March 2, 2009 Issue
Cover Story
The Monster Mensch
Bernie Madoff began as the classic Wall Street outsider. It was the struggle to
make it inside that formed him�and eventually led to his undoing. By Steve Fishman.
Plus: �Mom and Dad and Ruth and Bernie,� a Madoff memoir. By John Maccabee
On the Cover: Illustration by Darrow for New York Magazine.
Features
Bob Kerrey's Ivory-Tower War
The New School president lost his lower leg in Vietnam, fought countless battles in the Senate, even ran for president. But nothing prepared him for the insurrection he now faces.
The Town Car 500
Livery-cab drivers are racing for a dwindling number of calls, and a lone teenage dispatcher is referee of the road.
Intelligencer
Fast Cash
Why are bank robberies on the rise?
Appetites
Sin taxes, nanny politics, and the illogic of trying to govern by what’s best for us.
Held Back
Will Bloomberg dump Joel Klein?
The Neighborhood News
Our roundup of news from around the city.
Brainy Broadway
How Schiller became a sure thing.
23 Minutes With Richard Gere
Actor, humanitarian, locavore, nervous innkeeper.
Desirée’s Warm Wintour
Are White House social secretary Desiree Rogers and Vogue editor Anna Wintour suddenly besties?
Five Things We Learned About the Rolling Stones
From Bill German’s new book.
Back and Forth
Kanye West attended eight shows during Fashion Week.
Heeere’s Jimmy!
With Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to premiere on March 2, the host-to-be still seems quite nervous.
Beatriz Stix-Brunell
She just celebrated her 16th birthday while touring with Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet company.
Columns
The GOP’s New Colors
Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal don’t look like the vast majority of Republicans. But do new faces mean new ideas?
Strategist
Best Bets
Local wines, Housing Works Tribeca, and more.
The Look Book
"I used to be much bigger. I lifted weights and everything."
The Restaurant Review
David Burke’s Fishtail sinks in its own goofiness, while the Oak Room simply fails.
In Season
Itty-bitty bianchetti are big this time of year in Sicily.
Restaurant Openings
Week of March 2, 2009: Farinella and White Slab Palace.
Eat, Then Hibernate
Five gut-busting dishes to see you through the last days of winter.
Great Room
A purple piano, a latex sofa, and a Ronald McDonald head make for a classic-kitschy mash-up.
Culture
The Brothers Platt
New York’s restaurant critic sits down with his brother Oliver, now hoofing in Guys and Dolls.
Coming Home
Jane Fonda returns to the stage, radical and chic.
Building a Better Robot
A classic political farce gets a reboot.
The Theater Review
The Story of My Life doesn’t take the easy road, and isn’t up to the tough one.
The Architecture Review
Two architects offer far more than lip service to affordable housing.
The Movie Review
A luminous Gretchen Mol saves An American Affair. Too bad she wasn’t available for Crossing Over.
The Pop Music Review
M. Ward is indie rock’s great bashful hope.
The Jazz Standard
Thelonious Monk’s landmark 1959 concert at Town Hall lives again through Jason Moran.
David Byrne Makes Sense Of His Tour
Last spring, David Byrne came to a bittersweet realization.
Agenda
Buzz v. Buzz
With a new kiosk from Porto Rico, Essex Street Market gets its first bona fide coffee shop.
Departments
Comments: Week of March 2, 2009
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