So the ridiculous standoff in Albany ended yesterday after the Democrats took back majority control of the New York Senate. So everyone can get back to work now, right? Right. Hope you enjoyed the show, though, because it didn't come cheap: "The Senate's monthlong descent into chaos wasted more than $5 million in state tax dollars and potentially robbed local governments of $150 million in expected revenue." [NYT, NYP]
• In news that will delight Jews the world over, it seems Britney Spears is thinking about converting to Judaism. She's been seen wearing a Star of David necklace and has found a rabbi to, like, teach her about stuff, so she's well on her way, clearly. [Sun]
• Lindsay Lohan hasn't been getting too many acting roles what with all her personal problems as of late. But she may have found a way around that: She's starting her own film/TV production company. [THR]
• Jerry Seinfeld's rep says he not facing money troubles. But he is doing commercials for "a bank in the boonies of Australia," which can't be a good sign. [P6]
• Mariska Hargitay is back on the set of Law & Order: SVU after a mishap earlier this week sent her to the hospital for 13 stitches. [NYDN]
• Publicist Ali Wise was arrested earlier this week for hacking into Nina Freudenberger's voicemail. But she may not be the only victim out there. [P6]
• How did a fish-and-chips waitress named Laura Hollins transform herself into supermodel Agyness Deyn? Cintra Wilson reports. [NYT]
• Crisis averted! The $5,950 alligator clutch that some people thought Michelle Obama was carrying in Russia earlier this week was a much more modest $875 leather one. [NYDN]
• Say hello to the 16 contestants who will be making it work (or not) when the new season of Project Runway debuts next month. [People]
• Michael Chow has filed suit against Philippe Chow for "unfair and deceptive trade practices, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, conversion, and trademark infringement," among other things. [NYP, GS]
• A list of eateries that just opened, or will be open soon. [Gothamist, Eater]
• A controversy is brewing over plans to sell food on the High Line. [NYDN]
• Thirteen Dunkin' Donuts locations will change their names this weekend and become part of Tim Hortons, a donut chain that's popular in Canada. [NYT]
• New York magazine's Grub Street food blog is going national. [WSJ]
• Reminder! New York Restaurant Week begins on Sunday. [NY1, NYCGO]
Is it something in the air? Consider a few of the bizarro stories that have appeared in the press in the last 24 hours: A New Jersey man died yesterday after falling into a vat of chocolate. Three cops were injured when they tried to shoot a charging pit bull and the bullets ricocheted back at them. A $133 million lottery ticket went missing in Queens. A woman vanished inside an office building downtown. A juror in Manhattan federal court claimed a fellow juror threatened to cut off his finger. A beer truck crashed into a taxi which then crashed into four pedestrians. A bunch of turtles disrupted thousands of travelers at JFK. Last but certainly not least: The governor picked a lieutenant governor without warning and less than 24 hours later, he was sworn into office at a steakhouse in Brooklyn. We have no idea what to make of all of this. But maybe we should just be thankful that tomorrow is Friday.
Wass Stevens, New York's most prominent club doorman, was arrested yesterday after he (allegedly!) beat a college kid with the metal end of a velvet rope after he tried to get into Avenue, but became "belligerent" when Stevens denied him entry. It looks like Stevens' crime wave continues. A friend of Cityfile just sent us this photo of the nightlife fixture sitting on his motorcycle and chatting on his cell on the corner of Broadway and Astor. "I'm pretty sure it's a traffic violation to park on the sidewalk like that," she writes. "He's right in front of a police van, too." If you had doubts that Wass had balls of steel, well, consider the matter settled. Further evidence of his criminal tendencies below.
The Real Housewives of New York City are back in the news (not that they ever left, really), since production on the next season of the show has been held up while four of the five ladies bicker with Bravo over how much they're going to get paid. The only one who's agreed to participate thus far? That would be Kelly Bensimon, the least-liked member of the cast, at least according to the poll on Bravo's website. We'll all have to hope the dispute is resolved shortly and Kelly gets to reunite with her castmates in the near future. But in the meantime—and because we know you want to keep Kelly by your side all summer long—we took a bit of audio from her totally insane interview with ObsessedTV and turned her into a 12-second ringtone. Just because your fave NYC housewives won't be on the air for the next few months doesn't mean you can't be reminded of Kelly's generous spirit every time your phone rings. (Oh, and yes: that is the Exorcist theme playing in the background. For some odd reason, we though it was fitting.) Click here to download the ringtone. Or click on Kelly's pic above. Enjoy!
• More data about the Biggest Television Event Ever™: Some 31 million people tuned into the Jackson memorial on TV, and video sites report that they delivered more than 10 million live streams on Tuesday. [THR, VB]
• One TV person not pleased with all the Jackson coverage: Conan O'Brien, whose new Tonight Show has seen ratings drop as a result. [NYT]
• News Corp. has paid more than $1.6 million to settle court cases involving reporters in Britain who hacked into public figures' cell phones. [Guardian]
• Is Liberty Media going to bail out Harvey Weinstein? Let's hope so. [NYP]
• None of the major media companies appear keen on buying Twitter. [LAT]
• Comedy Central has ordered up a sitcom starring Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, which will be produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. [B&C]
• The title of Michael Moore's new movie: Capitalism: A Love Story. [NYDN]
Back in March, the New York Times Co. put its 1997 Dassault Falcon jet up for sale for $9.5 million. Several months passed without a buyer stepping forward, and now we hear the plane has been pulled off the market entirely. Did the company finally find someone to take it off its hands? Did Arthur Sulzberger Jr. decide to hang on to it? (Probably not.) Maybe the paper is planning to give it a good scrub-down before putting it up for sale again in the fall? We have no clue. But if you do, let us know! [Previously]
A couple of months ago, Harvey Weinstein was showing off his slimmer physique, a look he achieved thanks to weight loss guru Dr. Louis Aronne, the author of the diet book, The Skinny. But judging by the pics that Dealbook posted this afternoon from the media mogulfest in Sun Valley, Harvey hasn't been making much time for the good doctor recently. Stress will do that to you, of course, especially when the economy is in the toilet and your peers keep alluding to "depleted cash reserves" and the like. Do note, though, that Disney chief Bob Iger looks as svelte as ever. Getting up at 4:30am every morning to work out isn't much fun, no. But it does keep you in size 30 Dockers. [NYT/Dealbook]
Brace yourselves. We just may have pinpointed the whereabouts of Ruth Madoff. (She's been at an "undisclosed location" since she was forced out of her East 64th Street penthouse last week.) A reliable source who has been in touch with acquaintances of the family tells us she's been staying at the home of her niece, Diane Hochman, in Hewlett, Long Island.
Olivia Palermo walking in the West Village ... Anna Wintour leaving Monkey Bar ... Hayden Panettiere leaving her hotel ... Chris Meloni eating at Pastis ... Pierce Brosnan carrying coffee on the set of Remember Me in Queens ... Kristin Cavallari arriving at MTV's studios ... Michelle Trachtenberg talking on her cell phone in the meatpacking district ... Wentworth Miller and Mariska Hargitay shooting scenes for Law and Order: SVU ... Columnist George F. Will having lunch with a young blonde woman at Extra Virgin in the West Village ... and Taylor Momsen sipping Diet Coke on the set of Gossip Girl.
Duane Reade is hoping to change your opinion of the crappiest drugstore chain in NYC. For the first time in a long time, the company is about to launch a big brand-advertising campaign as part of an effort to "make New Yorkers think of Duane Reade as the hometown favorite." One little non-hometown detail that probably won't be referenced in the cheeky new campaign: the fact the chain is owned by Oak Hill Capital, which is controlled by Robert M. Bass, a Texas billionaire and one of George Bush's staunchest supporters during his two terms in office. [NYT]
Fashion publicist and social scenester Ali Wise was arrested earlier this week after she allegedly hacked into the computer of Nina Freudenberger. But other salacious details may soon come to light. "Wise's antics go beyond what's stated," an anonymous tipster tells us by email. "For that reason there's a restraining order in place against her now, effectual for 5 years. And there were multiple victims of her hacking hobby. A defamation suit is under way in addition to the felony charge of computer fraud she already faces. There are piles of irrefutable evidence against her." We have no idea if any of that is true, but it may be worth mentioning that Wise's ex-boyfriend, hotel owner Jason Pomeranc, was the victim of a hacking attempt himself last fall, as Cityfile first reported. The case is still open, though, and the identity of the person who managed to make off with some of Pomeranc's personal files has never been revealed. [Previously]
• "Real Housewife" Jill Zarin has put her three-bedroom apartment 401 East 60th Street on the market. The 1,956-square-foot condo—which Zarin tackily gussied up last season—is listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman's Callae Brownstein and Howard Margolis for $3.2 million. [NYP, PDE]
• Dorris Carr Bonfigli, the Upper East Side hostess and Bernie Madoff victim, has dropped the price of her penthouse apartment at 930 Fifth for the second time since listing it for $11.3 million last December. The elaborately-designed spread is now priced at $9.8 million. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
Wondering what your fave fraudsters are up to? Yesterday, prosecutors announced that they planned to seek a 145-year jail sentence for Marc Dreier, the lawyer who ripped off various hedge funds and other investors out of $400 million. Dreier will find out how long he'll spend behind bars when he's sentenced on Monday, but in the meantime, there's a bit of Bernie Madoff news today, too.
Courtney Love turns 45 today. Tom Hanks is turning 53. Jack White is 34. Jimmy Smits is 54. Floyd Abrams, the famed First Amendment attorney (and father of Dan), turns 73. Author/neurologist Oliver Sacks is turning 76. Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld is 77. ACLU honcho Anthony Romero is 44. AIDS activist Mathilde Krim is turning 83. Architect Michael Graves turns75. Actor Chris Cooper is 58. Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen turns 38. Author Dean Koontz is 64. Fred Savage of Wonder Years fame turns 33. Actress Kelly McGillis is 52. And OJ Simpson is celebrating his 62nd birthday behind bars today.
• The fashion publicist/socialite who moonlighted as a computer hacker? This is going to make for a fabulous movie. It seems Ali Wise (right), the Dolce & Gabanna public relations director, professional socializer, and ex-girlfriend of hotelier Jason Pomeranc was arrested this week for using her computer to wiretap and eavesdrop on interior designer/social butterfly Nina Freudenberger (left). The worst part? Wise was held overnight in an jail cell and wasn't given any special treatment, poor thing. [NYDN, P6]
• Wise wasn't the only nightlife fixture behind bars this week. Wass Stevens, NYC's most famous club doorman, was arrested for whacking a man with the metal end of a velvet rope outside Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss's Avenue the other night. Stevens says the man acted up when he was refused entry, which sounds a pretty likely scenario. [P6]
• Aquavit's owner says the rumor the eatery is closing is pure nonsense. [GS]
• More good news: Although it appeared as if Ama has gone bust a couple of weeks ago, the closure was temporary and it's now back in business. [Eater]
• The critics: Frank Bruni of the Times gives Aldea a very solid two-star review today; Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton is pretty pleased with Locanda Verde; and the Post's Steve Cuzzo is happy to report Benoit is "a lot better." [NYT, BN, NYP]
• Rumor has it William Grimes may step in as the New York Times' temporary restaurant critic when Frank Bruni takes his leave next month. [TFB]
• A roundup of restaurants that have opened recently. [NYT]
• Joey Chestnut's record-setting 68 hot dogs at the Nathan's eating competition translates into 20,200 calories, in case you were wondering. [TFB]
