• • Sound Bites • • |
| • COFFEE TALK: Word
is that Starbucks has signed a lease to open its largest, costliest and most upscale
property in New York City at 41 Union Square West. Sources tell NYConfidential that
Starbucks plans to transcend the typical Starbucks stores. They have reportedly hired
architectural whiz Larry Bogdanow to work his magic inside of the extended,
high-ceilinged space containing ornate Romanesque pillars. Starbucks plans to open a fully
operational restaurant and is shopping for a world-class chef. The project is expected to
be completed by winter. |
| • UNSAFE? Al Gore
has recruited former Connecticut congressman Toby Moffett to tell him how to deal
with the surprisingly strong candidacy of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Both
men are from Connecticut, both have Arab heritage and are former friends from the consumer
rights movement. Gore’s staff is thought to be concerned that in a tight race with George
Bush, Nader could siphon off enough votes to make the difference between winning and
losing. |
The Missing
Elephant?
There’s at least four very viable
candidates for the Dem nomination for Mayor in 2001 scurrying around town trying to line
up support and raise money for what is sure to be the most crowded primary since the 1977
Koch-Cuomo-Abzug-Sutton-Badillo slugfest.
Peter Vallone, Alan Hevesi, Mark
Green and Fernando Ferrer are jockeying for position in this horse race and
although some early polls show Green with a lead, it’s anybody’s guess
who’ll be moving into Gracie Mansion in January, 2002.
So, after two terms of Republican
leadership in
City Hall and the Statehouse, why are things so quiet on the GOP side? So far, only
little-known Republican Councilmember Tom Ognibene of Queens has indicated his
intention to
run while East Side Assemblyman
John Ravitz has formed an exploratory committee.
But of late, there seems to be a few
other potential GOP nominees emerging from the woodwork. Bill Bratton, the former
police commissioner who now heads a private security firm, has given some indications that
he might throw his hat in the ring. Recently, his lead op-ed piece in The New York
Times about the need to keep New York’s police department vigilant, indicated to
many that the former top cop misses the spotlight.
"I don’t think Bratton has a
chance of being
elected Mayor," NYConfidential was told by ex-Mayor Ed Koch. "But
if he wants to be police commissioner under the next Mayor, then he’s got a good
chance."
Other potential GOP saviors include media
mogul Michael Bloomberg, who was recently seen publicly lunching with Koch.
Insiders say that Bloomberg, who has privately expressed his interest in being Mayor,
feels emboldened by the impressive primary win of former investment banker Jon Corzine
in New Jersey’s Dem Senate primary.
Then, there’s former Dem bigwig Herman
Badillo who switched parties a few years back. He’s expressed his interest in
succeeding his pal Rudy Giuliani and even showed up at the Puerto Rican Day Parade
with the Mayor and Rick Lazio.
So, who’ll carry the GOP torch in 2001? Stay tuned.
Revolving Doors
The Village Voice recently lost two
of their stalwarts, and both have more than landed on their feet.
Longtime columnist Guy Trebay, who
has covered the quirky side of things for 20 years at the venerable downtown chronicler of
all things bizarre, has joined the New York Times.
Political writer Bill Bastone has
left to devote his energies to his website, The Smoking Gun. TSG, which
Bastone does with former Voice contributor Danny Green, consists solely of
legal documents. They first hit paydirt when they found and posted the protection order
against TV millionaire groom Rick Rockwell.
Bastone and Green were about to sell their site to APB.com
before the criminal justice site went belly up a few weeks back. Rumored then in the low
six figures, there are several other suitors and a deal could come soon. Among the bidders
are Court TV’s website, America’s Most Wanted, and John Langley, the
famed producer and creator of Cops, who just introduced crime.com.
New York Stories
Years ago, three of America’s most
esteemed movie directors teamed up to combine a trilogy of mini-movies and call it
"New York Stories." Martin Scorcese, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody
Allen, each of whom are native New Yorkers, told tales of the City as only they could.
Years later, the three have returned, or are about to return, to their familiar New York
milieu.
Scorcese is set to film "Gangsters of
New York," a depiction of the origins of pre-1900 and turn-of-the-century immigrant
gangsters who came to power in New York. Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson and Cameron
Diaz have signed on to star. Cameras are about to start rolling, but with one catch.
Scorcese could not find adequate locations to recreate the New York of old in the City.
Sources say that he plans instead to film in Rome, "where the urban landscape remains
unspoiled," and pass it off as New York.
Coppola’s latest obsession makes the
hellish travails of filming "Apocalypse Now" a picnic in Central Park’s
Sheep Meadow. Actually, Coppola’s latest has been festering for over a decade. The
working title of this epic is "Megalopolis." It’s set in the New York of
the future and its characters and themes are to be based on Roman mythology and the
similarly power-hungry titans of commerce and political bureaucracy of today. Sources tell
NYConf that Coppola hopes to start filming in New York by the beginning of 2001.
Meanwhile, Dreamworks Studios have helped rejuvenate Woody
Allen’s commercial viability with their release of The Woodman’s latest return
to slapstick comedy, "Small Time Crooks." Industry sources say that the film
could bring in the highest profits in Allen’s career once it’s released to
international markets and on video. "Small Time Crooks" has already grossed over
$16 million. No word on his follow-up. Things are as tight-lipped as ever.
| Confidentially
New York . . . |
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E-MAIL your items to: conf@queenspress.com |
