The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel

New Yorkers have long had a soft spot for The Waldorf-Astoria. Glamorous and storied, the hotel has loomed as a pinnacle of luxury in a town teeming with such.

But is it possible that the hotel where Al Pacino “Hoo Ha’ed!” in Scent of a Woman and where King Jaffe Joffer (played by James Earl Jones) stayed in Coming to America is now one of the better discounts for upscale lodging?  read more »

Saturday

7 a.m. Congressman Joseph Crowley will host a political breakfast before the St. Patrick's Day Parade at TGIFriday's, 47 East 42nd Street.

9 a.m. Bill Perkins will host a forum on the New York State health budget to disseminate the facts about the Governor's Executive Budget for Health Care at the Amalgamated Bank, 564 West 125th Street.

9:30 a.m. Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak at the funeral service for Auxiliary Police Officer Nicholas Pekearo at Redden's Funeral Home, 325 West 14th Street between 8th and 9th avenues.  read more »

John McCain will be the keynote speaker at Yeshiva University's annual dinner on December 10 at the Waldorf Astoria, a source called to say.

This would be one of McCain's first announced public speaking appearances after creating his presidential exploratory committee.

Just days after Rudy Giuliani registered his own exploratory committee with the state.

In front of what must be considered, at least within the context of a hypothetical Republican presidential field, to be a Giuliani-inclined crowd.

I'm just saying.

-- Azi Paybarah

The City Council and the New York Blood Center host a blood drive at City Hall.

HUD announces grants for New York and New Jersey organizations at the HELP Genesis RJK Apartments on East 13th Street.

Michael Chertoff keynotes the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation's 16th Annual Luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation presents its Human Security Award to Mohammed Elbaradei at the Reception House in Flushing, Queens.

—Nicole Brydson

The city's oldest good-government group, Citizens Union, wants Alan Hevesi to resign.

I spoke to CU Executive Director Dick Dadey earlier today. Here's what he said, taking into account Hevesi's belated decision to debate his opponent:

"I think it's great that a much-needed debate is finally taking. It will not change our decision.

"These ethical issues are going to overshadow anything else that should be part of the debate...they go to the core of who is best suited to be the public watchdog against fraud and abuse. You can have all the accomplishments behind you, but if you're not scrupulous about how you conduct yourself in office, it raises a lot of questions."

This hard-line position should make CU's annual fund-raiser at the Waldorf Astoria tonight more interesting than usual. (Expected guests include the mayor and Council Speaker Christine Quinn.)

A statement from CU is after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

UPDATE: Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno also wants Hevesi to step down. [link fixed].

“Like New York itself, the Waldorf-Astoria crystallized the improbable and fabulous,” wrote hist  read more »

“Like New York itself, the Waldorf-Astoria crystallized the improbable and fabulous,” wr  read more »

Mike had his work cut out for him in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria this afternoon, where he received an award from the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation. He took the stage, and the podium, only minutes after Bill Clinton, also an award recipient, gave an effective speech on terrorism ("Our Society will not be destroyed by it and freedom will not be destroyed by it") that resulted in a standing ovation.

"It is always hard to follow Bill Clinton to the podium," said the Mayor, before monotonously detailing the city's progress in fighting crime.  read more »

He received polite applause, but not everyone was so pleased with his appearance. One table of cops had even booed as he took the stage.

"He is disrespecting the rank and file of the NYPD," explained one unhappy member of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, who argued that the Mayor had given cops a raw deal when it came to their contracts. "He's up there pontificating about the drop in crime, but the rank and file are fed up. He's completely unreceptive. Some of the new kids on the force are eligible for food stamps."

Jeanine Pirro kicked off her campaign a couple of minutes after 11:00 in the Conrad Suite of the Waldorf Astoria today, a room about five times as large as the tiny press room in the Westchester District Attorney's office and packed with reporters and cameras.

Her self-definition: "I'm Republican red on fiscal policy with conservative beliefs on making tax cuts permanent, but I've got broad blue stripes on social issues that don't change based on the office I run for."

As with many campaign openings, it was a revealing appearance that demonstrated both Pirro's considerable strengths -- her sharpness on the attack and her charisma -- and her serious weaknesses -- ignorance of the issues and inexperience with the antagonistic political press.

She is, first of all, forceful and charismatic, camera-friendly, and just self-deprecating enough to pull it off. She has the strength of never having taken positions on most federal issues, and rattled off a well-tailored set:

Red issues: Supports Bush tax cuts, estate tax cut, war on terror, Patriot Act, Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

Blue issues: Pro-immigration , stem cell research, assault weapons ban, and choice (mostly).

She also went after Hillary, whom she always called by her first name alone. (No "Senator Clinton" here.) She accused her of breaking promises to create Upstate jobs, but most of all of some dishonesty in running for President while running for the Senate.

But Pirro's weaknesses were also on display. She's always faced the prosecutor's friendly press room and doting television interviewers. She's not quick on her feet. Halfway through her announcement, she began a sentence with disgust -- "Hillary Clinton" -- and then stopped dead for several seconds and looked pained. "I'm sorry. Could I have Page 10?" she whispered.

And she doesn't know much about the issues on which she has newly taken positions. ABC's Mark Halperin stumped her with a question about how much her tax cutting plans would expand the deficit. She responded to questions about withdrawing, or adding, troops to Iraq by saying she'd defer to the "experts," among whose ranks the sitting Senator has inserted herself.

And her decision to be led into the event by her college-age daughter, and her mother, whose battle with cancer Pirro immediately mentioned, makes it harder to argue that Al's travails are off limits. The campaign is about her, or it's about her and her family, but it's hard to pick and choose.  read more »

Of course, as her spokesman Mike McKeon noted after the press conference, it's not like the questions about Al are going to vanish, whatever she may do.

I've had an argument with my father that's lasted 20 years.  read more »

In Paris, "Bar Americain" means a place that serves liquor as well as wine and beer.  read more »

Who's the fairest of them all?  read more »

Who's the fairest of them all?  read more »

I saw a bent old lady begging on East 51st Street and Park Avenue the other day, when most of New Yo  read more »