despite the many ingredients needed, Mexican stews are easy to make.
Try the traditional Sopa de Mariscos con Arroz de Coco, a seafood stew. It’s perfect for those abstaining from meats during Lent and, compared to one-pot dishes with meat bases, it’s quick to make.
Sopa de Mariscos con Arroz de Coco
Ingredients:
8 cups of Basque fish stock
For chile mixture:
2 Carrots, chopped
1 lb Tomatoes
½ cup White onion, large chop
1 Tbsp Garlic
2 Guajillos chiles, cleaned
2 Mecco chipotles, cleaned
¾ tsp Mexican cinnamon stick
1 Whole allspice
1 Bay leaf
FOR THE SAUTE
1 Tbsp Oil
4 tsp Garlic, chopped
4 3-ounce red snappers
8 Large shrimp, heads and shells on, peeled
1 dozen Littleneck clams, well cleaned
1 dozen Mussels, well cleaned
4 Soft shell crabs, boiled in their shells and split in half
½ cup White onion, sliced
1/3 cup Fennel, chopped
½ cup Yellow bell pepper, roasted, peeled and julienne
½ cup Passion Fruit
8 Oysters, shucked with their liquid
8 Baby octopus, boiled in salted water
Salt to taste
Directions:
For Chile Mixture
1. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat 1 quart of water. Add carrots, tomatoes, onion, garlic, chiles, cinnamon stick, allspice, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are soft.
2. Remove from heat and place in a blender. Puree until smooth. Strain through a food mill or fine mesh sieve to remove seeds and skins.
3. Combine chile mixture with fish broth and let simmer until flavors are combined, about 10 minutes. Reserve this broth
For the Sauté
4. In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and sauté the garlic, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds.
5. Salt red snapper and add to the pan and sear, skin side down for 3 minutes.
6. Add shrimp, clams, mussels, crab and vegetables to the pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
7. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until clams and mussels open. Add oysters and baby octopus in at the last minute.
Serves 4-6
Courtesy of Rosa Mexicano restaurants, RosaMexicano.com
Tags: stew, seafood stew, mexican food, rosa mexicano
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Tippling without tipping the scale
Tuesday March 10, 2009 9:28 AM By Lucy Blatter
Bethenny Frankel's new book, "Naturally Thin," includes tips and recipes for healthy living.
Bethenny Frankel is best known as one of the co-stars of “Real Housewives of New York City,” but she’s also a cook dedicated to healthful, natural foods.
Frankel’s book, “Naturally Thin: Unleash your Inner SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting,” is out this week and her line of “SkinnyGirl” drinks will be coming to supermarkets this spring. We asked Frankel for some tips for tippling without tipping the scale.
1. Mix lightly. When it comes to cocktails mixers, “tiny splash is your best friend,” she says.
2. Add some flavor. Instead of adding sugary juices, she recommends flavored-liquors, such as raspberry and orange vodkas. For a Cosmopolitan, for example, try “raspberry-flavored vodka with club soda, lime and a splash of cranberry juice.” Because it’s not so sweet, it’ll also slow your drinking down.
3. Steer toward clear. Clear liquor is lower in calories and the sugar content is lower.
4. Add ice. Ice dilutes the drink without adding calories, and helps slow down your drinking.
5. Keep to your budget. One of Frankel’s tenets is “Your diet is a bank account,” meaning you must balance your food choices and carefully decide when to save or splurge. The same rule applies with alcohol, she says. For example, if you have a sweet drink, forget dessert.
SkinnyGirl Frangelini
1/2 oz Frangelico
2 oz vanilla vodka
Top with club soda
Shake over ice and serve in a cold martini glass. Garnish with a chocolate covered espresso bean.
SkinnyGirl Margarita
2 ounces white (clear) tequila (100 percent agave). Count 1, 2 while you pour; no need for measuring.
Large splash of fresh lime juice, or 4 lime wedges
Tiny splash of orange or citrus liqueur
A splash of club soda to lighten it, optional
Combine all ingredients over a glass of ice or in a shaker and stir. If using lime wedges, squeeze them into the glass. If you want to garnish the rim with sugar, rub a lime wedge around the edge of the glass before adding the drink. You can also make it in a blender. Fill the glass to overflowing with ice, then add the ice and other ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
Recipes from "Naturally Thin," published by Simon and Schuster.
Tags: bethenny frankel, real housewives of new york city, margaritas, food
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Leaks likely to plague new station
Monday March 9, 2009 3:44 PM By Heather Haddon
(AP Photo/Robert Mecea)
The much-delayed $530 million new South Ferry subway station is finally slated to open Monday, but the MTA’s headaches with the terminal may continue for the long term.
An independent engineer’s report presented last month found that the station suffers from severe water leaks behind the walls and in its subway tunnel that cannot be fixed. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority hired multiple crews of workers to grout the leaks, but the repairs will “not eliminate them completely,” stated the report written by Carter-Burgess, an engineering firm hired by the agency to evaluate major projects.
“There’s a certain amount you can pump out, but you don’t want a stream coming in,” said William Henderson, chairman of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. “It causes structural damage.”
The MTA declined to comment for this story.
Additionally, amNewYork has learned that in the rush to open the station, the MTA may have wasted several thousand dollars on staffing.
Originally scheduled to open by December, the MTA activated the signals in the station in November. Under railroad regulations, a signal maintainer must monitor the switches 24 hours a day once they go live.But a platform snafu delayed the station opening by more than three months, leaving the MTA to pay for a signal maintainer to do nothing during that time.
According to the MTA union, a transit worker of that category gets paid $29 per hour, resulting in a compensation of about $75,000 for an around-the-clock unproductive vigil since the end of November.
“They are in the tower reading the newspaper all day,” said a source familiar with the project.
The MTA had already come under attack for botching the subway platforms at the station, resulting in an additional cost of $200,000. At first, the platform were determined to be too wide for a train to pull in, then later, the agency discovered that their fixes made the platforms too narrow under federal regulations, according to published reports.
Tags: transit
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Facebook fasting becoming a popular Lent sacrifice
Monday March 9, 2009 2:57 PM By Marlene Naanes
When deciding what to give up for Lent, Fordham University student Rebecca Gehman decided she would sacrifice something that she spent five to 10 hours a week doing — surfing Facebook.
“I went to church, and I thought what would actually bring me closer to God or give me a better sense of self?” said Gehman, 18, of Manhattan, who admits she used to log in about five times a day. “What takes up time in my day? Facebook.”
Like many Catholics who give up something they enjoy during the 40 days before Easter, Facebook is becoming as popular as chocolate as a Lenten sacrifice. Several Facebook groups about giving up Facebook for Lent have sprouted up on the social networking Web site, which has more than 175 million users.
The faithful make have taken a cue from Italian bishops who urged Catholics to give up or moderate text messaging, using iPods or driving cars for Lent, which started Feb. 25.“Technology has become the centerpiece for our culture, and in many, many ways that’s a great thing,” said Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League. “[Lent is] a good time for reflection and to pare back a bit. We’re so into ourselves, so narcissistic — that’s why the Catholic hierarchy is saying it’s time to step back, take a deep breath and realize there’s more to society than just you.”
A priest at Fordham University, a Jesuit school, suggested students there give up Facebook, a move praised by some administrators.
“It’s much harder to give up than chocolate for our students of this generation,” said Angela O’Donnell, associate director of Fordham’s Curran Center for American Catholic Studies. “One gives up something that you would really miss. If you do this on an hourly basis, much more on a minute-by-minute basis, it would be very hard.”
“Facebook fasters” are finding that halting their minute-by-minute status updates or picture postings turned out to be easier than they thought. However, some have found the site is often a necessity and had to break the fast.
Ponnu Varghese, 19, another Fordham Student who is Indian Orthodox, said she and a friend traded passwords and e-mail log-ins to lock each other out of Facebook for Lent.
While she broke her fast recently to get information about a friend passing away and to organize a religious group event, Varghese said she’ll go back to life without Facebook soon.
“I started talking about it with my friends and they said are you serious how are you going to survive?” she said. “I asked how did you survive before Facebook? Usually you hear about (giving up) chocolate or video games — it’s what’s meaningful to you.”
While staying off Facebook is easy for some, people are finding it’s hard on their friends.
Michael Wilhoite, a stage manager from the Upper West Side, said his wife has successfully given up on Facebook for Lent so far, but it’s angered her friends who usually communicate with her through the site. People have told her they’re mad they’ve had to contact her through e-mail instead aor wait until Lent ends to “talk” to her through Facebook, said Wilhoite, 33.
Her friends are not alone. Some New Yorkers wouldn’t even consider giving it up.
“This is New York,” said Marcelo Puebla, 38, of Union Square, who gave up junk food for Lent. “You can’t be out of touch.”
Melinda Hsia and Casey Feldman contributed to this report.
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Sacrifices and customs in other religions:
Yom Kippur: Jews fast from sundown the day before to nightfall on the holiday.
Ramadan: A month of daily fasting, from dawn until dusk.
Kathina Ceremony: A Buddhist practice of giving monks new robes and other offerings after their three-month retreat season.
Great Lent: An Eastern Orthodox holiday of fasting from meat, fish, dairy products, wine, and oil seven weeks before Easter.
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Monday March 9, 2009 1:55 PM By Sara Baumberger
Who is really to blame for economic crisis?
Re William Smith’s letter, “Bush responsible for economic meltdown,” March 6-8: Smith says Bush policies are “completely responsible for the implosion of our economy.” But, while Bush should be held accountable for reckless spending, the current crisis is the fault of Democrats in Congress who defended the subprime lending policies of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2003, President Bush pushed for a regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry and Treasury Secretary John Snow warned that if Fannie and Freddie were not reformed, there would be consequences. Democrats derided such “alarmist” talk. Barney Frank said Fannie and Freddie were “fundamentally sound.” Chris Dodd insisted that everything was fine. Did their positions have to do with the fact that Frank and Dodd had gotten campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie?
—Â James Longo, Livingston, N.J.
Auto industry taking Americans for a ride
These so-called auto-industry losses are attributed to research and development costs of alternative fuel vehicles. Do you think the automakers want to spend their own money? They are using scare tactics to steal American dollars to upgrade facilities and to pay for research. They want only to use taxpayer dollars to upgrade businesses so Americans can be taken for a ride.
— John Clemente, Annandale, N.J.
Tags: letters to the editor
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Soak up Dublin's sights
Monday March 9, 2009 11:33 AM By Lucy Blatter
A copper pot still at the Old Jameson Distillery. Credit: Jameson
By Cristina Velocci
Special to amNewYork
Next week, New Yorkers will mark St. Patrick’s Day by cramming into overcrowded pubs and attempting to recreate the Dublin experience. But the real thing is so much better.
Home to both Guinness and Jameson, the capital city’s deeply rooted pub culture makes it the perfect backdrop for a suds-soaked celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s fun all year round.SOAK UP THE SIGHTS
Old Jameson Distillery
Bow St., Smithfield, +353-1-807-2355, irishdistillershost.com/ojd
Originally built in 1780, this centuries-old distillery is now little more than a museum housed in a section of its former self (production of Jameson ceased in 1971 and now takes place at the Middleton Distillery outside Cork). Every half-hour, guided tours lead you through reproductions of each of the steps taken to create the triple-distilled whiskey, culminating in the final step—consumption!—at the Jameson bar for a complimentary dram.
The Chimney
Smithfield Village, +353-1-817-3838
Around the corner from the Old Jameson Distillery lies this chimney which was once a part of the facility but now serves as a separate observation tower, providing 360-degree views of historic North Dublin from a two-tiered glass enclosed platform 185 feet up. Those with liquid courage can brave the 257 steps up the spiral staircase, otherwise there’s a glass elevator that shuttles you to the top.
Guinness Storehouse
St. James's Gate, +353-1-408-4800, guinness-storehouse.com
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the St. James Gate brewery, the 60-acre complex on the south side of Dublin where 3 million pints of Guinness are produced every day. Join in the celebration with a visit to this seven-floor museum shaped like a pint glass that covers everything from the ingredients and brewing process to the iconic advertisements created by John Gilroy. Learn to pour the perfect pint before having one drawn for you at the Gravity Bar, where you can enjoy panoramic city views with your complimentary beer.
WHERE TO PASS OUT
The Morrison
Ormond Quay, +353-1-887-2400, morrisonhotel.ie
Situated on the north side of the River Liffey, this trendy hotel’s 138 spacious rooms are the work of Irish fashion designer John Rocha, who incorporated velvet throws, dark wood, iPod docking stations and Frette linens in the upscale décor.
SIPS AND SUSTENANCE
The Temple Bar Pub
47-48 Temple Bar, +353-1-672-5286, thetemplebarpubdublin.com
Since this sprawling pub shares its name with the city's cobblestoned entertainment district, it’s one of the most recognizable — and packed — bars in all of Dublin. There’s plenty of room to navigate though, including an open-air beer garden. The bar boasts the largest whiskey collection in Ireland with a worldwide selection that’s 410 bottles strong. There are live, traditional Irish music jam sessions daily.
Porterhouse Brewing Company
16-18 Parliament St., +353-1-679-8847, porterhousebrewco.com
Possibly the only bar in Dublin where you’ll get quizzical looks for ordering a Guinness, this tri-level brewery and pub only serves its own brand of stouts, ales and lagers, plus seasonal suds. Grab a stool by a giant copper still-turned-table, take in the view overlooking Temple Bar and order up some filling fare, such as beef ‘n’ stout.
South William
52 South William St., +353-1-672-5946, southwilliam.ie
For an alternative to the traditional pub scene, this funky lounge offers a hip vibe with none of the attitude. Sip a specialty cocktail while reclining at one of the worn leather couches under a rotating disco ball. Or head to the outdoor patio for drinks al fresco. DJs spin on weekends, when the amber-lit basement turns into a large dance floor. Sop up suds with one of the eight gourmet pies stuffed with Guinness-braised meat and vegetables.
BOX:
Know Before You Go:
Currency: As of press time, €1 = $1.27 U.S.
Liquor licenses: Last call on weekdays is 11:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday it’s 12:30 a.m. Some places with special late licenses can stay open until 2:30 a.m.
Tickets: Aerlingus.com is currently offering round-trip airfare, four nights at the Regency Hotel, daily full Irish breakfast and round-trip airport transfers for $399 for travel during the month of March. Flights from New York start at $169.
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Travel deals!
Monday March 9, 2009 11:28 AM By Lucy Blatter
Costa Rican jungle and volcano: Costa Rica’s Lost Iguana Resort & Spa, located on 120 acres of rainforest, is offering 20% off stays of four or more nights through December 15. Starting rates are $148/night. The resort is one of the few hotels facing the lava-flowing side of the Arenal volcano, one of the world’s 10 most active volcanoes, and boasts jungle trails, two pools, spa, saunas, and massage bungalows.
LostIguanaResort.com, (011) 506-2267-6148, or maritzalostiguana@mac.com
Eight nights and round-trip airfare to India for $999: Friendly Planet Travel’s Taj Mahal Express navigates groups through the sites of Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra with optional extensions to Mumbai and Nepal at an additional cost. The price includes round-trip airfare, transportation in India, accommodations, daily breakfast buffets, a farewell dinner, some tours, and an experienced tour director. Book by March 27. $999 offer is valid for a June 10 departure date. Other departures are an additional $100-$300.
FriendlyPlanet.com or 800-555-5765
Book a cruise, get a complimentary Vegas stay: Through March, travelers who book a Seven-to 14-night European cruise with Costa Cruises will receive a two-night complimentary stay at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Costa offers 135 itineraries throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Seven-night cruises begin at $449/person. The Las Vegas stay must be between Sunday and Thursday, and is based on availability.
CostaCruises.com or 800-GO-COSTA
Daytona Beach on a Budget: Oceanfront accommodations begin at $64/night with the Daytona Beach area-wide Spring Family Beach Break special. Through May 21, luxurious resorts and quaint family-friendly hotels alike are slashing prices. The Daytona Beach Area Sun Saver booklet features $500 worth of coupons for restaurants, shops, spas, tours, golf, and area attractions.
FamilyBeachBreak.com or 866-845-1993
(Emily Mathis)
Tags: deals, travel, costa rica, las vegas, daytona beach, india
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Tickets still available for A Taste of Greenwich House
Monday March 9, 2009 9:51 AM By Lucy Blatter
Want to taste top-notch restaurant food and give back to the community?
Greenwich House, which helps at-risk children, seniors and other clients in Greenwich House's through medical, mental health and arts programs, is hosting a fund-raiser tonight called A Taste of Greenwich House.
Attendees will enjoy tastings from restaurants including Bar Blanc and
Scarpetta, an open bar and silent auction, from from 7-9 p.m. at the Altman Building, 135 W. 18th Street.
Scarpetta's Scott Conant is hosting a VIP reception from 6 pm - 7 pm, where he'll be
signing copies of his cookbook, "Bold Italian."
VIP Gourmet Tickets: $250
VIP Tickets: $175
General Admission: $90 per person in advance, $100 at the door
For tickets or more information, please contact: YMoro@greenwichhouse.org or
212.991.0003 x 403
Tags: scott conant, scarpetta, greenwich house, food
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Viral video: Break-dance Mickey
Monday March 9, 2009 9:35 AM By Sean Joseph
Who knew Mickey had moves like this?
Tags: viral video, television, music, mickey mouse
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An eye for fashion and vintage patterns
Sunday March 8, 2009 4:08 PM By Garett Sloane
Emanuela Romano finds inspiring vintage patterns for use in modern clothing lines. (Marie Claire Andrea)
By Lana Bortolot
Special to amNewYork
Emanuela Romano is a fashion hound dog: She sniffs out trendy patterns and fabrics at vintage clothing shops from here to the West Coast.
If paisley, polka dots and poppies are back in style, then vintage textile researchers such as Romano are on the hunt to retrieve samples for clients.
“You have to know what the clients are looking for, and the challenge is to constantly find new stuff,” Romano said.Romano, 42, runs her company, Martire Productions, from her home on Roosevelt Island. She is also the primary vintage textile researcher for Cherry Design Partners, a textile design studio formed by former colleagues of hers in the Garment District.
The Gap, Old Navy, Anne Klein, Jones New York, H&M and Macy’s are on her client list.
Manufacturers and designers use her samples for inspiration or reference, sometimes mimicking patterns for their clothing lines. The designs change in the translation: For instance, lines might become squiggles or circles might become ovals.
When she founded her company in 2006, Romano didn’t have a first-year plan, but set her financial goal slightly below her last staff salary.
She met that goal, and the next year, doubled her business, she said.
Like everyone else, however, she has felt the pangs of the recession.
Designers who take fewer risks may shy away from the bolder patterns she peddles.
“The fashion industry is the first to be hit in a recession, and clients are cutting back or deciding to go with solids,” she said. “They are afraid to take risks and are staying with what they know will sell.”
She’s coping with the hard times, however.
“You have to have positive energy when walking into [clients’] offices because they’re working under a lot of pressure,” she said. “You have to be patient, be an entertainer, but also be confident and believe in your product.”
She’s coping with the hard times, however.
“You have to have positive energy when walking into [clients’] offices because they’re working under a lot of pressure,” she said. “You have to be patient, be an entertainer, but also be confident and believe in your product.”
Tags: garment industry, garment district, vintage patterns, vintage textile researcher, small business, fashion, economy
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Sunday March 8, 2009 2:41 PM By Sara Baumberger
Traffic is part of Times Square culture
No doubt, to create a traffic-free zone on Times Square is a good idea and all pedestrians should be very glad. But a crazy mix of cars, people and lights is the main part of the image of the great and famous Crosswalk of the world named Times Square. Half of this incomparable image will be lost without traffic (mostly yellow taxi cars). If you can imagine Times Square this way, you would understand.
—Â Lev Litsin, Manhattan
Obama didn’t cause this problem
Re David Baker’s letter, “Americans having another kind of ‘buyer’s remorse,’” March 5: Where has David Baker been that he thinks President Obama “is responsible for the loss of half of everybody’s net worth?” Does he not recall George W. Bush, Paulson and company demanding Congress to act fast with the $700 billion bailout last September? Obama inherited this problem, he didn’t cause it.
—Â Rich Rickaby, Manhattan
A-Rod’s injury for real?
Looks like A-Rod is pulling a Barry Bonds. Remember when Bonds took a year off from baseball for an “injury” — coincidentally, right in the middle of his steroid scandal? Then he returned a year later, broke the home run record, and all was forgiven. Now it looks like A-Rod has a similar coincidence they’re calling a “cyst,” and will be out just long enough for his steroid scandal to blow over. Looks like when A-Rod can’t take the heat, he runs out of the kitchen.
— Michael Chimenti, Oakland Gardens
Tags: letters to the editor
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City Comptroller race becomes a little more crowded
Sunday March 8, 2009 2:29 PM By Marlene Naanes
Another member of the City Council joined the increasingly-crowded city Comptroller race yesterday, rounding out the pool of official candidates to four.
Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) announced his candidacy on the City Hall steps with a wall of supporters chanting behind him. His candidacy announcement noted the historic significance of being the first Asian American to run for citywide office.
“I’m going to be that independent watchdog for our city’s finances,” said Liu, who before being elected to the City Council in 2001, was a PriceWaterhouseCoopers manager. “I’m going to be a pit bull.”
Liu joins fellow council members Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills), David Weprin (D-Hollis/Jamaica) and David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) in the running for the city’s chief financial officer. Liu had been vying to be Public Advocate, and a spokeswoman for his campaign said the switch had more to do with wanting to help the city through the tough economy than the highly-contested advocate race, which includes former Public Advocate Mark Green.“In this difficult time, he’s ready and willing to step up to advocate for all [NEW YORKERS]... it doesn’t change with the office,” said the spokeswoman, Chung Seto.
Current comptroller, Bill Thompson, said he will not seek re-election and has chosen instead to run for mayor.
Some of Liu’s competitors zeroed in on the candidacy shift yesterday, including the Katz campaign, which said the city’s chief financial officer post is the councilman’s second choice.
“I look forward to speaking with communities in all corners of the city to demonstrate why I’m the best candidate for this critical office, which has always been — and will continue to be — my first choice,” said Katz, who also worked as a business and securities attorney.
Yassky, who was also a corporate attorney, said the outcome of the comptroller’s race will be important to the city during the next decade.
Meanwhile, Weprin said Liu joining the race does not affect him.
“I’ve been running for controller for the last four years,” said Weprin, who has worked in the banking and financial services industry.
Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.
Tags: comptroller, john liu, daivd weprin, david yassky, melinda katz, public advocate, city council, election, politics
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311 info in the palm of your hand?
Sunday March 8, 2009 2:23 PM By Marlene Naanes
New Yorkers may soon have as much access to 311’s data on their mobile phones as the hotline’s operators at the call center.
A new 311 mobile application would allow people to check public school closings, alternate side parking rules and find a local library from their cell phones.
“We need to keep New York City at the forefront of information technology by tapping into the next generation of communication,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) said in a statement.
The application would be downloaded onto a cell phone, allowing access to a database 311 operators use.Quinn and Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) are talking with the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications about how to make the database accessible from cell phones.
A Quinn spokesperson said ideally New Yorkers would eventually also be able to file complaints using their mobile device.
While a lot of the information is already available online at nyc.gov, the new application would make it easier to find.
It is unclear when the service would be available as the proposal is still in early stages.
The mobile application could help the city save money by cutting the number of calls to the information line, thus reducing the budget for 311 personnel by $1.7 million, according to the councilwomen.
Tags: 311, gale brewer, christine quinn, city council, doitt, technology
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Nervous New Yorkers seek psychic advice
Sunday March 8, 2009 2:20 PM By Heather Haddon
(Astrologer Lawrence Grecco has witnessed more of his clients coming to him for career advice. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY))
If tarot cards and the alignment of Pluto can predict one’s career prospects, jittery New Yorkers are willing to believe.
A survey of two dozen New York psychics and astrologers found that the recession has sent clients flocking to them with questions about work and money.
“It used to be all about relationships,” said Derek Calibre, a psychic on the Upper East Side. “Now, money comes up in a more pronounced way.”
New Yorkers — usually known as self-assured risk takers — are feeling a bit more vulnerable these days, it seems.
A recent survey of 230 New York residents by the American Psychological Association found that half were dealing with more stress than the year before. Money and work were the leading causes of anxiety.
As his acting work dried up last year, Brooklynite Yoshi Kono decided he needed offbeat advice to find a new niche. He turned to a psychic. “He gave me some kind of an idea of what to focus on,” said Kono, 44Increasingly, psychics have found themselves playing career counselor, part-time therapist and life coach. Clients have asked for specifics on job leads, a level of detail not all mystics are comfortable with.
“People are very agitated and very worried,” said Wilma Carroll, an Upper East Side astrologer, who tends to turn away the unemployed so as not to become their job counselor.
It’s hard to know exactly how many people visit fortune tellers, but a recent Gallop Poll found that a quarter of respondents believed in astrology and clairvoyance.
Predicting the future is illegal in New York State, so all psychics working here must call themselves entertainers.
While $5 palm readers lure in the curious off the streets, higher-end seers charge between $100 and $300 an hour.
The top-dollar mystics say they are seeing more executives and beleaguered bankers seeking their advice. Some of the clients are looking to leave the rat race for a more fulfilling, albeit modest, careers.
“One of my clients worked for a major bank that just folded,” said Lawrence Grecco, an astrologer in TriBeCa. “Now, he's pursuing creative writing.”
Psychologists advise New Yorkers to manage their stress through relationships and positive thinking, not the occult.
“That builds your own resilience, rather than looking to be 'saved' by magic,” said Peter Kanaris, the public education coordinator for the New York Psychological Association.
Still, fortune tellers believe they have an important role to play these days. After all, Pluto’s shift into Capricorn foretold the crisis, they say, and that formation isn’t changing for years to come.
“We knew that structures were going to tumble,” said Shelley Ackerman, a longtime city astrologer. “We didn’t know it would be this quick.”
(Damiano Beltrami contributed to this report)
Tags: transit
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Viral video: The truth, mommy
Sunday March 8, 2009 9:52 AM By Sean Joseph
This adorable boy’s mother finds out that cookies are the key to his heart.
Tags: viral video, television, cookies
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New Job Countdown: Resume writing tips
Sunday March 8, 2009 8:11 AM By Lucy Blatter
Career expert Barbara Safani (left) helps Allegra McBane get her resume noticed. Photo credit: Dave Sanders.
By Karen Tina Harrison
Special to amNewYork
This week, New Job Countdown goes on a resume rampage with job-seeker Allegra McBane and career expert Barbara Safani (www.careersolvers.com).
The campaign:
“To find a job in this tight market, you need every advantage,” Safani said. These strategic tools are essential:
• Flexible but realistic goals
• A network of everyone you know personally, professionally and online
• A resume that makes you stand out
• A thorough plan to get your resume outThe secret weapon:
“Job seekers, your product is yourself,” said Safani. “Your resume must quickly convey that you can save or make money for employers.”
McBane discovered her job-market value by writing down her past work accomplishments. “Beyond PR and marketing, I’ve created and run communications departments,” she said. “What I‘ve done in arts organizations I can do in advertising, fashion and finance as well.”
The resume:
“Most resumes are boring and get tossed,” said Safani. “A notice-me resume is not a list or chronology. It’s an advertisement for what you can do for a company.”
How to make a recruiter look twice at your resume:
• Make it succinct, attractive and easy to scan
• Add short sections up top for Areas of Expertise and Value Offered
The reaction:
Said McBane, “My new resume positions me as a valuable communications pro. And my expanded network opens up so many possibilities. I feel on top of the competition.”
The homework:
McBane will work on getting her resume out to everyone in her network and to recruiters. (Their fees are paid by the eventual employer.)
Safani recommended that McBane put her resume on online job boards, including
• “Niche boards” specific to your field
• “Aggregate job boards” (like www.indeed.com and www.simplyhired.com) that respond to job postings for you.
On March 23, we’ll conduct a dress rehearsal for McBane’s job interviews.
Tags: job search, recruiters, job boards, job front
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Upcoming job fairs and events
Sunday March 8, 2009 8:06 AM By Lucy Blatter
Wednesday- New Career in New Economy (Alternative Energy)
Location: Paradise East, 1223 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn,
Time: 7:30 p.m.
To register: FREE orientation. Call Vlad Licko at 347-563-2543
Thursday – New York Military/Veteran Career Fair
Location: Radisson Martinique on Broadway Hotel, 49 W. 32nd St.
Time: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
To register: Free registration at nationalcareerfairs.com
Thursday – Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, New York
Career Conference
Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St.
Time: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
To register: Free registration at www.hace-usa.org/events.htm
Thursday – NurseWeek Career Fair
Location: Melville Marriott, 1350 Old Walt Whitman Road, Melville, N.Y.
Time: 8 a.m. (Doors open), 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Seminars), 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (Exhibit Hall)
To register: Free registration at events.nursingspectrum.com or call
800-868-8944 x4
* Free resume review also included
Friday —Big East Career Fair
Location: Madison Square Garden, Seventh Avenue & 32nd Street
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
To register: Free registration on-site day of or www.eventemanagement.com/bigeast2009 by Tuesday.
*Only open to students and alumni of schools within the Big East Conference
Friday, March 13 -April 17- Career and Life Matters’ “Changing Jobs in Changing Times” series of career workshops. First one, Coming to terms with job/career change
Location: The Chanin Building, 122 E. 42 St.
Time: March 13-April 17, Fridays, 4:30-6 p.m.
To register: Pre-registration is required. Registration and more information at: www.careerandlifematters.com or call 1-888-423-5210. Cost is $45 per session.
(Emily Mathis)
Photo credit:iStockphoto
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Cookie Monster and Pink Gorilla LIVE from West 4th Street!
Thursday March 5, 2009 3:00 PM By Rolando Pujol
amNewYork's Patrick Cashin shared this most surreal scene he ran across at the West Fourth Street subway station Wednesday night.
It's the music duo we'll simply call Cookie Monster and Pink Gorilla, hoping to rustle up a few bucks for their efforts.
Passersby were both intrigued and mortified. We can see why.
We weren't there long enough, alas, to find out if they performed Cookie Monster's classic " 'C' Is For Cookie"
Tags: cookie monster, subway, subway musicians, zany
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Owner of Stuy Town ordered to re-regulate apartments
Thursday March 5, 2009 2:46 PM By Jason Fink
Tenants of Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village won a major victory Thursday when a court ruled that the owner needs to restore rent control as long as it is receiving certain tax breaks.
The state Appellate Division ruling also applies to owners of other buildings that have de-regulated apartments while receiving the same tax breaks. It’s unclear how many properties throughout the city could be affected.
The court found that Tishman Speyer Properties, which bought Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in 2006 for $5.4 billion, had improperly de-regulated apartments while receiving some $24 million in tax breaks. The tenants had brought suit against Tishman Speyer in 2007 and a lower court had dismissed the case.“Tishman Speyer needs to do something unheard of in this town: Re-regulate apartments that have been lost as affordable housing,” said Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), who led a failed tenant-backed bid to purchase the properties in 2006.
In a statement to Crain’s, Tishman Speyer said it will “continue to pursue all potential appeals and defenses.”
Dan Pasquini, Garodnick’s spokesman, said there are about 11,000 apartments in the two Tishman Speyer complexes and a third live in units that have been deregulated. If the court’s ruling stands, Pasquini said he expects the landlord will pay back tenants who were overcharged.
Tishman Speyer is scheduled to benefit from the tax breaks through 2017.
Tags: stuyvesant town, peter cooper village, rent control, development
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Historian: City would break promise with Coney Island hotels
Thursday March 5, 2009 2:33 PM By Ryan Chatelain
Thirty-seven years after city officials fought to keep apartment towers out of Coney Island’s amusement district, the Bloomberg administration wants to allow four high-rise hotels in that very space. In the eyes of one historian, the plan breaks a decades-old promise made to the waterfront neighborhood.
Charles Denson points to a 1972 Planning Commission amendment that restricted zoning south of Surf Avenue to “recreational, amusement and related uses.” The resolution was prompted by fear that apartments would wipe out Coney Island’s trademark thrill rides, according to a July 1972 article in The New York Times.
“If this resolution hadn’t gone through, there would be nothing,” said Denson, director of the nonprofit Coney Island History Project. “Everybody would have sold.”The Bloomberg administration is currently seeking to rezone Coney Island to create a 27-acre indoor and outdoor amusement and entertainment district, which would include a 12-acre theme park on city-controlled land. The rezoning would allow for new uses such as movie theaters and sit-down dining, as well as hotel towers of up to 27 stories – one of the most controversial aspects of the proposal.
Purnima Kapur, director of the Brooklyn office of City Planning, said the 1972 zoning is outdated and that hotels and restaurants would enhance the amusement experience.
“Not only does it provide a use that goes hand in hand with an amusement park, it’s also the right economic development tool here,” she said.
Denson contends that introducing hotels into the amusement district further limits the space that could be dedicated to thrill rides and would stunt development.
While city officials maintain that they will set strict regulations for hotel use, Denson said he fears the hotels will eventually be transformed into condos.
“If you zone for 27 stories and somebody builds that, then that’s really the end of the amusement area,” he said. “It just locks in the land. It never improves. And it blocks views.”
Tags: coney island, development
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Back in the Groove: Vinyl Records are making a comeback
Thursday March 5, 2009 1:47 PM By Scott A. Rosenberg
Nick Lynch, 21 of BedStuy, Brooklyn, peruses the record selection at Other Music at 15 E. 4th St. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)
They’re big, heavy and cumbersome. The sound crackles and pops. They’re relics of a bygone era.
So what is it about the vinyl record – admittedly a truly iconic item - that caused sales to nearly double in 2008?
“It’s really for the true collector, the one that understands music, quality of music, wants to know about the artist that’s playing, wants to read liner notes,” said Rachel Friedman, president of J&R Music World.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, LP sales were up 89 percent in 2008, jumping to 1.88 million LP’s sold. When you take into account the 14 percent overall drop in CDs, LPs and digital sales combined, it’s a mystifying trend.
(RJ Mickelson/amNY)
According to Nielsen SoundScan, LP sales were up 89 percent in 2008, jumping to 1.88 million LP’s sold. When you take into account the 14 percent overall drop in CDs, LPs and digital sales combined, it’s a mystifying trend.
Collector's Market
Vinyl sales have been rising steadily at J&R, which has been selling vinyl since it opened in 1971. As demand increases, it has expanded the vinyl section, Friedman said.
Friedman recounted a story where a vinyl customer came in and bought two of everything. “One I leave sealed and the other one I listen to,” he told her. “It’s a different way of listening to music,” says Josh Madell, co-owner of Other Music, which sells both new and used records. “A new way to digest music.”
Madell points out that to have an LP, you have to have a stereo with speakers, which much different from listening to an mp3 on ear buds.
Plus, when you listen to music on vinyl, you’re experiencing it the way the artist intended.
“I’m of the school of thought that you sit down and you consume an album as you would a book or a piece of art,” says Augie Visocchi, 26, vocalist and guitarist for the Detroit indie-rock band The Hard Lessons. “You put it on the turntable, you hold it on your hands, you look at the lyrics sheets and the artwork and it’s an experience.”
The Hard Lessons is releasing its new album, “Arms Forest” on vinyl, CD and digitally. But the vinyl edition is getting the most lavish treatment, released on gatefold vinyl with the first 200 copies on golden white swirl vinyl, with a lyric sheet. The album was mixed down to tape so that the sound is as true to what the band played in the studio as possible. Visocchi also worked hard with the art director and some of his photographer friends to ensure that the packaging is top shelf.
A new old sound
Strangely enough, digital music is seen as one of the catalysts for the rise in vinyl sales.
“With the amount of digital music people own, you get to the point where media is invisible,” says Jonathan Sklute, owner of Good Records. Music means a lot to people, and they want something that is a better physical representation than an mp3, something that means a little more, he says.
Sklute’s 4-year-old store, a clean and brightly lit used record shop that opened up in its new E. Fifth Street location in June, has its walls lined with used albums. Playing in the background is some thumping rock music, emanating from the spinning turntable near the register. Sklute says that he’s seen a notable increase in street traffic, with casual buyers who want the basics – the classics. He can easily run through his stock of Aretha Franklin and Billy Joel albums.
Meaningful music
Music aside, some vinyl fans are drawn in by the beauty of the item itself.
“It’s more of an artifact,” said Arthur Campbell, 34, of Jersey City, N.J., who was flipping through the new vinyl selection at Other Music on a Saturday night. He said his collection is about 80 percent vinyl and 20 percent CD. He was drawn to vinyl in his early 20s, falling for the “visualness” of the record. He added that the CD “feels like it’s drifting; not wholly real.”
Paul Stanley, of the legendary band Kiss, laments the diminished status of the LP because it marked a loss of an artform.
“The beauty in buying an LP used to be you got a package, a piece of art — something that someone worked hard on to make it creative, dynamic and interesting to look at it and maybe to put on your wall,” Stanley said. “And now with CDs, all you can see is someone’s name. In that way I miss it.”
Stanley said that if the demand called for it, Kiss would release its new album on vinyl.
Spinning back
If you look at the Nielsen SoundScan Top Vinyl Sellers of 2008, Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” was far-and-away the best seller, with about 25,800 copies sold. Coming in second, with about 16,500 copies is “Abbey Road” by The Beatles. The rest of the top 10 is a mix of old and new, from Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” to Guns ‘N’ Roses “Chinese Democracy” to Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”
It’s rather telling that the two top sellers are one of the biggest band of the ’60s, and possibly of all time, and one of the biggest band now. Records are spanning the ages, as far as sales go, with younger and older consumers driving the sales.
“Older people always bought and collected [records], but now young people too,” says Chris Weidner, the manager of the West Village mainstay, Bleecker Bob’s.
Thomas Wolf, a classical supervisor at Academy Records in the Flatiron District, says that lapsed vinyl listeners have been rediscovering it.
“People who used to collect are coming back,” he says. “They forgot how beautiful they can [sound].”
But how does the sound of vinyl compare to the sound of a CD or an mp3? The crackle and clicks of the 12-inch spinning disc are said to offer up a warmer sound. And that’s the key word: warmer. But, that doesn’t mean better.
“Sonically, [vinyl] sounds as good as you can get,” Sklute says. The dynamics are different, he adds, but not necessarily better than CD.
To understand the difference in sound, you need to consider how the information – in this case the music – is transferred.
Visocchi had a clear way of explaining it. “With CDs, everything has to be rounded up or down. The digital information has to be rounded down to a one or a zero, whereas the grooves of a vinyl record reproduce what was on that tape exactly.”
The cost of vinyl
While the sound is warmer nostalgic value higher with vinyl, one of the stumbling blocks is the cost. Finding quality used albums can be affordable, with some of the more common releases - let’s say Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” – might only run you $2 at Good Records, the more obscure and rare you get, the higher the prices are going to be. Sklute says that he’s sold albums for thousands.
New albums on vinyl are often more expensive then their tiny, plastic counterparts. The list prices for Brooklyn indie-rock band Beirut’s latest release, “March of the Zapotec and Realpeople Holland,” is $9.99 on iTunes, $13.98 for a double CD and $16.98 for a double EP.
Bruce Springsteen’s latest, “Working at a Dream” is $9.99 on iTunes, $18.98 for the regular CD, $22.98 for the Deluxe CD and $24.98 on vinyl.
“The more they make, the more [there is] to sell,” Weidner says. “Except the price is too high.”
Some of the albums have such high prices that Weidner says the store just doesn’t carry them.
But Visocchi seems more value for your dollar with vinyl.
“I think that the people that purchase vinyl put a little more value on it,” he says. “It may be a few dollars more than the CD version or the iTunes version, but I think people understand you’re not just getting some files that you’re going to stick on some tiny little device. You’re actually getting a physical product. I’d like to believe that that still means something.”
Vinyl records for sale at Barnes and Noble on Union Square. (Photo by Andrew Hinderaker)
Tags: vinyl, j&r, rachel friedman, josh madell, other music, augie visocchi, the hard lessons, arms forest, jonathan sklute, good records, kiss, paul stanley, bleecker bob's, academy records
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Rift over ancient texts leads to cyber crimes, says DA
Thursday March 5, 2009 1:26 PM By Jason Fink
The bookish world of ancient Hebrew scholarship has collided with the modern scourge of cyber harassment.
A Manhattan man was arrested Thursday for leading an Internet attack against a Dead Sea Scrolls expert whose theories he rejected.
Raphael Haim Golb, 49 is accused of impersonating Lawrence Schiffman, the chairman of NYU’s Hebrew and Judaic Studies Department, by using Schiffman’s name online and emailing university administrators “confessions” of plagiarism, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office. He made similar claims on blogs, the DA’s office said.Golb was charged with identity theft, criminal impersonation and aggravated harassment and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday night.
Golb’s father, Norman Golb, is also a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and has clashed with Schiffman over the origin of the 2,100-year-old scrolls, which were found in caves in Israel in the late 1940s and contain some of the oldest known written passages from the Hebrew Bible.
“Those of us who believe that the Internet has a lot potential for scholarly interchange should take pause when we see how it can be used to browbeat people with different viewpoints,” Schiffman said Thursday.
Schiffman said nobody at NYU believed the emails – which began in August and continued until December – but that he had to meet with deans nevertheless.
The younger Golb is not a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and there is no reason to believe Norman Golb knew what his son was up to, said Schiffman.
The disagreement between the two scholars may seem minor: Schiffman believes the scrolls were left by a Jewish sect that lived in Qumran, where the parchments were found; Norman Golb theorizes that they were the work of many different Jewish groups, who stashed them there while fleeing Jerusalem.
“Norman was objecting formally, on academic grounds, and his son was going in the other direction,” Schiffman said.
Tags: dead sea scrolls, cyber, identity theft, crime, zany, religion
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Nannies, dog walkers among the hardest hit by economy
Thursday March 5, 2009 1:26 PM By Marlene Naanes
(Photo by Marie Claire Andrea)
The armies of workers hired to walk the dogs, care for the kids, clean the apartments and sculpt the physiques of affluent New Yorkers are among those most hurting in the economic downturn.
The workers are finding their hours slashed or worse as their employers lose their jobs or simply cut back to survive the worst economic slump in decades.
And history shows it will likely only get worse for people who depend on the livelihoods of others to make a living.
“Domestic workers have a higher unemployment rate at times of a difficult economy than other workers do,” said Premilla Nadasen, associate professor of history at Queens College, who is writing a book about domestic-worker labor organizing in the post-war years. “Their economic fate is dependant on the fate of other workers.”
Because the domestic or personal service industries include people who are undocumented, paid off the books or self-employed, they often are not included in employment statistics, and some people have not necessarily lost their jobs but have found themselves underemployed or underpaid, said Janet Gornick, a professor at the CUNY Graduate Center. One way to understand the scope of problem today is to look at the Great Depression.
The unemployment rate of African Americans, who composed a large part of the domestic workers at the time, was 50 percent compared to 25 percent overall, Nadasen said.Paychecks for the nanny or dog-walker can be the easiest expense to knock off a budget when the alternative could mean losing the house, Gornick said. It’s a fact that forced two New York dog-walkers to take on other jobs.
“A lot of people have been smarter with money so they don't want to waste it on dog-walkers,” said Arlene De La Cruz, a Hunter College student who with City College student Stephanie Earaballoso started Student Dog Walkers two years ago to support themselves. “Before it was our way of getting money. Now because of the cutback, we've been baby-sitting.”
For six months, nanny Monica Brathwaite struggled to find a new employer, finding prospective households wanted to pay little more than half her normal rate.
“I was asking for 15 dollars [an hour], and they said they could only offer eight or nine,” said Brathwaite, who finally found a job. “They said it was the economy, the husband or wife was out of work. They need a nanny, but just couldn't afford it.”
A group that helps domestic workers, Domestic Workers United, said phone calls from laid-off nannies or those whose employers are trying to take advantage of them to save money rose tenfold.
The increase of job-seekers at household or personal-service companies is another indicator of the pain. Some concierge firms and domestic-worker referral services reported between a 50 to 70 percent increase in calls from those looking for jobs.
“We have a lot of people coming in every day desperate trying to find a job [who] had already gone to the agencies on Long Island and Manhattan — there's no work anywhere they go,” said Soraya Minickene, owner of Soraya Agency Corp., a Brooklyn nanny placement company. “They are in a very desperate situation. We had people crying or just calling us over the phone because they don't have the carfare to come down to the office.”
Personal trainers and dog walkers say they’ve seen a 20 to 30 percent decrease in business.
However, not everyone is hurting. Personal shoppers and concierge services say business has kept up -- it’s just that customers are being more thrifty with their requests.
“The change that I've seen is that people aren't calling us up to shop for special items like dresses or anything fancy,” said Nakia Brown, CEO of Yes, Your Highness! Concierge Services. “They're calling up for things that they need.”
Large nanny placement agencies are still getting plenty of calls for help, especially after, say, a second parent returns to the workforce to make ends meet.
But it’s the self-employed nannies for who, the hurt does not end. One nanny of more than 15 years said the worry of never finding a job again made her leave the profession for nursing school.
“I was going on interviews and they say they cannot afford to pay my full wage,” said the nanny, who did not want to give her name. “You need to get out of one field, and it will get better. My future will be better.”
Tags: nanny, economy, dog walker, personal trainer, domestic worker
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Senate stalls on plan to ax fare hike
Thursday March 5, 2009 1:09 PM By Heather Haddon
Straphangers jittery about a possible 23 percent fare hike got little comforting news this week.
While Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver indicated he has the votes to support new revenue streams for the MTA, the state Senate is sharply divided on the bill.
The Senate's 30 Republicans uniformly oppose a .33 percent payroll tax that would contribute $1.5 billion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's deficit.
Democrats have a two-member majority in the Senate and generally support the payroll tax. But yesterday, three outer borough senators lashed out against tolls on the bill’s proposal for East and Harlem river bridges, and demanded an independent audit of the MTA's books.
“How many properties do they have? What is the compensation to their executives?” asked Senators Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx). “Stop lying to the people.”
Diaz threatened to sue the MTA until the audit is conducted, even though it would likely take months. The MTA board will vote on the fare hikes and service cuts on March 25.An MTA spokesman said postponing the bill for an audit would force the agency to pass its doomsday budget.
“Inaction in Albany will result in unfortunate fare increases,” said spokesman Kevin Ortiz. “The time for excuses is over and the time to act is now.”
Diaz was flip about the audit possibly wasting too much time to advert the fare hike.
“Let Mayor Bloomberg pay for (the MTA) from his election campaign,” Diaz said.
Sen. Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) called the opposition “old news.”
“I'm committed to have some sort of solution,” said Dilan, the transportation committee chair. “There's no done deal, but we're moving in the right direction.”
In the last weeks, senators have discussed amending the bill to only include the payroll tax, which Diaz supports. But the Senate has not introduced an amended bill, and the state leadership is still pushing for the entire package.
Meanwhile, Dilan said senators are discussing “plan B” proposals - such as gasoline taxes and car dealership fees - if the toll plan dies.
Lawmakers are also hitting snags with enforcement of the tolls. An estimated 40 percent of the cars using the East and Harlem river bridges come from outside New York, and by law the state could not punish fare beaters who do not use Easy Pass.
Tags: transit
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Thursday March 5, 2009 11:49 AM By Sara Baumberger
Are Republicans working to make Obama fail?
Re “Wanted: GOP’s new face,” March 5: The Republican conservatives’ identity crisis stems from the fact that their ideas didn’t work. Their radical ranks hope the current administration will fail just as badly. The trillion-dollar questions: Is America’s failure their strategy? Will they work against President Obama to create economic failure? Are this nation and its people merely pawns in their political skirmish? This is not a team sport — this is the future of our nation! If the GOP wants a viable leader, it will be one who puts country before party.
—Â John J. Fitzgerald, Manhattan
Bush responsible for economic meltdown
Re David Baker’s letter, “Americans having another kind of ‘buyer’s remorse,” March 5: I was unaware that George W. Bush had ever been a community organizer. Regardless, it is certainly true that the economic policies of his administration are completely responsible for the implosion of our economy.
—William Smith, Manhattan
Gov’t shouldn’t lecture us on spending habits
There is something weird about being lectured by government officials on spending and budgets. These government rulers are the ones who cannot balance a budget, spend money wildly all around the globe and are responsible for our present woes. These same politicians are apparently not aware of the growing unrest in our country but they had better be.
—Â Frank St. George, East Rockaway
Tags: letters to the editor
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Viral video: Pingpong player busts a move
Thursday March 5, 2009 8:18 AM By Sean Joseph
By the way this table tennis player is dancing, you’d think he won the match. Turns out he’s just happy he wasn’t shut out.
Tags: viral video, television, sports, pingpong, dancing
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Can't get to Napa? Napa comes to you!
Thursday March 5, 2009 6:50 AM By Lucy Blatter
Napa Valley Takes Over New York March 9th –12th — The “Taste Napa Valley: New York” series will consist of wine tastings (Monday 7–9:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Pavilion, featuring more than 50 wineries, $50 ), a wine and cheese pairing class ( Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Artisanal Premium Cheese, $85), and a special bowling and wine benefit (Tuesday 7–9:30 p.m. at Lucky Strike Bowling, $100). For more information and a complete listing of events visit NapaVintners.com.
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Banks still branch out in New York City
Wednesday March 4, 2009 4:19 PM By Garett Sloane
By Rebecca Wolfson
Special to amNewYork
The financial industry is battered, but that doesn’t mean New York’s landscape of bank branches is withering.
TD Bank in particular has an aggressive growth strategy. The Canadian bank that took over Commerce in 2007 has plans for five to nine new city branches this year, said spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo.
Faith Hope Consolo, the head of retail leasing at Prudential Douglas Elliman, said that banks have not become the retail sore spot that many were predicting.“Private banking will become more important because people are going to want to go somewhere they can talk about their money personally,” she said.
New banks are still opening; they’re just in smaller spaces and at rents that are 25 percent lower than they were last year, Consolo said.
“Bank of America still sees a tremendous opportunity in New York,” said spokeswoman Anne Pace. “We have no plans to close any banking centers in 2009.”
The company plans to open a Bryant Park branch this year.
However, Citigroup is retrenching and JPMorgan Chase is closing branches after its merger with Washington Mutual, Consolo noted. Chase will close 32 branches by late summer. Some will be the two-story mega-bank variety, Consolo said.
The cutbacks, however, still leave 500 Chase branches for New Yorkers, hardly a shortage.
“Chase and WaMu customers will have many more branches to bank at,” said Mike Fusco, a spokesman for Chase.
Tags: td bank, bank of america, chase, jpmorgan chase, washington mutual, wamu, citigroup, retail banks, bank branches, new york city, economy
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GOP circus: The search for the new face of the Republican Party
Wednesday March 4, 2009 4:02 PM By Emily Ngo
They have a common opponent settled into the White House.
They have a common goal of winning back a Congressional majority.
But rather than battling to regain ground lost to President Barack Obama and the Democrats, the fractured Republican Party is fighting … itself.
“They’re beyond divisions,” said Scott Levenson, president of the Advance Group, a Democratic consulting firm. “They have crevices the size of the Grand Canyon in the Republican Party that begin and end with the fact that they do not stand for anything.”
And with the 2010 midterm elections looming, experts agree that they need to get their act together soon.
“One part of the Republican Party says we should go back to our basics, government is bad. Another part thinks no, we’ve really got to rethink the message,” said James Morone, a political science professor at Brown University. “And all Republicans have to decide where they stand on the continuum.”
Many conservatives are doing just that, but not without infighting. The very public barbs exchanged between veteran talk show host Rush Limbaugh and newly minted Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has highlighted just one disparity in visions for the party.
Steele — the committee’s first black leader — tagged Limbaugh “incendiary” and “an entertainer.” He later apologized, but Limbaugh had first suggested Steele should quit and slammed the GOP’s “sad-sack state.”
Steele’s stock plummeted in the same way that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s star dimmed after his widely panned response to Obama’s State of the Union-style speech.
No clear leader or plan has emerged to redefine and reunite the red team, experts said. If anything, the Republicans have made themselves more vulnerable to Democrats, who claim their strategy is to promote the divisive Limbaugh as the face of the GOP.
“There are people out there like Bobby Jindal, like Newt Gingrich, like Sarah Palin,” said Fordham University political science professor Costas Panagopoulos, “but what they’re doing collectively is far more important than what they’re doing individually.”
With the country’s tenor hovering at center-right, most political experts are advising a moderate and centrist path for the GOP.
“The numbers are such that it remains difficult for the GOP to drift to the right,” Panagopoulos said.
Some Republicans, however, promote a return to the party’s far-right roots, where Limbaugh is king.
“Rush will be here after Palin, after Steele, after Jindal,” said Karol Sheinin, of the right-wing blog Alarming News, adding the talk show host doesn’t alienate conservatives the way even former President George W. Bush did. “He will be here forever. … I think he wins at the end of all of this.”
Tags: rush limbaugh, republican party, barack obama, bobby jindal, michael steele, politics
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Transit audit finds unclaimed savings
Wednesday March 4, 2009 2:12 PM By Heather Haddon
New York City Transit could have potentially saved more than $6 million in unnecessary construction expenses if it had properly followed its own protocol to undergo cost-reduction analysis, the MTA inspector general has found.
“In our current economic climate, such cost-saving measures take on an even heightened significance,” said Barry Kluger, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority inspector general.
By NYC Transit mandate, projects valued at more than $10 million must have an outside consultant conduct a study to determine ways to save money, such as altering the design or substituting parts. In the past five years the pre-work analysis has saved the agency $78 million.Of the 40 NYC Transit projects between 2005 and 2007 that Kluger’s office surveyed, nearly a third were not referred for consultation, though auditors believe they should have been submitted.
Administrators made “informal and unauthorized” decisions in not sending the $341 million worth of work to the outside consultant, the audit states. Since the analysis on average reduces a project’s cost by 3.5 percent, the inspector general’s office estimated that $6 million could have been saved on the agency’s work.
The projects included station rehabilitations, such as the work done on the 183rd Street stop on the No. 4 line.
In response, NYC Transit officials said the unreferred projects did not meet its guidelines for analysis, but administrators should have documented the exceptions. Going forward, design managers must submit proper documentation.
Tags: transit
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Deputy mayor tussles with street mugger
Wednesday March 4, 2009 1:57 PM By Jason Fink
Ed Skyler
Call it the Bloomberg administration’s latest crime fighting effort.
Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler, whose day job has him tangling with budgets and wrestling with bureaucracies, found himself tussling with a would-be mugger Tuesday night in midtown.
Skyler, 35, who helps manage the NYPD, was on his way to a restaurant at 48th Street and Sixth Avenue just after 8 p.m. when he came across a teenager who had snatched a woman’s Blackberry Curve.
“I screamed for help,” Victoria Kress, 41, of West Orange, N.J., recalled Wednesday.
Kress, a talent agent, said she was sending e-mails as she walked to the Port Authority bus terminal following a work function when a teenager came “from out of nowhere” and grabbed the Blackberry.
Skyler, who had just gotten out of his car, took off to try to corral the thief.“I attempted to tackle him and I basically cut him off,” Skyler said Wednesday at a City Hall news conference. “He tried to evade me and he slipped (on a patch of ice) and that’s when I grabbed him.”
Skyler was holding the teen and had dialed 911 when he noticed there were three others boys, which “changed the dynamics of the situation.”
All four fled and while he briefly gave chase, Skyler said he went back to where Kress was sitting to check on her.
“A very tall gentleman got my phone and said, ‘Is this your phone?’” Kress said of the six-foot-four Skyler.
The assailants have not caught.
Police spokesman, Paul Browne, wouldn’t say whether cops generally encourage actions such as Skyler’s. “It really depends . . . what people feel they can safely do,” he said.
Tags: edward skyler, city hall, crime, city hall dispatch
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Sunset Park: A sunny outlook for B'klyn nabe
Wednesday March 4, 2009 1:37 PM By Lucy Blatter
By Stefanie Arck
Special to amNewYork
Sunset Park offers some of the best panoramic views of Manhattan, so it’s only fitting that the neighborhood was named after its greatest asset — that western view.
Populated in the early 1900s by Irish, Italian and German immigrants, and more recently by Latino and Asian families, it’s one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Now, as sky-high rents are forcing many people to move out of neighborhoods closer to the city, new construction is cropping up, and more long-time residents are moving out as an influx of young professionals and artists move in.
The boundaries of Sunset Park are much contested, but no matter how you define it, this vast area is bordered by an eclectic group of neighborhoods, including Park Slope, Borough Park and Bay Ridge. It’s also home to Brooklyn’s Chinatown, The Green-Wood Cemetery and some of the most authentic and affordable Chinese and Mexican food around.
In September, this populous area will get a long-awaited, brand-new high school, and a waterfront recreation area on the East River is projected to be completed within the next two years.The Buzz
Gentrification. Throughout Sunset Park, you see signs of the old neighborhood meeting the new: Traditional pre-war homes stand side-by-side with new condo high-rises; hipster joints open next door to mom-and-pop Spanish shops; mommies power-walk with Bugaboo strollers that cost more than their neighbor’s car. Those born and raised here scoff at the prices of new properties, and note that they would not pay the same money to move here now.
Find It
Sunset Park is bounded by approximately 17th Street to the north, Ninth Avenue to the east, 65th Street to the south and Upper New York Bay to the west.
DID YOU KNOW?
Scenes from “The Departed” were filmed in one of the neighborhood’s oldest bars, Irish Haven on Fourth Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets.
On Aug. 8, 2007, a tornado with 135 mile-per-hour winds crushed cars and tore the roofs off houses in Sunset Park.
The population of Sunset Park as of 2000 was 120,063, which was a 17% increase from 1990. Fifty-two percent of those residents were of Hispanic origin.
TO SHOP
While Sunset Park doesn't have any big department stores, the area does have many stores that cater to locals. Fifth Avenue from the park to the 60s is packed with inexpensive clothing stores for all ages, electronics shops and a handful of party-related stores selling items for communions, weddings and sweet 16s. In Chinatown, markets offer sidewalk-side fresh fish and cheap fruit and vegetables.
Keonar Dos Sports Shop
6011 Fifth Ave. between 60th and 61st streets, 718-442-8482
Your inner athlete – especially soccer player – can find everything you need to dominate on the field at this sporting goods store. Along with what you’d expect, including jerseys, shoes and balls, you can find metallic wrestling masks that work equally as well for Halloween.
Mr C’s Cycles
4622 Seventh Ave. at 46th Street, 718-438-7283
Avid cyclists, or those looking to become one, can check out Mr C’s for low prices on a huge selection of bikes and cycling accessories. The two-floor store houses everything from city, mountain and road racing bikes, to family bicycles with baby seats. Since it has been owner-operated for 26 years, you’ll find great, attentive and knowledgeable service.
My Secret Place
6118 Fifth Ave. between 61st and 62nd streets, No phone listed
Self-described as a “cheap and chic boutique” this thrift store has some decent finds if you’re willing to carefully pick through its racks. Hipsters and/or their grandparents can find good deals, including jeans for under $10, leather jackets for $35 and if you’re lucky, even some trendy clothes, like a Bohemian lace-trimmed shirt for just $4.
TO PLAY
Nightlife in Sunset Park is sparse, with just a few bars and clubs, and that fits this family neighborhood just fine. Some restaurants turn into bars with live music at night, but for wholesome fun, locals visit the Melody Lanes. Others head to the northern part of Sunset Park (which some refer to as Green-Wood Heights, or South Slope) and check out the local watering holes there.
Coraline Café
480 62nd St. at Fifth Avenue, 718-492-6698
This corner bar with internet cafe is close to the Bay Ridge border. Grab a coffee and pre-pay some internet time so you can surf while you swig. Or if you prefer your entertainment to be more of the gaming variety, you can enjoy a pool table, darts, and video games. The beer selection is large, with about 35 bottles and another 15 bottles of specialty drinks, such as hard cider. Drinks here won’t break the bank, with the average draft costing $4.
Feeney’s Pub
6202 Fifth Ave. at 62nd Street, 718-439-6020
To look at Feeney’s Pub, you’d think the place was here for years. And the ridiculously low prices ($3.25/pint) support that theory. But this dead-ringer for a nice VFW hall has only been open for three years. Catering to a mature crowd, Feeney’s is big, friendly and pours a great pint of Guinness.
Melody Lanes Bowling Center
461 37th St. at Fifth Avenue, 718-832-2695
Those who are nostalgic for the good old days bowl at Melody Lanes. Offering inexpensive fun in same location since 1958, the low prices and charming d̩cor attract families from all over Brooklyn on the weekends, league bowlers during the week, and many couples at night Рespecially for the midnight madness special. Melody features 26 lanes, a snack counter and a bar that opens at 5 p.m. every day, so you can throw back some beers after you throw some balls.
Toby’s Public House
686 Sixth Ave. at 21st Street, 718-788-1186
This cozy, neighborhood bar offers its customers great local beer, an early (4-6 p.m.) and late night (11 p.m.-1 a.m.) happy hour, sports on four flat screens, and outdoor seating. In addition to a relaxed atmosphere, Toby’s offers great food; the wood-burning oven turns out some top-notch pizza, and patrons love bartender Bam’s unique flavors of home-made beef jerky.
TO EAT
Sunset Park's dining scene matches the ethnicities of its residents, with Latino and Asian food dominating the region. Most of these restaurants are inexpensive, authentic and offer standout fare for the low cost. On Fifth avenue, taquerias and Mexican bakeries are abundant while Eighth avenue offers myriad Chinese restaurants, noodle shops and specialty stores with tapioca and milk drinks. People from all over visit Sunset Park for a tamale from a sidewalk stand or a dim sum breakfast in Brooklyn's Chinatown.
Café Con Pan Bakery Corp.
5401 Fifth Ave. at 52nd Street, 718-439-0041
There are many Mexican bakeries in Sunset Park, and Café Con Pan is typical of them with high-quality, low-cost baked goods. A slice of cheesecake is $1.50 and you can get a quarter pound of perfectly crumbly bakery cookies for just $2.25. If you’re hungry for more than sweets, their grill turns out cheap breakfast fare, like eggs and home fries, for a mere $3.50.
Euro Trip
667 Fifth Ave. between 19th and 20th streets, 718-285-9425
This new restaurant and bar is less than a year old, and draws Europeans from all over the five boroughs for the Central-European menu. Featuring dishes from Poland, Armenia, Hungary and Germany – among others – Euro Trip has comfort food everyone can enjoy, such as latkes and wurst platters. Their bar menu has house drinks featuring “distinctive European spirits,” and it also offers happy hour specials from 4-8 p.m. daily.
Tacos 2004
3913 Fifth Ave. at 39th Street, 718-853-0707
Tacos 2004 is a bit off-putting on the outside, but don’t let the bars on the windows deter you; it's worth a trip for the fresh food made by hand while you wait. Prices are insanely low for the high quality; for just $2 you can get a flavorful steak taco with home-made guacamole. The most expensive item on the menu is a $12 shrimp fajita, but most dishes are $7-8. Tacos 2004 has a good tequila selection, as well as a bar menu that features the greatest hits of the ‘80s, like Sex on the Beach and White Russians.
Yunnan Flavour Snack Shop
775A 49th St. at Eighth Avenue, 718-633-3090
This tiny snack shop is more of a store than restaurant with no tables, with counter seating for about 10. But they offer a large selection of noodle soups in generous portions with most dishes costing just $4.25. Watch the owners make your meal behind the counter as they mix the fresh ingredients in a huge caldron-like pot. Favorites are the pork soup with rice noodles and spicy dumpling soup.
THE ONE THING YOU MUST DO
Sunset Park
After walking up three flights of steps to get to the top of Sunset Park -- which seems strangely bereft of trees and barren from the street -- you realize what the attraction is: an incomparable, panoramic view ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building. The best way to soak in the view is grab a snack, cozy up on a bench at the top of the park, and stay there until sunset so you can fully appreciate how the park got its name. If you prefer a bit more activity, walk toward the east side of the park, where you can find basketball courts, a sand volleyball court and a playground.
TO SEE
Sunset Park offers activities as diverse as its residents. Whether you want to learn about the past at Green-Wood or the Navy Yards, check out present-day Chinatown or see the melting pot of a neighborhood before the future of gentrification changes it, Sunset Park is rich in history and sights.
Green-Wood Cemetery
500 25th St. between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Fifth Avenue
Although it’s the final resting place of nearly 600,000 people, including Gotham political legend Boss Tweed and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, this 478-acre site is more tourist attraction than scary, ghost-filled cliché. A landmark, it features beautiful mausoleums, a plethora of bird life and the most quiet space you’ll find in the area, especially this close to the Jackie Gleason bus depot. Wander alone or take a guided tour.
Chinatown
Running from Eighth Avenue in the 40s through the 60s, Chinatown is the place to go for inexpensive and authentic cuisine. Some restaurants’ windows showcase the requisite hanging ducks, but you should go inside if you want to get a true picture of how fresh the seafood is. Eels, fish and other creatures of the deep swim around in small aquariums awaiting their demise in the freshest of Chinese restaurants. Don’t be afraid to eat food from vendors in telephone booth-like “kitchens” where fresh Chinese pastries are often made and sold.
Sunset Park Play Center
A NYC Parks Department endeavor, this WPA-built complex opened in 1936 on the east side of Sunset Park. Featuring a pool, computers, a library, and programs for kids, this recreation center offers a well-equipped gym with indoor pool that adults can join for just $50 a year. A nod to this neighborhood’s commitment to its residents can be seen in the hand-painted murals by local school children.
REAL ESTATE
No matter where Park Slope “officially” ends and Sunset Park begins, this neighborhood offers housing with lower prices than its neighbors. Young families and twenty-somethings are moving into more affordable condos and into the more traditional, four-story co-ops that line the park, which were built by Finnish immigrants between 1910 and 1928. Living here is also attractive for young professionals because it’s easily accessible by the N, R, M and the D express train, which can get you to Manhattan in just 20 minutes.
FOR SALE
550-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath top-floor co-op on the park with great city views at 637 41st St.: $212,500
700-square-foot two-bedroom, one-bath third-floor co-op on the park at 566 44th St.: $240,000
700-square-foot two-bedroom first-floor co-op on the park at 661 41st St.: $300,000
Contact: Peter Bracichowicz
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, Corcoran Park Slope
347-342-8370, peb@corcoran.com
FOR RENT
600-square-foot studio with super and laundry on site at 845 43rd St.: $950
700-square-foot rent-stabilized one-bedroom with recently renovated kitchen at 205 30th St.: $1,100
800-square-foot two-bedroom with hardwood floors and eat-in kitchen at 417 40th St.: $1450
900-square-foot three-bedroom at 503 56th St.: $1,500 with a two-year lease
Contact: Robert Santos Jr.
All Points Real Estate
718-907-5449, rsantos@allpointsre.com
Q and A with Joe Borgia, manager of Melody Lanes
Q: How has Sunset Park’s residential makeup changed in the
past 30 to 40 years?
A: In the ’70s, it was mostly Italian, Irish and German, and then came
Puerto Ricans and Mexicans, and now it’s switching back to a variety. It’s a
big mixture of everything, all different nationalities.
Q: What are the best things about the neighborhood?
A: There’s a big variety of people and places. There's a lot of shopping on
Fifth Avenue. You can take a tour of Green-Wood. And it’s very convenient to
get into Manhattan; you got four trains that can get you there in just 15
minutes to the city. And then there's the park, and a lot of people like to
go down to Shore Road and walk along the water.
Q: What’s not so good about the neighborhood?
A: Really just the parking. I hate the parking here. Crime used to be an
issue but not anymore; the police are very involved and the store owners are
very involved, too, as it's in their best interest to keep the area safe.
Q: Who would be best-suited to move here?
A: Both families and single people are moving here because it's a nice area
and it's easy to get into the city.
Tags: sunset park, city living
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Wednesday March 4, 2009 12:34 PM By Sara Baumberger
Americans having another kind of ‘buyer’s remorse’
Re “Buyer’s remorse,” March 2: I picked up a copy of your paper yesterday, expecting to read a front page story about how millions of voters now regret voting for the “community organizer” who is responsible for the loss of half of everybody’s net worth.
—Â David Baker, Kew Gardens
Big gov’t means little for the middle class
Will the increased size of the federal government mean we’re going back to longer lines at the post office and motor vehicle offices? Let’s see how this works, the rich get poorer, the middle class continues to get screwed and those who don’t work and improve themselves get more for hanging around and doing nothing. What a great country this is for some!
—Â Bernie McGrath, Holbrook
Street closures would take away from NYC experience
First cars were banned from Central Park, then an upper West Side Highway exit was closed and now the planned Times Square closure. There is a character to the City — in particular Times Square, with all its organized chaos — which makes New York, well, New York. Visitors don’t come here to walk a mall, they want to see and feel the city. If Times Square is closed to traffic, I’m afraid future traffic reports would be something like this: “There is a two-person collision at 42nd and 7th, handbag dropped. A kid jumped the curb, causing a soda spill, the EPA is on the scene.”
—Â Stanley Gnoza, Staten Island
Tags: letters to the editor
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These pizzas spark passions
Wednesday March 4, 2009 9:24 AM By Lucy Blatter
Lombardi's is a Little Italy legend. Credit: Dan Peterson
Special to amNewYork
Ask five New Yorkers for their favorite pizza spots, and you’ll likely hear a handful of different, very passionate answers. Whether landmarks with coal-ovens or barely year-old stands — pizza loyalties are vast, varied and run very deep. Here is a list of some of the city’s pizza places with cult followings. We know New Yorkers are passionate about their pizza. If you think we missed someplace great, list it in the comments section below. Tell us why you love it!
THE NEWBIES:
Artichoke Basille’s Pizza & Brewery
328 E. 14th St., btwn First and Second aves., 212-228-2004
As one employee commented, getting a slice at Artichoke on a Friday night is like getting into an exclusive nightclub. The street is lined with at least 30 to 40 people, elbow to elbow. “Guys and girls are meeting each other because they are so close. Everyone is drinking beer, having a good time,” says Tommy, the manager. This standing-room only East Village pizzeria doesn’t mess around, serving $4 gargantuan slices that 20-year-old student Sulina Gabale described as, “like butter.” Tommy chalks it up to among many things – multi-generations of restaurateurs and the highest quality ingredients. They serve draft beer, pies ($20-$28), slices ($4) and stuffed artichokes ($6). Margherita, Sicilian, Spinach & Artichoke (highly recommended), or Crab.
2 Bros Pizza
32 St. Mark’s Pl., btwn Second and Third aves., 212-777-0600
599 Sixth Ave., btwn 17th and 18th sts., 212+206-8656
“Just write out cheap 22 times,” was 23-year-old Darko Latic of Queens advice on how to describe this St. Mark’s pizzeria where he was enjoying a quick lunch Monday afternoon. “It’s not bad pizza. Where else can you get 2 slices and a drink for $2.75?” Minimalism reigns supreme here — the menu is limited to thin crust plain slices and there’s a sparse seating area.THE ESTABLISHED ONES:
Di Fara
1424 Ave. J at East 15th St., Midwood, Brooklyn, 718-258-1367
Sometime between 1964 and today, owner Dom DeMarco got really lucky and what was once a solid neighborhood pizza joint became a pilgrimage for food nuts. Some, including the pizza blog Slice, say it was around the 80s that DeMarco started switching things up – importing ingredients and toying with recipes – which he still does. According to Slice, the standard mixing is a blend of fresh and canned San Marzano tomatoes and high-quality mozzarella mixed with fresh buffalo mozzarella. A 45-minute wait is a given since DeMarco makes all the pies himself.
Denino’s
524 Port Richmond Ave. at Hooker Pl., Staten Island, 718-442-9401
As the “In Crust We Trust” adorning to-go boxes attests, the crispy brick-oven crusts are key to the pizzeria’s fame. That, and a no-holds-barred approach to toppings. Try the Clam Pie or the Garbage Pie, complete with sausage, mushrooms, meatballs, onion, and pepperoni, for $21.14.
Grimaldi’s
19 Old Fulton St., 718-858-4300
No delivery, no credit cards, no individual slices, but still the coal-oven pies at Grimaldi’s – nestled under the Brooklyn Bridge – keeps the place consistently crowded.
Lucali
575 Henry St. near First Pl., 718-858-4086
Pizzas are made front and center at this transformed candy store now serving traditional thin-crust, brick-oven pizzeria and oven-baked calzones in Carroll Gardens. It’s pies-only, BYOB and cash-only.
Louie & Ernie’s Pizza
1300 Crosby Ave., 718-829-6230
Creamy mozzarella and salty thin crust make this Pelham Bay cash-only joint (located in a house) a star outside the coal-oven cluster. Plain slices are $2.25, small plain pies are $11.50 and large pies are $13.25
Nick’s Pizza
108-26 Ascan Ave. near Burns St., Queens, 718-263-1126
Light, thin, crispy crusts with fresh mozzarella achieve pizza fame over a simple gas oven. The mystery of this fete earned the Forest Hills place a Best of New York “Best Myth-Shattering Pie” award in 2004. Pies and cash only.
LEGENDS:
Lombardi’s
32 Spring St. btwn Mott & Mulberry sts., 212-941-7994
As America’s first pizzeria (the place was licensed by city of New York in 1905), the Little Italy eatery has quite the reputation to uphold. Coal-oven pizza with smoky crust, phenomenal sauce, homemade meatball toppings, and a legendary clam pie ($21) makes most conclude they have succeeded in their task. Cash only and no reservations on weekends.
Patsy’s
2287 First Ave., btwn 117th and 118th sts., 212-534-9783
Founded in 1933 by Pasquale Patsy Lancieri, a one-time employee of Lombardi’s, this East Harlem pizzeria it is deeply embedded in New York pizza royalty — and arguably the seed that spawned a wave of pizzerias. There are no slices, but $11 will you get a plain pie with light, crispy crust and fresh sauce cooked over a coal-fire.
Totonno’s
1544 Second Ave. btwn 80th and 81st sts., 212-327-2800
462 Second Ave. btwn 26th and 27th sts., 212-213-8800
1524 Neptune Ave., 718-372-8606
“Only God makes better pizza,” a Zagat guide once said. This family-run pizza mini-empire serves crispy crusts and oozing cheese. Bob Ronin, a 23-year-old photographer from Coney Island who grew up going to the flagship on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, says, “It’s definitely one of the best places to get pizza. It’s like an old-fashioned pizza joint.” The two Manhattan locations are a little more upscale but pack the same flavor.
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For foodies: This week's dining briefs
Wednesday March 4, 2009 9:15 AM By Lucy Blatter
The Oak Room in its current state. (Sari Goodfriend)
Special to amNewYork
The Plaza’s Oak Room to re-launch: The Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room will re-launch on March 18th, with prices more appropriate for today's economy, and what is being described as a more welcoming environment. While the exact menu and prices won’t be decided until next week, one thing’s for sure: Eric Hara, formerly of David Burke Townhouse and Fishtail, is new the executive chef. The Oak Bar will remain open for lunch, dinner and brunch throughout the transition.
The Plaza Hotel, 10 Central Park SouthRecession menu at The Cub Room: This SoHo spot offers $29 three-course dinners featuring entrees with catchy names, such as “Strong Stomach for Stock Market Rollercoaster” — a rib-eye with creamed spinach and fries and the “Sea of Uncertainty”— shrimps, scallops, and lobster in lemon pasta. Two for one beer, wine, and cocktails are served at lunch time and happy hour is from 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
131 Sullivan St. btwn Broadway and Sixth Ave., 212-677-4100
$75 Sopranos wine tasting menu: Patsy’s and Sopranos Wines — inspired by the HBO series — are pairing up to offer a five-course dinner, with wine pairings from Monday through April 6. Menu options include calamari salad (with Pinot Grigio), rigatoni fra diavolo (with Chianti), Rack of Lamb, Sausage Pizzailoa with Peppers or Salmon with Mustard Sauce (served with Chianti Classico). Dessert options include Patsy’s homemade Tiramisu and Ricotta Cheesecake.
236 W. 56th St., btwn Broadway and Eighth Ave., 212-247-3491.
$55 Wines of Lombardia tasting: L’Artusi will host a tasting of six to seven wines and aperitivi food this Sunday from 3:30-5:30. Reserve in advance by e-mailing Jen at jen@villagehospitality.com or calling 212-255-5757.
228 W. 10th Street btwn Bleecker and Hudson sts.
Three Scotches and Three Doughnuts for $15: In March, Atria's Monday experimental food pairing series, Upstairs at Atria: On the Rocks, will be dedicated to scotch and doughnuts. Pastry chef Seth Caro’s butterscotch doughnuts with bacon-powder with braised pineapple ice cream will be paired with three scotches.
13-15 W. 54 St. btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 212-262-4600
Gotham Bar and Grill Turns 25: Celebrate this New American restaurant’s silver anniversary with lunch and dinner prix-fixe deals and menus made up of relics and new dishes. A $25 three-course lunch menu has five options of appetizers, entrees and desserts, and a $75 dinner that includes a special ‘25’ cocktail mixing old and new New York will be served through the end of March.
12 E. 12th St. btwn University and Fifth Ave., 212-620-4020
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Viral video: Forecast flop
Wednesday March 4, 2009 8:46 AM By Sean Joseph
This weather forecast sure isn’t that accurate, though it may be just as helpful as the usual daily predictions.
Tags: viral video, television, weather
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Wanna have an ice cream party?
Wednesday March 4, 2009 5:57 AM By Lucy Blatter
For the fifth year in a row, Edy's Ice Cream will give away 1,500 summer-time ice cream socials.
Each winning neighborhood in Edy's Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute will receive Edy's Slow Churned® Light ice cream and all the fixings for up to 100 guests.
Enter for a chance to win by submitting a 350-word essay or uploading a video submission at Slowchurned.com. The call for entries starts Wednesday and ends on Friday, May 29, 2009.
Tags: ice cream, block party, edy's, food
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Division between Coney Island residents, regulars on display at public hearing
Tuesday March 3, 2009 6:48 PM By Ryan Chatelain
Artist rendering of revitalized Coney Island
At the first public hearing on the city’s latest rezoning plan for Coney Island, long-suffering residents of the neighborhood expressed animosity toward the outspoken, often eccentric, supporters of the storied amusement area.
While the thrust of the Bloomberg administration’s proposal is to turn the waterfront into a year-round amusement destination, the 27-acre rezoning also aims to bring more jobs, housing and economic development to the residential area of Coney Island, which according to city officials, has an unemployment rate that is double the city average.
Community Board 13 listened Tuesday night to comments at Lincoln High School and may make nonbinding recommendations for the plan later this month. It will then be considered by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the city’s Planning Commission and the City Council.
“Stop all these people who are coming out of the woodwork and have not been to one funeral for the kids in our neighborhood because the violence is happening because there are no jobs,” said Pamela Harris, president of Coney Island Generation Gap, a youth development group.Neighborhood residents largely said they welcomed an attempt to revitalize their economy. Several, however, wanted guarantees that new affordable housing would be attainable for current neighborhood residents.
“Rezoning appears to me to be zoning out of the local residents and bringing in outsiders,” said the Rev. Frank Mason of Christ Temple United Baptist Church in nearby Gravesend.
Carol Hill Albert, co-owner of Astroland Amusement Park, which closed last fall, played mediator by pointing out that Coney Island regulars and residents had the same goals.
“They want housing that is affordable, they want jobs that people in the community can actually get and not just be promised, and I think they want to continue the tradition of Coney Island as a world-class tourism destination,” she said. “I don’t think that any of these things are in opposition.”
Meanwhile, the possibility of four high-rise hotels in the amusement zone was heavily criticized. While the Bloomberg administration says it plans to protect the amusement area, several speakers argued that the introduction of hotels further shrinks space that could be devoted to thrill rides.
“If you vote against the bill, it still moves forward,” Dick Zigun, founder of the arts organization Coney Island USA, told community board members. “But the city will be on notice that it needs further modification.”
Tags: coney island, development
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NYC malls stay strong, bucking national trend
Tuesday March 3, 2009 3:09 PM By Sean Joseph
The Manhattan Mall, in Herald Square, has seen two major tenants shutter recently. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)
Even as malls across the country implode under the pressure of chain-store bankruptcies and the deepening recession, New York City’s shopping centers are poised to weather the storm probably better than any market in the nation, observers say.
“New York is not a microcosm of the rest of the country,” said Erin Hershkowitz, a spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers. “Certain retailers are closing, but not enough to close down entire malls,” she said.
The city’s population density and the sheer number of consumers will likely spare the malls from the fate of some national counterparts.
In fact, Hershkowitz predicted that in the coming months, malls will see more vacancies, but they should turn around by the end of the year.
Without a doubt, New York malls have not been spared some of the pain.
For instance, the Steve and Barry’s and KB Toys chains have closed for good, hitting both the Staten Island Mall and Manhattan Mall. Further, the Staten Island Mall’s owner, General Growth Properties, faces bankruptcy. Smaller stores at both malls have shuttered, too.Jim Easley, a spokesman for the Staten Island Mall, said the handful of stores that have recently closed in his mall have been filled with temporary merchants. Just this past weekend a Steve Madden shoe store closed, but another store, Traffic Shoes, is set to take its place this spring.
“It used to take about three months to fill a space, now it takes about six. In other parts of the country, though, it might take a year,” Easley said.
Queens Center, one of the country’s most successful — with nearly 150 stores — hasn’t seen any recent closings.
Brooklyn’s King’s Plaza — which has around 140 stores — has only seen two closings — The Limited and the Limited Too. The Limited space will soon be filled by Forever 21.
But According to Subha Ramesh, vice president of real estate for The Limited, the company did not renew its lease simply because the 13,000-square-foot space was too big.
“We only needed about 60 percent of that,” she said. “And we have to be careful how we spend our capital.”
Ramesh said the company would be interested in returning to King’s Plaza — whose rents she described as competitive. For now, though, they are searching for space in another city mall.
Typically, those malls charge a monthly rent of somewhere between $35 and $75 per square foot. But industry experts say prices are now negotiable, speculating that this year, rents are likely to be about 2 to 3 percent lower.
“There is probably going to be more negotiation than ever before,” said Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations at the National Retail Federation. “And retailers know the recessionary period will not last forever. Statistically, after a recession, there are five-plus years of real growth. They’ll work on their long-term strategies, closing underperforming locations and focusing on better-performing ones.”
Emily Mathis contributed to this story.
JC Penney heads to Manhattan Mall: The storm before the calm
The arrival of the JC Penney store at the Manhattan Mall eventually may be one of the bright spots in the city’s mall scene, but its construction has caused considerable upheaval for the Herald Square shopping center.
Work on the 150,000-square-foot JC Penney, set to open this summer, has deprived the mall of a food court and bathrooms. It is so quiet that many retailers are closing at 8 p.m. rather than 9, the official close time.
But the JC Penney construction is moving full steam ahead and a fair share of the dislocated retailers plan to come back.
“JC Penney could be a good anchor,” said Michael Appel, who leads the retail and consumer goods practice at Quest Turnaround Advisors. “It’s probably a step below Macy’s, which, in this climate, is a good thing.”
According to JC Penney’s Tim Lyons, there were never any plans to delay the opening because of the current economic situation.
“We’ve wanted to have a Manhattan presence for a long time,” he said. Plus, he added, that in this economy, it helps that they’re “strong on price.”
For now, it seems mall retailers — like taxpayers — will just wait things out.
Elvis Perez, a manager at Strawberry who was helping out at the very-quiet Manhattan Mall location said, “It’s the city that never sleeps. But sometimes it has to sleep.”
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State poised to roll back tough 1970s drug laws
Tuesday March 3, 2009 2:08 PM By Jason Fink
The state is poised to make sweeping changes to its famously tough drug laws for the first time in more than three decades when the Assembly votes Wednesday to repeal harsh measures aimed at non-violent offenders.
“It’s long overdue,” said Helen Desfosses, a professor or public policy at SUNY Albany. “We spend more imprisoning people than we would sending them to college.”
The Assembly bill, co-sponsored by Speaker Sheldon Silver, would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain felonies, give judges more discretion to order treatment, and establish drug courts throughout the state. It is estimated that there are close to 3,000 non-violent drug offenders currently imprisoned in New York.With Democrats in control of all three branches of government, the effort to overturn the so-called Rockefeller drug laws — so named for Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who pushed them through the legislature in the 1970s — appears finally to be within reach.
Reforming the drug laws has been a hot-button political issue, attracting celebrities like Russell Simmons. In 2004, the state got rid of life sentences for drug crimes.
The New York State District Attorney’s Association opposes parts of the assembly bill, arguing that it takes too much authority from prosecutors.
“The right balance has been struck by the current drug laws,” Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., president of the state group, said in a statement last month.
The bill is expected to pass the Assembly, and an identical bill is to be introduced in the state Senate Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson, a longtime advocate for repealing the Rockefeller laws, is expected to present his own bill this week. A spokeswoman for Paterson would not detail the differences.
One strong supporter of giving judges more discretion is Tony Papa, 50, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in 1985 for trying to sell four and a half ounces of cocaine. He received clemency from Gov. George Pataki in 1997.
“I ruined my entire life for $500,” said Papa, who lives in Queens. “Maybe I would have deserved a small amount of time but not 15 years to life. It’s a waste of tax dollars.”
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Study: Textual harassment on the rise
Tuesday March 3, 2009 2:07 PM By Marlene Naanes
By Andrew Breiner and Marlene Naanes
Whether its requests for dates or threats from irate exes, more and more New Yorkers are being “textually harassed” on their cell phones.
As text messaging’s popularity has boomed in recent years so has its abuse. A recent U.S. Justice Department study showed that stalking by texting is an increasing issue.
Kathy Johnson Morris, 45, of the Bronx, received repeated requests for a date with a persistent suitor who eventually honored her plea to stop. But Kiana Diaz, 18, said a friend of hers had to go much further to stop the harassment.
“She said she didn't want to be with him, but he kept texting and texting,” said Diaz, of the Bronx. “Eventually she had to call the phone company and get his number blocked.”
About 23 percent of stalking or harassment victims were badgered through “cyberstalking,” including text messaging or e-mails on a cell phone, the Justice Department study said."Technology has become a quick and easy way for stalkers to monitor and harass their victims," the report said.
It is also a prolific and growing form of communication: Verizon Wireless alone handled 90 billion text messages in the last quarter of 2008 alone, more than double the number during the same period a year earlier, the AP reported.
New York is consistently one of the top locations where cyber stalking takes place, according to statistics from Working to Halt Online Abuse, a group that tracks incidents. In 2007, the latest year statistics were available, New York came in second after California.
Jayne Hitchcock, the group’s president, said she suspected New York was high on the list because of its large population and number of technology-savvy residents. However, Hitchcock thinks that the increasing rates of textual harassment is partly because people don’t realize there are consequences to cyber stalking.
“The majority of these people wouldn’t do it in person,” she said. “These people just do things thinking they won’t get caught, and they don’t realize it will be traced back to them.”
While New York doesn’t technically have a cyber stalking law, such harassment could fall under two other charges, second degree aggravated harassment and fourth degree stalking, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Last year in New York's Kings County Court, a defendant accused of sending six threatening text messages to a woman during a 17-hour period tried to get aggravated harassment charges thrown out by arguing that text messages were not as serious as phone calls or letters and were not covered by state law. The court disagreed, saying technological developments "along with their many benefits, bring with them ever greater potential for abuse."
One Manhattanite, Kendãce Hall, 35, admitted to having some “texting incidents” and offered some straightforward advice to those thinking of textual harassing someone.
“Sending texts when you're drunk is never a good idea,” Hall said. “Think before you text.”
With the Associated Press.
Tags: text message, cell phone, harassment, stalking, technology
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Tuesday March 3, 2009 1:46 PM By Sara Baumberger
Kelly out of touch with police department
Re “2 cops stripped of guns and badges in rape probe,” March 3: The fact that two officers are accused of raping a women who was under the influence of alcohol is very disturbing. I was brought up to believe that police officers are our friends to be depended upon. Unfortunately, blame for this kind of conduct, which hurts the image of dedicated officers, must fall on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly who, as head of one of the country’s largest departments, is ultimately responsible for hiring, training, supervising and disciplining personnel in his agency. Perhaps he should spend less time promoting himself to the media and more time running his department.
—Â John Ost, Manhattan
The Rockefeller drug laws must go!
Re “Prison guard charged in Sing Sing drug case,” March 3: It was interesting to read that a corrections officer at Sing Sing prison was charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute the drugs inside the prison. Drugs are getting inside our prisons through law enforcement personnel, which is another reason the Rockefeller drug laws are a waste of time, because nonviolent addicts have access to drugs at any time. Where is the rehabilitation? What would be justice in this case would be that this corrections officer should receive the maximum sentence under these draconian drug laws of 20 years in prison.
—Â Brian Hochberg, Richmond Hill
Tags: letters to the editor
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MTA inspector fishes for fraud
Tuesday March 3, 2009 1:42 PM By Heather Haddon
If you see something, say something - about wrongdoing in the MTA.
Starting this week, 2,800 ads encouraging straphangers to report agency misconduct are blanketing the subways and train stations.
The $25,000 campaign, sponsored by the MTA's inspector general, aims to get dirt on freeloading contractors, absent employees and unsafe worksites.
“(We are looking) to help prevent waste, fraud and abuse,” said Inspector General Barry Kluger.
The MTA did not provide comment yesterday.
By state law, the inspector general's office investigates public complaints about employee misconduct committed by the MTA and its vendors. The office also looks into service problems.Last year, the agency reported handling 860 complaints.
Complaints are forwarded to MTA agency heads, with the most serious triggering internal investigations.
Kluger, a 2007 appointee by former governor Eliot Spitzer, said he conducted the campaign now because of the need to oversee every penny in the MTA's winnowing budget.
“This is especially important in (this) economic climate,” Kluger said.
The ads will be on display until April. They feature a crumbling No. 1 station superimposed with: “It's a big system, help us keep an eye on it.”
Tags: transit
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Jazzing up packed lunches
Tuesday March 3, 2009 1:06 PM By Lucy Blatter
A 'wichcraft BLT. Credit: Bill Bettencourt from "'wichcraft" by Tom Colicchio.
These days, you’re probably brown-bagging it more than ever. But packed lunches don’t have to be all soggy bread and processed lunch meat.
At ’wichcraft, chef Sisha Ortuzar and owner (and Top Chef judge) Tom Colicchio have created truly unique sandwiches, the popularity of which have led to 11 ‘wichcraft locations in New York, one in San Francisco and one in Las Vegas.In “’wichcraft,” a cookbook due out on March 31, the two share the secrets of their sandwiches, which they say are all about taking great dishes and adapting them to sandwiches.
“This is how chefs eat,” says Ortuzar, who, as sous-chef at Colicchio’s Craft, used to make end-of-night sandwiches for the staff.
The sandwiches available at ’wichcraft and included in the cookbook come from the same style of cooking the two did together at Gramercy Tavern and Craft, Colicchio says.
Ortuzar says a sandwich of warm Gruyere with carmelized onions is a take on the classic French onion soup-style sandwich, and a panini with roasted pumpkin, mozzarella and hazelnut brown butter is a spin on pumpkin ravioli.
He says you should cook “what you like and make it into a sandwich.”
“Any one of these, if you take the bread out, make great dishes on their own,” Colicchio adds.
He says relishes and interesting mayonnaises can make even simple sandwiches stand out.
Asked to pick favorite cold sandwiches that pack well, Colicchio says he often eats marinated white anchovies with soft-cooked egg, roasted onions, salsa verde and frisee (recipe is at amNY.com).
“To me, the BLT is one of the top ones,” says Ortuzar. They only serve BLTs when tomatoes are at their peak, in the summer. “When you make a BLT with the best tomatoes it really is something special.”
RECIPES:
Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato with Mayonnaise
1 pound thick-cut bacon
8 slices country bread
4 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 pound ripe heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, sliced into ½-inch rounds (see Note)
Sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
4 large leaves of Bibb lettuce
NOTE Sit the tomato stem side down on the counter and using a very sharp knife, slice it horizontally to prevent the juices from running out.
In a heavy skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Toast the bread on one side only. Evenly spread the mayonnaise on the toasted side of 4 slices of bread. Place the tomatoes on top of the mayo, making sure that the slices don’t overlap and the surface of the bread is covered. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Place the bacon over the tomatoes, followed by the lettuce. Close the sandwiches with the remaining 4 bread slices, toasted side down. Carefully cut into halves and serve.
MAKES 4 SANDWICHES
Marinated White Anchovies with Soft-cooked Egg, Roasted Onions, Salsa Verde and Frisee
onions, salsa verde, and frisée
8 ounces (32 small fillets) white anchovies, marinated
in vinegar and olive oil (not
salt-cured), such as boquerones or alici
4 large eggs, preferably
pasture-raised
2 cups frisée lettuce
2 teaspoons extra-virgin
olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt
8 slices country bread
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup Roasted Onions
(page 182)
4 tablespoons Salsa Verde
(page 199)
Place the anchovies on paper towels to drain excess oil. Carefully lower the eggs into a saucepan of boiling water. After 7 minutes, remove the eggs and place in an ice-water bath. Once cool, carefully peel. (The whites should be cooked through and the yolks should be soft, almost runny.)
In a bowl, toss the lettuce in the oil and vinegar and add salt to taste. Lightly toast the bread on one side only.
Place one egg on the toasted side of 4 slices of bread and gently mash and spread out with a fork. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Top the eggs with the onions, followed by the anchovies and the frisée. Spread an even coat of salsa verde on the toasted side of the 4 top slices of bread. Close the sandwiches, cut into halves, and serve.
Makes 4 sandwiches
Reprinted from 'wichcraft by Tom Colicchio. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.
Tags: tom colicchio, 'wichcraft
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Brooklyn Igloo
Tuesday March 3, 2009 9:33 AM By Pete Catapano
(Photo by Patrick Verel)
Now if Sarah Palin saw this in Brooklyn yesterday afternoon, she would have felt like she was back at home in Alaska.
During the snowstorm that blanketed the city on Monday, an unknown — but creative — New Yorker built this snow igloo on Union Street, just a block west of the Gowanus Canal.
—Â Patrick Verel
Tags: snow, weather, neighborhoods, zany
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What's in Season: Sea scallops
Tuesday March 3, 2009 8:54 AM By Lucy Blatter
By Ben Muessig
Special to amNewYork
Bay scallops are a gourmet delicacy, but their under-appreciated oceanic brethren can be just as tasty. This week, stock up on fresh sea scallops — which can make for a sweet, subtle, and healthy addition to any shellfish dish.Foodies go out of their way for bay scallops, but sea scallops are an equally swell fish.
"They're half the price, they're bigger, and they're sweeter," said John Mulholland from Sea Tuck Farms in Eastport, New York.
These delicious bivalves have a soft, chewy texture that tastes great breaded and deep-fried, seared on the grill, served in seafood bisques, sautéed in butter, or prepared with pasta and cream sauce. They're also popular in Japanese-style soups, sushi and sashimi.
Sea scallops are high in protein, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids — and they're low in calories and fat.
Unlike clams and oysters, scallops don't survive for long outside of water so they are often sold shucked. Fresh sea scallops cost about $15 per pound.
Tags: sea scallops, food
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Viral video: ShamWow infomercial gets jazzed up
Tuesday March 3, 2009 8:18 AM By Sean Joseph
The cult-favorite ShamWow infomercial now has a musical version.
If haven't seen the original, you can watch it below to get the full effect.
Tags: viral video, television, shamwow, music, advertising
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Smith backtracks on MTA audit
Monday March 2, 2009 2:08 PM By Heather Haddon
Five hours after Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith threatened to slam the breaks on new money for the MTA, the Queens Democrat scrapped his plan for an independent audit of the agency.
Smith stated that the agency provided information about its finances that the Senate previously “had not been privy to.”
“It is now possible for a full vetting of MTA finances ... to determine the best course of action,” Smith said.
An audit would have likely derailed the state’s efforts to approve new revenue for the MTA by the agency’s March 25 board meeting, when members will vote on a worst-case 23 percent fare hike.
Assemb. Richard Brodsky (D-Hartsdale) said Smith should have skipped his audit request and joined the Assembly in calling for more Metropolitan Transportation Authority oversight.“An audit isn’t reform,” Brodsky said. “It can only tell you what went wrong in the past.”
Yesterday morning, Smith indicated that he would not support bridge tolls or a payroll tax for the MTA until an independent audit was conducted. Particularly, Smith wanted to see if the agency has cut duplicated services and can show savings in its management and car fleet, said the legislator’s spokesman, Austin Shafran.
But after meeting with the MTA late yesterday, Smith backtracked, saying the Senate will introduce amendments to the legislation that allows the state comptroller oversight of the agency.
The MTA said it had a “productive discussion” with the Senate finance staff and documents will be shared as soon as possible.
Smith originally decided to call for the audit when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver proposed reducing tolls on the East and Harlem river bridges from $5 to $2 to fund the MTA’s capital plan and a regional bus service. Smith became wary after learning that reduced tolls would be sufficient for the agency, his office explained.
Gov. David Paterson, a supporter of the bridge tolls and a payroll tax that would allow the MTA to only seek an 8 percent subway and bus increase, did not return a call for comment.
Tags: transit
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Designer babies? It could soon be a reality
Monday March 2, 2009 1:34 PM By Jason Fink
Imagine being able to choose your baby the way you choose your wallpaper.
No longer confined to science fiction, people may soon be able to pony up about $15,000 for a “designer baby” - and the possibility is making many uneasy.
A fertility clinic in Los Angeles has announced that beginning next year, couples will be able to select cosmetic traits such as eye color, hair color and even skin tone for their potential babies.
“It encourages parents to think about their child not as a person they will nurture and take into adulthood but as a product like a new kitchen or a car that you might customize,” said Josephine Johnston, a scholar at the Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute.Jesse Deneaux, 34, of Brooklyn, said the idea “smacks of eugenics,” the practice of human breeding made infamous by the Nazis.
But the doctor who runs the LA clinic where the trait selections will be available, disagrees.
“I would not say this is a dangerous road,” Dr. Jeff Steinberg, who heads the LA Fertility Institutes, told the BBC. “It’s an uncharted road.”
Technology already exists to screen out embryos based on the chance for genetic defects and for gender. Steinberg’s clinic, along with many others, allows parents to choose the sex of their baby.
The clinic’s Web site says the option for cosmetic screening will be available to those testing for genetic problems. It will not be open to everyone, though the clinic does not specify its criteria.
Guidelines published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine allow for sex selection but don’t appear to address trait selection.
Johnston said there are no laws against the practice.
Dr. Vincent Brandies, a fertility specialist in Manhattan, said he would recommend a doctor seek the advice of an independent ethics panel before offering such a service.
Brandeis said “it’s very common” for patients to ask for sex selection and specific physical characteristics.
He offers sex selection, though not for everyone. If a potential genetic problem is more likely in a boy, for instance, he might allow a couple to select a girl. The chances of getting the gender one wants is about 95 percent, he said, and can add $5,000 to the typical cost of $5,000 to $10,000.
“Some parents are only going to have one or two children and so they feel why aren't they entitled to have exactly the type of child they want,” said Brandeis, who nonetheless added that he would not perform trait selections.
Tessa, of Manhattan, who is two months pregnant and declined to give her last name, said choosing a baby’s eye color is the wrong way to think about parenthood.
“You give wings to your kids,” the 35-year-old said. “You don't actually decide who they are."
Melinda Hsia contributed to this story
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Iceland heats up with deals
Monday March 2, 2009 1:04 PM By Lucy Blatter
Iceland's Blue Lagoon. Credit: Getty
By Cristina Velocci
Special to amNewYork
When Iceland’s three main banks failed in October, it sent the country’s currency, the Icelandic krona, into a spectacular freefall, in which it lost nearly half its value. Once considered prohibitively expensive, the four-star hotels, flashy nightclubs and world class restaurants in the capital city Reykjavik are now half-off. Just a five-hour flight from New York, taking advantage of the Reykjavik has never been easier—or more affordable.WHAT TO DO
Golden Circle
Billed as one of Iceland’s must-sees, this 190-mile circular route encompasses a triad of natural wonders, including Ãingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the Vikings first established parliament in 930.
Walk through the craggy Almannagjá fissure, the deep rift where two tectonic plates are tangibly splitting apart, before continuing on to the geother¬mal Geysir, the progenitor to all other geysers. Cap the tour off at Gullfoss waterfall where the white water cascades over two-tiers before taking a dramatic drop into the Hvita River.
Eldhestar
810 Hveragerði, 011-354-480-4800, eldhestar.is
The small Icelandic horses are not only the same pure breed the Vikings had a thousand years ago, they’re also the only kind in the world to have five gaits instead of four—the fifth being the tölt, a smooth mix between a trot and a gallop that shows off the horse’s muscular, industrial strength.
Head to Eldhestar, an eco-friendly horse farm 30 minutes outside the city where an exhilarating ride takes you through meadows and over lava fields.
Blue Lagoon
240 GrindavÃk, 011-354-420-8800, www.bluelagoon.com
This infamous geothermal spa on the Reykjanes Peninsula was acciden¬tally created from the salt-water effluence of a nearby power plant.
The milky blue water is not only steaming hot but also mineral-rich — it’s said to have therapeutic properties that combat psoriasis, jet lag and hangovers. Smear thick white silica mud on your face and body to slough off all the dead skin.
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Borg
Posthusstraeti 11, 011-354-551-1440, en.hotelborg.is
When it was built in 1930, the 56-room Hotel Borg was Iceland’s first luxury hotel. It retains its original luster thanks to a recent renovation that carefully restored its Art Deco interiors while upgrading with such modern touches as Bang & Olufsen phones, flat-screen satellite TVs, heated towel racks and fluffy down comforters. Rates range mostly between $140-$225.
WHERE TO DINE AND DRINK
Seafood Cellar
Adalstraeti 2, 011-354-511-1212, sjavarkjallarinn.is
Widely regarded as the finest in town, this restaurant, set amid the stone walls of the oldest cellar in ReykjavÃk, features unusual presentations of innovative French and Thai-influenced cuisine. The signature dish of tender langoustine in foie gras sauce and black truffles is served in a Mason jar.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur
Posthusstraeti 101
This small waterfront shack has been serving hot dogs since 1935. Saying the magic words eina mid öllu — meaning ‘give me one with everything’ gets you the works: a snappy pup over a bed of crispy fried onions layered with ketchup, sweet mustard and rémoulade sauce. Or simply order a “Clinton,” which comes the way President Bill had it on his visit here— with just mustard.
Kaffibarinn
Bergstadastraeti 1, 011-354-551-1588, kaffibarinn.is
Whether it’s the London Underground sign above or the clamor of unruly patrons that’s more conspicuous is hard to say, but this bohemian dive part-owned by Blur frontman Damon Albarn packs in artists, musicians (locals Bjork and Sigur Ros are known to stop by) and hipsters on a regular basis.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Currency: As of press time, $1 U.S. dollar = 114 Icelandic krona.
Room service: Re¬gardless of where you choose to crash, make sure to request a room facing inward to avoid being kept up all night by the raucous revelers filling the streets until 5 a.m.
Tickets: Icelandair is currently offering a Budget Getaway package for travel through April that includes roundtrip airfare, two nights’ hotel, roundtrip airport and hotel transfers and Scandinavian breakfast each morning for $799 per person. Flights from New York start at $499.
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Women in Communications event tomorrow
Monday March 2, 2009 12:57 PM By Lucy Blatter
New York Women in Communications is sponsoring a panel on Tuesday entitled, "Lost in Translation: The Secret to Communicating Across Cultures and Generations Successfully."
From 6- 6:30 p.m. there will be networking and refreshments and the panel discussion will take place from 6:30 - 8 p.m.
The event will take place at Burson-Marsteller at 230 Park Avenue S. (at 19th Street).
It is $26 for members, $16 for student members and $41 for non-members.
To register, visit Nywici.org
Tags: women in communications, careers
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Monster kicks off job fair tour!
Monday March 2, 2009 12:50 PM By Lucy Blatter
On Thursday, March 5, Monster.com will kick off a series called "Keep America Working Tour" with an event at the Marriot Marquis.
The series of career fairs will make more than 100 stops across America in 2009.
The event is the first stop in the tour and will take place from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. It will feature more than 90 employers from the tri-state area, including Charles Schwab & Company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, E* Trade, Grainger, Macy's, Moody's Investor Services, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, PNC, St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, TD Ameritrade and Wachovia.
Tags: monster.com, job fairs, careers
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Bloomberg talks snow, defends school closing
Monday March 2, 2009 12:37 PM By Jason Fink
Mayor Michael Bloomberg checked in on the Sanitation Department's snow removal operation Monday and defended the decision not to cancel school until after 5:30 a.m.
"Last night there was always the chance the storm would push out to sea," Bloomberg said at a news conference in Queens.
Bloomberg said parents who thought school was still open should have called 311 when they woke up in the morning and looked outside. He was responding to criticism from some who had brought their kids to school, only to find out classes had been canceled.
It was the first time school was called off in five years and forced scheduled citywide math tests to be pushed back until late in the week.More than eight inches fell and over 2,000 sanitation workers manning 1,500 plows hit the city's 6,000 miles of streets beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday.
"It's like plowing from here to Los Angeles and back," Bloomberg said.
Tags: snow, mayor michael bloomberg, schools, city hall dispatch, education
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Starbucks to introduce breakfast deals tomorrow!
Monday March 2, 2009 11:44 AM By Lucy Blatter
It's not exactly a 99 cent value menu, but it is a true sign of the times. Tuesday, Starbucks will introduce its new breakfast pairings for $3.95 (plus tax). The pairings will provide customers with as much as $1.20 in savings.
Pairings include a tall coffee with an artisan bacon or ham sandwich and a caffe latte with reduced-fat cinnamon swirl cake. Three out 6 pairings are less than 400 calories.
Tags: starbucks, breakfast deals, food
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amNewYork Letters to the Editor
Monday March 2, 2009 11:14 AM By Sara Baumberger
Republican policies will sink Bobby Jindal
While newspapers are full of reports about how Gov. Bobby Jindal fumbled while responding to President Obama’s speech, the real blame goes to the policies of the Republican Party. Just take one of them — national health insurance. Republican front-runner Sen. John McCain tried to sell the nation to insurance companies and everybody knows how the insurance companies will collect money while you are young and disease-free and then keep raising premiums to keep you out of health insurance when you get older. I don’t think Bobby Jindal can succeed to fool the people the same way. He will take himself down following party’s path.
—Â Chandrakant Pancholi, Jackson Heights
Did the NYPD really need new cars?
Why did the NYPD waste a lot of my tax money on fancy brand-new muscle cars? Did I miss all the stories about how regular NYPD cars are too slow to catch speeding criminals? And aren’t high-speed chases illegal in the city anyway?
— Tanya O’Langan, Manhattan
Gov’t westing money on our enemies
Our government is seeing fit to give $900 million in aid to the same people who cheered when we were hit on Sept. 11, 2001. Hamas, who is really in control in Palestine, sees us as those “Western infidels.” Why give money to those who have declared us the enemy?
—Â Paul Chechanover, Forest Hills
Tags: letters to the editor
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Move over, Snuggie
Monday March 2, 2009 11:13 AM By Emily Ngo
There's a new couch-potato cover in town.
By the very silly Pantalaine
— Emily Ngo
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Signs we love: Vesey Street smoke shop
Monday March 2, 2009 10:29 AM By Rolando Pujol
(Photo by Rolando Pujol)
Whenever we're downtown checking up on WTC progress, we like walking by this great little smoke shop at 20 Vesey St., right across from St. Paul's Chapel.
The sign/clock combination is one of the most interesting in the city. (Now, you can get groceries, too, a nod perhaps to the increasingly residential neighborhood.) If cool clocks are your thing, may we suggest killing some time today at the It's About Time blog, which includes a photo of this clock's more attractive opposite side. The site documents dozens of such beauties around the city, some of which are no longer keeping time, or for that matter, existing at all.
-- Rolando Pujol
Tags: signs, vesey street
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Viral video: "The Office" musical
Monday March 2, 2009 8:24 AM By Sean Joseph
An ingenious video editor compiled the musical stylings of “The Office” into a medley.
Tags: viral video, television, music, the office
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Snow will delay subways
Monday March 2, 2009 8:06 AM By Heather Haddon
The snow will likely turn today’s rush hour into a slow moving affair.
The MTA has warned it may cancel express service on 10 subway lines starting this afternoon: the A, D, E, F, N, Q, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The express tracks will be used to store trains underground during the evening commute and over night.
Subway riders are advised to factor in extra time and patience for their commute.
In a plus, the MTA resumed express bus service in all five boroughs this afternoon after it was suspended earlier in the day.
Tags: transit
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Travel deals
Monday March 2, 2009 8:01 AM By Lucy Blatter
The Greenporter hotel is retro-cool
Spring Savings at The Greenporter: Located just 2.5 hours from the city, this North Fork hotel is surrounded by vineyards, organic farms, and beaches. The hotel has its own renowned bistro and wine bar with an award-winning wine list. A two-night spring weekend package includes a three-course dinner on Friday for two adults, a complimentary kids meal, and continental breakfast for the entire family on Saturday and Sunday. Package in a Queens Room begins at $278/weekend before taxes or $159/weekend for just the room. Available through May 7th.
Thegreenporter.com or 631-477-0066
Myrtle Beach discounts: Hotels, resorts, and house rentals at the South Carolina beach area are being majorly discounted. The Breakers Resort, for one, is offering a free night with any three-night stay, two free nights with a five-night stay and three free nights with a seven-night stay. Rates begin at $65/night To view a complete list go to visitmyrtlebeach.com/deals
A deal fit for baseball enthusiasts: The “Get Your Sox On” package offered by Hotel Commonwealth, located near Boston’s Fenway Park, includes one-night at the hotel and two tickets to a Red Sox game for $359 (before taxes). Offer valid through baseball season (May – September). The Mets vs. Red Sox game weekend is May 22-23.
Hotelcommonwealth.com or 1-866-784-4000
Tags: travel
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Special election set for Bronx borough president
Monday March 2, 2009 5:47 AM By Jason Fink
A special election for Bronx borough president has been set for April 21, following the resignation Sunday of Adolfo Carrion, who is headed for a job in President Barack Obama's administration.
Carrion will head the White House Office of Urban Affairs. His successor as borough president will have to stand for election in November.
Political observers expect the top contenders for the seat to be Assemb. Ruben Diaz, Jr., who has the backing of the Bronx County Democratic Party, and City Councilman Joel Rivera.
The special election will be non-partisan.
-Jason Fink
Tags: adolfo carrion, bronx borough president, white house, city hall dispatch
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Urban archaeology: A relic of the Croton Aqueduct
Sunday March 1, 2009 7:42 PM By Rolando Pujol
On Saturday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer held a press conference at the Central Park Reservoir to call attention to the concern that drinking water for 8 million New Yorkers may be threatened by toxic chemicals.
The chemicals could find their way into the water