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Thousands braved sun and rain for Apollo MJ tribute

Tuesday June 30, 2009 7:09 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Marlene Naanes

Hundreds at a time, they belted out “ABC” as though it were 1970 again.

They grooved to “Dancing Machine,” Jackson 5-style. They shed a few tears, too, but mostly thousands of Michael Jackson fans joyously celebrated the life of the superstar at an Apollo Theater memorial yesterday.

Renee Harrison, 45, spent the night in line outside the Apollo to pay her respects at the same stage where, 40 years earlier, she saw the Jackson 5 launch the career of the boy who would become the King of Pop.

“I was ecstatic to see him on stage,” said Harrison, of Harlem. “Now it’s full circle for me. I needed to be out here. He's truly a legend.”Thousands endured 84-degree heat — and at least 10 came down with heat exhaustion — as well as torrential rains later in the afternoon, to have a chance to place mementos on the stage and dance along to a video montage of Jackson’s life in music.

Fans also placed letters around a black fedora and a silver glove perched atop a stool bathed in a spotlight onstage.

Indeed, the Apollo has been a magnet for grieving fans since the singer’s unexpected death last Thursday.

One of those fans leaving letters was Michelle Sims Lopez, 62, of Harlem, who saw the Jackson 5 at Radio City Music Hall. She was moved to write a note to Jackson that partly read, “God wanted a superstar in heaven, and I know that you moonwalked through the pearly gates.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton flew in from the Jackson family’s California compound to pay tribute to his friend, eliciting exuberant cheers as he extolled Jackson’s legacy in black history as well as that of the music world.

“Michael made young men and young women all over the world imitate us, from Japan to Iowa from France to South America … Before Michael, we were limited and ghettoized," Sharpton said. “But Michael put on a cutaway military jacket, pulled his pants legs up, put on one glove, and he smashed the barriers of segregated music."

Spike Lee joined Sharpton later to eulogize Jackson after a moment of silence at 5:26 p.m., the East Coast time last Thursday that doctors declared the performer dead.

“Let’s not wallow in the negativity they’re trying to drag us down into … it’s all about love,” Lee said.

And that was on display among fans as they shuffled in, about 600 at a time, from 2 p.m. on.

“The whole world is mourning Michael Jackson, but at the Apollo and in Harlem we do it in a special way,” said Brenda Harper, 55, of Harlem, who took off work to come to the tribute. “He took a few people’s genre, like James Brown and Jackie Wilson, and made it his own. He’s the best of the best and always will be.”

Tags: michael jackson, apollo, tribute, entertainment

MJ's body to arrive at Neverland Thursday

Tuesday June 30, 2009 6:45 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Michael Jackson is going home.

A 30-car motorcade will escort the King of Pop's body to his Neverland Ranch Thursday morning for a public viewing Friday, according to reports. Mobs are expected to descend on the mansion and its defunct zoo north of Santa Barbara, California.

A private memorial service is scheduled Sunday at Neverland, the Peter Pan inspired ranch that Jackson lost in 2005. Throngs of fans have set up makeshift memorials outside Neverland's gates since Jackson died last Thursday.

Family members had yet to decide on a final resting place for Jackson as of yesterday. But the mayor of Gary, Ind. is lobbying hard for Jackson to rest in his childhood city, pledging to build a museum and concert hall dedicated to Jackson.

“If they can do it for Elvis Presley in Graceland, we can do it for Michael Jackson in Gary,” Mayor Rudy Clay said.Meanwhile, startling news about Jackson's parenting arrangements surfaced, including:

• Arnold Klein, the icon's dermatologist, was the biological father of Jackson's two oldest children, Michael Jr. and Paris, sources told “Us Weekly.” Klein was the former boss of Debbie Rowe, Jackson's ex-wife.

• Michael Jr. and Paris were conceived in-vitro, and Rowe carried the children but is not their biological mother, TMZ reported. Jackson never formally adopted the children because he couldn't imagine a custody battle breaking out for them. Birth records obtained by the gossip Web site showed Jackson as the father of Prince Michael II, but no mother listed.

Jackson's 2002 will also turned up yesterday, with the document divvying the hotly contested estate between his children, mother and at least one charity. Jackson's father, Joe, was not named.

The singer's family said they would present the document in court. Jackson's mother had petitioned to administrator his estate, arguing that no will existed.

Jackson had $567.6 million in assets in 2007 that included Neverland, the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog, cars, antiques and collectibles. But his net worth shriveled to $236 million after accruing massive debts.

Also yesterday, the promoter who booked Jackson's sold-out comeback tour said a tribute show is “likely”.

(With AP)

Tags: entertainment

Recipe: Berry breeze

Tuesday June 30, 2009 6:16 PM By Lucy Blatter

The berry breeze is great for July 4th, and it's sweet, but not too sweet.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Spending the Fourth with family and friends? Try throwing together this simple, refreshing cocktail from Andrea Correale, of Elegant Affairs.

It’s red, clear and blue colors are perfectly patriotic, but it’s refreshing (and not too sweet) all summer long. If you prefer regular vodka to raspberry, simply sub it out and add muddle more crushed raspberries, Correale suggested. As a picnic time bonus, it can be made in big batches ahead of time and simply poured over crushed ice.

Elegant Affairs's Berry Breeze:

Ingredients

1 jigger of raspberry vodka

2 jiggers of white cranberry Juice

frozen crushed raspberries

blueberry skewer garnish

Directions

Chill all vodka and cranberry juice and then strain into tall glass filled

with crushed raspberries and ice. Garnish with skewer of blueberries.

Market research: Sorbet, the palate pleaser

Tuesday June 30, 2009 6:00 PM By Lucy Blatter

Ciao Bella sorbet has the most sugar of our tested sorbets, but it's natural sugar from fruit. Credit: RJ Mickelson

By Erin Lindholm

Special to amNewYork

While it’s true that sorbet’s a lower-calorie, lower-fat (often fat-free) alternative to ice cream, and it’s made of fruit and often dairy-free, that’s not a green light to eat the whole pint in one sitting.

“It should still be considered a treat or dessert unless it’s homemade, and you know what’s really going into it,” noted nutritionist Liz Stein.

The first step, said Stein, is to check the sugar. For all their appeal, “sorbets are still loaded with sugar.”

In the four market brands taste-tested for this article — Ciao Bella, Haagen Dazs, Sharon’s and Whole Fruit — sugar per serving ranged from 19g to a whopping 38g, which is a huge variable when we’re talking about a scoop of frozen delight.

Second, said Stein, is figure out where the sugar’s coming from. The fruit accounts for some of it, but “you want to choose a sorbet that has natural sugar, as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup.” Case-in-point: In four samples, we found everything from cane sugar to plain old “sugar” to corn syrup.

The third step — and, let’s be honest, the most important — is choosing a sorbet that tastes good. Here’s how our samples stacked up:

Sharon’s is Stein’s sort of sorbet: Fruit is the first ingredient and the secondary sweetener comes from a natural source — in this case, cane syrup. She may be on to something: at 80 calories and only 19g sugar per serving, Sharon’s sorbets are a great go-to option for picking up a pint on the way home from work. Very tasty too.

If you’re craving ice cream, Whole Fruits Strawberry sorbet, with it’s candy-sugary sweetness, ultra-smooth texture, and big strawberry flavor, comes the closest. We loved seeing the flecks of strawberry, but didn’t love the fact that the 20g of sugar per serving are from corn syrup solids and sugar.

Haagen-Dazs’s Orchard Peach sorbet had the lightest, most subtle flavor of the bunch — it inspires descriptions like “effervescent” and “delicate” — which makes sense, given that water is first on the list of ingredients. In the right circumstances, we’ll overlook the fact that the 30 grams sugar per serving are from sugar and corn syrup, because this sorbet reminds us of nothing so much as a smooth, frozen bellini.

Local darling Ciao Bella packs the most sugar at 38g per serving, but that’s no reason for alarm: The first two ingredients of the Banana Mango sorbet are bananas and mangos, and there’s no water added, which means you’re essentially eating a frozen banana-mango puree sweetened a bit more with regular sugar. There are pros and cons: The flavor is really intense, but at times eating this sorbet feels like you’re mushing through a banana.

If all else fails, “it’s really easy to make your own,” says Stein. All it takes is blending together fresh fruit, ice and agave nectar to taste, and freezing the mixture in a durable container. Sounds like the perfect solution for those bananas that are about to turn.

Something different: Wine Cellar sorbet

For an interesting alternative to fruit sorbet, try Wine Cellar Sorbet of Brooklyn’s array wine-flavored sorbets, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling,

Champagne, and more, all available at Whole Foods.

The sake sorbet, one of Wine Cellar Sorbet’s latest releases, is unlike any of the other samples: The spoon slides right through the sorbet, which is in a state of permanent semi-freeze. The taste is subtle, cool and smooth up front, with a lingering flavor of sweet rice, reminiscent of mochi, a favorite Japanese treat. The Sake sorbet would pair nicely with a citrus dessert, such as key lime pie, or would make for a perfect amuse bouche.

Tags: sorbet, haagen-dazs, sharon's, wine cellar sorbet, ciao bella, whole fruit

511 offers traffic, travel and transit info

Tuesday June 30, 2009 3:18 PM By Lucy Blatter

Credit: Getty

Lizbette Ocasio-Russe

Special to amNewYork

For New Yorkers traveling around the state this summer, a convenient travel resource is just a phone call away.

The state’s new official travel and traffic information source, 511 is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Through its interactive voice system, callers can access information from transportation and police agencies in New York and from surrounding states, including highway conditions, construction reports and emergency alerts.

The service covers nine regions: New York City, Long Island, Capital Region/Albany/Saratoga, Adirondack/Water Town/Plattsburgh, Niagara/Buffalo, Finger Lakes/Rochester, Southern Tier/Hornell/Elmira/Binghamton, Central/Syracuse/Utica, and Hudson Valley/Catskill.

The information available is meant to be more detailed, current and route-specific than that regularly available on radio or television reports.

So whether you are driving or taking public transportation, 511 NY can take the hassle out of your next trip and get you where you want to be worry free.

Tags: 511

Q&A: Iraq braces for pullout as fledgling forces "not yet ready" without U.S. support

Monday June 29, 2009 9:00 PM By Emily Ngo

Iraqi security forces celebrate in Ramadi, Iraq. (AP)

By Emily Ngo

In hopes of realizing its goal of full withdrawal by the end of 2011, the U.S. prepared to pull its troops from Iraq’s urban areas by Tuesday, National Sovereignty Day. Some U.S. soldiers will remain in the cities to train and assist Iraqi forces; others will continue on combat missions in rural regions.

Michael Yon, author of “Moment of Truth in Iraq” and a former Green Beret, spoke with amNewYork about Tuesday’s milestone.

What can be expected immediately after Tuesday’s withdrawal?

Many Iraqis are very worried about our pullout. I cannot guess the potential for street riots, but an increase in violence is nearly assured.

How prepared are Iraqi security forces to take over these areas?

The Iraqi Security Forces [ISF] is a mixed bag and very much a work in progress. Some of the Police and Army are quite good and capable of managing their areas, but overall, the ISF is likely not yet ready to take on this job without our direct support.Will the insurgents change their tactics?

They constantly change. What we see now are not really “insurgents” like those we saw from 2003 through mid-2007. What’s left now are truly the “dead enders” that [former Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld talked about. The remaining terrorists have no real hope of overthrowing the Iraqi government.

Why not?

The Iraqi Security Forces need years more to develop, but they are already a serious force to reckon with. The terrorists who continue to murder Iraqis are highly unlikely to unseat this government.

What is the public sentiment in Iraq toward the U.S.?

Again, this is a mixed bag. The Iraqis and Americans are now bound together by our history. Especially so in this war. In general, I do not see animosity towards Americans. Americans do not have animosity towards Iraqis. We have a permanent relationship that likely will only grow with time.

What impact will this have on other U.S. troops and Western workers in Iraq?

Iraq is a sovereign nation and will be increasingly responsible for security of western workers. Those workers will fall under laws of Iraq.

What are the security situations in Iraq’s urban areas versus its rural areas?

Very mixed. Some areas of Baghdad have been safe for a long time. But we still see scattered attacks. Other areas, such as Mosul, are still contested very dangerous. Rural areas, such as out in Anbar and Diyala provinces, fall more under tribal law than GOI [government of Iraq] laws. The further you get from major cities, the more tribal it becomes. Tribal does not necessarily mean dangerous, but the laws of the land are different. The tribes are very powerful in rural areas.

How involved will the U.S. remain in Iraq and for how long?

We are brothers now. We might bicker and fight back and forth sometimes, but we are bound by our blood to stay involved. Iraq doesn’t want to see America turn its back, and America has no intention of doing so. Our relationship, in my opinion, will slowly improve through the years. Our fighting days are over.

What security measures must be in place before the U.S. realizes its goal of a full withdrawal by the 2011 deadline?

We need to hear U.S. and Iraqi commanders saying that the ISF can handle internal and external threats. The Iraqi government and the Iraqi people are not our enemies. We shouldn’t trip over ourselves getting out. Our withdrawal needs to be done in a rational, conditions-based way. Let’s see how the remainder of 2009 plays out.

Tags: iraq, michael yon, books, war, qna, international

MJ's funeral remains a mystery as tour rehearsal pics surface

Monday June 29, 2009 7:18 PM By Marlene Naanes

Jackson rehearsing for London tour, two days before his death (Photo by Kevin Mazur/AEG via Getty Images)

By Marlene Naanes

mnaanes@am-ny.com

The King of Pop is dead, but he won’t be buried until his family gets the results of a private autopsy, Michael Jackson’s father said yesterday.

Joe Jackson also knocked down reports that his son will be buried at the fabled Neverland ranch, which some had suggested could become the West Coast’s answer to Graceland.

“When we get the plan, you’ll hear about it,” Jackson told reporters at a news conference outside his San Fernando Valley home.While the funeral is on hold, New Yorkers today will get an early chance to honor Jackson. An Apollo Theater memorial starts at 2 p.m. with videos; a eulogy by the Rev. Al Sharpton will follow after 5 p.m. Fans also will be allowed to place mementos at the foot of the stage.

Back in Los Angeles, the focus very much remains on what killed the pop star. TMZ reported Jackson likely died from a drug overdose, quoting sources who also said more than one drug may be involved.

Final results from the county coroner’s autopsy could still be weeks away. The coroner continues to investigate, and staffers in search of Jackson’s medications removed two large bags from his rented Bel Air mansion yesterday.

The coroner also slapped down a British tabloid’s claim that it had exclusive access to an autopsy report, which said Jackson’s stomach was full of pills and he only weighed 112 pounds, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The fate of his children and estate also kept the courts busy.

The superstar’s mother, Katherine Jackson, won temporary guardianship of his three children. A judge will hear her request to keep them permanently on July 6.

The same judge refused a request to name her as administrator of the children’s estates amid reports that she wants to take control of her son’s estate. TMZ reported that Michael Jackson’s personal attorney has the singer’s will, and said he will file it in court in 30 days.

Also yesterday:

A family attorney said the Jackson’s have not heard from Debbie Rowe, the mother of the pop star’s two eldest children.

The concert promoter released photos from a rehearsal for the tour held two days before Jackson’s death.

A video shot by Jackson two weeks ago features a cemetery similar to the one in the “Thriller” video.

With AP

Tags: michael jackson, tour, photo, funeral, entertainment

Wall Street swindler Madoff sent to prison for life

Monday June 29, 2009 5:50 PM By Jason Fink

AP file photo

By Jason Fink

Throw away the key!

Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street scam artist who stole billions in history’s largest Ponzi scheme, will spend the rest of his life in prison, after a judge Monday handed him a whopping 150-year sentence.

“The message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil,” said Judge Denny Chin, who slapped Madoff, 71, with the maximum term. “The fraud here is unprecedented.”The packed courtroom in lower Manhattan broke into cheers as Chin delivered the sentence, an emotional release after a wrenching hour-and-a-half long hearing that featured a parade of tearful victims who described losing their life’s savings.

“I only hope his prison sentence is long enough that his jail cell becomes his coffin,” Michael Schwartz, 33, told Chin before the sentencing.

Schwartz got his wish, as did hundreds of others.

“Mr. Madoff is sentenced to life, as his victims are sentenced to life,” said Maureen Ebel, 61, a widow who lost everything and is now working three jobs. “I have been pushed into the great black abyss.”

Madoff, who wore a dark suit, his hands unshackled, displayed virtually no emotion, even as the judge announced his fate. He returned to his Manhattan jail cell, where he has been held for the past three months.

Before his punishment was handed down, Madoff expressed regret for his crimes and turned around to face the victims in the courtroom, telling them: “I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough.”

“I live in a tormented state now,” he added. “I’ve left a legacy of shame for my children and grandchildren.”

His attorney, Ira Sorkin, called him a “deeply flawed individual” and asked for a sentence of 12 years, which he said was just short of Madoff’s life expectancy.

Chin rejected that argument, saying the scope of the fraud and the impact on the victims demanded the maximum.

The judge added that in the more than 100 letters he received, not one attested to Madoff’s good deeds. “The absence of such support is telling,” Chin said.

Madoff has been ordered stripped of his assets, including his $7 million Upper East Side apartment, properties around the world and two yachts. His wife of 50 years, Ruth, who was left with $2.5 million, broke her silence Monday.

“I am embarrassed and ashamed,” she said in a statement released by her lawyer. “Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused.”

Madoff, a once-admired investor and former chairman of the NASDAQ, admitted in March to running a multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme since the early 1990s. In an elaborate and decades long fraud, Madoff pocketed money from investors — who ranged from celebrities and charities to retirees and single moms — and sent them fictitious account statements showing stock sales and purchases that were never made.

Many victims doubt he could have pulled it off alone and called yesterday on the government to bring to justice anyone else who was involved. Aside from Madoff’s accountant, no one else has been charged.

A couple of dozen of the angry victims gathered at nearby Foley Square after the sentencing yesterday to call on authorities to take more action and to provide them with restitution.

The last statements Madoff sent to investors totaled $65 million, but investigators believe true losses will run from $13 billion to $21 billion.

Whatever vindication ripped-off investors felt, they said it was tempered by the struggle of making ends meet and the suddenly uncertain financial future he left them.

“I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up from it but it keeps getting worse,” said Sharon Lissauer, as she choked back tears. “He killed my spirit and shattered my dreams.”

Tags: bernard madoff, wall street, fraud, court

Orchard Beach express bus canned this summer

Monday June 29, 2009 5:42 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Looking to get to the “Bronx Riviera” this summer? You’ll need to pack some beach reading for the bus.

Bx12 service to Orchard Beach went local this week, with NYC Transit scraping the long-standing express service to the sandy spot this year because of confusion for riders, the agency said.

Running for at least a decade, the express skipped about a half dozen stops to the beach along congested Fordham Road. The Bx12 is the city's fourth busiest bus line, and hundreds of sun-seekers take it to the beach on nice summer days, bus operators said.“It's going to be a lot more crowded,” said Vaughn Brooks, a Bx12 bus driver for eight years. “The local buses are a lot more beat up than the (express) bus.”

The MTA expanded express routes — called “select bus service” — last year to Co-Op City. However, the change caused confusion and longer wait times when the usual summer Orchard Beach service began because only some buses would go to the beach, officials said.

“While select bus service was a popular option for customers going to the beach in the summer, it created confusion and inconsistencies,” NYC Transit officials said.

Tags: transit

amNewYork letters to the editor

Monday June 29, 2009 5:23 PM By Sara Baumberger

Jacko’s parents shouldn’t get kids

So Michael Jackson’s kids are going to Joe and Katherine Jackson? Aren’t they the same people who mocked their son for having a large nose, who

hijacked his childhood and who severely “disciplined” and basically wrecked his life

for their very own profit?

— Suzy Sandor, Manhattan

Oprah got what she voted for

Oprah is complaining that her employees are going to be taxed on a cruise she gave them this year, attempting to disguise a salary bonus as a “gift.” Nice try, O. I’m afraid the guy you cried for on election night needs every tax dollar he can get to pay for everything he promised. What’s the matter — can’t handle the “change”?

— Michael Chimenti, Oakland Gardens

More important news to focus on

While our soldiers are being killed, wounded and maimed on two fronts, and civilians have lost their jobs in the thousands, and others have been fleeced out of their life savings by Ponzi schemes or otherwise. Newspapers, TV and magazines and other media have been focusing on the death of a drug addict and accused pedophile. It’s another example of the “A-Rod Syndrome” that has captured this nation.

— Stan Zinder, Manhattan

Tags: letters to the editor

Council takes pedicab rules for a spin

Monday June 29, 2009 5:08 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

The city is getting closer to throwing the rulebook at freewheeling pedicabs.

The City Council began considering a bill Monday that would require rickshaws to undergo inspections, meet safety requirements and obtain city licenses and insurance. Drivers would need to be at least 18 and get a license.

“We're ready to go,” said Jonathan Mintz, commissioner of the city Department of Consumer Affairs, which would oversee pedicabs if the bill is passed “The department could move quite quickly on this.”The city passed legislation in 2007 to crack down on the more than 1,000 pedicabs trolling city streets, but litigation stalled its enforcement. The new bill is similar to the 2007 proposal, but doesn’t cap the number of pedicabs allowed on the street.

Earlier this month, a pedicab driver and one of his passengers were hospitalized after they collided with a taxi in Williamsburg.

Pedicab businesses largely support this version of the bill. But some bemoaned its ban on rickshaws from bike lines and bridges, saying it will force them to bring pedicabs into Manhattan on trucks.

“It adds unnecessary cost, complication and pollution,” said Rob Tipton, owner of Mr. Rickshaw, a midtown pedicab company.

The bill must go through a second council hearing before a vote. The hearing hasn't been scheduled, but the council considers the bill “a priority,” a spokesman said.

Tags: pedicabs, new york city, transit

New travel titles

Monday June 29, 2009 3:15 PM By Lucy Blatter

Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

Tired of routine vacations, but unsure of how to broaden your travel horizons? New books by experts such as Arthur Frommer and Rick Steves can advise on traveling abroad with ease and rediscovering the gems at your fingertips.

Travel As A Political Act by Rick Steves, $16.95

Steves, host to more than 100 travel shows over the past thirty years, has released a new book that dares us to look beyond sunbathing and duty-free shopping. From exploring Turkey and Morocco’s secular Islamic culture and getting to know the the Iranian people, Steves offers his own enlightening travel experiences both on and off the beaten path.

Ask Arthur Frommer and Travel Better, Cheaper, Smarter

by Arthur Frommer, $19.99

The man behind the Frommer travel empire offers answers to all your travel questions. The book is organized into 15 categories (including Frommer’s favorite destinations and trips that cater to your mind), and it’s easy to flip through and find what you need. It covers many destinations — from Vegas to China — all modes of transportation and every travel tool available.

The Hudson Valley & Catskill Mountains by Joanne Michaels, $21.95

Inside our New York City bubble it’s easy to forget that lush forests, country roads and roaming waterways are just a short train, bus or car ride away, in the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains. With more than 400 dining, lodging, and recreational reviews, more than 100 maps and photos, historical sidebars and regional festivals — this guide is sure to shed new light on the area.

Gourmet Getaways: 50 Top Spots to Cook and Learn by Joe David, $16.95

Self-described foodie Joe David has scoured the country for the best places to learn to cook. Divided into five regional categories — northeast, southeast, southwest, Midwest, and west – the book features everything from culinary schools to country inns. A recipe accompanies each spot, so even if you can’t make it there, you can sample their flavors.

The 100 Best Volunteer Vacations to Enrich Your Life by Pam Grout $19.95

While many people want to do good on their vacation, navigating the volunteering waters can be overwhelming. Enter author Pam Grout’s book, conveniently indexed and divided into six regional categories (North American & the Caribbean, Central & South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Austrian & around).

Weekend Walks in Brooklyn: 22 Self-Guided Walking Tours from Brooklyn Heights to Coney Island by Robert J. Regalbuto $16.95

If Brooklyn ever were to secede from NYC it would be the fourth-largest city in the country. So, why not explore the outer borough on your next “staycation”? From DUMBO to Park Slope to Williamsburg’s Hasidic area, this book celebrates all that is Brooklyn. Plus, with maps and historical information you can be your very own tour guide.

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel: How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact by Scott McCartney, $16.99

McCarney, a licensed private pilate, pens the Journal’s “Middle Seat” column. In the book, he aims to decrease the hassle caused by airport security, baggage fees, and lost luggage, and restore the days when getting there really was half the fun. McCartney provides tips on finding the lowest fares, deciphering whether a deal is really a deal, finding cheap rates at good hotels, bargaining for baggage fees and upgrades and much more.

Tags: travel books, rick steves, arthur frommer

Payard shutters

Monday June 29, 2009 1:23 PM By Lucy Blatter

Upper East Side bistro and bakery Payard has closed.

Payard is no more.

François Payard, chef/owner of the UES Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro, announced the closing of the restaurant. He cited "untenable rent increases being levied by the landlord" as the reason.

"Alexandra Payard will continue to operate her catering business, Tastings, as usual and will employ some of the patisserie and bistro staff," Payard said. "We thank all of you for many wonderful years in business and we look forward to welcoming you to a new location one day soon."

Tags: restaurants

New video of Michael Jackson surfaces as fans grasp for more

Sunday June 28, 2009 6:56 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Associated Press)

By Marlene Naanes

Fans craving a glimpse of Michael Jackson’s last day might have a chance to purchase a recording of the pop icon’s thrilling final rehearsal before what was to be his comeback concert tour.

The Wrap, a Hollywood blog, reported the practice was recorded in high-definition the night before Jackson died, potentially opening up an avenue for the concert promoter to more than recoup losses from the London tour, which was to begin next month. The DVD and album release would showcase Jackson performing his top hits.

The revelation comes as Joe Jackson, the superstar’s father, said he does not believe tour-buildup stress killed him, according to a TV interview aired last night.

The family was also granted a few specks of relief after Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson’s two oldest children, reportedly said she wouldn’t seek custody. The Jacksons also have taken solace in the global outpouring of love.

“Michael was the biggest superstar in the world and in history,” Joe Jackson told Fox News Channel’s “Geraldo at Large.” “He was loved by everybody, whether poor or wealthy or whatever may be.”Michael Jackson fans continued making pilgrimages to the Apollo Theater yesterday, writing messages of mourning on a nearby wall and dancing to the pop star’s music before an ever-growing shrine.

Glynis Joseph, 51, came from Brooklyn to sign her name to a tribute wall so thick in signatures that a second — in some places a third — sheet of paper or plastic was put up.

“Wow, look at this—there’s nowhere to put your name,” said the longtime fan. “I just had to be here…to connect. This is going on all over the world. ”

The King of Pop’s career was launched 40 years ago at the Apollo. Devotees said Jackson’s life and prolific cache of songs enraptured all people.

“Regardless of the personal problems they say he had, you can’t deny the music he made,” said Theresea Burgin, 49, of Brooklyn, who spent more than an hour yesterday singing Jackson songs with her daughters, grandson and neighbor under the Apollo’s marquee.

“I just wish he could see how much he was loved and how many people came out.”

Jackson’s death also yielded profits for many of the sidewalk vendors on 125th Street, hawking T-shirts, DVDs, buttons and posters graced with the Gloved One’s likeness.

“Mike has revived the economy,” vendor Paul Moreland said. “You would never know we were in a recession on 125th Street.”

(With AP)

Tags: king of pop, michael jackson, entertainment

It's official: Fares rise to $2.25

Sunday June 28, 2009 6:11 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

After a six-year run, the $2 fare has faded into MTA history.

Bus and subway prices ramped up just after midnight Sunday, with MetroCard machines, turnstiles and bus fare boxes recalibrated to register $2.25 fares.

“I felt it,” said Jose Garcia, 58, as he waited for the D train in Harlem Sunday. “It's 25 cents that we could have used to buy food.”

NYC Transit dispensed additional workers to inform commuters about the shift Monday, spokesman Paul Fleuranges said. Decals with the prices went up in all buses and token booths, he said.

Still, some riders were caught off guard by the hike, including a string of angry straphangers who complained loudly to a clerk at the Cathedral Parkway B and C train stop shortly after midnight Sunday. Long lines also formed at some token booths.To avoid waiting, Fleuranges said commuters should enroll in EasyPayXpress, a service that automatically fills a rider's MetroCard and deducts the cost from their credit card.

Fares will likely increase by an average of 7.5 percent in 2011 and 2013.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn riders got a bonus Monday, with No. 5 trains starting to run into Brooklyn beyond the rush hour, when they had terminated at Bowling Green. The MTA voted in April to extend No. 5 service to the Flatbush Avenue stop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

Anastasia Economides and Marlene Naanes contributed to this story.

Tags: mta, fare hike, subways, transit

Sales: June 29 to July 5

Sunday June 28, 2009 4:59 PM By Julie Gordon

James Leonard Opticians

Until June 30, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 1010 Second Ave., btwn 53rd and 54th sts.,

212-753-7733

Sunglasses and prescription eyewear from designers such as Prada, Gucci and Armani is up to 85 percent off.

Showroom New York

June 29 to July 1, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 202 W. 40th St., at Seventh Ave., 9th Fl.

Items are on sale from clothing and accessory designers including Sheila Elaine, DRES, Dinna Soliman, Corrente, Chulette and La China Loca. Pieces are up to 80 percent off.

bliss

June 29 to July 5, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. W Hotel, 541 Lexington Ave., at 49th St.,

877-TO-BLISS

Feel-good body lotions, creams and soaps are up to 75 percent off. Acne gel that was $32 is now $16. Lemon sage soap is now $8, reduced from $16.

Sophia Eugene and Christopher Deane

Until July 7, 12 to 8 p.m. daily. 37 Cornelia St., btwn Bleecker and W. 4th sts., 212-488-2124

Get stocked up for summer with silk and jersey dresses at 50 to 80 percent off. Frocks from Sophia Eugene that were $258 are now $100. Maxi dresses from Christopher Deane are now $150, reduced from $325.

Tags: shopping, fashion

Viral Video: A tribute to Billy Mays

Sunday June 28, 2009 4:25 PM By Rolando Pujol

A fan of the late informercial star says goodbye with this montage of commercial clips set to mournful music.

Tags: viral video, television

Ed Westwick, Jessica Szhor celebrate Ed's 22nd

Sunday June 28, 2009 3:00 PM By Julie Gordon

Ed Westwick, Jessica Szhor (Photos: Getty)

By Julie Gordon

“Gossip Girl” star Ed Westwick rang in his 22nd birthday at midtown’s Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge Saturday with a crew consisting of co-star Blake Lively and girlfriend Jessica Szhor — who flew into the city to surprise him.

“Ed and Jessica were close and cuddly,” a party spy said.

Partygoers bowled casually — nobody finished a game — and chowed down on cupcakes from Crumbs with “HB ED” written on them. Most guests drank cucumber martinis and Amstel and Bud Light, except for Lively and Szhor, who stuck to water.

“Everyone sang happy birthday. Ed thanked everyone for coming and kissed Jessica,” the source said.

Music by Kings of Leon and Notorious B.I.G. came courtesy of Westwick’s personal iPod, which he piped through the speakers.

Hyphenated New York

Sunday June 28, 2009 1:40 PM By Rolando Pujol

At West 79th Street and West End Avenue, there's a seemingly routine Department of Transportation road sign for the New-York Historical Society. The sign appears innocuous enough, and it certainly is clear and accurate. Yet there's something very wrong with it. Believe it or not, there's an error -- of sorts -- in punctuation.You see, the New-York Historical Society has been around since 1804, when New York was still a fairly young city and one if its most famous citizens, Alexander Hamilton, lost his life in a duel with Aaron Burr.

So it should come as no surprise that an institution that traces it roots that far back, and whose collections includes objects that are far older, would have a curious twist in how it spells its name. The society throws a hyphen between the words New and York, as was common usage at that time.

The city's sign is missing that all-important hyphen. Indeed, back in the 19th century, the New York Times used the hyphen in New York, doing so from 1851 to 1896. While the Times has moved on and lost the hyphen, the New-York Historical Society has stuck to its guns.

Losing the hyphen would almost be like erasing history, and it's intriguing that a museum should have a subtle trace of grammatical history in its very name.

-- Rolando Pujol

Tags: museums, endangered nyc, history, signs

Ellis: Who's the next victim of the Republican curse?

Thursday June 25, 2009 9:39 PM By Emily Ngo

Mark Sanford got caught with an Argentine mistress.

Bobby Jindal opened his mouth.

John Ensign two-timed with a one-time staffer.

By this point, Sarah Palin's personal calamities are almost too numerous to name.

It’s the Republican Curse of 2012. Who else dares to enter this race? Call it presidential politics, Agatha Christie-style.

No one has fully explained why. But bad things keep happening to promising candidates. Just as soon as they get dubbed “rising Republican star” — it’s flameout time.

Sanford is only the latest. The telegenic, second-term South Carolina governor was being so widely touted as someone to watch, he was put in charge of the Republican Governors Association, even ahead of Palin.

Then, the curse struck again.

Having been slapped around by his own Republican Legislature and the South Carolina courts, Sanford decided he needed a little head-clearing time on the Appalachian Trail — or, better yet, in the arms of his Buenos Aires e-mail babe. He didn’t bother to mention any of this to anyone back home.Clearly, no uncursed politician would ever pull a maneuver like that.

I’m telling you, these Republican hopefuls are cursed!

How else to explain what happened to Ensign? The family-values Nevada senator watched helplessly while his White House dreams collided with his lust for a former campaign aide, who also happened to be his congressional assistant’s wife.

The curse!

Why else would Louisiana’s Jindal answer Barack Obama’s State of the Union with a high school debate performance in front of a staircase from “Gone With the Wind”?

The curse!

And what about Palin? Just as her name began to float as a possible Republican 2012 nominee, unpleasant things began to occur. Her teenage daughter got pregnant. Her future son-in-law became an ex-future-son-in-law. With dire consequences, she decided to discuss complex domestic issues and foreign affairs. Certainly, she had to know better than that.

She was helpless in the face of the curse.

No one knows yet who will be the next victim of the Republican Curse of 2012.

But here’s a hint: Who else from the party might like to be president?

Tags: ellis henican, politics, mark sanford, sarah palin, gop, scandal

Michael Jackson dead at 50

Thursday June 25, 2009 7:59 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

mnaanes@am-ny.com

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop who rose from child-singing sensation to become one of the greatest entertainers of all time, died Thursday in Los Angeles just as the troubled icon was on the cusp of a comeback tour.

The Gloved One, 50, reportedly collapsed at his Bel Air home, reportedly under cardiac arrest. Jackson had no pulse and was not breathing when paramedics arrived at 3:30 p.m. and began CPR, reports said.

Doctors at UCLA were not able to revive him and pronounced him dead. In Harlem, stunned crowds swarmed the streets and in Times Square, pedestrians gasped as the screens flashed the news.

“No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," said Michael Harris, 36. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."

Jackson’s family, including his mother and sister, La Toya, ran to his hospital bedside to be with him, according to TMZ.

The cause of death remained unclear Thursday evening.“I must confess I am not surprised by today'stragic news. Michael has been ion an impossibly difficult and often self-destructive journey for years … A human simply can

not withstand this level stress," said Michael Levine, his former publicist.

His death shocked fans worldwide as they were expecting him to begin a world tour, which was reportedly going to help him out of financial straits.

Recently, Jackson had been frail but displayed “boundless energy” in practice sessions – four days a week, six hours a day -- for his comeback tour, Johnny Caswell, a principal at a Burbank, Calif. soundstage, told the LA Times.

Jackson’s career was filled with thrilling highs and chilling lows. He exploded on the world stage as a sweet-voiced and baby-faced front man of the Jackson 5 in the 1960s and later rocketed into superstardom as a solo artist with hits like “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Thriller,” the 1982 album which became the biggest selling in history.

Jackson hysteria reached a fever pitch in the mid 1980s, accentuated by his iconic silver glove, surgically-changing face and dance moves punctuated by a crotch grab. As his career edged on, so did bizarre and troubling stories. He began donning outlandish costumes, surgical masks and surrounded himself with child “friends.”

He married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 but they divorced. He then married Debbie Rowe and had two children. He later had a third child through a surrogate mother.

In 2005, he was acquitted of molesting a cancer-surviving 13-year-old boy, at his Neverland Ranch. He moved to the Person Gulf afterward but recently moved back to Los Angeles, no longer living at his fabled Neverland Ranch.

He is survived by his parents, Joe and Katherine; sisters Janet and La Toya; brothers; Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Jackie; and children; Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

Quincy Jones, who produced “Thriller,” with Michael Jackson, tried to put his shock into words.

“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Tags: michael jackson, dead, entertainment

The worse the station, the more the fare hike moaning

Thursday June 25, 2009 6:36 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Dripping ceilings, peeling walls and a distinct smell of urine: This subway station doesn’t makes riders happy about a fare hike.

“It's just pretty terrible,” said Vram Melek, 32, as he waited in the shabby Court Street station on the R line Thursday.

Grumbling about the coming fare hike is near universal, but its the riders in renovated stations and better-served lines who seem to be taking the medicine better.

“We should pay double,” said Sam Simon, who frequently uses the gleaming South Ferry station on the No. 1 line. “Our lives are completely dependent on their infrastructure. You get what you pay for.”MetroCard machines, turnstiles and bus fare boxes will all change over to the new fares at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, NYC Transit said. Those who purchased a MetroCard prior must swipe it by July 6 to keep it active.

At the 46th Street station in Astoria, riders wished the fare increase came with better service. Weekend travel on the G has been intermittent in Queens for months.

“Might as well get a car,” said Marcia Roberts, 28, a G rider.

Others straphangers were just thankful that the doomsday service cuts didn't transpire.

“It doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be clean. It just has to be efficient,” said Charles Fiore, 53, a Bay Ridge rider who uses the Court Street station.

The MTA declined comment for this story.

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

2. MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

3. Fare hike silver linings

4. City straphangers pay a hefty portion of subway fares

4. Transit workers gear up for fare hike fallout

Tags: nyc transit, mta, fare hike

Michael Jackson dead

Thursday June 25, 2009 6:22 PM By Rolando Pujol

Michael Jackson in 1984. (Getty Images)

From the LA Times:

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times. More LA Times coverage here.

More here from TMZ, which broke the news.

NYC Pride March: 40 years after Stonewall

Thursday June 25, 2009 6:16 PM By Julie Gordon

By Kristen V. Brown

The nation’s first gay pride parade marched down Fifth Avenue 39 years ago in protest of the violence and discrimination against gays that took place a year earlier and that had resulted in the Stonewall riots marking the birth of the LGBT liberation movement.

Since then, the march has come to encompass a bit more color, a bit more leather and a lot more skin.

This year, the march dons even more pomp and circumstance as New York celebrates the ruby anniversary of the riots, when 40 patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against police persecution of gays.

“Stonewall changed the LGBT story from an individual story to a collective story,” said Robert Woodworth, a director with The LGBT Community Center. “We’re not just celebrating that day, but every day since.”A celebration and a protest

The NYC Pride March, however, is not just a celebration of LGBT history, but an annual civil rights march in protest of inequalities – such as gay marriage - that still exist despite the movement’s leaps and bounds since the June 28, 1969, riots, parade organizers said.

On Sunday, some four million attendees are expected to turn out for the march, about a million more people than the event usually draws, according to the organizers. The march is five miles long, kicking off at noon on Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, and ending where it all began 40 years ago, at Christopher and Greenwich streets.

“The march is a declaration,” Woodworth said. “We are out in the world making noise and everybody’s got to pay attention.”

This year draws some of the event’s biggest-name grand marshals, including Anne Kronenberg, LGBT activist and campaign manager to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States; Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning screenwriter for the film, “Milk”; activist Cleve Jones and Gov. David Paterson.

But despite the floats, glitter, and disco music, march director Maurice Michaane emphasized that it is most certainly not a parade.

“It is a march and will always be a march until such a time when there is full equality across the board,” Michaane said.

Teaching the next generation

Jeremiah Newton, co-founder of the Stonewall Veteran’s Association, a member of the shrinking group of people who were there for the riots, said this year will be particularly important in introducing the heritage of the gay rights movement to younger generations who may have never even heard of Stonewall.

“People really don’t really know anymore, but it’s a very rich history,” Newton said. “Stonewall was a watershed moment.”

Tags: entertainment

Q&A: Pride March Grand Marshal Anne Kronenberg

Thursday June 25, 2009 6:12 PM By Julie Gordon

By Kristen V. Brown

One of the Pride March's grand marshals is Anne Kronenberg — an LGBT activist and former adviser to Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978 in San Francisco after becoming the first openly gay elected official in California.

How does it feel to be a grand marshal?

It is such an honor. It’s mind-boggling to me. Stonewall happened when I was 15 years old; and when I went to work for Harvey [Milk] ... that was all everyone talked about. Stonewall was a starting point. I would sit and listen for hours to the stories from Stonewall. To be there four decades later, it’s so amazing how fast time goes and so many things change — and some things still stay the same.

Have you ever marched in the NYC Pride March?

It’s my first time; I’m a San Francisco gal. But it’s going to be quite a way to see it for the first time. San Francisco is wonderful and I love being at the parade there, but New York does everything bigger and better.This is such a big year, with the same-sex marriage debates. What’s it like to be a grand marshal now?

I think it’s a real time of change and growth. Milk talked a lot about progress not being linear. You take two steps forward, then a couple back, that’s the way it is. Gay marriage will be on the ballot again in California. Eventually, we will have equality.

When did you come out, and what was the experience like?

In San Francisco, I was always out because it was so easy. I went to work for Harvey and it was just easy. But I wasn’t out to my family, and when my dad came down to visit from Washington, he had the feeling that something was going on, and he wrote me this long, really lovely letter just trying to find out about me. I was so scared. We did it all through the mail, and I wrote back that I was a lesbian and in this relationship with a woman. It was a really difficult period, but they never rejected me.

What do you say to people who want to come out but are wary of how friends and family will react?

I think everyone does it in there own way, but I think there is an openness that was not there 30 or 40 years ago. Young people do not see what the issue is. My son and daughter are in their early 20s and they’re like, “whatev.” That’s my daughter’s saying, not mine! I think the point is to just be true to yourself. It is really OK to be who you are.

(Photo: Getty)

Tags: entertainment

No. 7 winner, R train looser in cleanliness survey

Thursday June 25, 2009 6:06 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Subway cars are looking less grimy these days, but don’t tell that to R train riders.

Only 25 percent of cars on the R, which serves straphangers from Bay Ridge to Forest Hills, are free of litter, dingy floors and sticky spots, according to an annual report released by the Straphangers Campaign Thursday, making it the dirtiest line in the system.

The survey of 2,200 cars last year also found:

- The No. 1, G, L, N and R trains looked dingier, with the L and N tanking compared to the year before- The No. 4, No. 5, A, B, D, E, J, M and V lines improved from the year before, with the D and J making big strides

- The No. 7 train received the system’s gold star due to an influx of cleaners on the Queens line

It would take 400 additional cleaners throughout the system to mimic staffing levels on the No. 7, an infusion that is “extremely unlikely” given the MTA’s budget woes, transit officials said. The MTA is slashing 43 of its 1,181 car cleaners next year to save money.

“It’s a question of priorities,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “I strongly think (cleaners) are something the riders want.”

Next year, NYC Transit will begin taking cleanliness surveys through hand-held computers to deploy staff to dirty trains faster, the agency said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

2. MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

3. Fare hike silver linings

4. City straphangers pay a hefty portion of subway fares

4. Transit workers gear up for fare hike fallout

Tags: nyc transit, mta, straphangers campaign

Andrew's Coffee Shop closes on West 34th Street

Thursday June 25, 2009 5:35 PM By Rolando Pujol

Andrew's Coffee Shop on West 34th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Photos by Emily Mathis

By Emily Mathis

Andrew’s Coffee Shop at West 34th Street appears to have served its last cup of joe.

“Yes it has closed. We found out this morning,” said a worker at the Andrew’s location on Seventh Avenue in midtown. Calls to Andrew’s other branches offered no further explanation.

Coincidently, Andrew’s demise comes shortly after a spacious new deli, Bistro, opened up next door.

Bistro, with its copious offerings from sushi and pizza to salad, hot and juice bars, instantly made a name for itself. For the opening week all items were offered half-off. Andrew’s had recently been trying to drum up business by passing out free cookies, offering dinner and lunch specials, and giving away dessert.

Ted Kim is a general helper at Bistro.

Ted Kim, Bistro’s general helper, admits his establishment may have had some impact, but says he’d hate to think Bistro was the main culprit.

Kim believes his restaurant and Andrew’s attracted a different clientele, since Andrew’s was a table-service diner, and Bistro is a self-service deli. Andrew’s did offer take-out and Bistro offers tables.

Other food establishments lining the block, from chains such as Chipotle and Quizno’s to hot dog and halal stands, say they have felt little to no impact since Bistro opened.

A worker at Quizno’s said they had felt an initial hurt, but had since recovered.

The worker did say the sandwich shop had increased marketing by passing out flyers since Bistro’s arrival.

Angelos Mironis, who runs a pushcart hotdog stand nearby, said his business has not suffered from Bistro’s presence.

“They don’t bother me. I don’t bother them,” Mironis said of his new neighbor.

But if Bistro did in fact “bother” Andrew’s to death, they seem remorseful.

“If anything give my best to the people at Andrew’s,” Kim said.

Tags: restaurants

Where to party after the Pride March

Thursday June 25, 2009 4:04 PM By Julie Gordon

The Stonewall Inn will be the "mecca" of Pride March after-parties, according to its manager. (Getty)

By Amanda Lindner and Allie Rolnik

Special to amNewYork

Sunday’s NYC Pride March ends at Christopher and Greenwich streets. And the thousands of people crowding the West Village’s streets need somewhere to party afterward. Here are our top picks in the neighborhood.

Stonewall Inn

53 Christopher St., at Seventh Ave. S., 212-488-2705

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the event that birthed the modern gay rights movement — the riots, which occurred on June 28, 1969, outside the Stonewall Inn after police stormed the venue and kicked out gay patrons. Hence, the famed establishment is the “mecca” of Sunday’s celebration, according to manager Kurt Kelley, who said “everybody and anybody” is welcome to join in the festivities. “We’re where it all started and where the parade ends so everybody, and I mean everybody, is going to be here,” Kelley said.

Pieces

8 Christopher St., btwn Greenwich Ave. and Gay St., 212-929-9291

Glitter and rainbow decorations are the backdrop for Pieces’ gigantic dance party. “The parade passes right in front of us, so our customers can watch for a while, grab drinks inside, then go back out, all day long,” said manager Eric Einstein. “It’s become a Christopher Street institution.” The bar’s $7 cover charge includes a free shot.

The Monster

80 Grove St., btwn Waverly Pl. and W. Fourth St., 212-924-3558

Put a piano bar upstairs and a club downstairs, and you get a guaranteed fun night at this Village classic. Cover charge is $10.

Julius’

159 W. 10th St., at Waverly Pl., 212-243-1928

Dating back to 1867, Julius’ is one of the oldest bars in the city and a landmark for the gay rights movement. On April 21, 1966, a “sip-in” was staged to protest people who wouldn’t serve alcohol to gay patrons. Today, Julius’ is the oldest operating gay bar in New York, and preserves its historic status by keeping things classy. “We’re a more traditional, older kind of bar, so there’s no go-go dancers, but it’ll be a great time,” bartender Gary Gura said.Henrietta Hudson

438 Hudson St., at Morton St., 212-924-3347

This lesbian bar hosts an all-day, all-night party Sunday with a variety of contests every hour, everything from wet T-shirt competitions to a rainbow clothing challenge. The back bar includes a sidewalk cafe, beer pong and flip-cup. For those looking to bring out their inner stripper, a pole is cemented on the stage.

The Hangar

115 Christopher St., btwn Bleecker and Hudson sts., 212-627-2044

Located directly on the parade route, The Hangar is sure to be jam-packed after the parade. “It’s going to be the DJ going and booze flowing all night,” manager Steve Kramer said. “It’s just going to be a crazy fun night with everyone stopping in from the parade.”

Boots & Saddle

76 Christopher St., btwn Bleecker St. and Seventh Ave. S., 212-633-1986

Western-themed bar Boots & Saddle has some of the best drink prices around. After the parade Sunday, beer and house drinks are $3 until 9 p.m., and $4 from then until 4 a.m. Patrons can also participate in karaoke.

Tags: bars

La Cense Beef truck debuts today!

Thursday June 25, 2009 10:37 AM By Lucy Blatter

Credit: David Rosenzweig

Well that was fast! Yesterday, we were told the Le Cense Beef Burger Truck would open sometime this month. Now, we've gotten word that it's today!

The truck will be hitting the streets of midtown, at 48th Street and Park, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Pick up your 100% Grass-fed burger today (it'll feel a lot better than a Big Mac).

Tags: food

MTA canine unit on the hunt for a headquarters

Wednesday June 24, 2009 6:46 PM By Heather Haddon

MTA Canine Unit Police Sgt. Edward O'Flaherty and his German Shepard Duke, 7, patrol the Harlem - 125th Street Metro North Train Station. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Heather Haddon

Since the nightmarish months after 9/11, these dogs have used their powerful noses and instincts to protect countless commuters, and have become a reassuring presence in transit hubs such as Grand Central Terminal.

But the MTA’s 43 well-trained K-9 unit dogs has a problem: The pooches and their handlers need a home — of sorts. And that home could make them even better at their jobs.

“It's a sore subject with us,” said Sgt. Ed O'Flaherty, while out with his dog Duke during a recent patrol of the Harlem Metro-North station. “We definitely need a facility” for training and other work.The dog-cop teams have been without a headquarters since the unit’s inception in 2002.

The unit, which has a $10 million annual budget, detects explosives across Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road and Staten Island Railway facilities, and assists with the city's subway patrols.

“These dogs just want to go,” said Officer Brian McCormack, as he held on to Burris in Penn Station. “The more training you give them, the more they accomplish.”

The canines sniff out an average of 10 unattended packages a day, O'Flaherty said, noting that without the dogs, the bomb squad would have to suspend service while they deploy search robots.

The dogs also help nab bad guys. MTA police dog Hero and his handler, Lt. John Kerwick, chased down a home-invasion suspect this month in White Plains and recovering his loaded .40 caliber gun.

But getting the dogs to this level of proficiency takes a lot of work — and that’s where a training facility would come in handy.

It takes at least three months to train a dog and its handler in explosives detection. Officers have access to small work stations at the various transit terminals, but without a central facility, teams must travel 75 miles north from the city to train at borrowed space in Orange County.

“It's not efficient. We're always bouncing around,” O'Flaherty said.

The MTA's capital plan sets aside $2.5 million to acquire property for a K-9 Unit facility. The agency hoped to buy the land by last December, but postponed its deadline until August while it searches for a parcel of at least five acres, said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.

The MTA has no specific leads on a property, Donovan said. Officials are hunting for a space within the K-9 Unit's 5,000-square-mile territory, but they won't rule out a space well outside the city “if it was appropriate,” he said.

Meanwhile, O'Flaherty his officers and their dogs stay focused. “[Criminals] only have to be right once. We have to be right every time,” he said.

Tags: mta, k-9

Anti-smoking signs could confront smokers at the cash register

Wednesday June 24, 2009 6:36 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

New Yorkers who have seen the TV commercials of blocked arteries and amputated fingers highlighting the ill effects of smoking may soon see the graphic images at their corner store.

The city now wants tobacco sellers to post signs as large as three square feet, depicting diseased lungs and anti-smoking information over cash registers or wherever cigarettes are displayed.

“At that critical point of decision when they’re going to lay out almost ten bucks for a pack of cigarettes, they’re going to have to think twice,” said Sarah Perl, assistant commissioner in the city health department’s bureau of tobacco control. “Do I really want to pay 10 bucks for mouth cancer? Is that a really good use of my funds?”

If the Board of Health approves the proposal, which could happen as early as September, New York would be the first city in the country to require such signage, according to health officials. The regulation could take effect as soon as November and may impact some 12,000 bodegas, newsstands and cigar shops.

A July 30 public hearing is planned.The proposal unveiled yesterday is in keeping with the city’s health agenda, which now has chain restaurants posting caloric information on menu boards.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand require similar anti-smoking signs, said health officials, adding that the department’s own graphic anti-smoking ads have already proven effective, with calls to the 311 quit line increasing fivefold.

Richard Hu, manager of The Wall Street Humidor, a lower Manhattan cigar shop, said he thinks the signs would certainly prevent children from smoking. But adults would be a different matter.

“Adults who smoke for 30 to 40 years are not going to stop for a sign,” Hu said.

Tags: smoking, sign, smokers, cash register, health

Print is dead ... or is it?

Wednesday June 24, 2009 6:26 PM By Ryan Chatelain

By Ryan Chatelain

If the magazine industry is dying, some publishers have refused to attend the funeral.

At a time when major publications — Portfolio, Blender and Country Home, to name a few — are folding at an alarming rate, several media companies remain undeterred, launching new titles into an industry that is battling the Internet and the recession all at once.

“There’s an experience that people have with a magazine that they don’t have on the Web or on their cell phones — that visual experience of reading something of length, reading something where you want to read it,” said Jane Ottenberg, president of The Magazine Group, which helps companies create publications.While the magazine industry’s struggles have been well documented and a Web site, magazinedeathpool.com, has even surfaced to track the demise of publications, Ottenberg said there are many success stories that have flown under the radar. Among them are that the June/July issue of Saveur is the culinary magazine’s largest in its 15-year history and includes 22 percent more pages of advertising compared to last year.

Media analysts largely agree that broad news magazines, such as Newsweek, are vulnerable. Publishers of new niche titles, however, believe they represent the future of print media.

“The winners will be the niche publishers making the content that is more passion-based and delivered in a higher-quality experience,” said Greg Di Benedetto, publisher of Guitar Aficionado, a quarterly lifestyle magazine that premiered this month and covers guitars, wine and cars.

Jennifer Roberts, publisher of Modern Magazine, a quarterly decorative arts and design publication that launched in May, agreed that audiences can still be reached through magazines.

“I think everybody when they found out we were doing this publication, especially on the international level, got super excited because there wasn’t anything else providing them with a place to research and understand the historic value of the pieces they were interested in acquiring,” she said.

Sixty-two percent of new magazines don’t survive their first year, according to industry analyst Samir Husni.

- - - -

Some new magazines launched in recent months or hitting newsstands soon:

Guitar Aficionado: Quarterly, high-end lifestyle magazine that covers guitars, wine and cars.

Modern Magazine: Quarterly publication that celebrates 20th- and 21st-century decorative arts and design.

Fresh Home: Home-improvement magazine from the Reader’s Digest Association that launched in February.

Best You: Over-40 health journal, also by the Reader’s Digest Association, that will be rolled out in March. It printed two test issues earlier this year.

AR: Publication covering U.S. and international hedge funds that will be available in September.

ESPN Outdoors Saltwater: Fishing magazine from the sports media giant that was launched in April.

Tags: magazines, print media

Transit workers gear up for fare hike fallout

Wednesday June 24, 2009 6:06 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Call it blaming the messenger.

NYC Transit workers aren't the ones who usher in higher bus and subway fares, but they often pay the price for the bad news.

“There are arguments, near fights,” said Harry Wills, a Brooklyn bus operator running for union office. “We get the flak for it.”

Signs about the fare hike have gone up throughout the subway system, and new price charts will surface in buses and token booths this weekend, transit officials said.

Still, passengers often don't read the signs, and then direct their angst at bus operators and station agents. They’re gearing up for more unwarranted tongue lashings starting on Sunday, when the fare hikes kick in.“They feel bitter,” said Brenda Davis, 50, a station agent at the 34th Street-Penn Station stop on the Broadway line. “It's easy for them to be mad at me.”

A Cornell University study conducted soon after the 2005 fare hike found that 81 percent of station agents and 71 percent of bus drivers had been verbally or physical threatened by a passenger in the past year.

This time around, station agents will also have to fumble with more quarters. Base fares rise by a quarter to $2.25.

Transit provided additional quarters to token clerks, workers said yesterday. Bulletins detailing the fare increase and potential customer questions went out to station agents in the past two weeks, a NYC Transit spokeswoman said.

Union officials said they could still use more help in dealing with irate passengers.

“You're strictly on your own,” said Andreeva Pinder, the union vice president for stations. “I tell [the clerks\ to keep their behinds in the booths.”

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

2. MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

3. Fare hike silver linings

4. City straphangers pay a hefty portion of subway fares

Tags: mta, nyc transit, fare hike

amNewYork letters to the editor

Wednesday June 24, 2009 5:48 PM By Sara Baumberger

Spectacle brings problems to light

Re “‘They should all be fired,’” June 24: No, they should not be fired. I am actually enjoying this “reality” serial, which will finally wake up my fellow New Yorkers to how dysfunctional our government is. I think the two Democrats who bolted their party did us all a big favor in bringing this spectacle into plain sight, rather than the normal “closed-door” antics of years past.

— John Ost, Manhattan

End of steroid era coming soon?

Donald Fehr, head of the baseball players union and a major block in drug testing for players, has decided to retire when Commissioner Bud Selig resigns. This all should have happened when it was known players were cheating with the use of steroids. Good thing Jose Canseco wrote the tell-all book or it would still be a problem. Remember when they tried to discredit Canseco?

— Bernard L. McGrath, Holbrook

Kim has detected Obama’s weakness

Re Jeanica Toussaint’s letter, “Finally, we have a visible president,” June 23: Can Toussaint and other Obama sycophants tell us why North Korea’s dictator has challenged President Barack Obama more in six months than he challenged George

Bush in eight years? Could it be because thug Kim Jong Il has concluded that Obama is a great speech maker with the spine and fortitude Jimmy Carter and Neville Chamberlain?

— James Longo, Livingston, N.J.

Tags: letters to the editor

Food trucks: Tasty grub on the go

Wednesday June 24, 2009 4:25 PM By Lucy Blatter

The La Cense Beef truck will be open for business this month.

By Alexis Korman

Special to amNewYork

For New Yorkers on the go, grabbing a bite on the run just makes sense. Here are some new spots where you can find delicious eats on wheels:

La Cense Beef

Street meat gets a healthier makeover at La Cense Beef, the first lunch truck in Manhattan to feature all-natural, hormone and antibiotic-free Black Angus beef burgers ($7) from grass fed cattle. The blue and green truck is scheduled to start making trips Mon.–Fri., 11 a.m. -3 p.m. this week. To locate the truck, visit lacensebeef.com.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

It’s hard to miss this rainbow-accented, cha-cha music-blaring ice cream truck parked in the West Village—toppings include gourmet items like sea salt, bacon, cayenne pepper, and TRIX cereal, since, according to their website, “it’s queer, colorful, and youngster-friendly, like us!”. The BGICT plans to make appearances near clubs in the East Village and Chelsea at night. To find out the truck’s location, visit biggayicecreamtruck.com

NYC Cravings

This mysterious unmarked van isn’t being operated by someone scary from America’s Most Wanted. It’s just a low-key food truck serving up some tasty Taiwanese eats, like a filling fried pork chop over rice with “secret” pork sauce ($6) , Taiwanese style fried tianbula (fish cake) ($6), and a variety of steamed dumplings ($3 for 4). The truck can be found on 45th St between Sixth and Seventh Aves most Mondays, but you can check the truck’s other locations at https://sites.google.com/a/nyccravings.com/cravings/

Cupcake Stop

Strawberry shortcake, old fashioned banana pudding, and psychedelic tie dye are among the colorful, creative cupcakes on offer at the Cupcake Stop, NYC’s first mobile cupcake shop. The truck offers two sizes of the cupcakes, baked fresh daily, the "mini" costs just $1 and regular sizes go for $2.25. Follow the cupcakes at: http://www.cupcakestop.com/ourstory.html

Moshe’s Falafel Truck

Do you want to find a filling lunch for under $5? Moshe’s Falafel Truck’s got you covered with its 3-falafel pita stuffed with lettuce, tomato, tahini, hot sauce, and a spicy pickle on top for just $4.75. While it’s not quite new, it does have a new location and new menu items. This truck has been parked near Union Square for the past 6 months, but now resides at 57th and Broadway. Shoestring French fries ($3.50) are the latest addition.

Tags: food trucks, moshe's falafel truck, cupcake stop, big gay ice cream truck, la cense beef

Viral video: Becoming a sports celebrity

Wednesday June 24, 2009 3:34 PM By Sean Joseph

Comedian David Koechner gives his Little League team a pep talk on becoming sports celebrities. His advice? Date a supermodel, carry a gun, get an entourage, etc.

Tags: viral video, television, sports, celebrities, entertainment, david koechner

Spreading healthy food habits through Harlem

Wednesday June 24, 2009 1:10 PM By Lucy Blatter

Chef Francois Payard teaches Harlem kids how to make soy chocolate mousse yesterday

At a NY Coalition for Healthy School Food event yesterday, chef Francois Payard prepared vegetarian pizzas and soy chocolate mousse for more than 100 children and their families at the Hans Christian Anderson Complex in Harlem.

At the event, Chef Payard introduced new healthy ingredients, such as tofu.

Now through July, $1.00 from every Soy Chocolate Mousse ($3.00) sold at Payard will go to benefit the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food.

Tags: restaurants

It's a cheese-eating contest!

Wednesday June 24, 2009 11:33 AM By Lucy Blatter

Love cheese? This event's for you.Credit: Getty

Brooklyn Stink-fest: This Sunday at 2 p.m., Stinky Bkyln’s third annual cheese eating contest goes down at 268 Smith St.

For two minutes, competitors will stuff themselves with as much Cantalet cheese as humanly possible. Defending champion, William Millendes, will be working to keep his name on the “Big Cheese Title Belt”, prominently displayed at Stinky Bklyn. Last year, he devoured 14.9 ounces in under two minutes.

This year’s winner will have his/her name displayed on the belt for the following year and receive a gift basket. The event is part of the annual Smith Street fair — an all day treat for food and music lovers of all ages. Fair events begin at 11 a.m.

To sign-up for the competition call 718-522-7425 by Friday.

268 Smith St. btwn Sackett & Degraw

Tags: cheese, stinky bklyn, food

Songwriter/director charged in 11 sex assaults

Tuesday June 23, 2009 6:57 PM By Marlene Naanes

(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)

The man who penned the sappy 1970s sensation “You Light Up My Life” was indicted yesterday on charges of raping or sexually assaulting 11 women over the course of three years, officials said.

Oscar-winning director and songwriter Joseph Brooks, 71, allegedly attacked the women, ages 18 to 30, after luring them — many through Craigslist ads — into his Upper East Side apartment under the guise of an acting audition, prosecutors said.

Brooks often “incapacitated” the women before raping or assaulting them, according to the 91-count indictment.Brooks turned himself in to police yesterday and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. His attorney, Jeffrey Hoffman, called the charges absurd, pointing to part of the indictment that alleges Brooks raped five women in a five-week span in 2008.

“He’d…have to be doing nothing else,” Hoffman said.

A judge released Brooks until tomorrow, when he is due back in court to pay $250,000 in bail.

The heaviest-hitting charges Brooks faces are eight counts of first-degree rape, which carries up to 25 years in prison.

His personal assistant Shawni Lucier, 42, of Washington state, is also facing charges for allegedly facilitating the sexual assaults of nine of the women.

Lucier faces up to one year in jail for allegedly arranging for the women, who were flown from other parts of the country, to meet with Brooks, knowing he was attacking them, prosecutors contend.

Brooks won an Oscar in 1977 for the ballad “You Light Up My Life” and penned and directed a movie by the same name. He also made his name in the jingle-writing business, coming up with songs for Pepsi and Geritol.

(Marlene Naanes)

Tags: songwriter, sex, rape, crime

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick newborn twins born and 'beautiful'

Tuesday June 23, 2009 6:50 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

By Marlene Naanes

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are now the proud parents of twin girls, giving their 6-year-old son a pair of precious playmates.

The surrogate mother gave birth to the girls in an Ohio hospital, and the family couldn’t be happier.

“The babies are doing beautifully, and the entire family is over the moon,” the couple’s representatives said in a statement.

Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick, weighing 5-pounds 11-ounces, and Tabitha Hodge Broderick, weighing 6 pounds, were born at 3:58 p.m. Monday. Both Hodge and Elwell are family names on Parker’s side.Parker, 44, and Broderick, 47, were with the girls and the surrogate at East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, Ohio, local CBS affiliate WTRF reported.

The hospital did not release information on the condition of the surrogate, or any other information.

The couple’s reps did not elaborate on when the family would be back in New York or if their son James Wilkie was in Ohio to meet his sisters.

The joyous news follows reports last week of a police-orchestrated break-in of the surrogate mother’s former home in search of dirt for a tabloid magazine.

The couple announced they were expecting with the help of a surrogate in April, saying they could not conceive after their son was born.

Meanwhile, the couple’s friends were gushing with best wishes.

"I'm thrilled for Sarah, Matthew and James Wilkie," Parker’s Sex and the City costar Kim Cattrall told People.com. "More 'fabulous girls' are joining our SATC family."

Tags: sarah jessica parker, matthew broderick, twins, entertainment

City straphangers pay a hefty portion of subway fares

Tuesday June 23, 2009 6:07 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

More than anywhere else, it seems, New Yorkers pay for the subway service they get.

Subway and bus fares cover 56 percent of NYC Transit’s operating expenses, one of the highest percentages among public transit systems in North America.

“You never see where your money goes,” said Cynthia Key, 56, a Bronx rider. “It’s always dirty, crowded.”

Transit experts saw both side of the MetroCard debate.

“We have features here that no other transit system in the country has,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “But we also have (subway) crowding ... that would embarrass a cattle shipper.”

It takes a hodgepodge of fares, taxes and government subsidies to keep transit systems running. Throughout the United States, fares cover 34 percent of operating expenses on average, according to Federal Transit Administration figures.Unlike other systems, however, New York transit riders have to cough up money for the MTA’s $27 billion in debt. The agency is the fifth largest public debt holder in the nation.

City straphangers also shoulder the burden of 44 years with the nickel fare, said Robert Paaswell, director of the University Transportation Research Center at CUNY.

Additionally, city and state subsidies to the MTA have remained basically flat since 1990, according to a city Independent Budget Office report released last year. The calculations did not factor in the $1.8 billion in new taxes and fees approved by Albany last month.

Paaswell said the 25-cent fare hike coming Sunday is negligible. City transit riders pay less than they did 30 years ago when accounting for inflation, he said.

“It’s worth it,” said T. Walker, 55, of Canarsie. “It gets me where I need to go.”

The MTA declined comment.

Shayndi Raice contributed to this story.

The cost of a ride

Percent of day-to-day expenses at MTA agencies covered by fares:

56: New York City Transit

51: Metro-North

40: LIRR

15: Staten Island Railway

Percent of other transit systems’ day-to-day expenses covered by fares:

43: Chicago

40: Washington, D.C.

37: Philadelphia

26: Paris

Sources: MTA, University Transportation Research Center at CUNY

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

2. MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

3. Fare hike silver linings

Tags: fares, mta, nyc transit

What's in season: The freshest tastes of summer

Tuesday June 23, 2009 5:23 PM By Lucy Blatter

Chanterelle's David Waltuck picks fresh strawberries at the Union Square Greenmarket. Photos: Marie Claire Andrea

By Ben Muessig

Special to amNewYork

Preparing the perfect early summer meal is easy: Just let the produce do all the work.

That’s what chef David Waltuck — the man behind acclaimed TriBeCa eatery Chanterelle — suggested during a visit to the Union Square Greenmarket last week.

“For a simple meal, I’d just roast a chicken and let the vegetables do their thing,” said Waltuck, whose Harrison Street upscale French eatery is known for its ever-changing menu.

Here are some of his tips for your next visit to a farmers market:

Garlic scapes

$6 per bunch

Scapes are an often-overlooked part of the garlic plant that can add some zest to sauces, stir fries and sautes.

More subtle in flavor than garlic bulbs, these tender curling stalks are a late spring and early summer favorite at many upscale eateries.

Waltuck suggested dicing them and serving them in a saute with tomatoes, olive oil, a splash of chicken stock and duck fat.

Garlic scapes are also a popular addition to pesto sauces.

Fava beans

$4 per pound

Fava beans are a health food staple and a gourmet standard.

“To me, fava beans really say springtime,” Waltuck said. “You can open them up and blanch them, or just eat them raw with a little salt.”

Try making a fava bean puree or serving the legumes — which are low in calories and high in protein, fiber, iron, and vitamins A and C — in a medley with other seasonal veggies such as sugar snap peas, baby carrots and ramps.

Nasturtiums

$4.50 per plant

Many varieties of edible flowers can add color to your dishes, but only nasturtiums can add flavor, according to Waltuck.

“A lot of people use edible flowers in salads, but these are the only ones that actually taste good,” he noted.

But the bright orange flowers aren’t the only delicious part of this plant — the green leaves can add a peppery kick to salads.

Strawberries

$3 per pint

Locally grown strawberries are in peak season, and these vitamin-C packed fruits are the perfect way to cap off a meal at home.

“I like to eat them raw, but you could always make an ice cream or sorbet,” suggested Waltuck.

Tags: david waltuck, chanterelle, strawberries, fava beans, nasturtiums, garlic scapes, food

Darlene Violette relapses

Tuesday June 23, 2009 4:02 PM By Scott A. Rosenberg

By Ed Condran

Special To amNewYork

• Darlene Violette appears Wednesday at Carolines. 9:30 p.m., $18.

Stand-up comedy doesn’t mean everything to Darlene Violette but it’s certainly a part of the Brooklyn based performer’s varied repertoire.

“It’s something that’s always been important to me,” Violette says. “But there are other things that I focus on as well.”The energetic Violette is a playwright, recently finishing her latest play, “The Crucifixion of Stevie Willis.” She is also a character actress, having performed opposite Nick Sandow in the film “Hungry Ghosts,” written and directed by Michael Imperioli.

“When you get a chance to work with someone as gifted and generous as Michael Imperioli, you just go for it,” Violette says. “So I’ve been working on other things and I thought I would shelve the comedy for awhile.”

However, many of her peers, suggested that Violette get back to her stand-up.

“I was told that I got to get back with it and so I decided to go back to the stage,” Violette says while calling from her Kew Gardens residence. “I’m ready to do stand-up. It’s been awhile. That’s why my show this week is called ‘Darlene Violette’s Relapse.’”

So Violette, 43, will return to Carolines. The Massachusetts native, who has lived in New York City since 1996, will crack wise about her marriage, weight issues, age and living in a basement apartment.

“People think my home is a subway entrance,” Violette says. “But that’s living in New York. I’m a very autobiographical comic. Everything is from my perspective. I look back to how my life and career was back when I was in my 20s. I thought anything was possible. I still think anything is possible, as long as I don’t have to run.”

Violette notes that she is one of the few women who detest Audrey Hepburn.

“I’m not crazy about Audrey Hepburn because she ruined it for a lot of women,” Violette says. “Before she became star you could be a voluptuous woman like Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren. But everything changed with Hepburn with ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’ I wish she had breakfast at Denny’s.”

After performing at Caroline’s, Violette, who hones her acting skills at Cooper Union’s Studio Dante, will focus intently on acting.

“I’m just trying to get that much better as an actress,” Violette says. “I want to be as good as I can as an actress and a standup. It’s not easy balancing everything but it’s all about being as creative as I can be. That’s what I’m aiming for.”

Tags: darlene violette, the crucifixion of stevie willis, hungry ghosts, michael imperioli, entertainment

amNewYork Letters to the Editor

Tuesday June 23, 2009 3:58 PM By Sara Baumberger

Regulations will not stop smokers

Re “Putting a choke hold on smokers?” June 23: President Barack Obama has good intentions with his new smoking regulations, but they will not discourage people from smoking. The key is to find out why, despite evidence that smoking is harmful, expensive and antisocial, people still start. The president might otherwise begin with “no smoking on train platforms that get federal subsidies” or propose health care that will not cover smoking-related illnesses. Putting regulations on the tobacco companies will only encourage them to increase their prices, sell cigarettes in developing nations and step up other advertising here. I can’t imagine there is a smoker out there who doesn’t know smoking is bad.

—Gene Towba, Plainview

No reason to take aim at pedicabs

Re “No easy ride for city’s pedicabbies,” June 19: Pedicabs are a nonpolluting form of public transportation powered by people, not polluting fossil fuels. The excuse that pedicabs contribute to traffic congestion is absurd. Hundreds of pedicabs are outnumbered by thousands of other vehicles that take up far more space. Everyone should read Campaign Finance Board filings by City Council members. There was a political quid pro quo for those who voted to limit pedicabs and by fortunate coincidence received campaign contributions from the taxi industry. Doesn’t the council have more important issues to deal with than trying to put a small group of entrepreneurs out of business?

— Larry Penner, Great Neck

Tags: letters to the editor

Q and A: Hank Cardello, author of "Stuffed"

Tuesday June 23, 2009 3:42 PM By Lucy Blatter

Former food industry executive Hank Cardello says American industry needs to cut back on extra-large portions like 7 Eleven's Big Gulp.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

In his new book, “Stuffed,” former food industry executive Hank Cardello argues that the industry needs to take action to end the obesity epidemic.

“Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese,” he said. We spoke to him about what he thinks should be done.

How are American food companies contributing to the obesity epidemic?

Clearly, the portions have gotten out of hand. Calories are up 21 percent from the 1950s, across the board, from restaurants and in packaged food.

Consumers are looking for the best value. It’s like quantity per price or per dollar. The model’s gotta change — to lean means green. More is not better.

The consumer has been totally confused. The nutritional label on the side of the products, it’s a lot of confusing information that doesn’t necessarily translate to eating better. It’s a well-intended government program, like the food pyramid. It’s just tough for people to understand what a serving size is.What can be done?

It’s time for the companies to step up. It’s not all about the government. Let the government set the rules and then get lost.

The best way to do it is a trim-10 plan. First, the government should tell the companies to take at least 10 percent of calories out of the products. They should get behind brands like Coke Zero; they should also push 16 oz drinks rather than 20 oz; the 100-calorie packs are a no-brainer.

Second, education is a problem. Let the food guys do it. Like how beer has “Drink Responsibly,” they should have “eat responsibly.”

Third, if the companies do one and two, they should get some tax relief.

What can the consumer do to avoid fat traps?

Focus on calories. My opinion is if you focus on the number of calories, you take in you’ll also take in less sugar, salt, etc. Pay attention to the sizes. Don’t supersize, zero size. You can have all the refills you want if it’s coke zero.

But the initiative has to be coming from the companies.

Who are some of the biggest culprits?

It’s a collision of the large sizes, and the consumer not saying no — it’s both of us. Items like the Monster Thickburger from Hardee’s (that’s 1,420 calories) and the 64-ounce Double Big-Gulp, don’t help.

Tags: stuffed, food industry, hank cardello

Viral video: Obama's superpowers

Tuesday June 23, 2009 1:36 PM By Sean Joseph

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Barack Obama, and he has come to save the day! JibJab puts the rock in Barack with a new, over-the-top satire.

Tags: viral video, television, politics, barack obama, jibjab

Fare hike silver linings

Monday June 22, 2009 7:26 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

Stop the whining.

Straphangers yesterday said that even though subway and bus fares are set to go up from $2 to $2.25 this Sunday, the city’s transit system is still the best bargain around.

“It’s an amazing, cheap and convenient way to get around,” Maria Fitz, 44, of Greenpoint. “It’s worth an extra quarter a ride.”

With that rosy outlook in mind, amNewYork compiled five reasons why the fare hike really isn’t that bad:1. Day or night, you can get from northern Bronx to southern Queens for $2.25 or less.

In other cities, such as Washington D.C., you pay more the longer the trip. A peak hour fare in D.C. could cost more than $4.

Also, transit systems in other major cities like London and Tokyo, don’t provide 24-hour service.

2. Riders can find a way to save a buck — or several — with MetroCard bonuses and unlimited-ride passes.

“I find the monthly pass, depending on how much traveling I do, to be a really good deal,” said Ellen Lewis, 55, Upper West Side. “Today, I’m going to use it at least four times.”

3. It’s a safe ride.

So far this year, overall crime underground is down almost 10 percent compared to last year, according to transit data. Rapes and murders are down 100 percent.

4. Riders were spared service cuts.

The MTA originally proposed deep service cuts along with the hikes, but state officials found outside funds to soften the blow and keep service as is.

By comparison, St. Louis’ MetroLink riders were not only forced to cough up an extra 25 cents per ride this year, but they also lost service to 2,300 bus stops and a para-transit system for the disabled and elderly.

5. It could have been worse.

Riders were facing a 23-percent increase in fares under the original plan, but now they will only pay 10 percent more. So a monthly MetroCard that would have cost $103 will now only be $89, up from $81.

“I don’t want to pay more money, but if I do, $8 is not too much,” said straphanger Imara Lopez, 29, of East Harlem.

The MTA refused to comment on the story.

Heather Haddon contributed to this story.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

1. Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

Tags: silver lining, fare hike, mta, transportation

Ailing Atlantic Yards development seeks revisions this week

Monday June 22, 2009 7:06 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

The Atlantic Yards development is losing some of its game.

Developer Forest City Ratner wants the MTA and state official to renegotiate its deal for the $4 billion, 22-acre Nets arena complex, with community groups and some elected officials saying the amended project kills any community benefit.

“They are doing some mutant version of what was approved,” said Daniel Goldstein of advocacy group, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.In 2005, state and MTA officials gave the green light to redevelop downtown Brooklyn with an NBA arena, 2,250 units of affordable housing and 7 acres of open space. But litigation and the economic downturn delayed the development, and Ratner now is looking to amend the work plan.

Under the revised plan, Ratner would only promise to build one out of the 16 residential and commercial towers. The others will be delayed indefinitely, said Jim Vogel, a spokesman for state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn). “It’s pretty murky,” Vogel said.

Meanwhile, Corporation officials characterized the plan revisions as minor.

Ratner is pushing to start building the arena by December and still hopes to have it open by the 2011/2012 NBA season.

First branded station

The MTA will sell the name rights for its first subway station under the revised Ratner deal. The Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street station will also be called “Barclay’s Center,” after a London-based bank. The MTA will get $4 million over the course of 20 years for the rights.

Tags: development

New regs could put a choke hold on smokers

Monday June 22, 2009 7:05 PM By Jason Fink

A smoker at a bar. AP file photo.

By Jason Fink

The sun is closer than ever to setting on the Marlboro Man.

President Barack Obama Monday signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of the tobacco industry in decades, giving the federal government the power to reduce nicotine in cigarettes, sharply curtail advertising and eliminate the labels “light” and “low tar.” The law also bans flavored cigarettes - though not menthol - and requires graphic warning labels covering half of a cigarette pack.

“It's a historic piece of legislation,” said Anne Pearson, an attorney for the New York City health department. “New Yorkers are certainly going to notice the changes.”She said 20 people in New York die every day from smoking.

The city has been at the vanguard of the movement to restrict tobacco, banning smoking in bars and restaurants earlier this decade. Public health advocates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg - among the most zealous anti-smoking public officials in the country - lauded the new rules.

“After years of inaction and subservience to powerful lobbyists, our leaders in Washington sent a clear message: the tobacco industry no longer sets national health policy,” Bloomberg said.

Philip Morris, the tobacco giant behind the popular Marlboro brand, supports the law, which it called “tough but reasonable” in a statement on its Web site. The Bush administration had opposed the tougher restrictions, which begin this fall and will be phased in through 2011.

Smokers interviewed yesterday seemed mostly resigned to the restrictions.

“I agree with it, I'm looking to quit myself,” said Michael Minero, Jr., 25, of Manhattan.

Richard Minkoff, 25, of Brooklyn, noted that Obama was - and, some suggest, still is - a smoker.

Although the law is unlikely to prompt Minkoff to quit, he said he approves of the graphic labels and the fuller disclosure requirements for the ingredients in cigarettes.

“The rationale is good,” said Minkoff. “Why not be informed about a hazardous product? Put it front and center.”

Critics say the bill will do little to reduce smoking and will simply increase federal power at the expense of individual choice.

“The whole thing is a sham,” said Audrey Silk, who founded Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment in New York in 2000. “It won't achieve anything they say it will. It's feel-good legislation.”

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story

Tags: tobacco, obama, fda, health

Old Lyme: A gem on Long Island Sound

Monday June 22, 2009 5:12 PM By Lucy Blatter

The Florence Griswold Museum has Impressionist exhibits and beautiful grounds, too.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Each summer, the population of Old Lyme, Conn., more than doubles as visitors descend on the quiet town to take advantage of its beaches, arts offerings and nearby attractions.

Just over two hours from the city, it’s an optimal getaway for those seeking a quaint New England feel, with a side of beach.

The town of Old Lyme

Old Lyme’s main thoroughfare, Lyme Street, is lined with picturesque 18th-century homes. The presence of a traditional New England-style church with a steeple adds to the picture-perfect look.

Take a stroll (or drive) down Lyme Street, stop in at a gallery and grab an ice cream at the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe. Check out these other attractions, too.

Florence Griswold Museum

flogris.org

From 1889 until her death in 1937, Florence Griswold opened her family home to a group of American Impressionists known as the Lyme Art Colony (for $7 a week). It’s now a museum, with permanent and changing exhibits, housing the works of artists such as Childe Hassam. Visitors can tour the historic home, set up as it appeared when the artists lived there.Rogers Lake

Rogers Lake offers boating and swimming (showers, too). There is also a playground, and there are plenty of picnicking spots. Parking is restricted to taxpayers, though, so you’ll have to park elsewhere and walk or bike to the lake.

Beach fun

Old Lyme’s beaches are on Long Island Sound. They’re private, with the exception of Sound View.

Sound View’s adjacent Hartford Avenue is past its heyday, but still features an eatery serving local classic fried dough, an old-fashioned Italian ice shop and The Carousel Shop, which sells all the beach umbrellas, tubes and sand toys you could ask for (plus, they sell ice cream, and run a carousel at night).

For the over-21 crowd, there’s Lenny’s on the Beach, a bar and restaurant, and a nightclub called The Pavilion, which often features live music.

To stay

Bee and Thistle

Inn and Spa

100 Lyme St., 860-434-1667, beeandthistleinn.com

This bed-and-breakfast sits on five acres bordering the Lieutenant River. It has nine guest rooms with individual designs. There’s also a spa available for guests, which offers services such as massages and facials. Rooms: $150-$220 (weekdays), $190-$275 (weekends).

Old Lyme Inn

85 Lyme St., 860-434-2600, oldlymeinn.com

During summer, this cozy, elegant B and B features piano music on an outdoor terrace (usually Thursday- Saturday). There are 13 rooms, many with canopy beds. Rooms: $135-$165 (weekdays), $165-$185 (weekends).

Getting there

Old Lyme is about two hours from the city by car. You can also take the Amtrak train (amtrak.com) to the neighboring town of Old Saybrook (a 10-minute drive from Old Lyme).

For a less expensive option (weekdays only), go the commuter route: take a Metro-North (mta.info/mnr/) train to New Haven and transfer to Shoreline East (shorelineeast.com) to Old Saybrook.

Nearby attractions

Casinos

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are short drives away. Those interested in shopping, gambling, dining or seeing a concert will have plenty of options.

Mohegan Sun

mohegansun.com

This July, Bobby Flay’s Bobby’s Burger Palace will open. From June 28-Sept. 9, Mohegan Sun’s Hot Summer Fun will include concerts (Aerosmith is this Sunday), performances and the Summer Showdown Poker Tournament.

Foxwoods

foxwoods.com

Performances this summer include Kathy Griffin (June 26), Sting (July 19), Tom Jones (July 24), John Legend and India.Arie (Aug. 8), and Donna Summer (Aug. 28).

Mystic Seaport

mysticseaport.org

While the town was made famous with the classic 1980s movie “Mystic Pizza,” the seaport has been drawing families for years. The Museum of America and the Sea is a living history maritime museum.

Tags: foxwoods, mohegan sun, old lyme, florence griswold museum

Turn photos into postcards!

Monday June 22, 2009 3:51 PM By Lucy Blatter

A new iphone app by HazelMail instantly turns photos taken on an iPhone into personalized postcards and then prints, stamps and mails them. The app is free to download and includes one free postcard. Users may pre-purchase a dozen postcards for $12, or $1.50 each. HazelMail.com/iPhone

Tags: hazelmail, postcards, travel

Wanna get away? This week's travel deals

Monday June 22, 2009 3:40 PM By Lucy Blatter

Royal Caribbean is offering a five-night cruise to Cozumel for $349

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

Three-day Bahamas cruise for $229:

Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas cruise sails out of Miami on Sept. 18 with stops in Cococay and Nassau. When guests book a deluxe statesroom, a $50 onboard credit/person is added. 877-Liberty, LibertyTravel.com

Five-night Caribbean cruise for $349: Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas cruise leaves from Ft. Lauderdale with stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel and includes a $50 onboard credit per person.

877-Liberty, LibertyTravel.comSeven-nights in Barbados for $449/person: The stay at Allamanda Beach Hotel includes hotel transfers,airfare, full breakfast for two daily, a gourmet dining card, and $25 voucher for Oistin’s Fish Fry. 877-Liberty, LibertyTravel.com

Two deals in Vegas: Book a room at either New York-New York or Monte Carlo and get special discounts and VIP access. The package begins at $55/night and is available through Sept. 13. Perks include two-for-one meals, drinks and spa passes. NYNYForme.com or MonteCarlo.com.

Tags: royal caribbean, bahamas, cruise, vegas

Viral video: How to make golf more exciting

Monday June 22, 2009 2:08 PM By Sean Joseph

If the U.S. Open, golf’s “most exciting event,” didn’t capture your attention this past week, don’t worry. Slate has uncovered a secret PGA scheme to boost TV ratings: add basketball announcers to the telecast.

Tags: viral video, television, golf, sports, basketball

Ed Westwick: 'We'll see if Chuck Bass remains a good boy'

Monday June 22, 2009 11:16 AM By Julie Gordon

Ed Westwick at the K-Swiss Remastered Classic Sneaker launch at Bloomingdale’s (Getty)

By Julie Gordon and Allie Rolnik

While the rest of us are just getting into the summertime groove, the party is over for Ed Westwick, who heads back to the “Gossip Girl” set this week to start shooting his third season as Chuck Bass.

“I’m really excited ’cause [Chuck and Leighton Meester’s character, Blair] kind of got together at the end [of last season], didn’t they?” Westwick told us at the K-Swiss Remastered Classic Sneaker launch at Bloomingdale’s. “We’ll see if Chuck remains a good boy.”

During his shooting break, Westwick only saw a few “Gossip” actors (girlfriend Jessica Szhor, roommate Chace Crawford), saying, “I don’t keep tabs on [the cast].”Though rumors swirled recently about Crawford moving out of the guys’ Chelsea pad, Westwick said their living situation is “the same as it’s always been."

And despite their busy schedules, the two aren't animals (at least in terms of cleanliness).

“Everyone’s clean, aren’t we? We’re human beings, not pigs,” he said.

Well, everyone except for Chuck Bass.

Tags: ed westwick, chuck bass, gossip girl, entertainment

Brooklyn building collapse causes minor injuries, leaves residents homeless

Sunday June 21, 2009 7:20 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

By Marlene Naanes

A Fort Greene building with a history of shaking and a cracked wall collapsed yesterday, but nobody was inside at the time.

Four people on the sidewalk sustained minor injuries in the collapse, which lead to the evacuation of much of the block.

The tenement-style building at 493 Myrtle Ave. went down about 2 p.m., according to the fire department.

The Vesper Bar and Lounge, on the building's first floor, was also destroyed, as were the homes of seven residents. The building began shaking before it collapsed, and residents fled before it fell, witnesses told the Daily News. Just before the collapse, someone called the fire department about falling bricks, officials said.The fire department evacuated the entire block and searched the rubble for any other injured people as a precaution. Residents of six surrounding buildings were not allowed back in yesterday evening as the buildings department investigated, a spokeswoman said. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation and no violations have been issued yet.

On May 1, the buildings department cited the structure with four violations, including one for a large crack that stretched the entire height of the building. The owner was due at a hearing today on that citation, according to city buildings department records.

A call to the owner, William Sang, 43, was not returned. He told the New York Post that the crack was about 10 years old.

Inspectors told him to repair the gouge, but Sang also told the Post that workers at an adjacent building were doing repairs right before the collapse.

Tags: brooklyn, building, collapse, fort greene, crime

Start-up company, Jingle Punks, helps musicians find commercial success

Sunday June 21, 2009 7:12 PM By Garett Sloane

From left, Ethan Goldman, Anthony Martini, Jared Gutstadt and Dan Demole are Jingle Punks. (Garett Sloane)

BY GARETT SLOANE

In simpler times, punks were punks and jingle writers were jingle writers, but no more: Punks write jingles, too.

Many rock groups, musicians, artists and composers are embracing the commercialization of their music as one of the avenues to make money in the changing industry.

In fact, a well-placed commercial hit can launch an artist’s career. When Apple featured Yael Naim’s “New Soul” in a Macbook spot last year, the indie song went to the top of the charts.

The founders of a New York City start-up called Jingle Punks hope they find such success for the artists they’ve been recruiting for their online Jingle Player, a product that landed them in Business Week’s “America’s Most Promising Startups.”Jared Gutstadt, 31, and Dan Demole, 30, founded Jingle Punks in October and have been hustling from their downtown Manhattan apartments to get off the ground.

Their start-up follows the typical entrepreneurial mythology: During a night of drinking — they call it the “Big Kahuna” night — they resolved to develop a Web site where musicians could upload music and producers could search the library for the sound they’re seeking.

Also in tune with the tech start-up archetype, one — Gutstadt — was the creative force, and the other — Demole — had the geek credentials to build the site.

Gutstadt is a musician and accomplished jingle writer, earning the name Jingle Jared in the industry. Demole once worked on weapons systems for Apache helicopters and he designed the software for the Jingle Player.

“When we built it, we knew someone would want to use the Jingle Player,” Gutstadt said. Their library has 10,000 songs and they expect 50,000 by next year. Companies pay up to $40,000 a year for rights to the songs. They have closed about a half-dozen deals worth that much, but they also sell music to companies looking for just one song and not use of the whole library.

The Jingle Punks said they are selective about the artists they let into their catalog. They share royalties with the musicians — 50-50.

The library is carefully curated for that Jingle Punk sound, Demole said.

“We ask ourselves: Do we want these guys to be a part of Jingle Punks? The music has to be commercially viable and culturally relevant,” he said.

“If you search for Lady Gaga, you don’t get a sound-alike you get nine or 10 other bands that just haven’t been discovered yet,” Gutstadt said.

The company is growing by adding music and attracting major media companies. The Jingle Punks count dozens of media outlets and brands among their client list, from ABC to Pepsi.

Their music is featured in the new MC Hammer show “Hammertime.” They’ve also provided music for MTV’s “The Hills” and History Channel promos, among other spots.

Gutstadt and Demole anointed two other Jingle Punks to help the company. Anthony Martini, 29, with a background in the music industry, helps recruit artists, and Ethan Goldman, 35, with contacts in the media world, opens doors from here to Los Angeles.

The Jingle Player is becoming an easy sell for the crew, they said. “We’re growing. We’re faster. We’re cooler, and we’re more in touch,” Gutstadt said.

They market their service as a fresh entrée into a stale world of stock music, in which producers often recycle the same songs.

“Producers feel like they’ve been swimming in dirty water, because songs have been on five networks and seven different shows,” Goldman said.

As for the artists, the Jingle Punks said they’re leveling the playing field for emerging musicians to get their music heard — even if it is for commercial use.

“Artists have changed their view,” Gutstadt said. “Where it was once seen as being a sell-out, now you get ultra hip bands like Santigold doing Budweiser commercials.”

Tags: changing music industry, jingle punks, small business, start-up, tech start-up, entrepreneurs, business week, jingle player, commercialization of music, “america’s most promising startups”, media, economy

MTA budget woes make for dirtier stations

Sunday June 21, 2009 7:07 PM By Heather Haddon

(Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Heather Haddon

Straphangers, start bringing a broom on your commute.

Because of budget constraints, the MTA has curtailed station cleaning, with Transit officials acknowledging they are down by about 100 workers.

The agency has also slashed overtime for cleaners, and workers say they simply can't keep up with the mounting trash.

“Maintenance took a hit,” said Mark Jones, a commuter from Harlem, who said a rat recently boarded the No. 6 train he was riding. “I feel like it is going to get worse before it gets better.”

Station cleaners sweep platforms and stairs, remove graffiti and clean token booths and MetroCard machines. Busy stations receive 24-hour cleaning, with workers floating among most of the other stations throughout the day.

In recent years, the cleaning department has struggled to keep up with the surge in ridership. In 1993, the MTA employed 1.5 station cleaners per million riders. By 2007, the ratio had slipped to 1 cleaner for every million, according to Transit figures.“Stations aren't a priority,” said Marvin Holland, a subway cleaner running to lead the union's stations department. “You are dealing with more trash, which leads to more rodents.”

The MTA started a pilot program in 2007 to provide 24-hour cleaning to stations and subway cars across the L and No. 7 lines. Workers were assigned just to those lines and Transit conducted cleaning “blitzes” to improve conditions.

In a survey last year, the Straphangers Campaign found that the L and No. 7 made big improvements and were the system's cleanest. A 2008 Transit report found that track fires also declined on the lines.

But running the pilot sapped precious manpower, which has fallen in the last several years as cleaner jobs went unfilled to save money, Holland said. A hiring freeze implemented earlier this year has compounded the problem.

Cleaners are now often scurrying to hit as many as five locations in one shift, whereas in the past they would usually just do two. And now stations only have cleaners on-site for an average of four hours a day, according to the Transit report.

“Given these personnel constraints, it is not difficult to understand why station cleanliness is a source of chronic customer complaints,” the report said.

As manpower has slipped, stations at times go an entire weekend without cleaning, Holland said.

Straphangers said they have noticed the fallout.

“We need the cleaners, especially on the weekend,” said Elizabeth James, 59, of Brooklyn. “It is dirty. It's just a lot of paper.”

During a forum last week, NYC Transit President Howard Roberts acknowledged that that cleaner shortage has become a problem, but said the MTA's poor finances have tied his hands. Roberts hoped to pay for more cleaners through cost-reductions, but the MTA's budget has ailed more than expected.

The MTA didn’t responds to requests for comment.

Anastasia Economides and Marlene Naanes contributed to this story

Tags: mta, stations, transit

Study: Subways getting quieter

Sunday June 21, 2009 6:46 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

The shrill screeching of your train coming around the bend seems to have gotten a little less deafening, according to a new study.

Researchers at Columbia University logged average subway noise at 80 decibels, a volume measuring somewhere between normal conversation and a chainsaw, according to a study by the University of Washington and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. A similar study in 2006 found average subway noise was much higher at 95 decibels.

Longterm exposure to noise above 70 decibels is considered damaging. Normal conversation, for instance, is between 60 and 70 decibels. The most ear-piercing levels in the subway hit 102.1 decibels, down from 106 decibels in 2006.

Even with the decrease, the average commuter is at risk for hearing loss, researchers said.“At some of the highest noise levels we obtained…as little as two minutes of exposure per day would be expected to cause hearing loss in some people with frequent ridership,” said Dr. Robyn Gershon, an environmental and occupational health scientist and faculty member at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Manhattan was the nosiest borough, and the nosiest spots were transit hubs and below-ground stations.

Researchers recommended that the MTA increase infrastructure maintenance and use quieter equipment to abate the noisy problem. The MTA said it will create a committee to review and respond to the study and recommendations by summer's end.

The agency attributed recent softening of subway racket to the use of noise-absorbing barriers in stations, acoustic materials around platforms and better subway car equipment, among other efforts.

The study will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Tags: subways, noise, quiet, columbia university, transportation

Straphangers slow to catch on to coming $2.25 fares

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:58 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Ready or not, here it comes.

With the $2 subway fare just days away from expiring, straphangers are having a hard time adjusting - if they know about the fare hike at all.

Only a handful of riders surveyed Sunday could say when the new fares were coming or what they will be. They were news to Richard Tillman, 61, of the South Bronx.

“Get out of here. Nobody's going to pay that,” said Tillman of the increase, which will take the base fare to $2.25 and monthly Metrocards from $81 to $89. “It just went up.”

Indeed, it’s the second hike in two years, and it has some straphangers considering commuting alternatives.

“Now I know what I'm going to do next week. I'm going to pull out the car,” said Angela Pacheco, 57, of Brooklyn.

Workers are making their final checks to MetroCard computers to gear up for the switch, NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges said.The MTA voted to increase fares to $2.50 in March, but softened the blow after state lawmakers came through with $2.3 billion in additional funding last month. The tug-of-war over the bailout played out for weeks in Albany, leaving many riders confused about the end result.

“I think they definitely should have communicated [the new fares] a lot earlier,” said Edlin Cruz, 24, of Harlem.

The agency defended its outreach. White signs detailing the fares in several languages started going up in subway stations last week. Transit will finish posting the notices in subways and buses shortly, Fleuranges said.

Few riders stopped to look at the signs posted in station entrances and passageways Sunday. The signs typically were not located on platforms.

“They should post it on the pillars. It should be on the news - Channel 1, 5, 9, everything,” said Jaynea Braggs, 22, of Harlem.

A screen saver reminding riders about the change is being added to all MetroCard machines, Fleuranges said. Next weekend, fare decals on buses and subways will include the new prices, he said.

Anastasia Economides and Marlene Naanes contributed to this story

Fare bonuses

Straphangers who purchase Pay-Per-Ride cards will get a 15 percent bonus when they buy at least $8

- Single bonus fare comes with a $15 purchase

- Put $45 on a card to get 23 fares to avoid leftover balances

Tags: fares, mta, nyc transit

We're all recessionistas now

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:52 PM By Lucy Blatter

Grace Marzioli is a true recessionista. Credit: Nicholas Culp

By KAREN TINA HARRISON

Special to amNewYork

In this economy, we could all learn a thing or two from recessionista Grace Marzioli.

Creator of the blog highfashiongirl.blogspot.com (which focuses on “being chic while being cheap”), Marzioli benefits from taking on extra work and adding to her savings.

“I have a desk job, but I wear other hats: fashion stylist, personal shopper, eBay seller and blogger,” she said.

She provided suggestions on how to become a true recessionista:

Be brutally honest

“My generation wasn’t prepared for hardship,” said Marzioli, who is 25. “But we can deal with reality and overcome it with unbreakable rules.”

Take an honest look at your finances — income, expenses, debt. “Lock up those credit cards,” she urged.

Make a no-frills budget. “If you don’t need something to live, out it goes,” she said. “Leave a few bucks for New York fun.”Treasure-hunt for freebies

“Get into ‘something for nothing,’ like library books, concerts and movies in the park, cocktail parties at galleries,” Marzioli said. “Check out barter on Freecycle.org and hold swap parties,” she suggested.

You can also turn DIY. Do your own hair-dyeing and mani-pedis with friends, make and carry your own coffee to work, and “zap bar and restaurant tabs by brewing your own beer, cooking at home and throwing potluck dinners,” she said.

Making money, clearing clutter

Do odd jobs: Post fliers for baby-sitting, dog-walking and painting.

“Open an eBay account or co-host sidewalk sales,” suggested Marzioli. “Sell your sample-sale clothes and decorative items you’ve outgrown.”

If you’re creative, sell your crafts on Etsy.com.

“Recessionista life becomes a fun challenge, a game you can win,” she said.

Tags: recessionista, highfashiongirl, job front

Looking for work? This week's job fairs and events

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:44 PM By Lucy Blatter

This week there are plenty of job events going on for those looking for work.

Monday, June 22 – High Speed Networking NYC

Location: Public House, 140 E. 41st St.

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

To register: Pre-register at NetworkingForProfessionals.com, $35 for everyone at door, $30 in advance, $20 Networking for Professionals members in advance,

Wednesday, June 24 – How to Finance Your Small Business

Location: St. Joseph’s College, Tuohy Hall, 245 Clinton Ave.

Time: 6-8 p.m.

To register: Free, 718-960-8697 for more information

Wednesday, June 24 – Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants

Location: The New York Public Library, Science, Industry and Business Library, room 018, 188 Madison Ave.

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7047 for more information

Thursday, June 25 – Business Loan Information Session

Location: CAMBA – Small Business Services, second floor, 884 Flatbush Ave

Time: 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

To register: Free, preregistration required, 718-282-2500

Thursday, June 25 – National Society of Hispanic MBA’s College Night

Location: Monroe College Annex Building, 2426 Jerome Ave.

Time: 6:45-9:30 p.m.

To register: Free, NSHMBA.iHispano.com/ for more information

Tags: job search, job fairs, career fairs

Grisly video of woman killed in Iran provokes worldwide response

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:43 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

A gruesome video purportedly showing a woman shot to death during a protest in Tehran has struck an emotional chord, rocketing around the Internet and putting an all-too-human face on Iran's political turmoil.

The 40-second clip, posted Saturday on YouTube, shows a woman on the ground, surrounded by frantic men pressing her neck in an effort to stanch the bleeding.

As her eyes roll back, blood begins pouring from her mouth as screams rise up from the crowd.The person who posted the video, who goes “FEELTHELIGHT” wrote that she was shot from a rooftop by a member of the pro-government Basij militia.

“He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her,” the post reads. “But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim's chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes.”

Neither the video nor the information posted on YouTube has been independently verified.

Still, the response has been swift around the world.

The video has been shown on TV and posted on Facebook and Twitter; the original Youtube post had 135,000 views Sunday.

Also Sunday, another video surfaced that supposedly shows her with her father at a protest just before the shooting.

She is being called “Neda,” which is Farsi for “the voice,” though it is unclear if that was her name.

“(When) these events are over, we have to find out the name of every Iranian killed during these days, never forget them,” one commenter on YouTube posted. “I never met this woman, but I mourn her and for her family.”

Tags: iran, protests, video, international

Solutions for graduation despair

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:38 PM By Lucy Blatter

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

This month, recent graduates are finding slim pickings in the job market.

Betsy Richards, director of career resources at Kaplan University — which is affiliated with the test prep company — warns grads against holding out for their optimal job, and advises them to set realistic goals to land a gig.

Here are Richards’ tips for both recent grads and more seasoned job-hunters for finding something fast.Flexibility is key

In this tight job market, willingness to relocate, take a role outside your desired field or work non-traditional hours, is key, Richards said.

If you’re a career changer, Richards said, you’ll likely see a pay cut. “Set realistic expectations.”

Do your research

Richards suggested joining your professional organization for research and networking, and subscribing to the industry’s trade publications, as they often have job listings.

Sound the alarms

You need to get the word out to as many people as possible — relatives, friends, former teachers and bosses, whoever — that you’re looking for work.

“Join professional groups on Facebook and LinkedIn,” Richards advised. “If you follow a company’s Facebook page, you’ll receive postings on job openings. You can also contact companies directly through Twitter,” she said.

Think broadly about your skill set

You want to be creative and realistic. For example, if you’re great at art, think about doing advertising.

“One of my students has a lot of sales experience in mortgage lending, we assumed he could use the same skill set for medical sales, or really any other kind of sales,” Richards said.

Determine your long-term goals

Concentrate on positions in line with your goals. You’ll want to find a position you can stay in for five to 10 years, Richards said.

“If you’re looking for a finance job, you might want to steer clear of Wall Street, but go for finance departments in smaller companies,” Richards said.

“Look at long-term goals and think, ‘Is finance where I want to stay and if so, what areas are open to me?’”

Gain experience in your desired field

There are a number of ways you can gain experience, Richards said.

You should look for an internship in your field (many of which pay, though not a lot).

If you’re working in retail, but have dreams of a desk job, Richards suggested asking the company if you can work a couple of days a week in their corporate offices.

Don’t give up

If you find a job for which you’re overqualified, but that’s within a company you really like, Richards suggests taking it.

“Economics is cyclical,” she said.

“This market is going to turn around, so you want to have yourself positioned right.”

Tags: kaplan university, betsy richards, graduation, class of 2009, job front

amNewYork letters to the editor

Sunday June 21, 2009 5:16 PM By Sara Baumberger

Reduce carbon emissions now

President Obama is putting forward his program to reduce carbon emissions by 2050. But they have to be reduced now. By 2050 this planet will be a giant dust bowl, as depicted in “Road Warrior” and “Resident Evil.” The auto industry had its chance and did nothing but push gas-guzzling autos, and look where it is now.

— Michael Perez, Manhattan

Obama needs our input to run country

Re “Will we tune out Obama?” June 18: We spend too much time covering what the president is doing, what fly he is swatting, where he takes his wife for dinner. This is not his fault but ours. When elected, he urged us all to stay involved, to help him govern. We should all be writing to him to let him know our ideas for what needs to be done in this country, in our neighborhoods. He is not around real people and needs our input. This is how Obama will reach his potential to solve our problems. If we don’t do our part, Obama will become nothing more than another celebrity.

— Diane Pagen, Corona

Tell Congress to stop aid to N. Korea

We ought to be asking our congressmen why we still give foreign aid to North Korea. Citizens should hold their congressperson’s feet to the fire for these outrageous (and unconstitutional) giveaways while we struggle to pay our bills. A letter to our congressperson demanding a halt to foreign aid, especially to North Korea, would go a long way in solving this problem.

— Frank St. George, East Rockaway

Tags: letters to the editor

Sample sales: June 22 to 28

Sunday June 21, 2009 10:54 AM By Julie Gordon

nOir

June 23 to 25, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 350 W. 38th St., btwn Eighth and Ninth aves., 5th Fl., 212-244-4846

Funky and unique jewelry is on sale for up to 75 percent off.

Jane Marvel

June 23 to 25, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 499 Seventh Ave., at 37th St., 212-380-2225

Practical and fashionable handbags and travel bags are up to 50 percent off. A large canvas weekend bag that was $142 is now $85.

Amanda Uprichard

June 24 to 25, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; June 26, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 226 W. 37th St., btwn Seventh and Eighth aves., 3rd Fl., 212-719-0320

Get girly dresses, tunics and tops in bright, summery colors. Silk dresses that were $188 are now $60. Be sure to look for the bargain bins, with pieces starting at $25.

Melissa

June 24 to 28, noon to 7 p.m. 520 W. 27th St., btwn Tenth and 11th aves., Suite 601, 646-478-8967

Look good while doing good by grabbing a pair of 100 percent recyclable shoes. Gladiator-style jellies are $35 (originally $70). Peep-toe wedges were $99 and are now $39.Bulga

June 24, 8 to 8 p.m.; June 25, 10 to 8 p.m. 145 W. 18th St., btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-388-0339

Modern yet classic handbags for day and night are up to 70 percent off retail. A hobo shoulder bag that was $795 is now $350. A white shoulder bag that was $800 is now $250.

Various designers

June 25 to 27, noon to 8 p.m.; June 28, noon to 7 p.m. 230 Mott St., btwn Prince and Spring sts., 212-431-3694

Get frocks, tops, bottoms and lacy underthings from designers including Only Hearts, Rebecca Minkoff, Loomstate and Kaya Stuart. Pieces are up to 80 percent off.

Tags: shopping

Henican: Change the world in 140 characters

Friday June 19, 2009 3:31 PM By Rolando Pujol

Why should Iranian election protesters have all the Twitter fun? Can't other world events be hijacked, one 140-character outburst at a time?

Sure, they can. And soon they will be. Every day, it gets a little bit harder to tell the

social-networking Twittersphere from so-called Real Life.

Even the U.S. State Department can see the power of what is happening here.

The quickie-calls-to-arms are lurking everywhere - in nice, little chewable 140-character

bites. You never know who'll turn up next at the short-attention-span party.

Verbosity's the only one who isn't welcome here. Pick an issue, any issue

- then stand back and behold the game-changing tweets! No, Mir Hossein Mousavi (18 characters, space included) isn't the only Twitter star this week!

There's David Letterman, whose secret Twitter blast probably read something

like this:

D GovSarah Loved the "Fire Dave" rally! Lets keep the back-and-forth going for years. Working out great for both our careers!

Surely, the FBI has discovered the Joy of Tweets:

D John Robert Barnes. Sorry. DNA never lies. Ur no Steven Craig Damman.

And here's something from someone whose Twitter login is Katie 27:

D Billy60 Moving out, Grandpa? I always knew you were 2 old!

Believe me, it won't stop here. Singing stars, evil dictators, nice people too. Soon

enough, they'll all be making their marks with tweets.

Some worthy forwards:

@BarackO Happy with your current health care? Didn't think so. Single payer will heal you soon.

@KimJongMadman How'd you like your own missile launch, Hawaii? No? Here's one anyway!

@Bruno GQ really put me on the cover? They did? They did?

RT@Gays Don't ask, don't tell and don't complain either.

RT@Woody I want Carla (for my next movie).

RT@iPhone Great apps. Hope no one notices the call reception.

RT@PETA Flies are god's creatures too! Impeach Obama now.

And whatever you do, keep an eye out for this fine Twitter category:

#thewholeworldisgoingtohellandthereisnothinganyonecandoaboutit.

But you knew that.

E-mail ellis@henican.com.

Follow at Twitter.com/Henican.

Tags: henican

New Yorkers lend virtual hand to Iranian counterparts

Thursday June 18, 2009 9:11 PM By Emily Ngo

Supporters of Iran's opposition movement rally in Union Square late Wednesday.

By Emily Ngo

Mirroring a movement that has mobilized hundreds of thousands of protesters halfway across the world in Tehran, Iran, New Yorkers are taking to the streets and social networking sites to lend their support.

Facebook and Twitter — where photos are swapped, protests organized and news updates shared — have given supporters a viral stake in Iran’s disputed presidential elections.

“We live in a globalized world,” said Saeed Rahimi, 33, of TriBeCa. “They’ve touched our hearts via new media, and we want to show them that we’re here for them.”

The Iranian government has been largely unsuccessful in quashing the use of Facebook, Twitter and the like, which New Yorkers used to organize at a Union Square protest late Wednesday. Many of the roughly 600 attendees wore green ribbons as headbands and carried signs denouncing violence in Iran.

Hundreds are expected at a similar protest set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the United Nations headquarters. Tech-savvy supporters also are organizing a Global Protest Day at 10 a.m. on Saturday.“New media is really important because we are able to get internal reports from abroad,” said Sahar Vahidi, 22, who designed the fliers for the rally and follows about 10 Iranian students on Twitter. “Things we really have no way of seeing through own eyes.”

Web sites, such as WhereIsMyVote.org and Twitter applications such as one that turns members’ photos green (the color of reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi’s campaign) are further uniting dissidents. Tweets under the IranElection tag, which rocketed past the 221,000-per-hour mark on Wednesday, averaged 4,000 per hour on Thursday.

“There is no question that the use of cell phones and the Internet … has ushered in a new era of global ‘people’s reporting,’ ” said Frederick Shiels, a foreign policy expert at Mercy College. “Blocking attempts [by the Iranian government] have been “too little, too late.”

In Union Square, some protesters argued that both Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the apparent winner of the June 12 election, and runner-up Mir Hossein Mousavi are corrupt.

“It’s a double-edged sword and both edges are going to stab them in the back,” said Beheshteh Farshneshani, 23, an Upper East Sider who wore a version of the Iranian flag as a dress.

The rallies are meant to grab the attention of the all-powerful supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, and the Guardian Council, Farshneshani said.

“We’re here for change,” said Amir Haven, 29, of the West Village. “We need democracy instead of being preached to by a supreme leader who rules the country."

Tags: iran, protest, union square, twitter, facebook, politics, international, manhattan

Expert: Iranian protesters' uprising puts Ahmadinejad on political probation

Thursday June 18, 2009 8:55 PM By Emily Ngo

Hundreds of thousands of protesters march Thursday in Tehran, Iran. (Getty)

By Emily Ngo

Frederick Shiels, a political science professor and foreign policy expert at Mercy College, spoke with amNewYork about fallout from the Iranian election:

Will this outpouring of support impact the outcome of the vote?

The popular uprising is unlikely to result in a new vote or recount, but it will certainly send a strong signal to [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad and his supporters that they are on a kind of political probation with much of the country.

Do most Iranians believe Ahmadinejad won?

Most, but far from all, believe the incumbent has “won.” But he has also “lost” in the sense of losing international credibility, even in the Muslim world.

Do these massive rallies signal an upheaval within Iran? Who is behind them?

There is nobody really “behind” the upheaval. It is a largely spontaneous and fueled partly by the younger and more progressive, pro-Western minority that the clerics so fear.Ahmadinejad likely will remain president, but how will this public outrage impact him domestically and in the international arena?

It will give him pause. Leaders tend to put self-preservation ahead of repression when the cards are stacked against them. … [He] will rail against outside influence and proceed exactly as he has before. No more, no less.

Do you foresee a power-sharing deal?

Probably not, but events may influence the clerics that guide Ahmadinejad to give some lip service to reconciliation. The Western media tend to engage in “magical thinking” that the vocal minority protests in Iran may bring about a “reverse replay” of the Shah’s overthrow in 1978-79.

Has the Obama administration struck the right tone?

[President Barack] Obama himself has been measured and intelligent; his chief advisers have urged a more vocal, critical approach to the elections. … Obama will probably slightly ramp up his remarks to appease the media and his advisers.

What impact has the Internet (Facebook, Twitter ...) and new media have in fueling the opposition?

There is no question that the use of cell phones and the Internet has ushered in a new era of global “people’s reporting” of the unfolding of a historic uprising.

Tags: iran, politics, mercy college, qna, mahmoud ahmadinejad, protests, international

Pilot dies mid-flight, plane lands safely in Newark

Thursday June 18, 2009 6:45 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Associated Press)

By Marlene Naanes

A veteran Continental Airlines pilot died over the Atlantic Ocean during a flight from Brussels to Newark on Thursday, leaving two co-pilots to take control and safely land the plane while the 247 passengers were unaware of the drama in the cockpit.

The only hint of trouble aboard Flight 61 came when a doctor was summoned over the intercom.

“It's scary, but in all honesty, it's kind of good that they didn't tell us,” passenger Chris Balchuns, 18, told the New York Times. “Everybody kept calm.”

The Newark-based pilot, who was 60 and logged 32 years with the airline, died three hours into the 7-1/2-hour flight. A Belgian doctor unsuccessfully tried to revive the man with a defibrillator and declared him dead, according to the Associated Press. Continental Airlines did not release the pilot's name.The pilot likely died of a heart attack, Dr. Julien Struyven told the AP. There was “no chance at all” of saving him, Struyven said.

The body was placed in a crew rest area for the rest of the flight, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said. A relief pilot was aboard the flight, which is customary during international flights, and took the dead man's place, safely flying the plane with the co-pilot.

The Boeing 777 landed at Newark Liberty Airport at 11:49 a.m., according to Continental Airlines. Emergency equipment was on the runway as a precaution, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.

An employee of the Essex County medical examiner’s office boarded the plane, officially declared the pilot dead and removed the body, Coleman said. The New Jersey State Medical Examiner’s Office did not return a phone call.

“The company has been in touch with his family and we extend our deepest sympathies,” spokeswoman Kelly Cripe said in a statement.

Another Continental pilot died mid-flight in 2007 during a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A co-pilot landed that plane safely after being diverted to south Texas.

Tags: pilot dies, newark, brussels, transportation

Pedicab driving no easy ride

Thursday June 18, 2009 6:43 PM By Heather Haddon

John Allen of Revolution Rickshaws picks up customers outside of Rockefeller Center in New York. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Heather Haddon

It takes more than calf-muscles to pedal the city streets for hours a day.

Pedicab drivers need charm, hustle and a grasp on city lore to succeed in the increasingly competitive industry.

And soon, the city will likely require rickshaw businesses to take out insurance, pass inspections and beef up their safety protocol. Veteran drivers said they welcome the requirements as the number pedicabs pushes past 1,000.

“The industry is getting a bad rep,” said Julian Isaza of Revolution Rickshaws, one of the city's first pedicab companies. “We are an intimate and safe way to see the city.”

Pedicabs popped up on New York streets in the last decade. Typically, drivers rent their cabs from Manhattan companies with small fleets. Isaza said they train fledging drivers in negotiating the roads and obeying traffic regulations.

“I scare the s--- out of them,” Isaza said. “It's a reality check.”Pedalers hunt for tourists near Central Park during the day, or scope out the Theater District and busy taxi lines in the evening.

“If you're a tourist, you want to do drink in everything,” said John Allen, 55, a rail-thin driver from Hells Kitchen. “On the subway, you miss so much.”

Some drivers look to the industry for quick cash. Others say they like freedom to be outside and boast that their trade is eco-friendly.

And then there are the showboats.

“I want them to experience things they would otherwise miss,” said Madison Reyes, 24, who sings during his tours and drives a cab lined with fake flowers.

Central Park drivers pepper their trips with local history. Tours cost about $60, but Reyes said he gets about three takers a day.

“You see everything. It's comfortable. And there's no horse smells,” said Benny Lilipaly, 39, a tourist from Amsterdam who road with Reyes.

Out on city streets, pedicabs ride in traffic looking for passengers. It's here that pedestrians and cab drivers can get irked.

“They are dangerous,” said G. Slatin, 65, a retired Manhattan resident. “They don't abide by the traffic signals. I've see them driving on sidewalks to avoid traffic.”

In one high-profile incident, a pedicab driver and one of his three passengers were injured last week after they sped down the Williamsburg Bridge and slammed into a cab on the street.

Police issue tickets to pedicabs for traffic violations, but the city doesn’t track complaints about them because the industry is not yet officially regulated, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. That will change if the city passes a pedicab licensing law proposed last week.

Trying to break out of the street hustle, some companies now offer cargo-messaging services. Revolution Rickshaws works with City Harvest in picking up restaurant leftovers for the needy, Isaza said. Pony Cab provides rickshaws for weddings and film shoots, including a Times Square scene filmed for “Gossip Girl,” said owner Tony Rojas.

Allen said he still enjoys his job after five years on the streets.

“It's like working out at the gym, but more fun,” he said.

Pedicabs by the numbers

1,000: Estimated number of pedicabs

$4,000: Cost to buy a new pedicab

$180: Weekly rate to rent a pedicab to peddle

$1: Average cost per block for a ride for each passenger

$60: Average price for an hour tour in Central Park

Should I become a pedicab driver?

Pros:

- Able to set your own hours

- No need for the gym and lots of fresh air

- Budding tour guides can test their skills on passengers visiting the city

- Hard workers can earn $400 a day

Cons:

- Increasing competition; must develop a sales shtick

- Constant rejection from weary tourists

- Rain and calf pain are your enemies

- Manhattan biking is stressful and chaotic

(HEATHER HADDON)

Tags: pedicabs, new york city, transit

Vampire-playing actor chased by fans, clipped by cab

Thursday June 18, 2009 6:38 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Associated Press)

As a gaggle of hysterical girls tried to sink their teeth into “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson, the vampire-playing actor was clipped by a cab Thursday as he tried to get away, but survived his real-life brush with mortality unscathed, a Web site reported.The London born hottie had just finished filming scenes for his upcoming movie “Remember Me” at the Strand Bookstore around noon in Union Square and dashed through a group of groupies with the help of five security guards, according to RadarOnline.com. On his way across the street, a cab clipped the hip of the London-born hottie, according to the blog. The cabbie stopped to check on Pattinson.

Meanwhile, a bodyguard reportdly admonished the girls: “You see what you did, you almost killed him!"

A police source said it is likely the actor did not report the accident.

(Marlene Naanes)

Tags: vampire, twilight, cab, fans, robert pattinson, entertainment

Q&A: Baby Grand's Raylene Gorum

Thursday June 18, 2009 4:09 PM By Julie Gordon

Raylene Gorum mixes up a cocktail at tiny karaoke spot Baby Grand. (Photos: Marie Claire Andrea)

By Amanda Lindner

The un-joys of karaoke bars include overcrowding, waiting for hours to belt out your tune and overpaying for a private room.

Enter Baby Grand (161 Lafayette St., 212-219-8110): a teensy-tiny karaoke joint in Nolita that only fits 25 people.

“Other karaoke bars can be really hectic where you have eight girls on the microphone,” said Raylene Gorum, who opened Baby Grand this spring with her husband, Michael Uy. “We’re small so it keeps it intimate.”

But don’t let the size fool you when it comes to song choice— the bar boasts an impressive 18,000-strong repertoire, with everything from Broadway show tunes to hip-hop hits. Plus, each song only costs $1.A self-proclaimed “artitexturalist,” Gorum drew inspiration from various surfaces and textures to create the functional and minimalist look of the bar. The hole-dotted walls create great acoustics for singers, and a gallery of 24 tiny photo frames tops off the bar’s artsy atmosphere.

Gorum gave us the low-down on Baby Grand.

What did you do before opening the bar?

I worked in residential architecture and my husband worked in finance. We would go out to karaoke bars after work and would always say what we would do differently if we owned the places. At some point, you have to put your money where your mouth is, so we packed up and headed to New York [from San Jose, Calif.].

What are the best nights?

Thursday nights are best for New Yorkers. A lot of tourists come in to the city on the weekends, so it gets crowded and it’s harder to pull everyone together. Monday is “drama night,” so it’s for our musical lovers, divas and unofficial stage stars. Sunday is Rock Band night. Tuesday is starting up as our open mic night. We’ve had musicians, poets and even a guy who did this monologue. There’s a lot of hidden talent out there.

What type of crowd do you get?

Most are over 25, and we have a lot of singers. We’ve gotten a number of first-timers, too, that we have sign our book of “cherry-okes.”

What makes a good performance?

It’s really all about how much heart someone puts into the performance and how much of their personality comes through. Some of the best-sounding or best technical singers don't always get all the love. Then people who aren't the best singers can give the best performances. Picking the right song is important. The song you love to sing in the shower or jam out to in the car on a road trip — that's your song. If a singer gives more, the crowd will give more.

Do people perform better when tipsy?

I'd say tipsy is the perfect amount. The alcohol gets people up on stage, so it definitely helps.

How do you tune out the bad performances?

I'm pretty good at that, actually. We can change the pitch and speed of a song if needed. If someone is having trouble, I'll sing along or mouth the words to help where I can. I try to encourage the crowd to sing along, too, when someone is having a rough time. If that all fails, we just turn down the volume.

Raylene's recipe pick: The Xanadu (bubble tea)

Ingredients:

8 oz. sweetened green tea

1 ½ oz. Malibu rum

¾ oz Midori melon liqueur

2 tbsp. tapioca pearls

1 extra-thick straw

Directions:

1. Prepare tapioca pearls (boil, rinse, sweeten).

2. Mix green tea, Malibu and Midori and ice in shaker.

3. Spoon tapioca balls into a 12 oz. glass and strain chilled cocktail over them.

4. Add a few fresh ice cubes and an extra-thick straw (for bubbles).

Tags: bars

Viral video: Click to continue with this forecast

Thursday June 18, 2009 2:01 PM By Sean Joseph

Even weather men get annoying pop ups on their computer, and this one interrupted a live forecast.

Tags: viral video, television, weather

Is Obama at risk of overexposure?

Thursday June 18, 2009 10:46 AM By Jason Fink

President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House yesterday. AP photo.

By Jason Fink

If the president is the person you invite into your living room every night, has Barack Obama overstayed his welcome?

After winning the first presidential election of the Facebook era, Obama has found a number of new ways to communicate and sell his policies, but early in his tenure, he has also become a constant presence on TV.

Whether it is grabbing burgers with Vice President Joe Biden, yukking it up with Jay Leno, or sitting down with ABC News for an “exclusive” two-part primetime discussion of health care next week, some wonder whether all this exposure will simply drown out his message in the white noise of an increasingly cluttered media landscape.

“He is too visible, it dilutes the importance of the office,” said Tom Smith, 49, of Manhattan. “I tune out . . . Sooner or later he's just going to be another face on TV.”Obama has held more news conferences and primetime addresses than any of his immediate predecessors in the same time frame, and he and his family have graced the pages of pop culture magazines such as People and US Weekly. His new dog commanded hours of cable news coverage, as did his “date night” trip to New York with his wife, Michelle.

The comedian Bill Maher - an Obama supporter - caused a stir last week with his on-air rant imploring the president to cut back on the TV time.

“You're the president,” Maher said Friday on his HBO show. “Not a rerun of 'Law and Order.'”

Obama's critics have long charged that he focuses too much on making speeches and playing to the crowds. Sen. John McCain, his Republican opponent last year, famously ran an ad accusing him of being nothing more than a celebrity.

“There is a danger of oversaturation but in this media environment, I don't think there's much choice,” said Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Zelizer and others argue that Obama, riding a wave of popularity, is smart to use as many media outlets as possible, reaching a variety of audiences. Besides, they say, the telegenic president is his own best salesman.

“I absolutely think it's working,” said Mike Edelman, a New York-based Republican strategist. “He's letting people know that he's accessible.”

Brett Gary, a professor of media, culture and communications at NYU, said whether Obama is overexposed or a welcome presence on TV largely depends on the opinion the viewer already has of the president.

“It's only overexposure when his popularity starts to go down,” Gary said.

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story

Tags: president barack obama, tv, media, politics

Crooner Billy Joel to divorce his third wife

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:47 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

Billy Joel is splitting from yet another Uptown Girl.

The Piano Man and his third wife, chef and author Katie Lee, have called it quits, their reps said yesterday. The May-December couple, who have battled rumors of her infidelity for months, were married less than five years.

“This decision is the result of much thought and consideration,” the representatives told the Daily News. “Billy and Katie remain caring friends, with admiration and respect for each other.”

Lee, 27, has been tied to hunky fashion designer Yigal Azrouel, 36, who has been seen escorting her to events. Joel's rep has denied the speculation, and told the News that Azrouel had nothing to do with the couple's decision.“It was really the age difference that caught up with them," a friend of the couple told the News. "They grew apart. She is very career-oriented. She loves going out. She loves the city. When Billy isn't touring, he'd rather be on Long Island with his motorcycles and boats."

Lee and Joel have no children and entered into a prenuptial agreement before they married in October 2004 at one of Joel's Long Island homes.

Joel was previously married to Christie Brinkley and before her, his business manager, Elizabeth Weber. Brinkley and Joel have a daughter together.

Tags: billy joel, divorce, entertainment

Cops involved in burglary plot to dig up dirt on SJP's surrogate?

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:44 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

By Marlene Naanes

Two Ohio police chiefs are under investigation for allegedly masterminding a plan to break into the home of the woman carrying the twin daughters of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, supposedly to dig up dirt and sell it to a tabloid.

Investigators have evidence that Martins Ferry, Ohio, Police Chief Barry Carpenter and Bridgeport Chief Chad Dojack knew about the scheme to sell voicemails left by Parker, TMZ reported. They were also allegedly trying to photograph the home’s interior, TMZ reported.

Carpenter recently told an Ohio television station he is innocent, and neither chief has stepped down during the investigation, which will take between two and three weeks to complete, according to TMZ. The surrogate mother’s home has been broken into recently, but it wasn’t clear if it was by the cops, or whether they ever carried out the alleged scheme.The couple's reaction yesterday to the bizarre alleged crime was measured.

"Matthew and Sarah Jessica have complete faith in the legal system,” Broderick's spokesman Simon Halls told TMZ. “But because it's a criminal investigation, we will not be making any more comment. What I can say is the entire family looks forward to the healthy delivery of their daughters later on this summer."

Halls did not comment further yesterday and the prosecutor assigned to the case did not return a call seeking comment.

The woman, who has been identified as Michelle Ross, and her friends and family have been barraged by paparazzi since her name was leaked last month. Parker told Access Hollywood last month she was worried about the woman's health and the health of her unborn daughters.

“The most unsavory things have been done,” she told the entertainment show. “She's had her phone hacked, her personal computer information hacked, she's had threats against her and true harassment.”

Tags: cops, burglary, sarah jessica parker, matthew broderick, surrogate, entertainment

Poll: Straphangers feel safer with station agents

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:42 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Better safe than sorry.

Nearly two-thirds of riders polled said they felt safer with the red vested station agents roving the subways, according to an on-line survey of 630 passengers released Wednesday.

“People don’t want to be in a system without human beings. It’s scary,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign, which conducted the survey.

The MTA is eliminating its 420 station agents through attrition to save $16 million by 2010. Agency officials said they must plug a $200 million hole remaining after state lawmakers allocated $2.3 billion in new funding.

Since 2005, station agents have provided directions and helped passengers navigate the subways. They also contact police and emergency responders in case of crime, medical problems or lost passengers.Last year, station agents summoned emergency command 171,370 times, nearly triple the number of incidences in 2000, according to data obtained by amNewYork.

“We’re there for their safety,” said Andreeva Pinder, a union representative for stations.

Transit officials, however, argue that the change will have “no adverse effect to station security or customer safety.”

At least one full-time token clerk will remain in all 468 stations at all hours, they said.

Tags: station agents, nyc transit

amNewYork letters to the editor

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:40 PM By Sara Baumberger

Bus passengers have it rough, too

Count me among dissatisfied bus passengers. Monday I waited nearly an hour because drivers of bus No. 20 downtown had not been informed that their normal route had resumed several hours earlier after a detour was no longer necessary. I’m also annoyed by mothers standing their children on seats. If they sat them on their laps, it would leave more room in the aisles for the disabled and elderly people standing until they get a chance to sit on a seat dirtied by kids’ shoes.

— Michelle Raccagn, Manhattan

Cannabis use: What’s the big deal?

Re “Taking blunt a approach,” June 16: Cops and DEA agents constantly preach reefer madness danger from marijuana, but I have to ask, “Where are the bodies?” If cannabis caused insanity as the drug warriors often claim, our mental institutions would be overflowing with marijuana-caused insanity. The worst danger of marijuana seems to be getting arrested for it. What justification is there to throw people in prison for “marijuana crimes.”

— Ralph Givens, Daly City, Calif.

Obama must be tough on climate bill

President Barack Obama needs to be proactive as Congress considers a climate bill that has been watered down by Washington’s link to the fossil fuel industry. For the sake of New Yorkers and the world, Obama must be proactive in exercising the right to control emission levels.

— Emily Diamond, Manhattan

Tags: letters to the editor

Company trades iPods for used CDs

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:35 PM By Garett Sloane

An iPodMeister employee sorts through used CDs that

have been traded for iPods. (Alana Abel)

By Jessica Troiano

Special to amNewYork

Trading in old CDs can be an embarrassing experience, with record store clerks laughing at your ’N Sync collection or dismissing discs with the slightest imperfection.

A Long Island City company can help avoid the rejection. iPodMeister trades iPods and iPhones for CD and DVD collections.Kris Schrey founded the company in 2004. He trades about 1,000 Apple products a year for the discs.

Schrey wouldn’t say how many CDs he takes in, but doing the math it would seem to fall between 150,000 and 400,000 a year.

Schrey has found a market where he gets about $1 or $2 per disc — overseas.

“What’s worthless in the U.S. is still worth a little bit overseas,” Schrey said. “In other parts of the world, some people simply can’t afford an iPod. These people still listen to physical CDs.”

Schrey has an eight-person staff that handles orders and shipping from an office/warehouse in Long Island City. Business has been robust, with revenue up about 30 percent this year, he said.

Patricia Malone, 45, of Crown Heights, was in the market for an iPhone last year when a friend told her about iPodMeister. The idea intrigued her, but she wanted to make sure it was legitimate.

“I went online and researched it to make sure it wasn’t a scam,” Malone said. When it checked out, she traded 450 CDs, which iPodMeister also digitized for her, and she got her iPhone.

The company covers shipping costs, but on special deals Schrey pays a personal visit. He went to one Upper West Side client who was unloading 6,000 classical albums.

“If you’ve got 6,000 CDs, you get a house call,” Schrey said.

Tags: ipodmeister, apple, trading in cds, cds for ipods, long island city, small business, used cds

Transit union candidates speak out on service

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:30 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

The race to lead the nation's largest transportation union has entered its final, heated stretch.

Curtis Tate, the acting president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, is running against union activist John Samuelsen. Voting concludes Monday, but the ballots won't be counted until December. The winners will represent nearly all subway and bus workers for three years.

Curtis Tate, 52

A train operator on the numbered trains for 20 years, Tate is the acting TWU 100 president, appointed to replace former president Roger Toussaint, and leader of the “United Invincible” slate

What would you do to improve service?

We are prepared to fight to keep service at its current level, or better. It's post 9/11, and we don't want to take people out of the system. We are fighting to keep station agents booths open and prevent service cuts.

Would you ever consider striking?

Strikes are never ever your first, second or third choice. I'm not looking to break the law.What would you do for transit workers if elected?

We need to make further improvements on worker child care and training. I'm interested in teaching the next generation in trade unionism. I'm also extremely invested in expanding our (assistance) to women workers.

John Samuelsen, 41

A track inspector for 17 years in Brooklyn, Samuelsen leads the “Take Back Our Union” slate

What would you do to improve service?

A key difference is that we would have launched an all-out fight to save the station agent jobs, and that would have benefited service. They are the first layer of protection for our riders.

Would you ever consider striking?

I'm not in favor of a strike. We intend to win gains at the bargaining table.

What would you do for transit workers if elected?

We would pressure the company to advance our wages and benefits. The union is at its weakest point in decades. That's why we teetered on the brink of unprecedented service cuts and layoffs. A strong union will maintain service and staff.

Tags: twu, nyc transit

New York City consumers keep it simple

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:28 PM By Garett Sloane

New York City consumers still spend, but their habits are changing. (Getty)

By Danielle Sonnenberg

Special to amNewYork

When New Yorkers spend money these days, it’s likely to be on the basics.

Nine months after the city entered the Big Bust, shell-shocked shoppers are still cautious, leaving some of the city’s largest stores to cope with a changed consumer landscape.

“I think consumers are looking for small luxuries. They are spending on things they won’t do without,” said Joseph Magnacca, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer of Duane Reade.Food and beverage sales are booming — up 20 percent, Magnacca said.

Shoppers are dipping into the frozen foods section to replace dinners out and buying hair-coloring products to avoid the salon, Magnacca said.

Generic brands are also big. Duane Reade noticed the demand and introduced its own bottled water.

“I try to buy products that are store brands, they are much cheaper,” said Janelle Reid, a Brooklyn teacher.

At D’Agostino Supermarkets, shoppers are retrenching.

“Consumers are sticking with what they know and having a back-to-the-basics type of mentality,” said Anderson Chung, director of marketing at D’Agostino.

The organic aisle isn’t seeing as much traffic, he said, but demand for seafood, chicken and ground beef is up about 15 percent. Sales of T-bones and filet mignons are down 15 percent.

A recently unemployed D’Agostino shopper, Bianca Berry, 26, of Manhattan, was sticking with the staples: pasta, bread, cheese and peanut better.

“I revert back to my college days,” Berry said.

Simple shopping habits are taking their toll on high-end stores.

At menswear retailer Mario Caldi in midtown, they can’t cut prices deep enough to satisfy haggling consumers.

“It got a little bit better, but customers are still looking for discounts,” said Karma Lama, a salesman.

Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, which monitors shopping behavior, says it is no wonder shoppers are buying comfort not luxury.

“We are focused on the standard … hierarchy of needs: shelter, food and warmth,” he said.

Tags: consumers, retail, changing consumer behavior, new york city, duane reade, d'agostino supermarkets, envirosell, shopping, recession's affect on, big bust, economy, grocery stores

Take dad out for a meal, with a side of sports, this Father's Day

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:25 PM By Lucy Blatter

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

Sunday is a busy day for sports fans — a slew of baseball games will be on (including Rays-Mets and Yankees-Marlins games) and the Sonoma Nascar race is taking place. It’s also Father’s Day.

Though the ol’ guy may be content watching the games on TV, don’t let his big day turn into just another lazy Sunday. Enjoy a good meal alongside a helping of games at one of these upscale sports lounges.

The Hill

416 Third Ave., btwn 29th and 30th sts., 212-481-1712

With 25 high-def TVs, this may be the best bet for fans of a wide variety of sports or dads with adult ADD. The two-level sports bar feels like an upscale cabin, with brown leather seating and wooden walls.

All day and night Sunday, enjoy $10 pitchers of sangria and favorite dishes such as the $12 Hill Burger.

Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant & Sports Bar

42 Central Park S., at 59th St., 212-688-7777

Though it boasts views of Central Park and was named the No. 1 U.S. sports bar by ESPN.com in 2007, it may not be ideal for everyone — its namesake is a Yankee’s legend, and patrons are die-hard fans.

But for Yankees fans, it may very well be the second-best place to watch a game. For the price of a hot dog and beer at Yankee Stadium you can get a meal.

And with an extensive selection of Yankee memorabilia for sale, don’t fret if you’ve forgotten a gift.

40/40 Club

6 W. 25th St.,

212-832-4040

Jay-Z’s sports bar/club is named after a baseball feat only four players have ever accomplished: hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in one season. Jerseys belonging to those four players — A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and Alfonso Soriano ­— are hung inside the establishment.

The multilevel space features 15 LCD TVs, eight plasma screens (three of which are 60-inch), and four two-sided screens. While the decor may scream “Money Ain’t a Thang,” the median price of a meal is just $14.

A Beyonce after-party will be held at 8 p.m., so reservations are strongly recommended.

The Blue Seats

157 Ludlow St., btwn Stanton and Rivington sts., 212- 614-1494

This upscale sports bar offers plenty of options for large groups. But be forewarned: It’s not the place for heckling and beer spillage.

Here there are 72 HD flat-panel TVs and a raw bar.

Brunch will be served from noon to 4 p.m., 10-cent wings with pitchers of beer or sangria from noon to 7 p.m., and $25 pitchers of sangria all night. Dinner reservation options range from four to 20 people and from a $100 to $1,200 minimum (for the Skybox).

Tags: father's day, sports, mickey mantle's, mets, restaurants

Restaurateur Q and A: Jim Chu of Jo's

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:18 PM By Lucy Blatter

Chef Ian Topper-Kapitan (left) and Jim Chu

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Jo’s is a casual American bistro that opened in NoLiTa late last month. We spoke with co-owner Jim Chu, who also owns Lower East Side bar White Rabbit, about his new spot.

What was the vision behind Jo’s?

We wanted to have a casual place with quality food. This was an idea we came up with years ago and had been shopping around.

We’re the populist version of what a lot of people are creating. There’s an air of exclusivity in the city that runs counter to what we want. Cocktails are $9 here, whereas other people are charging $14. We don’t want to have mixologist, just bartenders.

Timing-wise it seems like we’re very of the moment.

How do you make the environment feel casual?

A bistro is always affordable. Here we list specials on a chalkboard. On the very top, there’s “meat in a cup.” It’s a take on a French bistro dish called Rillette, which is served in a ramekin. Ours is a beef brisket that’s cooked confit with an espresso barbecue sauce, served in a cup with handle on it.Also, it’s a little loud, and we expected it to be that way. You’re going to hear the Clash and Fugazi. Some people would never eat up in the front bar area, because it gets so loud.

I’d rather have someone who has their dog tied to the tree outside, rather than someone wearing a fur stole.

What are some of your favorite dishes and drinks?

I really enjoy the Hibiscus Collins (with homemade hibiscus syrup) and the Diablo Martinique, a kind of dark and stormy with ginger beer and blackberry liquor. It’s a nice, tall drink for the summer. The things I like to eat the most are the crispy pork ribs. They’re slow-cooked, off-the-bone tender and crispy on the outside.

How do you feel about opening a place in this economy?

I would say that opening a business at any time is challenging.

I feel good about it though. The truth is that it was other people’s hesitation that concerned me. We really got a lot of opportunities. If it weren’t for the weakness in the economy, we wouldn’t have gotten our spot on Elizabeth Street.

In general, our vendors were getting back to us faster. People were bending over backward to get things done. There also was just not as much competition.

264 Elizabeth St., 212-966-9640

Tags: jo's, restaurants

For foodies: This week's dining events and news

Wednesday June 17, 2009 6:13 PM By Lucy Blatter

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group is offering Advantage High Tea during Wimbeldon

Kids Restaurant Week: June 20-June 28 marks the New York leg of Cookie and Gourmet magazines’ kids’ restaurant week. During the weeklong promotion kids 11- and-under pay their age and adults pay $29 for a prix-fixe menu offered between 5-7 p.m.

A portion of the proceeds benefit The New York Center for Children and Food Bank for New York City. Participating restaurants include The Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel, Otto, Dos Caminos, Blue Fin, Almond and Artisanal.

Go to KidsRestaurantWeek.com/NYC.asp for a complete list of participants.

Kick off Wimbledon with the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group: Every time a Wimbledon match is going on (between June 22 and July 5) two hotel restaurants, the Fitz located at the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel in Midtown, and the Wheeltapper located at the Fitzpatrick Grand Central, are offering a $14 “Advantage High Tea.” The price includes finger sandwiches, homemade cookies, strawberries, fresh cream, scones and a glass of champagne.

The Fitz – 687 Lexington ave., 212-355-0100

The Wheeltapper – 141 E. 44th St, 212-351-6800Crab Fest at The Mermaid Inn: From now until June 21, indulge in blue crab everything at The Mermaid Inn. Featured items include Old Bay crab boil with Jersey corn and red potatoes, Crab Louis, Maryland crab cakes and crispy soft shells with summer succotash. Diners with an ID card, cell phone, or license from Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia enjoy a 10 percent discount.

96 Second Ave. 212-674-5870

568 Amsterdam Ave #1, 212-799-7400

$10 dinners at Bondi Road: Every Sunday, through Thursday Lower East Side Australian restaurant Bondi Road features a different dinner dish for $10. Sunday is Shark Attack Sundays featuring shark steaks and $5 burgers. Mondays are barramundi fish filets. Tuesdays are schnitzel and steak. Wednesdays are pasta, and Thursdays are all you can eat shrimp and oysters. Take advantage of the “Two Hours of Happiness” promotion and for $20, enjoy unlimited cocktails and well spirits for two hours.

153 Rivington St. btwn Suffolk and Clinton sts, 212-253-5311

Republic opens Vietnamese Sandwich shop: The Union Square establishment has opened a Vietnamese sandwich shop within its restaurant with $7 sandwiches, $3 soups, and $4 salads.

37 Union Sq. 212-627-7172

Sommelier smackdown: At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, two master sommeliers, Emily Wines of the newly opened NIOS restaurant and wine bar and Laura Maniec of B.R. Guest, will face off at NIOS restaurant. Reservations for the event are $55 and guests will enjoy a three-course dinner prepared by chef Patricia Williams, complemented with each sommeliers’ pairing. At the end of the night, the winner will be decided by popular vote. This is the first of the sommelier smackdown series which will feature Wines pairing off against a different sommelier each month until December.

136 W. 46th St. btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-485-2999 for reservations.

Tags: fitzpatrick, kids restaurant week, mermaid inn, bondi road, republic, sommelier

Viral video: Stealthy Obama kills a fly

Wednesday June 17, 2009 1:05 PM By Sean Joseph

President Barack Obama didn’t need the Secret Service to get rid of a pesky fly during a live interview with CNBC the other day. He swatted it on his first try.

Tags: viral video, television, barack obama, fly, cnbc, politics

Economy driving NYers to go out less, drink at cheaper spots

Wednesday June 17, 2009 12:01 AM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

The economy may have given New Yorkers more reason to drink, but many are imbibing less often at bars and lounges, according to a new Zagat nightlife survey.

More than half of the 6,000 New Yorkers surveyed say they go out less often because of the still-sinking economy.

“I'm drinking more at home,” said Tom Haze, 25, a Union Square resident who buys two liters of tequila for $11 to save money. “I miss not thinking about what's in my wallet and not being able to tip as much.”

Even those who still have cash to blow are thriftier when they party by going to less expensive nightspots, paying more attention to drink prices and ordering fewer drinks, according to Zagat, which released its latest nightlife guide today. Chris Clemens and two of his unemployed friends still go out as often, but not in the pricey nightclubs they used to frequent.“Even though [my friends are] broke, they always have enough money to go out,” said Chris Clemens, 28, of Brooklyn, who said they opt for karaoke bars nowadays. “Karaoke is free, which isn't a problem.”

Nightlife experts say that many New Yorkers are still partying as hard as ever, just at cheaper spots. The Patriot Saloon, a Chambers Street bar that touts $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon cans and $6 pitchers, has seen a boon in patrons compared to high-priced neighbors.

“We're seeing a lot more Wall Street type people in here, a lot more suits and ties,” said Annie Fhelan, who works at the saloon. “We're seeing a lot more pitchers of beer for groups where before people bought bottles of beer. Old favorites like PBR are flying out of here.”

Drinkers also are scouring Web sites that post drinking specials and reverting to their college-day habits like pre-gaming, said Justine Goodman, a senior editor at Citysearch.com.

“I do think there are more house parties at least before going out to the bars,” Goodman said. “People are doing a lot more pre-gaming at cheaper places before going to the main event at a more expensive place.”

New York nightspots are also trying to adapt to drinkers' changing habits by offering more free or cheap snacks and open bars. The strategy may be working: the Zagat survey noted the number of new nightspots opening up versus those that have closed remained on par with the last survey's tally.

Tough times have even benefited some New York drinkers.

“In general, bars are even cheaper now because of the hard times,” said Nicole Roberts, 21, of Brooklyn, who cashes in on one-dollar beer specials at her favorite bar. “They have recession specials.”

Anastasia Economides contributed this story

Tags: economy

Sarah Palin: Apology accepted

Tuesday June 16, 2009 8:12 PM By Pete Catapano

By Pete Catapano

Better “late” than never.

Sarah Palin has accepted David Letterman’s apology for the now infamous joke about her daughter getting “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez.

“Of course it’s accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who ‘joke’ about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve,” Palin said in a statement on Monday night.

Since last week, Letterman has insisted the joke was about her 18-year-old daughter Bristol, while Palin has maintained it was about 14-year-old Willow, who was in attendance at the Yankee game the late night host was referring to.While Letterman first addressed the outrage over the joke last week, on Monday he gave a clear apology to the Palins.

“I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke,” he said. “It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault that it was misunderstood.”

Even though the Alaska governor seemingly put the issue to rest, about 50 people gathered yesterday at the Ed Sullivan Theater where the “Late Show” is taped in to protest the TV icon.

Tags: sarah palin, david letterman, alex rodriguez

Is is high time for new marijuana laws?

Tuesday June 16, 2009 6:45 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

Are the pungent winds of change wafting into New York, carrying a new momentum for loosening marijuana laws?

“Support has increased substantially,” said Gabriel Sayegh, a New York director for the Drug Policy Alliance, which is pushing for reform of pot laws. “The time for broader discussion of these issues is finally here”

For Kenia Rodriguez, 21, of Brooklyn, the answer is clear.

“People do it regardless, so the government might as well” legalize it, she said.

With 13 states approving medical marijuana and bills pending in five more - includingNew York - many legalization advocates say these are heady days. In fact, a national poll shows close to half of adult Americans are open to legalizing pot altogether.

Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) co-authored a bill that would reduce federal penalties for possession. And with a drug war raging in Mexico, state budgets in crisis and a president who said, “Yes - I inhaled” arguments to legalize the drug are gaining traction.

In New York, the assembly has twice passed bills to legalize the drug for medicinal purposes and one is currently pending in both chambers, though the chaos in the senate may imperil its chances this year.

“There is overwhelming public support for medical marijuana,” said Assemb. Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), a co-sponsor of the current bill and author of the 1977 law that decriminalized possession of less than 25 grams. “I think it is long overdue for New York law to catch up with the people and with medical science.”

A spokesman for Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, the head of the state’s DA association, is “open to discussion” on the medical marijuana bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island).

Both Savino and Gottfried also said they are open to dropping restrictions against recreational marijuana use, although Gottfried said such legalization is not now on the agenda in New York.

According to estimates by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron, legalization of marijuana could save the country at least $7.7 billion in law enforcement costs and generate more than $6 billion in revenue if it were taxed like cigarettes and alcohol.

Of course, not everyone is in favor.

“We think it's the wrong message to send our youth,” said Russell Laine, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Drug Enforcement Administration remains opposed, saying in one document that it would "create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers."

Nicole Wilson, 20, of Brooklyn, had her own reasons for opposing it.

“It shouldn't be legal because it makes people do stupid things,” she said.

Tags: marijuana, drugs, medicine, politics, health

LIRR runs express train to catch Tiger Woods action

Tuesday June 16, 2009 6:36 PM By Heather Haddon

(Associated Press)

By Heather Haddon

This tiger won't bite, but it will move fast.

The Long Island Rail Road will roll out a “Tiger Express” train tomorrow morning for duffers pining to watch champ Tiger Woods compete in the 2009 U.S. Open in Farmingdale.

Prepare to wake early to catch Woods teeing off at 8:06 a.m. The train, which runs only that morning and will skip seven stops, leaves Penn Station at 6:18 a.m., with stops at Woodside at 6:34 a.m. and Jamaica at 6:42 a.m. Free shuttle buses will run between Farmingdale Station and the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park.

For those who sleep late, the LIRR is running trains along the line every half hour during the championship.Adult round-trip tickets cost $15.50 from Penn Station and Woodside, and $10.50 from Jamaica.

Woods, the defending champ, sailed to victory when he last played at Bethpage in 2002.

For information, call 718-217-LIRR or visit www.mta.info.

Tags: lirr, tiger woods, u.s. open, transit

Teach dad to cook this Father's Day

Tuesday June 16, 2009 6:21 PM By Lucy Blatter

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries & Shakes

by Bobby Flay with Stephanie Banyas & Sally Jackson, $25.95

Bobby Flay is certainly a force in American food. His ninth book is an attempt to create an American summer food bible of sorts with chapters on burgers, fries, potato chips, onion rings, condiments and seasonings, and milkshakes. Each chapter begins with an essentials section to cover the basics of each. Highlights include a garlic and butter burger, sweet potato fries, buttermilk onion rings, chipotle ketchup and a toasted marshmallow milkshake.

Knack Grilling Basics: A Step-by-Step Guide to Delicious Recipes

by Linda Johnson Larsen, $19.95

This how-to grilling cookbook is a picture-driven quick read. Shot by Debi Harbin, a top food photographer and one third of the 2008 Florida State Champion barbecuing team, the book covers everything from the right equipment to ways to add flavor to how to actually cook the food. It also features recipes for marinades that reduce harmful chemicals caused by cooking over a fire

Soaked, Slathered, and Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill

by Elizabeth Karmel, $19.95

A North Carolina native, Hill Country’s executive chef, Elizabeth Karmel, offers 400 “flavor accessories.” These marinades, brines, sauces, glazes, salsas, rubs and more, can be mixed and matched. The book is broken up into four parts beginning with grilling 101, then on to the soaked section (any wet pre-grilling preparation), slathered (applied almost cooked) and, finally, seasoned (a light flavoring).

Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint

by Chris Lilly, $24.99

The Big Bob Gibson barbecue mecca is located way down south in Decatur, Ala. With the restaurant’s competition cooking team having won 10 world championships in the past 11 years, it’s hard to argue many know more about barbecuing. The book’s author and restaurant’s executive chef, Chris Lilly, explains the how-to of low and slow cooking. He provides recipes for pork, beef, chicken, ribs, sauces, slathers and side dishes. The book also gives an insight into BBQ culture.

Mix Shake Stir: Recipes from Danny Meyer’s Acclaimed New York City Restaurants

$29.99

From the man behind some of the city’s most iconic restaurants — such as Union Square Café, Shake Shake and Eleven Madison Park — this book offers 200 pages of cocktail and bar fare recipes, complete with beautiful photos. It instructs on basics such as making the best ice for cocktails, and includes recipes for classic cocktails and the restaurant group’s originals.There are also helpful sections with tips on applying the right salt and sugar rims, and a spirits lexicon.

Burger Bar: Build Your Own Ultimate Burgers

by Hubert Keller with

Penelope Wisner, $22.95

Hubert Keller, chef and owner of Burger Bar in Las Vegas and St. Louis, goes far beyond the standard beef patty to invent a world full of burgers in every form — from shrimp to s’mores.

There are 50 burger recipes. Highlights for meat lovers include the blue-cheese-stuffed burger sliders and the Provençal (lamb) burger. Lighter takes include the roasted pumpkin-quinoa burger. The final chapter is dedicate to dessert burgers, such as the chocolate-hazelnut burger. There are also recipes for fries and shakes.

Tags: father's day, cookbooks, bobby flay, barbecue, restaurants

MTA missing 8 forklifts and 17 big batteries

Tuesday June 16, 2009 5:55 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

A band of subcontractors seemed to have made a serious run on the MTA’s supply closet.

A Brooklyn man and two Long Island residents were arrested Tuesday for pilfering eight MTA forklifts and 17 steel-cased batteries weighing a ton each.

The loot, worth tens of thousands of dollars, was trucked out of NYC Transit’s Maspeth mega-warehouse, whereupon the thieves allegedly hawked it at a nearby scrap yard for a fraction of its original cost.

“Now that the arrests were made, (we) intend to pursue any systemic weakness that would allow for this to happen,” said MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger, whose office worked on the five-month investigation in conjunction with the Queens District Attorney’s office and NYC Transit.

Those arrested worked for a private trucking company hired to repair and inspect NYC Transit equipment at its Maspeth storage facility. On three separate occasions last year, the team allegedly loaded up the equipment for off-sight repair on trucks, hauled it away and sold it for a total of $7,812.Transit inspectors noticed the missing goods during an audit last year and reported it to investigators, Kluger said.

The defendants — Bruce Lesniewski, 30; Darrin Pfaff, 42; and Kimberely Edwards, 57 — had not been arraigned by press time. They face six years of jail time if convicted on grand larceny and conspiracy charges.

Lawyers for Edwards and Pfaff said their clients would plead not guilty. An attorney for Lesniewski declined comment.

Tags: nyc transit, mta

Top five kitchen shortcuts

Tuesday June 16, 2009 5:49 PM By Lucy Blatter

Puting a pot on the stove as soon as you get home, and covering the pot with a lid speeds up the pasta process.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

lucy.blatter@am-ny.com

If you don’t have enough time to cook a full dinner every night after work, don’t fret. We’re all short on time. So we asked Pamela Mitchell, executive food editor at "Every Day with Rachael Ray" for her top five shortcut cooking tips.

1. If you're feeling like pasta for dinner, get a pot of water going on

the stove top the minute you come home —and don't forget to put a lid on

it for faster boiling.

2. Shape leftover ground beef into thin patties and freeze between

sheets of parchment paper in a resealable plastic bag for up to three

months. As long as they're less than an inch thick, you can throw them

directly on the grill.

3. Use a toaster oven instead of a conventional one — it takes less time to

preheat and your kitchen will stay cooler.4. Wash and store a big batch of lettuce in a salad spinner so you’re ready

to throw together a quick summer salad at a moment’s notice. It will keep

for about three days.

5. Use a handheld slicer to turn out paper-thin slices of cucumbers, peaches

and onions for salads and healthy snacks. Wrap any unused slices in damp

paper towels and a layer of plastic wrap to keep them fresh for up to three

days.

Tags: kitchen short cuts, rachael ray, food

amNewYork letters to the editor

Tuesday June 16, 2009 4:50 PM By Sara Baumberger

Photos should match the story

Re “Taking blunt approach,” June 16: I read your article and commend you in what I found to be a good piece. I, and many I know who are too afraid to publicly admit

it, favor complete legalization. However, why the scary-looking front page? Also, why the pathetic, stereotyped loser image with the article? Why not an image of a high-powered, business-attired person? The image does not represent the educated, hard working professional who prefers cannabis over alcohol and/or simply likes to smoke to unwind after a hard day. Why write an intelligent article, and ruin it with misrepresenting images?

— William D. Mejia Jr., Brooklyn

Don’t ‘save’ me on the subway

Re “Tracking straphanger gripes,” June 15: Missing from your list of subway annoyances are the religious proselytizers who insist on saving the souls of train riders. Those droning voices that condemn non-believers to hell have more than once sent me fleeing to another car. I’ve yet, however, to encounter a transit ranter who spouts off about evolution.

— David Terhune, Brooklyn

Iranians should do what U.S. did

The Iranian people don’t agree with the outcome of the election? What on earth could they possibly do? Easy! What the U.S. did when this occurred: Their Supreme Court must stop any process or recount and elect the most conservative candidate and move on.

— Suzy Sandor, Manhattan

Tags: letters to the editor

Viral video: Facebook photo becomes Czech grocery store ad

Tuesday June 16, 2009 1:39 PM By Sean Joseph

When an American mom put a picture of her family on Facebook, the last place she expected to see it was on an advertisement for a high-end grocery store in the Czech Republic.

Tags: viral video, television, czech republic, facebook, advertising

Block parties find a home on-line

Tuesday June 16, 2009 1:05 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

The block party, the most old-fashioned of festivities, has gone high-tech.

Open space advocates today launched “Block Party NYC,” a Web site that tracks parties planned by registered users on a Google map. The site coachers party-happy New Yorkers in getting through the red tape of holding a street fest (permits, community boards, blah) and lets hosts advertise their affairs on a calendar.

So far, listed parties include the “Jerome Street Gospel Bash” in July, and hipster bands and a stoop sale on Havemeyer Street this Sunday.

New York averages 3,000 block parties a year. The site also includes information about applying to new $500 grants to host a street fete.

For more information, see www.blockpartynyc.org.

Tags: old school

LIRR, Metro-North rates jump Wednesday

Monday June 15, 2009 6:14 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Attention commuter rail passengers: you’ll have to fork over more money for fares starting Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North riders will begin paying an average hike of 10 percent, the first in a series of fare and toll increases across the MTA system. This comes on top of a 4 percent fare increase last year.

“It’s demoralizing. We’re all struggling,” said Chris Hermanek, an accountant who will pay $232, or $21 more, for a monthly pass from Farmingdale to Penn Station.

Vending machines have been programmed to begin selling tickets with the new prices tomorrow, transit officials said. Single ride tickets with the old fare will be valid for six months and 10-trip passes last for a year on both lines. Connecticut Metro-North riders are not affected by the increases.

The hike came as news to some customers Monday.“This happened out of no where,” said Carol McDowell, 55, a daily LIRR rider who works on Broadway. “For the money I have to pay now, I should be (getting) more.”

The LIRR advertised the new fares through station announcements, posters, e-mail alerts and brochures placed on seat trains starting last week, said spokesman Sam Zambuto.

Metro-North circulated brochures about the fare increase for several weeks and hung signs in its 120 stations yesterday morning, said spokesman Dan Brucker.

“Everybody should have gotten the news,” Brucker said.

Subway and bus fares will also increase by an average of 10 percent starting June 28.

The fare and toll increases is expected to generate about $500 million for the MTA a year.

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story.

Tags: metro-north, lirr, rails, transit

Flight attendant tips

Monday June 15, 2009 5:30 PM By Lucy Blatter

Lynette Erskine, is a flight attendant for American Airlines. She’s based in JFK and flies everywhere but the continental Unites States. We caught up with her for some tips.

1)How do you avoid feeling tired and lethargic?

We drink a lot of water and we’re up and moving a lot, so that helps us stay alert and awake. You can do that, just not during mealtimes!

2)What about traveling with pets? Any tips?

They have to be under 20 pounds and we only accept cats or dogs in the cabin. You must remember to check in at the counter, because agents need to take into account how many pets are on. We’re only allowed seven pets on a plane at once.

I would advise people that have dogs to walk the dog before you go through security. The pet has to stay in the carrier once you get on the airplane. But you can open up the carrier and give water and biscuits.

3) What are some of the best seats?

Bulkhead seats, and emergency exit seats have extra legroom. But keep in mind you must be at least 16 to sit in that row.

Tags: american airlines, flight attendant tips

amNewYork letters to the editor

Monday June 15, 2009 5:26 PM By Sara Baumberger

Avella a better mayoral candidate

Re “Thompson faces tall task,” June 11: Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson and his political handlers should show some restraint, and amNewYork should demand solid political reporting. The diminutive reference to Councilman Tony Avella as a “token” candidate is shameless, though no doubt a tactic that came from Thompson himself. Avella is an outstanding, progressive mayoral candidate who is not beholden to special interests. Bloomberg came into office inheriting a bull-market windfall — which he has squandered. Thompson, the city’s chief financial officer, is equally adept at mismanaging money. The facts about Tony Avella are simple: He is a true public servant and we need him as mayor.

— Mary Culpepper, Manhattan

We’re spending too much on weapons

We’re marching to the poorhouse. We’re taking the next two generations with us and the least urgent need for spending is military. Even the Pentagon doesn’t want nor need many of the weapons that Congress seems to delight in sending directly from factory to junkyard while sending the bill to us. Stop!

— Mac McCabe, Manhattan

Are NYC’s pigeons making us sick?

I’d like to see the Department of Health come forward with some facts on how many NYers have been infected with pigeon-related diseases. Histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis grow from a fungus in droppings, so the Department of Health has plenty of evidence to work from.

— Michael Perez, Manhattan

Tags: letters to the editor

Summer fun at the ski slopes

Monday June 15, 2009 5:21 PM By Lucy Blatter

Smugglers' Notch features a water playground for kids.

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

When it’s scorching hot in the city this summer, you may find yourself dreaming of the ski slopes.

So why not head there? Off-season travel offers an affordable option for those looking to escape the heat and humidity. ­

Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont

smuggs.com, 800-419-4615

This mountain resort, nestled in Vermont’s Green Mountains, is 45 minutes west of Burlington, a six-hour drive from New York City.

A common ski destination, the family resort knows how to do summer, too. “It’s completely green,” said Barbara Thomke, PR director at Smugglers. “We make a total switch.”

This summer, it’s 2004 at Smugglers’ Notch, with the resort rolling rates back five years.

The action-packed, Family Fest Package for a family of four (which includes five nights’ accommodations in a one-bedroom condo) is $1,046 — down from $1,575 last year. The package includes guided hiking and garden tours, tennis camp, mystery shows, volleyball, and daily camps for kids ages 3 to 17.

Getting there: By public transportation the closest you you’ll get is Burlington, Vt., which can be reached by plane or Amtrak train. From Burlington, you can rent a car or take a shuttle provided by the resort (for a fee).Hunter Mountain

huntermtn.com, 518-263-5580

Located a little more than two hours north of the city in the Catskills, Hunter is an easy escape.

According to Kim Pickett, a manager at Kaatskill Mountain Club, the area has seen an increase in summer travel thanks to the resort’s new focus on assisting travelers in taking day trips to surrounding areas — including the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the underground caves of Howe Cavern or Woodstock.

Beginning July 5, mountain biking will be offered and the Skyride will open.

Here, the ski chairlift transforms into a 5,500-foot-long ride to the second-highest point in the Catskills, with views of the Berkshires, the Catskills, and the Green Mountains. You can ride or hike back down if you’re so inclined.

From now until Labor Day the Kaatskill Mountain Club hotel is offering third nights free. Weekend rates for studios for a family of four range from $150-$250/night. One-bedrooms range from $200-$375/night.

Getting there: Trailways Bus runs from Port Authority to Hunter Mountain. The 3½ hour trip costs $66 round trip. Tickets for New York to Hunter Mountain are not available on the Internet. Instead, call 800-776-7548.

Killington, Vermont

killington.com, 800-621-6867

The East’s largest ski area doesn’t just shrivel up and die in the summer heat — it gets adventurous.

Their summer adventures package, which includes lodging and a pass to the adventure center, begins at $58 per person per night. The deal must be booked for two nights and is based on four people in one bedroom.

The pass includes access to hiking, K1 gondola rides, alpine slides, mini golf, climbing walls and the quad Pico Power Jump, a trampoline contraption. Mountain biking can be added on for a fee.

Getting there: Killington is a five-hour drive from the city. Amtrak trains run from the city to Rutland, and Killington can be reached by car or by bus. The closest airport is Burlington, from which Killington may be reached by bus.

Tags: hunter mountain, killington, smugglers' notch, travel

Wanna get away? This week's travel deals

Monday June 15, 2009 4:59 PM By Lucy Blatter

Half off Palm Springs: In an effort to bring more tourists to the desert in the summer months, The Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority have launched PSHalfOff.com. The microsite offers discounts on hotels within Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Pal Springs, and Rancho Mirage. PSHalfOff.com

Philly steal: Rates at the Radisson Warwick Philadelphia Hotel begin at $99 any night of the week. For $40 you can upgrade to a club-level room and get access to the private club, which offers complimentary breakfast, as well as evening hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Offer is valid now through Sep. 7

Travel-Ticker.comWeekends in the heart of Georgetown for under $100: The Georgetown Suites are offering $95 rooms Thursday-Sunday. Offer valid now through Sep. 7.

Travel-Ticker.com

Pasadena’s number one hotel: TripAdvisor’s No. 1-rated Pasadena hotel, AAA Five Diamond Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa, is offering 40 percent off its normal rate. Any night of the week, rooms are $169. The hotel is just nine miles from downtown Los Angeles. Offer is valid Aug. 31.

Travel-Ticker.com

Seven-night cruse for $399: This seven-night cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., does not include airfare or the $63 taxes, but does include all meals, some beverages (water, coffee, tea, and juice), and most onboard entertainment. The cruise will spend three nights at sea before docking in St. Thomas, spend another night at sea before docking in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and spend another day and night at sea, before arriving in Nassau, Bahamas, and then overnight sail back to Ft. Lauderdale. Book by June 24 for departure dates of Jan. 2, Feb. 13, March 13, 27, 2010. OnlineVacationCenter.com, 800-780-9002

Tags: pasadena, philadelphia, palm springs, georgetown, travel

Straphangers, can you spare a seat?

Monday June 15, 2009 4:50 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Giving up subway seats for those with disabilities isn’t just nice. It’s the law.

NYC Transit gave a nudge to lazy straphangers today, beginning to run posters across subways and buses that encourage riders to “Please offer a seat.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that subway seats at both ends of train cars be made available for people with disabilities. On buses, the priority seating is toward the front.

The MTA is issuing MetroCards with the reminders in September.

Tags: transit

Viral video: Driver runs into train

Monday June 15, 2009 1:21 PM By Sean Joseph

We’ve all heard of trains nailing cars that are too slow to clear the tracks, but this car broadsides a slow-moving train.

Tags: viral video, television, train, car, transportation

Iran election dispute fuels protest in NYC

Sunday June 14, 2009 7:09 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

Calling the Iranian presidential election a fraud and a sham, more than 100 protesters gathered near the United Nations yesterday, hoping to persuade the international community that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election is a hoax.

Many protestors wore green, the color associated with supporters of Ahmadinejad’s main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has called the election results fraudulent amid violent protests in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Ahmadinejad called the outrage “not important” yesterday, two days after declaring victory by a landslide.

“Ahmadinejad is giving the biggest middle finger to the people of Iran,” said Sara Jafary, 25, Inwood, who cast her vote for Mousavi in New York. “It is absolutely and positively rigged.”

Jafary was one of many Iranian American protestors who said Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours after voting ended made it clear that the paper ballots had not even been counted.Other demonstrators said their family members told them of ballot boxes stuffed with votes as soon as the polls opened, fueling speculation of fraud early on. Nassim Alikhani, 50, of Manhattan, said her brother told her poll workers tried to invalidate his vote.

“We are all overwhelmed,” Alikhani said. “I’m hoping with the protest and international support, we call for a fresh round of elections. We want international observers.”

Many protesters said they were hoping to shine a light on the violence in Tehran. Although there is no official report of casualties since the Friday election, the protesters said their friends and family reported deaths in Tehran streets.

Tags: iran, ahmadinejad, election, protest, politics

At Idlewild, a book for every travel destination

Sunday June 14, 2009 7:04 PM By Garett Sloane

David Del Vecchio owns Idlewild Books, an independent store that competes with the big chains. (Garett Sloane)

By Garett Sloane

John Dohrman sorts through a pile of guidebooks at a sitting area in the back of Idlewild Books.

He is planning an Eastern European tour this summer, and excitably holds up a pocket language book.

“I’m going to five countries and this has three of the languages in one book,” said Dohrman, 50.

Another traveler, Holly Greenfield, 29, spots the Croatia section. “Oh, there it is,” she says.

Idlewild, in the Flatiron District, is not organized by author or genre, but by place. More than 100 countries are represented with guidebooks, literature and nonfiction related to the destinations.“People are drawn to what helps you enter into the minds of the people there,” said owner David Del Vecchio, 40. “It’s a bookstore about places. We have literature, but the difference is you browse by country.”

That’s part of what differentiates Idlewild, at 12 W. 19th St., from, say, the Barnes & Noble around the corner on Fifth Avenue. Del Vecchio is able to compete as an independent bookstore against chains and sites such as Amazon.com because he caters to travelers and he carries titles you won’t likely find anywhere else — for instance, an independently published Sao Paolo guidebook.

“I seek out stuff they don’t carry in chains,” he said.

His formula appears to be working, with revenue growing in double digits every month, according to his figures.

As much as Idlewild is about far-off destinations, New York City is also well represented, and not just by the store’s name, which is a nod to Kennedy Airport’s original moniker.

One of the largest sections in the store is dedicated to Gotham, from guidebooks to the fiction of Paul Auster to the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York.”

Sylvia Hardy, 24, is a repeat customer. She is looking for a gift for her architect friend moving to Boston. Any old guidebook would do, but when Del Vecchio suggests the “AIA Guide to Boston,” an architectural reference book, she takes it.

Last time she was here she bought a novel to read on a trip to Argentina, “The Invention of Morel” by Adolfo Bioy Casares.

“I was trying to learn more about the literature and people who come out of Argentina before going there,” she said.

Tags: idlewild books, independent bookstore, small business, travel, travel books, versus chain stores, barnes & noble, retail, manhattan, economy

Smells, ads, employees fuel straphanger headaches

Sunday June 14, 2009 6:52 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Yes, straphangers loathe fare hikes and scrambled weekend service. But it's the little, daily headaches in city subways and buses that really drive New Yorkers batty.

“The musician who plays … at the Astor place uptown stop is horrendous,” wrote one straphanger. “Please tell me how I can spearhead his removal. He has to go.”

An amNewYork review of two years of complaints e-mailed to MTA headquarters found that kvetching about lewd advertising, smelly stations and other irritants trumped more serious concerns.

But even minor offenses were cause for exclamation points, caps and curse words.

“WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED? This is unacceptable,” wrote a train rider who didn't promptly receive a Web ticket.

In 2003, the MTA started accepting letters electronically through an online form at www.mta.info/faqs.htm. The MTA averages 800 messages a week from riders on a variety of topics, said spokesman Aaron Donovan. Few of the e-mails are happy ones.E-mails are forwarded to the appropriate division and answered within an average of two days, a MTA spokesman said.

The hurricane-strength rainstorm that crippled the system in August 2007 generated the largest number of e-mails, with the agency receiving nearly 120 messages in two days.

“God forbid we have another terrorist attack,” one rider wrote. “You are so NOT ready!!!!”

“The impression left is that the commuter is treated like livestock,” another straphanger declared.

The most frequent complaints included:

- Ads: Parents inflamed by a car-wide Hennessy Cognac campaign, racy School of Visual Arts images and visuals of zombies that “tormented” one Jamaica women's children. The “Why Islam” campaign sponsored by a Muslim advocacy group last year resulted in a barrage of letters about religious dogma.

- The MTA Web site: It's clunky, outdated and doesn't operate in real time, riders declared. “All service is NOT running normally,” wrote a passenger. “Your Web site should not lie. I'm stuck on a D train at this very moment.”

- Agency employees: Riders were ticked off by unhelpful token clerks and rude bus drivers, including one who told a diabetic elderly woman not to eat even though “she had the pizza IN THE BAG.” MTA officials were ruthlessly called “scumbags” and “morons.”

- Unpleasantries: Urine smells, vomit, icy air conditioning, passengers not giving seats to pregnant women and subway bars positioned too high up for “we short people,” all set passengers off.

Angry outtakes

Some New Yorkers get irritated by the strangest things, and decide to blame the MTA for them:

- A car from Pennsylvania parked in the same Bronx spot for four years

- Weekend disruptions on the F line interfered with a Park Slope woman's surprise party

- Workers leaving an MTA facility in the early morning “laugh and act as if they are all stumbling out of a bar”

- Translations used on MetroCard machines “insult the multicultural public's intelligence”

(HEATHER HADDON)

Commuting on the subway gives New Yorkers a lot of time to get cranky — with their fellow commuters.

“People are stepping on your shoes, they pass gas, they stare at you for a long time,” said Antonio Jackson, 27, a Q train rider. “It's rudeness.”

A survey of a dozen straphangers resulted in a laundry list of irritants with their commutes, many centered on the lousy code of conduct of other New Yorkers. The target of gripes included:

- People who smear their unsanitary hands all over the poles. “They're not sanitized enough so I have to hold on to my boyfriend, who then holds on to the pole,” said Ana Barbu, 21, a student and No. 1 rider

- Tone-deaf musicians and pushy panhandlers. “I give money just to get them away,” said Martha Adamas, 30, a Manhattan lawyer.

- IPods turned up so loud that the entire car has to suffer through the latest dance jam. “\[The headphones\] are small for a reason,” said Dion Millington, 25, a clerical associate from Brooklyn. “If I want that kind of music, I'll go to a club and dance, but not at 6 o'clock in the morning.”

As for the MTA, riders were sick of the random bag searches, criticized the agency's Web site and asked for more personnel on the trains.

(ANASTASIA ECONOMIDES AND HEATHER HADDON)

Tags: mta, subways, new york city, transit

City annouces it will crack down on pedicabs

Sunday June 14, 2009 6:29 PM By Heather Haddon

The city intends to require that pedicabs get licenses and undergo regular inspections.

(Photograph by Kathy Willens/AP)

By Heather Haddon

No more free-wheeling rides for pedicabs.

City leaders announced yesterday that they will require owners to apply for licenses and take out insurance, while installing seatbelts, posting prices and undergoing safety inspections. The proposal would also bar pedicabs from driving on city bridges or tunnels.

The proposed changes come a week after a pedicab driver and one of his passengers suffered serious injuries as they sped down the Williamsburg Bridge and rammed into a taxi in Brooklyn.

“This legislation will address outstanding concerns and ensure that pedicab passengers get a safe ride,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The city scrapped an idea to cap the number of pedicabs at 325, and instead would require all drivers to obtain a license in the 60 days after the law takes effect.Bloomberg said he will sign the proposal into law once it gets through the City Council.

The city would charge $110 for businesses to license one cab for 18 months, and $60 for each additional vehicle. In addition, each driver would be required to obtain a $35 license. Insurance costs about $1,000 a year.

Chad Marlow, a lawyer representing the New York Pedicab Owners Association, said his drivers would not pass the costs onto passengers, who currently pay about a buck for a block of travel. But it could prompt drivers without insurance to drop out of the business, he said.

“We are 100 percent on board with the entire bill,” he said.

The industry has boomed in the last two years, with the number of pedicabs growing from 600 to 1,000. Fly-by-night drivers without insurance have fueled the increase, Marlow said.

“It’s the wild west out there,” he said.

Jason Fink contributed to this story.

Tags: pedicabs, new york city, transit

Extreme commuter: from the Upper West Side to leafy Connecticut in two hours

Sunday June 14, 2009 6:24 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

Rich Edell has a two hour commute to and from his Upper West Side apartment to his office in leafy Wilton, Conn., and that’s just fine with him.

Edell, 63, and his wife moved to New York from central California a couple of years ago to live near her daughter and to take advantage of all the city has to offer.

“As I tell my friends in California, being in New York is like participating in life as opposed to just being a spectator,” said Edell, the operations manager for a dog bedding company. “It’s worth the four hour commute.”Just before 7 a.m. each day, Edell takes the 2 or 3 train from 96th Street and transfers to the 42nd Street shuttle to Grand Central. He boards a 7:34 a.m. Metro-North train to Darien, Conn., where he hops in a company car for a 15-minute drive to his office.

“What I like about it is you get the best of both worlds,” he said. “When I come home and I walk up the subway stairs you walk into all the tall buildings,” he said. “It’s such a contrast to all the greenery out [in Connecticut].”

In the two years that he’s worked in Wilton, the worst commuting snafus had him spending the night in Connecticut when trains failed to run to Grand Central. Fortunately, that only happened twice.

Edell admits his lengthy trek to work wears him down by the end of the week, but it’s worth the city life it affords him.

“The whole reason we came to New York was to be in the city,” Edell said. “One day we are at Carnegie Hall, another day some off-off Broadway show.”

Tell us about your extreme commute.

---------------

Monthly commuting cost:

$270 Metro-North Railroad pass

$81 MetroCard

$351 Total

Tags: extreme commuter, upper west side, connecticut, transportation

Jeff Goldblum and Tania Raymonde caught red-lipped ... again!

Sunday June 14, 2009 5:07 PM By Julie Gordon

Lovebirds Jeff Goldblum, 56, and Tania Raymonde, 21 (Photos: Getty)

Actor Jeff Goldblum and his 21-year-old girlfriend just can’t keep their hands to themselves.

After being spotted last week getting hot and heavy outside the Whitney Museum of American Art, Goldblum, 56, and “Lost” actress Tania Raymonde were at it again this past weekend — this time at The High Line.

Our tipster spotted the two very openly making out in several spots along the new park.

“At first glance, I thought it was either his daughter or his girlfriend,” the tipster said. “Then they started mauling one another, and the mystery was solved.”

In fact, the "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" star even nudged our spy over to make room for his lady friend.

Apparently, he likes making out to his right, rather than his left. (Note: the benches were pretty empty and no nudging was needed).

Tags: entertainment

A high-spirited career

Sunday June 14, 2009 5:00 PM By Lucy Blatter

New York City's Finlandia brand ambassador Chris Brown, left, with Wisconsin colleague Stefanie Melchert in Finland for an event

By Karen Tina Harrison

Special to amNewYork

Booze labels are like blogs — to appreciate them, you have to know they exist. That’s where brand ambassadors come in.

“This is the best entry-level job in liquor marketing,” said David Page of Brown-Forman, which makes Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia vodka and more.

The gig

“My goal is to whip up attention and sales for Finlandia,” said Chris Brown, 29, the vodka’s New York-region brand ambassador.

Brown plans events in bars, restaurants and hotels, including launch parties and bartender competitions.

“This job calls on all your creative, business and social skills. It’s intense and demanding, but very enjoyable,” he said.

Getting hired

“Today’s brand ambassadors are college grads,” said Page. Many, he said, have related experience such as bartending, liquor store sales, PR or party planning.

“You must thrive on new people and new settings,” Brown said.

Where you’ll go

Ambassadors for hard-partying brands can quickly tire of the lifestyle.

But many eventually enter into bar, restaurant, hotel or winery management, or take the company route into brand marketing, sales or PR, according to Page.

“Brand ambassadors see the lifestyle industry closeup,” said Page.

Job snapshot: Perfect personality: “Outgoing and likable” are crucial traits, according to Finlandia’s Chris Brown. It also helps to be “a multitasker and relationship-builder.”

Age matters: Companies want ambassadors who reflect their brands. So, young brands look for younger ambassadors. Brands that appeal to more mature drinkers look for more seasoned ambassadors.

Background: A bachelor’s degree; often, experience in hospitality, party planning and PR

Salary: $40K to start, topping out around $80K, with major expense accounts

Downsides: There are long hours. “By day, you plan your events. By night, you host them,” Brown said. There’s also the pressure of always having to be “on” and in the spotlight.

Forecast: The liquor industry is recession-resistant, and “brands always need good people to represent them,” said Brown-Forman’s David Page.

Rewards: “You grow on this job. And you see people at their happiest and friendliest,” said Brown.

Pressures: “By day, you plan your events. By night, you host them,” Brown said. “The fun is built on long hours, commitment and stamina.”

Insider tip: “Only go after brands you personally love,” said Finlandia’s Chris Brown. “You can’t convey how great a drink is if you don’t believe it.”

Learn more: b-f.com/careers; beveragenet.net; imbibemagazine.com

Tags: finland, finlandia, liquor brand ambassador, job front

amNewYork letters to the editor

Sunday June 14, 2009 4:41 PM By Sara Baumberger

Mike’s Spanish ads ‘extremely racist’

Has anyone noticed the extremely racist Spanish campaign ads by Mayor Bloomberg? By putting them in Spanish, he’s essentially saying, “Hispanics can’t understand English!” I know a lot of Hispanic people and they all speak great English. But the Emperor has probably never met a Latino because all his rich friends are white.

— Kirsten Kowalski, Manhattan

Subway Series a win-win for NYC

The good thing about the Subway Series is that for three days, at least one New York team has to win a game.

— Gene Towba, Plainview

Obama not using his popularity well

As Bill Maher so aptly put it recently, President Barack Obama is not taking advantage of his popularity and pushing things he promised. He could have signed an edict protecting gays in the military. Thus far, his policies make one think he really is Bush No. 2.

— Bill Page, Gay Human Rights League Queens County, Flushing

Free dailies should have more backbone

Did amNewYork get bought up by elite rulers? The free dailies used to be the one place the people could get their voices heard in print. Nothing on calls for Cheney/Bush crimes prosecution, restoring the Constitution, a 9/11 investigation, ending the wars for oil profits, or anything useful to the people. Just New World Order propaganda. Even in the letters sections.

— Michael Couch, Brooklyn

Tags: letters to the editor

Use public speaking skills to ace your job interview

Sunday June 14, 2009 4:28 PM By Lucy Blatter

To have a successful job interview, you'll want to appear poised, calm and confident.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

As CEO of Media Training Worldwide, TJ Walker coaches clients on how to speak to live audiences and the media.

Those same skills apply to job interviews, Walker said. “You want to look comfortable and relaxed. You want to be understood and, most importantly, you want your message remembered. You also want people to take action as a result.”

Here are his tips:

1) Practice makes perfect. Walker suggested recording and watching yourself answering questions. “The technology is so easy that there’s no excuse for not doing it. Cell phones have recording devices,” he said.

2) Don’t panic if you don’t know an answer. If you’re thrown a curveball, answer calmly and confidently. Say you don’t know the answer and will get back to them. “If you seem calm and relaxed you’ll bridge it,” he said.3) Be memorable. Walker said the most difficult question you’ll face is “What can you tell me about yourself?”

“People tend to rehash their resumes, but that’s not memorable. Say something specific that will differentiate you and make the interviewers remember you in two weeks’ time,” he said.

4) Be specific. “People don’t remember abstractions,” Walker said. “Don’t say I’m a good manager of people, say, ‘On my first day I had to hire 15 employees. ’ Be really specific and concrete.

“Abstraction is your enemy in a speech and a job interview,” Walker said.

5) Enter with confidence. “I tell people to go into the interview as if you already have the job,” he said.

6) Familiarize yourself with the company. “The consistent thing about audiences is they care more about themselves than you. So the more you say about them, the better,” he said.

If you know the company’s launching a new product, Walker suggested doing a quick Facebook search. If they don’t have a fan page, suggest they create one. “Even if they don’t like the idea, it distinguishes you.”

7) Don’t ask HR questions right away. Don’t ask about salary, vacation time or benefits, etc., until you’re close to a deal. “Wait until at least the third interview,” Walker said.

To get to TJ Walker's interactive interview training course, go to to tjwalkerssecret.com/job/

Tags: tj walker, job interview, job front

Sample sales: June 15 to 21

Sunday June 14, 2009 2:25 PM By Julie Gordon

Isaia

June 16, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; June 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; June 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 730 Fifth Ave., btwn 56th and 57th sts., Suite 1004, 212-920-1211

Men's suits, tuxedos, leather and casual clothing from the Italian designer are up to 80 percent off.

Tracy Reese (shown left) and Robert Graham

June 16 to 17, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; June 18, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 250 W. 39th St. btwn Seventh and Eighth aves., 212-398-9300

There's something for men and women at this sale. Pieces from Tracy Reese's three lines — Tracy Reese, plenty and frock! — are marked down. A striped A-line dress from frock! (the lowest priced line) is $125 instead of $320. A skirt from plenty (mid-priced line) is $75 instead of $250. Robert Graham's knits, woven shirts and shorts are $60 each or three for $165 (originally $148 to $298 each).Catherine Malandrino

June 17, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; June 18 and 19, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W. 18th St., btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-388-0339

Dresses and tops from the luxury brand are 75 to 90 percent off. Vintage pieces from the runway collection are also available.

Cynthia Steffe

June 18 to 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 550 Seventh Ave., btwn 39th and 40th sts., 10th Fl., 212-403-6200

Spring and summer dresses, tops, pants, shorts and skirts are $5 to $50. Vintage pieces are also on sale.

Multiple designers

June 18 to 21, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., btwn 15th and 16th sts.

More is more at this sale. Available are men's and women's items from brands including Original Penguin, Freedom is Natural Nirvana, Lewis Cho, Pink Polka Dot and Josh Brody.

Priscilla of Boston

June 19, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 264 W. 40th St., 2nd Fl., btwn Seventh and Eighth aves. 212-997-3956

Bridal gowns start at $199 (originally $1,500 to $8,000). Bridesmaid and special event dresses start at just $19.99

Send sample sale listings to jgordon@am-ny.com.

Photo: Tracy Reese spring '09 fashion show (Getty)

Tags: shopping, fashion

Viral video: Fred Willard cures what ails you

Sunday June 14, 2009 2:17 PM By Sean Joseph

Stomach problems? Broken foot? Diabetes? Actor Fred Willard has the same treatment for all of them: ginger ale and crackers.

Tags: viral video, television, fred willard

Looking for work? This week's job fairs and events

Sunday June 14, 2009 2:15 PM By Lucy Blatter

There are lots of job events going on in New York this week, so get your business cards ready!

Tuesday, June 16 – How to Get Your Sustainable/Green Business off the Ground

Location: Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library, 280 Cadman Plaza

Time: 9-12:30 p.m.

To register: Free, 718-270-6905 for more information

Tuesday, June 16 – LinkedIn for Job Seekers: Strategies and Tips

Location: New York Public Library Science, Industry, and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave., Lower Level ETC 2

Time: 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7000 for more information

Wednesday, June 17 – Job Seekers: Download a Customized Company List for Contacts

Location: New York Public Library Science, Industry, and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave., Lower Level ETC 2

Time: 1:15 p.m.- 2:30 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7000 for more information

Wednesday, June 17 – New York Career Fair

Location: Radisson Martinique, 49 W. 32nd St.

Time: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

To register: Free, NationalCareerFairs.com

Thursday, June 18 – Green Jobs: Career, Industry, Technology & Product Research

Location: New York Public Library Science, Industry, and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave., Lower Level ETC 2

Time: 4-5:30 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7000 for more information

Tags: job fairs, job search, job front

Fourty-year-old "slant" trains have been put to rest

Sunday June 14, 2009 1:26 PM By Heather Haddon

The last of "the slant" trains was retired Friday.

(Photo courtesy John Urbanski)

By Heather Haddon

NYC Transit has retired another quirky subway oddity in their shrinking pool of vintage cars.

On Friday, the MTA put to rest its last operating R40 train, a model better known as “the slant” for its distinctive sloping front. The peculiar 15-degree slant was intended to look like the bullet trains of the future — back in 1968. The 200 trains ran on the lettered lines such as the A and F.

The trains suffered from numerous mechanical problems, including a lack of handholds between trains putting riders at risk with falling onto the tracks (yikes!).Transit began taking the trains out of service last year as it has updated its fleet. A pair of R40s live on at the New York Transit Museum for those feeling nostalgic.

Tags: r40s, new york city transit, subways

Nostalgia ride slated for Saturday

Sunday June 14, 2009 12:57 PM By Heather Haddon

Attention subway buffs — vintage trains will be rolling down the rails soon.

The New York Transit Museum is offering rides on two preserved trains during a nostalgia tour on Saturday, June 20. The $30 trip ($15 for kids) meet at Grand Central for a trip to the Bronx on “the Train of Many Colors,” a conglomerate of cars painted in different shades reflecting operation from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Travelers will disembark for a guided tour of the Bronx Zoo, then board a “Low-V” train from 1917. The trains were used on all IRT subway lines until 1964.For more information, visit www.nyct.com. About half of the 300 seats have already sold out.

(Photo courtesy New York Transit Museum/R.M. Robertson)

Tags: new york city transit, trains

Expert: Election fever has erupted in Iran

Thursday June 11, 2009 8:45 PM By Emily Ngo

By Emily Ngo

Hooman Majd, author of “The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran,” spoke with amNewYork about the presidential race Friday. Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces off with reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other challengers.

What’s the likely scenario Friday?

There’s a good chance this will go to a second round. … The probability at this point is that it would be Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. If that were to happen, the likelihood that Mousavi would win would be even greater. Ahmadinejad’s whole campaign strategy has been not to go a second round.

You returned from Iran days ago. What was the sentiment?

The whole place just exploded in election fever. … There were crowds of people gathering in squares and boulevards and rallies everywhere. Tens of thousands of people show up, and in some way, get into this idea that, “Yes, the elections do matter. It does make a difference who’s president,” even though they understand that the supreme leader has ultimate authority in Iran. … It may even change the view of the supreme leader when he sees that the public looking for change.What is Ahmadinejad’s base?

Some of the working class. Some of the very socially conservative people. Basically, there are people in Iran who feel comfortable with Iran’s revolutionary stance. … People who feel that the revolution has brought them equality in terms of class equality and opportunity and people who are just sort of afraid of change. People afraid that if Iran moves past this revolutionary stage, that they will be left behind. That stage will gobble them up and they’ll be back to poor wage-earners and have little opportunity for advancement.

What is Mousavi’s base?

Something to remember about Iran is that there are so many university graduates that even among the rural and the rural poor where Ahmadinejad does have support, there have been families that have one or two university graduates and/or one or two kids at the university level who are clamoring for change, who are affecting their parents’ choices. Much as they were here with [presidential candidate Barack] Obama.

What role does the female vote play?

Women — who are very vocal in Iran and are 60 percent of Iran’s university graduates and are in the workforce and do all kinds of jobs — are very vocal in supporting Mousavi in particular, mainly because they feel that Ahmadinejad’s government is far more misogynistic than the previous government. And they know that Mousavi is not. His wife [Zahra Rahnavard] is actively campaigning for him — the first time that happened in Iran.

Does the supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, side with one candidate or the other?

In the last couple weeks, he hasn’t. People know based on his past behavior and past speeches that he would prefer someone like Ahmadinejad. And it’s a complicated issue, because he also has problems with Ahmadinejad as well. So do some of the other conservative people in Iran. But the supreme leader’s choice doesn’t make — even if he were to come out and say, I want Ahmadinejad to be president — in some ways, that could backfire on Ahmadinejad, because some people vote against what the supreme leader wants.

Are there past examples?

It may have happened in 1997 when [Mohammad] Khatami became president. First of all, no one expected him to become president. Secondly, the supreme leader openly and actively backed his opponent. Despite all that, Khatami actually won 70 percent of the vote, and it shows that one, the supreme leader’s choice doesn’t win and second, the election is actually quite fair. If they didn’t want Khatami to be elected president, they could have slyly fudged the vote and make him lose. And he won twice in a high landslide.

Photo: Michael Halsband

Tags: iran, elections, hooman majd, q&a, international, politics

Q&A: Ideology, diplomacy are key themes in Iranian elections

Thursday June 11, 2009 8:35 PM By Emily Ngo

(AP)

By Emily Ngo

Imam Amir Mukhtar Faezi, who leads a Chicago-area mosque, hosted colleague and former President Mohammad Khatami during his visit to the United States in 2006. Faezi speaks with amNewYork about the election’s implications:

What makes this election different from others in recent Iranian history?

This is a very tight, neck-to-neck race. … For 16 years [under President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and then President Mohammad Khatami], the presidents of Iran were mindful of diplomatic norms and international diplomacy. And then all of the sudden, President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad comes and his time was different. … Iranians are very mindful of their image on the international stage. … They want to have someone who is more delicate, more diplomatic, more respectful and more understanding of the complex nature of international issues.

What key issues do Iranian voters most care about?

Mainly, the cultural and international issues have more importance than just the economic issues. … For both candidates, their bases are convinced that their candidate will bring them more jobs. Those who support [reformist candidate Mir Hossein] Mousavi, they believe there will be a more open approach to international communities, that he will bring new investments and there will be less sanctions against the economy. But followers of Ahmadinejad, they believe he is very much concerned about poor people and he will use all that is at his disposal to uplift the poor and uplift the common people.What role does supreme leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and leading clerics play in the elections?

Officially the supreme leaders maintain neutrality and they don’t really give a very clear signal that they are supporting any particular candidate, but people know who the supreme leader will be pleased to see as president. In Iran, people know that that man is Ahmadinejad. He always praises him and generally talks highly of him.

Do leading clerics tamper with results?

No. They don’t rig the elections. There’s no big tampering. At lower levels here and there, maybe a little bit, but there are fair elections. In Iran, the people in government play some rules and a game so that the party they don’t like gets frustrated and emotional. The do little things on the day of the election to give you a hard time … to make you run here and there and up and down. There are little blips, but they don’t tamper with the major election.

How will the elections affect relations with the West, particularly the United States?

If Mousavi is elected, it will be like the time of Khatami, it will be more dialogue, more speeches, more gracious gestures, but I don’t think there’s going to be a very big difference in results. On foreign issues and other important issues, the president doesn’t have the final word. The supreme leader has a lot of power and the final word. Then there’s parliament, which has influence when this new elected president tries to make his cabinet. … If Ahmadinejad is reelected — his time was a lot of rhetoric, fiery speeches and lots of unusual statements — he will continue doing the same thing because he thinks people have approved it. ... Because ideologues they don’t get convinced; they convince others.

Tags: iran, politics, q&a, international

Root canals have never felt so good

Thursday June 11, 2009 8:28 PM By Sean Joseph

Comfort therapist Cathy Spiegel massages Jamie Rua, of the West Village, at Dr. Paul Tanner's office on Madison Avenue. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Marlene Naanes

A foot massage, feng shui, aromatherapy ... and Novacaine?

These days, the sound of a dentist’s drill is increasingly being softened by spa-like indulgences, as more city dentists offer luxe amenities to easy anxiety.

In TriBeCa alone, a handful of unique practices have opened or are being transformed into soothing spaces. The phenomenon emerged about 10 years ago and, despite the ailing economy, is seemingly on an uptick.

“I think it’s becoming more and more prevalent,” said Dr. Joe McManus, director of admissions at Columbia University’s College of Dental Medicine. “It’s a different generation, and it’s a different perspective. It’s younger practitioners trying to make it more patient friendly.”At some spa-like practices, the amenities are covered partly by the cost of expensive cosmetic procedures. Other practices will include the extras no matter what you’re in for, at little or no additional cost than traditional offices, experts said.

Dr. William Han opened his first practice, Tribeca Dental Design, in February, constructing an eco-friendly office, hanging high-end art and putting a television in each treatment room to keep people’s minds off unpleasant sounds.

“The whole concept was more of a gallery feel,” he said. “It’s not just a drill-and-fill kind of feel.”

Nearby, Dr. Nina Izhaky’s Tribeca Dental Studio offers massage chairs and spa decor with a swirling, lighted wall in the waiting room.

Dr. Mark Bronsky gave his two practices the feel of a rock ‘n’ roll photo gallery. He plays XM Radio music matching the artists, including U2 and Jimi Hendrix.

Dr. Paul Tanners’ practice on Madison Avenue is possibly one of the most posh in the city. It offers hot towels, a massage therapist, aromatherapy candles and headsets linked to flat screen television sets showing movies.

“The secret to all this is to also be doing dentistry,” said Tanners. “With all the toys you still want to be doing a good job.”

That sentiment is shared by many patients, including Andrew Steinman, who sees Izhaky.

“Architecturally [the office is] great, but what impresses me is her interest in what she does and her interest in people,” said Steinman of TriBeCa.

Paula Seibel, a patient of Tanners, won’t ever return to an “antiseptic” dental office.

“Give me my … my comfortable chairs, my music...and the foot massage,” she said. “For me, it’s like a mini vacation.”

Box:

Dental delights

Here are a few lavish services offered by some dentists with a tooth cleaning:

Botox and other cosmetic injections

Paraffin hand treatments

Reflexology

Limo service

Henican: America's funniest statehouse is in Albany

Thursday June 11, 2009 7:48 PM By Emily Ngo

“These Albany people,” I was marveling Thursday, “they come straight from Central Casting.”

Randy Credico, who’s been working for years in the capital on drug-law reform, begged to differ.

“A couple of them,” he said, “come straight from Central Booking.”

But this being Albany, there’s a third opinion on everything. Thursday, it came from New York talent agent Joe Brauner, a legendary judge of the human condition.

“More like Comedy Central,” Brauner said.

He gets the prize.

You can’t report with a straight face any more from the New York State capital. In Albany these days at lunch, they ask about the coup du jour.

One crucial state senator, indicted for slashing his girlfriend’s face, is now having trouble deciding, “Who should I stab in the back?”

The pathetic Senate Republicans?

Or the moronic Senate Democrats?It’ll take more than Tom Golisano’s billions to buy either side a brain.

A shaky new coalition — two D’s and 30 R’s — grabbed control of the Senate earlier this week.

They thought they did, anyway. But that alleged slice-and-dice man, Democrat-turned-whatever Hiram Monserrate, grew suddenly blade-shy, scampering out of the Senate chamber before drawing a drop of blood.

Suddenly, his new Republican BFFs were left without the quorum they needed to rule.

They’d finally managed to find a key to the bolted doors of the chamber, so it wasn’t a locksmith they needed now. It was a couple of extra bodies and a very patient shrink.

The Democrats were every bit as embarrassing. They have now lost all pride. Unable to hold their own Senate majority with bribery, pressure, chairmanships and threats, they went trotting with their hands out to the state Supreme Court, where Justice George Ceres promptly laughed them out the door.

With these clowns, what choice did he have?

(Are you the kind of person who likes to laugh at politics? Then, come see Friday’s “Obama Comedy Duel.” This irreverent show pits me against Republican-leaning comic Jim Mendrinos. Bleecker Street Theatre, NYC. Details at www.henican.com. Come cheer for me and Barack!)

E-mail ellis@henican.com. Follow on Twitter.com/Henican

Tags: ellis henican, politics, albany

Subway Series still gets fans revved up

Thursday June 11, 2009 7:30 PM By Ryan Chatelain

David Wright and Alex Rodriguez meet in the Subway Series this weekend. (Photos by Getty)

By Ryan Chatelain

Twelve years after the first Subway Series, Mets and Yankees fans say the fire still burns bright in their crosstown rivalry.

“At my job, people are excited,” said John Perez, 32, a Yankees fan from Manhattan. “They’re making bets all around.”

The teams will revive their oft-heated rivalry on Friday, as the Bombers host the Amazin’s for the opener of a three-game series.

Mets and Yankees faithful agreed the team’s new ballparks — Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium — will add to the thrill of the games this season. The Yanks will get their first look at Citi Field when they visit the Mets from June 26-28.“There’s more excitement than ever,” said Mets fan Kevin Stroble, 36. “It’s a big battle between the two. Big-time rivals. With the new stadiums, they want to prove something.”

But even though the Subway Series still draws packed houses, some acknowledged the rivalry has cooled since Major League Baseball introduced interleague play in 1997.

“I think the players get a little sick of all the attention that is paid to it and how people treat this as something more than a weekend series,” said Benjamin Kabak, who writes for River Avenue Blues, a Yankees blog. “I know everybody likes to say it’s a battle for New York, but it can get a little tiring.”

Observers also pointed to the fact that there is no bad blood between any players, as was the case with Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and Mets slugger Mike Piazza earlier this decade. (Clemens famously threw a broken bat in Piazza’s direction during the 2000 World Series. Both All-Stars are now retired.)

John Strubel, a writer for the Mets online magazine Flushing9.com, blamed the lack of intensity in today’s rivalry on George Steinbrenner stepping away from the Yankees’ front office.

“He hated the Mets,” Strubel said. “I think he pushed that on to his ballplayers. He really wanted to see them beat the Mets and stomp them out.”

Anastasia Economides contributed to this report.

Tags: mets, yankees, subway series, baseball

Reality TV comes to the tony world of NYC brat pack

Thursday June 11, 2009 5:46 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Private schools groom Gotham’s privileged youth, but can they teach the pitfalls of over-sharing?

Sleeping with a slew of partners, drinking and talk of drug use are just some of the nasty tidbits that will be revealed on “NYC Prep,” Bravo’s latest reality television experiment debuting June 23.

The series echoes “Gossip Girl,” but with the true tales of six Manhattan teens living the high life — sometimes, a bit too high.

“If you are a little drunk or a little high, and then you see the photos [of yourself] on Facebook, you think, what was I thinking?” said one of the female teens in the preview.

Such admissions may make for drama, but experts believe shows such as “NYC Prep” could manipulate minors into swapping their future for fame.

“Minors don't have the life experience to understand how that will affect their futures,” said Robert Galinsky, founder of the New York Reality TV School.The teens’ parents signed consent forms and were closely involved in the filming, but most on the set viewed the kids as “mini adults.”

“I don’t worry. I thought it would be a great learning experience for her ... She could write about it for a college essay,” said Elise, the mother of Kelli Tomashoff, who thinks the show will help the 17-year-old’s singing career.

Diana Kirschner, a Manhattan psychologist, disagreed. “It’s scary. Teenagers are attuned to feedback from the outside world. They become troubled from this kind of exposure.”

For “NYC Prep,” producers spent several months following the 15- to 18-year-olds as they partied, shopped and dined in tony spots. Educators did not grant permission to film at the schools, and really, little of brat pack's lives seem to involve academics.

The teens are shown drinking what appears to be champagne. Executive producer Scott Stone said they only were served alcohol in countries where it is legal. Still, the show’s stars talk about their cache of fake IDs, a potential landmine for getting into a good college.

“It could be detrimental and backfire,” said Sheri Mural, a private college admissions consultant. “Top schools have many well-qualified candidates.”

During a recent sneak peek of the show, however, the students expressed no regrets.

“I think all of us could care less what people say about us,” said Taylor DiGiovanni, a Stuyvesant High School sophomore and the show’ lone public-school student.

Some young people who watched the preview recoiled at the outsized display of wealth. “It was a little ridiculous,” said Eliza Murphy, 21.

Julie Gordon contributed to this report.

Camille Hughes, 17

Junior at Nightingale-

Bamford School

Hopes to get perfect SAT scores and attend Harvard. Happy to be rich.

“I don’t want to apologize for having money. It’s good.”

Jessie Leavitt, 17,

Senior at the Dwight School

Spends her time networking at fashion parties. Has paid a personal shopper at Barney’s since age 13 and wants to attend FIT.

“I treat my clothing like my children.”

Kelli Tomashoff, 17

Junior at Birch Wathen Lenox

Lives on the Upper East Side with her brother. Spends most nights out at fancy city spots.

“We usually don’t do our homework. We have big plans at night.”

Peter “PC” Peterson, 18

Senior at the Dwight School

A wealthy Upper East Side flirt who thinks he can pull strings to get into college.

“My biggest problem this week was my tux wasn’t tight enough. That’s when you know things are good.”

Taylor DiGiovanni, 15

Sophomore

at Stuyvesant HS

Lives on the Upper West Side with her single mother, but longs to join the private school crowd.

Sebastian Oppen-heim, 16

Sophomore at Ross School

Uses his tussled hair and French skills to woo females.

“I hook up a lot. I hook up with two or three girls in a night. Maybe more, I’m not sure.”

(Heather Haddon)

Other reality TV shows that have featured minors:

-“Laguna Beach”

- “The Real Orange County”

- “Jon & Kate Plus 8”

- “My Super Sweet 16”

- “Exiled”

Tags: entertainment

amNewYork letters to the editor

Thursday June 11, 2009 5:10 PM By Sara Baumberger

Services lacking around new condos

Re “Stop with the library closings, Bloomberg,” June 11: It seems that Bloomberg has been very friendly to developers. From the overcrowding of TriBeCa’s schools due to school construction not keeping up with condo development to the promised park space in Williamsburg and Greenpoint that has never been delivered, it seems that there is nothing keeping the city and developers on the hook to provide services around all of these condos.

— Crista Giuliani, Greenpoint

Thompson just another politician

Re “Thompson faces tall task,” June 11: I can define Bill Thompson: life-long political hack. Each office he has held has merely been a stepping-stone to further his political ambitions. He was a disaster as the head of the Board of Ed — God forbid mayoral control of the schools with him at the reins. He is typical of the Democratic-club system in NYC and why Dems keep losing mayoral elections to liberal-leaning, out-of-the-box-thinking, charismatic Republicans, despite the fact that the majority of NYers are Dems.

— Melissa Bell, Manhattan

Want my vote? Get rid of car alarms

If Bill Thompson wants my vote for mayor, all he has to do is say that he will outlaw car alarms. Mayor Bloomberg vetoed a bill passed by the City Council on Aug. 16, 2004, that would have ended this pointless source of noise. Thompson should mention this as part of his campaigning.

— George Jochnowitz, Manhattan

Tags: letters to the editor

Pret a Manger to pass out free sandwiches

Thursday June 11, 2009 3:08 PM By Lucy Blatter

To celebrate the opening of a new Pret a Manger on 17th St. and Broadway, the company is handing out 3,000 free sandwiches on Friday, June 19 at 12:15 p.m.

In order to receive your free lunch you need to visit any Union Square subway entrance from 8 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. on June 19th for a flyer.

The new shop will open on Monday, June 22.

Tags: pret a manger, restaurants

Fighting uphill battle, Bill Thompson tries to make his case

Thursday June 11, 2009 2:56 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

It may not quite be David vs. Goliath, but it’s close.

Presumed Democratic mayoral nominee Bill Thompson is facing a financial juggernaut and popular incumbent whose ubiquitous TV ads and glossy brochures have been blanketing the city for months.

Contrast that with Thompson, who, according to a recent poll, is virtually unknown to 72 percent of New Yorkers.

Such a number looks daunting for a man who’s spent much of his adult life in public office, including the last eight years in a citywide post, comptroller in a heavily Democratic city.“He’s had an inability to define himself,” said Democratic political consultant, Evan Stavisky. “It is going to be extremely difficult for Bill Thompson to get any traction.”

It is this conventional wisdom – that Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with his $16 billion fortune and 60 percent approval ratings, is virtually unbeatable – that Thompson seeks to dispel.

“The first thing is getting past this feeling of inevitability,” Thompson said in an exclusive interview this week. “Yes, he can be beat.”

The Bloomberg camp declined comment, but political experts inside and outside the campaign say Thompson must do three things between now and Election Day: introduce himself to voters, make the case against Bloomberg, and time his move right.

Making himself known to voters

Thompson is limited to $6 million in spending before the September primary, when he faces token opposition in Councilman Tony Avella from Bayside.

With no TV ads, Thompson is relying mostly on press coverage, leafleting and grass roots organizing. His appearances have increased in recent months, speaking out on high-profile issues such as mayoral control of the schools, the MTA bailout and the current leadership battle in the state senate.

“It’s going to be tough but he has to push through,” said potential voter, Aziz Jackson, 40, of Harlem. “He has to put himself out there.

Case against Bloomberg

Thompson has been quick pitting himself against Bloomberg, denouncing the mayor on everything from his opposition to raising income taxes on the wealthy to his support of work requirements for certain food stamp recipients.

Thompson has also made water rate hikes a pet cause, last week calling for the re-organization of the water board.

“If somehow or another Thompson can tangle Bloomberg up in that (populist) rage he may have an opening,” said David Birdsell, dean of Baruch College. “The risk on that is it’s essentially a negative play.”

It’s about timing

Most voters don’t pay attention until after Labor Day. Once the general election begins, Thompson will have no spending limit because Bloomberg has opted out of the public financing system and may drop $80 million on the campaign.

“Our strategy . . . has been don’t spend a lot of money now,” said Eddy Castell, Thompson’s campaign manager, who added that TV advertising will come in the fall. “Come September, the lights will come on.”

Shayndi Raice contributed to this story.

Tags: bill thompson, mayoral election, politics, city hall dispatch

Show your team support through cookies

Thursday June 11, 2009 11:51 AM By Lucy Blatter

Zaro's Bread Baskets in Penn Station and Grand Central are commemorating the upcoming Subway Series with Mets and Yankees cookies. What better way to show your support than by indulging in sweets?

The cookies (which are $3.25 a piece) will be available from today until Sunday, the 14th and Thursday, the 25th through Sunday, the 28th.

Tags: zaro's, yankees, mets, food

For Iranians, high stakes in historic presidential race

Wednesday June 10, 2009 9:21 PM By Emily Ngo

(AP)

By Emily Ngo

In one corner, a sea of green-clad students chants the reformist candidate’s name.

In another, crowds of conservatives unfurl national flags in support of the incumbent president.

Election fever has gripped Iran.

“This is the most contested and divisive election in the history of the Islamic Republic,” said Ahmad Sadri, who writes for Iranian.com and Persian newspaper Etemad-e Melli. "It is the most extreme instance of this sense of empowerment, even in an imperfect election."

Supporters of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi and two other candidates cast their ballots tomorrow in an attempt to unseat hawkish President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 52.

For the first time, Iranians feel able to redirect their government’s hard-line course on nuclear weapons, acrimonious relations with the U.S. and the West, and repression of gays, women and Jews — among other issues that have isolated Iran from the rest of the world.

Although the supreme leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and leading conservative clerics essentially run Iran, the president represents the nation on the world stage.

“People get into this idea that, ‘Yes, the elections do matter. It does make a difference who’s president,’” said Hooman Majd, author of “The Ayatollah Begs to Differ.” “It may even change the view of the supreme leader when he sees that the public is looking for change.”Iranian students who use Facebook to organize unusually raucous rallies see that change in Mousavi, 67, a reformist boosted by his activist wife and the backing of popular ex-President Mohammad Khatami. More than half of Iran’s population is younger than 30.

“This is a young generation who’s extremely smart — some of the best doctors and engineers in the world — and they’re not able to use their degrees and build their own lives,” said Shamila Dilmaghani, 26, a New Yorker keeping tabs through cousins in Iran. “The election comes at a time when Iran’s economy is suffering.”

Ahmadinejad’s mishandling of the economic crisis amid record oil prices has left Iran’s youth short of opportunities, experts said.

However, Ahmadinejad has secured much of the country’s working-class and social-conservative vote. Rural voters feel the president has redistributed oil wealth to them and improved class equality, experts said.

Recent election results in Lebanon, where a pro-Western coalition beat Hezbollah, could be a precursor, experts said.

“If the reformers win Iran, the two elections combined will have a calming effect in the region,” said Sadri, chair of Islamic World Studies at Lake Forest University. “Of course, the system is rigged. … But a bit of luck and a huge landslide can overwhelm the theocratic stopgaps.”

Pasha Pashazadeh in midtown New York (RJ Mickelson/amNY)

Some expats in New York were much more skeptical.

“This is a sneaky type of election decorated to look real on the surface,” said Pasha Pashazadeh, 67, formerly a reporter in Tehran and now a Persian rug merchant in midtown. “The candidates have the same differences you would find in prison guards. And one thing is the same among all of them: loyalty to the system, the supreme leader and religion.”

---

On the ballot:

If one candidate does not earn more than 50 percent of the vote, the election will enter a second round. Here’s a look at those vying for president:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 52

* Iran’s current president, former mayor of Tehran

* Populist often called a demagogue for sharp tongue and hateful speech toward Israel

* Appeals to rural voters, the working class and social conservatives with promises to spread oil wealth

Mir Hossein Mousavi, 67

* Leading challenger, former prime minister

* Reformist, artist and professor with politically active wife, Zahra Rahnavard

* Appeals to youths and female voters and promotes women’s rights

Mahdi Karroubi, 72

* Mid-rank cleric and former parliament speaker

* Moderate who pledges to nationalize oil revenues

* Also promotes international dialogue and women’s rights

Mohsen Rezaei, 55

* Expediency Council secretary, economics professor and former Revolutionary Guard commander

* Conservative who vows larger private sector

* Wanted by Interpol for links to deadly 1994 bombing of Argentine Jewish center

* Banned from the U.S. and the European Union

(Emily Ngo)

Tags: iran, elections, local reaction, new york, mahmoud ahmadinejad, politics

'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' takes back the city

Wednesday June 10, 2009 9:08 PM By Emily Ngo

By Rolando Pujol

In a scene from 1974’s "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," Walter Matthau's lovably gruff Zach Garber shushes a loud, excitable dispatcher because he's on the radio negotiating to save the lives of the hostages on the No. 6 train.

The dispatcher fires back: "Screw the goddamned passengers. What the hell did they expect for their lousy 35 cents? To live forever?"

The classic exchange doesn't surface in the remake of the movie out tomorrow, but does capture what helped make the original such a cult classic: The gallows humor and grit that New Yorkers display when faced with adversity, and the honest portrayal of a graffiti-covered, crime-ravaged city.

Pelham, along with such period pieces as "French Connection," "drank deeply of the city," explains James Sanders, an architect and author of "Celluloid Skyline."

"What made it remembered so fondly and so strongly is that it took this kind of slightly absurd premise of a pirating of a subway train — how could that be — and rendered it in the context of such finally and carefully rendered realism," Sanders said.

(Courtesy of MGM)

Remaking a classic

Attention to detail is certainly reflected in Tony Scott's remake, which will invite endless comparisons to the original. NYC Transit offered wide access to the system — tunnels, stations, there’s even a recreation of the futuristic Rail Control Center. Still, there's the danger of a creative third rail of sorts: remaking a classic praised for getting the city of its time right.

Many observers familiar with the original reserved judgment on the new film, as they hadn't seen it. But its outsized role in city cinema lore — and accurate rendition of its out-of-control times — sets a high bar for the remake.

"I was really surprised [at the remake] because it seems to be a part of New York that in the mid or late 90s went out of existence," said Clifton Hood, a history professor and author of "722 miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York."

The new hands, of course, strove to make a movie about today. “It’s a great story, yet unknown to new generations of filmgoers. The world and New York in particular, has changed a lot since 1974,” said Scott in a statement.

They see it more as a retelling than a remake. For one, the producers saw a way to develop the relationship between Garber and Ryder, the head hijacker played by John Travolta, into something deeper than in previous films.

Devotees of the original will notice key changes — right down to the ending. In the new film, New Yorkers assume the hijacking is terrorism; in 1974, it was simply one more sign of Gotham dysfunction.

Transit veteran John Urbanski has not yet seen the film, but does not expect it to match the original in terms of realism.

“The original reflected New York basically as it was back in the '70s. I feel as though I may have worked with some of the characters, as they were played in the original.”

Power of '70s nostalgia

Today, the original seems a movie that both preserves an unimaginable New York, and one that many strangely crave to visit again.

One person who was there and remembers the bad old days is Ed Koch.

“People have a much better spirit; they were oppressed then and now there is a certain amount of anger over the losses to their personal treasuries but they are not frightened like they were," the former mayor said.

Koch has a strange personal connection to the movie. The actor who played the mayor in the film, Lee Wallace, bears a resemblance to Koch, which is not lost on Hizzoner. That casting choice was particularly curious because the film came out three years before Koch's election.

“The mayor looked exactly like me, facially,” Koch said.

The mayor in the new film, played by James Gandolfini, bears no resemblance to Michael Bloomberg — expect for the character's deep bank account. And the way New Yorkers will relate to the new film will hardly mimic what audiences felt in the 1970s.

The original Pelham, Hood said, was one of "a couple of other movies that really embodied people's sense that things were hopeless and that the subway system, literally if you go into it, you could be trapped by a bunch of thugs."

Jason Fink and Shayndi Raice contributed to this story.

---

The remake of "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" understandably takes some creative license. Here's a few things subway buffs will notice are off.

1.) The 42nd Second Street-Grand Central station fills in for the 77th Street No. 6 station.

2.) A large, Times Square-style Subway sign is added to Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt.

3.) The bad guys escape through the so-called Roosevelt Tunnel, referring to FDR's secret access route to The Waldorf-Astoria. For starters, there is no evidence FDR was ever snuck into the hotel that way.

4.) The No. 6 car with the hostages is set free and sent barreling toward Coney Island. The line ends at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.

5.) Denzel Washington's character, Walter Garber, is seen riding a No. 7 train back to Queens, we assume, but is shown inside a modern-day train, not the 80s-era trains still on the line.

Tags: movies, subway, denzel washington, john travolta, ed koch, entertainment, history, the taking of pelham 1 2 3, transit

White supremacist gunman storms DC Holocaust memorial, kills guard

Wednesday June 10, 2009 6:37 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

Marlene Naanes

mnaanes@am-ny.com

A rifle-toting 88-year-old white supremacist yesterday stormed the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and opened fire, killing a security guard before being shot, authorities said.

Security Guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, 39, died a couple hours after the attack, which happened just before 2 p.m. Gunman James von Brunn, a Holocaust denier from Annapolis, Md., remained in critical condition last night and was under investigation in the shooting that took place while a couple thousand people were in the museum. A third person suffered minor injuries.

“The second he stepped into the building he began firing,” Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

Authorities called the deadly shooting an “extremely isolated incident,” but as a precaution they also dispatched police to about 100 possible “targets” listed in a notebook owned by the gunman, according to the Washington Post. Police found von Brunn’s car near the museum yesterday and tested it for explosives while the FBI checked his computer.Von Brunn, who runs a white supremacist Web site and has written an anti-Semitic tome, also was convicted for attempting to kidnap Federal Reserve Board members in 1983, using a revolver, sawed-off shotgun and knife in that attack.

Authorities did not release an official motive in the attack yesterday, but von Brunn’s neighbors said he recently told them that the Holocaust did not occur, the Washington Post reported.

His writings expressed the same view, and many elaborated his hatred for Jews.

“History shows us that JEWS are compulsive LIARS,” von Brunn said in his writings, which he titled “Kill the Best Gentiles.” “It is a genetic characteristic that all JEWS share. All JEWS know the ‘HOLOCAUST’ is a lie — because they understand one another.”

On his Web site, von Brunn wrote that he worked as an advertising exec and film producer in New York for 20 years, was a PT boat captain in the U.S. Navy Reserves in World War II and most recently was an artist and author.

His hatred apparently goes beyond just anti-Semitism. He also uses slurs against black people on his Web site.

Johns, who is black, worked at the Holocaust Memorial for six years. The museum, which was closed yesterday after the shooting, will remain closed today and its flags will be flown at half-mast in the slain guard’s honor.

“There are no words to express our grief and shock over today’s events at the Museum,” a statement on the memorial’s Web site said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Johns’ family.”

(With AP)

Tags: u.s. holocaust memorial museum, dc, white supremacist, shooting, crime

Pedicab collides with taxi at dangerous B'Burg spot

Wednesday June 10, 2009 6:20 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

A pedicab drvier and one of his passengers were injured yesterday after they sped down the Williamsburg Bridge bike lane and then collided with a taxi on the street.

Police said the pedicab flipped on its side when it crashed at Bedford Avenue and Broadway after coming off the bridge in Williamsburg around 7:30 a.m. The pedicab driver, who is in his 30s, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, though it wasn't clear how serious his injuries were were. A female passenger was treated for minor injuries, a police spokesman said.

Two other riders in the yellow metal cart escaped unharmed. Police did not release the victims' names and a spokesman for Bellevue did not return calls for updates on their conditions.

The taxi driver was unhurt.

Biking up the bridge in a pedicab - even without passengers - is extremely difficult and “rare,” said George Bliss, a former pedicab fleet owner.The driver allegedly turned his head to speak with the passengers as he zoomed down the bridge's steep decline, according to one published report. Police determined that the wreck did not involve criminal mischief.

Off-ramps from the bridge suffer from serious blind spots for bikers and drivers, said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group.

“It's extremely dangerous,” Norvell said. “A car and bike coming through there have no visibility of each other.”

Seventeen bikers and pedestrians have been injured near the bridge from 1995 to 2005, according to state Department of Motor Vehicles.

It wasn't immediately clear why the driver peddled over the 1.4-mile bridge. A law enacted in 2007, but still caught up in litigation, would bar pedicabs from riding on bridges or outside of Manhattan.

The bill would also cap the number of pedicab drivers at 325, almost half the number of operators currently working city streets.

Pedicabs primarily pick up tourists in the midtown area. Bliss said the three-wheel vehicles are a safe mode of transportation.

“They are very stable, they don't go fast,” he said. “It would take a gross error of judgment by the operator or car for an accident to occur.”

(Photo courtesy New York Pedicab Owners' Association)

Tags: pedicabs, williamsburg, transit

Carrie Prejean loses her Miss California title

Wednesday June 10, 2009 5:55 PM By Julie Gordon

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean, left, and her replacement, Tami Farrell (Photos: Getty)

By Julie Gordon

Carrie Prejean has finally been fired as Miss California. Not for her anti-gay marriage comments or racy photos leaked on the Internet, but for not fulfilling contratual obligations.

“This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean’s unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization,” Miss California USA Executive Director Keith Lewis told us in a statement yesterday.

Last month, Donald Trump, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, said Prejean, 22, would retain her crown even though she took semi-nude photos — a pageant contract violation.“I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss

California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so,” Trump said in a statement. “Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen and I offered Keith my full support in making this decision. Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues her other interests.”

Runner-up Tami Farrell is taking Prejean’s place.

Tags: entertainment

For foodies: Sushi and sake cruise, SoHo Stroll, NYC Wine and Food Festival and Indian cooking classes

Wednesday June 10, 2009 5:33 PM By Lucy Blatter

Classic Harbor Line Yachts at Chelsea Piers is offer Sushi & Sake trips, featuring sushi from Morimoto, on an 1890s-style schooner.

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

A sushi and sake cruise: Classic Harbor Line Yachts at Chelsea Piers is offering excursions for foodies and wine lovers this summer, including a Chelsea Market picnic cruise and a wine-tasting cruise. Starting this Monday, the company kicks off its Sushi & Sake Sails featuring sushi from Morimoto at Chelsea Market.

At 7 p.m., the 80-foot, 1890s-style Schooner Adirondack sets sail for a two-hour sunset cruise. The dinner will also feature a selection of sakes. Tickets are $105. Meet at Chelsea Piers. For this and other tours, visit Sail-NYC.com.Dining for a cause with SoHo Stroll: From today until Saturday, more than 100 SoHo stores and eateries will offer promotions from free samples to complimentary cocktails to raise money for the city’s homeless, as part of SoHo Stroll.

Attendees can purchase a $20 bracelet at the SoHo Stroll booth on the corner of Spring and Wooster streets or at Delicatessen (54 Prince St.), where a free cocktail comes with the purchase. Visit SoHoStroll.org for a list of participating businesses and promotions.

Bombay Talkie offers an encore: This Chelsea Indian restaurant kicks off its second round of cooking classes Saturday from 2-4 p.m., with Indian Greatest Hits. Chef/owner Sunitha Ramaiah will teach students to make dishes such as chicken tikka masala. Cocktails and food are served throughout and students will take home spices and recipes. The class is $35 or $100 for a series of four. Call 212-242-1900 for reservations.

NYC Wine & Food Festival: Tickets for the Food Network’s second annual New York City Wine & Food Festival go on sale Monday. The event will be held Oct. 8-11. All proceeds will go to Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength. Highlights include a dinner hosted by fashion designer Zac Posen, a Jacques Torres & Friends Chocolate Brunch, discussions with culinary stars Bobby Flay and Anthony Bourdain and other seminars and tastings. Go to NYCWineandFoodFestival.com or call 868-696- 2933.

Tags: sushi and sake cruise, soho stroll, nyc wine and food festival, morimoto, bombay talkie, restaurants

Feeling adventurous? Dig in!

Wednesday June 10, 2009 5:25 PM By Lucy Blatter

Mara's Homemade offers alligator bites.Credit: Caitlin Ragion

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

Jellyfish, grasshoppers, kidneys and alligator meat. Any one of the four commonly elicit disgusted faces and exclamations of “You’re going to eat that?”

Some foodies may simply enjoy shocking their more timid friends, but many foods commonly labeled adventurous offer a whole lot more than shock value.

Here are some unusual eats we’ve come across.

Jellyfish

In Asia, jellyfish are a delicacy, and they’ve been eaten for centuries. With New York’s large Asian population, the little stingers may soon show up on your plate.

Rachel Dong, a 24-year-old waitress at A Fan Ti, in Flushing, shrugged off the strangeness: “Jellyfish? It’s common.”

A Fan Ti offers jellyfish with aged vinegar for $14.99. The dish is also widely available in Asian markets and eateries in Flushing.

Jellyfish don’t have a distinctive taste, so the value comes in the unique texture and nutritional content. They’re high in potassium and iron — a good thing because some environmental scientists say rampant overfishing and increasing ocean temperatures may make it the seafood of the future.

Lamb kidney

Eating kidneys won’t help filter out last night’s debauchery — but it will provide you with lots of iron.

While followers of the waste-not mind-set hail lamb kidney as an untapped gem — it’s high in protein and low in fat, but plagued by a stigma — the taste is offensive.

A Fan Ti offers lamb kidney on a skewer for $2.99. Grilled and sauceless may be the wrong cooking method for beginners who have yet to acquire a taste for kidneys. They taste the way wet dog smells and cling deep in the throat.

Grasshoppers

“When I go home at night, instead of popcorn, I eat grasshoppers,” said Chris Gilman, a partner at Toloache in Manhattan. “It’s a whole lot better for me.”

Toloache sells a plate of two grasshopper tacos for $11. The dish is common in parts of Mexico, where it’s known as tacos de chapulines and heralded for its high protein and low fat content.

At Toloache, chef/owner Julian Medina makes them with chili powder and lime, a mixture of flavors Gilman said most people love — once they build up the courage to try it.

Alligator meat

The $11 gator bites at Mara’s Homemade, a Creole oasis on the East Village’s Sixth Street Indian Row, look like chicken nuggets.

The treats, made from the tenderloins of Louisiana alligators, are marinated in Cajun sauce, dusted in cornmeal, fried and served with a side of remoulade sauce. Mara’s Homemade said the treats, which taste like a chewier chicken but with less cholesterol and fat, are a hit.

Sampling the eats:

Toloache: 251 W. 50th St. 212-581-1818

A Fan Ti: 136-80 41st Ave., Flushing, 718-358-7925

Mara’s Homemade: 342 E. Sixth St., btwn First and Second aves., 212-598-1110

Tags: toloache, alligator meat, mara's homemade, a fan ti, restaurants

Subway payphones not always a reliable underground option

Wednesday June 10, 2009 5:22 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

About a quarter of a payphones in the city subways are busted, according to a report released Wednesday by the Straphanger’s Campaign.

Verizon’s contract with the MTA does not require it to keep a set number of phones in working order, though it once did until 2005. Nearly half of straphangers don’t own a cell phone, a recent MTA survey found.

The Straphanger's study found:

- Phones at Main Street on the No. 7 all worked, the best of the top 25 trafficked stations

- The worst of the most-used stations was 68th Street-Hunter College on the No. 6- Among the 20 largest subway stations, payphone functioning rates improved in ten and grew worse in ten between 2007 and 2008

Tags: transit

Viral video: Cat prank

Wednesday June 10, 2009 1:45 PM By Sean Joseph

This cat has a hilarious reaction after it tries to get through a doggy door that’s covered with saran wrap.

Tags: viral video, television, animals, cats

Neighborhood fight brews over MoMA expansion

Wednesday June 10, 2009 1:25 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

The Museum of Modern Art has a battle on its hands, as neighbors of the famed cultural institution are vowing to fight its expansion to an 82-story tower.

The local community board is scheduled to vote Thursday on the proposed building, on West 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, next to the MoMA. The board’s land use committee voted unanimously against the project last week.

“It absolutely doesn’t belong there, it changes the character of the neighborhood,” said Rita Sue Siegel, vice president of the West 54th/55th Street Block Association. “They want to impose this monster.”Siegel said her group wants a smaller building and more thorough studies done on the impact an additional loading dock will have on traffic.

The building, designed by award-winning French architect Jean Nouvel, will house apartments, a hotel, and 40,000 square feet of gallery space. The MoMA sold the lot to Hines, the real estate company that is building the tower, and the museum will own gallery space within it.

In a statement, the museum said it appreciates the input of Community Board 5.

“We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue with the community and a discussion of the project's anticipated contributions to the architectural heritage, cultural assets, and economy of New York City," it said.

Phone calls to Hines, which has offices all over the world, were not returned.

The community board vote is merely advisory. The project will then go to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office, the city planning department, and finally to the city council.

Tags: moma, development

Free sangria everyday at VIntage Irving!

Wednesday June 10, 2009 12:49 PM By Lucy Blatter

Love Sangria? You’re in luck.

Small plates eatery Vintage Irving is offering customers one of five fresh spring/summer sangrias for free, just for sitting down for dinner.

Specials include White Peach Mango — thyme infused peach, mango vodka and seasonal fresh fruit, Vintage Red — star anise, cinnamon, apples and oranges and their new Special Sangria - honeydew melon.

Vintage Irving is located at 118 E. 15th St. (212-677-6300)

Tags: restaurants

Shorter walls to blame for Yankee Stadium home run derby: Report

Tuesday June 9, 2009 8:11 PM By Pete Catapano

Johnny Damon homers Monday against Tampa Bay (Getty)

By Pete Catapano

Blame the home run derby at the new Yankee Stadium on the walls not the wind, a report released yesterday by Accuweather.com says.

Open now for two months, the Bombers’ new home in the Bronx is poised to set a record for long balls with already 105 hit this season, puzzling fans and experts alike.

While some of speculated wind patterns are to blame, the report says it’s the height of the outfield walls that’s a leading cause.

“Not only is the famed short porch even shorter in the new stadium, but the walls themselves are not as tall,” the report says.It notes that while the dimensions of the stadiums are identical, the new park is lacking the wall curvature of the old one, resulting in a “right field that is shorter by 4-5 feet on average, but to 9 feet in spots.”

Taking into account the dimensions of the field and wall height, AccuWeather.com has calculated that 19 percent (20 out of 105) home runs would not have flown out of the old stadium.

Furthermore, the report says that there’s been no change in the wind speed that has caused the homer onslaught.

The Yankees were unavailable to comment on the report by press time.

Tags: yankee stadium, yankees

Autopilot causes L trains to bypass platforms

Tuesday June 9, 2009 6:56 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Running the L line on autopilot at night is causing trains to shoot past platforms, forcing straphangers to miss their stops, motormen and union officials said.

Because of the software fluke, drivers have to travel to the next station to let passengers off, according to the officials.

One Brooklyn mailroom worker, who didn’t want to be identified, said he was late for work repeatedly for several weeks after the L train missed his stop in Bushwick.

“It’s not perfected yet. It’s not working. And it’s definitely not cost-effective,” Keith Harrington, union vice chairman for train operators, said of the $326 million system.

Charles Seaton, a NYC Transit spokesman, said the glitch causing the trains to bypass stations by only a few feet is being addressed and does not impair passenger safety. It was unclear when the snafu would be fixed.

The system “maintains speeds within safe limits and ensures that train doors are opened safely,” Seaton said.In February, NYC Transit started running L trains on autopilot from 12:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. The hours were recently extended to 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., union officials said, and the MTA hopes to begin expanding it to some Queens lines over the next five years.

When trains are running on autopilot, computers cue the acceleration and breaking while transit officials monitor the traffic flow offsite. Drivers, who are always manning the train from the front, can switch into manual when problems arise.

MTA officials say the system allows them to run trains faster by monitoring cars in real time and bypassing the subway’s antiquated signal system.

But motormen say the computers tend to underestimate how sharply to apply the brakes, causing the trains to shoot past the stations by as much as two cars. Because they can’t go in reverse, the trains have to advance to the next station.

“I don’t like it at all,” said straphanger Andrew DeJesus, 30, an ironworker from Brooklyn. “If someone gets hurt, what’s going to happen?”

Last month, the MTA’s independent engineers found that shortfalls in the autopilot software caused an “uncomfortable jerk” at station stops on the L train. The system also threw on the emergency brakes by error when the trains drove too fast, according to a report by the engineer firms.

A NYC Transit spokesman said those problems would also be fixed.

Antastasia Ecomindes contributed this story.

Tags: l train, new york city, mta, transit

Letterman and Palin's love-hate relationship revived

Tuesday June 9, 2009 6:40 PM By Marlene Naanes

(Getty)

By Marlene Naanes

Sarah Palin yesterday said a David Letterman joke about her “slutty flight attendant look” during one of his Top Ten lists was “pathetic.”

Letterman continued his comedic love affair with the Alaskan governor, whose visit this weekend was a media spectacle, with the “Top Ten Highlights of Sarah Palin’s Trip to New York” on Monday’s “Late Show.”

No. 2 on the list joked that Palin “bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her slutty flight attendant look.”

California-based radio show host John Ziegler asked Palin what she thought about the joke during his show on KGIL-1260 yesterday. Palin said Letterman was “sad” not to realize she was in New York “doing some good things here for good people,” including an autism walk.

“That’s pretty pathetic, good ol’ David Letterman,” Palin said.Letterman’s publicist did not comment.

Letterman also took a swipe at Palin’s teenage daughter Bristol during his monologue in the same show, joking that she was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez during the Yankee game her mother attended.

Palin went to Sunday’s game as part of a trip to New York, which also included stops upstate and on Long Island.

Palin and her former presidential running-mate Sen. John McCain were a favorite butt of Letterman’s jokes during their failed bid for the White House. However, Letterman’s humor turned to ire when McCain canceled an appearance on the “Late Show,” saying he was heading to Washington to deal with the economic crisis when he really took an interview with Katie Couric.

Letterman ripped McCain for days after the incident, and eventually the senator returned to the show and apologized.

Tags: david letterman, sarah palin, top ten, politics

Q and A: Robert Kenner, director of Food, Inc.

Tuesday June 9, 2009 6:21 PM By Lucy Blatter

Robert Kenner's documentary Food, Inc. argues that deception is running rampant in the national food system. It's out on Friday.

By Robert Levin

Special to amNewYork

Some scary truths hide behind our most banal grocery store staples.

Robert Kenner’s documentary “Food, Inc.” reveals a comprehensive campaign of deception engaged in by the corporations that control the national food system, and points out the dangerous changes they have made to the ways our food is farmed and developed. amNewYork spoke to the filmmaker about the movie, which opens Friday.

What interested you in this subject?

On one level, we spend less on our food than any time in history. On the other hand, this low cost food comes to us at a high cost.

What’s the cost?

The whole [food producing] system has changed. The food itself is fundamentally different. Things look the same, but they’re different.

[For example] chicken looks the same, but they’re not grown on farms, they’re grown in factories.

Everything comes from huge factories, or the vast majority of our food does and it doesn’t have the same nutritional value…It’s kind of spooky how [the food companies] can try to keep us thinking it still comes from farms with white picket fences and red barns.

What are the risks if the food production business continues to function as it has?

We’re subsidizing unhealthy food that is going to bankrupt all of us because the health care system can’t take [all the health problems being created].

Tags: food, inc., robert kenner

Biting into the Big Apple

Tuesday June 9, 2009 6:18 PM By Lucy Blatter

Big Onion's Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour explores the city's culinary history. Credit: Ryan Thatcher

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

New York is one of the best food cities in the world.

This summer join a culinary walking tour — because history goes down a lot easier with a cannoli.

Scott’s Pizza Tours

scottspizzatours.com

A week and a half is the longest Scott Wiener has ever gone without eating pizza.

“It was terrible,” he said.

A year ago, the 27-year-old pizza enthusiast started Scott’s Pizza Tours.

During his three-hour, $30 tour Wiener attempts to find the perfect slice for all guests by stopping at three pizzerias he feels highlight the diversity of New York pizza — Lombardi’s, Joe’s Pizza and John’s Pizza.

Additional stops include Alleva, the country’s oldest cheese shop; Bari’s, a restaurant and equipment store on the Bowery; and an unmarked maroon door on the corner of Prince and Bowery where a white-haired man named Patsy has been inconspicuously hand-making many of the city’s pizza ovens for more than 40 years.“It’s not about pizza snobbery. It’s about pizza education,” Wiener said.

Big Onion: The Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour

bigonion.com

Big Onion’s Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour is a history buff’s dream. The $20 tour covers various cuisines of the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy.

But don’t expect to eat too much; here it’s more about little snacks than big meals.

The two-hour tour makes stops for plantains, pickles, halva, dried rose petals, mini-cannolis, pepperoni, Parmesan, and mozzarella, but it’s more likely to leave one’s brain a lot fuller than the belly.

Foods of New York

foodsofny.com

Foods of New York, which runs tours in Greenwich Village ($44), Chelsea Market ($44), Central Village/SoHo ($44), and Chinatown ($65) most days, stops at about seven to eight restaurants, eateries, and food shops on its three-hour tour.

Marketa Greenberg, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said she was satisfied by the Greenwich Village tour she took.

She said it was filling and provided lots of information about where the food came from, making it easy to return to buy what she liked.

NoshWalks

noshwalks.com

Myra Alperson’s NoshWalks attempt to tackle the diversity of food found in all five boroughs.

“It’s the real New York,” Alperson said. “Food is a gateway to getting to know the city better.”

Each week brings a different neighborhood and flavor.

Upcoming tours include June 28’s Latin American Jackson Heights, and July 11’s tour of Bensonhurst’s eclectic cultural cuisine — from Turkish to Chinese.

Tour prices are generally $40, which includes noshes, but not beverages.

“You get a full meal, and then some,” said Alperson.

Drink your way through NYC

Uncle Sam’s New York Tours offers four different neighborhood pub crawls — including the West Village, East Village, Hell’s Kitchen and Empire State crawls — with a Fourth of July Spirits of ‘76 pub crawl, and even more to come this summer.

The West Village pub crawl, in particular, caters to those interested in literary history, with stops at The White Horse Tavern, Kettle of Fish and Kenny’s Castaways, drinking establishments that have been frequented by legendary writers, politicians and musicians.

But this tour company prides itself on being just as social as it is educational.

unclesamsnewyork.com

Tags: noshwalks, scott's pizza tours, big onion, food of new york

Senate fights intensifies as Democrats refuse to concede

Tuesday June 9, 2009 5:48 PM By Jason Fink

State Sen. Pedro Espada, (D-Bronx), and Sen. Dean Skelos, R-(Rockville Centre), at the Capitol in Albany on Tuesday. AP photo.

By Jason Fink

Democrats and Republicans in Albany Tuesday continued to fight over the keys to the Senate chamber — literally.

The secretary of the senate, Angelo Aponte, who works for ousted Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), was holding the keys to the locked chamber, prompting Republicans — who won a slim majority after two Democrats defected Monday — to vow to convene in a park across from the Capitol today if necessary.

“We will have a session on Wednesday,” said Scott Reif, a spokesman for newly-installed Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre).A spokesman for Smith, Austin Shafran, remained defiant, saying in an e-mail message: “No handing over of keys whatsoever.”

As for Gov. David Paterson, he said he will not leave the state as long as there is uncertainty over who is senate president - the next in line to the governor.

Both sides huddled in meetings all day Tuesday planning their next moves, with Republicans seeking to peal off more Democrats by offering them committee chairs.

One possibility for the Democrats to regain control is for the members to form a majority under a different leader. There are 30 Republicans in the 62-member senate, with Democrats Pedro Espada, Jr. (D-Bronx), who was elected senate president, and Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Elmhurst) voting for the new leadership.

Some Democrats also have threatened legal action, though many doubt it would come to that.

“A judge would be loathe to get involved,” said Gene Russianoff, a lawyer with the New York Public Interest Research Group. “What’s he going to do, enjoin Pedro Espada from voting with the Republicans?”

Tags: state senate, albany, politics

Five tips for picking the freshest coffee beans

Tuesday June 9, 2009 5:44 PM By Lucy Blatter

If you want the freshest coffee, look for whole beans in vacuum-packed bags.

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Coffee, like all types of produce, should be checked for freshness before it’s purchased. Here are five tips from gourmet coffee roaster Coffee Bean Direct’s on finding the freshest beans.

1) Vacuum packed containers are the way to go. “Typically supermarket brand, canned coffee is not going to be high-end coffee,” Coffee Bean Direct CEO, Andrew Esserman, said.

2)Look for packaging that includes a one-way air valve. Fresh coffee beans emit a carbon dioxide gas for a few weeks after roasting, said Esserman. Coffee that is packaged fresh will burst if the bag doesn’t have a valve.3) Instead of expiration dates, look for containers that display dates such as “Roasted on “or “born on,” because coffee should be consumed within two to four weeks of roasting. Esserman said the amount freshness depends on packaging. If it allows air in, it will become stale faster.

4)Buy whole bean coffee. Ground coffee has a shorter shelf life than whole bean. “Think of it in terms of surface area. The bean has more surface area and it keeps its flavor and freshness longer, he said.

5) The freshest coffee comes from boutique roasters, not the supermarket. Esserman said this also goes back to distribution time. Supermarket coffees have been around longer, and there’s no way to know when it was roasted. Also, because the boutiques are the producers, the cost is lower than big third party distributors.

Tags: coffee, coffee beans, food

Central Park the hottest new nightclub? Not.

Tuesday June 9, 2009 2:12 PM By Marlene Naanes

A press release distributed today by nightclub owner JE Englebert claimed he was turning Tavern on the Green, Central Park and possibly even Strawberry Fields and the Central Park Zoo into a wild nightclub.

"Places like the Zoo and Strawberry Fields could be filled with thousands of club patrons all night," the release claims. "Imagine New Yorkers partying in monkey cages, it would add a new term to the word 'wildlife.'"

Turns out, the claims are either a hoax, a joke or one of the strangest ways to promote an event.

"We've never heard of this JE Englebert before," spokeswoman Shelly Clark said. "He put this out there, and we are demanding a retraction to the same list he sent it to. This is all just B.S."

Someone, who seems to work for a public relations firm, answered the press contact number on the press release, saying the agency did not authorize the release. An e-mail from "je" responded to a reporter's request on Englebert's Web site, saying "Im a nightclub owner and promoter and was hired to promote and market a thursday nite party." (sic)

Clark says Tavern on the Green has hosted a Thursday night party during the summer for years, but it is nothing like the promoter claims.

"Whether this is a hoax, whether it is a joke…whatever it is, the fact that he’s saying he’s turning it into a disco, a nightclub is not true," Clark said.

One of the true promoters of the Thursday night party, Gordon Von Broock, said Englebert was never hired to do anything. He said he'd bring people to the party, Von Broock said.

"He basically took that to promote himself and fabricate the whole thing," he said.

Tags: central park, nightclub, hoax

Viral video: A jungle gym made for off-road vehicles

Tuesday June 9, 2009 1:51 PM By Sean Joseph

We’re still not sure why an ordinary person would need to own one of these, but this all-terrain vehicle can do anything.

Tags: viral video, television, off-roading

Stephen Colbert brings show to Iraq

Tuesday June 9, 2009 12:21 PM By Ryan Chatelain

By Ryan Chatelain

The U.S. officially has won the war in Iraq.

At least that’s what late-night funnyman Stephen Colbert declared from Baghdad, where he is hosting his Comedy Central show this week.

Filming his show Sunday before hundreds of troops at Camp Victory, the host of “The Colbert Report” drew a loud applause when he let Gen. Ray Odierno, acting on a videotaped order from President Barack Obama, shave his head.

“It must be nice here in Iraq because I understand some of you keep coming back again and again,” Colbert joked with soldiers. “You’ve earned so many frequent flyer miles, you’ve earned a free ticket to Afghanistan.”Colbert, who plays a conservative pundit on his show, admitted there was a serious reason behind his trip: He was concerned about the fading media attention being given to the war.

Entertainers visiting war zones is nothing new, with Bob Hope being the most famous example. Kid Rock, Chuck Norris and Dane Cook are just a few of the many celebrities to visit Iraq during the last few years.

Back in New York, former Army Sgt. Don Gomez, who served two tours in Iraq, said entertainers boost the troops’ morale. He fondly recalls when comedian Tom Green visited his base.

“It felt like at least you know somebody cared that you were there,” said Gomez, 27, of Queens. “And even though they’re not doing military stuff, they are putting their lives in danger.”

The first of Colbert’s four shows aired last night. The remaining three will run tonight through Thursday at 11:30 p.m. (with AP)

Photo by AP

Tags: stephen colbert, television, iraq war

Adam Lambert: I'm gay

Tuesday June 9, 2009 10:45 AM By Julie Gordon

In a move that even Adam Lambert himself says won’t come as a shock to his fans, the “American Idol” runner-up has finally revealed to the public that he is gay.

“I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I’m gay,” Lambert, 27, said in the new issue of Rolling Stone, which hits newsstands today.

Among other tip-offs, Lambert hasn’t been shy when paparazzi snapped photos during the last few weeks of him and his rumored boyfriend Drake LaBry.

He also wasn’t timid when revealing how he decided to try out for the competition; it was after a drug-fueled epiphany at Burning Man in Nevada.

“I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen,” he said.

So, once he got to the show, he was always himself: theatrics, eyeliner, crazy costumes and all.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to glue rhinestones on my eyelids, b----!” he said.Instead of just blurting out his coming-out news to reporters or to one of the tabloids, he carefully chose Rolling Stone as his medium because he thought it would be “cooler” (yes, really).

“Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought,

‘I’m going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,’ ” he said. “I didn’t want the Clay Aiken thing and the celebrity-magazine bull----. I need to be able to explain myself in context.”

In other “Idol” news, both Lambert and winner Kris Allen inked record deals this week and plan to release their debut albums this fall — Lambert with 19 Recordings and RCA and Allen with 19 Recordings and Jive.

"We are 100 percent on the same page and are all anxiously awaiting the start of the

recordings. It¹s going to be ridiculous! Get ready!!!" Lambert said in a statement.

As for Allen? "Everyone's been asking me what it's going to sound like. It will be very similar to what you heard from me on the show -- definitely in the pop/rock genre. I can't wait to get started," he said in a statement.

Tags: entertainment

UWS protesters: Doomed homes pose risk to block

Monday June 8, 2009 8:29 PM By Sean Joseph

Protesters on West End Avenue (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Lana Bortolot

Special to amNewYork

About 60 Upper West Side residents staged a peaceful protest Monday afternoon outside a pair of West End Avenue townhouse slated for demolition, charging that the site poses health, safety and quality-of-life risks.

The residents gathered outside 732-34 West End Ave., both townhouses owned by Alan Sackman, which will go down despite a long campaign to save them.

“The stress from looking at my wall is killing me,” said Dee Alpert, a 39-year resident of 736 West End Ave. and chairwoman of the tenants’ association, whose apartment sits along a common wall with one of the townhouses. “There are no meaningful steps that we know of to protect us."The site is flanked by the rent-controlled apartment building at 736, and, at 720, the Williams Residence, senior housing operated by the Salvation Army.

Demolition scaffolding was erected last week, raising ire and alarm as residents reported claims of falling debris, and recorded what they call unsafe practices with their digital cameras. The tenants of 736 —many of whom are elderly — have a Web site with a “collapse cam” ready to roll at the first sight of construction violations.

Calls to Sackman Enterprises were unreturned. It’s unclear what he intends to build on the site. The Landmarks Preservation Commission said the buildings were not architecturally significant and had been too altered to qualify for protection.

While the residents at 736 are worried about their building, seniors at the Williams

are concerned about their health. Their cause has been taken up by community leaders, who are pressing the city to monitor the conditions. A site safety plan was approved by the Department of Buildings on March 6.

“Whenever scaffolding goes up, it scares people,” says Jesse Bodine, director of constituent services for Councilwoman Gail Brewer. “But I feel like DOB is very much on it with an inspector on site.”

Tags: architecture, manhattan, neighborhoods, real estate

Jailed journalists could be pawns for North Korea

Monday June 8, 2009 8:24 PM By Sean Joseph

By Marlene Naanes

and Shayndi Raice

The two American journalists who were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea yesterday are likely to be used as pawns in the communist country’s high-stakes game with the rest of the world, experts said.

“I think it’s shrewd strategic use of [North Korea’s] very few points of leverage with the West,” said Steve Clemons, director of foreign policy at the New America Foundation.

Laura Ling, 32, the sister of TV journalist Lisa Ling, and Euna Lee, 36, were arrested March 17 while working on a story for Al Gore’s Current TV about trafficking of North Korean women across the Chinese border.

North Korea can try to use the women to lure the U.S. to discuss the recent nuclear and missile tests and the need for aid, said experts and Korean-American New Yorkers said.“Obama gave them a signal no more helping North Korea … Kim [Jong Il] is afraid about that,” said James Rhee, 58, a Bronx resident originally from South Korea. “They need help from America.”

The White House yesterday said the administration is “engaged through all possible channels to secure their release.”

The country has challenged new presidents before, said Howard French, a Columbia Journalism School professor who has traveled to North Korea twice.

“North Korean international relations follows a predictable wave pattern with presidential politics,” French said. “Early in a new president’s term, North Korea acts very tough and provocatively so to raise the stakes in the minds of its foreign adversaries.”

The government is also flexing its muscle internally to ensure an easy succession for Kim Jong Il’s youngest son, who seems poised to take power.

This week's travel deals: New York, London, Expedia, oh my!

Monday June 8, 2009 5:45 PM By Lucy Blatter

By Emily Mathis

Special to amNewYork

New York Waterway tours are great for staycation weekends.

New York Harbor tours: For a staycation this summer, get familiar with lower Manhattan’s rich history through the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy’s boat tours.

The audio program features commentary by historians, scientists and celebrities, as well as firsthand accounts by New York luminaries. The America’s Frontline ferry tour ventures from Pier 78 on West 38th Street at 12 Avenue to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and on to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, documenting the harbor’s history — from the 1776 British invasion, to the flotilla that evacuated lower Manhattan on 9/11, to the harbor’s role today. Tickets are $26. The tour is offered Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The Gateway to America tour, narrated by actress Kathleen Turner, delves into 400 years of New York Harbor’s history. The hour-long tour runs five times a day from Slip 5 at the Battery Maritime Building. Tickets are $16. NYHarborParks.org, 800-533-3779London on the dollar: With the pound lower than it’s been in years, two of London’s finest hotels are offering guaranteed U.S. dollar rates. Rates at the Metropolitan on Park Lane, which overlooks Hyde Park, begin at $199/night — a 64 percent discount off the regular $557 rate. Rates at The Halkin, located near Harrods, begin at $299/night — a 48 percent discount from the usual $580 rate. Rates are valid through Sept. 6, and reservations must be booked at least seven days in advance. A minimum two-night stay is required.

Metropolitan.como.bz, +44- 20-7447-1047; Halkin.como.bz, +44-20-7333-1000

Expedia slashes fees: Expedia.com has eliminated change and cancel fees on all hotel, car rental, cruises, and almost all airline reservations. Expedia has also eliminated all air booking fees.

Tags: expedia, new york harbor, london, travel

Travel help for moms at Mamapedia

Monday June 8, 2009 5:43 PM By Lucy Blatter

It’s a stressful time for moms — school is almost out, the economy is bad, and its time to make a summer vacation decision. Mamapedia.com is a new Web site where moms can post questions and offer answers to each other’s concerns. Moms can share tips on where to send the kids to camp, the most economical vacations, and how to keep the kids entertained on long trips and more.

Tags: mamapedia, summer vacation, summer travel

This is Orlando?!: Winter Park defies expectations

Monday June 8, 2009 5:34 PM By Lucy Blatter

Morse Museum's Tiffany Chapel is a must-see in Winter Park.

By Monique Stringfellow

Special to amNewYork

Whether you think Disney World is “the happiest place on Earth” or its mere mention gives you an anxiety attack, it is a pilgrimage that you will likely make in your lifetime –17 million people visit the park each year. The good news for parents afraid of Disney overdose is that a trip to Orlando doesn’t have to be a nonstop celebration of Mickey and Co. By staying in nearby Winter Park (a 10-minute drive from downtown Orlando), tourists can pay homage to the mouse and still fit in some more adult-friendly activities.

If Epcot is a glimpse into the future — 1982’s version of the future at least — then Winter Park is a trip back in time. Settled in the 1880s by New Yorkers looking to escape the Northeastern chill, the town is home to Rollins College and feels more like Southampton than Central Florida.WHAT TO DO

It’s not Splash Mountain, but visitors have been lining up for the scenic boat ride along Winter Park’s historic canals for more than 70 years. The hour-long trip makes its way through the city’s system of connected lakes while guides impart local lore and passengers have a chance to check out the enclave’s original waterfront mansions. It’s also an opportunity to see a rare pre-development side of Florida; palms, cypress trees, ferns and Spanish moss line the banks of the boat’s well-traveled route.

Adults $10, children $5.

scenicboattours.com

The Morse Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany including jewelry and his famous stained glass lamps. The museum features late-19th and 20th century American art. Adults $3, children under 12 are free.

morsemuseum.org

Every Saturday, rain or shine, the Winter Park Farmer’s Market convenes from 7 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Browse orchids, local produce and prepared foods like baked goods and crepes.

Unwind from a day of lines and crowds at the Wine Room on Park Avenue. This shop and restaurant offers 150 varieties as well as a champagne bar and carefully curated selection of cheese and charcuterie. The Enomatic “wine on tap” dispensing system allows for tastings of 1, 2.5 or 5 ounces. thewineroomonline.com

WHERE TO STAY

Stay at the Park Plaza Hotel to maximize the time capsule effect. Built in 1922, it retains much of its Jazz Age décor, with a wood- and brass-accented lobby and wicker furniture. A room for two with a Queen sized bed is $140. parkplazahotel.com

Know before you go:

Prices: High Season (October-May)

Rooms: $140 (high and low season)

Flights: $179 on Jet Blue during high season (Oct.-May), $158 on Delta during low season (June- Sept.)

Park tickets:

One theme park: $75

Access to all theme parks: $125

Weather:

Summer temperatures are in the 80s and 90s. June, July and August

are the rainiest months. In winter, it is usually in the 70s and 80s and

less rainy.

Tags: morse museum, winter park, park plaza hotel, orlando, disney world

amNewYork letters to the editor

Monday June 8, 2009 5:10 PM By Sara Baumberger

Rush, Osama set to destroy America

Rush Limbaugh and Osama bin Laden — a seemingly unlikely marriage but firmly wed with a common vow: Denigrate any semblance of progress made by President Barack Obama on his recent “Repair America” oversees tour and destroy his credibility. A formidable and determined team these two, with a divergent but equally destructive and blind-sighted puppet following. There is an Arabic proverb that explains their relationship: “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.” May these two friends live happily ever after, after they’ve done their dirty deed and, hopefully, failed.

— Nicholas Zizelis, Amagansett

Abortion clinics are an easy target

Dr. George Tiller’s killer, Scott Roeder, warns of more killing as long as abortions are being performed. Allow me to rephrase this: So long as America forces women and doctors into abortion “clinics,” thereby setting them up as targets, there will be violence.

— Suzy Sandor, Manhattan

Lottery winner is admirable man

Lottery winner Neal Wanless, who won $232 million, lives with his parents in a poor community in Mission, S.D., where the average income is $7,500 a year. His home consisted of a dilapidated house and a junkyard. What I admire most about this young man is that he is not thinking about what he can buy with his millions, but how he can help those who helped his family when they were in need.

— Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Glen Oaks Village

Tags: letters to the editor

Henican: Ethics take a vacation

Sunday June 7, 2009 8:19 PM By Rolando Pujol

Albany!

Honesty in government forced to wait!

Holy kickback, who would have expected something like this?

Only someone who’d never driven within 100 miles of New York’s cozy state capital, where legislators and lobbyists never, ever forget who’s who. (Hint: The lobbyists pick up the tabs. The legislators show their appreciation.)If secret deals ever took a holiday from Albany, there’d be no deals up there at all.

There has been much talk this year — and no real action — on state-government ethics reform. Gov. David Paterson, who fashions himself quite a reformer, was unequivocal on the topic this week.

“We’re not putting anything off,” Paterson declared. And he seemed to really mean it, unless by “putting anything off” you mean putting anything off.

Ethics reform, he explained, will have to wait ’till fall. But fear not: “We are actually far closer to a resolution in the last couple of weeks than we have been at any time that we’ve been in Albany,” the governor said.

Got it? Of course not. None of this makes any sense. If they’re so darn close, why not just do it? If they aren’t close, why pretend? But those are logical questions. This is Albany.

They don’t apply, especially when the issue is ethics reform.

Paterson isn’t alone in his confused self-righteousness.

On Thursday, Malcolm Smith, the state Senate majority leader, announced that ethics reform cannot wait until fall. June 20, he said, would be a better date.

But of course, Senator Smith doesn’t have the power to actually do anything, even if he had the inclination to. He can’t even get his Democratic majority to hold together for something easy, such as gay marriage.

Something sticky like ethics reform? Good luck!

Thankfully, Sheldon Silver, the Assembly boss, was standing by to help.

Silver has his own version of how to reform Albany’s ethics rules. The details aren’t

important, any more than Paterson’s are. What you need to know is that sorting out all the differences between the two plans — gosh, that could take months or years or decades.

Brilliant, huh?

Albany time!

E-mail ellis@henican.com.

Follow on Twitter.com/Henican

Tags: henican

Viral Video: Paper Towels ad, ShamWow style

Sunday June 7, 2009 8:18 PM By Pete Catapano

So you may be in love with your ShamWow. And you were probably convinced to buy one from that commercial with pitchman Vince that seemed to be running 24/7.

Well paper towels are making a comeback — in a big way. Here's a rather amusing ShamWow commercial parody touting the many uses of paper towels.

Tags: viral video, paper towels, shamwow

Air quality a concern at parks near busy streets

Sunday June 7, 2009 8:03 PM By Ryan Chatelain

A new artificial-turf soccer field near Yankee Stadium sits on top of a parking garage. (Photo by RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Ryan Chatelain

At a ground-breaking last September, officials touted how CaVaLa Park, with its centerpiece 113-foot-long sculpted fountain, would soon serve as a striking gateway for people entering Manhattan through the Holland Tunnel.

But what can those looking outward from the half-acre park — on a triangular swath of land where Canal, Varick and Laight streets converge — expect when it opens this fall?

An endless string of noisy cars? A tunnel spewing polluted air a block away?

“Depending on where the air patterns are, you could be literally in the choking area,” said Michael Seilback, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the American Lung Association in New York.

The close proximity of many New York City parks to congested roadways has existed about as long as traffic itself. But even some new parks are being built in areas where the air might be less than pristine.For example, in replacing parkland lost in the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, the city placed an artificial-turf soccer field atop a public parking garage used on game days. The South Bronx has one of the country’s highest rates of childhood asthma.

Daniel Kass, assistant commissioner of the city Department of Health’s Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, cautioned against concluding that air quality near busy streets or tunnels is worse than in other parts of the city.

“The reality is that we don’t know enough about how air quality varies in this city,” Kass said. “Some things are not necessarily intuitive. You could be running next to a highway along a river, and depending on the prevailing winds, the air quality could be substantially better than it could be elsewhere.”

Environmental impact studies are conducted before new parks are built, noted Philip Abramson, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Some New Yorkers, however, weren’t so sure that the air is safe.

“It’s not that healthy,” said Ben McDougald, 71, as he power-walked around the rooftop soccer field near Yankee Stadium, which partially opened last month. “But here we don’t have much of a choice.”

Those exercising near high-traffic areas may be at a greater risk of inhaling polluted air. The American Lung Association estimates that an endurance athlete, such as a marathon runner, breathes in up to 20 times as much air as someone at rest.

Poor air quality can contribute to heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks, researchers say.

The issue presents a catch-22 of sorts: Green spaces, after all, produce oxygen, which helps clean the air.

Geoffrey Croft, president of the watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, blamed poor city planning for hundreds of parks near congested streets.

“When they laid out our city, from 1811, the parks weren’t planned for,” Croft said. “We’ve been paying that price for a very, very long time.”

Tags: parks, air quality, yankee stadium

Home sweet workplace

Sunday June 7, 2009 6:02 PM By Lucy Blatter

Success at working from home requires strong boundaries and great organization.

BY LUCY COHEN BLATTER

If you’re fed up with your cubicle job, have been laid off or have just always dreamed of working in your pajamas, you may want to consider working from home. But before you can do that there are certain things you’ll need to know.

Leslie Truex, author of “The Work at Home Success Bible,” said “anyone that really wants to work from home can, but there are going to be frustrations and ups and downs.”

Truex pointed to some challenges: It can be difficult to get motivated, and if you’re freelancing or working for yourself, there’s the added stress of irregular pay checks and having your success riding solely on you.But there are also major advantages to working at home, namely the lexibility in your schedule, not having to commute, and if you’re working for yourself, not having to deal with a difficult boss.

Also, once you’ve mastered working from home, you may find yourself being a lot more productive. People who work from home are usually 20 percent more productive, Truex said.

Here are her tips:

1) Get organized. Having your schedule and work in order is crucial since you’re sharing your work space with your home space.

2)Create your own momentum. With no boss breathing down your neck, you’ll have to use your own initiative. “You have to want to want it bad enough,” said Truex.

3)Ideally you should have an office that has a door on it. You’ll want to create physical boundaries between yourself, your home and your family.

4)Make a work schedule — and stick to it. “You need to make arrangements for everything else to be taken care of, whether it’s kids, or chores. But you also need to be a little flexible at times,” she said.

5) Take breaks (whether for lunch or a walk). “You can get sick of being at home,” Truex said.

6)Necessary equipment: High-speed internet, phone, headset (lets you multi-task).

7)For freelancers, understanding your peak hours is crucial. If you’re a night owl work then, and vice versa.

8) If you’re telecommuting, be sure to stay connected to the office, by e-mail or by phone. “Partly it’s because if you’re out of sight you’re out of mind. You need to find a way to let them know what you’re up to. Weekly report or daily reports are good.”

Tags: working from home, telecommuting, job front

Looking for work? This week's job fairs and events

Sunday June 7, 2009 5:59 PM By Lucy Blatter

Wednesday, June 10 - Managing Transitions: A Value Based Approach that Produces Extraordinary Results

Location: New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Ave, HRD Learning Center, B Level, Gramercy Room

Time: 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m.

To register: Preregistration required by today (Monday June 8) at FWA.org, $25 for Financial Women’s Association members, $35 for nonmembers

Wednesday, June 10 – Understanding Intellectual Property Rights: A Primer for Entrepreneurs

Location: Science, Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave., room 018

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7000 for more information

Thursday, June 11 – Social Media Tools for Business Owners

Location: Science, Industry and Business Library, 188 Madison Ave., room 018

Time: 5:30-7 p.m.

To register: Free, 212-592-7000 for more informationThursday, June 11 – MCC Green Business Committee Networking Event

Location: Citibank, 974 Third Ave.

Time: 8-10 a.m.

To register: Free for members, $15 for nonmembers, preregister at ManhattanCCGreen.com, 212-473-7875 for more information

(Emily Mathis)

Tags: job fairs

Out of the cubicle: Massaging your career

Sunday June 7, 2009 5:46 PM By Lucy Blatter

Photo caption: Sacked by Goldman Sachs, Chris Shelley, moved on to become a massage therapist.

By KAREN TINA HARRISON

Special to amNewYork

As the saying goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It takes a tough New Yorker to triumph over today’s economy. The Job Front’s new feature, “Out of the Cubicle,” spotlights readers who have reinvented their careers post-pink slip.

Brooklynite Chris Shelley, 39, was an analyst at Goldman Sachs till December, when the company axed thousands. Today he’s a licensed massage therapist (LMT).

How do you get from Wall St. to the massage table?

“Finance wasn’t my life’s calling. I got interested in massage two years ago, and my wife King and I enrolled at Swedish Institute in Chelsea. I was able to work half-time. I graduated this January right after I was downsized. I got licensed and established a private practice with King.” (mrandmrsshelley.com).

Why massage therapy?

“I’m creative and social, and this job is very connected to life. You use your brain, your body and your emotions. I love the variety, independence and flexibility.”Who succeeds in this career?

“As a healer, you must understand and enjoy your clients. You have to be a great listener and never stop learning, and manage your own scheduling, finances and website. And you must be strong and supple. I work out every day. Massage therapy is a very positive vocation.”

(Box) Transition: Becoming a Massage Therapist

Requirements:

An A.O.S. in massage therapy from an accredited school like Swedish Institute (swedishinstitute.edu, 212-924-5900); then a mandatory state licensing exam.

Training commitment:

Swedish Institute’s program takes 16 months, with customized schedules. Tuition is $19,000; financial aid is available. “While in school, you’ll need a financial cushion or side income,” said Chris Shelley.

Work environments:

Massage therapists can work in private practices; spas; gyms; medical settings.

Income info:

Massages go for around $100/hour; overhead includes rent and advertising. “With the right setting and clientele, you can approach six figures,” said Shelley.

A growing field:

Interest in massage, and insurance coverage, are increasing, creating jobs. Learn more at antamassage.org; www.bls.gov/oco/ocos295.htm.

Are you” Out of the Cubicle”? email your story to Lucy.Blatter@am-ny.com.

Tags: massage therapist, job front

Sample sales: June 8 to 14

Sunday June 7, 2009 3:02 PM By Julie Gordon

Baby Eggi

June 9 to 11, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; June 12, 8 a.m. to 5 pm. 141 W. 36th St., btwn Broadway and Seventh Ave., Suite 1804, 917-385-8021

Kids clothing line Baby Eggi, which is designed by celebrity tattoo artist Mark Mahoney, offers items for $3 to $15 (normally $18 to $38).

Eugenia Kim

June 9 to 12, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 347 W. 36th St., btwn Eighth and Ninth aves., Suite 502, 212-674-1345

More than 1,000 men's and women's hats, belts and headbands from the spring/summer '09 collection are 50 to 70 percent off.

Rebecca Taylor (shown at left)

June 10 to 11, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 145 W. 18th St., btwn Sixth and Seventh aves., 212-966-0406

Feminine finds from the New Zealand designer are on sale. Sweaters are $125, camis $80, tops $115, pants and skirts $75, jackets $125 and shorts $50.Replay

June 10 to 12, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 38 W. 21st St., btwn Fifth and Sixth aves., 11th fl., 212-462-2045

Jeans, outerwear, tops, dresses and accessories are up to 80 percent off. Jeans that were $285 are now $59.

Melissa Joy Manning

June 11, 5 to 9 p.m. Equinox Soho, 568 Broadway, at Prince St., 2nd Fl., 212-334-4631

Attend Melissa Joy Manning's sample sale soiree. Bold pieces of jewelry are up to 75 percent off, with some as low as $5 to $20. Restaurant Delicatessen is providing food, and Bulldog Gin is providing cocktails.

Butter by Nadia

June 13, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; June 14, noon to 5 p.m. 405 Van Brunt St., at Van Dyke St., Red Hook, Brooklyn, 347-410-3203

Brooklyn brand Butter by Nadia is offering its signature wrap dresses for $50 to $125 (originally $250 to $270). Also on sale are jersey and satin ball gowns for $150 instead of $360. Credit cards only accepted for purchases of $250 and up.

Photo: Rebecca Taylor spring '09 fashion show at Bryant Park (Getty)

Tags: shopping, fashion

Sewage halts swimming at Coney Island

Sunday June 7, 2009 2:07 PM By Rolando Pujol

(AP) — Swimmers are being told to stay out of the water at Coney Island and nearby Manhattan Beach because of concerns about a sewage overflow.

The New York City Parks Department posted signs Sunday saying swimming wasn’t permitted at the two Brooklyn beaches. But the Coney Island boardwalk is open, and sunbathing on the sand is allowed.

The city Department of Environmental Protection says ocean water at the two beaches may be contaminated by raw sewage from a sewage treatment plant that overflowed.

Other city beaches are open for swimming.

amNewYork Letters to the Editor

Sunday June 7, 2009 12:59 PM By Rolando Pujol

Women’s rights a human rights issue

Obama went to Saudi Arabia to discuss a variety of issues, none of which include women’s rights? He’s in a country where only last year an 8-year-old girl was finally granted a divorce from her 50-year-old husband. It seems, too, that the driving ban against women was only lifted in 2008. When half of the population is essentially under segregation, it seems to me that we have a profound human rights issue.

Crista Giuliani, Greenpoint

Losing money? Just stop spending it

How come Ben Bernanke, the king of the big bailout spenders, asks to cut the deficit? If he knows he is a major cause of runaway spending, he could just stop it.

Anne Moroney,

Valley Stream

Tags: letters to the editor

Obama's Mideast speech captivates Muslims

Thursday June 4, 2009 8:59 PM By Emily Ngo

Sara Sayeed, Zead Ramadan and Aliya Latif watch President Barack Obama's speech at a roundtable event at the Interfaith Center Thursday. (AP)

By Emily Ngo

President Barack Obama captured the attention of the Muslim world Thursday with an address that encouraged candid conversation — something local Islamic leaders enthusiastically engaged in.

“It was the most comprehensive speech ever by a president to connect with the Islamic world,” said Zead Ramadan, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It was a real treat to have President Obama make clear to people around the world the value of Islam. At its core, it’s obviously a religion of peace.”

Ramadan and other members of the city’s Muslim community, who gathered at the Interfaith Center in Morningside Heights to discuss the speech, agreed that it hit all the right themes. Many deemed it a necessary primer on the Islamic identity beyond the headlines.

“The president pointed out that there are a number of people out there who carry out acts of violence and they don’t speak for the majority of Muslims,” said Asim Rehman, of the Muslim Bar Association of New York. “Many Muslims would say that they are not even Muslims.” Beyond rhetoric, however, many Muslims are anxious for action, especially on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “The message is hopeful ... but we really need to see it backed up with concrete policies,” Rehman said.

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, a researcher with the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, said the speech was a strong start for Obama. “What he’s doing with this speech is building trust, very subtly, saying we actually respect you … and we’re partners on this planet Earth,” he said.

Obama favored the use of “violent extremism” rather than “terrorism,” quoted Quran passages and strove for the correct pronunciations of “Pakistan,” “Taliban” and other terms. The nuances weren’t lost on the roundtable members.

“He opened the door. I feel a new sense of commitment, energy and activism,” said Haroon Moghul, of the Islamic Center at NYU. “When you hear that the most powerful man in the world agrees with some of your ideas, it’s a good feeling.”

Tags: president barack obama, the middle east, council on american-islamic relations, politics

Expert: Obama strives for balance, pushes honest talk on Mideast

Thursday June 4, 2009 8:49 PM By Emily Ngo

Hind Culhane, an expert on the Middle East and a dean at Mercy College, spoke with amNewYork about the implications of President Barack Obama’s speech.

How will this visit by President Barack Obama be different than others by U.S. leaders?

He’s going to the university. He’s going to visit a mosque. ... He’s going to the men and women in the streets. That’s where you get the pulse. He has a tone of respect: I am here to learn from you.

How can he grab the region’s attention?

He can say, "I don’t lump you all together. You’re not all radical. You’re not all Arab. You’re not all Muslim. You wear different hats." He’s going to talk about the common human values that we share, because he’s very sincere about that.Why did he choose to visit Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak?

From the U.S. point of view, Mubarak keeps the country stable. He’s acknowledged Israel. ... If you ask the Egyptians, they might clap for him in public, but they think President Mubarak’s been there too long and there has not been any movement in democracy.

Muslims seem most concerned and united by the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Why?

If you survey Muslims in the world, this whole issue of the occupation — of Palestinians being bombed, marginalized, living as refugees for 60 years — that’s what is most important. It’s a crucial area of concern for the Muslims, because it’s Jerusalem. It is the Holy Land.

How is Obama’s approach more novel?

His approach of straight talk — as much as a politician can be — is demanding of both sides to have an honest dialogue to solve this problem. There’s fault on both sides. I don’t envy him because there has to be such a balance to each side where you don’t

antagonize either.

Why is the Muslim world more welcoming of him?

He represents a shift to the Muslim world. They think: “Hey, there’s someone in the White House who not only looks like us, he’s really looking in our direction.”

Could one speech really improve the U.S. image in the Muslim world?

This is a first step, but in order for it to be sustainable, you can’t just talk the talk. He is [however] laying the ground for restoring trust.

(Emily Ngo)

Tags: president barack obama, egypt, the middle east, question and answer, politics

Q&A: Location manager Paul Kramer

Thursday June 4, 2009 6:16 PM By Julie Gordon

Paul Kramer was location manager for "I Am Legend," starring Will Smith (photo above).

By Julie Gordon

That little restaurant in a blockbuster movie, the outside of an apartment building where the main character on a TV drama lives, an office where the star of a comedy works: All are found by a man like Paul Kramer. As a location manager, Kramer scours the city in search of that perfect place to shoot a scene. The 20-plus-year industry vet, who has worked on films in NYC including “I Am Legend,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” “Hitch” and “Boiler Room,” gave us the scoop on his craft.

How does the process of brainstorming begin?

I get a copy of the script and break it down by location, and right away start going through my memory and files and start coming up with suggestions and things that might work.

How have you used your memory to your advantage when scouting?

I’m working on an HBO show right now [“Bored to Death,” starring Ted Danson]. A boxing match takes place, and we needed a venue where such an event might occur that’s not too big because we can’t afford to populate arena with too many extras. I was aware of a Masonic hall in Fort Greene because I scouted it on a movie. It was the best choice.How much does logistics play into location choice?

You’re first looking conceptually for the most appropriate location. Then once you’re later on in the pre-production process and as the director starts putting together schedules, logistics, actor availability, you find out [in which area of the city] you need to look for a location. If on one day there’s a scene in an office on the Upper West Side and then you move to a restaurant, you have to do the restaurant on the Upper West Side.

What’s the actual process like?

I’ll begin working with the producer, production designer, the director. I’ll hire location scouts. A staff of scouts comes back with different choices for locations. And we’ll visit them in person with the production designer to narrow down our selections. And then once we get closer to filming we have to set up logistical support. We negotiate the conditions with the location, have meetings with mayor’s office to make sure there are no scheduling conflicts and to get city permits. We have to find support space [to hold the actors and crew during filming]. So we pull that information together and then do a tech scout. All department heads get on a bus and do a tour. The director explains how he plans to film there.

How far in advance are spaces booked?

There’s a wide range. [In a few days], we begin filming at a bar in midtown, then move to an interior office space. I don’t know where that is. It was determined just a few days ago.

Are residential or commercial neighborhoods easier to work in?

In general, it can be more of a challenge in a residential neighborhood. A lot of residential neighborhoods are chosen because of their bucolic nature, their classic look. These neighborhoods tend to get filmed over and over again. Neighbors get worn out. People live in houses 24 hours a day. They may be happy during the day, but not at 11 at night. New York is a city that never sleeps, but businesses tend to sleep.

What’s the usual reaction when you’re shooting in a residential neighborhood?

People are very protective over their streets. I lived in Queens for many years, I know all about that. There’s a whole range: people being interested and helpful, tolerating it, walking by and muttering, all the way to yelling out a window and calling to complain. It’s a mixed bag but most people at least tolerate it and most find it something that’s an integral part of the fabric of New York life.

Tags: movies

Movies filming in New York City this season

Thursday June 4, 2009 5:51 PM By Julie Gordon

The crew of the movie "Step Up 3-D" set up on Avenue B. (Andrew Hinderaker)

By Julie Gordon

Most New Yorkers try to play it cool when they pass a mess of crew members unloading trucks in their neighborhood. But for those who want to indulge their inner celebrity stalker, here’s a guide to movies filming in the city this summer.

A Little Help

Directed by Michael J. Weithorn

Starring Jenna Fischer, Chris O’Donnell

Plot: Fischer makes her post-“Office” leap to the big screen as a widow/single mom who reconnects with a man she used to date: her sister’s husband.

Shooting: Until June 11

Locations including: A law office in the Financial District, a house in Bayside, St. Ignatius Church and Christopher Morley Park in Port Washington

Salt

Directed by Phillip Noyce

Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber

Plot: Jolie goes from brunette to blonde and back again as a CIA officer-in-disguise trying to clear her name after she’s accused of being a spy for the Russians.

Shooting: Until mid-June

Locations including: Queensboro Bridge, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Cantiague State Park in Hicksville, Long Island City, Floyd Bennett Field in Mill Basin

Blue Valentine

Directed by Derek Cianfrance

Starring Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling

Plot: Indie royalty Williams and Gosling team up as a troubled married couple thinking back to better days.

Shooting: Until June 25

Locations including: Ditmas Park, East Williamsburg, East Village, Steinway Moving and Storage in Long Island CityUntitled Nancy Meyers Project

Directed by Nancy Meyers

Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

Plot: Baldwin and Martin sure seem different, and in this romantic comedy, they play two polar opposites trying to win the affection of the same woman.

Shooting: Until the end of June

Locations including: Dressler restaurant in Williamsburg, Sarabeth’s in Chelsea Market, The Javits Center, Prospect Park Picnic House, The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates, Hotel AKA in Times Square, West Village

Rabbit Hole

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

Starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest

Plot: Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire, this drama focuses on a family after the accidental death of a four-year-old son.

Shooting: Until July 9

Locations including: Sotheby’s on the Upper East Side, Bed, Bath & Beyond in Elmhurst, CityView Racquet Club in Long Island City, AMF 34th Avenue Lanes Bowling Center in Woodside

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Directed by Marc Lawrence

Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant

Plot: Though the “Sex and the City” sequel doesn’t start shooting until August, Parker is busy with this flick — about an estranged, posh New York couple forced to move to Wyoming together after witnessing a murder — until then.

Shooting: Until July 10

Locations including: National Academy Museum, New York Academy of Medicine, Galerie Mark on the Upper East Side, Daniel restaurant on E. 65th St., Time Warner Center, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Roma’s Pizza on the Upper East Side

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Directed by Jon Turtletaub

Starring Nicolas Cage, Monica Bellucci, Jay Baruchel

Plot: Filled with stunts and plenty of action (two on-set car crashes unfortunately marked production in May), it’s an adventure about a wizard (Cage) searching for an apprentice (Baruchel) in modern-day Manhattan.

Shooting: Until July 10

Locations including: Times Square, Brooklyn College, Chelsea, Flatbush

Step Up 3-D

Directed by Jon Chu

Starring Adam Sevani, Alyson Stoner

Plot: The third dance movie in the “Step Up” franchise, this one is in 3-D.

Shooting: Until July 22

Locations including: Washington Square Park, Great Jones Alley, Greenpoint Terminal Market, Relish Diner in Williamsburg, Le Souk restaurant on Avenue B, Deno’s Wonder Wheel in Coney Island, El Dorado Arcade in Coney Island, Empire Fulton Ferry State Park, Baruch College

A Couple of Dicks

Directed by Kevin Smith

Starring Bruce Willis, Seann William Scott, Adam Brody, Tracy Morgan

Plot: Smith (“Clerks,” “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” Zack and Miri Make a Porno,”) is back with another comedy, this time focusing on a kooky cop adventure in NYC.

Shooting: Until August 2

Locations: Ridgewood (Monta’s restaurant; Troutman Street, btwn Woodward Ave. and Onderdonk Ave.); Greenpont Terminal Market, East Williamsburg

(Dates and information subject to change)

Tags: entertainment

Building planned next to Brooklyn Bridge takes step forward

Thursday June 4, 2009 5:42 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

A controversial development project next to the Brooklyn Bridge got the OK from a City Council committee Thursday and appears headed for approval.

The 17-story residential building, which would also house a middle school, is planned for Dock Street in Dumbo. The council must change the zoning to residential before the 300-unit building can go up.

Opponents of the project say it will block views of the iconic bridge. Supporters argue that it comes with a much-needed school and affordable housing and will not adversely affect views.“I’m very disappointed,” said Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), one of the project’s most vocal critics.

Yassky said he will continue to lobby colleagues ahead of Wednesday’s vote by the full council. Speaker Christine Quinn, however, supports the project and rarely schedules a vote unless passage is assured.

“We are both proud and grateful that the project has earned such widespread support on the merits,” Jed Walentas, principal of Two Trees Management, said in a statement.

Tags: dumbo, brooklyn bridge, development

High Line park to open on Tuesday

Thursday June 4, 2009 2:06 PM By Jason Fink

A rendering of High Line park. James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Courtesy of the city of New York..

By Jason Fink

The long-awaited High Line park will open Tuesday, giving New Yorkers a chance to see one of the city's most unusual open spaces.

The mile-and-a-half long defunct elevated rail line, first conceived as a park 10 years ago, will provide a place for strolling and taking in views of the city, though because of space limitations, the city may cap visitors to 1,700 at a time.

The first section runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street between 10th and 11th avenues, with a second part, to 30th Street, expected to come on line next year.The park will have "limited access" because of ongoing construction, according to the mayor's office.

It will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with access points every two blocks. Biking, Rollerblading and dogs will not be allowed.

Tags: high line, parks

Road trip: What to eat in New York before it's too late

Thursday June 4, 2009 10:41 AM By Lucy Blatter

Jane and Michael Stern have scoured the country looking for the best road food. They took us on a tour of some of New York's must-try foods. Credit: Ryan Thatcher

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

Jane and Michael Stern are culinary legends. Best known for their “Roadfood” books and Gourmet magazine column, they’ve scoured the country looking for the best of the best.

Their newest book (they’ve written 43 books in total) is called “500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late,” and is out today.

We decided to hit the New York City streets with the Sterns and try some of the foods they thought shouldn’t be missed here in the Big Apple.

“New York is the hardest to write about,” Jane Stern said. “It’s a bouillon cube of road food. You could spend a lifetime on one block.”Pizza at Patsy’s

2287-91 First Ave., btwn 117th and 118th sts., 212-534-9783

The thin-crust, no-frills pizza at Patsy’s original location (in East Harlem) is a must-try (thanks to its “perfect sauce and cheese,” according to Michael Stern). You can sit, or grab a slice or a pie to go. “These are real New York City slices,” Michael Stern said. “They’re small enough that when you fold them they fit into one hand. They’re meant to be eaten standing up.” Michael Stern added, “In the Northeast we are so blessed with pizza that exceeds anywhere else in the world — New York, Boston and New Haven are tops,” he said.

Gribenes at the Second Avenue Deli

162 E.33rd St., 212-689-9000

The kosher version of pork rinds, Gribenes is an old-fashioned Jewish delicacy that comprises of fried chicken skin (Michael Stern said his mother used to make them). As if they themselves aren’t heart-clogging enough, ours were served with schmaltz (chicken fat) and fried onions. Though decadent, Gribenes are tasty, and, luckily, you can’t eat too many. While we were trying those, we also sampled the corned beef, brisket and pastrami sandwiches, which everyone enjoyed (though Katz’s is listed in the book as having the best pastrami). The Sterns’ only gripe: that no New York delis — including Second Avenue — serve good rye bread (for rye, they recommended Orwasher’s bakery at 308 E. 78th St.).

New England Clam Chowder at Pearl Oyster Bar

18 Cornelia St., btwn Bleecker and W. Fourth sts., 212-691-8211

This Cape Cod-style seafood favorite (there was a line forming outside the door before its 6 p.m. opening time) is known for its creamy clam chowder. “It’s perfect — and I don’t use that word a lot,” said Michael, as he slurped the soup at the bar. “It’s rich but not gummy,” he said.

Bialys at Kossar’s Bialys

367 Grand St., 877-4-Bialys

One of the final remnants of the old Lower East Side, this bagel and bialy spot was our last stop. While there’s no ambiance whatsoever, and the woman at the counter was brusque (at best), the simple, chewy, bialy was peppered with the perfect amount of onions, and was a real simple treat. “It has that old school feel,” said Jane. “It’s good and chewy,” Michael said.

Tags: jane and michael stern, roadfood, second avenue deli, patsy's, pearl oyster bar, kossar's, restaurants

Dining Down: City residents adjust their dining habits

Thursday June 4, 2009 10:34 AM By Lucy Blatter

The Lower East Side's new AlphaBet Cafe is attracting customers looking for comfort food at reasonable prices. Credit: Rj Mickelson/amNY).

By Lucy Cohen Blatter

The era of expense account-driven dining is over. And while New Yorkers haven’t given up their obsession with eating out, they’re embracing homier, more reasonably priced spots.

In fact, restaurants are still opening at a healthy clip — 39 in April, 28 in May —they’re just catering more to downscale tastes.

The openings, as surveyed by food blog Eater, were peppered with smaller spots, including sandwich shops, ice cream shops and pizzerias.

Not surprisingly, high-profile restaurants, such as Ago, Atria and Lever House, were among the restaurants that have closed in the last couple of months.Among the new crop is AlphaBet Café, a diner on East 14th Street and Avenue B. Customer Eric Fischer, 25, of Stuyvesant Town, said he still goes out to eat at least four times a week, but he’s been hitting pizzerias and other casual places. He and Tiffany Fong, 25, said they’ve noticed more mom-and-pop type eateries opening.

So as New Yorkers modify their dining out habits, high-end restaurants that were conceived in the pre-recession city find themselves struggling.

Payal Sharma, owner of the nearly 16,000-square-foot Pranna in Kips Bay, said the sheer size of her space has triggered a few issues. After nearly four years of delays, the Indian restaurant finally opened on October 29. “Just getting people in the door is the hardest thing,” she said.

Atria, a Modern European restaurant, which opened in January in midtown closed in April, a victim of slashed bank accounts.

While his Atria closed, general manager Adam Landsman said there are opportunities for certain eateries. “Steakhouses, places that serve comfort foods and well-known brands should be okay,” he said.

In many cases, restaurateurs have benefited from lower rents, cheaper contracting fees and less expensive ingredients.

Chris Cannon, co-owner of the new seafood spot Marea, which opened last month, said restaurants are seeing rents up to 40 percent lower than a few months ago. “High-end seafood is down about 30 percent,” he noted.

Marea, on Central Park South, offers well-priced seafood dishes in a laid-back atmosphere, a plan that was in place before the economic downtown.

“You could be a restaurant like Per Se and charge ridiculous amounts, and you’d have an empty restaurant,” he said, adding, “New Yorkers are always hungry for something new.”

With so many restaurants opening in TriBeCa, JR Morales opened Sazon, an upscale Puerto Rican restaurant on Reade Street last month. Morales was able to negotiate a rent that was $1,000 less than the previous tenant, Fresh Restaurant.

Mali Simsek, owner of Entwine, which recently opened in the West Village, said his restaurant’s debut was slowed because of the recession. But now it’s full steam ahead. “The best way to get people through a recession is with bars and restaurants,” he said.

Still delayed... Brushstroke

After much delay, the opening of David Bouley’s multi-floor Japanese restaurant Brushstroke … is being delayed again.

According to the New York Times, Bouley will open the new restaurant at the site of the just-closed Secession (at 30 Hudson St.) sometime later this year.

Originally, Bouley planned to open Brushstroke in a landmark building at the corner of West Broadway and Reade St.

But construction and opening were delayed due to problems with the local community board, a stop-work order and several complaints filed to the buildings department. Last year, the The FDNY marked the troubled building with a big red X, indicating that it was unsafe to enter. Neighborhood residents say it’s because workers cut through load-bearing beams and it could cave in.

Also delayed...

Pies-n-Thighs, Brooklyn

Fatty ‘Cue, Brooklyn

La Otra, East Village

Permanent Brunch, East Village

Nuela, Flatiron

Credit: Eater.com

Tags: restaurants, per se, marea, alphabetcafe, eater, pranna

Q&A with Cynthia Nixon on same-sex marriage in New York

Wednesday June 3, 2009 6:25 PM By Marlene Naanes

Actress Cynthia Nixon has become the face of the fight to pass same-sex marriage legislation in the state Senate. The “Sex and the City” star spoke with amNewYork about her efforts:

Has any one factor seemingly swayed legislators you’ve lobbied?

I think a big theme was the gay people in these straight senators’ lives, whether it’s their friends or their co-workers. … When they think about … continuing to deny them this basic civil right, it just doesn’t add up for them.

Do you see momentum for New York to approve same-sex marriage?

New York is seen as progressive or cutting edge in a million different ways. And we certainly have a very large, out gay population here, and the fact that Iowa has been comfortable enough to implement this civil rights innovation and we have not I think is a little bit of a stain on New York’s character. I think we’re trying to catch up.Why do you think it's taking a little longer here?

I think it was five years ago that Massachusetts first passed it. If you look at how fast this is moving, it’s really very heartening. Five years ago...I think if you asked most Americans, "Hey the idea of a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman, have you ever heard of that? Does that make sense to you?" People would have looked at you like you’re crazy. Those of us who are waiting to have full civil rights equality, we are impatient. But if I step back a bit and I take a little bit more of a broader view, I say when you compare everybody else's civil rights struggle, this is moving pretty fast.

Tags: cynthia nixon, same-sex marriage, politics

Mudslinging enters same-sex marriage debate

Wednesday June 3, 2009 6:19 PM By Marlene Naanes

By Marlene Naanes

Harsh words began to fly yesterday in the race to pass same-sex marriage legislation through the state Senate before the looming end of the session.

Gay-marriage opponent Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) told proponent Sen. Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) to put up or shut up yesterday. Diaz said in a statement that Duane, who recently said there are enough Senate votes plus a cushion to pass the measure, should release those senators’ names.

“If not, he should shut up,” Diaz’ statement read. “If any member of the State Senate is so ashamed to have their names released or to release their own names for this or for any pending legislation, then they clearly feel ashamed of their position.”

Duane’s office responded only “LOL,” text speak for laughing out loud, to the latest developments in the push for same-sex marriage, which began last month when the governor introduced legislation. It swiftly passed the Assembly, but is proving to be a tougher battle in the senate with the session due to end on June 22.

Advocates’ outreach efforts are at a fevered pitch to ensure the measure passes before then, seemingly letting yesterday’s mudslinging slide off their backs.“All [Diaz] can do is sling insults at people,” said Cathy Marino-Thomas, Marriage Equality New York board president. “My feeling is he’s afraid it will pass…He must be very worried.”

Proponents and opponents have both been hopeful for their respective causes without sounding over-confident.

A spate in states adopting same-sex marriage laws fueled hope for advocates in New York, particularly with New Hampshire adding itself to that list late yesterday.

Yet, opponents say they are gaining their own ground in New York.

“It’s very close, but we don’t think they have [the] votes right now and we will continue to see,” said Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage.

Tags: same-sex marriage, state senate, marriage equality new york, national organization for marriage, politics

McCartney to play first concert at Citi Field

Wednesday June 3, 2009 5:54 PM By Jason Fink

Paul McCartney performs at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California in April. AP file photo

By Jason Fink

Paul McCartney’s about to get back to where it all began.

The rocker helped usher in the era of stadium concerts when he and the rest of the Beatles performed at Shea Stadium 44 years ago. Next month, McCartney, now 66, will return to Flushing for the inaugural concert at the Mets’ new home, Citi Field.

“To be the first to play this ballpark is incredible,” McCartney said in a statement Wednesday. “I am really looking forward to a buzzing show.”The July 18 and 19 appearances will serve as a bookend to his cameo on stage with Billy Joel last summer for the final concert at Shea.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. June 15 either online at www.507TIXX.com or by calling (718)-507-8499.

Ticket prices have been set, according to the Mets.

The Fab Four’s Aug. 15, 1965 show was the first rock concert at a major stadium, drawing 55,000 fans and setting a precedent for the large-scale, outdoor summer concerts that have become a staple of pop music.

“There’s no more appropriate artist in the history of rock and roll to play the first concert at Citi Field,” said Jeff Wilpon, the Mets’ chief operating officer.

Tags: paul mccartney, mets, citi field, music, sports, arts

MTA tries express service on the Bronx No. 4

Wednesday June 3, 2009 4:39 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

For three weeks starting Monday, thousands of Bronx straphangers will enjoy a quicker ride to Manhattan — and the change may be for good.

No. 4 trains will be running express from 7 to 8 a.m. from the Bronx to Manhattan through June 26 under a plan being tested by NYC Transit. If all goes well, officials make may it permanent.

Under the plan, the No. 4 will run express weekday mornings between Woodlawn and 149 St-Grand Concourse. The express trains will stop at Mosholu Parkway and Burnside Avenue, but skip eight stations on the way to Manhattan, NYC Transit said.

The service is expected to shave off three minutes from the 20-minute trip.

Conductors will announce whether a train is running express, officials said.Currently the No. 4 only runs express in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The plan came as news to MTA board members, who were not previously informed about the shift.

“I think it could be a good thing as long as the normal service isn't being impacted. That's the key here,” said Andrew Albert, a nonvoting MTA board member.

The MTA recently installed new signals on the No. 4 that allow trains to travel on the line's long-dormant middle track. The No. 7 runs express on its middle track, but it hasn't been used in the Bronx in decades.

More than 37,000 Bronxites travel from the express stop stations on an average weekday. The service won't stop at the line's most popular stop in the Bronx: 161 St-Yankee Stadium.

Tags: transit

Viral video: Runaway interview

Wednesday June 3, 2009 3:29 PM By Sean Joseph

An interview gets away from this Fox News reporter when she gets her microphone snatched away right in the middle of a question.

Tags: viral video, television, media

Surprise: Fame and fortunes don't make you happy

Tuesday June 2, 2009 7:26 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friends, nor does money really make the world go around.

So says a study coming out later this month in the “Journal of Research in Personality,” which found that the pursuit of money, beauty and fame actually make people less happy.

“It’s like a deadly trap,” said Diana Kirschner, a Manhattan psychologist and author who was not involved with the study but agreed with its results. “Some of the richest people I’ve seen have been the most unhappy with their lives.”

Researchers followed 150 graduates from the University of Rochester and Knox College in Illinois for two years and assessed their satisfaction with life, self-esteem and relationships. Participants also rated their levels of anxiety, stress and physical ailments like headaches.Graduates hungry for wealth, glamour or fame — and achieved those goals — were the most anxious and unhappy, researchers found. On the flip side, those who developed strong relationships and a sense of community felt less stressed and more self-assure.

“Rich people may have everything they want, but then it’s like, ‘Now what,’” said Ismael Mendozo, a 21-year-old waiter from Kew Gardens, who agreed with the researchers’ analysis. “Better to be happy with yourself first.”

Similarly, Darryl Hassell, 46, a maintenance worker at Citi Field, said it is his personal relationships that he finds fulfilling.

“I’m happy to take care of my family and work,” said Hassell, of Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The findings counter a long-standing psychological theory that people are happy once they achieve riches and stardom, particularly since they often suffer to get there, said Edward Deci, a Rochester psychology professor who co-authored the study.

“It’s very easy to fall … onto this treadmill of looking for more and more,” Deci said. “It’s really important to stop from time to time and look honestly at what are the things that are really meaningful.”

In a fast-paced, success-driven city like Gotham, however, fame and wealth make many New Yorkers tick.

“I don’t think being rich is a recipe for happiness, but it’s in the right direction,” said Kim Page, 46, a Manhattan marketing executive. “I know poor unattractive people who are unhappy as well.”

Still, New York psychologists say that the economic meltdown has forced some of their clients to shed the rat race for more meaningful pursuits.

“That’s the silver lining,” Kirschner said.”

Anastasia Economides contributed to this story.

Tags: psychology, new york city, politics

Viral video: Hockey just got more exciting

Tuesday June 2, 2009 7:13 PM By Sean Joseph

NHL Tries To Woo Fans By Increasing Scoring With Bigger Nets, 3-Point Line

Let’s face it. Hockey is boring. Even the Stanley Cup Finals are a snooze-fest. So The Onion has proposed some new rules to the NHL, including bigger nets, no sticks and a 3-point line. It’s hockey, but without the ice, body checks or skating.

Tags: viral video, television, sports, nhl, the onion, technology

Neapolitan Food: Local Ingredients go Italian

Tuesday June 2, 2009 6:03 PM By Lucy Blatter

Pizza might be the world's most beloved Neapolitan dish. Shown here, Motorino's pie.

By Ya-Roo Yang

Special to amNewYork

Neopolitans are proud of their region’s heritage — and even more proud of its food culture.

According to Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of "Cucina Del Sole," the southern Italian region’s culinary tradition was influenced by the Greeks — who made olives and fava beans all the rage, and Arab traders — who used rice and sugar in their cooking.

Later, when the Spanish rolled in, they brought food from the New World: tomatoes, chilies, squash, beans, and eggplant.These crops flourished under the Mediterranean sun and the mineral-rich volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius, becoming staples.

Add to that mix, fish and shellfish from the Mediterranean Sea and livestock raised in the mountain pastures, and you get all the components of a great cuisine.

“It’s an Old World cuisine made with New World ingredients,” said Arthur Schwartz, author of "Naples at Table." That may have helped it gain popularity in the U.S. (classic dishes include pasta with tomato sauce, eggplant parmigiana and pizza).

“It’s the kind of food you can eat three times a week and never get sick of,” said Michael White, chef at Convivio, Alto and Marea.

The Neapolitan diet is heavy on olive oil and vegetable base (in contrast to the cream and meat base of its northern counterparts), make it popular with the health conscious. But food scientists have a different explanation for its appeal. The main ingredients of Neapolitan food — tomatoes, parmesan cheese, anchovies and olives — are glutamate-rich and create the savory satisfying sensation known as Umami, which we naturally crave.

Since it’s an ingredient-driven food, it’s also easy to cook. The techniques are simple, and focus on showcasing, rather than disguising the flavors.

“The ability to prepare wonderful dishes with the simplest local ingredients really appeals to me,” said Roberto Patiarca, a native of Naples and chef of the East Village’s Spina Restaurant, opening soon.

Luckily, procuring the ingredients involves only a quick trip to the nearest organic or greenmarket. So, Neapolitan food is the ideal go-to dinner menu for the busy home cook.

It may be Italy’s greatest gift to the culinary world.

Q and A with Mathieu Palombino, chef and owner of Motorino in Brooklyn

It would be a crime to talk about Neapolitan food without paying homage to the best loved Neapolitan culinary creation of all time: Pizza. Originating as a lump of dough used to test oven temperature, pizza has evolved into a popular treat eaten all over the world, from street stands to fine dining restaurants. However, it is in the multicultural setting of New York City that a young Belgian chef is lauded as the creator of the most delicious Neapolitan pizza in the city.

Your background is in fine dining, what made you want to do pizza?

Pizza is one of my favorite dishes. It’s a magnificent dish and I don’t feel downgraded in any way by focusing on pizza. I cook pizza very similarly as I would do tasting menus or more high end cuisine, which is to the best of my ability, using the best ingredients and the best techniques.

What makes a great pizza?

People judge pizza on the dough. The ingredients are the ingredients, you buy the bufala mozzarella, you buy the canned tomatoes, basil is the basil. Where the real technique comes into play is the dough. I want to cook my pizza the right way, so I went back in my research to the birthplace of pizza — Naples. I experimented with lots of different dough until I came to the one I like.

How long did that take you?

It took, seriously, five months-seven days a week, 24 hours a day. When I wasn’t working, I was thinking about it. I was thinking in my sleep, in the subway, when I was eating, taking a shower, all day. It’s a three-day process, so you are always two days behind with your dough.

Some people say it is impossible get really great pizza outside of Italy. What do you think?

The tomatoes here are the same as the ones they have there. I guarantee you that the guy in Napoli prefers to sell his tomatoes to the Americans, over the Neapolitan guy, because he gets 40% more money out of the same can. The mozzarella is not as good here because the quality of mozzarella goes down by the hour. On the other hand, setting the mozzarella in light brine like they do, the result is 99.5% there. You and I won’t be able tell the difference. The flour is the flour and it comes from Napoli anyway. What makes the pizza is the pizzaiolo (pizza maker).

Why do you think people all over the world love pizza so much?

What’s not cool about pizza? It’s the perfect date food. It’s good. It’s generous. It’s real: throw some dough next to the fire; add some tomatoes; some cheese and herbs and a glass of wine…That’s all you need.

Five Places to Experience Neapolitan Pizza

These concoctions have a light bready outer edge that is slightly charred and a thin center meant to be eaten with a knife and fork. Here are five places in New York to get it.

Motorino

319 Graham Ave. , Brooklyn

(718) 599-8899

Keste Pizza & Vino

271 Bleecker St., NYC

(212) 243-1500

Una Pizza Napoletana

349 E. 12th St. NYC

(212) 477-9950

La Pizza Fresca Restorante

31 East 20th St. NYC

(212) 598-0141

Tonda

235 E. 4th St. NYC

(212) 254-2900

Five Places to Experience Neapolitan Cuisine

Convivio

A southern Italian restaurant with a number of Neapolitan dishes on the menu

45 Tudor City Pl. NYC

(212) 599-5045

Esca

Great place for Frito Misto among other updated Neapolitan seafood dishes.

402 W. 43rd St. NYC

(212) 564-7272

I Trulli

Another Southern Italian restaurant but the Octopus and the Cheesecake desserts are decidedly Neapolitan

122 E. 27 St. NYC

(212) 481-7372

Roberto Restaurant

American style Neapolitan food on Arthur Ave. Recommended by Arthur Schwartz, New York’s own culinary authority on Neapolitan cuisine.

603 Crescent Ave. Bronx

(718) 733-9503

Spina

Soon to be opened restaurant by a transplanted Neapolitan chef.

175 Ave. B

No phone yet.

Tags: neapolitan food

amNewYork letters to the editor

Tuesday June 2, 2009 5:25 PM By Sara Baumberger

Inspired by story of women’s struggle

Re “Brutality against women a world crisis,” June 1: I was in tears on the subway while reading your article. I cannot believe how little has changed in my lifetime for women all over the world. It is maddening to me that these atrocities are still happening here and abroad. Then to turn the page and see that Dr. George Tiller has been murdered in Kansas (in church!) just made me so sad. After reading your article, I feel the urgency to do something.

— Deborah Swamback, Brooklyn

Thanks for adding to the conversation

Thank you for standing up and speaking out through a very meaningful article. Just two weeks ago I attended at John Jay College “A Call to Men” — a national conference of men and women committed to ending violence against women. What you did on Monday was huge! You have added your voice to conversations that needed to be happening through this city and beyond. My hat is off to you.

— The Rev. Frank Morris, Jersey City

Thompson must ask the tough questions

If the Democrats want to beat “Emperor” Bloomberg, then Bill Thompson should demand that the mayor — who is allegedly our public servant — answer the tough questions. He should ask each day until our dishonest mayor answers the question, and explains how the “rationale” for overturning term limits was “because the council voted them.”

— Shauna Erlbaum, Brooklyn

Tags: letters to the editor

TJ and Jess break Guinness radio record with 112 interviews

Tuesday June 2, 2009 3:10 PM By Emily Ngo

TJ Walker, a communications expert who oft analyzes politics for amNewYork, and co-author Jess Todtfeld reportedly broke a Guinness world record by talking for nine solid hours (TJ knows talk) and completing 112 interviews in 24 hours in promotion of their new book, "TJ Walker's Secret to Foolproof Presentations."

Congratulations to them!

Tags: tj walker, guinness world records, politics, commentary, advertising, media, radio

What's in season: Black sea bass

Tuesday June 2, 2009 2:59 PM By Lucy Blatter

Black sea bass is in season this month only.

By Ben Muessig

Special to amNewYork

Warmer weather brings warmer waters, changing the varieties of fresh fish that are available at the city's supermarkets and seafood mongers. This week, stock up on black sea bass — a spring favorite that will only be around this month.

Black sea bass is a lean, tasty fish that favors reefs and rocky outcrops from Florida to Rhode Island —but it's most abundant off of the shores of New York.

"It's one of the finest fish on the East Coast," said Phil Karlin of P.E. & D.D. Seafood, in Riverhead, which quickly sold out of black sea bass at Saturday's Union Square Greenmarket.Black sea bass boasts a tender, flakey white meat that's delicious grilled or baked. Try adding this seasonal fish to your favorite chowder recipe, or pan frying filets with spring veggies and herbs for a light, healthy meal.

Black sea bass will be available through June at specialty groceries and fish markets around the city for about $17 per pound.

Tags: black sea bass, seasonal food, farmers markets

Free donuts on Friday!

Tuesday June 2, 2009 11:58 AM By Lucy Blatter

Bathing-suit season be damned! This Friday, June 5th, Dunkin' Donuts is celebrating National Donut Day, by giving each customer a free donut of their choice with the purchase of any beverage. Pretty tempting....

Tags: dunkin donuts

City nixes proposed plastic bag tax

Monday June 1, 2009 7:35 PM By Jason Fink

By Jason Fink

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed 5-cent plastic bag tax has been thrown on the trash heap.

With scant support in the city council, the mayor Monday agreed to scrap the bag fee and keep the sales tax exemption on clothing under $110 as part of an agreement on the city’s Fiscal 2010 budget.

Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who fought the two proposals, did agree to raise the sales tax by 0.5 percent.“With tax revenues down $5 billion, the economic crisis provided us with only a menu of onerous options to balance the City’s budget,” Bloomberg said.

The sales tax increase would be set by Albany, but state legislators would have a tough time pushing the proposal through without the support of the city council.

The council is set to vote on the budget later this month.

Tags: budget, sales tex, city hall dispatch

State will get private firms to repair city bridges

Monday June 1, 2009 7:26 PM By Heather Haddon

By Heather Haddon

Gov. David Paterson wants to entice private companies to partner with the state to rebuild the Kosciuszko Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens and to repair the Gowanus Expressway.

Under the plan unveiled yesterday, Paterson said the state can consolidate the many public works projects across the state under one or a few companies.

The private firms would earn money through ongoing state payments, while the public would pass along the burden of building and maintaining the projects.

“They are not always a panacea,” said Carol Kellermann of the Citizen Budget Commission. “But the contractors have more of a stake to make sure the projects are built to last.”

So far, the state has identified 27 projects it hopes to farm out to private firms.

Besides the Kosciuszko Bridge and the Gowanus Expressway, there are plans to build wind farms off the shores of Long Island and provide affordable Internet service across the state through the partnerships.It was not immediately clear whether the proposal would result in a loss of public sector jobs.

A new state board made of nine unpaid appointments will establish the partnerships.

The individual projects would still go through a bidding process and could be subject to additional oversight by state lawmakers, officials explained.

(With AP)

Tags: new york city, bridges, transit