Meet the Mets' new network: SportsNet New York

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The New York Mets will call the sports television network they are starting with Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. "SportsNet New York," and will broadcast from midtown Manhattan across from Radio City Music Hall.

The cable network, which will go on the air next year, will show as many as 125 regular-season Mets baseball games. Programming will include 30 college football games and 85 college basketball games from conferences including the Big East and the Big Ten.

The name of the network, its blue-and-white logo and street-level studios were unveiled at a press conference today.

"We will be compelling, informative and entertaining," network President Jon Litner said at a Manhattan press conference where he was joined by Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Richard Parsons and Jack Williams, president of Comcast SportsNet.

The Mets paid $54 million last year to Cablevision Systems Corp.'s MSG Networks to end their television contracts after this season, allow them to show their games on their own network. The New York Yankees were the first team to own their own network when they started the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in 2002.

SportsNet New York doesn't yet have an agreement with Cablevision, New York's largest cable operator with 3 million subscribers, to be carried on its system. The network will be available to about 2.3 million Time Warner Cable customers in New York and New Jersey, plus 790,000 Comcast customers in New Jersey and Connecticut.

"We plan to be available in all homes in our regional footprint by next spring," Litner said.

The network also annonced that it hired Curt Gowdy Jr., who worked for ABC Sports, as vice president of production and executive producer; Steve Raab, a former executive at Turner Broadcasting where he helped start the Turner South regional network, as vice president of marketing and business; and Gary Morgenstern, who helped start ESPN2 and ESPN Outdoors in a 16- year career at the Disney cable network, as director of programming.

That's So New York

Memorial to Rise at African Burial Groun

By VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK -- As many as 20,000 slaves and free blacks who helped build New York's economy from docks to warehouses were buried a walk away from Wall Street -in earth where a permanent memorial to them will soon arise.

At a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, African drumbeats accompanied the unveiling of the $3 million design by Rodney Leon, a Yale-trained architect who has lived in West Africa.

"We estimate that about 20,000 people were buried here in the 18th century, and half of the remains found were children. Some of them worked too. When they died, they could only be buried outside city walls," Leon said after the morning ceremony. "These people were part of a worldwide network of slavery, and they helped the New York economy run and thrive."
His design for the African Burial Ground --a spiraling, sunken court made of granite from Brazil and Canada --includes symbols and hieroglyphics inspired by his time in Ivory Coast. Jutting up from one side will be a slender, 24-foot-tall "ancestral chamber" meant to represent "the soaring African spirit embracing and comforting all those who enter," according to Leon.

The monument is to be completed in about a year, with funding from the federal General Services Administration, which manages the site along with the National Park Service.

"But we're not allowed to raise private funds," Leon said, explaining that proposals for the project had to fit the GSA's budgetary guidelines without relying on outside funding.
The colonial-era cemetery is now nestled between lower Manhattan highrises, near City Hall and adjoining the building that houses the New York offices of the FBI.

Closed in 1794, the five-acre burial ground was long forgotten as construction landfill eventually buried it 20 feet underground. When the cemetery was rediscovered during construction of a federal office tower in 1991, community pressure and public protests prompted the government to abandon work.

More than 400 sets of remains were discovered, buried in coffins and wrapped in white shrouds. Many of the people showed signs that they were malnourished, and some suffered from severe arthritis, muscle tears, and bone fractures caused by intense physical labor.

"No longer should one be able to walk past this site and not know the important contributions that ancestral Africans have made to this district," Leon said.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, based in Harlem, has planned an "Ancestral Heritage Weekend" surrounding the erection of the memorial. Celebrations were to include a youth "ring shout" ceremony with 1,500 students, Russell Simmons' Def Poetry and appearances by Wyclef Jean, Phylicia Rashad and cast members from Broadway's "Drumstruck."


African Burial Ground: http://www.Africanburialground.gov

That's So New York

Redman Commits To 'True Crime'

Rapper will appear in video game and contribute three songs to its soundtrack.


Redman is ready for a life of "True Crime." The rapper has signed on to be the featured artist in Activision's upcoming "True Crime: New York City," the sequel to last year's "True Crime: Streets of L.A."

Due in November, the game will feature the debut of "Rush the Security" — a song from Red's upcoming album, Red Gone Wild (due November 8) — along with two other original songs, according to an Activision spokesperson. The rapper will also be immortalized in pixels as an unlockable character who rewards players when they reach certain levels.

Activision music exec Tim Riley said in a statement that Redman fit in with the eclectic group of artists on the soundtrack, which is aimed at capturing the spirit of New York. Among the 80 songs in the game are tracks by the Ramones, Jay-Z, Fat Joe, My Chemical Romance, A Tribe Called Quest, the Bravery, Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground.

"As an East Coast artist who paid his dues performing in the clubs of New York City, Redman's inspired rhymes bring the gritty realism of the city to life in our game," Riley said. "His bold lyrics and hard-edged funk beats capture the vibes of the city from Washington Heights to Harlem and all the way down to Battery Park."

Last year's "True Crime: Streets of L.A." featured songs from Snoop Dogg, Westside Connection, Alice in Chains, Static-X, the Donnas, the Distillers, Killswitch Engage, Warren G and Jayo Felony

— Gil Kaufman

Source: MTV

New York City's Newest Cruise Ship Terminal

In Brooklyn, Their Ship Has Come In

It's helping to transform what many considered to be a less-than-desirable section of Brooklyn into a very desirable destination. With its billion dollar view of Manhattan, Atlantic Basin in Red Hook is now home to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and 330 new jobs.

The cruise industry's exploding responsible for over $600 million in commerce to the city last year.

Manhattan's West Side passenger ship terminal is booked solid stifling growth for the industry in New York.

Spreading east to Brooklyn will increase the annual number of ship passengers entering the city by a quarter of a million people.

Carnival Cruise lines became the first to use the new Brooklyn terminal with this morning's docking of 'The Oriana' that freshly arrived from England.

Source: ABC 7 eyewitness News Online

That's So New York

Report has Microsoft opening NYC retail store

Microsoft may open a glitzy retail store in New York City's Times Square to raise its profile and showcase consumer-oriented products such as the new Xbox.

One possible site is a four-story space at One Times Square, a billboard-covered building where the famous ball is dropped during the New Year's celebration.

A retail store would dovetail with Microsoft's recent efforts to raise its profile in New York, an area that generates more than $1 billion a year in business-software sales for the company. New York is also home to the media giants Microsoft is courting with its software for distributing and protecting music, movies, games and television.

A store could also give Microsoft a more permanent location to pitch its technology.

It has recently used temporary product showcases, including mock home and office settings, to demonstrate products to big customers in cities such as New York and Paris.

But a store would be aimed mostly at the flood of consumers that flows through Times Square. A Microsoft store could counter the slick retail centers that Apple Computer and Sony use in New York and elsewhere to showcase their products and build their image as purveyors of cool technology.

With or without a store, Microsoft will spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year marketing its upcoming Xbox 360 game system, Microsoft-developed phone and TV products and new versions of Windows and Office launching late next year.

The Times Square plans were reported yesterday in the New York Post. A company spokeswoman refused to comment.

"At any given time, Microsoft evaluates and pursues real-estate opportunities and needs," spokeswoman Rachel Wayne said via e-mail. "Out of respect for all parties, and a desire to not perpetuate rumors, we do not have a comment on this at this time."

A broker representing One Times Square declined to confirm Microsoft's plans, but acknowledged that "that caliber of company" is interested in the 18,000-square-foot space.

It's a billboard retail location, it's where the ball drops," said broker Jeffrey Roseman at Newmark New Spectrum Retail in New York.

Where tourists flock

Roseman said companies such as Pepsi and General Motors have also expressed interest in the vacant space, which formerly housed a Warner Bros. store. He said one possible tenant is interested in displaying different product lines on each of the four floors in the space.

A store is unlikely to have much effect on Microsoft sales. Most of its software is sold indirectly through computer makers and technology vendors it calls partners.

But the company has tried in the past to buff its brand with a retail outlet. From 1998 to 2001, it operated the gallery-like MicrosoftSF store at the Metreon mall in San Francisco.

The store was managed jointly with Sony until Microsoft entered the game console business with its Xbox.

The New York project may give Chairman Bill Gates another thing to talk about when he has Hu Jintao, the president of China, over for dinner on Monday.

According to the same edition of the Post, one of China's largest real-estate companies is also shopping for space in Manhattan. Beijing Ventone Real Estate will use its space, perhaps at the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center building, to attract Chinese companies.

That's So New York

Which city? New York, of course

NEW YORK -- Mikhail Baryshnikov told a weekend audience at The New Yorker Festival that when he was invited to play a role on "Sex and the City" he had two questions: "Which sex, and which city?" The dancer, among luminaries at the festival that ended Sunday, said until then, he had not seen the HBO series because he watched only news and golf on TV. So the producers sent him episodes to watch.

"I was kind of amused, and shocked," Baryshnikov said of the series, which ended last year. "At first I was watching it with my children. Then I said `Children, OUT!"'

Baryshnikov played self-involved artist Aleksandr, a love interest of Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker.
The New Yorker Festival, in its sixth year, is three days of panel discussions, readings and musical performances.

On Saturday night, a festival benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts featured Toni Morrison, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Kevin Kline, Willem Dafoe and lots of zydeco music.

Actress Patricia Clarkson read Tennessee Williams' letters from the French Quarter, New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin read an essay about the city's anything-goes attitude and actor Terrence Howard read a Mark Twain essay about New Orleans architecture. Woody Allen even played the clarinet with Eddy Davis and his New Orleans Jazz Band.

New Yorker editor David Remnick said many of the night's performers were still searching for relatives missing since the hurricane.

source: Chicago Tribune

That's So New York

Elton in concert

Musician Elton John greets his fans during his concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City September 21, 2005. (Seth Wenig [Photo via NewsCom]/Reuters)

Hip-Hop Legends Honored In New York

It was a banner night for rap music in New York when VH1 held its second annual Hip-Hop Honours, featuring some of the genre's biggest pioneers.

Among those who were celebrated at the event: Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, the late Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Salt 'N Pepa, Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five and the classic John Singleton movie, Boyz In The Hood.

"It's something that documents hip-hop history and I'm glad to be a part of it," Kane told the Associated Press. He was one of the most popular musicians of the night, receiving a huge ovation for his performance of "Warm It Up."

Among the other performers were a reunited Salt 'N Pepa, who performed "Whatta Man" and were later joined by En Vogue, another group who haven't played together in years.

Of course, the new guard came out to pay their respects as well. Nelly, who wore old school LL Cool J gear, performed with Ciara, Kanye West and Ludacris did Notorious B.I.G.'s hits with his widow, Faith Evans and Snoop Dogg and Ice-T performed a number of hit songs from the classic West coast rap era.

That's So New York

Who will it be? Yankees or Red Sox ?

Josh Hansen

One week from now and it will all be over.

Until then however, every baseball junky and sports fan will stay on edge, watching the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees jockey for position atop the AL East with the Wild Card Cleveland Indians threatening on the inside.

"There`s not much comfort right now," Boston`s Johnny Damon said. "We know we have to go play good baseball or we know our season is going to be over."

The public apparently thinks it already is over - or at least Boston`s chances of wearing the division crown when Sunday night rolls around.

“We re-opened the [AL East] futures bet because there was so much demand but so far, all the money has the Yankees,” says BetCRIS linesmaker Shane Catford. “I think they’re finishing off better than Boston plus the public loves them.”

Marred by pitching trouble, steroids and the uncertainty of management next year, the Bronx Bombers have somehow survived a slow start and are once again in the thick of things. The biggest reason is likely their 53-28 record at the house Ruth built, which should serve to help the Yanks when they host their red rivals in the final games of the season.

But New York must first travel to Baltimore, where they`ve managed just one win in five trips.

Boston`s road to the playoffs isn`t any easier. At first glance, a four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays looks promising but could be deceiving. The Jays have handcuffed the boys from Beantown nine of the 14 times they’ve met this season.

Only five of those games were played at Fenway Park, the site of this week’s series, but don’t think the Jays aren’t relishing the notion of playing spoiler.

"We`d love to go in there and knock them out somehow,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We couldn`t ask for more for what we`re trying to do here. We`re trying to build something, getting used to playing these type of games for our own experience."

Of course, there is the possibility both teams could meet up in October. If either the Yankees or Red Sox win the East, the remaining team still has a chance of grabbing the AL Wild Card from the Indians, who sat 1/2 games up on the Yankees heading into Monday’s action.

"We need to go out and win all the games, as Boston does," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "A week from today, the smoke clears. Hopefully, we`re standing tall."

sports news

New York mogul, TV star Trump's wife pregnant

Sep 27, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump's wife Melania Knauss is pregnant with the real estate mogul's fifth child, Trump's spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The 59-year-old entrepreneur and star of the NBC television show "The Apprentice" has three children with his first wife Ivana Trump and one with his second wife Marla Maples.

He married Knauss, 35, a Slovenian model, in a lavish ceremony in Florida in January attended by a host of celebrities from former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to singer Billy Joel and journalist Katie Couric.

Trump was already famous as a property and casino mogul when he moved into American living rooms in 2003 as star of hit television show "The Apprentice," in which young contestants vie to show their business savvy and win a spot working on a Trump venture.

The New York Post said the baby was due in the spring.

Trump's spokeswoman Norma Foerderer said the Post report that Trump's wife was pregnant was true but she declined to give any further details.

Dalai Lama is honored by N.Y. City mayor

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the key to the city to the Dalai Lama on Sunday and called the Tibetan spiritual leader "a moral beacon to millions around the world, with a clear and constant voice for human rights."
The Dalai Lama pantomimed opening a door with the oversize key and said, "I think with this key I can go everywhere. It can open every door."

The brief Manhattan ceremony took place on the steps of the James A. Farley post office, at Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street, which is slated to be converted to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Station.
Maura Moynihan, daughter of the late Sen. Moynihan, said her father had known the Dalai Lama since his stint as U.S. ambassador to India in the early 1970s.

She said the station "will benefit all New Yorkers and all visitors to our great city, including the several thousand Tibetans who are now New York citizens."

Bloomberg said, "When Moynihan Station is completed, you'll come back and use that key to open the door."
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following an aborted uprising against Chinese rule in the territory and now keeps an office in exile in the Himalayan town of Dharmsala, India.

After the ceremony at the post office he crossed the street to Madison Square Garden for an audience with local Tibetans.

That's So New York

Buy a coat and fly to New York for free

Essen, Germany

The troubled German department store chain KarstadtQuelle began giving away free flights to New York with the purchase of a special-edition winter coat on Monday in a bid to revive sales.

The store, which is in the midst of a drastic restructuring after narrowly escaping bankruptcy last year, is offering a voucher for the return flights with each "New York City" men's or women's puffer jacket priced €200 (about R1 530).

"We expect to have sold 4,000 jackets by this evening," said KarstadtQuelle spokesperson Joerg Howe.

The flights are available with a total of 20,000 jackets.

KarstadtQuelle was warning customers that they must pay airport taxes and other costs totalling about €150 (R1 150) in order to take the flights, which are organised in conjunction with the New York City tourist authorities.

The offer has sparked copycat offers from rival German shops.

A supermarket chain was on Monday offering flights for one euro cent with the purchase of selected electronic goods.

KarstadtQuelle's reorganisation includes the sale of under-performing department stores in a bid to return to profit. -- AFP

Lockheed hired to provide NY subway security system

New York City's transportation authority has hired Lockheed Martin, the US defence contractor, to build a security network for its subway system, a move meant to protect the largest US public transport network against a terror attack.

The announcement of the $212m contract comes three years after New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority was awarded $591m in federal funds to upgrade its security system. Since then, terrorists have killed commuters in Madrid and London, but the MTA has spent only a fraction of the security funds, mostly on information campaigns.

source: FT.com

Scenes From Independent Film Week: Incentives, Acting, and Mixing At The IFP Market

by Eugene Hernandez

Who could have imagined that IFP's new Independent Film Week would come at such a fitting moment, during a week when local New York theaters are literally jammed with debuting specialty and independent releases all competing for an audience. "Its really crazy," noted the head of a leading studio specialty division in email comments to indieWIRE on the Friday before the first Independent Film Week. He was reacting to the intense competition in theaters this week.

"Look at this weekend," the Indiewood chief said, "You've got 'Thumbsucker', 'Everything Is Illuminated', 'Proof', the Paul Reiser/Peter Falk movie and 'The Corpse Bride' all OPENING head to head in NY/LA this weekend AND competing for the same audience as wide releases like 'Lord Of War' (also opening today), 'An Unfinished Life (which is doing biz) and 'The Constant Gardener'. ITS INSANE. Why couldn't any of these movies have gone out earlier?"

The 27th IFP Market, now branded as the industry component of the broader Independent Film Week that is aimed at drawing New Yorkers to local art house movie theaters, continues through today here in Manhattan with attendees and observers bemoaning the challenges of the business today and trying to figure out ways to navigate a challenging business. The Puck Building on Lafayette & Houston is the hub of Market activity this week as the revamped event highlights meetings over screenings; film showings are ongoing down the street at the nearby Angelika Film Center.

Wednesday at the Market, organizers tapped IFP board members who are active film producers for a panel discussion exploring new federal, state and city tax incentives. Kicking off the discussion, Katherine Oliver (Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting) made some news by unveiling a new initiative aimed at supporting on-the-job film production training. The workforce training program, to be administered by IFP and the Mayor's Office, will provide up to $25,000 to lower budget New York City based productions (under $3 million), as part of a $150,000 of federal workforce training funds for the pilot program, according to Oliver. She added that they hope to launch the program in the coming weeks.

Anthony Bregman from This Is That, Jeff Levy-Hinte from Antidote Films, Susan Stover from HeadQuarters, Tim Williams from Greene Street Films, and Joana Vicente from Open City Films/HDNet participated in Wednesday's discussion about incentives. Opening the discussion, New York City's Oliver took a moment to tout the success of this year's Made in NY tax incentive program that she said has generated more than $450 million in new business, creating some 6,000 jobs. And she emphasized that the boost has been fueled by independent productions in the city.

A large crowd gathered Wednesday at the Puck for a discussion about the challenging specialty film business today, with Marie Therese Guirgis from Wellspring, David Koh from Palm Pictures, and Nancy Gerstman from Zeitgeist Films on hand. The group chatted about deals, film reps, and box office grosses, with Guirgis later reassuring the crowd, "Most of us at this table, and a lot of people in the business are not in the business of screwing over filmmakers. We love films."

Later in the day, Rosie Perez, Mary Kay Place, and Yolanda Ross talked about the craft of acting during a SAGIndie panel session, comparing their work on indie v. bigger budget movies, talking about the challenges of being a working actor in the business, and more. Asked about why there are so few good roles for women of color, Yolanda Ross offered, "A lot of times studios don’t know how to market women of color, we don’t always have to be a prostitute or a crackhead...there are all of these stereotypical parts. We can just be the girl next door."

One of the ways that these actors are branching out to find better roles is by creating the parts themselves. Place talked a bit about her own writing, as did Ross, while Rosie Perez teased a new documentary that she said will air on IFC next year, it’s a film about the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, to air on the network next June.

At lunches earlier in the week, attendees mixed and mingled in between the many panel discussions and formal meeting sessions. On Monday, A & E IndieFilms hosted a B Bar lunch welcoming doc filmmakers, while on Tuesday, a group gathered at Rialto for the Canadian Producers Luncheon hosted by Telefilm Canada.

Thursdays lunch, to be hosted by SAGIndie and The Hollywood Reporter, will include the announcement of this years IFP Market award winners.

Made in NY

That's So New York

So Long Summer

The days were longer and the nights just as hot. Summer officially ended this evening at 6:23 and as a winter baby that prefers summer to winter, I will miss it terribly.

This was the summer of Episode III and Batman Begins; the summer that Six Feet Under left us (but gave us the hot song of summer "Breathe Me" by Sia) and the summer we all wanted the dj to "Pon the Replay" by Rihanna.

It was also the hottest summer on record from some states (NY surely being one of them), but fortunately no blackouts. Sidewalk parties made a comeback and someone named Daisy Duke was wearing her short shorts again.

Sadly, it was also the summer that London had a brush with terrorism and the Gulf Coast had a brush with a devastating hurricane named Katrina, leaving much of New Orleans underwater in its wake.

History unfolded in front of our very eyes this summer as one historic supreme court justice retired, and another lost his battle with cancer, leading to the nomination of Judge John Roberts.

Just as time is fleeting, so are the lazy hazy of summer. Fall is back, bringing with it fresh episodes of fan favorite TV shows "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives". For those that wish to relive the summer movie experience, the final Star Wars movie hits DVD on November 1st and Batman Begins hits DVD even sooner on October 18th.

The holidays are just around the corner. Soon we'll all be bloated from Thanksgiving and asking Santa for a brand new ipod nano. We'll celebrate the end of one year and the start of a new one in Times Square or your version of it.

Then comes the snow and the gray days that seem to last forever.

Winter means another season of hoping the Knicks play better, discovering new and exciting restaurants and seeing less of our friends as hibernation and ultimately cabin fever sets in.

As always, I'll be ticking away the days (271 and counting) until summer returns, but this time with a little more excitement than the last. I'll anticipate the day I can go swimming again and eat barbeque in the park.

But I'm most looking forward to the next summer's big movies. When summer returns in 2006, so will Superman in a brand new movie directed by Bryan Singer! It'll be here faster than a speeding bullet.

Buy Stars Wars
Buy Batman Begins
Coming soon Superman Returns

That's So New York!

New York City has endless array of dining options

By Robert J. Nebel
gwinnettdailyposttravel@yahoo.com


New York has long been known for its all-American fare, such as Nathan's Famous hot dogs or the Carnegie Deli. These staples of the Big Apple have beckoned folks from all walks of life.

But beyond these culinary hallmarks are restaurants that highlight the city's melting pot characteristics. Many neighborhoods showcase Italian, Latin, Asian or healthy fare. Whether you're on vacation or just breezing through on business, you can't go wrong by sampling the variety of foods in New York.

Where Rome meets New York
Greenwich Village: This is where food trends are created. Restaurateurs aren't afraid to take chances here, and the result is creative, eclectic cuisine that is emulated nationwide. Nowhere is that more evident than on the village's corner of Minetta Lane and Sixth Avenue, where Bellavitae resides. What makes this Italian eatery different from so many others is its effort to import its ingredients, such as olive oils, vinegars and pastas. The restaurant's dedication to acquiring "all things Italian" makes Bellavitae a standout in the New York Italian crowd.

Bellavitae is so connected to imports that its owner, Rolando Beramendi, is the supplier to many of the city's other Italian restaurants. Bellavitae gets its name from a mix of the Latin "beautiful life" and "beautiful vines."

Different Asian fare
If you ever have a chance to visit the Chinatown section of the city, there's one place that you must visit for a unique culinary experience. At Nyonya, Malaysian food is the specialty. Modeled after a south Asian tiki hut, Nyonya offers generous portions of exotic dishes such as roti canai, an Indian pancake with curry chicken dipping sauce. Roti canai is Malaysia's national dish. If you are in the mood for something different, try Nyonya's curry spareribs. Noodle soups are highly recommended here and can be a meal by themselves. The prawn mee, a blend of egg noodles, shredded pork and large shrimp in a spicy broth, is enough to open up the stuffiest of sinuses. The drinks and desserts at Nyonya are also spectacular. Sooi pooi, a sour plum drink, and pulut hitam, creamy rice with coconut milk, are an excellent after-dinner treat.

The affordable hole-in-the-wall is a great place to experience something that we simply can't get back home.

Go veggie
Vegetarian restaurants aren't what they used to be, and that's a good thing. Today, you can travel the world over and find excellent vegetarian cuisine. On New York's West Fourth Street, Red Bamboo is a prime example of how you can get a great meal minus the meat.

Salmon teriyaki (yes, that is soy salmon), unagi don (sesame-seasoned "Japanese fish steak"), butterfly soy chops (soy "pork") and "chicken" parmesan (breaded soy "chicken") are all mouth-watering delicacies that make you swear that you are eating the real thing. Indeed, meat purists would scoff at these dishes, but open-minded visitors cannot resist the vegetable tempura or black bean ginger stir-fry, a concoction of zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower and broccoli.

The menu at Red Bamboo seems endless. Who knew that there could be this much variety at a vegetarian restaurant?

With so much culture packed into such a great city, it's no wonder that New York City has such a thriving and diverse dining community.

n Bellavitae
www.bellavitae.com

Calle Ocho
www.calleochonyc.com

Red Bamboo Soul Cafe
www.redbamboo-nyc.com

Source: Gwinnett Daily Post

That's So New York

New York City police attack Cindy Sheehan at antiwar rally

New York City police officers broke up an antiwar rally Monday in the midst of a speech by Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Cops stormed into the area in Manhattan’s Union Square where a couple of hundred had gathered to hear Sheehan. The 48-year-old California woman has become a focus of antiwar sentiment since camping outside Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch last month to demand an explanation for why her son was sent to die.

Sheehan said that she was slightly injured in the melee as police grabbed away the microphone and seized sound equipment. “I was speaking and someone grabbed my backpack and pulled me back pretty roughly,” she told the Associated Press. “I was shoved around.”

Those in the audience angrily shouted “let her speak” and “shame, shame” as the cops broke up the gathering.

Police arrested one of the rally’s organizers, Paul Zulkowitz, a Green Party activist, on charges of unauthorized use of a sound device and disorderly conduct.

The outdoor rally came between appearances by Sheehan at churches in Brooklyn Sunday and in Manhattan Monday night as part of her “Bring them home now” bus tour that has taken her and other family members of soldiers killed in Iraq to cities across the country.

Antiwar protesters set up a “Camp Casey NYC” at Union Square last month in solidarity with the 26-day protest action initiated by Sheehan in Texas. While the city’s Parks Department had issued a permit for the group to be there, the protest has been subjected to relentless police harassment.

Organizers said that the attack in Union Square marked the first time that the “Bring them home now” campaign has been subjected to this kind of police repression. The tour has consisted of three buses carrying families of fallen soldiers, Iraq war veterans and veterans of other wars to 51 cities in 28 states.

The tour was launched on August 31, the last day of the nearly month-long vigil outside of Bush’s Texas ranch. The three buses are converging on Washington for the September 24 antiwar demonstration there.

“I think that their use of force was pretty excessive for someone that didn’t have a permit,” Sheehan said.

Ironically, just moments before the police moved in, Sheehan had thanked the crowd for supporting her struggle and remarked that she would have liked to stay in New York longer, having heard that it was a “fun city.”

The police attack on Sheehan and the “Bring them home now” campaign represents a blatant assault on constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly. The charge of violating regulations requiring permits for sound equipment is a pretext frequently used by the city’s police department to suppress political protest. Permits are routinely denied or delayed, forcing organizers to either violate the arbitrary restriction or cancel their event.

This latest act of repression is part of a wholesale police crackdown on virtually all forms of political dissent in the city that has been escalating for more than a decade. The NYPD has employed increasingly repressive measures, particularly since the beginning of the protests against the war in Iraq.

Even at protests held with city permits, these measures have included the corralling of protesters in steel pens, illegal searches of demonstrators, photographing and videotaping those participating, unprovoked mass arrests and the interrogation of those arrested about their political beliefs.

Smaller spontaneous rallies, such as the one in Union Square addressed by Sheehan, frequently provoke massive police deployments and arrests.

During her appearance in New York, Sheehan called for the immediate withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq. She directed her fire not only at Bush, but also at the state’s Senator Hillary Clinton. The Democratic politician and former First Lady, she said, “knows the war is a lie,” but supports it anyway to further her political ambitions.

New York Goes New Orleans

New Orleans descended on New York for two concurrent concerts, dubbed From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, Tuesday night to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Big names such as Dave Matthews, Simon and Garfunkel, and Elton John filled the bills of the shows held at Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden, but New Orleans acts from the Meters to the Neville Brothers were the focus of the evening's entertainment.

Piano player and studio whiz Allen Toussaint led the house band for the first segment of the MSG concert, alongside Late Show With David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer. Together they hosted a rotating panel of guests that included Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett and New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas, who performed her classic "Time Is on My Side," famously covered by the Rolling Stones in 1964. Aaron Neville joined Toussaint for a chilling take on Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," sung against a backdrop of horrific images from flood ravaged New Orleans.

Political chatter was kept to a minimum at both events, with performers mostly sticking to the program: championing aid for New Orleans. But a few artists angrily denounced government officials for their slow response to Katrina's devastation. "I Wish New Orleans was dry and Washington was underwater," said Tom Waits. Bette Midler had even stronger words: "I got a letter from the Republican Party the other day. I wrote back, 'Go fuck yourself.'" She then added, "George Bush is a fan of mine -- he came to see me in the Seventies. His coke dealer brought him."

There was nothing but love for one former Oval Office resident, however: Bill Clinton's surprise appearances at both concerts were greeted with long standing ovations. He spoke of the urgent need to get money to the hurricane victims, and reminisced that "the first time I saw a building over two stories tall was in New Orleans, when I was three years old." He then introduced John Fogerty, who Clinton said "captured the soul of New Orleans," despite being born in Northern California.

The Dixie Cups, a Sixties girl group from New Orleans, were one of the Garden's best-received acts. Their brief set included their Number One hit "Chapel of Love," as well a forceful take on the classic Cresent City ditty "Iko Iko," on which they were joined by Cyndi Lauper. Other Garden highlights included Elton John's mournful rendition of "Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding)"; Mississippi-born Buffett's lengthy set, which featured "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" and the obvious crowd favorite "Margaritaville"; and Fogerty's renditions of the all-to-appropriate Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes "Born on the Bayou" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain." Scheduled guest Fats Domino was unable to make it into the city, but the Dirty Dozen Brass Band -- with help from Elvis Costello, Diana Krall and Fats' longtime collaborator Dave Bartholomew -- paid tribute to him with a rollicking take on the Domino classic "I'm Walking."

The Radio City show, hosted by comedian Harry Shearer, was aimed at a younger audience and featured Anastasio, the John Mayer Trio and Galactic. Matthews, the Neville Brothers and the Meters all took a page out of the Phil Collins Live Aid handbook and played at both events. Radio City's most anticipated guest was Waits, who rarely makes live appearances. His set, which was unfortunately marred by sound problems, included "Get Behind the Mule," "Murder in a Red Burn" and "House Where Nobody Lives." "There's so much music in New Orleans you can hold a trumpet above your head and it will play itself," he remarked. Matthews' solo acoustic set contained moving takes on "Gravedigger" and "Crush." Later, he joined Buffett at the Garden for a cover of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold."

Simon and Garfunkel, one of the final acts at the Garden, where introduced by actor Paul Newman. "As tonight proves, music has a power all its own," he said. "In our most trying times, music has a healing power like a bridge over troubled water." Minutes later, Garfunkel and Aaron Neville traded verses on the aforementioned tune. "As many times as I've sung that song, I don't think it's ever meant as much to me as it does tonight," said Garfunkel.

To end the five-hour show, the Meters and the Neville Brothers struck up "When the Saints Go Marching In," and a parade of children filled the aisles. In true New Orleans fashion, it was well past midnight.

ANDY GREENE AND AUSTIN SCAGGS

Source: Rolling Stone

That's So New York

Rolling Stones pencil in another New York City show

by Jon Zahlaway

As tickets continue to move quickly for The Rolling Stones (tickets | music)' in-progress "A Bigger Bang" world tour, the group has added a second night to its January stop at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The new date, Jan. 20, follows a previously announced Jan. 18 concert at venue. Tickets for the first show are already on sale, while those for the newly announced stop are set to hit the box office on Tuesday (9/20).

The January shows will mark the group's second stop at Madison Square Garden during its current world tour, which first touched down at venue for a one-night engagement on Sept. 13.

The Stones have been on the road for about a month, and are expected to continue touring through 2006 in support of their recently released album, "A Bigger Bang," which entered the latest Billboard 200 chart at No. 3. Dates for the first leg of the group's North American tour are stacked up into early December, and a second leg is scheduled to kick off in early January.

Source: Live Daily

That's So New York

New York’s Gay Penguins Split Up (and one turns straight)

Benjamin Cohen, PinkNews.co.uk Editor

One of New York’s most famous gay couples has split up.

Silo and Roy two male chinstrap penguins have been living together as husband and husband for the past six years.

Since their relationship began, the pair have successfully hatched and raised an adopted chick, after they tried to incubate a rock.

They also inspired six other gay penguin couples at New York’s Central Park Zoo.

However, when Scrappy, a single female arrived from Sea World Zoo in San Diego, Silo’s eye went wondering and he moved out of his and Roy’s nest and moved in with Scrappy.


News

That's So New York

New York cops launch podcasting project:-

The New York City police department has added a modern touch to communications with the public, making information available for iPod users.

Commissioner Ray Kelly said the podcasts will be changed each week, and possibly more frequently, and will likely include updates on major cases and appeals to the public for help in unsolved cases.

Podcasting is a way of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet. Those without an iPod can listen to the service through their computer browser at the force's Web site at nyc.gov/html/nypd/home.

It gives us the ability to get information out quickly in another medium, Kelly told Newsday.

The first podcast this week includes information on street closings during the U.N. General Assembly, interviews with a captain about identity theft and a report from an officer sent to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

(UPI)

That's So New York

Tycoon City: New York Q&A

We talk to Deep Red Games' Development Director Paul Howarth about the ambitious Tycoon City: New York...

Boomtown: For the uninitiated please tell us a little about Tycoon City, what are its aims and who the game should appeal to?

Paul Howarth Tycoon City: New York is a 3D world building or Tycoon game where you get the chance to play out a rags-to-riches story in probably the most famous city in the world – New York. Starting from humble beginnings, you gradually build up your business and economic empire until you are, hopefully, the most powerful and respected entrepreneur in the entire city – the new Donald Trump.

As for who the game will appeal to, we have striven from the outset to make this a game that will appeal to literally everyone, to make it a truly mass-market game, even people that perhaps don’t ordinarily play games, but at the same time to not dumb it down or make it simplistic so that it retains its depth and is a constant challenge. The areas that we have focused on to achieve this are to not set any time constraints on the objectives within the game, something that alienates a lot of casual gamers as they feel overly rushed, and to remove as much of the micro-management as possible so that it isn’t daunting, something that clutters and bogs down many games in this genre.

Sandbox

How is the game structured? Is it a sandbox game or is gameplay more linear?

The game actually has both modes; a Sandbox mode with no structure and a Story mode which has a more linear structure, so the beauty of Tycoon City: New York is that it will appeal to people that prefer to play their games either way. In Sandbox mode there are no mission constraints with the entire island of Manhattan unlocked and completely open from the outset with all of the buildings, upgrades, customisations and iconic landmarks at the player’s disposal.

If you want to build the Statue of Liberty in the middle of Central Park for example as opposed to its correct location of Liberty Island then you can do so. There are no restrictions, it’s just you building and running your personal version of New York City at your leisure.

But if you prefer your games more structured and mission driven then the Story mode is for you. Here, only the district of Greenwich Village is open to you with the rest of the city locked and you must complete a set series of tasks and objectives before you can progress to further districts. As you complete each series of objectives in each district the city becomes more and more built up, and at the same time you are progressing up the league table of entrepreneurs in the city with the overall mission objective to become the number one business-person with the largest economic empire in all of New York by the end of the game. In addition, the more objectives that you successfully complete the more Landmark Bonds you will be awarded. These Bonds allow you to build likenesses of the iconic monuments of New York such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building to name but three.

Being Alert

What are the ultimate aims of the game? How does the player win?

As mentioned above the overall aim by game end is to be the number one entrepreneur in the entire city. The player is going up against 99 other AI entrepreneurs in New York, all striving for the same aim to build their empire and be number one, although the in-game ‘league table’ only visibly lists the top 10. How the player does this is by being shrewd and alert and by ascertaining what the inhabitants of a particular district are after; the right type of accommodation, certain types of retail outlets, entertainment, etc.

But each district is different and distinct from each other so it is essential you gauge the mood of the populace accurately. There are 64,000 individuals in the game, each with their own needs, desires and preferences, so you can’t just guess or approach each district in exactly the same manner.

Expensive jewellers and designer boutiques won’t work in Greenwich Village with its predominantly student and bohemian inhabitants for example, just as grungy bars and punk rock clubs won’t work in the exclusive district of Chelsea and its high-rollers with champagne tastes. If you don’t provide the people with what they want or need they will take their business elsewhere and you will be languishing near the foot of the league table and more than likely be broke. However, if you get it right and meet their needs then they will be happy, will spend their money with you enabling you to expand your empire and you will be well on your way to success.

The Smarts

How advanced is the opposition, what can we expect the AI do to compete with players?

The AI opposition won’t be noticeable to begin with; we wanted to introduce players in to the game gradually, to get them accustomed to the structure and how to navigate themselves around the game world. But as the player progresses the game AI kicks in and they will believe that what they are seeing and experiencing has sentient intelligence behind it, that they are going up against living, breathing competitors. These businesspeople are smart and ruthless, much as they would have to be in real life to have got where they have.

The further you get the more noticeable it becomes. As the city boundaries expand new land opens up along with new opportunities, and you ideally need to take on every business opportunity that presents itself because if you don’t any areas that are left untended or opportunities that aren’t taken will be developed or taken by other entrepreneurs in the city. But of course, this isn’t really a practical approach as you cannot be expected to run the entire city; it is just too vast, too expensive and would be unmanageable. So instead you must make strategic decisions to get involved in the areas where you have an interest, areas where perhaps you already have a stronghold and which you feel have a greater chance of expanding your empire economically. Whether you are being successful or not will be reflected in the league table and whether you are climbing it or being overtaken by other entrepreneurs.

New York, New York

How does the game make use of the New York setting?

Tycoon City: New York makes use of the setting by utilising the cultural and architectural diversity which makes New York such a vibrant and exciting city in real-life, exactly the reasons why we chose to set the game there. There are 12 real-life districts in the game, each of them with a distinct vibe and unique personality.

Greenwich Village and Chelsea have been touched upon in my earlier answers, but additional game examples of the city’s diversity include having to lay on the Chinese New Year in Chinatown with its markets and neon tigers & dragons hanging from buildings, organising a huge rock concert in Central Park with its wide-open tranquil spaces and placid boating lake, planning a Tickertape Parade in the Financial District with its towering skyscrapers, and arranging the Thanksgiving Day Parade with its floats and balloons in the Midtown retail district. These are all real areas of New York and actual events in the city’s calendar which makes New York arguably the greatest city in the world. You simply couldn’t dream up a better location for a Tycoon game so we didn’t!

No Restrictions

What kind of routes can people take through the game? What type of businesses can they run?

We wanted to give players as much freedom of movement in the Story mode as possible without time or mission constraints, that’s why there’s no in-game timer ticking down while you’re desperately trying to complete an objective with the dreaded ‘Game Over’ screen looming large if you fail. Even though there are a set number of objectives the player must complete in order for them to progress to the next district in the game they can tackle those objectives in any order they choose and take as much time as they like with them.

The only restriction that is in place is in the playing order of the districts, but that is purely for learning curve reasons. You have to begin the game in Greenwich Village for example, but that’s because that is where you are led through the tutorial and learn to navigate within the virtual New York. Each subsequent district has been designed so that it becomes steadily more of a challenge with new buildings, businesses and objects gradually becoming unlocked immersing the player further and further in to the game world. Once a district has been completed however, you can go back to it at any time to adjust or upgrade it in any way. If the player was simply able to randomly jump from district to district it would just unbalance the game, that’s why we implemented the Sandbox mode so anyone that did want to play like that could.

In terms of the businesses, there are literally hundreds and far too many to list here; Restaurants, bars, clubs, clothes stores, luxury goods, flower shops, taxi firms, comic-book shops, record shops, sightseeing tour operators, I could go on and on. If you can think of it chances are it’s in the game. You can also customise and upgrade them to make them look and appear as you want them to. But again, going back to my earlier point about the distinctiveness of the districts, this is typified by the businesses which I also touched upon earlier that certain businesses will only work in certain areas. Greenwich Village has a heavy student and artistic population for example so chances are businesses such as art supply stores and bookshops should do pretty well. A luxury car showroom on the other hand might struggle.

Graph? What Graph?

Getting people involved in economic simulations can be difficult; to what extent does Tycoon City give people freedom to explore the gameplay without a million figures running through their head?

That’s a very good point and one that I’m glad you raised. One of the problems that we realised early on in the development of this game which afflicts many games in the world building or Tycoon genre is the ridiculous level of micromanagement required of the player on an economic level. You are expected to immerse yourself in to a minute level of detail just to keep the game world functioning, adjusting every little thing from the price of a cup of coffee to a newspaper so as to keep your prices competitive to those of your opponent.

This soon becomes akin to spinning a large number of plates and you eventually begin to feel you are navigating a spreadsheet not playing a game! But the player usually doesn’t have a choice in the matter, the game demands that they do it or everything grinds to a halt or they lose. But let’s face it; for most of us it can be quite confusing and it’s a chore. And it’s certainly going to alienate the casual game player who doesn’t want to spend time with this ridiculous level of detail; they just want to have fun.

So from day one our mission statement for developing Tycoon City: New York was to let the game AI handle as much of this micromanagement stuff automatically in the background for the player so that they can just concentrate on the fun stuff; the building, the upgrading and customisations, making money! That’s why you won’t see any research trees and the minimum number of drop down menus in the game. We wanted the player to be able to navigate the game easily and for the menus that are present containing financial information to be legible and hopefully self-explanatory.

Summer in the City

We've seen the screens of the bustling city streets, but can you give us a flavour of the kind of screens the player will be using most. What part do those city street views play in gameplay?

I think the player will use a combination of views to play the game. For example, if you need to ascertain the requirements and desires of a cross-section of the population in a particular district to give you clues as to what types of residential buildings and businesses to introduce to the area, then you would probably use the city street view that you are referring to and seen in the screenshots. This view allows you to mouse-click on any number of individuals producing an information box on that person which is a detailed biography including their personal wants and needs. Replicate this exercise on, say, half a dozen people and you are going to start building up a profile on the area.

For constructing buildings then you’d want to use more of a pulled back view to give you an angle which takes in a far greater viewing area to ensure that you’re building has enough space on a block for example. For customising and upgrading buildings or to ascertain the requirements and desires of an entire residential dwelling by mouse-clicking on it in exactly the same way as you would an individual, then the most useful view would be somewhere in between the two. That’s the great thing about the flexibility of the in-game camera in that whatever action you are performing you will always have the optimum viewing perspective.

Spoilt for Choice

What aspects of the game are you most proud of?

I don’t think there is any one particular aspect of the game that we are most proud of, more a multitude of aspects and features that have gone towards creating not only the best game that we have ever developed but a game that we feel will be the benchmark for the Tycoon or world building genre. Tycoon City: New York has a playing area which is unprecedented in its size with AI driving it more sophisticated than any other game of its type. 64,000 individual living, breathing inhabitants each with their own wants, needs and desires.

Thousands of individual buildings and business types, thousands of vehicles filling the streets creating traffic jams in peak commuting hours exactly the same as the real New York. Full day and night cycles which is reflected in what’s going on down at street level; the streets are going to be far busier at 5 o’clock in the afternoon than at 5 o’clock in the morning for example. The most advanced graphics engine in a Tycoon game capable of displaying a bird’s eye view of the world high above the skyscrapers of the city and then with a simple scroll of the mouse wheel seamlessly zooming down to street level so that you are eye-to-eye with the inhabitants of New York with almost First Person Shooter graphical quality, and it’s 360 degree rotatable to boot.

People might look at the screenshots and think the actual game can’t look that good or detailed when you are playing it, but it really does. And of course, the one thing that can’t be conveyed in screenshots is sound. The game not only looks like New York, it sounds like New York. We took sound technicians out there and recorded everything from the sounds of fire engines with their sirens wailing, to yellow cabs honking their horns, and everything in between. All of the voice acting in the game was also performed by native New York actors. This really is as close as you can get to being in the Big Apple shy of actually being there.

Corporate HQ

Are there any things you'd like to mention here that we've not asked so far?

There are so many things that I could almost go on forever there is really that much in the game. One aspect which I will mention which is pretty cool is that as your empire business expands across the city you gradually begin to form chains of businesses. For example, you may want to create a chain of coffee shops across New York, your own version of Starbucks. After you have opened a set number of coffee shops you are then able to build your corporate headquarters; these massive buildings which form the heart of your coffee empire.

These are the only buildings that over a period of time you are able to increase their physical height with the more chains of coffee shops you open across the city. These become more and more imposing over time, gradually towering over other buildings in the area, until it reaches such a height that it is actually higher than the Empire State Building which is the tallest building in New York. This is the only type of building in Tycoon City: New York you are able to do this with and it is truly an awesome sight to behold!

Thanks for taking time to answer these questions.

Thank-you. I and the rest of the team hope your readers find it interesting and gives them an indication of what a special game we truly believe Tycoon City: New York is.

Tycoon City: New York will be available for PC in October.

Boom Town

Atari

That's So New York