cityfile

Eating & Drinking: Thursday Edition

cityfile · 06/04/09 05:26PM

• The bistro inside Andre Balazs's Standard Hotel will be called the Standard Grill and will probably open its doors "in the next couple of weeks." [Eater]
• A Q&A with Michael Psilakis of Anthos and Kefi fame. [RG]
Frank Bruni checks in on Sue Torres's Mexican spot Sueños. [NYT]
• Eight bars that provide free food along with the drinks. [TONY]
• For $105, Morimoto will provide you with sushi and sake "while cruising New York Harbor on an 80-foot schooner." Sounds like a blast. [GS]
• Everything you were told about eating healthy was probably wrong. [NYDN]
• Don't forget that tomorrow is National Donut Day! Both Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme have specials in honor of the grand occasion, naturally. [ML]

Lydia Hearst Denied

cityfile · 06/04/09 03:27PM

Have you seen those bus posters featuring a scantily clad Lydia Hearst? The ads are promoting an indie movie called The Last International Playboy and while the stick-thin socialite only has a minor role in the movie—she strips and gets hot and heavy with a guy and a girl in the opening scene—she's front and center in the press campaign, not surprisingly. Tragically, though, the oft-nude publishing heiress reports she's been the victim of censorship! Although the ads appear on NYC buses, they've been banned in Seattle, Chicago and Dallas, she says. Guess we have a different tolerance level when it comes to these things! [NYO]

Mozilo Charged

cityfile · 06/04/09 02:02PM

The SEC filed filed civil charges this afternoon against former Countrywide chief Angelo Mozilo and two other former executives at the company. The three stand accused of committing fraud by misleading investors; Mozilo also faces insider trading charges for selling Countrywide stock based on nonpublic information and collecting around $140 million in the process. His status as the most overly tanned CEO in American corporate history? That remains undisputed. [WSJ, NYT]

Bob's Back: Madoff Fundraiser Emerges From His Cave

cityfile · 06/04/09 01:10PM

Robert Jaffe was one of Bernie Madoff's most prominent fundraisers. Shuttling between Boston and Palm Beach, the well-coiffed, car-collecting financier with a weakness for $5,000 suits was responsible for raising countless millions over the years, funds he funneled into Madoff's $65 billion scheme. Jaffe is currently facing multiple lawsuits, and investigations by multiple state and federal agencies are still pending. He's also been almost entirely rejected by the people he once called his friends and clients: Back in December, for example, he nearly took a beating when he turned up at a party and came face to face with Nine West founder Jerome Fisher, who lost $150 million to Madoff's scheme. But while Jaffe faded from sight soon after and retreated to his $17 million mansion—and even had to sacrifice his weekly manicures because he was reportedly "too embarrassed to show his face"—he's back!

The Future of Newspapers, Legal Rumblings in DC

cityfile · 06/04/09 12:07PM

• The newspaper industry may look to take a cue from the music business in its elusive hunt for new sources of revenue. Because, clearly, if there's one industry to gleam some wisdom from, that's the one. [MP, WSJ]
• The Justice Department is looking into whether tech giants like Yahoo! and Google violated antitrust laws in their recruiting efforts. [WaPo]
• NBC's two-part White House special scored big ratings. Conveniently, it also squeezed in plugs for every other show on the network. [HP, Newsday]
• Laura Ling and Euna Lee went on trial in North Korea today. [WaPo]
• Silvio Berlusconi is feuding with Rupert Murdoch. And so now Michael Wolff says he really likes Berlusconi. Business as usual, clearly. [Gawker, Reuters]
• Here's something really depressing to chew on: Glenn Beck is No. 81 on Forbes's "Celebrity 100" list and made $23 million last year. [Forbes]

The Feeling's Mutual

cityfile · 06/04/09 11:08AM

JPMorgan Chase has started changing over the signage at branches of Washington Mutual to reflect its bargain-basement acquisition last fall. The sign outside the branch on Delancey hasn't been swapped out yet, though. Is JPMorgan looking to save a few bucks by not replacing the bulbs? Or is there some sort of coded message here considering the sign now spells out "Was Mutual"? It's a mystery! [Bowery Boogie]

Casting Bernie

cityfile · 06/04/09 10:46AM

The man cast to play Bernie Madoff in the upcoming docudrama, Madoff: Made Off with America, is Jersey City resident—and non-professional actor—Paul Cohen. The movie's director, Edmund Druilhet, says he picked Cohen because he "had the best lips." But they share other traits, too: "Both are Jewish, have April birthdays and attended school in the Far Rockaway section of Queens." So, you know, there's that. [Forward, Page Six]

Simon van Kempen Has Had Enough

cityfile · 06/04/09 10:05AM

If you see Simon van Kempen on the street, you probably should not approach him and ask him if he's gay. He's beginning to get annoyed by the question! "If I was gay, I would be gay, but I'm not!" he barked at a reporter from Us when he was cornered at the Gracie Awards last night. "I don't want to have sex with men!" But he's not prepared to apologize for his fondness for Speedos either, so be sure to brace yourself if you happen to bump into him on the beach in the Hamptons this summer. [Us]

Mel Gibson's Greenwich Estate: Bring Your Exorcist

cityfile · 06/04/09 08:58AM

Mel Gibson is about to go through a messy divorce, which explains why in recent weeks he's slashed nearly $10 million off the price of his vast estate in Greenwich. Originally priced at $39.5 million, the 15,800-square-foot "Elizabethan-inspired Tudor mansion" is now available for $29.75 million. The 75-acre property comes with lots of extras, including a terraced pool, tennis court, greenhouse, stable, staff houses, log cabin and stream-fed pond. The downside? Unless prospective bidders happen to be devoutly Catholic or just die-hard fans of The Da Vinci Code, they'll have to plan on spending millions more freshening up the spooky, church-like home. After the jump, a little tour of a property you would not want to wander around at night.

Checking In With Lizzie Grubman

cityfile · 06/04/09 08:23AM

Summer is here, which means Plum TV is back in action, filming the sorts of hard-hitting interviews you just can't find anywhere else. This week, the host of "The Juice," Nick Leighton, files a two-part interview with none other than Lizzie Grubman.

Fuld Gets an Offer, Mnuchin Lists in East Hampton

cityfile · 06/04/09 07:27AM

• It looks like former Lehman chief Dick Fuld and his wife Kathy might unload their co-op at 640 Park Avenue, after all. The Fulds have reportedly received an offer "in the $27 million range" for the 6,200-square-foot spread—which they listed for $32 million last month before taking it off the market a week later—although they've yet to decide whether to accept the bid. [NYP]
• Robert J. Katz, Goldman Sachs's former general counsel, has paid $7.525 million for a three-bedroom, 16th-floor apartment at 860 Fifth Avenue. The seller was jewelry designer Jean Vitau and his wife Irene. [Cityfile]
• Alan Mnuchin—the former Bear and Lehman banker, founder of AGM Partners, son of Bob Mnuchin, and brother of IndyMac CEO Steve Mnuchin—has put the six-bedroom home he shares with wife Kimberly on East Hampton's Hither Lane up for sale for $17.5 million. [Newsday, Sotheby's]

Happy Birthday

cityfile · 06/04/09 07:00AM

Real estate mogul/Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman turns 72 today. Restaurateur Drew Nieporent is turning 54. Angelina Jolie is 34. Supermodel Bar Refaeli is turning 24. Comedians Horatio Sanz and Rob Huebel are both turning 40. Russell Brand is turning 34. Noah Wyle is 38. Actor Scott Wolf is turning 41. Singer Nikka Costa is turning 37. Journalist John Hockenberry is 53. And your favorite elderly sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is celebrating her 81st birthday today.

Wall Street: Thursday Morning

cityfile · 06/04/09 06:41AM

• Morgan Stanley may get out from under the TARP sooner rather than later now that the bank has raised another $2 billion of Japanese cash. [DB]
• AIG was spending a fortune to sponsor the British soccer team Manchester United. Now that it no longer has a fortune to spend, Aon is taking over. [DB]
• Fewer people filed new claims for jobless benefits for a third straight week last week, and worker productivity is up, too, so that's good news. [Reuters]

Angie & Brad's Love Will Never Die

cityfile · 06/04/09 05:56AM

• Despite what you may have read in the tabloids the past few weeks, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not splitting up and remain truly, deeply, madly in love. So if you've spent sleepless nights worrying about that, hopefully Jolie's publicist's soothing words will finally put your mind at ease. [Us]
• Speaking of Angie, Forbes has named her the most powerful celebrity on the planet, so she's got that going for her, which is nice. [Forbes]
• And speaking of Brad, you may be interested to know what his "secret" is to avoiding odors when he's on the set of a movie and doesn't have time to shower: baby wipes, apparently. It's also a slow news day, apparently. [NYDN]
Christina Ricci and Owen Benjamin have called off their engagement. [Us]

Brüno, Bar & Barneys

cityfile · 06/03/09 07:47PM

• Photos of Sacha Baron Cohen (as Brüno) and Alessandra Ambrosio from the new issue of British Marie Claire are now online, if you're interested. Or, if you prefer, you can take a gander at a nude Bar Refaeli on the cover of Esquire. [Marie Claire, Esquire]
• After many months of hemming and hawing, it looks like Roberto Cavalli has finally decided to sell a stake in his company. [WSJ]
Vogue's André Leon Talley reports Anna Wintour was "thrilled" with how her "fabulous" 60 Minutes profile turned out a couple of weeks ago, you'll ubdoubtedly be pleased to hear. [FBNY]
• It's been a year since Barneys started looking for a CEO, which may be one reason why the company has had so many trouble as of late. [WSJ]

Eating & Drinking: Wednesday Edition

cityfile · 06/03/09 05:40PM

• Public Fare, Danny Meyer's concession stand at the Delacorte Theater, will be open for the debut of Shakespeare in the Park on June 10. [Zagat]
• Shea Gallante, the chef at Cru, will be leaving at the end of the month. [NYT]
Daniel Boulud's DBGB is accepting walk-ins prior to its 6/8 opening. [GS]
• Flex Mussels on the UES gets a single star in the Times today. [NYT]
Noah Tepperberg's Avenue opened last night. Wass Stevens and the Beatrice Inn's Angelo and Todd manned the door, Paul Sevigny provided the music, sister Chloë was in the house, and a jack and coke costed $19.20. [GS]

The Observer's 'Power 100'

cityfile · 06/03/09 03:01PM

The New York Observer's annual list of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate is now online for your viewing pleasure. President Obama comes in as No. 1., although to go through the rest of the names, you'll have to scroll through the most interminable slideshow ever created. Provided you don't have anything better to do this evening, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. [Observer]

Bethenny Frankel: Author, Attention-Seeker, Ex-Nanny

cityfile · 06/03/09 02:10PM

Bethenny Frankel has been doing her best to remain in the spotlight as she continues her quest to get people to buy her diet book, which we haven't read, of course, but sounds like a recipe for certain death considering it suggests eating less than 1,000 calories a day and never eating more than three bites of any one dish. Last week, she drummed up some attention by classily lifting up her dress for the cameras at a book party. She's hit up half a dozen events this week, stopping off at IFC's "America's Hottest Rocker Mom Contest" today (fitting since while she isn't a mom, she isn't a housewife either), and, last night, a party for Frangelico at STK. New York caught up with her at yesterday's party and asked her to recount a "scandalous story about herself from back in the day," a request she was happy to comply with, especially since those Jersey girls have kind of upped the ante with their tales of coke-snorting and stripping in recent days:

Crisis in Cambridge

cityfile · 06/03/09 01:52PM

Commencement ceremonies take place at Harvard tomorrow. And tensions are already running high! It seems attendees are now being advised to avoid hugs and handshakes out of concern for swine flu. [The Awl]

Littlejohn Convicted

cityfile · 06/03/09 01:11PM

Darryl Littlejohn, the worst bouncer ever, was found guilty of rape and murder this afternoon after a day of deliberations. [NYT]