Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg introduced fancy new "umbrellas" that will eventually take the place of ugly scaffolding covering New York sidewalks. (The city's 37,000 homeless people were reportedly looking forward to taking shelter under such aesthetically pleasing awnings.)

At least there's a Harold Ford interview to entertain us today. Has Prince Hal changed his tune on Wall Street bonuses, or health care reform? No one knows, because the Daily News reporter was not allowed to ask about "issues."

[It might have been sunny in New York today, but this is how the world should have looked on the most depressing day of the year. Image via Knicolai's Flickr]

Here's a map of Park Slope—brave, bourgiest corner of Bourgie Brooklyn—where the streets are named for the rear-window college stickers found on parked cars. Odds are you'll find your own school somewhere. Maybe it was even your car!

N. R. Kleinfield's piece about laundromats in today's Times NY/Region section is pretty great, fun reading. And also, hysterically, fairly poetic. First two lines: "At the laundromat, irregular things happen. People square off over washers - mine; no, mine." [NYT]

Today: beautiful relief from winter in New York City. How beautiful? Sun shinin', birds singing, people-smoking-weed-in-public beautiful! Nearly 50 degrees! Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted, though, because tomorrow and Monday's forecast: eegh. Don't forget your umbrellas.

Have you been wondering why power couple Steven Rattner and Maureen White, rich Democratic fundraisers and friends to all local plutocrats, are supporting Harold Ford? Because Kirsten Gillibrand broke Maureen's brothers heart.

New York's skinniest house — a 9 1/2 foot-wide townhouse on Bedford Street — has just sold for $2.1 million. Former residents include Edna St. Vincent Millay and anthropologist Margaret Mead. It was built in 1873, filling an alleyway. [AP]

Harold Ford, Jr. wants to be the next Senator from New York. We've mapped out his barnstorming tour of the state, which has taken him from the luxury hotels of midtown Manhattan to the exclusive restaurants of downtown Manhattan.

Today in dubious "quotes": the New York Daily News quotes a "friend" of Alex Paterson, the New York governor's son who was recently detained by the police for playing a dice game and possessing a missing debit card:

Hah, Andrew Cuomo is going to inadvertently kill the Harold Ford "campaign."

Lady-slasher Hiram Monserrate will be censured (which is meaningless) or expelled (which his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, says they can't do, though they can). Andrew Cuomo's investigation of Pedro Espada for tax and campaign finance fraud is heating up, too!

Remember how the New York Times' uncomfortable interview with Caroline Kennedy pretty much sank her Senate campaign? Hello, Harold Ford, welcome to New York! First question: Jets or Giants?

It's true: Harold Ford, Jr. is a joke. His New York Post editorial today more or less announcing his candidacy for Senate is terrible. His various friends and associates are a rogue's gallery of Gawker's most hated.

In time for primary season: conservative Tennessee Democrat, would-be New York Senate candidate, Julia Allison ex-boyfriend, and gay marriage opponent Harold Ford, Jr. supports gay marriage. Finding Democrats who already support Democratic policies to run in liberal states is hard!

Martin Scorsese was apparently filming an ad for Chanel in Uber-Hipster (and Uber-Chasid) Williamsburg right under Moto near the Hewes Street JMZ stop the other night. Could've been worse. At least it wasn't for APC jeans. Or Sparks. [Dossier]

A fairly accurate description, no doubt! The Times has a crazy-cool infographic about which zip codes rent what movies in 12 cities. Naturally, Milk and Rachel Getting Married have done very, very, very well. Fun! Also: Jersey <3's Shitty Movies. [NYT]

No, not Jakob Lodwick. (Give him time.) But Harold Ford, Jr.! Ford is planning a run against appointed New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and he has the backing of New York's richest Democratic donors.

New York's wonderful old mechanical lever voting machines are now officially dead. And you probably missed your last chance to use them, when you forgot to vote against Bloomberg. Now we will use terrible electronic vote-stealing machines.

Every year to get through the winter in New York (or presumably everywhere cold like Boston, Chicago, Wasilla) we have to go through a mass delusion that there is nowhere better. It sounds something like this.