July 14, 2008 Issue
Cover Story
Remembering Clay Felker
Clay Felker, who founded New York, died last week at 82. Among the first to recognize the bourgeois circus that the metropolis was becoming, he invented a new kind of magazine � and journalism � to chronicle it. Along the way, he launched the careers of a generation of literary superstars,
became an early champion of the women’s movement, and, in a way, invented
the yuppie (a mixed blessing, to be sure). His vision of New York as a tournament of ambition was so vivid it changed the way people looked
at the city � and thus changed the city itself. Just days before Felker’s death, Tom Wolfe finished an essay about Clay for an upcoming New York anthology. We print it here (�A City Built of Clay�), joined by a succession
of memories of Felker from Gloria Steinem, Milton Glaser, Richard Reeves, Felix Rohatyn, Gore Vidal, and others (�My God, What Trouble You Could Cause!�), plus a small piece narrated to his wife, Gail Sheehy, in his final days by Clay himself (�My New York�).
On the Cover: Clay Felker at the old New York office on East 32nd Street. Photograph by Cosmos Sarchiapone.
Features
Whose Harlem Is It?
Willie Kathryn Suggs, the so-called Queen of Harlem Real Estate, has sent local housing prices soaring. She’s also touched off a heated debate: Should Harlem be preserved as an affordable haven for blacks? Or sold to the highest bidder?
Harvesting Yankee Stadium
Get ready for the biggest yard sale ever.
Columns
Felkerism
For New York’s founding editor, the city was like a giant novel waiting to be written, a pageant of ambition. And no one wrote it better than he did.
Intelligencer
Grasso’s Pay Pal Regrets Nothing
Ken Langone wouldn’t change a thing.
Red Hooked on Swedish Commute
Hitching a ride on Ikea.
More Money, More NYPD Recruits
Also, lowered target.
Fear & Loathing for Tim Russert
Lapham speaks ill.
Fuzzy Days in the Hamptons
EHPD blues.
Ex-Gossip’s Lawsuit Lacks Appeal
At least for his lawyer.
It Happened Last Week
Word that A-Rod had been making late-night visits to �Madonna’s home base hogged the spotlight from the week’s other odd couples.
Why We Need a Hero at Ground Zero
Forget a �traffic cop.� Bring in Philippe de Montebello.
Manuel’s Manual
The (likely temporary) Mets manager respects his forebears.
Beacon of Hope
Does Philippe Vergne have what it takes to keep Dia from being DOA?
Shochet Shocker
Brooklyn kosher-butchering empire hobbled by labor troubles.
Strategist
That Flapping Sound Is Back
Jellies, flip-flops, and sandals for both genders.
The Look Book
"I think about clothes all the time. Like, literally all the time."
The Restaurant Review
Alain Ducasse’s Benoit takes the New York brasserie craze to new lows.
Restaurant Openings
Week of July 14, 2008: Lia’s Ices, Kurve, and Socarrat Paella Bar.
What a Grill Wants
Fourth of July cookouts bring on barbecue fatigue.
Hide This Ugly Thing
You need it. But you don’t have to see it.
Realty Television
Never mind the national housing slump: Real-estate TV is selling just fine.
Culture
Julie Hagerty Sounds Funny
The Airplane! star lands safely onstage.
The TV Review
From the folks who brought you The Wire, a Baghdad dystopia that’s bleaker than Baltimore.
The Slow Burn
MGMT was born into buzz. Then they figured out how to earn it.
The Movie Review
Life on an �Iraqi� stage set. Plus: Brendan Fraser, in 3-D.
Gore, Mishima, and Advertising
The DVD queue: Chop Shop, Mad Men, Shine a Light, and more.
The Book Review
The Greeks worshipped it; the Aztecs were a little more conflicted.
The Approval Matrix: Week of July 14, 2008
Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.
Agenda
Four Festival Freebies
Nothing says July more than free �family-�friendly festivals (try to say that three times fast).
Miles of Aisles
On July 9, Manhattan gets its fifth Whole Foods.
Departments
Comments: Week of July 14, 2008
Readers sound off on Barack Obama, East Village punks, and more.
Artifact: How the Helmsley Dog Got Stiffed
Findings from the streets, files, and hard drives of New York.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Letters may be edited for space and clarity. Please include a daytime phone number.
- Mail to
-
- New York Media
- 75 Varick Street
- New York, NY 10013
- [email protected]