Cheers to MoMA• Jeff Wall exhibit opening. MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St., nr. Sixth Ave., 7 p.m. Scheduled attendees: Michael Ovitz, Henry Kravis, William Wegman. Floral arrangements will be provided by Ron Wendt Design. Change “Ron” to “George” in that previous sentences and you’ve got yourself a real party.
Or check out our Agenda listings for tonight, selected by New York’s culture editors.
in other news
MTA to World: Look How Vulnerable Our Subway Is!
Because we know you read the USA Today as carefully as we do, we know you were, like us, a bit disturbed by the how-terrorists-can-destroy-the-subway-system primer printed, with no particular news peg, in yesterday’s colorful paper. Some of the cited details might sound familiar, but what stays with you after reading the piece is the sheer October-2001-grade hysteria of the quotes, all of which come from pretty high up. The city’s 600 miles of track are, in the words of Senator Chris Dodd, “ripe, easy targets.” All the costly security upgrades undertaken so far, says MTA preparedness chief Lewis Schiliro, amount to “incremental risk reduction,” which doesn’t sound good at all. None of the nation’s subway systems will be as safe as they should be, he gravely threatens, unless agencies like his get more federal money. Okay, then. Is the money coming? Yes and no: The Homeland Security Department is doling out a paltry $172 million for transit security this year — nationwide. William Morange, MTA’s security director, any words for the boys in D.C.? “Even if you don’t have the money, do the testing for us. Do something.” Schiliro, take us out on the up note! “The magnitude of the problem is almost incomprehensible.” Thanks.
Protecting NYC Subways an ‘Incomprehensible’ Task [USAT]
in other news
College Kids Like Obama More Than Hillary, ‘Desperate Housewives’
The big newspapers tell us the currently important dramas in the 2008 presidential race are the “money primary” and the “talent primary.” But what about the college kids–clicking–on–things primary? A story published on The Nation’s Website last week on Barack Obama’s appeal to young people mentioned that the Facebook group “One Million Strong for Obama” boasted 272,000 members. In the five days since the story was published — covering a road-trip-friendly three-day weekend — the group added 17,000 new members. (Any Facebooker can join the group, which is unaffiliated with the campaign and features information on rallies and donations and so forth.) “One Million Strong for Hillary,” meantime, has held steady at around 3,700 members. That’s about as many people as Obama attracted in each of the last five days — or, put another way, about 24,000 Internet-savvy college-age kids less than are “Addicted to Grey’s Anatomy.”
Obama’s Impressive Youthroots [The Nation]
neighborhood watch
H&H Bagels Completes Harlem GentrificationClinton Hill: What the hell is this Legos-meets-Mondrian thing that’s sprouted up on Reuben north of Myrtle? [Clinton Hill Blog]
East Village: Apparently only the “big” L-stations get those train arrival-time signs. So much for Third Avenue. [CitySpecific]
Flatbush: Seems like this ain’t the only Brooklyn hood the city has failed to provide with those free, slickly packaged condoms. [Flatbush Gardener via Gowanus Lounge]
Harlem: If only Bagel in Harlem had stuck it out another month or so. She could have picked up H&H bagels at the Saurin Park Café. [
buy low
Live and Work in a Tribeca TriplexA bargain-basement price on a new downtown triplex probably means you’re buying the basement, but at 53 Murray Street, you’re getting the raw sub-basement, too. At $3.25 million for 5,335 square feet, the apartment costs just over half of Tribeca’s average, according to StreetEasy. The sub-basement is great for architects, artists, and other tinkerers, with three rooms on the upper floors usable as bedrooms, says Shari Markoff of the Shvo Group. The basement includes a north-facing bedroom that gets decent light (though it faces another building). So if you need only one bed, Markoff suggests, you might festoon the first floor with fanned magazines and potpourri and welcome customers there. “It could make a great spa,” she suggests. “Or it could be great for a not-for-profit.” If you’re in start-up mode, a location near the Fulton Street transit hub and a price you can defend to your investors will help anybody sleep at night. Alec Appelbaum
in other news
James Wolcott Does Not Have a Small Bladder, He InsistsYesterday we learned Times movie critic A.O. Scott doesn’t watch the Oscars; in the same long weekend, it turns out, we also learned that Vanity Fair’s resident cultural curmudgeon, James Wolcott, can’t sit through a two-hour play. From his VF.com blog:
More and more, I see shows described as “intermissionless,” and I hear the rattle of leg irons.
It isn’t that I’m incapable of “holding it in.” It isn’t that I’m likely to pull a Costanza and trample any senior blocking the aisle to make a beeline to the bathroom while the cast takes its bow.
It’s that I don’t like feeling trapped, stuck for the duration … Moreover, intermissions are so civilized. You retire to the lobby, order an overpriced drink, compare notes and discreetly eavesdrop, step outside to take the air, or, if the first act was dire, flee. (“I count it as one of the great moments of my life when I first realized one could actually walk out of a theatre. I don’t mean offensively — but go to the bar at the interval and not come back. I first did it at Oxford: I was watching …”)
Oh, sorry. Drifted off there. But don’t worry: There’s lots more. We can’t wait for it. Really. We’ll just nip out to the lobby first for a second, and —
Exit Ramp Closed [James Wolcott’s Blog/VF.com]