T-Minus-One Day to a New AmericaSomehow, this feeling of giddiness is mitigated by the fact that you are the only one of your friends who has to work today.
Cab Explosion at Rock Center?A cab just blew up outside of Anthropologie in Rockefeller Center, as Gawker just blithely reported. So far the wires have nothing that we can see, so we’re not sure what, if anything, is up. We’ll keep you updated if you do the same. E-mail us at intel@nymag.com if you’re in the area!
UPDATE: An alert reader pointed us to photos of the fire at WNBC.com. If you ever wondered what “billowing flames” look like, check them out. We’ve got one after the jump.
party lines
In Which Morgan Freeman Romances Our Intrepid Party ReporterIn Feast of Love Morgan Freeman plays a professor taking a leave of absence to sort out his “issues.” In his time off he guides younger characters, including one played by Greg Kinnear, through their love lives in a close-knit Portland neighborhood. We caught him on the red carpet before the screening and asked him about his worst date ever — but he seemed more interested in ballroom dancing with New York’s party reporter than answering questions.
Freeman: [Taking New York in his arms, to dance] How do you do?
New York: [Pause, to be dipped by Freeman] Wonderful. Now you always have these wise roles.
Freeman: Yeah, I’m a wise kind of man — look at me.
New York: Now since this is a movie about love relationships — [interrupted by another ballroom dip] — Umm
Freeman: Sorry. Greg [Kinnear] didn’t do that, did he?
white men with money
The City Lawyers UpThe Bloomberg administration is facing a heap of subpoenas in the wake of the Deutsche Bank fire that killed two firefighters. So the office of the city’s Corporation Counsel is hiring a criminal-defense lawyer, Gary Naftalis, ostensibly to help them sort out which documents to turn over to the investigators. This is, needless to say, an interesting move. City Hall’s la-di-da press release says it needs “sufficiently knowledgeable attorneys in order to … fully cooperate” (because, you know, that’s what criminal defense does, cooperate). Somehow, we’re not thinking Naftalis will be doing what amounts to glorified document review. The man is a co-chair of Kramer Levin, a litigation boutique specializing in ultra-high-profile white-collar litigation; he has a rich (weak pun intended) history of getting wealthy white dudes out of massive trouble, having successfully defended Michael Eisner from Disney shareholders and Salomon Brothers from the SEC. Not that we’re implying Bloomberg’s in trouble over this, but hiring a guy like Naftalis to “cooperate” is like using a chainsaw to “mend fences.”
City Hires Criminal Lawyer for Deutsche Bank Defense [NYT]
Gary P. Naftalis [Kramer Levin]
in other news
In Knicks Drama, Peyser and Ridley Enter the Tabloid RingHas anyone noticed that the Daily News is turning senior features writer Jane Ridley into a more reasoned version of Andrea Peyser? Today, the pair take on Isiah Thomas’s weird double standard of debasement (it’s not okay for a white man to call a black woman a “bitch,” but if it’s a black man, it’s not so bad, goes the logic). “He should have shut up,” Ridley writes of Isiah’s videotaped deposition. “But his mouth, which matches his outsize ego – if not his brain – just kept on moving.” Zing! “A gazillion dollar salary might get you designer suits and the best table in the restaurant, but it can’t buy class and judgment,” she adds. Pow! “What we saw for ourselves of Thomas yesterday was not only ugly, but pathetic.” Splat! We eagerly flipped to Andrea to see her splenetic spin but were vastly disappointed. “Hang in there, Anucha,” is all Peyser musters. “They fired the wrong person.” Well, well, well. We’re sure it was an off day, as Peyser is by far the best in the bile business. But Ridley appears to be gaining – and if she’d just replace her cute, smiley columnist photo with something more ghoulish, we might have a real battle here!
Isiah Shows His True Colors – in Black and White [NYDN]
The Twisted Racial Logic of a Knicko Sicko [NYP]
intel
Webster Hall Owner Spending $3 Million to Open a Nice, Quiet PlaceWebster Hall owner Sean McGarr and his partner, Michael Sinensky, are spending $3 million to turn a former stable at 621 46th Street — a space also pursued by Ivan Kane for his controversial Forty Deuce project — into a nightclub and events hall named Hudson Terrace. The community board, concerned about improper zoning and neighboring club Pacha’s plan to open a rooftop bar, has recommended that the State Liquor Authority deny the new club’s pending liquor-license application, but McGarr isn’t sweating it. He says that come Thanksgiving he’ll be ready to show off a 6,000-square-foot first floor with a video ceiling and a 4,000-foot semi-enclosed rooftop terrace that will emit radiant heat in the winter and Vegas-like mists in the summer. “It will be a comfortable place to have a cocktail and lounge,” McGarr says, pointing out that 50 percent of his business will be corporate catering, with the nightclub open only during the weekend. “I won’t be installing a Steve Dash sound system like I have here at Webster Hall.” Sinensky and McGarr’s East Village sports bar, the Village Pourhouse, will also be opening an outpost at Amsterdam and 109th Street in November. Cheap pints or double-digit cocktails? Pick your poison. —Daniel Maurer
intel
Marty Markowitz Has High Hopes for Hasid With Homophobic PastGregarious Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz recently sparked the ire of Brooklyn’s gays with his endorsement of former city councilman and fifth-district Civil Court judge candidate Noach Dear. Dear, an Orthodox Jew with a history of anti-gay and anti-choice sympathies (he famously led the opposition against the landmark 1986 City Council Gay Rights bill), has already amassed quite a few campaign dollars; the Brooklyn Heights Courier reports his campaign is worth over ten times that of his sole opponent, Manhattan resident Karen Yellen. “I made a decision [to endorse him], whether it’s right or wrong,” Marty told New York yesterday, seeming to already doubt his endorsement of the controversial candidate. Given the power of the purse, Dear is widely expected to win tomorrow — when residents of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Dyker Heights, and Parks Sunset and Borough cast their votes. What’s puzzling is that Markowitz has been a longtime ally of the gay community, so the Dear endorsement leaves a lot to be explained. We caught up with Marty (who, incidentally, still says he doesn’t know if he’s running for mayor) yesterday during the Brooklyn Book Festival and asked him about earning himself a potential fagwa.
cultural capital
The Children of New York Will Rule Us AllSomething strange is happening with The Children. Not only are they advising their parents on life decisions, developing sophisticated palates, and starting rock bands, now the Wall Street Journal is announcing they are building a niche in the international art market. As collectors. Today, intrepid Weekend Journaler Kelly Crowe introduces us to a few young New Yorkers whose weekly allowance is more than most of have in our 401Ks.
in other news
Suing a Supermodel Won’t Make You Any PrettierToday in the trials and tribulations of the impossibly hot: Helena Christensen is being sued by her neighbor in the West Village, a no-fun woman named Fran Panasci. The Danish supermodel (and possible sexer of Heath Ledger) built a deck on the back of her Hudson Street home, and it’s bugging Panasci — it “blocks all light and air,” says Panasci’s lawyer. The cranky neighbor-lady also claims that she must endure “loud offensive sound and noise which continues throughout the day, night, and early morning hours,” blah blah blah. Oooh, what kind of loud and offensive noises? And how about the completely inspiring fact that Helena is 38 and still likes to party like an INXS groupie? We’ll have what she’s having! Anyhow, Panasci wants $1.7 million for unspecified (are they ever?) damages, a price so high we can only assume it includes compensation for the severe psychological damage (body dysmorphic disorder, insane jealousy, self-loathing) one incurs when living within spitting distance of a supermodel.
Model Christensen Decked With $1.7M Suit for Noise [NYDN]
in other news
Anna Wintour Dresses Roger Up in Her LoveAnna Wintour’s crush on Roger Federer extends to sending him expensive clothes, reports “Page Six.” (The Post gossip column also coins the phrase “comely cougar” to describe the steely Vogue editor, which is just so catty and, you know, accurate.) But a Condé Nast rep protests, “Vogue certainly helps a number of people with fashion, but Roger’s style is all his own.” We have to beg to differ on this one. The fashion bible has repeatedly featured Federer, dressing him up in all kinds of outrageously luxe clothes. In one Men’s Vogue spread alone (shot by Annie Leibovitz), Wintour draped Federer in over $4,000 worth of Prada, $2,500 worth of Gucci, $1,500 worth of Dolce & Gabbana and Michael Kors, and $2,500 worth of Dior Homme. Since much of that shoot took place at sea or on the beach, it wouldn’t be outrageous if some of the clothes didn’t get returned to the designers. Not that we object — handsome men deserve to wear expensive clothes. We’re just wondering whether Wintour has taken to calling Federer “my pretty” yet.
Roger’s Stylist [NYP]
Earlier: Roger Federer Makes Anna Wintour So Very Happy
intel
Judi Giuliani Stands by Her Man, and Then SomeThe notoriously protective Judi Giuliani’s hackles were raised at Tuesday’s 9/11 ceremony, when her lovemunchkin, Rudy, was heckled by members of the crowd for…oh, we dunno, perhaps his relentless milking of tragedy for personal gain? “Rudy kind of took it and just kept walking,” a witness told the Daily News of the meanies’ taunts. “But [Judi] turned on them and started saying ‘How dare you!’” Interesting! We’re not going say we endorse the Giuliani candidacy, but wouldn’t it be kind of cool to have a First Lady who wouldn’t hesitate to cut a bitch?
Tales From the Pit [The Street]
it just happened
Natalie Portman’s New Man Likes Walks in the Park
It looks like the romance between Natalie Portman and Nathan Bogle that was first snapped at the U.S. Open, has legs! Literally — the pair were seen walking hand-in-hand through Central Park today, and damned if they weren’t caught by the paparazzi. Bogle, the model-cum-designer-cum-boyfriend (he used to design for Rag & Bone), is quite the looker, so kudos to Portman. According to JustJared.com, they’ve actually been dating for four months! We can only hope that photo-stalking of them remains at a minimum, so they stay in New York rather than decamp to Los Angeles where their every Starbucks will be dissected. Nothing would thrill us more than to see the couple out and about together in the West Village and not acknowledge them.
Nathan Bogle and Natalie Portman Holding Hands [JustJared]
