Michael Bloomberg bolstered his reputation for focusing on productivity during a State of the City speech whose unifying thread was his vision of running New York City as efficiently as possible. The city has endured the recession better than the rest of the country, and Bloomberg focused on policies he said would continue to stimulate growth without raising taxes.... MORE >
It's hard to face the fact, but Glenn Beck is a role model to a good number of people in this country. That's why it was especially disturbing when he told America to give up one of their kidneys in order to see Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Please, America, do not take this man seriously. But who knew he met Bono after the show? We did, of course! And how did we know? Twitter... MORE >
All governors rely on their staffs to keep their states running smoothly. But few governors around the country or in the modern history of New York have relied as much as Andrew Cuomo has on his. Even from his time at HUD in the Clinton administration, those close to Cuomo say he has relied on a tight-knit of super-close staffers who shepherd through every decision. Thus, those who Cuomo employs on the second floor... MORE >
The Internet was awash with reactions to the looks that graced the red carpet at last night's Golden Globes, and it's become increasingly difficult to siphon out the quality round-ups from the misguided and the knee-jerk ones. But André Leon Talley is a man we can trust.... MORE >
Yes, the bitter cold days of late January are all about us, here in New York. The idea of walking daunts us. We're hopping around half-frozen puddles of toxic slush. Nothing -- gloves, socks, scarves -- can keep us as warm as we want to be. At times there is no end in sight. Well, enough with that -- let's walk into a scorching hot sauna of gossip and slander! Scandal Report this week is... MORE >
With investor interest in group discount site Groupon at an all time high, it seems only a matter of time before the company gets its own David Fincher-directed movie. And so The Observer asks the most pressing question facing the technology venture capital scene today: What if The Social Network was about... MORE >
Venture capital giant Accel Partners announced today that it's setting up a New York office, an indication that it sees a bright future for the New York technology start-up scene. The move offers hope to Silicon Alley's scruffy young CEOs. They too can join the pantheon of software greats that Accel has fostered over the years. To get an idea of what may lay in store for our city's start-ups, take a look at Accel Partners'... MORE >
If your name is Arianna Huffington and you run a website called The Huffington Post, you have been conditioned to believe you have a mandate that allows you to use your cell phone when mere mortals are not allowed to. One of these no-phone zones happens to be an airplane as it is taking off. The HuffPo head honcho pecked and tapped at her all-powerful BlackBerry, much to the annoyance of one Ellis Belodoff... MORE >
The developers Steve Roth and Veronica Hackett have, after years of court cases and millions of dollars, finally secured their jewel on Central Park, as The Observer's Laura Kusisto reports in this week's print edition. The dumpy rental building at 220 Central Park South will soon be replaced with yet another soaring luxury building. Tentative plans call for a 41-story luxury stunner meant to put its neighbors to shame. But the new building will... MORE >
I know what you're thinking: how could you do it, Scandal Report? How could you take two weeks off like that? We missed you, we needed you. How would we know which papers rocked their A-game during Christmas time and nabbed the best scoops and juciest items? Listen up, Scandal Report. Gossip never takes vacation. Gossip never sips egg nog by the fireplace. Gossip never gorges on chocolate while watching It's A Wonderful Life.... MORE >
Beyond the PowerPoint, beyond the jokes and the shout-outs and the paens to the greatness of New York State, Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address, was actually about something. Although few noticed, in it he actually did lay out a number of specifics of how he hopes to close the budget deficit and reform state government and tackle some of the mounting problems of the state. Here at the Politicker, we went through the... MORE >
This week, The Observer interviewed artist Sue de Beer, who recently returned to New York--Brooklyn, to be exact--from Berlin. She has a new piece debuting next month at the Park Avenue Armory entitled The Ghosts. The Observer, with the help of the Art Production Fund and the artist, has managed to capture a few aparitions from the forthcoming film. They're haunting. SLIDESHOW: Can you see the ghosts?... MORE >
We didn't need Twitter to tell us that there was a massive blizzard happening outside, but without the gung-ho tweeting of Newark mayor Cory Booker many of his city's residents would still be stuck in the two feet of powder. Yes, perhaps the average human being lacks the superpowers that allowed Booker to communicate with hundreds of random residents and then go, shovel in hand, to dig them out -- but, hey, this is pioneering... MORE >
Renowned architect Daniel Libeskind sat down with the Commercial Observer this week to talk over the dozen projects he has going on around the world, including his work on the World Trade Center, at the Jewish Museum and... MORE >
It was looking, for a moment, like we were headed to a weekend spent watching Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, and March of the Penguins: Twitter was abuzz with news that Morgan Freeman had died. But thankfully, the tweets of his demise were greatly exaggerated; instead, it was a fake retweet of a CNN story that convinced the Twitterspere that the actor had passed. But Freeman's publicist released a statement saying he's "very... MORE >
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