Amateur Submarining in East River? NYPD, Coast Guard Say No
It is, as we’ve already made clear, a day to be by the water — or, even better, in it. But might we suggest you not attempt to go in the water by building a homemade submarine and launching you Cousteauian adventure in the East River near the Queen Mary 2, which is docked off Red Hook? “Several men are being questioned by police after being stopped apparently attempting to set sail off Brooklyn in a makeshift submarine-type vessel,” reports WABC-TV. WCBS-TV says three people were escorted from the area by police, the captain was issued a Coast Guard violation, and — here’s the best part — “the vessel bears a striking resemblance to the ‘Bushnell Turtle,’ the first American submarine, invented around 1775 in Connecticut by David Bushnell.” So remember, kids: No revolutionary-era subs near the big cruise ships. Okay?
Makeshift Submarine Found in East River [WABC]
Odd Replica Sub Intercepted Near Queen Mary II [WCBS]
Adventures With an Egg [Flickr via Gothamist]
party lines
Talking About the BoxIn our continuing coverage of Simon Hammerstein’s new Lower East Side rich-people-pretending-to-be-bohemian playground, the Box, we’ve remembered a conversation we had with Hammerstein last week at that Queen Mary 2 party, in which he once again describes a venue that seems almost nothing like its reality:
New York: Everyone’s talking about the Box. How are you handling the hype?
Hammerstein: One day at a time. It’s too early to smell the roses. We’re trying to transform the space every season. The feedback has been remarkable, but that doesn’t mean my job is over. It’s a full-time job.
New York: How do you cultivate a fun, engaging place to be without alienating everybody?
Hammerstein: It’s a job unto itself. For me the quintessential night in New York is a diverse, mixed room: freaks to conservatives. As long as we appreciate all walks of life and we’re open to that. People are people.
New York: Ever been disallowed entrance into a club yourself?
Hammerstein: Oh, God, everyone has. I remember being drunk at Marquee and my own friend wouldn’t let me in because he said I was too drunk. I threw my driver’s license at him and reminded him who I was. Embarrassing.
In so many ways.
Earlier:
Boxed Out
‘Radar’ Throws a Party, and We Discover We Are Not Cool Enough to Buy Drinks
Related: Britannica Ball [Interactive Party Lines]
party lines
At ‘Queen Mary’ Party, the Ship Is the Star
Must-see TV might be gone for the summer, but last night’s Britannia Ball aboard the Queen Mary 2 was 20,000 leagues headier and more surreal than any Scrubs rerun. A New York City Opera–BAM benefit on the world’s biggest, most magnificent cruise ship, the gala was attended by stars — okay, admittedly sort of B-list stars — like Chevy Chase, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Hennessy, Carson Kressley, Lost’s Michael Emerson, and Patti LuPone, who performed torch songs in between cocktails and dinner in the ship’s Off Broadway–size theater. But the biggest star was the ship: almost incomprehensibly tall, long, and fancy, with dozens of restaurants and bar, six pools, a Canyon Ranch Spa, a planetarium (a planetarium!), and a mini-mall of luxe stores like Hermès, Chopard, and H. Stern. “I think I could shop my way through QM2,” Carson Kressley said over a cocktail.
