A Guide to Dan Doctoroff’s Unfinished BusinessDan Doctoroff is leaving City Hall with a lot of big real-estate projects unfinished, but he’s done his best to make sure they have the momentum and guidance to be completed in his absence (which meant coordinating a lot of egos and favors). The mayor remains urgent about his green agenda, and the staff Doctoroff leaves behind seems to click. Plus, he’s not exactly dropping off the grid: “One of the great things about going to [Bloomberg LP] is I’m not going to be that far away,” he told us, murkily. But without strong-willed Doctoroff forcing players to negotiate, will everything go according to plan? After the jump, a handy guide to Doctoroff’s key reform campaigns, with assurances from Doctoroff himself included. Think of it as a cheat sheet for who now controls their (and our) future. —Alec Appelbaum
intel
Viacom Freelancers Continue to Protest Despite Love From AboveExactly seven minutes before their scheduled 3 p.m. protest today, Viacom freelancers received a memo from HR’s JoAnne Griffith saying that the company had decided to let them keep their old health-care plans (although the controversial Aetna plan “has certain advantages that may make it the preferred option for many of our freelance and temporary employees,” the memo said — as if!). When the e-mail arrived, “there was a palpable sense of relief,” said one freelancer, “however, we are still missing several key items that we had before,” including the company’s contributions to their 401(k) and paid holidays. So it was back out to Times Square and chanting, and someone even started a blog for True Life stories of Viacom freelancers, such such as this one, titled “Engaged and Underpaid”:
“My girlfriend and I recently got engaged and set a date for the fall ‘08 for our wedding, but [getting on her health-care plan] will cost us a huge chunk of what we had been saving for our wedding. So much for getting married in ’08. THANKS VIACOM!”
Another protest is planned for tomorrow, where the Viacom freelancers will be joined by members of the Writers Guild East, who are on full-time, as opposed to teatime, strike.
In Major Reversal, Viacom Returns Healthcare to Freelancers [Gawker]
party lines
Pete Wentz Wishes Everybody Were Gone So He Could Just Be NakedWill Smith plays the last man on Earth in I Am Legend, and at the premiere at the Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden, when we asked the predictable “what if it were you” question, there were lots of predictable answers — living in mansions, driving other people’s sports cars, wearing diamonds, finding food, etc. But rocker Pete Wentz had a refreshing outlook on the whole scenario: “I’d probably just go everywhere naked,” Wentz figures. “I like being alone a lot,” the Fall Out Boy front man told us. “I turn off my phone. That’s my best way to do it.” Based on trailers of I Am Legend, however, Wentz questions the premise. “From the preview, it looks like he’s got his dog in the movie. And that’s not really like being alone. That’s like a dog buddy flick, you know.” And Wentz never quite feels alone with his English bulldog, Hemingway, around. “He looks like an alien,” Wentz says. “He looks like Stitch, and he behaves like Stitch, actually. Prime mission: to destroy everything I have in my house. He’s like, is this an antique book? Delicious!” What a bummer. Now we can’t name our dog Hemingway. —Bennett Marcus
Hear more about I Am Legend from Will Smith, Alice Braga, and others at our complete coverage of last night’s premiere.