We recently took the torches to Equinox, the upscale fitness club that costs about 20 percent of your apartment rent, for kicking members out of their New York facilities so staffers could attend a company picnic last month. And while it turned out that the closure didn’t affect us, which made us pretty much stop caring about the matter, the bad taste in our mouth returned when this notice appeared in our inbox:
Why get upset about gym celebrating America’s independence? Because four days prior, they sent this: CONTINUED »
If legislation passes requiring New York’s chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menu, will the city’s residents actually change their eating habits?
According to Men’s Fitness, NYC is the 19th fattest city in America. So makes for the PERFECT NEWSPEG to have Slate send out Christopher Flavelle for some man-on-the-street interviews to see whether anyone thinks having this information available while ordering will change what we feast on.
The only problem with Slate’s methodology? It’s unclear whether they asked actual New Yorkers. They went to Times Square, after all, and the people eating at chain restaurants there are, uh, often tourists. Like the guy, pictured here, wearing the ridiculous vest. (If he’s a New Yorker, we’re moving.) CONTINUED »
Because there’s no such thing as too much pride - except for hubris - here are some shots from yesterday’s march here in New York City. We’re absolutely in love with the snap of Mayor Michael Bloomberg waving his rainbow flag. So cute!
Amy Sacco, the nightlife queen unsuccessfully trying to export her brand internationally, is closing her over-hyped and mostly terrible restaurant Bette. [Eater]
Copyright is a tricky thing. On the one hand, big guys like the Associated Press has absolutely no concept of it. On the other, little guys like the Naked Cowboy have totally learned how to use it to their advantage. Having sued Mars Inc. over a M&M’s billboard in Times Square that showed a blue M&M dressed in his trademark boots and briefs, a federal judge just ruled that the case can move forward, leaving the city’s most famous underwear strummer, real name Robert Burck, thinking, “I’ve got $4 million coming my way.” And he could very well be right. But throughout this whole ordeal we can’t help but thinking Burck, who has auditioned for everything from American Idol to Star Search, has based his entire business model on this very opportunity: Get so quirky famous that a brand would pay him for an endorsement deal (actually, he’s appeared in Chevrolet and Guinness ads), or they’d try to rip him off so bad he could sue. Brava.
“Why do real estate agents put their photo everywhere?” It’s a good question, and one we sometimes ask ourselves when an unsolicited “EXCITING NEW OFFER!!” or “EXCLUSIVE CONDO LISTING!!” finds its way into our 8-square-inch mailbox. There are certain classes of people, we understand, that need to have their picture out there: News anchors, for one, and Ben Silverman. But real estate agents? CONTINUED »
There’s been a singular notion around New York City’s government agencies recently, for the type of people who think about this sort of thing: How come NYC so encourages residents to drink tap water – which is among the cleanest in the country – while stocking its own offices with water coolers and bottles? For one, because they like to spend taxpayer dollars. And also, because they can. UNTIL NOW!
New York’s City Council, which went through 6,000 bottles last year, will no longer stock bottled water; they’re even replacing water coolers with jugs that use filtered tap water, rather than whatever those hunky guys in the delivery trucks carrying plastic containers on their shoulders have been serving us. The decision comes on the heels of trend stories like this one that claim there’s a bigger push across America to start refilling bottles with tap water rather than grabbing a Voss every time thirst hits. CONTINUED »
In a private beta since April, the glorified bar crawl website Mapfaced is now open to the public. It’s a chance for club goers to map out their favorite paths from sobriety to one-night stand. It’s also from Joshua Malin, the editor of the food+nightlife site Goodnight Mr. Lewis. Courtesy Google Maps, users can create their own directions for a Gramercy pub crawl or a Meatpacking District douchefest. Bonus Feature: Plot your evening’s course before you head out, and you’ll have something useful to show the cops when you end up with GHB in your $16 Bikinitini.
Try staying cool by following Samuel Goldsmith’s advice, which promises to keep you chilled from Grand Central to Central Park — by navigating air conditioned pathways. (Okay, sometimes you must walk under scaffolding, but that provides shadows!) [Photo: ddc95/Flickr]
Times Square’s Virgin Records store will close, and the Union Square location isn’t far behind. [Fox]
“Hot and sticky air is expected to reach the [New York City] area by Saturday afternoon, as temperatures approach 100. This will likely kick off a few days of unseasonably warm and humid weather with temperatures 15-20 degrees above normal.” [WCBS]
In other news, the “world needs to invest $45 trillion in energy in coming decades, build some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vastly expand wind power” in order to save the planet. [AP]
If you’ve got a smidge of patience and you find yourself on Broadway downtown, you can pick up your own custom Barack Obama spray tee. Or, if you’re a shop-at-home type, these Barack boxers might be more your style. CONTINUED »
… landlords of some 200 building in Manhattan have no problem renting our rooms for short-term “affordable” housing stays that cost tourists thousands of dollars each night. [NYS]
Well isn’t this the feel good story you were looking for to take your mind off last week’s tragic crane collapse?
Tatum O’Neal – who won an Academy Award at age 10 for Paper Moon, though the Oscars would probably like you to not include its trademark while mentioning this story – was arrested yesterday after being spotted buying crack on the Lower East Side, nearby her apartment.
When police nabbed her, she insisted she was just researching an acting role. Then they found a baggie of crack, a baggie of coke, and a crack pipe on her. And so she tried this line: “I’ve been clean for a long time. Today was the first time I was relapsing, but you guys saved me! Can you let me go?” [NYDN]
They did not. She was booked on charges of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
And yes, it was just eight months ago that she told Britney Spears to seek “recovery and get her disease of addiction together.”
Two months after a crane fell on East 51st Street and killed seven people, another fatal construction accident. A crane collapsed on East 91st Street, at the Azure Condominium building, with the death toll hovering around two, including the crane’s operator. Reports say the crane fell twenty stories before exploding on the street below. [WNBC]
Have them fight each other.
Live (to tape) from Union Square: Hipster Fight Club. “A number of shirtless, scraped-up men paced the perimeter of the circle, alternately refereeing and answering questions. The rules were simple: find a partner, get in the ring. No face shots, tapping out ends the fight. No settling scores, just fighting for the fun of fighting. No experience or discernible skill required. A couple of emo-hipsters in matching floppy sideways haircuts and matching white belts got into the act, proving that one does not inherit martial arts skill by simply being Asian.” [AIANL]
New Line Cinema is blaming Radio City Music Hall for Tuesday night’s Sex and the City premiere mess, where 2,000 (or was it 1,000?) ticket-holding fans were denied entry to the event, because the venue didn’t open up the mezzanine area, which would’ve allotted 2,700 more seats. Radio City, meanwhile, blames the movie studio, for giving away more promotional tickets than there were seats for. [P6] The out-of-luck fans, meanwhile, were given vouchers to see the movie for free at the cinema. Stalking Sarah Jessica Parker not included.
“As of 2005, New York City has the lowest crime rate among the ten largest cities in the United States.[16] Since 1991, the city has seen a continuous fifteen-year trend of decreasing crime. Neighborhoods that were once considered dangerous are now much safer. Violent crime in the city has dropped by 75% in the last twelve years and the murder rate in 2005 was at its lowest level since 1963: there were 539 murders that year, for a murder rate of 6.58 per 100,000 people, compared to 2262 murders in 1990. Among the 182 U.S. cities with populations of more than 100,000, New York City ranked 136th in overall crime (with about the same crime rate as Boise, Idaho).”
That’s from the Wikipedia entry for “Crime in New York City,” which clearly paints NYC as a delightful, super-safe playground for families and young people. Violent crime is down 75 percent for the last 12 years! Oh my!
Still doesn’t mean we aren’t living in a cesspool of thefts, murders, burglaries, and rape. CONTINUED »
If you’re tied of this gossip girl, perhaps another real life NYC blog chronicling of inside baseball anecdotes and trite tidbits will pique your interest. It’s called Miss ITK (for Miss In The Know), and it’s a gossip blog that titillated, and caused heartbreak in, the inner sanctuary of Manhattan’s elite offspring: high school. An unidentified teen traversed the hallways of private schools like Dalton, writing in Gossip Girl speak, until he or she was, somehow, brought down. And now the kids who were its most avid readers are saying terrible things about it, like labeling it “immature.” Yeah? You’re immature! CONTINUED »
Editorial Director
