New York Magazine -- Daily NYC Guide -- New York Metro

As Valentine's Day approached, an otherwise frigid week steamed with passion. Unlike her waffling-on-'08 sweetie, Judi Giuliani had no problem declaring — her affection for her snuggle bug, that is. "Rudy's a very, very romantic guy," she gushed, as the Postran a massive make-out cover photo of the pair. "We love watching Sleepless in Seattle." The State Assembly played hard-to-get with Governor Eliot Spitzer (a real Mr. Darcy type), whose Match.com-style tactics in choosing his former flame Alan Hevesi's replacement as comptroller were spurned for an arranged marriage with a financial-management virgin from Long Island. Heartbroken Mayor Bloomberg pined for $300 million in city funds lost in the new state budget, sobbing, "Does anyone believe we'll ever get them back?"

2/ 9/07

5:16 PM

Why'd ‘Idol’ Reject Talk Back to Simon? The Bronx Made Him Do It

We spotted "original New Yorker" Ian Bernardo, the Bronx-born recent American Idol reject, at the Zac Posen after-party last night. Benardo made headlines for being super-rude and untalented — he was also rejected from So You Think You Can Dance — which naturally means he'll soon be making lots of money and is already invited to all the right parties.

So what was Simon's reaction to your remarks on Idol?
He said that I was the rudest person ever on the show, but the truth of the matter is, like, he's always putting people down, and he shouldn't come to New York if he's not expecting someone to talk back. I'm sorry, he was very rude to me. And also I have a lot going for me! I'm a talented person. I'm the Idol correspondent for Extra now. And also I've been on Larry King.

Was there anything else that got edited out?
Simon said that I don't look like an American Idol, and I told him that, with all his money, he has bigger breasts than Paula, and he should do something about it.

2/ 9/07

4:34 PM

Valentine's Day Countdown: Step Away From the Roses

It's nearly Valentine's Day; do you know where the love of your life is? Neither do we. But here's the guidance we learned this week from New York's intrepid band of dating bloggers.

• Threesomes are interesting; lasagne is not. Somewhere in Brooklyn, there is a boy who doesn't want to hear about what his friends had for lunch again, ever. Even if eventually the conversation moves on to the fact they're dating bisexuals. [Forksplit]
• Subway rides are, ipso facto, unromantic. If you're going to try to experience sexual fantasies on the subway in this weather, of course you're just going to feel like a "huge winter muffin in my 5 degree weather outfit"! But the muffin thing's a start. [Virginist]

2/ 9/07

3:47 PM

Dumbo: Soho Like It Used to Be

Talk about a transformation: Years ago, the 50-acre waterfront wedge down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass was forgotten, almost inhospitable. Then artists, edged out of Manhattan, found their way here; as did developer David Walentas, who gave it a name, and Dumbo was created. Legend has it that Walentas bought swaths of the neighborhood — two million square–feet of it, according to some press reports — decades ago, and, building by building, converted it into today's high-end, Soho-like neighborhood (sans the clothing chains). Artists still live here, but increasingly, with prices among the highest in Brooklyn, bonus buyers and moneyed types have taken to it, too, lured by the cobblestone streets, the galleries, the restaurants (Superfine, Rice, River Café), and the mostly funky — though pricey — retail-mix (Jacques Torres, Modern Tots). But the biggest attraction is the great housing stock: once-decrepit warehouses turned luxury lofts, and brand-new high-rises built by developers seeking some of Walentas’ lucre. After the jump, some you can check out this weekend. —S. Jhoanna Robledo

2/ 9/07

3:01 PM

Public Art Stops Traffic in Red Hook (For Half a Day)

Fort Greene: Happy birthday, Tillie's! The pioneering boho café on DeKalb is marking its tenth anniversary with a month of events showcasing Brooklyn-based music, arts, and writing. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Harlem: Rumors are flying that the (refreshingly contextual) Gateway II condo project at 114th and Frederick Douglass may unravel, leaving early buyers in the lurch. [Wired New York via Curbed]
Jamaica: The city's proposal to build up the Hillside Avenue commercial strip is causing a stir among local pols and residents. [Times Ledger via Queens Crap]
Long Island City: If you come, they will build it: a better bike route over the 59th Street Bridge. The MTA wants your input on improved cycling in (and out) of Queens. [Astorians]
Prospect Heights: When the Atlantic Yards–themed "Footprints" exhibition opens February 13 at the Brooklyn Public Library, one work — depicting Ratner's project as a giant looming toilet bowl — will not be on display. Censorship? [Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn via Brooklyn Record]
Red Hook: At the dangerous intersection of Van Brunt and Dikeman en route to the Fairway, a mysterious "traffic-stopper" sculpture was removed last weekend almost as soon as it appeared. [Brooklyn Paper]

Intel

2/ 9/07

2:21 PM

Beware of Riprap in Greenpoint and Williamsburg

The city presented its latest plans for redeveloping the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront Wednesday night, and — believe it or not — local activist groups liked the proposals. The new plans include boat launches, picnic grounds, wetland preserves, which are all things — like a more natural-looking waterfront, a bit of which is shown in the rendering above — community groups have been asking for. "I believe they are making a true effort to tune the plan into a community vision," said Laura Hoffman of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning. She gave props to how the plan integrates Greenpoint Terminal Market artifacts — like old ropes and bricks — into the park's design. (We like this new rendering not least because landscapers call the sort of rocky water-edge depicted "riprap.") How'd things get so lovey-dovey? Team Bloomberg persuaded three developers of waterfront high-rises to turn over open space to the city, and then the city designed with local priorities in mind. The impending towers still give some Williamsburgers the willies, and earlier renderings of the waterfront, warned Jasper Goldman of the Municipal Art Society, "looked like San Diego." But gritty riprap? That's so New York. —Alec Appelbaum

Cultural Capital

2/ 9/07

1:28 PM

Have Fun, Kiddies! (Just Use Protection)

Wherein our faithful correspondent arranges Times headlines to bring you secret truths from the paper of record.

The Romance of a Dozen Roses, the Gritty Reality of a Truckload

In Defense of the Desperate (And the Notorious),
Who's Afraid of an Artist Who Loved Flowers?

Relics of the 19th Century, in a Sentimental Mood
He's Bringing Commitment Back (and Not in a Box).

How He Arrived at That Acquired Taste?
A Turnaround Born of Pain, Now Yielding Opportunity:

Sex, Repressed and Unleashed—
The Big Bang and the Bucks Set to Collide in Inner Space.

A Matter of Fair Play...
A Cigar Isn't Just a Cigar? Ay-Ay-Ay.

Grub Street

2/ 9/07

12:48 PM

The Gobbler's Guide to Avoiding Bad Meals

Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of bad New York restaurants? The Gobbler knows. In his Grub Street column this week, Adam Platt distills the nine signs you're about to have a really sucky meal. From maître d' inspections to the "truffles-truffled" dichotomy to warnings about the size of the desserts (anything bigger "than your mother's handbag" is to be avoided), the Gobbler's got the telltale clues. Check them out on Grub Street.

Signs You're About to Have an Awful Meal [Grub Street]

2/ 9/07

Company Town

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12:07 PM

Associates' Pay Up, Partners' Profits Down?

In Other News

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11:35 AM

Rupert Murdoch Is Shocked, Shocked by Scandalmongering

Ground-Zero Watch

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10:58 AM

Now Calatrava's Transit Hub, Too, Isn't Quite Working Out as Planned

In Other News

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10:34 AM

Seeing Red

Gossipmonger

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10:04 AM

Miss Anna Likes Cat People!

In the Magazine

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9:39 AM

Anna Nicole and ‘New York’: A No-Love-Lost Story

In Other News

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9:09 AM

This Just In: Spitzer Declares a State of Emergency!

The Morning Line

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8:44 AM

Andrew Cuomo, Sheriff of Greenpoint

2/ 8/07

Party Town

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6:00 PM

Television, Radio, and Chamber Music

Intel

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5:23 PM

Spitzer Bails on Silver Dinner

It Just Happened

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4:13 PM

Anna Nicole Smith Is Dead

In Other News

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3:44 PM

‘New Yorker’ Critic Seeks Blogger Cred, Has Pussy Galore

Restroom Report

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4:57 PM

Hanging in the Box's S&M; Restrooms

Back of the House

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4:23 PM

Dinner Roll, Please: '08 SOBE Honorees Already Leaked

Two for Eight

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4:00 PM

Tables Available at Odeon and Shun Lee Palace; Nobu Fully Booked

READ ALL »

Today’s Best Bet

Foul Weather Friend:
AccuWeather 5-day Wireless Weather Forecaster.

Fashion Calendar

2/9: Find deals as low as $25 on Tracy Feith’s girlie frocks.
2/13: All of fall’s must-have shoes from Marni, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chloé are 65 percent off at Chuckies New York.
2/14–2/19: Project Runway alum Emmett McCarthy is slashing prices at his store EMC2.

Faces

The Indie Darling: Lily Allen

The Look Book: The Mountain Man

The Kiddie-Lit Author: Alex Rodriguez

New York's culture editors plan the week.

All

Tuesday, February 6
Also on Tuesday: All Events Today »
noon-6pm	Get meta at Deitch Projects: Jason Schmidt displays 131 portraits of famous artists.
1pm	Lend moral support to your third-baseman; beleaguered superstar Alex Rodriguez reads from his new children's book, Out of the Ballpark.
7pm	Delve into the twisted underbelly of modern American society with American Beauty scribe Alan Ball's latest play, All That I Will Ever Be.

Wednesday, February 7
Also on Wednesday: All Events Today »
10:30am-5:30pm	Take a trip through Martin Ramirez's troubled mind, when the American Museum of Folk Art displays 70 works created during the artist's fifteen years in a mental hospital.
8pm	Unlock My Secret Garden, the stage adaptation of Nancy Friday's groundbreaking book on female sexual fantasies.
8pm	Join the frenzy of 20,000 shrieking boys and girls as Justin Timberlake channels Gumby and Prince at Madison Square Garden.

Thursday, February 8
Also on Thursday: All Events Today »
11am-6pm	Gain superpowers—like the ability to walk through walls—at Anthony McCall's light show/art exhibition at Sean Kelly Gallery.
7pm	Go undercover with former FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone as he reveals "shocking declassified details" from Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business.
8pm	Talk dirty with Best Week Ever's Nick Kroll who hosts the faux talk show A Muthafckin’ Evening with Fabrice Fabrice*.

Friday, February 9
Also on Friday: All Events Today »
8pm	Sparkle with the (opera) stars at Eugene Onegin; Renee Fleming and Ramon Vargas headline at the Met.
8pm	Play name-that-tune with Greg Gillis's frantic mash-up D.J. act Girl Talk.
8pm	Bring 'em home with Operation Homecoming, a documentary featuring Robert Duvall and Josh Lucas about American troops, at Film Forum.

Saturday, February 10
Also on Saturday: All Events Today »
1pm	Be seduced by John Waters when cinema's king of camp holds court at Barnes & Noble in honor of his CD release.
8pm	Unearth hidden treasures at the 2007 PLUG Awards with performances from winners (in our book at least) Stephen Malkmus and Tokyo Police Club.
8pm	Voyage to Journey's End, the World War I drama revived with Jefferson Mays and Boyd Gaines at the Belasco Theater.

Sunday, February 11
Also on Sunday: All Events Today »
3pm, 7:30pm	Spell H-O-M-O when the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee presents its special Gay Night version of the show.
5:45pm	Catch a case of the clean classic giggles with a double feature of Marx Brothers masterpieces Duck Soup and Horse Feathers.
8pm	Make spring come early with the anguished twang of Merge Record's the Rosebuds at Union Hall.

Monday, February 12
Also on Monday: All Events Today »
noon-6pm	Don't skip the headlines on your way to the "Emergency Room;" content for this P.S.1 exhibition is generated daily in response to current events.
6pm	Get righteous with the iconoclastic and inspiring young mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, who speaks at the New School.
7pm	Highbrow your hip-hop as pop-music historians Jason Tanz and Jeff Chang discuss the genre’s evolution.

Tuesday, February 13
Also on Tuesday: All Events Today »
10am-6pm	Fight the adman with Justin Lieberman, whose new exhibition mocks Subway and Wachovia promos with a vengeance.
8:30pm	Put your money on the puggle as 2,500 pooches vie for Best in Show at the 131st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
12:30pm, 6:30pm	Root for the underdog in Jean Pierre-Leaud's 1959 debut film The 400 Blows, part of the French Institute's two-month long tribute to the famed French actor.

Wednesday, February 14
Also on Wednesday: All Events Today »
4pm	Work your brain muscles when Tom Stoppard talks about his triptych talk fest The Coast of Utopia prior to installment three, Salvage.
6:30pm, 9:30pm	Commiserate with Diamanda Galás, the Morticia Adams look-alike who's covering classic heartbreak ballads by Marlene Dietrich and Peggy Lee.
8pm	Ricochet between folkie and freaky as the boys of Akron/Family use their schizophrenic powers for good, not evil, at Europa.

Thursday, February 15
Also on Thursday: All Events Today »
1pm	Steal some new one-liners when two masters of the quip, John Guare and Paul Rudnick, swap barbs at the 92nd Street Y.
7:30pm	Escape the freeze with the sunshine-pop thaw of lo-fi vets the Apples in Stereo at Bowery Ballroom.
8pm	Play the producer at Gutenberg! The Musical!, one of the funniest shows currently running off Broadway.

Friday, February 16
Also on Friday: All Events Today »
8pm	Set your dial to Talk Radio: The Eric Bogosian vehicle is revived on Broadway with Liev Schreiber.
9pm	Get spirited away by the Rapture, who play a special electronic set in honor of their new label, Throne of Blood, at Studio B.
midnight	Belt it out with the vampire slayer when IFC hosts a Buffy sing-along.

Saturday, February 17
Also on Saturday: All Events Today »
8pm	Keep it chill with Frozen Baby, Regina Nejman's dance-installation piece about the press of time.
9pm	All hail Kevin Kline, who's tackling the title role in King Lear at the Public Theater.
9pm	Break it down with the Oxford Collapse, the high-energy, driving guitar-rock act out of Brooklyn.

Say Everything: What Happens When Kids Are No Longer Interested in Privacy?

FeaturesMore Features

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: American Jeremiad: A harrowing ride up the proverbial creek and into the bleeding heart of our nation’s most animated secular prophet of apocalypse.

Snakes in the Garden: Wal-Mart wanted to modernize its image. Big-city types wanted to make a fortune doing it. By the time it was over, a Madison Avenue heavy had been summoned to Arkansas over his splashy lifestyle, and nobody was happy except the lawyers.

Columns More Columnists

The Bush-proof Portfolio: The president’s wanton spending has investors fleeing to foreign exchanges. It’s time to join them.

Quack! Quack!: Bush isn’t the only one (dangerously?) flapping his wings. We’re living in the age of lame-duckism, where dying things won’t go away.

IntelligencerMore Intelligencer

Miss USA Still Likes the Nightlife: At least according to Miss Universe.

Food Find Restaurants & Menus

Butchered: The namesake specialty at Jeffrey Chodorow’s new Kobe steakhouse is fine. Beyond that, run.

Real EstateMore Real Estate

Opn Hse!: Cell-phone listings are the latest way to shop for apartments.

Shaft Director Gordon Parks Slept Here

ShoppingFind Stores

The Everything Guide to Shoes: Extreme designer heels, the ballet-flat blitz, a guide to men’s footwear, and where to get them all repaired.

Curve Gives Classic Wardrobes a Twist in Soho

Fashion Start a Fashion Album

The Look Book: Mountain-man-looking art production designer Eric Harvey Brown

Art More in Art

The Endless Fifteen Minutes: Twenty years after his death, Andy Warhol refuses to fade away.

Movies Get Showtimes & Tickets

Spy vs. Spy: The Lives of Others appeals to our better—and baser—instincts.

The Indie Film Shot Completely in Bathrooms

Theater More in Theater

The Play Really Is the Thing: Frank’s Home is a muddle, and even the best actors in the world couldn’t save it.

Books More in Books

The Infidel Speaks: So what does Ayaan Hirsi Ali make of her new conservative friends in D.C.?

TVMore in TV

Down the Hatch: By John Leonard; Lost returns with more questions, few answers, and an audience whose patience is wearing thin.

What to Watch on Monday Night

Kids & Family More in Kids

On the Rise: The Center for Architecture builds an audience with its monthly Family Day.

Personals

rich10019

Most humbling moment: "Well, my last humbling moment was bowling--how often do people have bowling accidents after all?"

More Profiles

Alice & Olivia	Dennis Basso
Chado Ralph Rucci	Designers for Darfur
Carmen Marc Valvo	Donna Karan
Charles Nolan	Tommy Hilfiger
Child Magazine	Zang Toi
Costello Tagliapietra	See All the Shows

Edited by Jesse Oxfeld with Michael Idov

2/ 9/07

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2/ 9/07

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2/ 9/07

1:28 PM

2/ 9/07

12:48 PM

2/ 9/07

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10:58 AM

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10:34 AM

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2/ 8/07

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3:44 PM

Subscribe to New York

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Today’s Best Bet

Fashion Calendar

Faces

New York's culture editors plan the week.

FeaturesMore Features

Columns More Columnists

IntelligencerMore Intelligencer

Food Find Restaurants & Menus

Real EstateMore Real Estate

ShoppingFind Stores

Fashion Start a Fashion Album

Art More in Art

Movies Get Showtimes & Tickets

Theater More in Theater

Books More in Books

TVMore in TV

Kids & Family More in Kids

Personals