Carlyle Hotel

There’s now an answer to the age-old conundrum of what to do after midnight on the Upper East Side.

New to the neighborhood that heretofore became a ghost town during the wee hours, Café Carlyle has just this month become an after-hours nightclub.

Whereas the cabaret-restaurant used to close after the last act ended at around 12 a.m., it now stays open on Thursday thru Saturday nights until the party dies.

What’s more, the hotel has started handing out nifty cards to “friends of the hotel.” Cardholders—essentially V.I.P.s who are either high-profile or have dropped a lot of cash at the joint in the past—don’t have to pay the $25 cover charge, can bring a guest and are guaranteed immediate admission upon arrival.

But don’t go asking for one. A rep from the hotel told us that they are rather discriminating when it comes to deciding who gets one.  read more »

At the Carlyle Hotel on Monday, ubiquitous New York socialites Marjorie Gubelmann, Jennifer Creel and Byrdie Bell celebrated the launch of Rodial’s Glamatox—a skin cream that calls itself “the glamorous alternative to Botox.” (Katie Holmes, Gisele Bundchen and Uma Thurman have all succumbed to the charms of Rodial skincare products, which use "Pomegranate Ellagic Tannin, with its natural anti-ageing, firming and collagen-boosting properties" to get results.)  read more »

• Two weeks ago, Chris Knight closed on Shelter Island's 23-room fixer-uper Shorewood Manor. Now it's on the market for $33 million, which makes Mr. Knight a bad, bad man. [Forbes]
• Manifesto of the Week: Slate's "The Renter's Manifesto: Why home ownership causes unemployment." [Slate]
• Being an asset manager is a bore, except when you reward yourself for a life of boredom with the 26th floor of the Carlyle Hotel. [Wall Street Journal]
• The Medici Foundation goes to bat for the oft-criticized San Gennaro Festival: "This is not a community issue, it is a discrimination issue... This is a direct attack against Italian-Americans who, through their blood, sweat and tears, helped make this a wonderful city." [Gothamist] - Max Abelson
  • 0 comments

• Edward Lee Cave [pictured above, with posse] is a true Old School Broker. Why do his clients like him? "[T]hey knew I know how to live. That's why I sell prewar buildings, each of which is a private club that represents a way of life -- because I've lived in those buildings, I understand the way of life, the nuances." And the man takes his Carlyle Hotel martinis on the rocks. [The Real Deal]
• Zero of the six winners of the AIA's 2007 Young Architects Award are New Yorkers. Are all the bright young things flocking to Madison, Wis., and Minneapolis? [Architectural Record News]
• Scared of co-op boards, very very very rich Manhattanites are shying away from old-school apartments, and getting into the fun business of "renovating and combining two or more century-old townhouses into single-family urban mansions." In the real-estate journalism business, that's what we call "a new real estate trend in the area." [Multi-Housing News]
• When a Times writer ventures into Queens for food, he goes to the Gold City Supermarket, J&L Mall, and seven other locales. And then he sprints back to cozy old Manhattan. [OuterB]
- Max Abelson
• 0 comments

The famed singer and pianist, who performed at the Cafe Carlyle for more than 35 years, died last March. Lot highlights from the auction include the talent's black lacquer Bechstein grand piano, his Cartier wristwatch and a wooden bird house that models The Carlyle Hotel.  read more »