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Donatella's Most Vulnerable Victims [Charity Events]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:58:00 -0700

Donatella Versace graced New York City with her royal presence this week. The reason for her visit? She was here to preside at the opening of Art Unites, a program created in conjunction with the Whitney that is giving out art supplies to 1,400 seriously ill children around the world. The kids use the materials to make art work; their pieces then get turned into special edition Versace tote bags, which are sold to the public with the proceeds going back to non-profit. It's a fine cause, of course. But did event organizers really have to subject these sick kids to physical contact with Donatella? Haven't they been through enough as it is? A collection of unfortunate kids subjected to the Donatella's frightening embrace after the jump.

Ivy Supersonic Wants Justice [Follow Up]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:52:00 -0700

Dealbook has an update in the case of Ivy Supersonic, the "fashion designer, entertainer, publicist, promoter, event planner, and animated character designer" who was busted for bringing a "recording device" to Bernie Madoff's sentencing earlier this week. As suspected, she says she was planning to tape the proceedings for Howard Stern's radio show. (In fact, she tells reporter Zachery Kouwe that the "device" was a Blackberry Pearl that belonged to Robin Quivers.) She also reports that she's talking to her lawyers about whether she has a legal right to get the tape back, since it "could be worth $1 million." Best of luck with that, Ivy. [Dealbook, previously]

Trump vs. Trump [Dynasties]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:46:00 -0700

Were you aware there are two groups of real estate moguls with the last name Trump running around town and they're not even related? The Real Deal has the story on the "other Trumps"—Eddie Trump and his brother Jules—who not only have "no financial, philosophical or even familial ties to Donald Trump," they actually kind of despise one another, too. "The difference with Eddie and Jules is that they build their own buildings," explains an employee of the lesser-known Trumps who goes on to describe Donald as a "peddler." "They don't take a label and stick it on somebody else's product. Donald Trump isn't that involved in his projects. He comes down, makes three appearances, gets his commission and goes away." Eddie and Donald do seem to both enjoy posing with B-listy celebrities like Hayden Panettiere and CariDee English—and they both appear to be rather fond of lavender clothing—so if you inadvertently figured they were related, well, you're forgiven. [The Real Deal]

The Blade, Book Deals, CNBC's Blogger Battle [Media Roundup]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:44:00 -0700

• The New York Blade, one of the two big gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City, has suspended publication and laid off most of its staff. [NYT]
• How many books can you possibly read about Bernie Madoff? Who knows, but there at least four books about him scheduled to hit stores this fall. [Crains]
• David Rohde, the New York Times reporter who was kidnapped in Afghanistan with his translator in November and released a couple of weeks ago, returned to the Times newsroom to a standing ovation yesterday. [NYT]
• James Frey's young adult novel has been sold to HarperCollins. [NYT]
• Wonkette editor Ken Layne has sold a book to HarperCollins, too. [NYO]
• The battle between CNBC's Dennis Kneale and bloggers goes on. [Dealbreaker]

• Where has Rachel Maddow been this week? Fishing, it seems. [HuffPo]
• Speaking of MSNBC, it appears its Lockup series has run out of U.S. prisons to visit (it does run all weekend, after all), so now it's going abroad. [Variety]
• Four Pulitzer-winning Journal reporters have defected to Bloomberg. [NYT]
• Speaking of the Journal, it may soon start charging for mobile content. [E&P]
• Chase Carey, News Corp.'s new No. 2, stands to make a mint this year. [LAT]
• John Stossel was not happy when his 20/20 segment was bumped last week in favor of more Michael Jackson coverage. So now he's complaining. [NYO]
• Mark Sanford's planned book? Not happening. Crushing news, clearly. [Time]

Bloomberg Sheds a Tear [The Mayor]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:08:00 -0700

We've seen Michael Bloomberg display his temper on numerous occasions over the past few months. Today he showed off his softer side when he turned "misty-eyed" at a naturalization ceremony: "After citing immigrants' contributions to American society and their appreciation of American freedom, the mayor concluded by saying, 'Whether you were born, seriously, in Palermo or Pakistan, Korea or Killarney, today you are Americans.' The last words of the sentence seemed to catch in Mr. Bloomberg's throat. His eyes moist, he quickly wrapped up his remarks, saying: 'Nothing anybody else can say. God bless.'"

The Times has gone back to see how many times the mayor has teared up in the past. It's not that many. Let's hope today's display of emotion doesn't reflect some sort of personal problem the mayor is struggling with. We're just not ready to hear that the mayor and Diana Taylor have broken up. Coming so soon after the news that Tinsley Mortimer and her husband are splitting up, it's liable to make us give up on love forever.

Play Misty-Eyed for the Mayor [NYT]

Michael Wolff and His Mustache: Now Available [Contests]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:12:00 -0700

WWD has a long piece today on Michael Wolff, the Vanity Fair columnist who has had a rough few months ever since we first reported that he was carrying on an affair with a former Vanity Fair intern named Victoria Floethe. If you've been wondering what Wolff has been doing since he disgraced himself so fully (or you're interested in seeing a photo of where he's currently living), you should enjoy.

We were especially pleased, though, to see that the WWD piece was accompanied by ~~our~~ a scan of Wolff's author photo from his 1979 book White Kids. It's a gorgeous picture, you'll have to admit. And it now it can be yours! Since there really is no value to anything that Wolff writes, we're going to give the book away. For free. Consider it a pre-Fourth of July gift. Just email us at tips@cityfile.com. We'll pick someone at random and send it to you, and we'll even pay the postage. We're never going to actually read it. And frankly we could use the shelf space.

Update: We have a winner. Thanks for playing!

David Patrick Columbia: Now Tweeting From the 10021 [Technology]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:38:00 -0700

Big news from David Patrick Columbia today: The society chronicler and proprietor of New York Social Diary reports that he's now using Facebook and Twitter! "Twitter. I couldn't think of what to write. I'm a person who is rarely without a thought or consideration in his head, no matter where I am, no matter where I go. Yet with that little dumb distraction of a cell phone screen before me, I couldn't think of a damned thing to Twitter. Or Tweet." So what did he come up with? "Having Skippy's creamy peanut butter on an English muffin." This is going to be big. So please follow him here and please do it now. [NYSD]

Ruth Madoff Gets the Boot! [Wives of the Disgraced]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:56:00 -0700

That was quick! Federal agents turned up at 133 East 64th Street just after noon today with a court order to seize the penthouse apartment belonging to Ruth and Bernie Madoff. "We've taken custody," a spokesman for the US Marshalls tells the Post. Taken custody? Does that mean a battering ram and tear gas were used? Not quite. Unfortunately, Ruth was not ushered out into the street in her bathrobe and forced to shuffle off into the distance in her slippers. She left sometime between last Friday—when she agreed to give up the apartment as part of a deal with the U.S. Atttorney's office—and today, and her lawyer points out that she "left voluntarily and in an orderly manner." And where is she now? An "undisclosed location." If you happen to spot her in your neighborhood, let us know. Your info might just earn you some serious cash. [NYP]

It's Good to Be at Goldman [Wall Street]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:47:00 -0700

There is good economic news to report, after all! But only if you work at Goldman Sachs (and maybe Morgan Stanley): "Based on analysts' earnings forecasts for 2009, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is on track to pay out as much as $20 billion this year, or about $700,000 per employee. That would be nearly double the firm's $363,000 average last year, and slightly higher than the $661,000 for the average Goldman employee in fiscal 2007." Now we just have to hope every Goldman employee blows his or her bonus buying a new apartment and the real estate market will be booming again in no time. [WSJ]

Graydon Carter Will (Not) Seat You Now [Restaurateurs]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:27:00 -0700

Most magazine editors spend their days discussing story ideas with writers and editors, reviewing copy, and deciding what pieces will appear in upcoming issues. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter? He does that, too, but the part-time restaurateur also carves out a chunk of time every day to tend to the "daily process of populating the dining room" at Monkey Bar, a "choreography" he performs in conjunction with an associate editor at the magazine. (So, yes, while Condé Nast is currently laying off staffers, it's also pays one to manage the seating chart for Carter's little side project.) So how does Carter go about performing this pleasureless ("I'm like the guy with the sandbags") and clearly unhealthy task, one that's especially challenging since so many people want a reservation, the restaurant has been reduced to only accepting table requests by email?

A sunken area in the center of the dining room that you see when entering is known as "the pit." It is important to have "young, attractive people" at the first of two round tables in the pit, Mr. Carter said. "It gives a certain energy."

Pointing to the two tables on an elevated area to the right side of the room, he said these were for people looking for a quiet meal.

On the opposite side of the room are four nice booths. "This is fashion and literary and young," he said. That night, Cynthia McFadden of ABC news; Liz Smith, the gossip columnist; and Marjorie Gubelmann, a socialite, were in those booths.

Elevated over the pit opposite the entrance are a line of banquettes, which that night included a group of 20 or so guests of the socialite Jennifer Creel who were celebrating her debut as a designer of sunglasses sold at Bergdorf Goodman.

And behind them was the most-prime real estate, a line of booths on the back wall overlooking the whole scene. "This is young and media moguls," Mr. Carter said, pointing to the booths, "and sort of single-name people." On that night, Calvin Klein, Rupert Everett, Prince Andrew, Ron Perelman and Louise Grunwald were in those booths. When Madonna comes in, she gets a back booth.

Maybe we didn't read the article closely enough, because we failed to spot any of these "young" people that Carter keeps alluding to. Of course, it's all relative. Compared to Liz Smith, who is actually older than the landmark Hotel Elysée itself, we're all youngsters, aren't we?

Many Called, but Few Were Seated [NYT]

Bad News All Around [The Economy]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:50:00 -0700

The real estate market still sucks, in case you haven't noticed. According to reports issued by a handful of the city's biggest brokerages today, home sales were off 50 percent during the second quarter compared to same time period last year, and prices took a beating as well, naturally: The average sales price of a Manhattan apartment is now $1.31 million, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman, down 21 percent from a year ago. And today's report on unemployment courtesy of the U.S. Labor Department won't do much to lift your spirits. The jobless rate rose to 9.5 percent in June as the U.S. economy shed another 467,000 jobs. So is there anything good to report to offset all the bad news? We can't think of much, but we'll let you know if we come up with something. [Real Deal, NYT]

Spotted [Out & About]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:11:00 -0700

Liv Tyler leaving lunch at Sant Ambroeus on West 4th Street ... Liev Schreiber riding his Vespa downtown ... Anne Hathaway walking in SoHo ... Whitney Port shopping in the West Village ... Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan filming scenes for The Resident in Brooklyn ... Kiefer Sutherland walking in the West Village ... Courtney Love walking by herself near Gramercy Park ... Heidi Klum shopping with her mom and kids in the meatpacking district ... Emilie de Ravin walking on the Lower East Side ... Rihanna hanging out at East Side Ink in the East Village ... Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper hailing a cab outside Antonucci on East 81st Street.

Sarah & Matthew: Brooklyn Bound? [Buyers & Sellers]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:09:00 -0700

• It looks like Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick might be moving their growing brood to Park Slope. The couple is rumored to be behind the recent purchase of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany's Victorian townhouse at 17 Prospect Park West, which was sold to an LLC called Harken Pretty for $8.45 million last December. [NYP]
• Paul Kerz, the former CEO of Health Management Systems, and his wife Corinne, have dropped the price of their five-story, five-bedroom townhouse at 126 East 65th Street, four months after putting it on the market for $12.5 million. It's now listed for $9.95 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
• Sara Levinson, the former president of the women's publishing division of Rodale, and her husband Charles Hairston, have paid $2.625 million for a three-bedroom co-op at 45 East 85th Street. [Cityfile]
• Hockey star Scott Gomez is reportedly putting his three-bedroom pad at the Chelsea Mercantile up for sale now that he's been traded away from the Rangers. Meanwhile, fellow ex-Ranger Darius Kasparaitis has listed his two-bedroom condo at 205 East 59th Street for $2.595 million. [NYP, PDE]

Happy Birthday [One Year Older]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:34:00 -0700

Lindsay Lohan turns 23 today. Larry David is turning 62. Singer Michelle Branch is 26. High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale turns 24. The chairwoman of the New York City Opera, Susan Baker, is turning 59. Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Richard Axel turns 63. Former New Hampshire governor John Sununu is 69. Former model Jerry Hall is 53. Retired baseball player José Canseco turns 45. And Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines, celebrates her 80th birthday today.

Tinsley Takes Flight, Renee's New Man [Gossip]

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:58:00 -0700

• First Michael Jackson dies, and now this? It seems it's over for Tinsley Mortimer and her husband, Topper, now that Tinz is in London where she's taken up with a German prince named Casimir Wittgenstein-Sayn. Why the change of heart? For starters, "Cassie" makes more money than Topper and owns a castle in Germany. Even more importantly, marrying him would finally make the Tinz a princess. And opportunities like that don't come along every day, naturally. [P6, DM]
• Bradley Cooper denied rumors the other day that he's been dating Jennifer Aniston. One possible reason for that: It looks like he's involved with Renee Zellweger instead. [P6]
• Kevin Jonas is engaged. He's one of those annoying Jonas Brothers, in case you're not up to speed on your annoying teen pop stars. [People]
• A few years ago, someone walking through the meatpacking district would have complained about the stench of rotting meat. Nowadays? They're whining that Diane von Furstenberg's store is pumping perfume into the air. [P6]

• No one knows the circumstances surrounding Michael Jackson's death yet. But we do now know that Jackson used the names "Omar Arnold" and "Jack London" to get his prescription drugs, so that's good. [TMZ]
• In other Jackson news, Uri Geller, a "close friend" of Jackson's and a man who bends spoons for a living, says he totally knew something like this was going to happen one of these days. Presumably he was too busy bending those spoons, though, to actually do something about it. [Sun]
• If you were hoping the Jackson story would fade away soon, think again. TMZ founder Harvey Levin says the story's about to get even bigger. [NYDN]
• Hilary Duff is joining the cast of Gossip Girl for several episodes. [People]
• Kate Gosselin's clothing line has been put on hold. Try to contain your outrage and despair, please. [Us]
• Spencer and Heidi Pratt have been smoking too much pot while sitting in front of their computer, it seems. They say 9/11 was an "inside job," global warming is "mind boggling," and they're concerned about the rise in computer chips being implanted into human bodies. Or something like that. [Us]
• Khloe Kardashian says it's been hard stepping out of her sister's shadow. But she's giving it her best shot, that's for sure. [Sun]
• Karl Malden, the Oscar-winning actor you probably know better for his American Express commercials, has died at 97. [NYDN]