Early last Thursday morning, Leonardo DiCaprio was sitting in the basement of The Darby as a long line of girls came toward him carrying bursting bottles of champagne affixed with firecrackers. Jay-Z held court in a corner booth. Tobey Maguire danced on a banquette. And Mr. DiCaprio—Jay Gatsby—looked on with a smile. The pitch of Read More
No significant tax hikes, no spike in city spending: that’s a formula for economic growth. And that’s what New York has grown accustomed to during the Mike Bloomberg era in City Hall.
The mayor unveiled his last budget the other day, and if he took a little extra time to sing the praises of his Read More
Thousands of New Yorkers who live in co-ops suffered extensive damage to their property during Superstorm Sandy last year.
But unlike the homeowners on Staten Island and other parts of the storm-ravaged coastline, the co-op owners do not qualify for federal assistance to repair some of the damage to their apartments. That’s because under Federal Read More
Legend has it that when Boss Tweed was at the height of his power, he dismissed criticism of his corrupt ways and means with a single, memorable phrase: What are you going to do about it?
The cartoonist Thomas Nast made the phrase famous—some believe he actually fabricated Tweed’s response—as a symbol of official arrogance Read More
Pacific
Tom Drury
Early in Pacific, the sequel to Tom Drury’s brilliantly deadpan 1994 novel The End of Vandalism, a character finally makes it out of Stone City, the Midwestern hamlet that serves as the backdrop for both books. On a bus ride through present-day Los Angeles, the character observes (or is observed observing): “Palm trees listed south, leaves fluttering in the wind. The Chateau Marmont rose above trees. He knew it was important but not why.”
Last Monday, five NYC power couples—and one real estate tycoon—opened their homes for dinner parties as part of the Parties of Your Choice Gala for the Women’s Campaign Fund, a night that began as a politically charged reception but slowly morphed into a cross between Million Dollar Listing and MTV Cribs.
“Our research shows that Read More
Between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. last Wednesday afternoon, more New Yorkers than usual ducked out of the office for “doctor’s appointments.” No, there wasn’t a spate of seasonal allergies. Really, they were sweating it out at Slate, an upscale sports lounge in the Flatiron District, for the Manhattan launch of Lunch Beat, the international lunchtime Read More
It took long enough, but it now appears as though the gigantic armory in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx will finally be redeveloped into a huge ice sports center. That means jobs, a more-vibrant community and, let’s not forget, jobs.
The armory long ago outlived its usefulness, but City Hall and local Read More
A judge who is no friend of reform has rebuffed a cynical bid to shut down the city’s charter schools. That’s wonderful news for parents and educators who are determined to restore excellence and accountability to the classroom.
But it’s also a warning: the city’s public schools have made remarkable progress during Mayor Read More
