For ‘The Sopranos,’ Everything Must GoThe Sopranos is over, so the show’s producers are having an estate sale. A Silvercup Studios warehouse is selling off set dressing (cash and carry!) all this week. So what’s there? Actually, nothing we recognized. We didn’t see Junior’s kitchen table; we didn’t see Tony’s desk at the Bing. But there were lamps and rugs and placemats aplenty. History only you will recognize, for a small fee! Plus you have to go to Long Island City.
Movie Company Set Dressing and Warehouse Sale [Craigslist]
Related: The Long Con [NYM]
party lines
Tina Fey Likes It When Soledad O’Brien Is MeanThe estrogen was flowing nearly as freely as the cocktails at the Marriott Marquis last night, where American Women in Radio and Television brought together lots of, well, women in radio and television for the 32nd annual Gracie Awards. The night’s biggest-name winner was 30 Rock creator Tina Fey, presented with the award for outstanding female lead in a comedy series. Fey told the crowd that she was thrilled to be honored along with her “favorite anchor,” Soledad O’Brien. “I loved Soledad because she always seems like the only other woman on TV who was as overworked and grouchy as I am,” she joked. “You could always see it in her eyes in her promos. She was like, ’American Morning, every day at 6 a.m. 6 a.m.”
neighborhood watch
Park Slope Kids Experiment With Spontaneous PlayBrooklyn Heights: The scaffolding at 185 Montague, up for years, is finally down, revealing a stunning Deco façade. [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
Highbridge: Cycling advocates want the graceful 1848 High Bridge, connecting the Bronx and Washington Heights, to be bike-friendly now that it’s up for refurbishment. [Streetsblog]
Lower Manhattan: The naked or undie-clad illustrated hotties once populating the Website for André Balazs’ forthcoming Beaver House condo have disappeared. Perhaps under the orders of a new sales team? [Curbed]
Park Slope: Parents loosen scheduling death grip and encourage kids to play pickup baseball. [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn]
Sunnyside: Signs pleading “no dumping your garbage here” are lavishly decorated. [Newyorkshitty]
Williamsburg: Nearly a year after it was hastily erected, this Kent Avenue synagogue still doesn’t have a proper façade … or a certificate of occupancy. [Brownstoner]
buy low
Prices Slip on Chelsea Condos
Who says you can’t get a new-construction condo on the cheap in Chelsea? Well, maybe not exactly “cheap.” (This is pricey, trendy Chelsea, after all.) But still, this two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath apartment at the Chelsea Stratus (101 West 24th Street), supposedly the tallest condo in the neighborhood, has had two price changes, according to Streeteasy.com. The most recent slash was two days ago, lowering the asking by more than 20 percent to $2.88 million. If this floor plan’s not to your liking, there are more than a dozen left on the market, all of which are outfitted with name-brand kitchen appliances (Fisher & Paykel, Sub-Zero), high-end finishes, and other de rigueur luxuries. Par for the condo course, the building’s larded with goodies like a wine cellar, billiards room, and indoor basketball court, too. S. Jhoanna Robledo
in other news
Would Hillary Put Jack Bauer in Charge of Iraq?
Spelunking in the Clintons’ financial disclosures brings all sorts of rewards. First came the mini-skirmish about Bill’s lucrative teleconferencing with Hong Kong on an anniversary of 9/11, defused with an instant Clintonian classic (“It was 9/10 where I was”). Now there’s a fascinating nugget in Bill and Hillary’s recently dissolved blind trust, which the couple just divested to avoid conflicts of interest. We’ll say! One of the trust’s holdings was stock in News Corp. This makes Hillary a (admittedly unaware) shareholder in the Post and Fox News — a fact akin to, say, Daniel Goldstein discovering he’s invested in Forest City Ratner. But it’s too bad she got out when she did — has a Democrat ever owned The Wall Street Journal?
Clintons’ Trust Invested in News Corp. and Berkshire [Bloomberg]
photo op
Our Bodies, Our Storage
We spotted this latest installment in Manhattan Mini-Storage’s inarticulate we’re-trying-to-show-we- share-your-politics-but-we-fail-at-it ad campaign (has anyone actually ever figured out that Cheney ad?) on our way down the West Side Highway Sunday night, and we were as confused by it as the Copyranter is today. Our best guess at its message: Once Alito & Co. overturn Roe, at least a storage locker will be preferable to an alley! And you know how we all love decreasing-civil- liberties humor.
Better interpretation? Let us know.
Back Alley Advertising [Copyranter]
company town
Let Them Read BooksFINANCE
• At a New York Public Library fund-raiser held in his honor, Steve Schwarzman said the place did amazing things for “regular people.” [Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Former Bank of America CFO Alvaro de Molina is the latest big name to join Cerberus. When asked about his title, he said: “It’s Al. That’s not the way they work.” [Deal Journal/WSJ]
• A field guide to summer finance interns for creepy older guys. [Leveraged Sell-out via DealBreaker]
party lines
Michael Moore, at ‘Sicko’ Premiere, Either Is or Is Not Outraged About Film’s Online Leak
The Ziegfeld’s red carpet nearly buckled last week under the Zeitgeisty weight of Brangelina, and things felt nearly as heady last night at the premiere of Michael Moore’s health-care doc Sicko. Like Angie, Moore was looking his skinniest, and, also like Angie, he was barely available for quotes. (Okay, granted, his handlers were bum-rushing him past reporters to make the already-delayed screening.) Passing B-listers, on the other hand, were much easier to buttonhole. Comic Robert Klein called Moore’s earlier films “not always right on their facts” but said he admires the iconic schlub’s satirical genius and flair for awkward confrontations. Morgan Spurlock checked out his spiritual forefather’s trimmer look. “He’s a handsome man,” the anti-fast-food muckraker said approvingly. When we got our 30 seconds with Moore, we asked how he felt about Sicko leaking to YouTube. He was outraged! “People should see the movie in the way I meant it be shown on the big screen.” Or was he? “But I don’t agree with copyright laws in this country. I believe in sharing, and I think that’s only good in the long run. I just want people to see it.” We would have asked him to explain at the after-party, but we weren’t invited. —Justin Ravitz
Hear more from Moore and Spurlock and learn what Swoosie Kurtz and Carol Apt had to say at our Interactive Party Lines.
Related: Michael Moore: Medicine Man [NYM]
gossipmonger
Next Year in ‘Playboy’!Some female Israeli government officials are not happy that the consulate sanctioned Maxim’s “Women of the Israeli Defense Forces.” Bloomberg staffers overbooked a dinner at the home of L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and had to uninvite people. Harvey Weinstein is going after people who illegally downloaded Sicko, which he produced. Megan Ruddy may be the scribe behind the Southampton Press gossip column. A movement is afoot to get Isaiah Washington back on Grey’s Anatomy — and it’s being spearheaded by a gay activist. Paris Hilton’s neighbors aren’t pleased that her release from jail will cause a media frenzy at her house. A lot of famous people showed up at the funeral of former gossip reporter Claudia Cohen.
party lines
At Gen Art Fashion Show, New Stars Are Born (and Old Stars Confess What They Wear at Home)
Long before there was Project Runway there was Gen Art, which has been scouting and showcasing new talent in art and fashion for nearly fifteen years. Gen Art’s ninth annual International Design Awards and Runway Show was at Hammerstein Ballroom last night, and it featured young talent you’ll likely see at the Bryant Park tents in a year or two. (Gen Art has nurtured famous stitchers like Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor, and Vena Cava.) The names to watch out for from last night’s show? We have no idea, but Kim Friday, the nice WWD editor we were sitting next to, suggests these: ardistia, T-County, Julianna Bass, and especially the design collective Form, which everyone was buzzing about. We, meanwhile, hunted down the more familiar names.
in other news
It’s Fleet Week
One problem with announcing Fleet Week is that it’s nearly impossible to say “Welcome, sailors” without sounding at least a bit like Mae West. So far today, only a New York Sun editorial made it work, by going off on a ridiculous tangent about Iraq and how, despite “a variety of views about the war,” we’re not going to call the guests babykillers. (Um, yes. Agreed.) Well, the boysships are coming in right about now. Starting tomorrow, there’ll be the usual assortment of slightly quaint official events (a Navy band at the Times Square recruitment station! Camouflage face-painting in Riverside Park!) and the less official, though no less sanctified, nighttime revelry. Mostly, though, we were intrigued by the bizarre names of the ships set to arrive here, which just reminded us how little we know of the naval life. On parade today will be the USS Wasp, the USS Winston Churchill (we hope the Royal Navy has an HMS Dwight Eisenhower), and the USS Hue City. We hope that last one gets along with the USS Wasp.
Navy Week Events Schedule [PDF]
Welcome, Sailors [NYS]
gossipmonger
Paul Wolfowitz, Meet KarmaPaul Wolfowitz and his girlfriend, Shaha Ali Riza, broke up. Harvey Weinstein and Luc Besson argued over Weinstein’s treatment of Besson’s film. AA member Lindsay Lohan is having a vodka company sponsor her 21st-birthday party. Gwyneth Paltrow covered her daughter’s head with a black veil to ward off paparazzi. Kevin Spacey snapped at an audience member whose cell phone went off during a play. Tom Ford and Anderson Cooper had lunch at the Four Seasons. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is giving Danny Glover $18 million to make a movie about Haiti, and Haitians aren’t happy. Britney Spears was jeered at an impromptu performance at a Miami club. Paris Hilton was photographed at her local bookseller purchasing a Bible and self-help book The Power of Now. Oprah’s dad’s book is now on hold.
photo op
Takin’ Care of Business
We can’t decide if this dude — photographed by dedicated Daily Intel reader Simon Curtis last night at Broadway and West 55th Street — is actually, really, legitimately working from his car (which would be kind of cool), making some sort of statement on America’s automobile culture or the high rents in midtown Manhattan (which would be less cool but still sort of interesting), or simply engaging in a PR stunt (in which case we’ve been suckered). It was a nice night for it, at least.
[Snap a Photo Op–worthy shot? Send it to us at [email protected].]
party lines
Busy Tim Gunn Moves, Guides, Films
After sixteen years in his West Village apartment, Project Runway host Tim Gunn finally found time to move this weekend to his new Chelsea digs. He’d rescheduled the move four times to make it “as stress-free as possible” between filming the first two episodes of his new show, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, based on his book of the same name. “I’d say I’m not a fashion Svengali,” Gunn told us at Project Ruffway the other night of his role on the show. “I’m not going to throw clothes at you and say, ‘If you wear these, all of your fashion woes will be fixed.’ I’m much more of a fashion therapist.” While Gunn films Project in June, producers will look at “tons and tons” of tape for the first two episodes and figure out how to structure the show. “When we go back and do it in July, it should be smoother and better worked out,” said Gunn, who’s taping episode two this week. It’s doubtful he’ll have time soon to install shelves for his 75 boxes of books he moved, but he plans to unpack everything himself, rejecting the idea of a personal assistant. “I couldn’t stand it,” he said. “I’ll wash my own underwear, thank you.” —Amy Odell
the morning line
Purge?
• The Times spots an interesting pattern in the turnover pattern at a Brooklyn community board: Each of the five members tossed out this week by Borough President Marty Markowitz was a vocal opponent of Atlantic Yards. [NYT]
• A fire broke out at a stable in Chestnut Ridge, about 30 miles north of the city, killing two horses and eight ponies. Yes, eight dead ponies. Good morning to you too. [amNY]
• Closing arguments have sounded in the Braunstein case, which went to the jury last night. The defense memorably insisted the hapless kidnapper’s “brain broke,” and the prosecution, well, didn’t really disagree — but still found intent in his actions. [NYDN]
• The latest restaurant added to the lawsuit over minimum-wage violations: Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club, which joins the allegedly ultrastingy B.B. King Bar and Grill (wait, are they now just targeting musician-owned places?) and others. [Metro NY]
• And five young Long Islanders had to be Tasered at Disney World; after getting caught spitting at patrons, the four teenage siblings and a friend had apparently decided on “jumping a cop” as the optimal next-step strategy. [NYP]
gossipmonger
Death By ImplantsJosh Hartnett was involved in a bar brawl on the Lower East Side, but it’s unclear whether his posse started it. Siberia owner Tracy Westmoreland is the new nightlife correspondent for Fox News’ Redeye With Greg Gutfeld. (Also, Siberia is still open!) Naomi Campbell will have to sweep an undisclosed New York City facility for five days as punishment for assaulting a maid with a cell phone. Robert Downey Jr. plays a drunken journalist in Zodiac but wouldn’t want to be one in real life. Governor Jon Corzine’s ex, Carla Katz, is “getting cozy” with Newark mayor Cory Booker. Courtney Love claims Paris Hilton had a “big pile of white powder” in the bathroom of her birthday party on Oscar eve. A new Anna Nicole Smith rumor: death by implants.
in other news
‘Vanity Fair’: We Are All Africa, Ad PagesThough you might have heard something about maternally inclined stars like Angelina Jolie, Madonna, and Oprah caring for some kids in the name of child welfare on the African continent, no superstar has as yet made a really chic effort to solve the country’s problems. Sure, Bill Gates’s wife, Melinda, upped the camera quotient on that couple, but they don’t carry the same paparazzi punch as a face-painted Gwyneth in an “I Am African” ad. Enter Bono and Vanity Fair, which is letting the U2 front man edit the July issue. “Africa is sexy and people need to know that,” Bono said of his editorial agenda. It’s not exactly clear yet how the marriage of Graydon Carter, debt relief, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” and AIDS is going to resolve a few hundred years of turmoil, but whatever happens, no way is it going to be frazzled, blonde, and fifteen pounds overweight: “We are trying to deal with the Sally Struthers thing … When you see people humiliated by extreme poverty and wasting away with flies buzzing around their eyes, it is easy not to believe that they are same as us,” says Bono. So what to expect? Carter claims that “a co-mingling of brands will help sell a tough subject,” so we’re seeing sand to the horizon, Jil Sander on the suffering, and some kind of headdress on Dominick Dunne.
Citizen Bono Brings African to Idle Rich [NYT]
the morning line
Parts and Labor
• New Jersey governor Jon Corzine has acknowledged giving “large gifts” to union boss Carla Katz, whom he dated shortly before running for the office. How large? Well, the words “tuition bills” and “mortgage forgiveness” come up. [NYP]
• The city is on what the News gleefully terms “pervert alert,” as a whopping 64 sex offenders who had claimed to be living in NYC housing projects turn out to be unaccounted for. (Giving cops a bogus address is a misdemeanor in itself.) [NYDN]
• RightRides, a ride-home service for women who’d rather not walk alone at night in troubled neighborhoods, is giving volunteers camcorders to film their walks; eerie first-person views of deserted streets are intended as evidence but accidentally double as compelling video art. [MetroNY]
• We knew Chuck Schumer was a bit of a compulsive camera hog, but we had no idea why: Turns out the senator’s Rosebud is a triumphant quiz-show TV appearance in 1967, wherein 16-year-old Chuck helped his James Madison team defeat Flushing High. [NYT]
• And it’s on: White Castle versus Mayor Bloomberg! The slider chain, as well as its buddies Wendy’s and Quiznos, are pulling all nutritional info from their menus in defiance of the new NYC law mandating just the opposite. The reason is, supposedly, lack of space, and we’re far too classy for a rat-as-ingredient joke. Or are we? [All Headline News]
cultural capital
‘Times’ Couplets: Urban CowboysWherein we arrange headlines in verse to bring you secret messages from the paper of record.
Man Is Convicted of Attempted Murder as Hate Crime in Village Rampage
Athlete and a ‘Cultured’ Tarzan
Savior of a Crumbling Village, Dies.
‘The Rats Will Not Win,’ Chief Varmint Hunter Vows
Hunting a Killer as the Age of Aquarius Dies.
In the Shootout, Two Stars, One Goal—
More Than Just Two Ex-Cowboys
Hitting the Road for Some Hot Man-on-Bike Action,
Exploring Identity as a Problematic Condition.
Deconstructing the Costs, and Emotions, of Warfare
Everything Crumbles Toward Eternities—
The Big Meltdown
A Suddenly Convenient Truth.
Imagine More Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here.
As Night Falls, Farmer Trades His Tractor for the Blues.
the sports section
A-Rod Is Underwhelming, Now Statistically Proven
A slow Friday at the New York sports desk was enlivened by the arrival of this season’s Baseball Prospectus. The massive tome, featuring analysis of every player on every Major League team, down to those with even the slimmest chance of actually seeing big-league playing time, has a reputation for making highly accurate predictions. So what do the gurus think about the New York teams’ chances? You’ll have to buy the book (or subscribe to the Website) for the complete story, but the general sentiment is bullishness on the Yankees (whose off-season personnel moves are praised for their long-term wisdom) and bearishness on the aging Mets (who “may have finally gotten out from under the Braves only to find that they’ve already peaked”). But perhaps most interesting are the comments on Alex Rodriguez.