Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Spotted | Penelope Cruz leaving her hotel ... Sarah Jessica Parker walking to the set of Sex and the City 2 ... Hugh Jackman getting out of an SUV in front of his apartment building ... Alicia Silverstone leaving the CW studios in Midtown ... Tyra Banks posing for a photo shoot on Fifth Avenue ... Elizabeth Hurley walking out of her hotel ... Mark Wahlberg hanging out on the set of The Other Guys ... Glee's Cory Monteith and Lea Michele leaving the Brooks Aktinson Theater ... Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt getting out of an car ... and Sienna Miller leaving the American Airlines Theater in Times Square after a performance of After Miss Julie.

Happy Birthday | Two politicians who have had a hard time keeping their pants up over the years are celebrating birthdays today. Eliot Spitzer is turning 50; John Edwards is turning 56. Other people blowing out candles today: Gina Gershon is turning 47. Elizabeth Hurley is turning 44. Eric Villency, the furniture store heir and husband of Kimberly Guilfoyle, is 34. Faith Evans is 36. ABC News correspondent Kate Snow is turning 40. Journalist Nat Hentoff turns 84. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is 38. Leelee Sobieski is 27. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn turns 46. Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski is turning 27. Defense attorney F. Lee Bailey is 76. And nightlife impresarios—and business partners—Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm are 32 and 31, respectively.

• Mayor Bloomberg has proposed raising the sales tax by half a percentage point. That's certainly not going to do much to help struggling retailers, now is it? [NYDN]
• With a fresh batch of stores and restaurants closing each day, life on the UES has gotten pretty depressing. [NYT]
• A few weeks ago, Thom Browne denied that his fashion company was in trouble. The fact both his CEO and CFO departed the company today certainly doesn't bode well. [WWD]
• A few notables not expected at the Costume Institute Gala on Monday: Karl Lagerfeld, Carine Roitfeld, Matthew Williamson, and Bernard Arnault. [FWD] More

Spotted | Olivia Palermo carrying a Marc Jacobs shopping bag in Soho ... Sarah Jessica Parker shopping at Kidding Around on West 15th Street ... Edie Falco standing on the sidewalk holding a cup of coffee in Soho ... Hugh Jackman arriving at JFK ... Robert De Niro peering into the tinted window of an SUV ... Bar Refaeli hailing a cab ... Juliette Lewis carrying an iced coffee ... Brad Pitt shooting a Japanese commercial with a Sumo wrestler ... Elizabeth Hurley leaving a hotel with Arun Nayar ... Samantha Ronson walking ... Tilda Swinton shopping with a friend ... Kelly Ripa leaving a building with an Oscar Blandi bag ... and Mary-Kate Olsen getting breakfast in Tribeca with Nate Lowman.

Spotted | Kelly Ripa carrying son Joaquin ... Anne Hathaway walking downtown with boyfriend Adam Shulman, and later taking her dog for a walk ... Beyoncé arriving at JFK ... Uma Thurman eating ice cream with son Levon and a friend in Midtown ... Mary-Kate Olsen riding a bike in the East Village with Nate Lowman ... Kim Kardashian looking like a tourist in Soho, and later getting a pedicure at a nail salon ... Katie Holmes standing on a sidewalk on the Lower East Side ... Elizabeth Hurley and husband Arun Nayar glaring at another couple on Madison Avenue ... Whitney Port walking in Soho ... Russell Crowe leaving his hotel ... Lindsay Price talking on her cell in the West Village ... Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson holding hands in Soho ... and Naomi Watts standing under an umbrella on a movie set in Brooklyn.

• Not such good news for Kanye West: He was charged with misdemeanor battery, grand theft and vandalism yesterday in connection with the fight he had with a bunch of photographers at LAX back in September. He could face up to 2 1/2 years in jail if convicted, although that's highly unlikely. And since they're not felony charges, he isn't expected to appear in court when he's arraigned on April 14. [NYDN, LAT, AP]
• Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are supposedly planning a massive—but totally top-secret!—second wedding, just in time for their one-year anniversary in April. But please don't tell anyone. [In Touch]
• James Franco is having a hard time moving around the Columbia University campus now that so many of his fans have figured out his class schedule. [P6]
• John Mayer's rep says he is not writing a tell-all book about Jennifer Aniston, despite what you may have read in Star. [MSNBC] More

Spotted | Britney Spears getting out of an SUV at JFK ... Sarah Ferguson signing copies of her book at Borders ... Taylor Momsen on the Gossip Girl set ... Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise leaving their apartment with Suri ... LL Cool J reading to kids as part of a charity event in Rockefeller Plaza ... Candice Bergen walking by herself on the Upper West Side ... Calista Flockhart outside the Letterman show ... Leighton Meester posing for photos at a domestic violence awareness event in Union Square ... Elizabeth Hurley entering her hotel on the Upper East Side ... and Sean and Robin Wright Penn holding hands outside the premiere of What Just Happened. 

Spottings | Pierce Brosnan waving to fans on his way out of Da Silvano ... Agyness Deyn taking her puppies for a walk, iced coffee in hand ... Lourdes Leon checking out her manicure outside Madonna's Upper West Side apartment ... Kirsten Dunst carrying a stack of magazines and a cup of lemonade through SoHo ... John Mayer leaving his apartment downtown, en route to a gig on Long Island ... Carolyn Murphy, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elizabeth Hurley outside the Waverly Inn.

• Short haircuts are in fashion, which is final, conclusive proof of a global recession, say Japanese researchers. Also, it's the perfect excuse to run a picture of Agyness Deyn, which is good because we don't think we've seen her face ten times yet today. [Independent]
• WWD claims the haute couture market is immune from the economic downturn, with labels like Christian Lacroix and Chanel selling more than ever to the uber-wealthy. [WWD]
• The July Harper's Bazaar devotes 40 pages to Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy and Hilary Rhoda, the faces of major advertiser Estée Lauder's new perfume Sensuous, raising eyebrows among industry analysts. [NYT]