Times Square

Developers now have an extra month to prepare their bids for one of the last soft sites in Times Square—303 West 42nd Street.

Thomas Simmonds, the project manager of the site, said the sellers pushed the deadline back from April 30 to May 30 “unofficially,” thanks to the enormous interest in the space.  read more »

Get your mind out of the gutter, folks. The beginning of steel erection at 11 Times Square — the glass tower rising opposite The New York Times building — means that the first speculative midtown development in years is finally rising.

The 7,000 tons of steel will be used to reinforce the concrete core of the building and frame its 40 floors, at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.  read more »

From her Senate office comes Hillary Clinton's response to this morning's blast near the Times Square military recruiting office:

“I am deeply concerned by the detonation of a small bomb at the military recruiting office in Times Square.  read more »

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Is that Tito Puente I hear in the distance?

It’s hard to tell, what with neo-classical shred violinist Michael Shulman just down the corridor, in black leather pants, loudly noodling to an instrumental track of Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean."  read more »

John and Dan Tishman appear to be making way for their second Manhattan hotel. Tishman Realty & Construction recently closed on five properties just west of Times Square for $128 million, according to city records. The hotel and construction magnate purchased the properties under the name West 44th Street Hotel LLC, a hint perhaps that yet another hotel will be developed in Manhattan.

A spokesman for Tishman Realty confirmed the sale, but demurred on confirming development plans. “A venture led by Tishman Realty affiliates has purchased a 30,000-square-foot parcel of land on the southwest corner of Eighth Avenue and West 44th Street in Manhattan,” the spokesman wrote in an email to The Observer. “We are currently exploring development options and will announce details in the future."  read more »

Walmart is moving their executive offices to Times Square.

SL Green, the city's largest office landlord, announced today that the strip-mall staple has signed a 10-year lease for 46,103 square feet at 1372 Broadway. The executive offices will occupy the entire second floor and second-floor mezzanine of the building, according to the press release.

SL Green completely renovated the 21-story, 534,000-square-foot building in 1999. The release noted that other tenants in the building include Ann Taylor Inc. and Ross Stores Inc.  read more »

TV Guide is making a move.

The periodical’s parent company, Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc., recently signed a multi-year lease for over 85,000 square feet at 11 West 42nd Street, according to a press release. TV Guide’s editorial department and TV Guide Online are among the departments that will be moving. The move, reported by The New York Post earlier today, will happen in December 2007.

Gemstar-TV Guide, which has 300 employees based in New York, currently occupies two floors at the News Corporation building at 1211 Sixth Avenue. In the West 42nd Street building, they will inhabit the 16th and 17th floors and a portion of the 18th, and there will be “a private, internal staircase” connecting the floors.  read more »

SJP Properties has announced that it's two months ahead of schedule in its construction of 11 Times Square. The 40-story tower will sit at the corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, and it will be the first speculative development built in midtown in years.

No tenants have signed up in the building--thus, the speculative moniker. So, one might ask: What's the worth of bragging about building an empty tower fast?  read more »

Times Square gives back.

That’s the conclusion of a report from booster group the Times Square Alliance, which claims the once sleazy collection of blocks contributes as much as $1.1 billion annually in taxes to the city and generates $1.6 billion every year in revenue for the square's hotels.  read more »

9:30 a.m. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani rings the NASDAQ opening bell and receives an endorsement for his presidential election at the NASDAQ MarketSite, 4 Times Square.

9:30 a.m. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will hold a board meeting at 347 Madison Avenue.  read more »

11 a.m. The Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes honors women achievers at a Women's History Month luncheon at Brooklyn District Attorney's boardroom, 350 Jay Street.

• Is Schiller's really serving up latex salads? A re-examination of the latest shocking restaurant video.
[Gridskipper]
• One Soho shop is selling trendy paint-splattered jeans for toddlers--just $166 a pair! Quoteth the Shophound: "as if he wouldn't be able to get them dirty himself!"
[Shophound]
• "We'll never mention that dumptruck again." So says Rosie after 40 seconds of slightly uneasy Donald bashing. Her heart hasn't been in the fight lately, so maybe she means it. ::a tear::
[Gawker]
• Gay activist Larry Kramer gave an ass-kicking speech last night in the West Village and makes an immediate call to arms. Mr. Kramer said a new "gay army" needs to protest Don't Ask-Don't Tell. The place: Thursday, at noon, in Times Square.
[Towleroad] - Chris Shott and John Koblin
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• Sunset Park Boxing club closes, to reopen.
[NY Times]
• Low supply, high demand fuels Brooklyn home market.
[NY Post]
• Closures of filthy city eateries soar.
[NY Post]
• Boston Properties, Madison Equities ink 8th Avenue deal.
[NY Post]
• Gristedes to be first grocery chain in Financial District.
[NY Post]
• Landlords may evict Mars 2112 from Times Square.
[NY Sun]

Did we miss any New York City real estate news this morning? Please send along tips and links.

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How about that Internet? First, digital marketing giant Digitas lands more than 200,000 square feet on Park Avenue South in March. Then Google finally moves into its 300,000-square-foot Chelsea palace in October.

Now, here comes Avenue A-Razorfish. The Web design and marketing company, with revenues near $200 million last year, has moved into three floors that Google used to call home at 1440 Broadway. The company will consolidate three downtown offices -- 11 Beach Street, 162 Fifth Avenue, 107 Grand Street -- into an 80,000-square-foot spot in Times Square.

Avenue A-Razorfish did the redesign of The New York Times Web site and its client list also includes Conde Nast, JP Morgan, Maybelline and Polo Ralph Lauren.

David Falk of Newmark Knight Frank repped the deal. Avenue A-Razorfish would not comment on the asking rent for the lease, but averages for Times Square office space run into the mid-$40s a foot.

- John Koblin

• New York City happens to be one of America's most sustainable towns -- because somehow most of us use public transportation. But do fancy green towers like The Solaire or Conde Nast's 4 Times Square help out too? The founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council admits: "We know squat about how any building works." [Architect's Newspaper, via ArchNewsNow]
• Hateful trend of the day: "The communal outdoor living room." If you're lucky enough to have a Manhattan patio, and tasteful enough to decorate it with "cushiony furniture" and "built-in plasma screen televisions and hi-fi systems," then you've got yourself the hottest new room since the upscale outhouse. [CNN]
• Rich New Yorkers like living in department stores, banks, old hotels and newspaper offices -- as long as the spaces have been morphed into "high-priced residential units." It's all about ceiling height, obviously. (And tax breaks too.) [Forbes]
- Max Abelson
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The guessing game is over about 5 Times Square: Crain's reports that Boston Properties will sell the 1.1-million-square-foot, Class A office tower to AVR Realty for $1.28 billion. In cash.  read more »

For several months, the media as well as commercial real estate insiders have dished about the sales fate of 5 Times Square, a 37-story tower built in 2002 that's now the headquarters of Ernst & Young. Boston Properties was supposed to have sold 5 Times Square along with its 280 Park Avenue, but the latter went to Istithmar for $1.2 billion in June.

- Tom Acitelli

Here's Hillary Clinton in Times Square this morning - with Andrew Cuomo - picking up endorsements from some first responders. It's yet another indication that Sept. 11th has become an issue Hillary, and Democrats, can campaign on and use during an election.  read more »

Granted, this year's one-sided campaign hasn't been much of a test case, but it shows at least one tactic Hillary would be able to employ on the campaign trail in 2008 against someone like Rudy Giuliani, who, despite his reputation, is not held in universally high esteem by front-line security officials.

-- Azi Paybarah

• Proposal of the Decade: vision42 wants to ban cars from 42nd Street. That's because the current Times Square is a godforsaken nightmare, and because "a pedestrian and light-rail line zone would boost business" by $380 million each year, and because there might be greenery. (AP)
• Drama on the High Line! The Dia Art Foundation has ditched plans to open a museum on the elderly elevated railway, and the Whitney may swoop in to take its place. But that would mean the Whitney would have to forget its old plans for a Renzo Piano-designed expansion uptown. And that would mark "the third time that it commissioned a celebrity architect to design a major expansion to its landmark building, only to renege." (The New York Times)
• The un-glamorous Brooklyn Navy Yard gets a 400,000-square-foot expansion, resulting in seven bigger buildings (including a "huge" supermarket, of course). Borough Prez Marty Markowitz boasts: "Brooklyn can still make it big, make it bold, and even make it green." Marty always knows just what to say. (NY1)
• In its steady climb towards modernization, Vinegar Hill is being treated to a $3 million renovation of McLaughlin Park. The garden will be restored, and there'll be a "multi-purpose synthetic field"--just like the kind our forefathers had. (Brooklyn Record)
• The new "Vista Boquete" condos have everything a Baby Boomer could ever want in a luxury development. (Tennis courts, putting green, outdoor heated pool, etc). Remarkably, the place isn't in Midtown--it's in rural Panama. Central America is so chic. (Multi-Housing News)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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On Saturday, Scott Vanderhoef attends the Green County GOP Dinner at the Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl. New York United for Immigrant Rights will hold a rally in Union Square before marching to Times Square.

Saratoga Peace Alliance will hold a peace vigil with Alison Duncan, Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor, in Saratoga Springs.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn hosts a walkathon through Prospect Park to benefit their cause, followed by a concert at the park's bandshell featuring John Wesley Harding. Stonewall Democrats enlist their members to help canvass for Matt Titone, candidate for state senate in Staten Island.

And on Sunday, the Stonewall Dems caravan to Long Island to aid in Brooke Ellison's campaign for state senate.

The Sutton Area Community [pdf] will honor Assemblyman Jonathan Bing at its Annual Gala at Le Perigord.

The Lenox Hill Neighborhood House hosts a candidates forum, including a 14th congressional district debate between Carolyn Maloney and Danniel Maio, her Republican opponent.

—Nicole Brydson

Eliot Spitzer and John Faso debate upstate.

Hybrid and electric vehicles will be on display at the Bronx Community College's annual conference on alternative fuel vehicles.

The directors of the Queens West Development Corporation meet at the Empire State Development Corporation.

The Assembly Committee on Codes holds a hearing on the impact of private security practices on public safety at 250 Broadway.

The board of directors of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation meet at the NYC Office of Management and Budget.

Iris Weinshall and the Times Square Alliance announce road redesigns and pedestrian improvements in Times Square.

Charlie Rangel addresses the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York at the National Arts Club, and the Community League of the Heights honors him in the evening at its 50th anniversary fundraiser at the New York Historical Society.

The City Council holds a hearing on the City's oversight role in the operation of interstate buses. Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin speaks on Globalization: A Force for Good? at Baruch College.

Joel Klein "installs" (AP's word) a new principal at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Baruch holds a panel discussion on NYC campaign finance issues with Peter Vallone, Christine Quinn and Bill Cunningham in the Newman Conference Center.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab speaks on U.S.-China trade relations at the Pierre Hotel.

The New York Young Republican Club holds its monthly meeting.

Reuters hosts a discussion on public figures and private lives, featuring Floyd Abrams, Bonnie Fuller and Jacob Weisberg.

The Public Service Commission holds two more hearings on the Westchester County power outage: first at the Greenburgh Town Hall, then at the Port Chester Justice Court.

—Nicole Brydson

Since it seems half of New York was off today and it was, admittedly, a little quiet, flooding the Google zone seemed in order.

On their first day in the new digs, Googleites said they were delighted with their newfound space.

"I like the feeling that everyone is on the same floor," said Bryan, a first-year member of the search team. "In the old building, we used elevators to get around. Now it's spread laterally."

More impessions, pics and a few grumbles, after the jump.  read more »

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

On Saturday, a march for Puerto Rican independence will begin in Times Square and end with a rally at 47th Street and First Avenue.

Marty Golden hosts an ice cream eating contest at 1195 McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn.

On Monday, Claire McCaskill, Missouri State Auditor and Candidate for U.S. Senate, will stump for Brooke Ellison, candidate for state senate in Suffolk County, at Katra (Bowery and Rivington).

The NY Democratic Senate Campaign Committee holds a fundraiser - dubbed a 'lawyers event' - featuring Denise O'Donnell, Mario Cuomo, David Paterson, Liz Krueger and Eric Schneiderman, at the National Arts Club.

Carolyn Maloney announces new legislation to combat sex trafficking - by using the tax code to put traffickers in prison - at City Hall.

—Nicole Brydson

This is the official rendering. (Really, it is).

If Times Square and supermodels are your thing, get excited for tonight's launch party for--yes!--New York's very own Hawaiian Tropic Zone Restaurant and Lounge. Hooterific.

Petra Nemcova will be the host, and better yet an entire block of 49th Street will be transformed into a tropical beach. Seriously: "pristine sands, balmy Queen Palm and Banana trees, an inviting hot tub, surfboards and chaise lounge chairs, and a DJ spinning energizing tunes from atop a 16-foot lifeguard tower."

When does sand compete with a 16-foot energizing DJ? When there are 700 cubic tons it. Along for the launch of this new gourmet hot spot are sweet-toothed Dylan Lauren, plus sweet-handed Giants Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan.  read more »

You should head down, according to the website, because "this will probably be the most important career move of your life."

- Max Abelson

• The 26-year transformation of Times Square is finally over. New Jersey's SJP will spend $1 billion on a 40-story office building at 42nd and Eighth, thus filling the last block of "the 13-acre Times Square redevelopment district". The Times says The Deuce--a former land of "pimps and drug dealers"--is gone. And it only took 47 lawsuits to get this building going! Also: can you spell "speculative" without "spec?" (New York Times)
• Brooklyn Heights Death Watch: Thanks to Sterling Equities, the group behind the NY Mets, 40 luxury condos are headed for Love Lane. The real tragedy is that the development will jeopardize a mass of "highly coveted paid parking spaces," forcing 400 cars onto the crowded streets. Goodbye, lovely Lane, goodbye. (NY Daily News)
• Where does the 13,500 daily tons of waste from New York building renovations go? Not anywhere in New York, because our landfills were saturated in March 2001. Instead of hauling waste out-of-state, an Astoria group named Build It Green! wants you to give them your reusable detritus. It's not a sexy job, but it's certanly "almost trendy." (City Limits)
• If a new shoe store goes up in Soho, does it make a sound? For the next decade, Te Casan will fill 7,500 square feet on West Broadway with "limited collections from seven emerging shoe designers around the world." At $200 per square foot, will each Norwegian and South African pump run at a clean $100 each? One can hope. (Crain's)
• If only downtown real estate were as perfect. The MTA is buying out 140 small businesses in order to clear space for the Fulton Street Transit Hub. Whether or not local owners are forced to pay steep moving taxes and city finance fees (which they may have to), the Fulton folks will have to be out by the first week of September. Thanks, MTA! (NY1)
- Max Abelson
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Fox News anchoress Greta Van Susteren and her husband, John Coale, have traded in their fancy Essex  read more »

Fox News anchoress Greta Van Susteren and her husband, John Coale, have traded in their fancy Essex  read more »

Howard and Edward Milstein's sale of 11 Times Square--the hole at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue--went through last month for a total of $305,952,384, according to online property records, which comes to about $350 a zoning square foot. (The Times had it as "more than $260 million" when the contract was signed.) And it's not just the Parsippany, New Jersey-based SJP Properties that's in on the deal--Prudential Insurance has a stake as well, it turns out. The Milsteins were planning a 35-story building with rooftop atrium spire. See the old website here. -Matthew Schuerman

President Bush Friday prohibited federal agencies from seizing land under eminent domain for private development, a stroke of the pen that opponents to Atlantic Yards will undoubtedly welcome. It's another matter whether the executive order will make any difference, since in Brooklyn, like Times Square before it, it will be the state, rather than the feds, that will assume the deed. And on the same day, the state legislature approved $100 million for the Nets arena-and-housing complex, although the project is still awaiting approval.

Meanwhile, The New York Times editorial board says eminent domain should be limited to "truly public purposes"--such as its new headquarters on 41st Street and Eighth Avenue.

-Matthew Schuerman Via Real Deal

Recently, I met a man at a bar who asked me what I did.  read more »

Ghana are in orange, the U.S. is in discreet blue and white. Soccer uniforms are not supposed to be sober;

There are six people in Times Square watching seven Jumbotrons. The entire country of Ghana has a half day off;

Bruce Arena is obese;

Victory would be historic for them, not us;

One of their guys is wearing gold shoes;

They're the size of Illinois and Indiana combined;

Dreadlocks. They got em. What do we got? The Nike swoosh. Oy.

Ohmygod!! 1-0

Their guys' names sound like Pingpong and Pencil

"Taken away from Claudio Reyna... Taken away from Landon Donovan..."

Reyna goes off on a stretcher when he gets beaten...

The president of Ghana says the full nation is praying for victory over the U.S.... What are we praying for today?

Following the victory over the Czech Republic, Ghana's Paintsil made the most thrilling international gesture of the '06 World Cup: pulling an Israeli flag from his sock and waving it...

Tired off all the backstabbing and infighting that's typically reported on at 4 Times Square? (Not that The Observer would ever mention such things).

Well, there is actually some good news coming out of the Condé Nast building today, according to the New York Times.

The owners of a Times Square tower have wired their building with radio equipment designed to help emergency workers better communicate with each other once inside-- especially in parts of the building where radios tend to drop signals.  read more »

The installation of a so-called repeater system in the building, the 52-story Condé Nast building at 4 Times Square, took about a year and a half and cost less than $300,000, the owners said.

The Fire Department's first deputy commissioner, Frank Cruthers, called the installation of the system by the Condé Nast building's owners, the Durst Organization, a "wonderful example of corporate good citizenship."

- Michael Calderone

The following missive was delivered to Conde Nast staffers May 2 on a heavy, cream-colored card, nine inches by five inches, with perforated silhouettes of forks, knives, and spoons:

Let's do Lunch. This summer step into the future at the new Conde Nast cafeteria on the second floor at 750 Third Avenue.

Enter through a motion corridor with an incandescent glass wall that leads you to the serving area. 70,000 radiant lights create different atmospheres throughout the course of the day.

Restaurant Associates - whose passion for food and attention for detail are highly commended--will manage our newest cafeteria location as well. Breakfast and lunch will be served daily, and special lunchtime offerings will include a sushi bar, custom salad station, international specials and more.

Beginning this summer, employees will be able to use one common card for building access and food purchase in our cafeteria in 750 Third Avenue and 4 Times Square.

Stay tuned for more details as we approach the grand opening and go to connect to see images of cafeteria

--Gabriel Sherman

The same day that The Times reported on Mayor Bloomberg's stalwart defense of eminent domain, The Washington Post carried a tale of an architect who refused to sell a house he owned in the northwest quadrant of the nation's capital to office and condo developers. So what happened? Is the neighborhood still a "stretch of decrepit lots claimed by the homeless, vacant houses and prostitutes" like the Mayor believes that Times Square would be had the state not intervened?

No. In Washington (which, interestingly, set a Supreme Court precedent for eminent domain for private development ), the developers just developed around him.  read more »

What the owner, Austin Spriggs, may do with his property, though, may not be much different. He has applied for a Ledo Pizza franchise.

-Matthew Schuerman

Certainly, we've never been overly concerned with Condé Nast real estate dealings. Ahem.

Well, last November it was reported that the company's parent, Advance Publications, had leased 120,000 square feet at 1166 Sixth Avenue.  read more »

Now, Gawker offers a company memo that sheds light on the new cafeteria policy.

Finally, beginning this summer, Condé Nast employees will be able to use one common card for access to all three New York locations and for food purchases in our cafeterias at 750 Third Avenue and 4 Times Square.

- Michael Calderone

The Sun reports that a business improvement district called the Fashion Center wants to get rid of the fashion in its center--namely, the garment industries that were once the bulwark of industrial Manhattan. The idea would be to rezone areas that are now reserved for manufacturing for apartments and hotels. Arguably the space, set aside in 1987 in a bid to preserve blue-collar jobs from the impending Disneyfication of Times Square, could be better utilized.

This is an old problem in New York: if you let people rezone manufacturing areas for condos, the industrial firms are priced out; but if the industrial jobs are leaving anyway, what's the point of preserving space for them?

Our handy-dandy Zoning Handbook says that there already is some flexibility in the special district: landlords in one section can get authorization from the City Planning Commission to go residential, while in the other section, conversion to offices is possible if one sets aside an equal amount of manufacturing space. All of which makes it seem as if the Fashion Center wants to grease the wheels, not acquire "flexibility." Fine. We know how slowly bureaucracy works.

But then a consultant tries to make us believe that "a zoning change would not necessarily lead to the development of exclusively luxury residential units to replace factories."

Just like Williamsburg and Dumbo, right?

-Matthew Schuerman

For two years Philip-Lorca diCorcia set up his camera in Times Square and took pictures of all the passersby. The idea was to capture the secret world of each person, to make people pay attention to the stranger they pass on the street. The show is up in Chelsea's Pace/MacGill Gallery. But not everyone wants their secrets revealed. When the unknowing subjects of the project were became public in the exhibition catalog, one was not very happy. Erno Nussenzweig, an Orthodox Jew, sued, The New York Times reported.

When we're walking the crowded streets of New York, what degree of privacy should we expect?

The New York State Supreme Court dismissed the suit last month, saying that the photographer's right to artistic expression was above the citizen's privacy rights.

Yes, the practice of street photography has a long history, and while the state's privacy laws refer to the unauthorized use of a person's likeness for commercial use, isn't this artist making money off of his work? Mr. diCorcia will make money off of Mr. Nussenzweig's likeness. What's more, Mr. Nussenzweig says the use of his image is against his religious belief.

The judge concluded:

"Even while recognizing art as exempted from the reach of New York's privacy laws, the problem of sorting out what may or may not legally be art remains a difficult one," she wrote. As for the religious claims, she said: "Clearly, plaintiff finds the use of the photograph bearing his likeness deeply and spiritually offensive. While sensitive to plaintiff's distress, it is not redressable in the courts of civil law."

- Riva Froymovich

Late last year, the magazines formerly known as Fairchild Publications moved from their headquarters  read more »

J. C. Penney is opening in New York! For three weeks, anyway.

Pat Kiernan pointed out this article in USA Today on his In the Papers segment this morning.

The once-flagging retailer wants to update its image, so a giant marketing campaign (remember when Target did this over Christmas?) is underway. They're pumping marketing and advertising dollars into the Oscars, and they are opening a pop-up store in New York.

The goal is to change America's view of J.C. Penney as a grandmotherly place that has sensible, moderately priced clothes and home goods — but that sells nothing as trendy as you'd find at a specialty store. The ad campaign highlights new, exclusive designer apparel, private labels and updated home furnishings.

But they are in tricky cultural terrain.

Says Boylson: "I don't want to leave the impression that we're going upscale — because we're not." Adds Chairman and CEO Myron "Mike" Ullman: "We are not ashamed of Middle America."

So where does a retailer set up a store to tell the world they're sophisticated enough to visit New York but too good to live there? Times Square!

And whom do you give the exclusive to? USA Today!

Watch the slide-show of the ten-day popping-up of Penney here.

- Tom McGeveran

Virginia and Eliot got to rub elbows last night at a meeting of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, which took place at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square. (Is that part of Greater Harlem?)

After Virginia's intro of Eliot ("Can you go on a little longer next tie, I'd enjoy that"), the Attorney General got down to some political speak directed at, presumably, Tom Suozzi.

Paraphrasing here: We can't simply say we'll cut Medicaid by 10%; that would shut down some hospitals.

Before dashing out to some other event not on his public schedule, I threw Eliot a question about that United Arab of Emirates port deal.

He supported the congressional scrutiny of the deal because security at the ports could be "impacted by foreign ownership..."

--Azi Paybarah

This is novel, but I'm sure there's more to come. Madame Tussauds, working with Rubenstein PR, have figured out a way to make money off the Hillary '08 buzz. MEDIA ALERT ‘HILLARY CLINTON' WAX FIGURE DEBUTED DURING MOCK 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RALLY

Amidst a sea of red, white and blue balloons, New Yorkers rally in support of Hillary Clinton's possible run for the presidency at Madame Tussauds New York

"Hail to the Chief" will be playing loudly in the background and dozens of red, white, and blue balloons will fall from the ceiling as the new ‘Hillary Clinton' figure is presented to the public for the first time on Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 11am at Madame Tussauds New York, 234 West 42nd Street, Manhattan. New Yorkers will rally in support of Hillary Clinton's possible presidential campaign while holding signs that read "Hillary in 2008"and chanting their encouragement in the Times Square attraction.

The figure will be part of a new Hillary Clinton Interactive Exhibit. Visitors will enter voting booths to answer the following questions: 1.) Would you ever vote for a female President? 2.) Will Hillary Clinton be the first female President?

Those will, presumably, be fake Hillary supporters doing the rallying.

UPDATE: Rubenstein's Sara Walker says the fake Hillary supporters will be volunteers. It'll be "a great visual."

Marshall Berman takes a long, Marxist look at the cleaned up Times Square in Dissent. He marvels at the flickering lights, hangs outside the Condé Nast building, and analyzes screaming TRL-crazed teenagers that flock to MTV studios (including a lone Tupac supporter). Like any self-respecting leftist, he also gets hassled by the man outside of the Reuters headquarters. So he rightfully becomes angry with the foreign new service.

"[H]ere it was acting just like the many despotic regimes it covers so well around the world, regimes to which the British feel so superior, regimes that deny that their people are a public and deny that their city streets are public space."

See, who says that Times Square isn't edgy anymore? (Dissent) -Michael Calderone  read more »

It seems that now, on New Year’s Eve, everything shifts east.  read more »

It seems that now, on New Year’s Eve, everything shifts east.  read more »

After a slew of newspaper endorsements (including one from Hoy), strong poll numbers and glowing words from Rudy Giuliani, Mike was the uncharacteristic picture of relaxation this afternoon, actually cracking up as he received an endorsement from the American Federation of Musicians Local 802.

In the middle of Times Square, the Mayor stepped up to a podium surrounded by the union's brass band to say a few words. But the band played on, and on and on and on, until Mike's shoulders were actually shaking from laughter.  read more »

"Yeah!" screamed a passing taxi cab. "Hey!" yelled back the Mayor, now wearing the union's baseball cap. The Mayor was in such a good mood it didn't matter that the cab had Jersey plates.

At least half of New York's political class is off atoning today. The Politicker has plenty to atone for, too, but since I'm here in the office, I hope that giving you something to chew on during a sodden and mostly silent news day will serve as penance of sorts.

In an effort to widen our group hug (and because I know you're such an affectionate bunch), I'm going to tiptoe through our neighbors' tulips for the first-ever Politicker Blog Stroll, a look at what's happening in the local political blogosphere. If you think we're missing any gems, please send them my way for future strolls. Here we go...

Over at New York Civic, Henry Stern, former Parks Commissioner, muses about life after November, sizing up the prospects for Giff, Weiner, Thompson, Carrion, and their colleagues in today's forward-looking article ("Polls Say: Stick a Fork in 2005. Let's Start to Think About 2009"). He's also just introduced a comments section; it's called "Starblog." (Would "Sparblog" have been more appropriate? Wait and see.)

This week, The Wonkster, Gotham Gazette's bloggy stepchild, has been tracking the teachers' contract debate and editorial responses to the diffused subway threat, and took time out to offer a brief - yet nostalgic - nod to the Times Square HoJo.

At Alarming News, spunky "non-liberal" Karol identifies an amusing, yet counterproductive, paradigm born of frustration with the prez (aka: May the country go to hell, so Bush can be blamed).

The folks over at The New York Connection really want to kick Brian Ellner in the tuchas. Will they post on M-Lo M-Later?

If you're sick of my bad puns and sunny nature (and have already read the comments section twice), get today's vitriol fix over at Brian Lehrer's blog. Perhaps inspired by the popularity of the scanned Miers-Bush correspondence, Brian has scanned a piece of demented hate mail for your delectation.

DMIBLog asserts a need for political leadership to reverse tuition hikes at CUNY and SUNY.

At The Daily Gotham, a local off-shoot of popular lefty blog DailyKos, Liza rallies for a unified Ferrer push and coins a new phrase that I adore: "Campaign Velveeta."

Over at the Village Voice's Power Plays blog, Jarrett Murphy suggests a last resort to give the Ferrer campaign some much-needed juice, or at least some attention. Stunts! But somehow it's hard to imagine Freddy sleeping under that bridge...

And both G.O.P. and the City and Slant Point are abuzz with backstory on a subway terror warning email, which circulated days before the official announcement. Both bloggers received the email and debunk the Daily News' "Rich Got Terror Tip" take on it; the former takes a funny and sarcastic swipe at the theory: "In other news, only the rich and powerful have been informed about a large inheritance for the taking in Nigeria."  read more »

And now my eyes are sore. So that's it for the Politicker's first Blog Stroll - thanks to everyone who has been posting on such a sleepy day.

July 15, 2005 6:46 pm 8 pounds, 1 ounce St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center  read more »

While Domino goes artsy, Conde Nast is pumping life into the shopper's forbear, House and Garden. From January to June, H&G's ad pages were down 0.6 percent compared to the same period in 2004, according to the Magazine Publishers of America. But last month, in a bid to ramp up advertising, H&G's advertising department concluded a series of focus groups with H&G subscribers in metropolitan areas across the country. According to H&G publisher Joseph Lagani, his