Results tagged “la”

A recent nationwide round-up of metropolitan commutes placed NYC's sort of near the top of the list, at sixth place. But of the area's highways and byways, the Cross Bronx Expressway is a standout for congestion, reported the Daily Beast. “There’s an old phrase that we used to have: too many cars and not enough roadway, and that fits the Cross Bronx to a T,” said Tom Kaminski, traffic reporter for WCBS 880. “There’s no room to expand, there’s no way to throw in an additional lane or an additional shoulder—people have started changing their driving habits whenever they can.” more ›

Jeffrey Dietch, controversial art dealer and founder of Manhattan's Deitch Projects gallery has been named director to Los Angeles's Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA, which sagged with the economy last year, is putting its money in the hands of a savvy businessman, hoping Deitch can save the non-profit cultural institution from sure financial ruin. So why are museum people whimpering that the dealer will commercialize their precious shrine to modern creativity? more ›

The author of the new book Save the Deli has declared that LA has better Jewish delis than NYC, but he only says such hurtful things because he wants to see New York do better. We haven't read David Sax's heretical book, but the LA Times did, and of course they're gloating over there, because Sax says, "The [delis] that are most inspiring, the ones that people cling to, the ones that people enshrine for years and years are the traditional Jewish delis. And Los Angeles just happens to have more of them than any city I've been to." How can that be?! more ›

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic for the NBA Championship last night, Los Angelenos apparently decided that celebrating equaled setting garbage on fire, jumping on cars, tearing down street signs, breaking into and looting stores, and tagging buildings. We hear that police basically let people throw things at them, only intervening to put fires out; LAPD police chief William Bratton, who is a former NYC police commissioner, said, "Officers tonight used minimal levels of force..behaving very professionally," also calling the revelers "knuckleheads" and "cowards." (Was nothing learned after the 2000 win?) Newsday's Neil Best blogged, "Thank you, Los Angeles for the timely reminder - 15 years to the day since the Rangers won the Stanley Cup - that New York consistently is better behaved in celebrating sports championships than are other, less civilized burgs." Damages are estimated to be at least $1 million. more ›

When giving his Best Actor acceptance speech, Sean Penn said, "For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support." LAist has photographs of the protesters, who are from Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas; one said, "I'm picketing the Oscars because the entertainment industry in this country is just ...one of the institutions, that you're using to promote sin and filth and rebellion against the commandments and standards of God." And Penn later said backstage, "I think that these are largely taught limitations and ignorances. It's very sad in a way, because it's a demonstration of such emotional cowardice to be so afraid to be extending the same rights to a fellow man as you would want for yourself." more ›

Though the show takes place here, Ugly Betty isn't actually filmed in New York; the first two seasons were filmed in Los Angeles. However, with Gov. Paterson's new tax credit program, the show may uproot and make a move east. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Broadway and 231st St. in the Bronx, an aircraft alert at JFK at Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 57th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan.
• Entries for the NYC Half-Marathon will start being accepted at 11:59pm on May 29th. Details.
• And the Design Trust for Public Space is accepting submissions for its Grand Army Plaza redesign competition.
• An Internal Affairs Bureau Lt. has been reassigned to a surveillance booth in a housing project after his friend allegedly raped a young woman in the apartment of the cop's girlfriend as she begged him to stop.
• The body of Rabbi Zev Segal, missing since yesterday morning, was found in his car, which apparently slid into the Hackensack River in NJ.
• The memorial for promoter-gossip Baird Jones is being held at Plumm, a venue he wasn't a huge fan of.
• A Gawker employee was shackled and thrown into the Tombs after drinking a beer-in-a-bag in the subway system.
• The carjacker of Mayor Bloomberg's personal car, which was in the possession of one of his aides, faces 15 years in the slammer for the crime.
• A lovely castle-like house in Flushing, Queens - turrets and Tudor details!
• Former Gov. George Pataki underwent emergency surgery this morning to relieve an intestinal blockage (he's had problems with this before!).
• And former Project Runway contestants Jeffrey Sebelia, Santino Rice and Kit Pistol watched Project Runway finale in LA amidst their young, adoring fans.

Even though there wasn't a "villain" along the lines of Santino Rice or a favorite like Michael Knight, the fourth season of Project Runway has been pretty captivating with some very lovely work. Tonight, the three remaining designers' Bryant Park Fashion Week face-off will be shown and a winner announced. more ›

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner won't still opt out of the Mitchell-Lama program, however. more ›

The following post is from our advertiser, Campaign for New York's Future. more ›

Snoop Dogg, in town shooting BET interviews last week, was caught green-handed with the drug he claimed to give up at age 30: pot. The rapper was busted outside of hotspot Lotus last Wednesday for marijuana possession, and was issued a desk appearance ticket. The Post reports that didn't stop Snoop from partying the very next night, with his 25-strong posse, at Serafina and the tapas lounge Lollipop (somewhere in between they ordered 15 pizzas, so we're guessing there may have been some weed around that night, too!). During one of the BET interviews, he claimed the accusation was "bogus". more ›

Banksy, the cheeky street artist/prankster turned multimillionaire art star, was in town last week, presumably for the Damien Hirst-coordinated auction at Sotheby’s to benefit the (Project) RED campaign, which works with corporations like the Gap to raise money for the treatment of A.I.D.S. patients in Africa. The $48 million raised at the event – through the sale of works by Hirst, Banksy, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning and others – will be distributed by the Global Fund. more ›

At this point, it's hard to tell whether Ed Begley, Jr. is more famous for his decades of acting or his decades of environmentalism. Sure, he's logged over 200 appearances on stage, film and television, including his Emmy-winning breakout role on St. Elsewhere and his priceless turn on Arrested Development. But his funniest performance is arguably his self-effacing cameo as a hardcore green activist in the classic 1999 Simpsons episode "Homer to the Max", in which he's shown driving a nonpolluting go-cart powered by his "own sense of self-satisfaction." Off screen, he's embraced this role of ardent environmentalist with an infectious positivity and seemingly tireless commitment to reducing his own impact on an increasingly injured ecosystem. The many green improvements to his largely solar powered, energy efficient home have been documented in the amusing and informative reality show Living With Ed, and now a newly published book offers a wide range of changes readers can implement to make their lifestyles more sustainable. Called Living Like Ed, it's as inspiring as it is handy, and Begley will be at the Strand bookstore at 7pm tonight for a reading and book signing organized by Environmental Defense. more ›

Rudy Giuliani may have exited the presidential campaign, but that doesn't mean he's disappeared. For starters, we hope those Rudy Giuliani campaign staffers who gave up their paychecks feel good about this: According to the Washington Post, Giuliani's campaign paid his firm Giuliani Partners $60,000 in rent and paid Giuliani Security & Safety $300,000 for security. We don't understand why he stopped running - it's a perfect way to convert donations into revenue! Well, his lawyer told the WaPo that Giuliani "recused himself from taking profits. His portion would be donated to charity." more ›

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We think NYC area hospitals should be on alert: TMZ reports that Britney Spears is headed to NYC. Well, if not NYC, something close:

"Spears left Van Nuys Airport at 4:00 PM PT this afternoon. We're told Brit Brit, Adnan and one other male passenger were on the plane. The plane is about to land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Next stop ... unknown."

In 2006 Brooklyn photographer Noah Kalina had a lot of eyes on him. After posting a video online containing a photograph of himself taken each day for six years, he went down in viral video history. That video, called "everyday," was scored to original music by his ex-girlfriend Carly Comando, and both have the world's attention again after The Simpsons parodied it a couple of weeks ago. If you are one of the few who haven't seen the original, you can do so here. This Friday marks the 8th year he'll be taking a photograph of himself every day! And today Jen Bekman is offering one of Kalina's prints for sale through her 20x200 website. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's trip to the University of Oklahoma to caucus with a bipartisan group of current and former politicians and grouse about Washington gridlock only fueled the fires of speculation that he is preparing a Presidential run. People are already strategizing about who his ideal running mate would be. Bloomberg is sticking to his (anti-)guns, however, and still claiming that he is not a candidate. But his pollster told the LA Times that our Mayor is seriously considering a run and will make a decision in the next two months. more ›

Today, we come together with hope and determination, with a determination to stop politics as usual which seeks to divide us for political gain. We come together to resurrect that kind of bipartisan statesmanship that united us as Americans to win the Cold War. We come together to appeal to all presidential candidates to tell us how they plan to bring us together. Hear our plea! Bring us together! Bring us together! Bring us together and the American people will assure our future. We also have the joint statement from the participants (including former elected officials such as Bill Cohen and Christie Todd Whitman as well as current senator Chuck "Often mentioned as a running mate for Bloomberg" Hagel) after the jump. more ›

The Lakers cruised to a 70-45 lead and then had to hang on against a Knicks’ rally that happened with the unit of Nate Robinson, David Lee, Malik Rose, Jared Jeffries and Jamal Crawford playing most of the minutes. What changes are coming? It’s hard to say, but a good start would be splitting Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph up. Let’s just hope Isiah doesn’t start making trades. more ›

Did anyone go see destructo-porn blockbuster, I Am Legend, this weekend? Apparently New Yorkers who saw the movie up close and personal when it was being filmed gave it two thumbs down, or rather -- one middle finger up! amNewYork reports on Will Smith's run-ins with disgruntled locals.

"I would say, percentage-wise, it's the most amount of middle fingers I have received in my career. I'm used to people liking me… [all those] middle fingers, I was starting to think F-U was my name."

A poignant week for LAist as they lose their trusted and amazing editor Tony Pierce to the LA Times, but what a blast his last week was. He shared his 25 Favorite CDs of 2007 and wrote a great review of just a good movie, No Country For Old Men. At UCLA, thousands of students celebrated the end of their quarter by running around campus in their undies (lots of photos in a two-part photo essay, one, two). That wasn't the only photo essay either: Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy friends and Star Trek actors all joined in at the Writers Strike and KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas brought two nights of amazing bands that included Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park (Part I), Modest Mouse, Muse, Spoon and The Killers (Part II). Not only is L.A. a great music town, it has just been named the best city for bookish types. For those who are looking for something a little more active, American Gladiators are back (yes!) and if that's not enough, how about a Christmas gift of action and adventure? more ›

Clippers 91 Nets 82: The Nets simply couldn’t shoot Tuesday night, finishing a dismal 32% from the field in an ugly loss to the Clippers at the Izod Center. Jason Kidd managed a triple-double and Richard Jefferson had 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop LA. Chris Kaman and Tim Thomas each had 18 points while Dan “the Knicks cut me this offseason” Dickau added 11 points off the bench. Carl Pavano isn’t sure... more ›

Oprah Winfrey introduced one of her favorite things people at what the NY Times called "the largest spectacle of the campaign cycle" - the Oprah for Barack Obama rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Winfrey said, "For the very first time in my life, I feel compelled to stand up and to speak out for the man who I believe has a new vision for America," and told the audience of 15,000 said, "I am... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a fatal fire on Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, a train derailment on 41st St. and 1st Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on East Gunhill Rd. in the Bronx.
• Anthony Marshall's––Brooke Astor's estranged son––lawyer pleaded not guilty to forgery in the sordid case of her will.
• BestWeekEver.tv's Michelle Collins manages to compliment Tony Bennett, fling a t-shirt at Nick Lachey, stump Josh Groban on the definition of "Cougars", covet Sean Kingston's 14K Crayolas, and be disappointed by Celine Dion, all in one 4-minute segment. That's jam-packed talent.
• Community spokesperson Al Sharpton and mayoral hopeful Council Speaker Christine Quinn fell over themselves denouncing hateful speech yesterday.
• Pimping your motor vehicle rides is for LA suckers. New Yorkers pimp their bikes with mega stereo systems––really.
• Managing Editor Choire Sicha is flying the coop from Gawker.com.
• A construction worker was rescued after being buried alive in Morningside Heights up to his chest.
• Ray Kelly flips Councilman Simcha Felder the bird, literally. He gave him a plastic pigeon in recognition of his somewhat controversial bid to rid NYC of what the councilman described as "flying rats".

Have you seen Sex and the City filming around town? Seems like some people are watching the cast of the 'ol show film the new movie every step of the way. The Times chronicled the madness and, OMG, talked to Carrie Bradshaw herself (who was hiding away in the basement of the Bryant Park Hotel). She had this to say of her on-the-job craziness: “I basically just look down between every take because it’s... more ›

SFist witnessed a new apartment building tszuj the skyline with spectacular, gaudy turquoise aplomb, the (informal) renaming of the Mission/SOMA neighborhood border, the return of the Maltese Falcon, the Mayor Gavin Newsom mea culpa-ing over his Hawaiian getaway during the oil spill, and double-decker buses hitting the streets of San Francisco. Oh, and some baseball player named Barry Bonds is a liar whose pants, it seems, are totally on fire. more ›

The wedding date hasn’t been announced, but it seems like all the plans have been made. Alex Rodriguez is about to sign the richest contract in sports history- again. The framework of the deal is a 10 year/$275 million contract. In addition, A-Rod and the Yankees are working on a revenue sharing agreement if A-Rod breaks the home run record. One thing you won’t find in the contract is an opt-out clause, so this really... more ›

The Mardy Collins era lasted approximately six minutes. Pushed into the starting lineup in place of Stephon Marbury, Collins sprained his foot halfway through the first quarter. And, Collins’ injury was just the beginning as Phoenix trounced the Knicks 113-102 while shooting 56% from the field. To make matters worse, Renaldo Balkman went down with an injury later in the game and had to be helped off the court. With Quentin Richardson out with an... more ›

The Sklar Brothers spent years living in New York, working their way through the alternative comedy scene, becoming in demand performers, and eventually getting their own MTV show, Apt 2F, and later a Comedy Central Special. Then, once they had moved to LA and gotten comfortable, they were sent back into New York to film their show Cheap Seats for ESPN Classics. It seems like the Sklars just can't stay away from the city because... more ›