Table of contents for the May 10, 2004 issue of New York Magazine

May 10, 2004 Issue

Cover Story

Goodbye, Mr. Big

A few years ago, publisher Ron Galotti, the real-life model for Sex and the City’s megacad, was a bigger-than-life, power-lunching type A gone haywire. What possessed him to chuck it all and move to . . . Vermont?

Features

Supersize City

McDonald’s is an artery-hardening American passion, and the subject of a scalding new documentary. But who knew this city was Ronald McDonald’s world capital, with more Mickey D’s than anywhere else?

The Devil & Saint Ann's

To explain Saint Ann’s, headmaster Stanley Bosworth quotes Friedrich Nietzsche, claiming, “Thou must harbor chaos to give birth to a dancing star.” More often than not, the source of that chaos (and brilliance, too) has been Bosworth himself. Now, as the board is forcing him out at age 76, he looks back. And rages. And flirts. And shows he’s every bit the wild libertine he was when he founded the legendary school.

Balanchine's Dress Rehearsal

As the New York City Ballet celebrates Mr. B.’s 100th birthday, its dancers model the season’s wispy, ethereal dresses.

Departments

Letters to the Editor

Readers sound off on Ralph Gardner Jr.'s "Tot Therapy" and society's concerns over slower childhood development.

Smart City

Hot Wheels

One New Yorker’s quest to pimp his ride

Best Bets

Lubna slides and a guide for modern moms

Test Drive

Putting personal trainers to the test

Sales & Bargains

An affordable charm bracelet by Agatha

Plus: This week's sale listings

Ask New York

I just tried on strappy sandals for the first time this year, and my feet look terrible! Making them presentable calls for something beyond a standard pedicure. What can I do?

Shoptalk

Cool kids’ furnishings in the Flatiron district.

Intelligencer

Intelligencer Gossip

Tim Zagat, The Michelin Guide, Peter Bacanovic, Matthew Marks and Lucky vs. Shop, Etc.

Big Question

In the past few weeks, two Canadian girls took a dip in the reservoir, and a boy and a pre-op trans-sexual cavorted naked in a tree. What’s your ideal afternoon in Central Park?

Costume Drama

A panel of fashion experts salutes the few brave souls who attempted the Met Costume Institute gala’s eighteenth-century Dangerous Liaisons theme. And deconstructs their efforts.

The Paris Hilton Effect

Daphne Merkin on the new video that’s been making the private-school rounds—and the culture of teenage exhibitionism.

Slimming Jeans?

A new clothes line purports to break down cellulite with medically enhanced fabric.

Remembering Amy Spindler

At the April 25 memorial service for Amy Spindler, style editor of the New York Times Magazine, Interview editor Ingrid Sischy read a story she'd published by Spindler about being at a fashion show.