The New York Observer (New York, NY) back issues from May 2008:
The Local: Chinatown Frets Becoming Another Little Italy.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ "If we do not have [a Business Improvement District], we'll be like Cinderella stuck downstairs while the rest of the city is having a party, and we will still be Filthy and Stinking," said the executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, Wellington Chen. ...
Picks for the 134th Kentucky Derby.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ A little after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, one lucky three-year-old horse will be led into the winner's circle at the 134th Kentucky Derby. Here are some of the ones that might get there: No. 20--Big Brown: With War Pass out of the race, he could go ...
The Afternoon Wrap: Thursday.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Introducing mini-Michael Shvo! Some might argue that one is enough. [Curbed] Cue the violins: Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein may be the lowest-paid CEO. [Forbes] Governor Paterson's wife gives the Governor's mansion in Albany a green makeover, ...
Events for Friday, May 2, 2008.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Brookhaven National Laboratory hosts workshop on the status of biodiesel in the U.S.; Brookhaven National Laboratory, William Floyd Parkway, Upton. 9 a.m. The World Trade Centers Association holds 2nd Annual Peace and Stability ...
Reaction to Bloomberg's Tight Budget.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Technically, Michael Bloomberg's $59.1 billion budget increases spending -- albeit by one tenth of one percent -- but the loudest critcism it's facing so far is from officials and interest groups that want him to spend more. Take the Patrolmen's Benevolent ...
Elsewhere: Bloomberg's Budget, Trippi's Regret.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Liz gives a shorthand version of the budget Michael Bloomberg presented today. Steve Israel thinks the New York State Senate races have broad implications (for him in particular). Former D.N.C. chair Joe Andrew (who switched affiliations today) ...
Barbara Walters, Politician Slayer.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Barbara Walters used an appearance on "Oprah" today to reveal her three-decades-ago affair with a married member of the U.S. Senate: Ed Brooke, the liberal Republican who represented Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979 and the first African-American ever elected to the ...
Test-Driving the New Neoconservatism.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The Return of History and the End of Dreams By Robert Kagan Alfred A. Knopf, 115 pages, $19.95 Consider the natural history of the Detroit muscle car: The Mustang began life in 1963 as a stripped-down roadster in the European ...
Playing Obama for Yucks.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ SOUTH BEND -- Barack Obama could probably use some levity, apparently. Here's a Daily Show correspondent taping segments with some more traditional correspondents at an event here. Also, tonight the candidate will read a top 10 list on David ...
Obama Discusses Livestock, Gas.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ SOUTH BEND, Ind.-Barack Obama is doing his own listening tour in Indiana. "What I want to do is spend more time listening than talking," said Obama at a small event at the fairgrounds here, where he discussed farming policies, subsidies and crop-dumping ...
Times' Retail Reporter Michael Barbaro Headed to City Hall.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Michael Barbaro, the budding star of the Times' business desk, is headed to City Hall. Mr. Barbaro, a transplant from The Washington Post, has been handling the paper's retail beat and its coverage of Wal-Mart (and, according ...
Controversial Roman Polanski Documentary Comes to New York in July.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Marina Zenovich's Roman Polanski documentary will open in New York on July 11, two days after it airs on HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film, which is titled Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, follows the Academy Award-winning director's infamous ...
Hot Tickets: Neil Diamond, Bloc Party, Wolf Parade, The Butthole Surfers.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ It seemed odd enough when the 80's Texas psych-punk band The Butthole Surfers made something of comeback in 1996 with an album that got lots of mainstream airplay. Now they're making a comeback from their comeback? You be the judge-they're playing Webster Hall on ...
What's Wrong With Phil Hughes? (Now We Know).
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ When the Yankees chose to open the 2008 season with Phil Hughes, 21, and Ian Kennedy, 23, in the starting rotation, some growing pains were expected. But while Kennedy had less of a track record to count on, there was ample reason to think Hughes, who got the call ...
Jackson on Obama, Wright.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Jesse Jackson told reporters in City Hall just now that Barack Obama's denunciation of his former pastor, Rev. Wright was "a painful break he had to make." Jackson, who was here to raise awareness about the food crisis in Haiti, said "there is so much pain ...
Report: Fossella Arrested.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ From The Washington Post: Rep. Vito J. Fossella (R-N.Y.) was arrested overnight in Alexandria and charged with driving while intoxicated, court records showed today. Fossella is scheduled to appear in Alexandria General District Court on May 12 ...
Zell Says Commercial Real Estate A-OK, Except in the Suburbs.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Sam Zell--Tribune owner, real estate mogul, hog-lover (and by hog, we mean motorcycle)--says commercial real estate, especially in dense urban cities like Manhattan, will weather this financial storm just fine, thanks to renewed investment in mortgage-backed securities ...
Pretzel Time Sticks It To Steve Roth.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ At least two former Manhattan Mall retailers have sued landlord Steve Roth's Vornado Realty Trust over their recent evictions from the mall to make way for a new 150,000-square-foot J.C. Penney department store. Proprietors of Pretzel Time and Square One ...
Obama Low-Key in Indiana.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ SOUTH BEND -- Here's the scene in a barn at a fairgrounds where Barack Obama will be speaking this afternoon--another example of his more intimate approach to campaigning he has favored of late. A few dozen ...
Bloomberg: Clinton-McCain Gas Tax Break Is the 'Dumbest Thing'.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Michael Bloomberg said giving drivers a break from the gas tax is "the dumbest thing I've heard in an awful long time." I asked him about it right after he delivered his executive budget at City Hall just now. He said, "It's the dumbest thing ...
Report: Newark's Booker, Devils Seeking Group to Buy Nets from Ratner [UPDATED].
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The Star-Ledger reports that Newark Mayor Cory Booker and the New Jersey Devils are trying to assemble investors to buy the Nets basketball team from development firm Forest City Ratner. Should the Nets be sold--Forest City denied that the team is for ...
NYT Wal-Mart Reporter to Head to City Hall.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The New York Times is poised to announce they're sending their Wal-Mart reporter, Michael Barbaro, to cover City Hall, according to two people familiar with the move. Barbaro, who the Times hired from the Washington Post, had his telephone bugged by ...
Ousted Chelsea Hotel Managers File for Arbitration.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ BD NY Hotels, the Richard Born and Ira Drukier-led outfit hired last year to replace eccentric longtime Chelsea Hotel manager Stanley Bard, has filed for arbitration after being fired by the hotel's governing board for "willful misconduct." The ...
Jeb Bush To Host Bloomberg and Klein.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ This just in from the mayor's office: NEW YORK CITY MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG TO JOIN JEB BUSH AT EXCELLENCE IN ACTION Tallahassee, FL - The Foundation for Excellence in Education today announced New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will serve as ...
The Game, The Coffee Machine.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ In a song inspired by the Sean Bell verdict, Compton rapper The Game says, "I should kill 51 cops for the 51 shots that they gave that kid in New York." (around the 1:40 mark). [YouTube] A poll has Obama leading in North Carolina. [Mason-Dixon] ...
CNN Purchases Second 'Magic Wall'.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ In the current issue of Time, the magazine's editors name New York based scientist and entrepreneur Jefferson Han as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Mr. Han, who grew up in Queens, is the founder of Perceptive Pixel, the company that makes the ...
Clinton Campaign Pushes New Polls.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Not surprisingly, the first words out of Howard Wolfson's mouth on the Clinton campaign conference call today were about "some recent public polling" that show Hillary Clinton's strength against John McCain in the general election. Pollster Geoff Garin then ...
Feist Playing Benefit Show at Prospect Park.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ America's breathy-voiced sweetheart Feist will "Feel It All" at Prospect Park on July 9. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster. She'll be playing a benefit show to fund all those free Celebrate Brooklyn concerts at the ...
Bloomberg's Budget: Less Capital Spending, Same Homeowner Rebates.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Michael Bloomberg is presenting his $59.1 billion budget, which grows city spending by one tenth of one percent over last year, and, according to the mayor's chart here, cuts back on capital ...
Vornado, Related Try to Lure Garden Back to Moynihan Station Table.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Developers Vornado Realty Trust and the Related Companies are grasping for options to keep alive a multi-billion dollar redo of Penn Station and related real estate development, as they have asked the city and state to back a loan to build a new Madison Square Garden ...
MoMA Exhibit Dies Five Weeks Into Show.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Poor lil' stem cells. They just couldn't hold up to all the pressure of being on display at MoMA's Design and the Elastic Mind exhibition. Victimless Leather, a small jacket made up of embryonic stem cells taken from mice, has hit the bucket. The artists, Oron Catts ...
Coney Island Mayor on Latest Bloomberg Plan: It 'Sucks'.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The Bloomberg administration is getting squeezed from all sides with its Coney Island plan, as its most recent proposal is taking fire from both advocates of the historic amusement hub and the area's major landholder, Joseph Sitt. Key advocates who once ...
Galassi Does U.S. a Big Faber.(Company overview)
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ It was a few years ago that Farrar, Straus & Giroux publisher Jonathan Galassi first started trying to convince Mitzi Angel, the editorial director at a small literary imprint of HarperCollins UK, to move to America and come work for him. "Mitzi just walked into my ...
Jimmy Carter on Clinton's 'Uncomfortable' Path to the Nomination.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Jimmy Carter is still on his book tour, and still hinting at support for Barack Obama without saying it directly. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer taped for The Situation Room, Carter said that if superdelegates overturn what is nearly certain to be ...
Today at the Tribeca Film Festival: Lou Reed's Berlin; Leighton Meester Horror-Show.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Everywhere at Once, Village East Cinema, 1:15 p.m. can't help but think that inspiration for Everywhere at Once must have been born during a late-night heavy-talking/drinking session ...in this film photographer Peter Lindbergh and "experimental filmmaker" ...
Sign O' The Times: Starbucks Drinker-ship Down, Lottery Ticket Sales Up.(Financial report)
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ You know things are tight when the good people start to forgoe their daily caffeine fix, but it appears not even Starbucks has been spared from the drop in consumer spending. With profits down 28 percent, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the company has cut the ...
The Dolans Expected to Make $650 Million Bid for Newsday.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ It's officially a horse-race for the tabloid in a tutu. Madison Square Garden and Cablevision overlords Charles and James Dolan will make a $650 million bid for Newsday later this week, exceeding the $580 million bid that Rupert Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman ...
Morning Memo: Martha Blogs Perez; Gisele Makes $35 M. a Year.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Martha Stewart blogs, posts pictures of Perez Hilton at the White House Correspondents Dinner. [The Martha Blog via Daily Intel] After Jessica Simpson cost Tony Romo a chance at the Superbowl, President Bush wants to send her to the Democratic National ...
Quinn Fields the 'Under Oath' Question.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Here's (a lot of) video from Christine Quinn's press conference yesterday where she discussed Harlem rezoning and environmental legislation, and then took questions from reporters about the investigation of the City Council. In this clip, a New York Sun reporter asks ...
The Morning Read: Thursday, May 1, 2008.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The guy Bill Clinton picked to head the D.N.C. switched his endorsement from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. According to one new poll, Clinton is way up in North Carolina, and now statistically tied with Obama. Obama has now tied Clinton in ...
The Round-Up: Thursday.
May 01, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The City Council overwhelmingly approved the rezoning of 125th Street yesterday, but not before all audience members were ejected from the building for booing. [NY Times] Atlantic Yards opponents filed a suit challenging the construction timeline outlined ...
Obama Calls Clinton on Gas-Tax Holiday: It's 'Her and John McCain'.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Barack Obama just held a conference here in Indianapolis to talk about the struggling economy and the failure of his opponents to responsibly address problems like rising gas prices. Before taking questions, he gave a brief opening statement. "Senator ...
This Time, Expectations Work for Obama.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ So far, 2008 has been the year of artificial momentum and warped expectations, and Hillary Clinton has been the beneficiary. In contest after contest this primary season, we have seen the illusion of momentum, created by the spillover effect from recent ...
Kendall Stewart Raising Money.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Here's an invitation for a May 4 fund-raiser for City Councilman Kendall Stewart, who had two staffers indicted for stealing taxpayer money meant for a nonprofit in their Brooklyn district, . ...
Pussycat Lounge Preserved! Sam Chang Sells Building To Club Owner for $2.5 M.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ After a lengthy legal fight, ravenous hotel developer Sam Chang has apparently given up his plan to tear down the old Pussycat Lounge at 96 Greenwich Street. Mr. Chang has agreed to sell the ancient, circa-1799 building to Pussycat owner Robert Kremer for ...
Today at the Tribeca Film Festival: Nostalgia Knocks Back a Decade or Two; Plus Sissy Spacek!
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Strangers, AMC Village VII, 2 p.m. It could be a setup for some sort of awesome romantic comedy: a man and woman lock eyes on a train while both traveling to Berlin for the World Cup finals before accidentally switching backpacks. But, of course, things get ...
Morning Memo: Mariah Got Married! And Tom Cruise Banished the Body-Thetans That Ruined His Last Oprah Interview.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have reportedly gotten married after dating for about a month. [NY Daily News] Project Runway is not just moving to Lifetime, but also Los Angeles for its sixth season. [EW] Tom Cruise finds redemption on Oprah by not ...
The Morning Read: Friday, May 2, 2008.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Spike Lee urges Jeremiah Wright to "shut up," and suggests that someone might be paying Barack Obama's former pastor to keep talking. Adam Nagourney wonders if Hillary Clinton's chances of winning the nomination have improved. Top city officials ...
The Round-Up: Friday.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ State officials said New York is heading towards a deep recession. [NY Times] Weekend Explorer: The melting pot is on high boil in Flushing. [NY Times] Credit card payment in cabs and the battle behind the scenes. [NY Times] Could ...
ASME: No More Questions!
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ If Anderson Cooper, Ray Kelly, Obama Girl and Lenny Dykstra are presenting awards then it must be the Ellies! Last night, National Geographic took home 3, New Yorker grabbed a general excellence award, New York picked up one, and ...
Ancient Order of Magazine People in Not-So-Secret Celebration.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ A little after 6 p.m. at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Conde Nast president Richard Beckman was sharing a drink--vodka, olives--with Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend. The two were discussing the same thing everyone in the lobby of Jazz at Lincoln Center at the Time Warner ...
Events for May 3-5, 2008.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Saturday 10 a.m. Rev. Al Sharpton, Nicole Paultre-Bell and others announce gathering sites for May 7 civil disobedience at the National Action Network, 106 West 145th St. 11 a.m. National Guard elements train alongside firefighters in Operation ...
Elsewhere: Clinton's Gas-Tax Challenge, Bloomberg's Bold Move.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ The Assembly and Senate released their member items. Representative and uncommitted superdelegate Mark Udall rises to Hillary Clinton's gas-tax challenge and sides with Obama. This pro-development blogger thinks the mayor's money for Willets ...
The Afternoon Wrap: Friday.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Will a new Danny Emerman wine bar replace the mom-and-pop shops facing eviction along Chelsea's Ninth Avenue? [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York] Having artists move into an edgy neighborhood usually boosts property values (see Soho and Williamsburg); 533 ...
The New Media Heartthrob: David Willey.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Yes, he might be the editor of Runner's World, but David Willey is having quite a moment this week. On Wednesday he was enshrined as the new president of ASME, last night he won an Ellie for runnersworld.com, ...
Hillary Clinton and John McCain's Craven Gas-Tax Maneuver.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the pandering Presidential politics of Clinton, McCain and Obama. McCain pandered on the gas tax and Hillary and Barack pandered on trade. A few days ago, in a disheartening display of more of the same, Clinton joined ...
Paterson: There Was an 'Out of Control' Element in State Police.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Here's a little more from David Paterson's appearance this morning on WFAN. Towards the end of the 30-minute interview, Paterson admits that part of the reason he admitted to having an extramarital affair was because he was "afraid" the state police might leak ...
Tom Duane and Millionaires.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ At a community meeting in Chelsea last night about local transportation issues, State Senator Tom Duane went off-topic and reiterated his support for the millionaires tax. Noting ...
Weiner's Approach to a Special Interest.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Here's a clip from a breakfast in Lower Manhattan this morning hosted by the Hispanics in Real Estate and Construction, where likely mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner conceded nothing on what one organizer said was "one of the most important items on our agenda." After ...
The Ties That Bind.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Attachment By Isabel Fonseca Alfred A. Knopf, 306 pages, $23.95 Oh, to be Isabel Fonseca! A stunning brunette with high cheekbones and that glam international surname that suggests a yummy pairing of fontina and prosecco. Second wife ...
Grand Theft Auto Mogul Prefers 'Vacuous' Neighborhoods.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ In an interview with New York magazine today, Rockstar Games mogul Dan Houser talks about his inspirations for the godly New York video game Grand Theft Auto IV: "You've got the angry sleeping-pill-popping sort of Sex and the City type woman, you know, whose looks are ...
Finding a Gambling Addict at Finding Amanda.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Tuesday night's TFF premiere of Finding Amanda was a feature directorial debut for Peter Tolan, a veteran film and television writer who's written for Murphy Brown, Analyze This and Rescue Me. Finding Amanda is about a sit-com writer with a gambling ...
Letters to a Young Alpha Kitty.(Letter to the editor)
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ What would former Seventeen editor and CosmoGIRL! founding editor Atoosa Rubenstein tell her younger self if she had the chance? Many, many are the times we've asked ourselves just that question. Thankfully, Ellyn Spragins, editor of the "What I Know Now" ...
Five Questions: Greg Mottola Had the Worst Summer Job.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Wednesday night we went to a Tribeca Film Festival discussion with Superbad director Greg Mottola, who's since written and directed a comedy about working at an amusement park; it will be out later this year. Adventureland, named after the Long Island park where Mr ....
Imperioli Summons Sopranos Pals For Ghosts.
May 02, 2008 ... <![CDATA[ Last we heard from Michael Imperioli, best known as Tony's made man nephew on The Sopranos, he was directing Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters at his Off Off Broadway theater. Now he'll be taking a turn behind the camera to direct his own script, The Hungry ...