Though Gov. Paterson is already looking for a new company to run video slot machines at the Aqueduct Racetrack, the controversy over the Aqueduct Entertainment Group isn’t over yet. According to a confidential document released yesterday, AEG ranked a distant fourth among the six bidding groups at the time, yet was initially chosen by Paterson, quite possibly because of political connections. City Room reports that AEG (listed as “Mays Navegante” in the document) was rated with four potentially “negative” grades, including one in legal and licensing matters. The Hard Rock Cafe group’s rating was nearly all positive. Paterson spokeswoman Morgan Hook issued a statement saying the lottery assessment was not used in the final decision, and was released only “in the interest of full and honest disclosure.” Paterson has been accused of choosing AEG to win over former congressman and AEG shareholder Rev. Floyd Flake. Investigators were also looking into ties between AEG and a Queens nonprofit that allegedly kept money raised for Hurricane Katrina victims.
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A Closer Look At Paterson’s Allegedly Corrupt "Racino" Deal
In case you’re interested in how the government was keeping your secrets all the way back in 1791, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a first edition of the first U.S. Census signed by Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State at the time. The document will be a part of the James S. Copley Library: Magnificent American Historical Documents auction on April 14th, and is expected to sell for between $50,000 and $70,000. It lists the population of the nation’s 13 states, the southwest territory and “Washington District,” which had a population of 35,691, including 15,365 “Free white females including heads of families.” You can see some of the document in the e-catalogue . [Via 1010Wins ]
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First U.S. Census to be Auctioned at Sotheby’s
When Amanda Palmer first started getting the PR wheels in motion for her new project, titled Evelyn/Evelyn, there were a few bumps in the road. First, not very happy with the conjoined twins fictional backstory, some disabilities groups got riled up . But really their outcries were nothing compared to the wrath of Courtney Love , who let’s not forget, is armed with Twitter. With Palmer’s new project readying to drop, a press release may have mentioned that it would contain the vocal debut of Love’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. This set mama Love off because the track that her daughter performed on (which premiered yesterday ) is not so much a vocal debut as it is Frances being one part of a gang chant-style chorus. Anyway, there was a whole Twitter war , eventually Palmer apologized, Love didn’t really accept her apology, etc etc, life goes on. But with the track out, there are only going to be more press clips to infuriate Love; for instance, Palmer recently gave People magazine more insight into Love’s daughter than she ever has, saying: “She’s got a great voice. But she’s a really good visual artist. She’s really interested in graphic novels.” Maybe Palmer and her fiance Neil Gaimain should adopt her! (JK, Courtney!)
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Courtney Slams Palmer For Daughter’s "Vocal Debut"
SOHO— The large-and-in-charge James New York , the hotel rising on Grand Street on the former site of the Moondance Diner, will open this August, according to a press release. And whereas other neighborhood newcomers have been criticized for being a bit blah , the James gang is trying to pump some of that Soho artistry into the place. Some design details: “The hotel has chosen SoHo based ArtistsSpace (www.artistsspace.org), a non-profit artist collective to design each one of the guest floor corridors. They will use the walls, floors, ceilings and basic corridor spaces as a canvas. Even the smallest of details will be expertly designed- Artist John Paul Phillipe (www.j-pinc.com) will create unique room number art for each of the 114 guest rooms; Piet Boone will contribute to the design and architecture of the penthouse suites.” There’s even a furniture curator! Your move, Mondrian Soho. [CurbedWire Inbox] CHELSEA— Movie star Gerard Butler was recently spotted checking out a Noho penthouse , but he seems pretty happy in his newly renovated 3,300-square-foot Chelsea loft, which has 13-foot-tall mahogany doors, frescos everywhere, crystal chandeliers and columns topped with limestone lions. Seriously. We know this because he’s the cover subject of the May issue of Architectural Digest . (On newsstands April 6! Here’s an excerpt and picture .) This is how the rugged Scotsman describes his place: “I wanted something elegant and gorgeous and at the same time rather masculine and raw. I guess I would describe the apartment as bohemian old-world rustic chateau with a taste of baroque .” Yeesh, another one of those? [ Architectural Digest ]
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CurbedWire: Gerard Butler’s Very Masculine Chelsea Loft; Soho Hotel Gets Artsy
[UPDATE BELOW] We just received emails from readers about an explosion/boom in Greepoint: ” Huge explosion heard in Greenpoint. Can’t see anything but can hear sirens and fire trucks heading to the scene. Don’t know what happened. I work at Diamond St. & Meserole Ave., could feel the building shake. ” ” I live on Monitor St near McGolrick Park. There was just a very loud boom that shook the ground. Now I hear sirens. All the neighbors are out on the street. Any idea what happened? ” Did anyone else hear it? Or does someone know? We’re also checking with authorities. Update : The 94th Precinct didn’t have any information available but did say there were units at the scene. Update 4:45 PM : Mystery solved: The Office of Emergency Management tells us that an acetylene tank at a recycling facility at 540 Kingsland Avenue exploded after getting hit by a “piece of machinary.” At this time, it’s believed that there are only minor injuries. So what’s acetylene? According to Wikipedia , “Its singular hazard is associated with its intrinsic instability, especially when it is pressurized. Samples of concentrated or pure acetylene can easily react in an addition-type reaction to form a number of products.” Thank God it wasn’t one of the sewage digester eggs —they are just across the street!
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UPDATED: Greenpoint Explosion Occurred At Recycling Plant
For two days now the Post has reported on street hawkers who lure Meidcaid recipients to dental clinics , offering cash payments to don the bib—today it turned its focus to the allegedly fraudulent doctors . Billing Medicaid $29 for oral exams, $58 for teeth X-rays, $58 for cleanings and $14 for fluoride treatments, dentists pay the patients around $15-20 per visit, and usually give the shills $10 per person they bring in. According to a spokeswoman for the government program , cash payments to patients are absolutely not okay, though gifts “worth up to $10″ (stick-on earrings or wind-up chompy teeth) are allowed. Though the hawkers advertise blatantly on Harlem street corners, yelling things like “Dentist, dentist, dentist! Get paid to go to the dentist!,” it calls the scamming operation “covert” and says investigators “still don’t know the extent of the fraud.”
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Medicaid: Dentists Can Dispense Toys, Not Cash
[NYC's pizza-in-cones obsession lives on, via Eater ] · Sifton gives Recette an unexpected two stars [NYT] · El Quinot Pino revamp gets points for patatas bravas [VV] · Chef loss not a problem for Mia Dona [IC] · Restauranteur Keith McNally’s kitchen has two dishwashers! [TONY] · 31 NYC restaurants make it to U.S. top-grossing list [RI Mag] · East Village sandwich shop heading for FiDi ? [EVG] · Is it possible to eat in NYC on $20/month ? [ML] · McDonald’s customer crawls through drive-thru window when food’s too slow [Gawker]
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Linkage: Weekly Food Edition: Restauranteur’s Pad Has Double Dishwashers
After some bitterness over which team would get to break the proverbial bottle on the new New Meadowlands Stadium, it turns out both teams will get to share in the inauguration. On Monday Aug. 16th, the hometown rivals will meet for their first preseason game of the year, and the first NFL game at the newly built stadium. The Jets will serve as the home team, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. The Giants will play their first home game of the regular season Sunday Sept. 12, while the Jets will play the next day on the first “Monday Night Football” of the year.
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Giants, Jets Matchup In First Preseason Game at New Stadium
“I think the bigger question is what will it be like in the fall and winter, we all know in the spring things pick up but with unemployment worse than expected I don’t think this trend will last more than a few months . The DOW was not happy today.”—anon [Market Report Betting Begins]
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Photograph by Joe Woolhead/Silverstein Properties Officials say that the long-awaited 9/11 Memorial will be ready for the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. According to the Daily News , “Workers have framed in steel the memorial’s mammoth reflecting pools, and 60% of the concrete for the project has been poured. In the next several weeks, workers will install the acre-sized pools with granite lining. Surrounding the pools will be a grove containing about 400 oak trees, which are growing at a site in New Jersey and will begin to be planted this year.” Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said, “Opening the 9/11 Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the attacks is our highest priority, and the framing of the signature pools is a tangible sign that we are continuing to make significant progress to meet our commitment.” Well, the memorial won’t be entirely complete— there will be more building to do after it opens for the 10th anniversary—and it’s unclear how much public access there will be. Memorial designer Michael Arad reminded us last year , “It’s definitely not a sprint, it’s a marathon, so we had to be very dedicated to the project and persevere with a lot of difficulties.”
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9/11 Memorial Will Be Ready By Next Year (So They Say)