Programming Note

I just discovered some Woody Allen-related posts that I wrote many years ago in the drafts section of my blog so I reposted them. That's while you'll see them below.

I had "un-published" them when that documentary came out earlier in the year because I didn't want trolls to attack them -- or me. But now, after a little time has passed, I've decided to re-publish them because hopefully tempers have cooled. 

Or not. We're living in very hot tempered times. 

I know, we're all supposed to hate Woody Allen now, he's considered a menace to society, and his once highly acclaimed movies are undergoing a cultural revisionism where now we're supposed to hate them as much as him. But if you're capable of thinking your own thoughts perhaps you can read and appreciate them no matter what you think of the man. 

Or not. These days we're not supposed to separate the art from the artist because, well, apparently some people think a human being and a work of art are the same thing or haven't matured beyond the age of seven.

Manhattan - Woody Allen

Woody Allen's 1979 classic Manhattan is 30 years old this year and it certainly hasten lost any of its luster over time. It's as funny and poignant as ever. Before Seinfeld, before When Harry met Sally, before Friends, before Sex and the City, before all those TV shows and movies about yuppie life in NYC, Manhattan defined and influenced the sophisticated urban comedy. If you've never seen it, Manhattan revolves around TV writer Ike Davis (Woody) who quits his job to write a book. Meanwhile he's dating a 17 year old high school student (Mariel Hemingway, foreshadowing Soon-Yi) and getting involved with Mary (Diane Keaton) the mistress of his married best friend Yale (Michael Murphy). To make matters worse, his now lesbian ex-wife (Meryl Streep) is writing a tell-all book about their failed marriage. People lie, cheat, and steal each others hearts. While a very funny movie, Manhattan is, above all, a morality tale about how the way you treat people will eventually come back to haunt you (so people should treat each other well). Manhattan was Woody's first comedy after the Oscar-winning Annie Hall, and a lot of people consider it to be the superior film. In many ways, this was a daring film for its day. In 1979, New York City was in terrible economic shape and crime was exploding (as referenced in this opening from the movie). To make a movie celebrating NYC at the time wasn't a particularly cool thing to do. unlike n ow. Also, gay characters didn't appear in a whole lot of movies then, particularly gay people who were unapologetically "out" and happy about it. Not to the mention that Manhattan was shot in black and white which wasn't exactly something that set the box office on fire, then or now. Still, it's one of the most beautiful movies Woody has ever made and was actually one of his biggest hits ever. Woody Allen co-wrote Manhattan with Marshall Brickman (both had won Oscars for co-writing Annie Hall). Marshall Brickman would go on to write other movies and he's one of the writers of the big Broadway musical hit Jersey Boys. It was the last movie they would write together until 1993 when they co-wrote Manhattan Murder Mystery. Coincidentally enough, Manhattan is also the last movie that Woody and Diane Keaton made until Manhattan Murder Mystery. (After Manhattan, Diane Keaton moved to California and her next big movie was Reds in 1981). Sadly, this great triumvirate hasn't made a movie since 1993 and probably never will again but that's okay ... we'll always have Manhattan.

Woody Speaks!

The legendary New York filmmaker Woody Allen doesn't give a lot of interviews -- let alone a long one on the radio. But Woody just gave one to Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air and it's great. He talks about his career, his movies, his philosophy on life (basically, that is sucks) as well as his new film, Whatever Works, starring Larry David. You can hear it ... here. Interesting thing about this movie: Woody actually wrote this script more than thirty years ago, in 1977, around the same time Annie Hall came out. Like many of Woody's movies, he wrote the first draft and then left it in the drawer for a while (in this case, a long while) before resuscitating it. Let's hope this movie was worth the wait!

More Woody

And if you can't get enough Woody, here's a long article about our favorite nebbish from Vanity Fair in 2005, around the same time Match Point was released.

The Best of Mr NYC Years End

As the clock ticks down to 2022, something occurred to moi: some of my best, or at least my favorite, posts are ones that I wrote at the end of various years. They were, as you might imagine, posts full of ruminations of the year gone by and the one right over the horizon but not always -- sometimes they were interviews or reports of odd things.

So here are my favorite end of the year blog posts that you might enjoy going back and reading again:

On the last day of 2013, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg was leaving office and Mayor-Elect Bill De Blasio was preparing to assume it, I wrote a blog post about how the Bloomberg years had marked a "farewell to funky town", how the wild city of the 20th century had became the much tamer one of the 21st. I also wrote about the recent deaths of some prominent New Yorkers who, in their way, defined "funky town". Now Mayor De Blasio is leaving and Mayor-Elect Eric Adams will be taking over and, it's fair to say, funky town, especially in a COVID world, is well and truly gone forever. 

Then, in 2018, a strange event happened in NYC -- a huge blue burst of light exploded over the sky of NYC, literally electrifying it. It was a strange yet amazing thing to happen in those quiet days between Christmas and New Year's, a reminder that this city is always full of surprises. 

In 2019, in my last post of the year, I did an extensive interview with Hyapatia Lee, the former adult actress and current Native-American activist. She was, and remains, a fascinating person with an amazing life story. It was a real honor to interview her.

Finally, last year, after a year-from-hell and another year-from-hell coming up, I wrote about my distinct memories of December 31, 1986 which remains my favorite New Year's Eve ever.

And now 2021 is in the history books and 2022 beckons. Fingers crossed that things get better but, even if they do, we have a long way to go. 

Review: "You're a Big Boy Now" (1966)

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the classic movie The Godfather which made its cast (Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and others) into huge stars (and cemented Marlon Brando's cinematic comeback). It also made its director, Francis Ford Coppola, into a household name.

Prior to The Godfather -- which became the highest grossest movie of all time when it was released in 1972 -- Coppola had only directed a few movies (Finian's Rainbow, The Rain People), none of which were successful. But prior to his Mafia classic, Coppola made his first movie in 1966, and it's actually one of his best: You're a Big Boy Now. 

Set in NYC during the psychedelic '60s, the movie is about a young man named Bernard (Peter Kastner) who lives under the thumb of his controlling parents (Rip Torn and Geraldine Page) and works at the New York Public Library. Bernard and other library flunkies move around the stacks looking for books and documents on roller skates and daydream about leading more exciting lives. Bernard decides to move out of his parents home on Long Island and into an apartment in Manhattan. Naive, virginal, innocent and sincere, Peter roams around Times Square and the city, finding temptation around every corner. He falls for a go-go dancer and actress named Barbara Darling (Elizabeth Hartman) who teases him constantly, all the while being pursued by a sweet girl named Amy (Karen Black), a former classmate of his. Many hijinks ensue including with a rooster that attacks attractive women (!) and that take young Bernard from the streets of the city into walk-up apartments, off-off-Broadway theaters, Central Park, and adult stores. 

But, fear not, true love prevails. 

You're a Big Boy Now is what I'd call a "romp": there are many wacky surreal scenes that would be annoying if it wasn't for the fact that we really like Bernard and are rooting for him. The characters are all very unique and well-drawn, and all of the acting is first-rate. Most of all, this is a very stylishly-directed film -- unlike Coppola's later slowing-moving, epic films, You're a Big Boy Now is fast-moving with lots of quick cuts, clearly influenced by the French New Wave and rock'n'roll spirit of the times (music by The Lovin' Spoonful plays throughout the movie). 

The movie came out a year before The Graduate and shares, in plot and tone, much in common with You're a Big Boy Now. But whereas the 1967 California-based movie is a very mainstream, straight-forward telling of a young man's coming of age, this 1966 NYC-based flick is an odd, eccentric, art movie about the same subject. 

So, to sum up: You're a Big Boy Now is a very  good, very 1960's, very NYC movie about moving into adulthood, and, since it's the debut film of one cinema's greatest directors, it's a must-see.  

P.S. This was the first movie made under the Mayor's Office of Film and Television. I remember, years ago, seeing an old clip of Mayor John Lindsay giving a press conference, announcing the creation of this office and this movie being shortly going into production. Standing right behind him was a young, fully-bearded Francis Ford Coppola which Lindsay pronounced "Cap-polla." 

The Subway in 2021

As COVID has raged across NYC, and the world, for almost two years now, so much of the city's life has been disrupted: the way we work, the way we play, the way we socialize, the way we negotiate our very lives.

But one thing hasn't changed -- the subway. No matter what, when we people need to get around NYC, they still use it. Even though I haven't travelled much around the city in 2021, when I did, the subway not only remained the best way to get around town, but provided me with a sense of normality, a sense of regularity, a link to the "before times", a link to my fellow New Yorkers.

It was like a second home within my home.

This article that chronicles the COVID year 2021 in the subway shows the good and bad of the subway. How it can be scary and comforting at the same time but that, at all times, reminds you of what a fascinating place NYC is -- even during the most difficult of times.

"Christmas Night in Harlem" from Louis Armstrong

Christmas in the Streets

New York City is a magical place during Christmastime, streets and buildings decked out with lights and wreaths and signs wishing us a happy holidays, attempting to buck up our spirits. The holiday season becomes part of the NYC aesthetic, you see it everywhere, it becomes, in a way, our neighbor.

But like any neighbor, it's changed over the years.

This article, with lots of pictures, presents a thoughtful look at how Christmas in the streets of NYC have changed over the decades. It's a reminder, that in NYC, even something as unchanging as the holidays morphs and evolves. 

Omicron in NYC

 

Wes Anderson's Real Unreal NYC

I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of Wes Anderson's movies -- I find them rather  precious and not that funny (although I enjoyed the Grand Budapest Hotel and want to see The French Dispatch).

This lack of enthusiasm includes his 2001 flick The Royal Tenenbaums, about a dysfunctional family in NYC.

While I'm not a big fan of the movie, I totally agree with this article about how The Royal Tenenbaums is certainly one of the most unique NYC movies ever made. The movie takes place in a totally surreal, completely unrealistic and fake version of the city -- even though it was filmed entirely on location in NYC. Unlike other movies that are filmed elsewhere but are set in, and attempt to portray a realistic version of, NYC, this movie was actually filmed here but shows a totally unbelievable version of the city. 

The movie is now 20 years but, whether its then or now, NYC is a place than can always be re-imagined. 

Dick Gottfried Says Goodbye

Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, who has represented the West Side of Manhattan in Albany for 52 years, will retire at the end of 2022. He's the longest-serving legislator in New York State history, a link to this city's and state's past. 

When he entered the Assembly as a twenty-something, Richard Nixon was President, Nelson Rockefeller was Governor, and John Lindsay was Mayor. The Watergate scandal was two years in the future, the NYC fiscal crises was 5 years in the future (as was Saturday Night Live), Son of Sam was 6 six years in the future, and 9/11 and COVID-19 were 30 and 50 years in the future. His long career was a part of and an undercurrent of this history, a source of stability in tumultuous times.

Politicians like Dick Gottfried are increasingly rare these days in that he was a public servant as much as a politician. He didn't want glory, fame, or money, and he didn't get into nasty scandals or say bombastic things -- he just served his constituents, faithfully and honestly and thoughtfully, for more than half-a-century. This city and state were lucky to have him and we can only hope that we'll get more public servants like him in elected office in the future. 

"And Just Like That ..." Makes the Subway Sexy ... and Confusing

The long awaited Sex and the City follow up series, And Just Like That, has hit HBO Max, and like the good New Yorker and yenta that I really am at heart, I've watched the first two episodes and look forward to the rest of them (and yes, I'm aware of the big twist in the first episode but I shan't reveal it here for those who haven't seen it yet).

But we gotta talk about the subway.

Unlike the original series that existed in an NYC Wonderland, where people were magically transported about the city either in cabs or on their fancily-clad, Manolo Blahnik-ed feet, in this "woke" update, the characters actually ride the subway. In fact, there's more subway scenes than sex scenes in this reboot -- or, put another way, they're going down differently in this new series than in the first one.

Most surprisingly of all, the subway stop that's visited the most (so far) is the 116th Street stop on the 1 train. Let's just say that this is a subway stop that I know VERY well. So imagine my surprise, and continued bewilderment, that the 116th Street station in And Just Like That is ... not the REAL 116th street station! It's either a set or another subway stop dressed up as the 116th street station.

And here's what's extra confusing -- the REAL 116th street station is beautiful (or as beautiful as a subway station in NYC can be) while the fake one on And Just Like That is grungy and scary and smaller than the real one.

This is confusing -- for a show that's all about glamour, about beauty, about a  fantasy version of NYC, why would they make this particular subway station so wretched when the real subway stop isn't wretched at all? Was the order from the producers, "Hey, make the subway scary for dramatic effect!"? Strange.

Anyway, go ahead and enjoy the station but, just remember, that ain't the real 116th street subway stop. 

Classic Mr NYC

There's a big new biography on 1930s movie star Greta Garbo that is getting stellar reviews.

A native of Sweden, Garbo came to Hollywood in the 1920s and became an immediate sensation during the silent-movie era, then successfully transitioned to talkies in the 1930s. She became one of the highest grossing (and paid) stars of her era, the jewel in the crown of the biggest studio of the time, MGM. While the country was mired in the Great Depression, Garbo's beauty and talent and glamour lifted the spirits of a people that were otherwise struggling. 

And then, in the 1940s, at the outbreak of World War II, at the height of her fame, Garbo quit Hollywood and never made another movie. She lived the rest of her life (she died in 1990) as a recluse on the Upper East Side, becoming dubbed "the hermit about town."

In 2011, I actually found the building that Garbo lived in, and took a picture and blogged about it. I've also written about Garbo (including one of her notorious lovers) over the years. Garbo was a forever mystery, in life and death, and nowhere did she seem more mysterious than in NYC. 

"NYC" From "Annie: Live!"

Out Tonight

As NYC recovers from the pandemic, one of the things that took the biggest hit -- and that New Yorkers of all stripes wish to recover -- is enjoyment of the nightlife.

Is there any town, anywhere in the world, that's better to go out at night in? 

The restaurants, clubs, shows, events, there's more to do on any given night in NYC that no one can ever do it all. 

We're the city that never sleeps, for reason. The greatness of NYC nightlife speaks for itself.

That's why three recent articles about going out in NYC caught my attention since they really summarize the drama and joy of nightlife in NYC.

There's the mayor-elect, Eric Adams, who declares that he plans to be omnipresent in NYC at night. Oh no, he won't shutter himself in Gracie Mansion when evening descends on the city, he'll be out rubbing shoulders with the great unwarshed, enjoying not only his power but his prestige as NYC night-lifer #1.

Oh course, one of the places where people go out at night are bars and clubs. Most cater to a certain clientele -- young, old, rich, poor, or scraping by. So that's what it was fascinating to read about how young New Yorkers are flocking to the Bemelman's bar at the Hotel Carlyle on the Upper East Side. This place is about as old-school NYC at it gets, it's hardly a place where the young and hip have congregated. Well, what's old is new or, in this case, young, again.

Finally, there's legendary NYC columnist (and past Mr NYC interviewee) Michael Musto, writing about what it's like to be an older man going out to the clubs and hitting the downtown scene these days. He shares his memories of what NYC nightlife was like when he was young and how it's changed -- but how he, an inveterate NYC "nightcrawler", has remained largely the same.

NYC Celebrates Sondheim

 

Fun City Cinema

If you love movies, love NYC, and really love movies set in NYC, then you'll want to listen to this special episode of Marc Maron's WTF podcast with film historian Jason Bailey.  

Recorded live at the Paris movie theater -- the last single-movie house in all of Manhattan (maybe the whole city) -- Marc and Jason discuss the history of American film as it relates to NYC and why the city is always a great backdrop to just about any film set in it.

Most of all, Bailey makes a point how any NYC movie is two things -- a story about people in NYC as well as a document about the city at that time.

You can back and look at movie set in NYC in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s and see how different the city was back then. Movies like Midnight Cowboy (1969), Taxi Driver (1976) and Slaves of New York (1989) really capture what the city was like at the moment they were made, the gritty reality of a different time. But go back even further, to King Kong in 1933, when the massive ape takes hold of the Empire State Building, burnishing the building into cinema history. What's important to remember is that, in 1933, the Empire State Building was brand new, more of a curiosity than an iconic image at the time.

Movie change, NYC change, but NYC and the movies is marriage that will last forever.

Stephen Sondheim RIP

This was one of those days you hoped would never come but knew one day would -- and here it is: the passing of Stephen Sondheim, the composer and lyricists of such classic musicals as Gypsy, West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, and many others. 

He has died at age 91. 

To say that Sondheim was "one of the best" or "one of the greatest" American musical composers who ever lived is not enough -- he was the best, the greatest, truly without peer, someone whose likes the theater will never ever see again.

His cultural contribution to NYC is unmatched -- he was producing great musicals on Broadway in the 1960s and '70s at a time when the genre and the city were otherwise in trouble, keeping the flame and magic of the theater alive. In fact, "Being Alive" from Company, his iconic NYC musical, perhaps captures the man's work, life, and career better than anything.

Sondheim was a giant, a giant now in the sky, and if you want to understand the power of his music and influence then watch one of the people he influenced, Lin-Manuel Miranda, sing "Giants in the Sky" from Into the Woods. 

And his music and legacy will live, as the song "Sunday" in Sunday in the Park With George says, "forever. 

If you want to read what Mr NYC has written about Stephen Sondheim over the years, go here. 

Daytonian in Manhattan

Recently a friend forwarded me a link to a blog called Daytonian in Manhattan that chronicles "The stories behind the buildings, statues and other points of interest that make Manhattan fascinating."

Fascinating it is!

This blog has literally thousands of posts with pictures and individual write-ups about the numerous (I mean numerous) structures that make up the 13-mile isle.

This is history inside of history, the stories that surround us and make up NYC, and it's an amazing thing to see if told so well.

Classic Mr NYC

One of the most popular blog posts that I ever wrote was about Rao's, the super-exclusive East Harlem Italian joint that yours truly has eaten at -- twice.

This month Rao's turns 125 years old, bragging rights that few eating establishments in NYC or anywhere in this country can brag about. For more about the history of Rao's and what its anniversary means, go here -- and also get the recipe for Rao's famous Sunday Gravy.

They Made Our City Better

Recently three New Yorkers passed away who, in their own quiet but profound ways, made this city better.

They weren't famous (well, one was a little famous), they weren't household names, but they lived lives and had careers that left an imprint on the life of NYC.

The city government today would be a lot different if not for a man named Edward Sadowsky. A 24-year member of the city council from Queens, he pushed for reforms that eventually led to the abolition of the Board of Estimate and growth and empowerment of the council. Because of him, the city government became more democratic, more representative, more reflective of the populace. He also wrote and passed the legislation to create the cultural affairs department and the Taxi & Limousine Commission -- a lasting legacy for our city. RIP.

Then there's Helene Fortunoff. If you're old enough to remember, you might have once upon shopped at a Fortunoff jewelry store. She married a man whose family had a mom-and-pop store and she turned it into a retail giant with a flagship on Fifth Avenue and stores around the NYC region. It became a popular place for couples and high-end shoppers to buy jewelry, and the business lasted for years (because Helene retired and sold the company). She even hired Lauren Bacall to be the company's spokeswoman, giving Fortunoff some Hollywood glamour. Helene Fortunoff was a tough NYC broad who did good. RIP.

Finally, Bettina Grossman, a 50-year resident of the Chelsea Hotel, an artist who never quite made it but who dedicated her whole life to art and creation. She was a character, and eccentric, and she made her mark in the cultural life of NYC. RIP. 

Au Review Les Auteurs

New York City has produced a wide variety of cinematic auteurs -- Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Sydney Lumet, Abel Ferrara, Whit Stillman, Nora Ephron, Hal Hartley, Jim Jarmusch, and many others. They all made classic films that captured the glamour and grit of NYC, their movies got under your skin and made you not only see the city with your eyes but feel it in your soul.

Some of these auteurs still working, some are dead, some are retired (willingly or not) but, as this article clearly asks, who are their successors? Where is the next generation of NYC-centric filmmakers who capture the grit, excitement, and unique spirit of this town?

Oh sure, there's more movies being made in this city than ever before -- but they feel like they could be set anywhere, the city is just a backdrop not a central character.

My theory: as the city has become more homogenized, more gentrified -- safer, richer, with lots chain stores and glass buildings that could built anywhere, as the city's soul has been bleached by money, NYC has become a better place to live and less interesting cinematic characters. And so the new generation of NYC auteurs have had, in a way, less to work with -- even if NYC is more populous and popular than ever before. 

Dean Stockwell RIP

The great character actor Dean Stockwell has died at the age of 85. His acting career spanned 70 years, starting as a child star in the studio era of the 1940s, spanning well into the 21st century. The height of his career, after his childhood, was in the 1980s and 1990s in classic films like Dune, Paris Texas, Blue Velvet, Married to the Mob (Oscar nomination) and To Live and Die in LA. 

But his greatest role was as Al, the holographic sidekick, in the 1989-1993 sci-fi show Quantum Leap. His performance was so funny, so moving, so brilliant that he crafted one of the most unlikely and great characters in TV history.

Last year, in the doldrums of the pandemic, I interviewed Jean-Piere Dorleac, the talented costume designer for Quantum Leap who outfitted Dean Stockwell in all kinds of memorable garbs. You can read the interview and lots more about this great show here. 

Remembering Polly Adler

Every so often there will be a "scandal" when a prostitution ring gets busted. And while sex always sells, the media goes especially nuts when the ring in question turns out to have been run by a woman.

Back in the 1980s, there was the Mayflower Madam, Sydney Biddle Barrows, a lady with a distinguished pedigree (private schools, good jobs in the legit world, a descendant of the Mayflower passengers). More recently there was Kirsten Davis, the ridiculous character whose agency was involved in the Spitzer scandal back in 2008.

New York City has always produced eccentric characters doing weird, fascinating, and sometimes illegal things -- so it's no surprise that our madams are equally colorful.

But perhaps the most colorful of madam in NYC history was Polly Adler. Born a Jew in Russia in 1900, her family sent her to Massachusetts to live with relatives so she could avoid the horrible, state sanctioned anti-Semitic pogroms. After growing up, she moved to NYC and opened her first brothel near Columbia University. Her establishment became the best in the business, the most popular brothel in town. She had to turn away clients and woman who wanted to work for her, the demand was so high. She would get busted every so often -- and then went right back to work. Her clients included the powerful columnist Walter Winchell, Mayor Jimmy Walker, a soon-to-be famous singer named Desi Arnez. Polly even became personal friends with the famous writer and notorious wit Dorothy Parker.

And yet it wasn't the law that was Polly's most formiddable enemy -- it was the mob. Shakedowns, violence, and an unending stream of threats put her life in perpetual danger. Eventually she went to jail and finally quit the business in the 1940s, moving to Los Angeles, writing a book about her life, and dying in 1962 -- at age 62.

Polly Adler was a denizen of another age, another NYC. Her life was one of glamour and danger, of excitement and pain. She had an amazing life -- just one that I don't think any of us would ever really want to live ourselves.

Mayor-Elect Adams

In 2013 and 2017, I did election night live blogs of the results as they came in. This year events ensued (good ones!) that prevented it. However, the big news is that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams won the mayoralty and will replace Mayor De Blasio on January 1st, 2022. Above is his victory speech.

As for the outgoing mayor, what's his legacy? Previous Mr NYC multi-interviewee Ross Barkan has a smart, comphrensive look at what Bill DeBlasio did and didn't do as mayor -- and what was his "fault" and what was beyond his control.

NYC moves ever onwards.

The Talented Mr. Adams

If, as predicted, Eric Adams wins the NYC mayoralty tomorrow, it will be the culmination of a lifetime ambition that took this son of Brooklyn from the NYPD, to the State Senate, to the Brooklyn Borough President's office, and now, we presume, to Gracie Mansion. 

And yet, in this long march to the top, the man himself remains elusive, a bit of an enigma, a living question mark. Who is he exactly, what's he all about? He seems to be whatever you want him to be -- or not. 

Whatever he is, whoever he is, without question, Eric Adams is a talented power player.

He has used his knowledge of the city and innate political skills to rise and rise -- and, tomorrow, he will either realize his ultimate goal of becoming the next mayor (and the only second black one in NYC history) or he will be dramatically upset and it will all come to nothing (plus we'll be saddled with the bizarre Curtis Sliwa as mayor, an until-now unthinkable and scary proposition).

Then we'll see just how talented Mr. Adams really is.  

Sex and Not the City

As COVID wanes, and the Sex and the City sequel series gets ready to air, one hopes that New Yorkers are feeling frisky again.

But have you ever wondered -- and I never did until I read this article -- if having sex in NYC or any big city is somehow different than doing the deed in a more rural, less urban environment?

And I'm not talking about shtupping in public -- like in a back alley somewhere vs. out in some field in the countryside -- I'm talking about, as this lady relates, the difference between living and making love in an apartment or house with the sounds and lights of the city permeating through the walls and windows vs. the utter tranquility, isolation, and dead quiet of the country.

While the physical act remains the same, the mileau, the mindset, the emotional and psychological interaction is different. In NYC, all sex is almost by definition nervous sex but "in the trees" it's more calm, more subdued. 

Is it better? Is it worse? What do you think?

Horny minds want to know!

Adams vs. Sliwa -- The Last Debate!

 

Remembering Sterling Morrison

Every successful band has "that guy" (or girl, let's not be sexist) who is neither the lead singer nor the front-man but who is the backbone, the conciliator, the person who keeps the band grounded and makes it good. In this case, this person isn't the third wheel but the third leg of a musical stool.

In the Rolling Stones, lead singer Mick Jagger and frontman Keith Richards were held together by their great drummer, the late Charlie Watts.

In the Beatles, lead singer John Lennon and frontman Paul McCartney were the flashy stars but guitarist George Harrison gave it an extra quiet cool.

And in the Velvet Underground, my personal favorite band, it was Sterling Morrison.

So who was he? 

In the new Apple TV documentary made by Todd Haynes, you get some idead but not much. The stars of that band were the irascible but brilliant and literary Lou Reed and the equally brilliant but stubborn muscial experimenter John Cale. Together, they crafted stunning, musically groundbreaking songs that influenced singers like David Bowie and bands like U2. But during the Velvet Underground's short but memorable run, with Reed and Cale making music history but also at each other's throats, Sterling Morrison's base guitart (and regular guitar) kept the beat going on.

Like Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison was a native of Long Island who met Velvet drummer Maureen Tucker during childhood and Reed up at Syracuse University in the early 1960s. Later, back in NYC, as Reed and Cale were putting the Velvet Underground together, they invited him to join. At the time, they were just a bunch of kids in their early 20s looking to make music and get noticed. They made music but success passed them by -- instead, they made musical history.

Morrison stayed with the band throughout its tenure, dealing with Reed and Cale's fallout, plugging away on the guitar as the band toured the country. But in 1971, very dramatically, he quit the band when they were due to return to NYC from Texas -- at the airport, he told his bandmates he was staying in Texas and moving on. Morrison then worked on tugboats, eventually becoming a captain, and also completed his PHD in Medieval History at UT-Austin, eventually teaching there as well. He would play around Austin, occasionally with his old Velvet friends, until he rejoined the band during its reunion tour in 1993. In 1994, he was diagnosed with cancer and sadly died in late August 1995, at the age of 53. 

In 1996, when the Velvet Underground were inducted into the Rock'N'Roll Hall of Fame, Reed, Cale, and Tucker performed a special song in Morrison's memory, a beautiful tribute to a great friend and talent.

Sterling Morrison was never the star, the frontman, the one everyone paid attention to and talked about. Instead, with him, it was all about the music, the work, helping to craft Reed and Cale's ideas into reality, making a great band even greater. And that's why, even more than a quarter century after his death, we remember him still.  

Adams vs. Sliwa -- The Debate!

By the way, sparks didn't really "fly" at this debate -- more like wafted. 

Colin Powell RIP

Sad news: the great pubilc servant, Secretary of State and four-star General Colin Powell, has died at age 84.

His life and career are the stuff of what American myth are made of: born to poor immigrants, he worked hard and proved himself and eventually reached the highest reaches of the US government, both in and out of uniform. 

And he was a New Yorker -- born in Harlem, raised in the Bronx, and a graduate of City College. 

I distinctly remember when, in the summer of 1989, he was appointed Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, my mother pointed out his humble NYC roots and was impressed that not had he become the first black man to reach such heights in the US military but that he was also the first ROTC graduate to do so. Then I remember in 1990 and 1991, Powell along with Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf became the face of American triumph in Operation Desert Storm aka the Gulf War. Sadly, a decade-plus later, he became the face of American bumbling in the second Gulf War, the misadventure in Iraq. 

Still, his life was an inspiration, not only for black Americans but for all who saw nobility and purpose in a life of service and hard work. And he never forgot where he came from.

RIP.

Rainbow Over NYC

 

Adams vs. Sliwa?

Did you know that in less than a month the very fate of NYC is set to be decided?

There's a mayoral race, an extremely consequential mayoral race, going on right now but you'd hardly know it if you look at the news. 

Democrat Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, is running against Republican Curtis Sliwa, the radio host and founder of the vigilante Guardian Angels. The two of them are barely engaging, or attacking, each other. They're barely campaigning. Because everyone assumes Adams will win (including Adams), he's spending most of his time laying low, running out the clock, and raising money. Sliwa, meanwhile, with little money or support, is prowling around the city trying to win as many voters in person as possible. It's bizarre.

You might say, it's the mayor's race that isn't.

The media is paying it very little attention. There hasn't been a debate yet and there might not even be one since Adams isn't taking public funds for his campaign. Most candidates for high office seek to generate news to win votes. They seem to be doing the opposite. 

I can understand that, after last year's insane presidential election, a calm and low key NYC mayoral election is a welcome reprieve -- but it's a little strange, and more than a little scary, that the press and public seem indifferent to covering the race and the candidates that will guide this city for the next four years. 

And if the next mayor, whoever it is, turns out to be a disaster, we might look back at this time right before the election where the city showed and indifference to its fate -- and came to rue the day.

New York City will survice regardless, but can't we do better and pay a little more attention?

Take the Cannolis in 525,600 minutes: Creating "The Godfather" and "Rent"

Two vaunted pieces of NYC culture are the 1972 movie The Godfather and the 1996 Broadway musical Rent. This year Rent celebrated its 25th anniversary and, next year, The Godfather will celebrate its 50th.

One is about the mafia in the 1940s and '50s; the other is about young people in the 1990s. While both works couldn't be more different, they remain beloved classics since they are brilliantly crafted stories about the city as a place of great opportunity and great danger. In short, both stories are about NYC as a place where the American dream thrives -- if it doesn't kill you first. 

There is a new genre of info-tainment that's becoming more popular: books, documentaries, podcasts, and movies about the creation of classic works of entertainment. Sometimes, even not that classic.

And this year is no different. There is a new movie coming soon about Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent, based on a meta-musical he wrote about the making of Rent called tick ... tick ... Boom. It's directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Also, there is a new book called Leave the Gun, Take the Cannolis about the making of The Godfather. You should read this fascinating excerpt about how Marlon Brando came to play -- and discover -- the character of Don Vito Corleone, one of the most iconic performances in cinema history. 

Whenever you encounter a masterpiece, a perfectly realized work of art, it's easy to believe that it somehow grew out of the earth, emerged complete from the ground, like some kind of beautiful plant. But no. There was time when their creators would struggling, working hard, putting the pieces together, re-working and re-writing and re-doing it all, probably fighting feelings of failure and doubt, doing their level best to create something good -- and they had no idea at the time that they were creating something that would resonate across time. They just wanted to get it done and get it done as best they could. History would take it from there. 

Cynthia Harris RIP

Cynthia Harris was one of those actresses who never became a big star -- but who was in everything. She has died at the age of 87.

With a career spanning decades, she is probably best known for playing Wallis Simpson in the 1970s mini-series Edward & Mrs Simpson and then, in the 1990s, as the intimidating mother-in-law Sylvia Buchman on the great NYC show Mad About You.

In between, she appeared in the huge 1987 hit movie Three Men and a Baby -- another NYC classic.

Cynthia Harris was herself an NYC native and, in addition to appearing in movies and TV, had a very successful stage career -- including in the original run of Company back in 1971. She was one of those solid, dependable actresses who could do anything, a great talent. She will be missed. RIP. 

John Lewis, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd in Union Square

"Law & Order" Returns!

Eleven-years ago the TV show Law & Order was cancelled by NBC. It was a big surprise, especially since it had run for 20-years and had become a television and NYC institution. Of course the Law & Order "franchise" still went strong with spinoffs like L&O: SVU, L&O: Criminal Intent, and a new one called L&O: Organized Crime. But the mothership had sunk, the "one that started it all" was gone.

At the time I blogged a passionate screed about its cancellation, and how odd it was that there were all these spinoff shows while the original show had been killed (a murder mystery that an episode of Law & Order might have even solved).

Well, never mind. After eleven years, the OG Law & Order is back! The show is being officially revived or renewed -- whatever -- for a 21st season. When it will premiere, and who will be in it, remains to be seen (rumors abound that some of the old cast members might return but nothing is confirmed yet).

I'm generally not a big fan of all these reboots since they almost always fail to capture whatever magic existsed in the original versions. But L&O was and is different -- it was like an old fashioned newspaper serial or a folk song -- it was never young and never got old. The cast kept changing, each episode was a stand-alone story, each week it basically renewed itself, and it's something that can probably go on forever. 

Let's hope it does -- for the sake of television and NYC.

The Upper West Side: Sexy, Scary ... Suburban?

Yours truly has not yet seen the popular new show Only Murders in the Building that involves Steve Martin and Martin Short solving murders in an Upper West Side building with, of all people, Selena Gomez. But the show is a big hit and it's apparently created some interest in the popular neighborhood not seen since the days of You've Got Mail twenty-odd years ago. 

What's happened to the Upper West Sideis indicative of what's happened to NYC in general over the last fifty-something years: from hellscape to playground, from wild to, well, kinda boring.

This years marks the 50th anniversary of Panic in Needle Park, the movie Al Pacino made just before The Godfather. The brutal story about heroin addicts hanging out in Verdi Square on West 72nd street made the Upper West Side look like a village of the damned. This was on the heels of 1968's Rosemary's Baby where the Devil literally took over the body of a young housewife living in the Dakota, just down the block. A few years later came Taxi Driver, with Robert De Niro's crazed Travis Bickle turning into a horrific vigilanty -- and living and hanging out mostly on the Upper West Side. Then, in 1989, Pacino returned to the neighborhood in Sea of Love where he pursued a serial killer, Even the city's "hoity toity" lived in the squalor -- in 1990's Metropolitan the young Tom Townsend lived in the 'hood in genteel poverty -- in great contrast to his Upper East Side debutante friends.  

But forget the movies -- reality was just as scary and sexy. John Lennon was killed in front of the Dakota in 1980. The swinger's club Plato's Retreat was going full blast. I grew up in the area and remember the Upper West Side as a decaying but nonetheless fun neighborhood -- and it felt like a neighborhood, a community, a place unto its own.

This article from Town & Country nails the evolution of the Upper West Side, how it's gone from a place of wildness, a sexy and scary place, into a not terribly interesting suburb. Lots of chain stores, lots of high-end boutiques, lots of expensive restaurants, lots of new glass buildings. Now it's safe. It's "family friendy." It's dull. Don't get me wrong -- it's lovely, and a great place to live. But the Upper West Side of yore is, well, yored. All we have are the memories. 

Caput Mundi: Harry & Meghan at One World Trade Center

"Take On Me" by a-ha from the Brooklyn Duo at Carnegie Hall

Original Siskel & Ebert Review of "Saturday Night Fever" -- 1977

Willie Garson RIP -- "Sex and the City" & "Quantum Leap"

The brilliant, lovable character actor just died from cancer at the age of 57. For many, including yours truly, he will always been Standford from Sex and the City -- a real NYC icon.

But Willie had great range as an actor. In addition to numerous movies and other TV shows (including one that ran for a few years called White Collar), he appeared in two episodes of my favorite childhood show Quantum Leap -- one as a character named Seymour in an early episode set in NYC, and then another where he played Lee Harvey Oswald. His Oswald was an interesting one because Willia played Oswald "in the waiting room" set in the future, and he had to wear a white jump suit while being interrogated by Dean Stockwell. Great stuff!

RIP Willie -- you were the best!

Occupy Wall Street @ 10

Ten years ago this month the Occupy Wall Street movement began in Zuccotti Park. Here's some of Mr NYC's coverage of it at the time. 

Lisa Cintrice on Her Memories of the Persicos and the NYC Mob

New York City has changed so much in the last three decades that, whenever a story about the old-school mafia pops up in the news, it takes on a creepy zombie-like feel. It's like a piece of the past has jumped out of the shadows, a reminder that something we think of as dead is actually still around, lurking about, ready to strike when the opportunity presents itself. While the mob is NYC is nowhere near as powerful or prominent as it once was in the Joe Columbo-John Gotti heyday, it's still around, doing its organized crime thing as much as it can in the digital era. 

Recently there was a story about the remnants of the Columbo crime family, specifically dealing with a union exhortion scheme. One of the characters in this story is a man named Carmine Persico who was the boss of the Columbo family until his death in prison in 2019. His nephew Teddy is now, apparently, the heir aparent to the Columbo crown now that his uncle's successor, Andrew Russo, has been busted.

Previous Mr NYC interviewee Lisa Cintrice recently contacted me to tell me an incredible story about how, in her childhood, she was a step-sister to Teddy Perscio when her dad was married, for a few years, to Carmine's sister. It's an amazing story and, with her permission, Lisa tells us all about it to Mr NYC exclusively.

Here's Lisa: My connection to the Persico Family

"I was born in 1963, and my family is Italian American. My parents divorced when I was still a baby, I have no memories of a 2 parent household. My brother and I (he was born in 1962) thought everyone lived with their mom and saw their fathers on weekends.

My dad was a good looking guy, he was young, had money and he had lots of girlfriends. Again to us that was normal. Then one weekend when dad picked us up, out of the blue he introduced us to a woman that was living at his house named Patricia Persico. Pat was a beautiful red head who was also Italian American and made some mean sauce. She had 2 sons who were close in age to me and my brother so we were so happy that we had kids to play with when we would visit dad.

Her sons were name Danny Persico and Teddy Persico Jr. During that time we would go to Brooklyn often for Sunday dinner with Pats mom and I would often hear the adults talking about people named Allie Boy, Uncle Carmine and Teddy Persico Sr. (who was Pats ex-husband). We lived a charmed life, vacationed in Puerto Rico, and trips to Italy. All 4 of use kids were pretty close.

My older brother and Danny bonded close as did Teddy and myself. Eddie and Danny were the "good" kids and Teddy and me, well we had spunk and nothing scared us. Teddy and me were always getting yelled at for not doing what we were told. We would just laugh when we got in trouble. I have no bad memories of Teddy or Danny.

After a few years I knew my dad and Pat were fighting alot. Looking back I can say they had a love hate relationship. Thru it all, Pat was always nice to me and my brother. Then one weekend dad picked us up and they were gone. Pat Teddy and Danny, no good bys no hugs nothing they were gone and I was told I could not contact them, which really upset me because I was close to all of them. I was so upset that people who I thought were family were suddenly gone and I never got to say goodbye. Dad moved on and got remarried.

I always wondered what happened to Pat Teddy and Danny. Even as I became a young adult, I still wondered about them. I still missed them. One day in the late 1980's I remember hearing on the news that a Colombo family member named Teddy Persico Jr was arrested for being a king pin in a cocaine trafficking ring I was like WTF? So I looked into it more and realized that was Teddy the Teddy who was my step brother for about 7 years.

I asked my dad about it and he didn’t say much. Keep in mind, although my dad was not a "made" man he was definitely a wise guy and never talked about certain things and Teddy Persico was one of the things he was not going to talk to me about. At that point things from my child hood started making sense. Uncle Carmine was Carmine the "snake" Persico, the head of the Columbo Family. Teddy Persico Sr and Allie Boy were Carmines brothers and also part of the Columbo Crime Family. I still didn’t understand the level of violence they were capable of until I saw a documentary on TV about Carmine and how he was the former leader of Murder Inc., and was running the family from a prison cell. All of this was mind blowing to me.

How did I not realize sooner what was going on? It all seemed so normal back then. Teddy has spent many many years in jail. Shortly after his 20-year drug sentence, he was arrested again for putting a hit on someone while at his grandmother’s funeral. He got 12 years for that and got out after 10 years or so. After that I didn’t see anything about him in the news, one mutual friend even thought maybe he was in witness protection. I thought anything is possible. That is until this week when I learned that the entire leadership of the Columbo family was arrested including Teddy Persico Jr, who was still on supervised release from his last jail stint. They wanted to take control of a labor union. WTF who does that? Oh yea they do! 

Danny did not follow in his family footsteps but he passed away at a young age and I am not sure what from. I often look back wondering how things would have been if my dad stayed married to Pat. Maybe it was for the best that they were no longer in my life.

I have decided I am going to write to Teddy since he will be a captive audience for my letters and I have a lot of questions for him. I am sure he knows about my past, (wonder what he thought of my army stunt) and he may even have some questions for me :)

That’s my story and I am sticking to it!"

Thanks Lisa! Here's a great picture that Lisa shared of herself as a child with the Persico siblings:

Simon & Garfunkel Sing "America" in Central Park -- September 19th, 1981

 

"Once Upon a Time in Queens" and the '86 Mets on ESPN

The Year of Our Lord 1986 A.D. was a memorable one in 1986 for NYC -- and for me personally.

The city was bursting with renewal. The Beastie Boys were reinventing rap music out of Brooklyn; in Manhattan, Woody Allen was at the height of his career with Hannah and Her Sisters while nightclubs likes Tunnel and Limelight were the hottest places in the world. And out in Queens the Mets played the most memorable season in its history. 

In 1986 NYC was in a period of transition -- from the dark days of the "Bronx is Burning" 1970s to the "luxury product" of the 21st century. A new documentary from ESPN called Once Upon a Time in Queens covers the '86 Mets on the way to their World Series victory -- and how the city embraced and related to the team. 

The players on the '86 Mets are on the tip of any New Yorker's tongue who was alive at the time -- Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra, Gary Carter, and others. They played hard and, oh boy, they lived harder too! 

In between outings, they'd snork coke and bang chicks. They trashed hotel rooms and many of them got arrested. It's amazing that anyone playing on the '86 Mets was able even to swing a bat or throw or catch a ball, let alone win a World Series. The amount of wildness they engaged in, the all consuming debauchery -- the drugs, the booze, the broads, the fights, you name it -- must have exhausted them. And yet ... they played amazing baseball and achieved greatness. 

If you want to read more Mr NYC coverage about NYC in 1986, go here.

The NYC Waterfront

The most southern and northern tips of Manhattan ...

... and several points in between.

Grief and Grace @ Ground Zero: 9/11 @ 20

This past weekend was the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks -- the most tragic event in this city's history, a most solemn event. Grief, sadness, despair, anger -- the whole gamut of negative emotions -- New York City has experienced all of them, at every moment, since that day, and will forever. The sadness is as much a part of the city as its concrete, steel, and waterways.

And yet ...

For me, personally, as someone who saw the Twin Towers collapse from a window in the Flatiron Building ... for someone who felt the anger, the rage, the despair, the confusion on that day and those afterwards ... for me ... to paraphrase Evelyn Waugh, "something quite remote from anything" that the terrorists and the first-responders or anyone else ever intended came out of this tragedy that, collectively, we all suffered from, something that could never have been imagined at the time: a certain kind of grace, a strange, paradoxical enlivening of the spirit. It obviously didn't happen on 9/11 but a few short years aftewards.

Around 2 AM on January 1st, 2003, about 15 months after the tragedy, I found myself in Lower Manhattan on my way home from a New Year's Eve party. I walked by Ground Zero. This area, this sacred ground, which had become the center of the world for the last year plus change, was totally deserted, no one else there but me. The whole of Lower Manhattan was almost pitch black except for some low-lit street lamps and the floodlights around Ground Zero. I looked through a small window in the fencing and walls around Ground Zerp and saw the huge empty pit. My mind, obviously, leapt to the memory of 9/11/01, of the lives lost, of the chaos that had descended onto our world. But I also felt a certain kind of peace, a certain calm, a certain honor at being alone in the prescence of these departed lives, their spirits soaring about me. I knew, somehow, that they were okay. 

This might sound irrational but it's true. 

About a year-and-a-half later, I took my late aunt down to Ground Zero. Up until that time, we had never been close simply because I didn't know her very well and she lived out of town. But she really wanted to see Ground Zero so I took her. On the subway ride down, she told me all about her life, a fascinating story. And then, at Ground Zero, we walked around while she peppered me with questions about the speed of the recovery and everything that we going on down there -- and I answered her as best I could. Soon she burst into tears and I comforted her. After that, we became very close until her passing several years later. 

So, in a strange way, 9/11 and its legacy -- as awful and tragic as it's been -- provided me with as much grace as grief. And perhaps that's a perverse way to feel -- but it's the truth, a strange facet of what it means to be human.