Table of Contents for the February 24, 2003 issue of New York Magazine

February 24, 2003 Issue

Cover Story

Shakytown East

The war, the economy, the threat of terrorism—in New York City, we're now experiencing the perfect storm of anxiety. It's a moment when all possible futures seem troubling, when our leaders seem confused or inadequate to the tasks in front of them. The problem is that fear itself is one of the things we have to fear—anxiety is holding us back. When was the last time New Yorkers felt this way? The seventies.

Features

Fear Factor NYC

Sarah Bernard reports on how New Yorkers are coping with the latest threats to the city.

Dance Fever

Four decades ago, the Quadrille Ball—awash in white gloves, hoop skirts, and eighteenth-century etiquette—was a place where the offspring of the well-to-do and well-connected met their mates. The new economy has made strange bedfellows: Now young professionals of every background from Park Avenue to Paramus don tiaras and tails (not to mention submit to a ten-week finishing school) to get a taste of the golden age of high society, if only for a night.

Who the Hell Is Howard Dean?

He's a product of Park Avenue, the Yale-educated scion of three generations of investment bankers, and a medical doctor. He's pro–balanced budget, pro–health-care reform, pro–abortion rights, and (very) anti–war on Iraq. He's married to a nice Jewish doctor, and he's appealingly humble. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he's the hottest comer among the Democratic presidential candidates. So what if he's the five-term governor of a state with a population a third that of Queens?