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Readability App Rejected, Team Cries Foul in Blog Post

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:06:47 -0500

Readability, the subscription web service that allows readers to strip content down to its bare bones Instapaper-style, recently had its iOS app rejected from the Apple Store for infringing the new subscription rules. Or, as Gizmodo put it, "Readability App Becomes Victim of Apple's Dumb Subscription Policy."

The team behind Readability responded to the rejection today in a blog post that argues broader implications in Apple's actions.

We're obviously disappointed by this decision, and surprised...

Elsewhere: Cuomo is Admittedly Impatient

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:17:40 -0500

Overshadowed by the boos of the Barrons, Bill Richardson had some nice things to say about worker's rights at Cuomo's Unity dinner.

Charlie Rangel has tax tips. Two whole newsletters worth. Enter irony here.

Ed Koch is liking the looks of Cuomo's redistricting committee.

Cuomo deems himself an impatient governor.

Proposed restrictions on San Gennaro festival are an "amazing travesty."

New York 'political power couples' dole out advice on how to avoid sex scandals and more.

Firefighter's Association blaming this...

Zagat Relaunches Website, Nina Z Likes the Search

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:36:10 -0500

Faced with a host of online competition, restaurant reviews Bible Zagat relaunched its website today with a host of features to make it more accessible to those without a premium subscription. The upgrades include revamped member profiles complete with badges, new entry points to reviews through updated editors' blogs and lists and an overhauled search function that allows users to search by neighborhood or "landmark."

The updated search and expanded profiles are founder Nina...

You Must Remember This: What's '11's Version of Bearbaiting?

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:55:07 -0500

A number of interesting things happened today. But the devil's in the details. Let's see if you were paying attention!

Which New York-based artist may have skipped the Grammys because he's sick of not being duly recognized?

What does The New Yorker call the modern equivalent of "bearbaiting"?

Towards which state is Senator Charles Schumer seeking to direct donations?

What is the hip new extracurricular for fourteen-year-old actresses?

Why is LCD Soundsystem being accused of colluding against their fans?

Voting...

Who Is the Gonzo Fashion Illustrator in Our Inbox?

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:38:21 -0500

The Observer received by email today a set of illustrations depicting a scantily-clad Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and Karl Lagerfeld descending on missiles in order to destroy Milan--evidently in advance of Milan's fashion week. The email included a link to a website with commentary on the pictures--complaining about the Milanese fashion press and adding, "we shouldn't be wasting time with these walking corpses, we will be back soon to reveal many awkward and entertaining...

Greatest President? Grimm Goes With Bush Sr.

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:19:30 -0500

Washington. Lincoln. Roosevelt. Reagan.

These are the names that most often come up when Americans are asked to list who they think was the greatest American president. But not Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm, who casts his lot with the often-overlooked, one-term George H.W. Bush.

In honor of President's Day, conservative blog FrumForum asked the new Republican members of Congress to name their favorite former commander-in-chief, leaving President Reagan out ("to give the other presidents a...

Schumer: We Are All Wisconsites Now

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:37:06 -0500

As hundreds of union members and their allies remained camped out inside the Wisconsin state capitol building in Madison to protest Gov. Scott Walker efforts to end collective bargaining rights for state workers, New York Senator Chuck Schumer has sent out a letter to his supporters expressing solidarity with the demonstrators.

"[Walker] may wish to take America back to the 1920s, when workers had no rights, but the rest of us certainly don't," Schumer...

Apartment Hunter-Gatherer Prowling

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:23:04 -0500

From the glamorous to the quotidian, everything you need to know about New York City's apartment market is contained on StreetEasy, except this: The city's most powerful residential real estate site has begun a quest for new office space.

"We've got half a dozen places that are of real interest," chief executive Michael Smith told The Commercial Observer when we caught up with him, addressing rumors that the company was hunting for...

It's Free to Look: Versatile Brooklyn Heights Duplex

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:55:31 -0500

Brooklyn. Home to baby yoga, mouse taxidermy and... you, provided you have $1.4 million lying around for this Prudential Douglas Elliman property on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights.

The duplex features two-and-a-half beds (a custom-built loft can be used as an office or a bedroom), three baths and double-height ceilings located in a six-unit building along a cobblestone street. The building features a courtyard entrance and is directly across from Pier 6 and the Brooklyn...

Welcome to the Neighborhoodr: NYC Tumblr Network Adds 25 New Cities

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:50:30 -0500

Anthony De Rosa is famous on Tumblr as SoupSoup, and on Twitter as one of NBC's top 20 people to follow for local news.

He's also the cofounder of Neighborhoodr, a crowdsourced network of Tumblrs that blog and reblog neighborhood-level news, events, videos and photos for more than 60 neighborhoods in New York.

De Rosa announced today that Neighborhoodr has expanded into 25 new cities beyond New York, including Austin, Nashville, Seattle and Los Angeles, and...