Free Mister Softee!

Here in New York, summertime can test one's love for the city: the heat and humidity make for sweaty and grimy days, and the tourists flock in. New Yorkers crowd the parks and outdoor cafes, and the street merchants shamelessly hock their wares. New York summers are tough but for many years - nay generations - there has been one sound, one tiny jingle, that has cut through the summer glare and cooled us down: Mister Softee's ice cream trucks. Its music box sound entrances New York City children, telling them that ice cream is nearby. As I child, whenever I was playing in the park and heard Mister Softee coming, I would beg my mom for a dollar and run off to get a cone. Even today, as a weary adult, Mister Softee's sound is always welcome. It's as New York as Bloomingdale's, a lot less expensive.

Recently, Mister Softee has been having problems with the law and for reasons that appear silly. This past week in Queens, a Mister Softee driver was fined $350 for violating the city's new and tougher noise code. Apparently, he didn't turn off the jingle after parking at the curb. That's it, that's all. And it was in the middle of a hot Wednesday afternoon!

As a native, I understand that noise is a problem and that people should be able to live peacefully in their homes without blasting street music or honking horns or other things disturbing them. But it seems to me, that during the daytime, in the City of New York of all places, Mister Softee's jingle is the least of our noise pollution problems. After all, we chose to live here, and street noise is one of the compromises we make for the privilege. The Department of Environmental Protection, which enforces these noise laws, should spend more time going after these nightclubs and bars and street fairs that cause the real big noise pollution problems and not Mister Softee.

Mr NYC rests his case.

Review: "Talk Radio"

As promised, my review of the Broadway play "Talk Radio."

Written by Eric Bogosian, it centers around an outrageous late-night radio host in Cleveland named Barry Champlain. His show is about to go national and yet his life appears to be falling apart. Over the course of the play, which takes place during one show, he smokes, drinks and berates his hapless callers. At one memorable point, a nihilistic young fan invades the studio and steals the show (in this case, both of them). The miserable Barry manages to somehow keep everything going while also breaking his girlfriend's heart and diffusing a package mailed in by a fan that may or may not be a bomb. It is a breakneck, "real-time" play, and the action never stops.

The play is overwhelming and powerful. Liev Schreiber is one of the best theater actors of his generation and he makes you both love and hate his Barry Champlain. The supporting cast is equally remarkable and they hold their own with him. My only quibble with the show is that the "Big Point" made at the end, its raison d'etre ... doesn't seem so very important. Its insightful but ultimately a weak one. However, besides that, "Talk Radio" is great entertainment, a memorable night of theater.

"The roller-coaster you and me": The Last Days of Coney Island

Perhaps the best thing you can say about Coney Island is that Lou Reed wrote not one but two songs about it: "Coney Island Baby" and "Coney Island Steeplechase." This is all the more impressive since Coney Island is not exactly a place that would steal the heart of many songwriters, let alone one as great as Mr. Reed. Coney Island it an expansive part of far east Brooklyn, consisting mostly of housing projects and old stores, and it is, to put it mildly, a bit run down.

But people still flock there during the summer, to visit Astroland Park, to walk along the boardwalk, to play and sun on the beach. Every July 4th, Nathan's has its world-famous hot-dogging eating contest where this year a new champion, Joey Chestnut, was crowned after he ate a record 66 dogs in 12 minutes. He bested Kobayashi, the man who had held the record since 2001. This was such a huge news story that even the BBC World News covered it. Wow.

Perhaps one of the most beloved Coney Island institutions is the Cyclone, one of the oldest roller coasters in the country. My beloved and I recently took a ride and, lemme tell ya, it was SCARY. You go way, way up and then, suddenly, drop like a rock in the ocean. Before you can catch your breath, up you go again and then ... well, you get the idea. Once you're done, you'll be shaking and sweating but also feeling grand.

Just some FYI: you wait on a roughly 10-minute line to get in and it costs about $6 a person. There is a place to check your bags and, I would strongly advise, your eyeglasses. You then stand in a small crowd of people and get on when able to. The farther back you sit, the rougher the ride, so try to sit in the front. Oh, and you will scream, even if you don't plan on it.

These are, however, the last days of the old Coney Island. While the cyclone will remain, Astroland park is being torn down and so are many new buildings. According to the Gotham Gazette:

"The city has a strategic plan for the Brooklyn neighborhood and plans to announce rezoning of the area within the next several months. With Thor Equities, the new owner of the Astroland property, envisioning luxury condos, indoor water rides and other year round amusements."

Like many parts of this city, it is changing, gentrifying. Coney Island will be refashioned. And while the neighborhood certainly could use a boost, the Gotham Gazette reports that, "some Coney Island aficionados wonder whether the area’s unique spirit can survive. Isolated attractions – the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel, the Parachute Jump – will stay on but what will surround them?"

Who knows? We shall see. But hopefully its spirit will remain. And it's that spirit Lou Reed sang about in "Coney Island Steeplechase" when he crooned:

Would you like to go on the Coney Island Steeple
Go and have a good time
We'll take the subway right down to King's Highway
Gonna have a good time
If it's all right it would be so nice
If you come and go with me
The roller-coaster you and me
Just try

Senda Salami to Your Boy in the Army: Visiting Katz's Deli

New York is the best at many things in this world - finance, fashion, publishing, theater, fundraising, take your pick. One thing this city is undoubtedly the best at is delis, and there are many great ones here: the Carnegie, the Stage, Barney Greengrass, Zabars. But perhaps the most beloved is Katz's, the 100 year-plus establishment on East Houston, right off Ludlow street in the Lower East Side. It is the ultimate for big sandwiches and hearty Jewish fair. Frank Bruni of The New York Times
recently had a great review of it and he summed it up well when he wrote that you go to Katz's:

"To revel in its pastrami sandwich, one of the best in the land, with an eye-popping stack of brined beef that’s juicy, smoky, rapturous. To glory in the intricate ritual of the place: the taking of a ticket at the door; the lining-up in front of one of the servers who carves that beef by hand; the tasting of the thick, ridged slices the server gives us as the sandwich is being built; the nodding when we’re asked if we want pickles, because of course we want pickles."

As Bruni indicates, when you enter Katz's, you are immediately given a red ticket that you must hold on to. Once you order at he counter (or, if you get table service, once you pay your bill on the way out of the door), it is punched. If you should lose your ticket, then you must pay $50. The deli has a huge and always busy counter. There are also a lot of tables where you can sit and a number of them include waiter service. The walls are lined with literally hundreds if not thousands of photos of the myriad famous people that have visited over the years. These faces include the famous and the infamous, the A-list to the Z-list, from Ed Koch to Joan Hamburg, from James Gandolfini to Jerry Seinfeld, from Ron Jeremy to (I kid you not) Mikhail Gorbachev! In the middle of the sea of tables is the table, the one where Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal sat in "When Harry Met Sally ...", site of the most famous fake orgasm in history. The table is indicated by an overhanging sign and, needless to say, it is always taken.

I recently visited Katz's for the first time. I went around 5 PM on a Saturday afternoon and had no problem getting a table (although not the "When Harry Met Sally..." one). Since Mr. Bruni suggested it, I had a pastrami sandwhich while my beloved had a Rueben. The sandwhiches were large and hearty but not unreasonably big. In addition, I had a bowl of matzah ball soup and it was delicious! (Just a friendly note: should you ever consume matzah ball soup, DO NOT mash the matzah ball into the broth. Instead, slice it down with your spoon.) Overall, we had a lovely time and hope to go back soon.

Oh, and when you're there, you'll see a sign that advises you to "Sena Salami to Your Boy in the Army!" It's a bit of Old New York sadly relevant today.

Mike the Independent

The big news around town last week was that our Mayor ditched his affiliation with the Republican party and declared himself a political independent. He did so, he said, because his views do not neatly line up with any political party and he felt more comfortable being free of one.

Mike only became a Republican in 2001 after he decided to run for Mayor. Realizing that a Democratic primary would be too crowded and unwinnable for him, the media tycoon switched his lifelong Democratic affiliation and became a Republican. This got him the endorsement of an insanely popular post-911 Rudy. This act, along with spending a record $74 million in his campaign, delivered Gracie Mansion to Mike (although he doesn't live there).

Mike's decision is totally understandable and, in the view of Mr NYC, long overdue. He has never governed in a partisan manner and he burnished his image as a competent CEO, not a party hack. His landslide re-election in 2005 was about his record (which was pretty good), not his party. He didn't run as a Democrat, Republican or anything else - he simply ran as "Mike!", and New Yorkers responded. And if he runs for President, well, maybe Americans will respond too.

Postscript: I actually met Mayor Mike in a restaurant about four years ago. This was when he was very unpopular, unlike today. I told him I thought he was doing a fine job and he said "Thanks! So you're the other one!"

Cheers, Mr. Mayor.

A Man Called Impy

NYC's Mayors are a ubiquitous bunch: Rudy's running for Prez ... Mike might run for Prez ... Ed Koch
still materializes wherever a live microphone or TV camera is present ... Dinkins gives the occasional interview. Some other Mayors still live in the popular imagination of New Yorkers: the forceful LaGuardia (who recently had a mailbox named after him - I kid), the sturdy Wagner, the dapper but ultimately tragic Lindsay, the good but overwhelmed Abe Beame. Yet one 20th century Mayor seems lost to history, destined to be remembered (if at all) as a fluke and a failure - Vincent Richard Impelliteri (1900-1987; Mayor: 1950-1953).

Call him the forgotten Mayor of memorable times. He came to power after Mayor O'Dwyer resigned in 1950 (under a legal cloud) to become Ambassador to Mexico. The City Council President, Impelliteri, became Acting Mayor and then won a special election to complete O'Dwyer's term. His time in office produced no great achievements and it is widely believed his adminstration was heavily Mobbed up. However, it was during this man's tenure - a man who called himself Impy - that Robert Moses, the great builder, began massive housing and highway projects that transformed this city into what she is today. It was during Impy's time that the United Nations opened for business in 1952; he was the first and only Mayor to address the UN General Assembly until Giuliani in 2001 (after the attacks on America). And it was during Impy's brief tenure that Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard 'round the world", winning the NY Giants the National League Penant and making baseball history in 1951. (Read the first chapter of Don DeLillo's Underworld for more.) Impy was defeated for re-election in 1953 and disappeared. He died in 1987, and was not greatly mourned. However, he was a man whose moment was memorable indeed and perhaps he did a little good along the way.

Today, Mr NYC, doffs his hat and raises a carbonated beverage to his memory. At Sardi's, above the pictures of the Broadway stars, are pictures of the Mayors. And when I was there, I'm sure I was the only one who recognized Impy's mug, and was heartened to see him having the last smirk.

Offical Bio

If New York's Politicans Were Restaurants ...

Rudy = Rao's
Mike = Per Se
Hillary = Union Square Cafe
Chuck = Empire Szechuan (take your pick)
Eliot = Barney Greengrass

Sardi's

Recently my beloved and my brother and I saw "Talk Radio" on Broadway (review will be forthcoming). Afterwards we went to the world-famous Sardi's for dinner. Sardi's is a legendary Broadway watering-hole, where all the stars go for their opening night parties and await their make-or-break late edition reviews. It's one of those restaurants more people have heard of than gone to, and it's a vital link to Broadway past and present.

Sardi's trademark is the copious portraits of said Broadway stars, and they line the enormous dining room and saturate the walls. They look down at you while you eat and make your memory flood with all the shows you've seen, all the tunes you've hummed, all the performances you remember. You don't go there for the food (which is decent but not great), you go their to feel more a part of the Broadway experience. And I'm glad I finally experienced it.

To find out more, go to www.sardis.com.

A Park Slope Afternoon

This past Saturday mes amies and I spent a lovely day in Park Slope, one of the most coveted neighborhoods in Brooklyn. It contains gorgeous brownstone apartments, lots of nice restaurants and stores, and most importantly, a happenin' vibe. I have never lived in said 'hood but many of my friends do, and they love it. My mother was born and spent the first eight years of her life there, so I've always felt a certain kinship with Park Slope and its fine residents.

One of its best features is its close proximity to Prospect Park, where we spent the bulk of this past Saturday. Prospect Park is a sprawling, gorgeous place. There are acres and acres of open fields to frolic in and plenty of forested areas to get lost in. It is a family-friendly refuge but also a place where the beautiful people hang. NYC's most famous park is obviously Central Park yet people who are slightly less Manhattan-centric know that Prospect Park is its worthy rival. Both are quite beautiful and bourgeois, yet while Central Park can sometimes feel like a tourist trap, Prospect Parks feels more like the "real" New York. My friends and I were blessed with perfect weather and we greatly enjoyed throwing around Frisbees and footballs and consuming food and beverages in this lovely place.

Later in the evening we went to my favorite Italian restaurant in the whole city - Aunt Suzie's. There is a dish there I have never found anywhere else called Vagabond (you can have it in a chicken, pork, or my favorite, a veal variety) and it contains mozzarella and prosciutto with mushrooms in a Marsala sauce. It tickles your palette and satisfies your taste buds with great vigor. In addition, it is most appropriately followed by the best chocolate mouse and cappuccino in the city. One cool feature: the cappuccino is served with a crystal sugar stick.

So, in conclusion, I enjoyed my Park Slope afternoon and encourage people to seek it out. It is easily accessible on the F line. To get an even better feel for Park Slope life, rent the excellent 2005 movie The Squid and the Whale. You'll laugh, cry, and ... understand why we all should know Brooklyn.

Astoria

As previously mentioned, I just moved (and moved in with my beloved). My new home is located in the same borough that Archie Bunker and George Costanza once called home, Queens. They would not, however, have felt as comfortable as I do in the Queen's neighborhood of Astoria for it is one of the most diverse and vivacious communities in the world - and I mean that literally.

Queens in the most diverse county in America (borough and county being co-extensive, ya see) and in Astoria you can see blacks, whites, Asians, Arabs, Eastern Europeans, and Greeks (who give this neighborhood its character and flavor), living side by side by side. Astoria is one of the hottest neighborhoods for young people moving to NYC to live in, and it welcomes all. It used to be regarded as a "tough neighborhood" but now it, like so many parts, is getting gentrified and Yuppified. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Walk along its main drags like 30th Avenue, Ditmars Boulevard, and Steinway Street, and you can find any store or eating establishment you want and even those you never thought of. Oh, and the Bohemian Beer Garden is fast becoming one of NYC social hotspots, with lines down the block on Friday and Saturday nights. I gest not: its almost as hard to get in as Lotus or Marquee but the people are friendlier, the crowds are more fun, and those places don't have great Czech beer and picnic tables either!

Astoria is a quintessential New York neighborhood. And it proves that the heart and soul of this city exists not only in Manhattan.

A couple other cool things.

1. Did you know that Astoria is one of the hearts of show business? Here exists the Kaufman Astoria film studios (where "Sesame Street" has been filmed for almost four decades, along with more adult-friendly fair like "Angels in America"). Also here is the world-class Museum of the Moving Image, the movie and TV lover's Met. Also nearby is the UA Kaufman Astoria 14, a big multiplex where you can see first-run movies at bargain rates - and the lines are never that long. Oh, and this is the same place where only a month or so ago held the premiere of a little film called "Spiderman 3."

2. Want a great view of Manhattan? Then take the N/W subway line. The first/last stop in Queens on this line is Queensborough Plaza (technically not in Astoria but that's not a sin) and yet going or coming on this line, into or out of Astoria, gives one a breathtaking view of l'Isle de Manhattan. You see all the grand structures: the Chrysler Building, the Empire State, the United Nations, and the brand-new Bloomberg Tower from across the East River. It's a postcard picture view and at night, when you see all this lit up, giving NYC a diamond night sky ... well, if you aren't even slightly moved by the sight, then you should move to Duluth.

Astoria. Like every part of this city, it has its unique charms. And it's a nice place to live too.