Adam Duritz Knows How to Fix His Own LightsOkay, so on Sunday night we went to this Delta event with the Counting Crows, and ever since then our friends and co-workers have been making fun of us because we love that band. But we are not ashamed! Sure, you may have abandoned them after “Mr. Jones” got annoyingly stuck in your head too many times, or even as recently as their “Big Yellow Taxi” remake which was offensive to almost all humans. But we love them nonetheless, and they have a new album coming out. It was supposed to come out in November, but it got delayed. Lead singer Adam Duritz, who has been a New Yorker since their last album, Hard Candy, five years ago, recorded half here and half in his native Berkeley. The album is called Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings, and they’ve begun testing out some of the tunes — including the ballad “Washington Square” — on concert audiences. And we are excited about it and don’t care what you think. At the Delta event, where the airline announced an exclusive collaboration with the band (they’ll offer an all-Crows music station on their onboard radio menu and will sponsor the band’s tour), we actually got to sit down and talk with Duritz for a while about the album, the music industry, and living in the city. After the jump, we’ve posted a portion of our Q&A for your enjoyment. Nobody’s looking, we promise. You can click through.
neighborhood watch
Target! Must You Brand Everything?Bedford-Stuyvesant: It’s nice that Target funded the beautiful redesign of this community garden … but obnoxious that they put all those big red dots up in there. [Bed-Stuy Blog]
Dumbo: Sorry we didn’t notice this the other day, but are they building a little penthouse atop the iconic clock tower of One Main Street? [Brownstoner]
Forest Hills: Did you guys know that the hood apparently has a really cool, retro Adidas sneaker named after it? These are probably sooo what the homies were wearing in the Summer of Sam. [Overstock via Forest Hills 72]
neighborhood watch
Is The Hotel Pennsylvania Outta Here?Chelsea: Few care that the 1919 McKim, Mead and White–designed Hotel Pennsylvania will likely come down to make room for a way-high office tower. [NYO]
Greenpoint: Sassy blogger Miss Heather and a local named Bert are in a nasty e-fight over the whether Miss H’s blog helps or hurts the hood. [Newyorkshitty]
Greenwich Village: It’s official … Gray’s Papaya on 8th Street has endorsed Bloomberg for president, “because he walks the walk and talks the talk.” Sure, but does he bite the dog? [Blog Chelsea]
Ron Burkle’s Village Woes Just BeginningBillionaire Ron Burkle’s gotta be regretting buying Sky Studios, the spectacular Village penthouse that was formerly a glamorous event space. A judge just ruled that brides-to-be who had previously reserved it for weddings can still use the multi-tiered apartment (which has a rooftop pool) for their nuptials — even though Burkle now owns the space and is presumably itching to move in (or make it nice and sell it). The Post reported that he plans to make it a residential palace. But we’re thinking that Burkle will have other reasons to regret the purchase. Last time Daily Intel was there, managers told us that the reason it was turned into an event space instead of a private home was that leakage, heating, and structural problems (not to mention unfabulous service-elevator access) made it virtually unlivable. Though, frankly, for our own rooftop pool in the summer, we’d live in a yurt for the rest of the year.
Wedded Diss to Bliss [NYP]
in other news
New Plans for Washington Square Park Revealed! Again!
Last night, for the umpteenth time, the Parks Department unveiled its latest plans for a new, improved Washington Square Park. Being a bit obsessive-compulsive, we’re stoked that the blueprints propose to move the fountain so it aligns with the arch; it’s been bugging us for years! Still, just like the earlier iterations of the same plan, this one is likely to die at the hands of the community representatives. “People feel very strong about this park,” the Sun quotes a Parks spokesperson deadpanning. An understatement, that. In 2005, local activists killed the proposal to put in gates because it would “take away from the tradition of openness”; a plan to level several seemingly functionless mounds was met with even more indignation. As of now, there’s a total of five lawsuits dragging down the project, the latest two of which protest the environmental impact of the renovation. Plus there’s the little matter of old burial grounds below. In other words, it’s time for the Parks Department to consider bold new steps if they want this thing ever done. Here are two that we think could instantly convert nearly all Greenwich Villagers to the renovation cause: a fenced-in hacky-sack zone and a parkwide ban on acoustic covers of “No Woman No Cry.”
Washington Square Park Plans Get Cool Reception [NYS]
neighborhood watch
Park Slope Bullies Foreigner Into Changing Business NameBay Ridge: Allowing a Home Depot here will just open a Pandora’s box for other big stores, say opponents. [Brooklyn Eagle via McBrooklyn]
Cobble Hill: Book Court is expanding out back and hopes to bring in booze to attract the young folk. [The Brooklyn Paper]
Dumbo: Unpopular landowner Baruch Singer bought a Bridge Street building and plans to convert it into 53 apartments. [Brownstoner]
Gowanus: When the hard rain falls, move your stuff to high ground. [Gowanus Lounge]
Greenpoint: Beware the MetroCard machine at the Bedford Avenue L stop. There might be a dead rat blocking up the change chute. [Newyorkshitty]
Greenwich Village: Neighbors fear noisy, lengthy MTA construction of an “emergency ventilation plant.” [Blog Chelsea]
Park Slope: Proprietor changes the name of his store from “A.R.E.N.A. Bagels” to “A.R.E.A. Bagels” so customers won’t think he supports Atlantic Yards. [Brooklyn Paper]
in other news
Defy British Imperialism: A Belated Call for a New York Tea PartySo did you notice in yesterday’s City section that little article about the proposal to rename a stretch of Greenwich Avenue in the West Village as “Little Britain”? Yeah, we almost missed it, too — but it reminded us about this insipid idea, first announced a few months ago, about just much how we object to it, and that we ought to explain why. See, here’s the thing: It’s all a marketing gimmick. For a private business. The couple behind the plan own Tea & Sympathy and A Salt and Battery, respectively a tea shop and a fish-and-chippery, on that stretch of Greenwich. And they want the name of the street changed simply to boost their own business. (Hey, great idea: Let’s rename Madison Avenue between 49th and 50th “Magazine Avenue!”)
neighborhood watch
Stuyvesant Town Gets UppityAstoria: After promising for eighteen months, Fresh Start is opening its back patio. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: This weekend’s annual house tour was so popular that someone even stole tickets (for scalping?). [Brownstoner]
Greenwich Village: Ricky “Livin’ la Vida Loca” Martin just paid $7 mil for a three-bedroom at Ian Schrager’s new 40 Bond. [NYP]
Hell’s Kitchen: Vote now for your preferred redesign of traffic patterns on Ninth Avenue. [Streetsblog]
Park Slope: Look for eighteen new bike racks around the hood, including, of course, in front of Ozzie’s. [Gowanus Lounge]
Red Hook: Ikea denies that the extra square footage it acquired on the waterfront will become a Bed Bath & Beyond. [The Brooklyn Paper]
Stuyvesant Town: What does the complex’s new logo say about its occupants? And is that a putting green near the fountain? [Curbed]
Williamsburg: More crude bubbles up on the Roebling Oil Fields. [Gowanus Lounge]
neighborhood watch
Jay McInerney’s Bright New PenthouseBay Ridge: Residents are bracing for a two-year traffic nightmare as renovation work begins on 86th Street and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. [Brooklyn Paper]
Gowanus: During yesterday’s storm, raw sewage flowed into the canal, which then overflowed, all but literally sending crap into the streets. Quaint! [Gowanus Lounge]
Greenpoint: Living next door to Magic Johnson’s new Green Street condo building is like living next to something that pokes two-foot-by-two-foot holes in your apartment. [Newyorkshitty]
Greenwich Village: Bright lights, big price tag. Jay McInerney and his heiress wife, Anne Hearst, just picked up an East 9th Street penthouse for $3.2 mil. [Curbed]
Harlem: Sunday’s torrential rain created four waterfalls in the 116th Street C-train station, making it more disgusting than usual. [Harlem Fur]
Park Slope: The hood’s perfectionist moms suffer the painful realization that they no longer dress well. [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]
Upper East Side: Not everybody’s happy about the Star Wars–esque entrances planned for the Second Avenue subway. [2nd Avenue Sagas]
neighborhood watch
Holy Kensington, Batman!Bedford-Stuyvesant: Who’d have thunk: Cute boîtes like Le Toukouleur are popping up in old do-or-die Bed-Stuy. [Bed-Stuy Blog]
Corona: The Willets Point corridor, a.k.a. that patch of car-related shops called the Iron Triangle, won’t be redeveloped without a fight from area biz owners. [Queens Courier via Queens Crap]
Greenwich Village: So just how much did NYU pay off the residents of 250 Mercer to rip up their street in order to expand a co-generation plant? [The Villager]
Harlem: While area pet owners await Animal General’s arrival in the neighborhood, they can bring their furry friends to Petland Sunday for a quick and cheap vet check. [Harlem Fur]
Kensington: The hood isn’t merely getting popular; it’s also really holy in a multisectarian way. [The Brooklyn Paper]
Lower East Side: Yet another scrappy art gallery loses its home to make way for — surprise! — a condo conversion and is instead moving to — surprise — Bushwick. [Downtown Express]
Williamsburg: Sure, the Karl Fischer condos are taking their own sweet time to rise. But look at all those balconies! [Curbed]
neighborhood watch
What This Town Needs Is a George Plimpton StatueAstoria: RightRides, which offers free late-night rides home to female, transgendered, and gay people, has extended its services to the area. [Joey in Astoria]
Brooklyn Heights: What is that piercing alarm coming from Montague Street late at night? [Something Loud and Annoying This Way Comes]
Chelsea: One day after a story is published about David Peckham’s lawsuit against his landlord, much of his apartment goes dark. [Blog Chelsea]
East Village: Porny billboards aren’t just for the Lower East Side anymore. [Gothamist]
Greenwich Village: No wonder every unit at the new 25 Bond condo is pre-sold. Now that the wrapping’s off, we can see how gorgeous it is. [Curbed]
Upper East Side: You know what would really class up the joint? A statue of George Plimpton. [Radar]
photo op
The Morning After
Streets in the West Village remained closed this morning after a shoot-out last night that left a bartender, two auxiliary police officers, and the gunman dead. Here, the view east on Bleecker Street from Macdougal Street. The assailant, David Garvin, was shot and killed by police on this block.
neighborhood watch
Ya Gotta Believe … in Red HookCarroll Gardens: No more going to Cobble Hill for fresh vegetables. Soon, a community-supported- agriculture group will set up at Smith and 2nd Streets. [Brooklyn Record]
Greenpoint: Manhattan Avenue has a new construction fence, but it still takes up much of the sidewalk. [NewYorkShitty]
Greenwich Village: An appeals court says the city can go ahead and redesign the rat-infested Washington Square Park. [NYS via Gothamist]
Harlem: The fury against Aphrodite Cleaners continues; new enemies include a former Marine sniper. [Harlem Fur]
Red Hook: Barbara Corcoran still “strongly believes” in Red Hook, but she also believes she “may have overpaid just a bit” when she bought the still-empty 293 Van Brunt for $1.075 million about two years ago. [Curbed]
Williamsburg: Are some original investors trying to get out of their Schaefer Landing condos? [Brownstoner]
neighborhood watch
Squatting in Bushwick Not as Much Fun as on BroadwayBushwick: Christian anarchists squat with no heat, lights, or water. Rent made it seem much more fun. [The L Magazine]
Chelsea: Atop David Barton Gym in the old 23rd Street YMCA building, the penthouse is still unoccupied, its price sagging from $7.4 to $7.2 mil. [BlogChelsea]
Greenwich Village: Who’s that grinning from the toilet in the floor plan of this $645,000, on-the-market Fourth Avenue loft? Could it be … Satan? [Curbed]
Harlem: Talk about mighty Aphrodite. Yet another Aphrodite Cleaners is opening at 113th and Frederick Douglass, within blocks of three others. No wonder locals are calling the chain “the Starbucks of Harlem.” [Harlem Fur]
Park Slope: Book-industry thuggery? Adam’s Books on Bergen Street has been reshingled Unnameable Books after owner Adam (duh) was visited by a violent goon who may or may not have been from the (slightly defensive?) Adams Book Company. [Brooklyn Record]
Woodside: Hey, is that a new residence at 65th Place … or with all that metal cladding, is it a live-in Brinks Truck? [Queens Crap]
neighborhood watch
Stroller Outrage at Park Slope Barnes & Noble
Bensonhurst: Beware the black mayonnaise! Dredging under Gravesend Bay for a new waste-transfer facility may unearth toxic gunk that could poison the waters off Southern Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Graphic]
Greenpoint: Creating a “Moscow on Newtown Creek” look, those sleek, new onion domes on the area’s northern edge are actually tanks for part of a high-tech new wastewater treatment facility. [I’m Not Sayin’, I’m Just Sayin’]
Greenwich Village: The West 12th Street townhouse that Meryl Streep sold to Johnson & Johnson heiress “Libet” Johnson last year for $9.1 million is back on the market for the audacious asking price of $15.9M. [Curbed]
Park Slope: Even Barnes & Noble employees (with kids, anyway) are bitching about new stroller rules at the bookseller’s scene-y Slope branch. What’s next? No sippy cups at the Co-op? [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]
Red Hook: Will it be new piers or plush condos for the Red Hook waterfront? Locals applaud remarks from the new Port Authority–czar suggesting the former. [Carroll Gardens Courier via Gowanus Lounge]
Springfield Gardens: Hey, wait a minute … why does this new, supposedly two-family home in Queens have six doors? Neighbors want to know. [Queens Press via Queens Crap]
Upper East Side: Take advantage of First Fridays more efficiently by knowing where the coat check is and going to the bathroom before you leave the house. [Upper East Side Informer]
neighborhood watch
We’re As Confused By the M&M Thing As You AreChelsea: Biker bar Red Rock West — a loud, white-trash holdout in overprecious art zone — seized for nonpayment of taxes. [Eater via BlogChelsea]
Dumbo: Everything you wanted to know – and much more – about the refurb of the Jane’s Carousel, a nabe icon. [Dumbo NYC]
Greenwich Village:White powder once again found near nose of towering British supermodel on Houston Street. [Copyranter]
Jamaica:City officials want to rezone parts of the Queens neighborhood to attract investment; locals say it’s too crowded already. [Queens Tribune via Queens Crap]
Lower East Side: Libation, among first joints to bring yuppies and Eurotrash to Ludlow Street, to close amid $5.5 mil asking price for building. [Curbed]
Lower Manhattan: It’s like Stonehenge, sort of: A 50-foot-tall, floating, lime green M&M Statue of Liberty aligned with real statue this morning. [Gothamist]
Park Slope: “You hate me, you really hate me!” Atlantic Yards starchitect Frank Gehry inverts Sally Field schtick in volley with a protester. [Atlantic Yards Report]
intel
Mom’s Art Makes Matthew Broderick Nostalgic for Old Greenwich VillageMatthew Broderick — owner, with his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, of that perfectly maintained, multi-million-dollar brownstone around the corner from the Magnolia Bakery — is saddened by the moneyed gentrification of Greenwich Village. He’s been thinking about the Village of his youth — when he grew up a few blocks from where he lives now, on Washington Square North — after pulling together the catalogue biography for an upcoming show of work by his mother, Patricia, a painter who died in 2003, at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery. “It was definitely more bohemian,” he says of the old days. “Now it’s very cleaned up and a lot richer. It used to be a lot of fun — there was music, we played stickball. I’m making it sound like the thirties now. Oh, yeah, we played kick the can, we rolled our own cigarettes …” Patricia Broderick’s paintings, priced from $14,000 to $25,000, are mostly portraits and landscapes from that earlier Village era, and Matthew is finding them a bit tough to part with. “It’s upsetting,” he says. “The gallery just sold this painting of a naked woman dancing with a dog, and I always loved that painting, but I guess someone else did too.”
— Emma Rosenblum
Tibor de Nagy Gallery [Official site]
the morning line
Suicide, Fire, Not a Hero
• Indie actress, director, and screenwriter Adrienne Shelly, just seen with Matt Dillon in Factotum, was found hanged in her Village apartment. There’s no suicide note, and cops are checking up on unidentified sneaker prints in the apartment, but suicide is cited as the likeliest scenario. [NYP]
• A blaze broke out in a Bronx apartment in the wee hours of the morning, killing a 5-year-old girl and sending three other people to Jacobi Medical Center. The survivors can thank the girl’s 13-year-old brother, who woke everyone up. The cause of the fire is being investigated. [WNBC]
• Major karmic points are apparently not enough for Robert G. Seckers, the mate of a tugboat that aided the Staten Island ferry during the infamous 2003 crash. Seckers wants more tangible compensation for his good deed ($2 million to be exact) under an ancient unwritten law called “pure marine salvage.” “I don’t need to be a hero,” said Seckers in an interview. It appears you just took care of that part, sir. [NYT]
• Hitler Kid, post-collegiate edition: A 23-year-old Greenpoint city employee (probably a hipster who applied for the job ironically) penned an essay in the Haverford alumni mag calling the Polish “vermin” and the nabe “even uglier than the morons who work there.” The piece is clearly Borat-style satire (the author dreams of a Greenpoint of “lawyers and investment bankers”), but — shock — subtleties of dry sarcasm are not a Parks Department specialty. [NYDN]
• Three, two, one, stop. The city is testing out streetlight timers at intersections, visibly counting down fifteen seconds until the light turns red. Now, finally, the pedestrians will have something other than the road to look at! [amNY]
neighborhood watch
It’s Not Easy Being GreenLower East Side: Developers may mow over the “Children’s Magical Garden” at Norfolk and Stanton Streets. [The Villager]
Park Slope: You can now get ticketed for having a leafy street. [Daily Slope]
Ditmas Park: Lefty java joint Vox Pop to turn chain? [Brooklyn Papers]
Greenwich Village: Why are there so many empty storefronts on Thompson Street? Because the landlord is an ass, naturally. [Curbed]
Prospect Heights: Does a shiny new JCC mark the completion of gentrification? [Brooklynian]
Dyker Heights: By next year, city kids will be teeing off at the first junior golf center in the nation. [NY1]
intel
Will Smith Brings the Apocalypse to Greenwich Village
So how do you turn New York into a post-apocalyptic world? Practice, practice, practice? Let Al Shanker get hold of a nuclear warhead? (Ha! We kill ourselves.) No, apparently you do it with a large, inflatable thing in the middle of Washington Square Park. Production teams for a new Will Smith project, I Am Legend, are out in NYU-land this afternoon, preparing for what our intrepid intern-photog, Everett Bogue, gathers will be a shoot this evening. In addition to the large, inflatable thing, Everett reports the addition of a variety of fake trees, random species of plastic jungle underbrush, and a half-dozen large lighting rigs. Will the Fresh Prince himself show up? Will the Square get even more post-apocalyptic? Developing, as they say.
(Oh, also? In this post-apocalyptic New York, that might not even be Washington Square. As New York reported a few months ago, the script puts the MetLife Building on Seventh Avenue and Balthazar on 14th Street.)