The New York Observer

Sotheby’s and the unionized art handlers who move its clients’ prized Warhols and de Koonings ratified an agreement today on a three-year deal that brings a 10-month lockout of the workers to a close, Crain’s reports. The deal increases wages 1 percent each year, raises the starting salary to $18.50 an hour and maintains benefits for the 42 workers who are members of Teamsters Local 814. While Sotheby’s was seeking to replace some of the union workers with temporary nonunion art handlers, this deal protects those positions as union jobs. Read More

At the Pier 15 party last night, after discussing the beauty of the pier itself, as well as SHoP’s work further up the East River Esplanade, particularly the new Pier 35, which Amanda Burden described as “fantastic,” the City Planning Commission chair shared her thoughts, however brief, about  NYU’s upcoming expansion. The commission will be voting on the plan come Wednesday.

“It’s perfectly balanced between the needs of the community and the needs of the university,” she said. Read More

“This scheme is plotted on the chart to my left –the smallest demonstrative exhibit that I’ve ever seen used in the DA’s office,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.

The exhibit Mr. Vance was referring to during a press conference in the 8th floor Library at One Hogan Place earlier today was indeed small, just barely large enough to be read from a generous distance.

The scheme, however –in which Abacus Federal Savings Bank, a bank with predominantly Chinese clientele, allegedly helped its customers submit fraudulent mortgage applications that resulted in approximately a billion dollars worth of mortgages issued out by Fannie Mae– was infinitely larger in size, scope and relevance.

Nineteen individuals, all former employees and managers of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, were indicted as a result of the scam. Seven of those people already entered guilty pleas, while the remainder of them were set to face arraignment –and Judge Renee White– in state court in Manhattan throughout the day.  Read More

Next week the Whitney Museum will hold its annual Art Party, which will round down the spring fundraising season and quite possibly splatter somebody with something edible (dessert-art specialists Kreëmart and artist Kalup Linzy have joined forces for the event). Read More

Today, political types were al about the John Edwards trial. Here’s our roundup of the day’s best Tweets from the campaign trail. Read More

A conservative blogger asks: Is Mike Bloomberg a Sugar Nazi?, although he later clarified that it was a reference to the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld. “That stickler when it came to his soup was no Hitler either.”

Conservative Party Senate nominee Wendy Long pledged to support the GOP nominee, while promising to be the GOP nominee.

Hakeem Jeffries dropped out of a congressional debate.

Mike Bloomberg reads 8 newspapers a day in dead-tree form.

Cameras were kicked out of the public portion of the first JCOPE meeting.

The Cuomo administration sold off its “trains to nowhere.” Read More