Watching NYC Prep, you'd think that the young stars had access to any party they'd want to go to, regardless of the fact that they are all underage. At the launch party for Three-O Vodka (their slogan is "Show us your O-face") hosted by Kim Kardashian at Greenhouse last night, this theory was disproved. Jessie and PC from the show turned up and tried in vain to join their friend Ally Zarin from The Real Housewives of New York inside. Publicists refused to let them in because they were underage — even though Zarin, who also is not yet 21, was partying away inside. Jessie, wearing a gray tank and black skirt, and PC, wearing a short-sleeve dress shirt and excessive hair gel, were embarrassingly left outside on the sidewalk. Luckily, we were standing by as the awkwardness ensued.

In Jacob Bernstein's WWD profile of real-estate magnate Barbara Corcoran, we couldn't help but notice the constant repetition of a trope: that Babs relentlessly flirts with people, both verbally and physically. She jokes daringly with cameramen, grabs underlings' arms and asses, and pushes the envelope with language. Our favorite part, though, was when she hit on the reporter himself:

On three separate occasions, Corcoran grabs my legs and my arms and tells me how muscular I am. “Wow! Wow!” she says, all bright-eyed and amazed, as she feels my thigh. “I go to the gym three days a week and it’s the worst part of my day. How do you get like that? I wish I could do that.”

Oh, Barbara. Jacob is indeed cute and quite muscly, but we're pretty sure he won't be swayed by the wiles of a lady cougar.

Barbara Corcoran, the Jim Cramer of the Real Estate Business [WWD]

If you read the Times story about management changes at Citigroup today, you would have come away thinking that chief financial officer Ned Kelly had been demoted. No, not this Ned Kelly; they didn't hang the guy, they just moved him to an advisory position — the dreaded "vice-chairman" — from the plum role of chief financial officer, and a "much less prominent role," according to Eric Dash. To be fair, it seemed Kelly asked for the demotion and even tried to resign (internal communications quoted by the paper have him admitting he had become a "hindrance to the company" in the wake of a dispute with Sheila Bair), but was reportedly begged by Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit to stay. But either way, it was clear Kelly had been kicked way upstairs, and wouldn't really be advising Pandit on anything except maybe how to keep his job.

The Post, however, had a different take: "KELLY'S KILLING AT CITI!" screeched their headline.

Yesterday, marriage equality's staunchest advocate in the State Senate released a disheartened letter to constituents regarding the bill. "I expect that the Senate this week will pass only time-sensitive, non-controversial legislation," he said, indicating that Paterson's measure to legalize gay marriage won't be voted upon before the body disbands (finally) for the summer. For the issue to be raised again, it will (for a third time) have to be passed by the State Assembly. From Duane:

As disappointing as it is to admit, it is clear that this week is not the right moment to address critical but controversial bills, such as those that strengthen tenant protections, safeguard reproductive health rights, grant marriage equality to all New Yorkers, protect transgender people from discrimination, streamline testing for HIV/AIDS, and give families a voice in incapacitated patients' health care.

Mikhail Malyshev, the Russian CEO of start-up Teza, the Chicago-based hedge fund that was planning to hire Sergey Aleynikov until he was arrested for stealing codes from his former employer Goldman Sachs, is now being sued by his former employer, hedge fund Citadel. Why? "Industrial espionage," they say. What did he do? Well, nothing. Yet.

Defendants' activities, particularly Teza's decision to hire Aleynikov, an accused software thief, create a substantial risk that they have stolen, or may be planning to steal, Citadel's proprietary code, the hedge fund firm said in court papers.

Sounds a little more like industrial McCarthyism to us.

The Cold War in high frequency trading turns hot [Alphaville/FT]
Earlier: Intel's Coverage of Sergey Aleynikov

As confusing as her original statement was, in the days following Sarah Palin's surprising announcement that she was stepping down as Alaska governor, it became pretty clear that she was trying to pin her decision on a string of ethics charges. She claimed the (almost entirely debunked) charges were costing the state "millions of dollars" and "countless, countless hours" of wasted work. But now that claim is getting more closely examined, and while it does seem like much time was devoted to the fifteen-odd charges, not that much more money was spent than would usually be spent on in-house lawyers. According to the Anchorage Daily News, the staffers who worked on those issues were full-time, and would have been paid no matter what they were doing. "Is it a check that we wrote? No," said Sharon Leighow, a Palin spokeswoman. "But is it staff hours, yes." All in all, Palin's office estimated that $1.9 million of their time was devoted to the charges. Another spokesman told the Plum Line that the complaints were really "just distracting them from other duties."

Lots of management shuffling at Citigroup today: Eugene McQuade, né of Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch, and FleetBoston, will join the company as chief executive of the Citibank unit, while Bill Rhodes, who was occupying that position, will give up that role but continue as Citi’s senior vice-chairman. Ned Kelly, who was appointed CFO in March, will now become the bank’s vice-chairman, while John Gerspach, the bank's controller and chief accounting officer, takes over the role of finance chief (he'll be the third person to take that job this year, by the way, and the fifth in five years). Meanwhile, the CFO before Kelly, Gary Crittenden, who has been doing something for CitiHoldings, is leaving the company "to relocate to Utah and spend more time with his family and pursue other business interests." Then they're all going to take one step to the left, cross their right foot over, and spin around to the tune of "Achy Breaky Heart." In a memo, CEO Vikram Pandit explained the changes:

“Our relentless focus on executing against our strategic priorities at Citi continues as we remain focused on rationalizing Citi Holdings, and on Citicorp as our core operating business,” Vikram Pandit, Citi’s chief executive, said in a statement Thursday. “The senior management changes I am making today will further help in positioning our company for the future.”

Not to mention, it might distract from the relentless focus on himself.

While many partygoers got denied at the door of D.J. Cassidy's birthday party at the New York Public Library, Jay-Z and Nas celebrated inside as Bobby Brown gave an impromptu performance. Beyoncé has prohibited photographers from shooting her from behind on her "Sasha Fierce" tour. The justification? "Beyoncé's costumes are so tiny and her choreography is so complicated that inevitably she sweats." Joe Simpson is trying to revive his daughter Ashlee's "career" by pitching an album where she records Michael Jackson songs. Meanwhile Jackson's London concert producer discusses the licensing of a special-edition MJ charm bracelet over dinner at Solo with his PR rep and the owner of the Franklin Mint. Under the influence of her new Jewish beau, not only is Britney Spears flashing her Star of David necklace around Paris, but she's enlisted a rabbi to instruct her in the ways of the chosen people. And speaking of Jews, Jerry Seinfeld is shooting commercials (in Long Island) for a bank in the Australian outback, Greater Building Society.

It has been only a month since the Yankees were in first place. Heading into a three-game series with a one-game lead on June 9 at Fenway Park, they were swept by the Red Sox (again), and the team was five games out of first as recently as June 24. And now they’ve made it all the way back.

After over a month of defections, re-defections, squabbling, plotting, finger-pointing, name-calling, lawsuits, locked chambers, mock sessions, and overall anarchy, the Albany impasse came to a sudden end last night when Pedro Espada returned back into the Democratic fold in exchange for being named the majority leader. He may not possess any real power, but he'll make $41,000 more than a regular senator for holding a leadership position. "I never left home. I had a little leave of absence," Espada said. "My brothers and sisters welcomed me back, and we come back stronger than ever." Well, some of his brothers and sisters. The Democrats had to vote to give new Senate president Malcolm Smith the power to appoint Espada to majority leader because some refused to vote for Espada directly. And only thirteen senators showed up at his press conference. Honestly, who can blame them?

With the sale of GM's good assets to a government-controlled car company, the car giant has emerged from bankruptcy, sources told the AP and the Times — and it did so much faster than expected. The new company, also to be called the General Motors Company, will be much smaller and be comprised of the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands. Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab have been sold or will be sold off. The U.S. government owns just over 60 percent of this new organization, with the Canadian government and a health-care trust for the UAW and bondholders owning the rest. According to the Times, the transferring of factories, money, and intellectual property took place at 6:30 a.m. this morning in Manhattan at the offices of the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. GM is now out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and with its new small size, is expected to be better able to nimbly navigate the auto market in this difficult time.

GM EMERGES FROM BANKRUPTCY [NYP]
With Sale of Its Good Assets, G.M. Tries for a Fresh Start [NYT]