NYC Sees Warmest Day In Seven Months

Millions of New Yorkers poured into the streets and the parks this weekend to enjoy the first real break in one of the longest, coldest winters in many years. The wind chill was back down in the low 40s last night, but still!

De Blasio To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

The New York Daily News reports that one of the first acts by Mayor-elect Bill De Blasio will be to ban horse-drawn carriages, which have long been the target of animal rights activists.

"We are going to get rid of the horse carriages. Period,” de Blasio said in response to a question at his press conference announcing his schools chancellor pick Monday. “It’s over,” he said. De Blasio said he would work with existing drivers to set them up with alternative vehicles to ferry tourists around Central Park. De Blasio and advocacy groups who support him say it’s inhumane to make the horses work the dangerous city streets, but drivers insist their horses are well cared for and there’s no reason to end the industry.

The carriage industry has vowed to fight the city in court.

NEW YORK CITY: Philly Gay Couple To Reopen Tavern On The Green

Crain's New York Business profiles the well-connected Philadelphia gay couple who will re-open Central Park's legendary Tavern On The Green, which closed in bankruptcy in 2009 after almost 75 years in business.

Philadelphia restaurateurs Jim Caiola and David Salama celebrated this summer when they were selected by the Bloomberg administration over several local heavyweights to run Tavern on the Green. But their joy was quickly tempered by a torrent of criticism about their qualifications. [snip] The attacks stung the partners, who have not responded to their critics—until now. "It feels like we are cleaning up a mess rather than starting over," said Mr. Caiola, referring not only to the charges of nepotism but also to their extensive plans to reopen the Central Park eatery in November 2013 after a four-year hiatus. Mr. Caiola, 49, was a filmmaker before entering the restaurant business in 1998. Mr. Salama, 48, studied fine arts in his 20s and then took on the role of chef at their crêperie, Beau Monde. The partners, a couple who are raising two adopted children, come to New York once a week to survey ongoing renovations and plan their work. They will move here in the coming months. "What we bring to the table is real positive, maybe naive, energy," Mr. Caiola said.

Tavern On The Green was often the highest-grossing restaurant in the nation with annual revenues reaching as high as $38M.  Since its 2009 closure the city has run it as a visitors' center with gourmet food trucks parked outside. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Afternoon View - Central Park

Tourist Sues NYC Over "Lucky Bag" Sting

A tourist has filed a $1M lawsuit against New York City after he was arrested during a "lucky bag" sting in Central Park.  In the operation, police left popular electronics or handbags containing cash on park benches, then lurked nearby to see who would turn the found items in.

Yakov Dubin, 49, says he was wrongly collared by police after he found — and took — $27 that had been left by cops in a dirty purse last year. Dubin says he was going to turn the cash in — but before he could, plainclothes officers pounced and accused him of stealing the money. "It was a very bad experience," said Dubin, a real estate agent from an Atlanta suburb who filed the $1-million suit Tuesday. "I'm a law-abiding citizen. I've never been arrested, and for them to put me in handcuffs in the middle of the day in front of my kids was humiliating."

The Aug. 11, 2011, arrest was part of "Operation Lucky Bag," the controversial NYPD sting program in which cops put valuables, such as cash or an iPad, in a bag — and then arrest whoever tries to walk away with the ill-gotten booty. But the operation is nothing short of entrapment, critics say. Dubin's court filing said his troubles began after he found a purse without identification under a bench. Dubin admits that he pulled out the cash, left the purse because it was old and smelly and started to walk away. That’s when a group of plainclothes cop confronted him, asking him if he had anything that didn't belong to him.

A spokesman for the NYPD told the Daily News: "Any law-abiding person who has had their property stolen from a park bench or blanket will be happy to know that the NYPD is out there combating such thefts."

Central Park Reports On Damage

The Central Park Conservancy reports that hundreds of mature trees were destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Some buildings, benches, and fencing were also damaged or ruined.  The park remains closed until the danger from falling limbs has been dealt with.  (Yesterday my neighbor, who is a park volunteer, was in tears describing the famous Promenade.  I'm afraid to even go look over the wall.)  The Conservancy is expected to welcome the public to assist with the more minor cleanup chores once things become safer. All city parks remain closed for now. (Tipped by Father Tony)

RELATED: The massive NYC Marathon remains scheduled to conclude in Central Park on Sunday, despite great opposition from some local media who say city resources are desperately needed elsewhere.  Many competitors have been unable to even get to the city.

$100 Million Gift For Central Park

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson has donated $100M to the Central Park Conservancy. His gift is believed to be the largest personal donation to any park in American history.

John Paulson, 56, was set to meet with Mayor Bloomberg this morning to formally announce the mind-blowing contribution. Paulson was previously best known for making a killing in 2007, short-selling the mortgage and securities market. He reportedly made $4 billion by anticipating the monumental burst of America's housing bubble. “It is a great privilege to be able to contribute to the Central Park Conservancy, one of the most important cultural institutions in New York,” Paulson said. Paulson apparently has enough loose change to make the massive donation. He’s No. 28 in the Forbes 400 and No. 61 in the list of Forbes Billionaires.

RELATED: The Central Park Conservancy is a private non-profit group that operates the park under a contract with New York City. It was founded in 1980 after the city's near-bankruptcy woes in the mid-70s caused much of the park to fall into embarrassing and dangerous disrepair. Only 15% of their annual budget is provided by the city. The rest comes from corporations and private donations. Many of the Conservancy's biggest donors are the celebrities whose zillion-dollar apartments face the park.

Central Park Gay Marriage Proposal

She rowed her girlfriend out from under the bridge as friends secretly gathered overhead for "Operation Rainbow Umbrella." The girlfriend said "Yes" as Central Park visitors applauded and took photos from from the shore. Many more photos here. (Tipped by JMG reader Acacius.)

Afternoon View - Central Park

Just a friendly warning. Or perhaps an invitation.

Summer Streets NYC Via Helmet-Cam

Here's a lovely video of Saturday's Summer Streets event from the helmet-cam of a gay Irish ex-pat. I really dig the soundtrack by British electronica duo Mount Kimbie. The final Summer Streets for the year is this Saturday. Highly recommended just for the cityscapes usually viewed from the windows of a taxi.

(Via JMG reader Michael)

NYC's Other Adam Sandler

On the streets of midtown Manhattan, particularly around Times Square, one often finds men in children's television character costumes, soliciting tips from tourists in return for posing for pictures. Annoying perhaps, but harmless enough. However one week ago a cell phone video went viral when shocked Central Park tourists (and their kids) were accosted by one such Elmo who was screaming anti-Semitic slurs. The NYPD were summoned and Elmo was promptly hauled off to the nearest mental ward for evaluation.

But as the New York Times learned, this was not just another "weirdos of the city" story, as local blogs had snickered in their coverage of the video.

Mr. Sandler said he has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon, which the university confirmed. He later traveled to Cambodia and started a pornographic Web site called “Welcome to the Rape Camp.” “I had a sex scandal,” he said. An online search yielded news accounts of the site, like a 1999 article by The Associated Press that identified Mr. Sandler by his original name. The Cambodian police arrested Mr. Sandler that year and quickly deported him, according to news media accounts and Mr. Sandler. He insisted the women on the site were not harmed and were paid $20 per performance. On Tuesday, he said the notoriety from the Rape Camp case led him to change his first name to Adam, and he asked that the original name not be included in this article. “I did run a porn site in Cambodia,” he said.

The Times reports that immediately after his release from the mental ward, where doctors told him he is "a little paranoid," he was back at his post in Central Park, where he sometimes sleeps. I'm searching for the right handle on how this relates to universal health care, but I think there's a connection here.

Afternoon View - Fleet Week Dancer

Today in Central Park a handsome young swabbie and his female companion happily joined the gay dancers in the center of the roller-disco area below Bear Hill.

SLIDESHOW: AIDS Walk New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and a galaxy of Broadway, Hollywood and television stars crowded the main stage in Central Park early this morning to help kick off the GMHC's 27th Annual AIDS Walk New York. Stars on hand included Wendy Williams, Grammy nominee Keri Hilson, NCIS: Los Angeles star Barrett Foa, Tony winner David Hyde Pierce, Glee's Dot Jones, designer Jason Wu, and Ugly Betty's Michael Urie, who played to the squealing fans in the front row by throwing HIS underwear in the face of good sport Nick Jonas.You can find all of that and much more in the slideshow below, plus lots of shots of the more than 45,000 walkers who jammed Central Park from end-to-end today. To date, AIDS Walk New York has raised more than $122 million for programs and services in the tri-state region. My personal thanks to GMHC Communications Director Dirk McCall for looking after me all morning. Full-screen photos are here.

Afternoon View - Bethesda Fountain

Swag Tuesday

Courtesy of the Karpel Group, today's Swag Tuesday prize is the long-awaited DVD release of Diana Ross: Live In Central Park, the famously storm-drenched show that has passed into New York City legend.

On July 21, 1983, the legendary Diana Ross took the stage in New York’s Central Park before an audience of over 800,000. Soon after the entertainer began, pouring rain and heavy wind threatened to put an end to the show, but Diana pushed on for much of the set, urging the drenched crowd to remain calm and stay with her. Eventually the torrential storm put an end to the performance, but not before Diana promised her fans she would return the next day. True to her word, Diana performed the entire concert again on July 22nd for the people of New York. Initially broadcast live around the world, this renowned concert was never again shown on television, and has never been released on DVD until now.

Live In Central Park is available beginning today at retailers and online. We have three copies to give away. Enter to win by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of your comment. Publicists: If you'd like to take part in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.

Improv Everywhere: Instant Date

Afternoon View - Gapstow Bridge

Colder and gloomy today. Might have seen a random flake, too.

Morning View - Central Park Tree Plaques

I came across this park worker installing some new paving stones noting gifts to the Central Park Conservancy's tree endowment fund. Reading the plaques is like a short history in recent events, as some of the gifts are made in the names of disaster victims: 9/11, Japan's earthquake, the 2004 tsunami, etc. Many of the park's oldest trees were destroyed in a freak 2011 wind storm, but you've got to give big to get a plaque.

Morning View - Wollman Rink

It's now the Trump Wollman Rink, but nobody calls it that.

Afternoon View- Central Park Promenade

It's a glorious afternoon and about fifty degrees warmer than it was just a few days ago. The park was quite busy. This photo embiggens nicely.