All Stories | The New York Observer

Fashion Week's Sevengali Wraps it Up

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 09:26:20 -0500

Although Christina Neault's job title is executive producer at IMG, a more accurate description of her job would be the COO of Fashion Week, to Stephanie Winston Winkoff's CEO. She manages a dozen permanent IMG staff during the year, but during those two frantic weeks in September and February she oversees 400 people. It's a colossal job. She is responsible for the order of the shows; a key responsibility as young designers' careers can...

A-Rod Slides Into Home at Barnett's Rushmore, West Side's Newest Clubhouse

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:37:50 -0500

Once upon a time, people could not wait to break their contracts at the Rushmore and flee Gary Barnett's ultra-luxury twin tower complex in Riverside South. Was it a typo or just bubble-era buyers' remorse? Whatever the case of the case, The Observer suspects people will be fighting to get into the building now that Robin Williams is a Rushmore resident and, as of this morning, Alex Rodriguez is rumored to be ready to...

Elsewhere: Adam Bradley, a Breastfeeding Fight and No More Bagels

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:33:49 -0500

Facing domestic abuse charges and an ethics probe, White Plains mayor Adam Bradley is stepping down.

New York G.O.P. may change winner-take-all primary rules.

Senate Republicans appeared to have overpopulated Democrat-heavy districts while underpopulating GOP-held districts in order to maximize their sphere of influence, Liz Benjamin reports.

Mayor Bloomberg is giving more city contracts to women and minority owned businesses.

Chris Christie vetoed a jobs creation bill that had considerable bipartisan support.

You Must Remember This: Was the Sarah on Long Island a Palin or a Jessica-Parker?

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:11:20 -0500

Plenty of news happens each day--and plenty slips through the cracks. Readers, let's test your collective memory!

Does Sarah Palin, based on her togs on a Long Island stop, believe in a woman's right to shoes?

...And on the other side of the political aisle, what wristwear indicates that all's well with Chelsea Clinton's marriage?

Which perpetually-comeback-ing Oscar winner is performing on Jimmy Fallon's show?

Whom does Whitney Port blame for exiling her from the city--or, at least...

Calvin Klein Flies In Kate Bosworth For His Woman's Show

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:08:48 -0500

Meredith Melling Burke, the senior market editor at Vogue, tweeted the following at 3:02 p.m. yesterday afternoon: "Shazammed the gorgeous opening song at Calvin Klein and downloaded it - James Blake's "The Wilhelm Scream." So moody and pretty xx mmb." Indeed, just seconds after The Observer took a seat at the Calvin Klein Women's show the low-toned woozy electro fuzz that makes up the British musician's robot-soul sound washed over the crisscrossed runway...

Two's a Crowd - Twitter Blocks UberMedia As Tweetdeck Deal Looms

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:21:26 -0500

It's been clear for a while now that Bill Gross and his UberMedia empire were on a collision course with Twitter. Gross has been buying up a number of third-party clients, bringing more and more of the activity on Twitter under his control, 20% by some estimates.

So last week, when the news broke that Uber was looking to acquire Tweetdeck, the most popular Twitter client, tech folks waited with bated breath. Today the news came...

Gwen Stefani Concludes Fashion Week With A Commando-Themed L.A.M.B. Show

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:14:44 -0500

The gridlock that seized the runway before the L.A.M.B. show last night had its heart near a cluster of seats in the front row -- one seat, one empty seat, had pulled in a growing orb of press and PR flacks. When The Observer finally shouldered through the crescent of photographers and video crews ready to pounce on the expected celebrity, we snatched a glace at the name: Matt Damon.

"I heard it was actually...

Martin Scorsese Sells Out--the Film Forum, At Least!

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:30:26 -0500

It'll be sitting room only for 180 lucky fans of GoodFellas (or, just maybe, Shutter Island) at the Film Forum next week, as the Manhattan auteur not named Woody Allen addresses the Film Forum audience at a Feb. 23 screening of last year's Fran Lebowitz documentary Public Speaking. Wait, everyone loves Martin Scorsese, but hadn't that already come and gone--in 2010--and on HBO, no less?

A Film Forum rep explained to the Observer: "When Rialto...

Victory! New York to Receive Increase in Anti-Terrorism Funding

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:15:44 -0500

Representatives Nita Lowey and Steve Israel announced today that an amendment has passed the House that would enable New York City to receive more anti-terrorism funding.

Under the new amendment, grant recipients of the Urban Areas Security Initiative would be limited to 25 of the highest-risk cities in the nation.

"I am pleased this amendment passed to ensure UASI grants benefit highest-risk cities and will work to ensure the Senate passes this provision and...

Cutesy Venmo Receipts Are Now a Thing

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:05:41 -0500

Friends and money, they don't always mix. But they have to: Exchanging money with friends is impossible to avoid. Drinks, taxis, dinners and cable bills are just some of the things for which we become financially indebted to each other, sometimes for substantial amounts (thanks, expensive City).

There are a few problems with this. Venmo, the mobile payment app from New York's and Bit.ly's Andrew Kortina, addresses two of them. First, it's more reliable than...