Today's spin on the turf war included a letter to Fifth Ave. co-op board presidents, in which Mike implored them to leave parade security to the NYPD. Traditionally, the mayor's neighbors fortify their own digs with sheets of plywood, chain-link, and plastic netting, much to the chagrin of City Hall.

Mike's letter read: "It would mean so much to the city if each of you set an example by refraining from this practice, which is viewed by many New Yorkers as intolerant."

The Mayor's press office also disseminated a letter from parade organizers, who thanked Mike for his "personal intervention" in the matter and called him "a friend in City Hall."

Don't get too excited, though. Mike dispatched a flurry of Fifth Ave. letters before last year's parade, and it didn't stop the run on Home Depot. This year, two business owners have already boarded their windows. Bloomberg aides have talked one of them down.

And what are we to make, in general, of this Amigos de Mike thing, which has so far amounted to a great deal of free media about a miniature television advertising campaign?