Daily Intelligencer - New York Magazine

7/ 3/08

Intel

7/ 3/08

2:30 PM

Happy Independence Day! Don’t Forget: New York Is America, Too!

Photo in illustration: Getty Images

Tomorrow is Independence Day, and in honor of this annual celebration of our great country, we'd like to take a minute to talk about our great city. See, there's a rumor going around that New York is different from the rest of the country. That it's fey and dirty and full of rich people and sinners and Europeans and that New Yorkers are patronizing and unfriendly and think "amber waves of grain" is something served at the Tasting Room. And it is just false.

Okay. It's a little true. But in many other ways, New York is just as American as apple pie, peach cobbler, and the DMV. Especially when it comes to the Fourth of July. This year, as Americans across the land trot out in their Keds or whatever to see the fireworks, we will be, too. We'll be having our barbecue and going into our own version of a backyard where we sometimes play football.

And so, in a gesture of solidarity with our hearty brethren across the nation, we're taking it upon ourselves to dispel the rumors of New York's superiority complex, by giving you a little mini-presentation we like to call "New York: It's Just Like America!" After you've clicked through, we're sure you'll see it our way.

It'll bring a tear to your eye. »

More: Intel »america, barbecue, independence day, joy, puppies

Neighborhood Watch

7/ 3/08

1:35 PM

Who Eats Hot Wings at 8:30 in the Morning?

Co-op City: The Bronx's new, fairly speedy bus-only lane spanning from here to Inwood seems to be working, with one watchdog's ride cut down from the old 65 minutes to 48. Not bad! But some dumb-ass delivery trucks are still clogging the lane. [Streetsblog]
East Harlem: Behold this very long story that repeats the same point about eleven times: The riverside Target store set to open next year (in a new complex also including a Best Buy, Marshalls, and, possibly, a Costco) will attract new dwellers. Point made! [NYS]
East Village: Pity the poor guy on 14th Street and First Avenue who has to flack for those greasy, spicy Atomic wings at 8:30 in the morning. Word to his boss: Dude, that's, like, bagel time! [East Village Idiot]

More: Neighborhood Watch »carlos leon, co-op city, east village, harlem, lower east side, real estate, red hook

Intel

7/ 3/08

12:46 PM

Port Authority Honcho Gunning for World Trade Center Bully Job?

Photo: Getty Images

When Port Authority executive director Chris Ward presented Governor Paterson with his report on the sorry state of World Trade Center reconstruction last week, he proposed the appointment of a "traffic cop" to ride herd on the many agencies and companies involved in the project. Just whom might he be thinking of for the gig? "I get the feeling Ward recommended Ward, like Dick Cheney heading the vice-presidential selection committee," says a downtown community watchdog who regularly works with the Port Authority. Ward, a longtime development official who holds a master's in theology from Harvard, might just see himself as the perfect savior for the project, if he was just given the power to do so. Others echoed the idea, citing Ward's experience with construction, his credibility with bureaucracy and unions, and general likeability. "I've now met him several times, and on each occasion, I'm more impressed," says a manager who's been working in the pit since 2002. "He will get this done, if anyone can." Indeed, his scathing report may have been his opening gambit. "Every couple of years," says someone close to a downtown developer, "everyone gets scared, and we move forward." A PA spokesperson didn't return calls. — Alec Appelbaum

More: Intel »chris ward, david paterson, ground zero, port authority, real estate, world trade center

Company Town

7/ 3/08

12:10 PM

It’s Official: Rush Limbaugh Will Never Shut Up

Photo: Getty Images

MEDIA
• Do you know how much money Rush Limbaugh makes? Are you sure you want to? Also: "I'm not retiring until every American agrees with me." [Reuters/NYT]
• The Washington Post is expected to announce their new editor next week. (Jeff Bercovici thinks its Marcus Brauchli.) [Politico]
• Charlie Gasparino got all up in arms about Bryan Burroughs's Vanity Fair piece on Bear Stearns, which implies CNBC fearmongering was a factor in the firm's fall, saying the writer "failed Journalism 101." [Dealbreaker]
• The L.A. Times will cut 150 jobs. [NYO]

More: Company Town »bear stearns, carl ichan, henry paulsen, jill zarin, marcus brauchli, rush limbaugh, veronica hearst, washington post, yahoo

Early and Often

7/ 3/08

11:30 AM

McCain Shakes Up Campaign, Running for Real Now

Photo-illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images

John McCain is rebooting (a term he may or may not be familiar with) his campaign for president, shaking up his staff for the second time in a year, as he puts George W. Bush veteran and Karl Rove acolyte Steve Schmidt in charge of basically all the stuff that matters and reducing the role of former campaign manager Rick Davis. The move comes in response to widespread dissatisfaction among Republicans with pretty much everything the campaign has done to date: the lack of a coherent message, the poorly planned scheduling, the wasted monthslong head start, the head-scratching trips to electoral-voteless Canada and Colombia, the nauseating green speech background, the mostly terrible speeches overall, the promise to "veto every single beer" that crosses his desk, etc. So with all of those problems definitely behind us, what can we expect from the new and improved McCain campaign?

Karl Rove might have an idea. »

More: Early and Often »campaigns, elections, john mccain, karl rove, politics, steve schmidt

Early and Often

7/ 3/08

11:01 AM

This Whole Election Is Going to the Dogs

Bark Obama and John McCanine: underneath all the hype, actually pretty similar.Photo: Courtesy Lori Lambert

Hot on the heels of our revelation earlier this week that both presidential candidates are courting the pet-loving demographic comes news that the pets are loving them right back. PetsVote.com, a Website selling political propaganda for pooches, is the brainchild of Lori Lambert (who is actually a serious person — she's a senior vice-president muckety-muck at Universal Music). The Website, where you can buy a shirt that endorses either "Bark Obama" or "John McCanine," was launched this week. Each purchase not only gives a percentage to the pet charity North Shore Animal League, but logs a vote on your pooch’s behalf, as well. (If her sales thus far are any indication, come election day, Bark Obama is going to win by a landslide, despite the fact that the candidate has no pets of his own.)

So tell your pup to stop dragging his ass and get out the vote! »

More: Early and Often »barack obama, dogs, elections, john mccain, pets, politcs

In Other News

7/ 3/08

10:31 AM

Peter Cook ‘Privately, Secretly’ Masturbated on the Internet

Dirty man. A bit oily, as well.Photo: Getty Images

We're still peering through our fingers at the details trickling out of the Brinkley-Cook divorce trial, the tawdry first round of which was completed yesterday and was characterized by exchanges such as this one:

"Is it correct, sir, that you have masturbated in front of a Web cam?" his lawyer, Mark Winkler, asked.

(Yes, of course, he has to be called Winkler)

Red-faced, Cook replied: "Yes, I have, privately, secretly."

Only on the Internet, Your Honor. Everyone knows you don't get more private than that.

It gets even MORE uncomfortable! »

More: In Other News »carri lyn ciamarra, christie brinkley, courts, diana bianchi, divorce, mark winkler, peter cook, trials

Ink-Stained Wretches

7/ 3/08

10:06 AM

‘Times’ Novelist Kills Off One Editor, Skewers Others

"There's been a murder at the Times! Er…Globe!"Photo: Getty Images

When you write a roman à clef about your job, it's okay to leave some characters recognizable — so long as you don't have them murdered. But according to Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici, that's exactly what New York Times writer John Darnton did. The international reporter (who we're told taps away at the books on his downtime in the offices of the paper) has a new book coming out July 31 called, wait for it, Black and White and Dead All Over. According to Bercovici, many familiar Times faces make appearances:

Virtually every well-known Times journalist from the last few decades turns up somewhere in the murder mystery, along with a few recognizable figures from outside the paper, including Matt Drudge (a.k.a. Nat Dreck) and Rupert Murdoch (a.k.a. Lester Moloch). As a guessing game, it's almost too easy. Could the square-jawed, email-addicted foreign correspondent-turned-executive editor be anyone other than Bill Keller? Do you need to know that "Jimmy Pomegranate" is a rotund expense-account abuser to guess that he's a stand-in for R.W. "Johnny" Apple? And whoever could be the inspiration for the hyper-aggressive middle-aged female reporter known for big-footing others' stories and getting excessively intimate with the powerful men she covers?

The book starts out with the murder of former standards editor Allan M. Siegal, who is called Theodore S. Ratnoff (the Times is also rechristened as the Globe). Siegal himself said he "loved" the book and his own disastrous end. "I think it was riotously funny," he told Bercovici. We can't wait to see whether everybody else, who doesn't have the luck to get killed off in the first few pages, finds it so hilarious.

'NY Times' Editor Murdered! (in Fiction) [Portfolio]

More: Ink-Stained Wretches »allan siegal, bill keller, books, jeff bercovici, john darnton, matt drudge, media, new york times, rupert murdoch

Gossipmonger

7/ 3/08

9:45 AM

Rumer Willis Still Trying, Failing to Nab Chace Crawford

Photo: Getty Images

Rumer Willis tried to hook up with Chace Crawford at a party in L.A., but he wouldn't give her the time of day. An ex-employee of the Weinsteins is writing a tell-all about Harvey and Bob's management of Miramax. A bunch of Howard Stern regulars had to be put in a secure bunker while performing a comedy show for troops in Kandahar after the base they were at came under mortar fire. Alex Rodriguez used to be obsessed with a Brazilian stripper named Monique who worked a $900-an-hour room at a club in Chelsea. Diddy and Cassie tried and failed to leave Marquee in a discreet fashion.

More: Gossipmonger »alex rodriguez, barack obama, camilla alves, chace crawford, cindy adams, forest whitaker, harvey weinstein, jerry springer, john mccain, marquee, matthew mcconaughey, melanie brown, michael lohan, naomi campbell, ron perelman, rumer willis, sean combs, uma thurman

In Other News

7/ 3/08

9:22 AM

Samuel Israel’s Lost Weekend

Sam Israel would rather go to jail than spend
another day at camp. Photo: AP

Now we get why former hedge-fund manager Samuel Israel III wanted to turn himself into authorities yesterday: He's been camping.

Israel, who is scheduled to appear in Manhattan court today, faked his suicide three weeks ago, on the day he was due to report for a twenty-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in his Bayou hedge fund out of $450,000. Investigators were immediately suspicious about Israel's glib "note," "Suicide Is Painless," scrawled in dust on the hood of his car, which itself was left temptingly on a bridge over the Hudson. For his last words, they wondered, would a person really turn to plagiarizing the lyrics of the theme song from MASH?

As it turns out, no. But Israel didn't follow in the footsteps of previous outlaws by heading to Nambibia or Cuba: Alas, he didn't have his passport anymore. And so he was forced to bunker down in an RV at the Prospect Mountain Campground, in Granville, Massachusetts, only 62 miles from the prison he was supposed to go to in the first place, where he ate food from cans and frequented the general store, where, apparently, no one watches the news or reads the papers, until finally turning himself in yesterday. Why? Authorities say his mother convinced him to give himself up. But others think the reason could be simpler: "I think he got bored here," a fellow camper told Reuters. Seriously. It's no Mount Kisco — the $32,000-a-month mansion he used to rent from Donald Trump. Also, it's so buggy out this time of year.

Fund Manager Who Faked His Suicide Surrenders [NYT]
Sam Israel's Wooded Hideout [DealZone/Reuters]

More: In Other News »camp, crime, hedge funds, jail, samuel israel III

In Other News

7/ 3/08

8:52 AM

Lenny Kravitz: Cynthia Rodriguez’s Grand Slam?

Photo: Getty Images

We have always loved Cynthia Rodriguez. Last summer, when "STRAY-ROD" stories about her husband hanging out with a blonde stripper hit all the tabloids, she held her head high and continued to show up at Yankee Stadium — wearing a T-shirt that said "Fuck You" on the back, so that paparazzi taking her picture would get the message.

Little did we know that she continued her revenge in secret. According to the Post, she developed a clandestine affair with one of the most famous, inarguably sexy men in the world. She held this card close to her chest, hiding it from the world even as her marriage with Alex Rodriguez disintegrated. Which meant that just two days after A-Rod made headlines for paying late-night visits to the Central Park West home of sex icon Madonna, she was ready with her own news: She's been doin' it with Lenny Kravitz. Holy mother of gossip!

It's even more tawdry than you think! »

More: In Other News »alex rodriguez, baseball, cynthia rodriguez, guy oseary, lenny kravitz, madonna, scandals, sex scandals, spots, yankees

7/ 2/08

Cultural Capital

7/ 2/08

6:30 PM

Gail Sheehy Remembers Clay Felker

Next week's issue of New York Magazine will contain an oral history of our late founder Clay Felker's career both here and elsewhere. In this sample, his wife, Gail Sheehy, talks about the first time she saw Felker, when they were both at the New York Herald Tribune.

The first time I laid eyes on Clay he was yelling on the phone — something unusual. I dared to walk down the back stairs at the Herald Tribune women's department, which was a flamingo-pink ghetto. But I had a story idea, and the only way to do it was to go and talk to Clay. So I was quite terrified; but then when I heard him and saw him, he was very big. And he had a huge voice, which just, you know, sliced right through me. And he was yelling at somebody about tickets to Dinner at Eight. He was just, like, another creature from another planet to me. But totally intriguing. —Gail Sheehy

Earlier: Tom Wolfe Remembers Clay Felker
Clay Felker, 1925–2008

More: Cultural Capital »clay felker, gail sheehy, memorials, new york magazine

In Other News

7/ 2/08

5:45 PM

How to Succeed in the Offensive-T-shirt Business by Really, Really Trying

Doron Braunshtein a.k.a. Apollo Braun, loves
pushing the "envelop."Photo: Getty Images

Step 1
Doron Braunshtein, a meek Israeli T-shirt boutique owner who calls himself "Apollo Braun," puts out a "Jews Against Obama" T-shirt. For extra incoherence, the boutique's window pairs the T-shirt with a Palestinian kafiyeh, a bullet belt, and a Primo Levi book. An editor at this magazine is quoted in the New York Sun calling the display "nauseating."

Step 2
Braun ups the stakes with "Obama = Hitler" T-shirt. No press pickup follows.

But why quit there? »

More: In Other News »apollo braun, barack obama, geniuses, hitler, mayor bloomberg, michael bloomberg, t-shirts

In Other News

7/ 2/08

4:45 PM

Ryan Adams Announces End of Relationship With Mandy Moore That He Says Never Happened

Photo: Getty Images

Oh, Ryan Adams. Back in March, a hapless New York reporter asked the itsy-bitsy popster whether he was dating actress and singer Mandy Moore. We had heard that they were. Adams not only denied it, but he berated our reporter for even asking the question. "I can't believe you guys would print lies like that. You said Mandy Moore and I were dating!" he howled. "Which we're not. She's single, and I don't know why everyone thinks she has to be in a relationship." We dutifully posted an item saying that the two were not dating.

And yet today Adams released a statement to OK! announcing their breakup. According to the mag, they'd been dating since December. "Mandy is one of those genuinely sweet angelic people you wish to meet your whole life," Ryan wrote. We agree! We've been dying to meet Mandy since she played Lana the witchy popular girl in the original Princess Diaries. "I am grateful for our friendship and how it allowed us both to grow and learn more," Adams added. Of course, he blames the media spotlight for the split.

"Unfortunately I am allergic to paparazzi and have found the best antidote to that sort of nonsense is staying behind the guitar and typewriter, staying close to my support group of friends and band mates and not engaging in activities that prevent me from taking care of myself or others," he says. "I found the entire speculation and subsequent photographs and intrusions terrifying and only wish to live as normal a life as possible, so that I might always remain punk as f*** AND sober."

Laying aside the fact that the only "lie" we ended up printing was the one Ryan told us, who hides their relationship from the press and then sends out a press release about their breakup? That's the hard part, where you don't want the press around. While you're dating, the paparazzi is just helping you record your memories!

Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams Split [OK!]

More: In Other News »dating, lies, mandy moore, ryan adams

The Sports Section

7/ 2/08

4:20 PM

Sean Avery Ditches the Rangers for the Dallas Stars

Photo: Getty Images

We have a hunch you didn’t know who Sean Avery was on February 4, 2007 — the day before he was traded by the Kings to the Rangers. Since then, of course, hockey’s premier agitator–fashion intern has become not just a fan favorite at the Garden, but a boldfaced name in the tabloids whose celebrity soared after leaving Los Angeles — which, by the way, isn’t exactly Edmonton in terms of market size. But despite this seemingly perfect symbiotic relationship between player and city, Avery’s time in New York is over, as the forward has signed a four-year contract with the Dallas Stars worth $15.5 million.

The Daily News reported this morning that Avery’s agent wouldn’t even return phone calls from Rangers general manager Glen Sather, who was offering four years for $12 million — perhaps a lingering result of last summer’s badly handled arbitration hearing, in which Sather referred to Avery as “a detriment to the team.” (It should probably be noted that, in the season following that comment, the Rangers were 33-14-10 with Avery in the lineup, and 9-13-3 when he was injured.) And while the Stars may be a good fit for Avery, we just don’t think Dallas is. (We hear the fashion shows there really leave something to be desired.) We expect Avery will miss New York just as much as New York misses him. —Joe DeLessio

Stars, Avery agree to terms of four-year contract [ESPN]
Related: The Cut's coverage of Sean Avery's legendary Vogue internship

More: The Sports Section »dallas, hockey, nhl, rangers, sean avery, sports, vogue

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