A new luxury boutique hotel opening up in Queens is already being sued. Silvercup Studios in Long Island City is suing the operators of the establishment, which is called Silvercup Hotel. According to the Daily News , the lawsuit claims the hotel is “exploiting the goodwill inherent in the Silvercup” trademarked name. The hotel is nearby, at 29th Street and 39th Avenue, and is advertising its proximity to the famed studios (where shows like Gossip Girl film). The suit seeks an injunction against the hotel using Silvercup in their name, as well as $200,000 in damages. As of right now, their website is still up and running under the name Silvercup Hotel.
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Silvercup Studios Sues Silvercup Hotel
AP As the scandal- and gaffe-plagued reign of David Paterson comes to an end, we can look ahead to a new year and a new governor. Andrew Cuomo will be sworn in tonight, and he’s so eager to get down to business to be on the 11 o’clock news that he’ll take the oath at 10 PM, two hours earlier than expected. According to the Daily News , the swearing-in will be preceded by a lavish ball for the Cuomo family and 80 guests upstate in the Governor’s Mansion. During his tenure, Cuomo will split his time between the mansion and his Westchester home, which he shares with girlfriend Sandra Lee, so he can be closer to his three daughters. At tonight’s party, guests will feast on a decidedly not semi-homemade buffet whipped up by state chefs, and will toast the New Year with New York State wines. Cuomo will officially become the state’s 56th governor when the oath goes into effect just after midnight, and will begin his duties with a staff meeting at 8:30 tomorrow morning. He’ll give his inaugural address at noon, and in lieu of a lavish reception, he’s tactfully decided to press flesh with some “everyday folks” at the executive mansion. All of the inaugural expenses, including overtime pay for state workers, will be paid for by his campaign.
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We’re Finally Getting a New Governor Tonight
NYE 1907 While we no longer need to fear the Snooki Ball this New Year’s Eve, that doesn’t mean Times Square is free from danger tonight. City officials are ramping up security as they brace for nearly a million people to show up for the ball drop ( streets will close at 3 p.m. today). The decision to strengthen the police presence was made after the failed Times Square bomb discovered in May of this year. According to the Daily News , “counterterrorism officials, FBI agents and thousands of rank-and-file cops will patrol the area with bomb-sniffing dogs and snipers on rooftops.” More barriers will be added to the area, and all mailboxes and garbage cans have been removed from streetcorners, and on top of all that, manhole covers are being sealed up. Freaked out yet? Don’t worry, Police Commish Kelly says, “We have no specific threats against New York City on New Year’s Eve.” And Bloomberg, who will be in attendance tonight, says, “I expect to have a great time. Every year, we have a great celebration, and I think this will be another one.” And as the Post points out, his buddies at the sanitation department will (allegedly!) also be showing up, but not until the show’s over. Some revelers showed up as early as 7 a.m. today to get a good spot, and don’t plan to move til that ball drops. If you want to join them, you know the drill, no backpacks or large bags, no alcoholic beverages, no FUN, etc.
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Times Square More Secure Than Ever For Tonight’s Ball Drop
If you scroll down to the very bottom of this article, you’ll see that publishing this file photo of former Spider-Man star Natalie Mendoza is not entirely unjustified. Conservative theater critic John Simon, whose sneeringly negative reviews in New York were always a great way of knowing what shows you should see, is indignant that critics for Newday and Bloomberg News are beginning to break longstanding theatrical tradition and publish reviews of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark while it’s still in previews. We’re proudly guilty of this as well—having paid to see a performance last week, we likened the show to “watching a spandex-clad fat man with a flesh-hook suspension fetish masturbate onto a giant pile of money, while singing Muzak versions of all your least favorite U2 songs.” But hey, if that’s how you like to spend your paycheck, then step right up; it’s enervating fun for the whole family! On his new blog , Simon takes his colleagues to task for not waiting until the show’s official opening night (sometime in May 2012 February) to publish reviews. Simon says it’s “unfair” to the poor producers, but also “discourteous” to other critics, because some critics don’t work for publications that can “cough up $300 for a preview review.” Some critics have to wait until the publicist gives them comped tickets in the week before opening night. Some critics, in fact, are currently employed by the Westchester Guardian, which, unlike Newsday or Bloomberg News , has standards, you know. (It may be worth mentioning here that Simon was fired by Bloomberg News in November.) So there’s a bit more to Simon’s righteous scolding than just the ethics of respecting the artists . But let’s take his point at face value anyway: Is it unfair for critics to review Spider-Man when U2 and director Julie Taymor are still planning substantial changes to the most expensive musical in Broadway history? The Times has refrained from publishing a review for this very reason, but we think one of the commenters on paper’s arts blog hits the nail on the head quite nicely: I would normally be against reviews or criticisms before a show opens, but not in this case–why should the producers be granted any consideration when they are charging full prices (including premium prices up to $300) for a show that is still in previews? And, it should be noted, previews that are occurring long after the show was to have opened and for which many theatre-goers thought they were buying tickets post-opening. If ticket buyers are being asked to pay well over $100 for tickets, then they have every right to know what to expect. All normal rules are out when applied to this show. Meanwhile, producers have confirmed that star Natalie Mendoza, pictured here for reference purposes, has left the beleaguered production, as previously rumored. In a statement, she says , “It has been a difficult decision to make, but I regret that I am unable to continue on ‘Spider-Man’ as I recover from my injury. I wish Julie and the cast and crew every success with this production.” Break a leg, everybody!
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NY’s Nastiest Critic Rips Other Critics for Criticizing Spider-Man
The Pediatric Ambulatory Service of Elmhurst Hospital Center, in less snowy weather ( nyc.gov ) Its unsurprising, considering the many still-unplowed streets , but still very sad to learn that EMS response times are still being hindered by the snow. For example: yesterday a three-month-old baby was left brain dead when rescuers were unable to arrive as promptly as normal, and then had to carry the child in by hand when their ambulance got stuck 30 yards from a hospital. The story is simple and sad: Addison Reynoso was being watched by a babysitter when he suddenly lost consciousness. The babysitter got a neighbor to call 911 around 1 p.m.. Soon after the baby’s parents arrived and began to perform CPR. The mother reached another 911 dispatcher at 1:12 p.m. and EMS arrived about 1:24 p.m. The family brought the baby down the ambulance which then started the two-mile trip to Elmhurst Hospital. But before they got their the ambulance got stuck and the baby had to be carried the rest of the way. He arrived at the hospital at 1:42 p.m. “The main street outside of the emergency room wasn’t cleaned yet,” the boy’s father told the Post. “We had to get out of the ambulance and run.” Later an FDNY source told the paper that “the weather hampered our efforts. The snow did impact this.” The baby, who was apparently suffering from a respiratory infection, is currently on life support as his family decides how to proceed.
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Snow Delays Leave Baby Brain Dead
This year we looked back at a lot of the good, and bad old days in New York City. Here’s the full archive of our Flashback series, and click through for some of our favorite Flashbacks this year. And for even more history fun, dip into our Guess the Year posts.
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Flashbacks: A Year In Old Photos
Mayor Bloomberg said he will investigate the allegations that Sanitation workers purposefully staged a slowdown during the Blizzard clean-up as revenge for budget cuts. Echoing Gov. Paterson’s statements yesterday , Bloomberg said “it would be an outrage” if the allegations were proven true. But even Bloomberg’s slight change of heart won’t satisfy the bloody-thirsty, snow-encrusted masses. ” I really think he realizes this could turn into his Waterloo ,” said Councilwoman Debi Rose, who added that she herself was snowed in for three days. Could this be Bloomberg’s Waterloo AND his Katrina ?? Bloomberg was on a true charm offensive yesterday , traveling across the city for pre-planned PR events with mildly-disgruntled, snowed-in residents. But even cute grandmas and defenseless children couldn’t protect Bloomberg from the plebs rage; Claudia DiPeri confronted the Mayor between photo shoots to tell him how her husband, an MTA employee, had to walk 60 blocks to an N station to get to work. “[Bloomberg] asked, ‘What does he think about me?’ I just told him, ‘He doesn’t like you,’ ” she told the Post. Later, Bloomberg was even criticized to his face by his fellow elected officials: Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said her constituents were still calling asking “Where is the plow,” and added, “One of the things I think should have happened earlier is that the routes of the buses should have been cleaned.” To all that, Bloomberg nodded, said “OK, thank you,” and moved on to another topic. Councilman James Vacca was equally annoyed after his meeting with Bloomberg in the Bronx at the end of the day: “I told the mayor snow removal could have been done much better and many of us are not happy. What happened in this snowstorm is that people on taxpaying streets didn’t see a plow for days. That’s something we have to change.” Despite a vow to clear the streets by 7 a.m. yesterday morning, the headaches continued for many people on unplowed streets today .
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Bloomberg Has Lousy Day Listening To People Yell At Him
Rubys Host’s Flickr There was considerable outrage last week when Zamperla , the multinational amusement company leasing prime Coney Island boardwalk property from the city, abruptly bulldozed Shoot the Freak, the ten-year-old attraction where customers step right up to fire paint ball pellets at a human target. Shoot the Freak and seven other boardwalk businesses are fighting Zamperla’s eviction order in court , so it came as a surprise that the company would raze the attraction before any legal decision had been issued. Now it turns out that Zamerla didn’t even bother getting a permit from the Department of Buildings to do the work. Amusing the Zillion reports that the City’s Department of Buildings has “issued a stop work order at the Boardwalk property leased by Zamperla from the City’s Economic Development Corporation. This property has 1 open DOB ‘Work Without A Permit’ Violations and may be subject to DOB civil penalties upon application for a permit.” According to the Daily News , the Department of Buildings has fined Zamperla $5,000 for a Class 1 violation—the most severe. “In the middle of the night they come and raze my place and knock it down without building permits or nothing,” Shoot the Freak owner Anthony Berlingieri tells the News. “This is all about greed. It’s an empty lot, like if Shoot the Freak was never there.” And Berlingieri tells the Post , “I really have to wonder if this is retaliation because I’ve been Zamperla’s biggest critic since they’ve arrived.” Zamperla hasn’t commented publicly on what is turning into a P.R. debacle for the company, which was generally lauded for opening Luna Park this summer on the property formerly occupied by Astroland . But now, as Zamperla tries to evict essential boardwalk dive Ruby’s and seven others in order to build an upscale sports bar and restaurant, the company has achieved the impossible: Becoming even more loathed than the boardwalk’s former Snidely Whiplash, “developer” Joe Sitt . A DOB spokesman says the department is planning an investigation.
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City Fines Amusement Giant For Razing Shoot the Freak
Snow Lady by Hello_Serjiy on Flickr Despite being the coldest December in a decade, 2010 will end on a warm, slushy , note as today’s high will be in the upper 40s under brightly sunny skies. If you want even warmer weather join the masses on the observation decks of the Empire State Building or Rockefeller Center this afternoon. The warm weather is brought to us courtesy of a shallow inversion, where the temperature increases, instead of decreases, with elevation. The inversion is also responsible for the air quality alert that’s in effect until midnight. Speaking of midnight, the weather will remain on the mild side this evening. Look for a temperature in the lower 40s when the shiny ball drops in Times Square. Warm weather will continue into the new year with tomorrow’s high likely to again reach the upper 40s. You know that storm that brought craploads of rain to California and a blizzard to Minnesota this week? Yeah, well, a much-dissipated version of that system hits the New York area late tomorrow and into Sunday. There’s not much left to the storm but we can expect the sky to cloud over tomorrow afternoon and there’s a chance of light rain on Sunday. Happy New Year everyone!
We thought everyone agreed that the alleged foot fetish photos/videos of Rex Ryan’s wife Michelle were no big deal? Isn’t it enough that Rex just thinks his wife is “awesome” ? Now, new photos of a woman who looks a lot like Mrs. Ryan (whose alleged online moniker is “ihaveprettyfeet” ) have appeared online, and the provocative photos are bound to throw a little more fuel on the foot fetish fire. [ NSFW Update below] In the photos, posted at Mediatakeout , a man who is without question not the Jets coach is rubbing and smelling the bare feet of the woman who resembles Michelle. It’s not NSFW, but they have freaked out the News , which calls them, ” X-rated internet photos that put FootGate to shame .” A Jets spokesman reiterated Rex’s feelings about the issue: “Coach Ryan considers this a personal matter and will have no comment.” Whether this is or isn’t Michelle, the Ryans need to memorize the first rule of the internet: never put anything you wouldn’t be willing to show your Grandmother on the internet. UPDATE : Um, via @adrianchen , here are the very NSFW photos . The News’ headline makes…more sense now.
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Update: Is ihaveprettyfeet In These "Scandalous" Foot Photos?