Innholdsfortegnelse for September 21, 2015 i New York Magazine

1 In the last issue's cover story, Jonathan Chait argued that the world may yet avert the most feared climate outcomes (“The Sunniest Climate-Change Story You’ve Ever Read,” September 7–21). Unsurprisingly, some readers took issue with Chait's sanguine assessment. Vox's David Roberts agreed with Chait that "for the first time in my lifetime, it looks like it might be a real fight" to mitigate climate change, but he disagreed with Chait's overall optimism, in particular his assertion that "the global poor can create a future of economic growth for themselves without burning the world." "That's a lovely idea," Roberts wrote, "and I hope it's true … It is very difficult and expensive to extend the central power grid to poor people in the rural hinterlands of Africa and India ……

BILLY, A LARGE frat brother in a green shirt and white backward hat, cups his hands over his mouth and calls out: "Up next, we have a fund-raiser where we're gonna throw water balloons at Dan Backer." It's Labor Day at American University in Washington, D.C., and Backer is standing with his wife and two small boys on the edge of a group of about 25 fraternity and sorority members wearing bathing suits and jorts. "He won McCutcheon v. FEC," Billy says. "And—long story short—he is the reason campaign-finance law is what it is right now." The students respond with haphazard applause and a few boos. Backer, in a blue wicking shirt and trunks, puts on his goggles and takes a seat in a lawn chair across from the crowd.…

AS THE SUMMER OF DONALD TRUMP came to its end—and the prospect of a springtime for Trump no longer seemed like a gag—the quest to explain the billionaire's runaway clown car went into overdrive. How could a crass, bigoted bully with a narcissistic-personality disorder and policy views bordering on gibberish "defy political gravity," dominate the national stage, make monkeys out of pundits and pollsters, and pose an existential threat to one of America's two major parties? Of course, it was the news media's fault: The Washington Post charted the correlation between Trump's national polling numbers and his disproportionate press coverage. Or maybe the public was to blame: Op-ed writers dusted off their sermons about Americans' childish infatuation with celebrities and reality television. Or perhaps Trump was just the GOP's answer…

WHAT APPEAR TO BE ordinary brown socks are actually made of pure wool from the vicuña, a protected ancestor of the alpaca that lives high in the Andes and may be sheared only very rarely. To get the socks, you have to make an appointment at the Upper East Side townhouse shop VK Nagrani. But while they may be the sock to have for a certain kind of finance titan, many status objects have nothing to do with money. For a Broadway actor, it could be a tin of Swiss handmade lozenges; for a goth raver, a certain tube of black lipstick. And you can't Google the totems of these tribes, either. You have to belong. Or, in our case, you can canvas the city—for fashion designers, Italian chefs, architects,…

1975: THE ELSA PERETTI T-SHIRT: "Here we have the status joke of the summer—Elsa Peretti's stuff painted on a T ($14), front only, but then status is up front, isn't it? 1980: LAOSHAN WATER: "The latest status water is Laoshan; $1 a bottle in the Delicacies Department." 1983: DRIPPING DRAPERIES: "Arrivistes, beware … One revealing slip of the tongue—calling draperies ‘drapes,' for instance—and it could be curtains." 1995: THE VOLVO STATION WAGON: "Spiritual descendant of the VW Bug, it cries out against the soullessness of our rapacious hypermotorized culture."…

WE STARTED TO FIND little bits of it years ago, discarded ends," says Joel David Hamkins, a professor of graduate-level mathematics and philosophy at CUNY. "We gathered as many as we could and finally made out the name, Hagoromo. We realized that a Japanese visitor had been leaving behind the leftovers." It wasn't available in the U.S., and shipping costs were exorbitant. But in 2010, Robert S. Landsman, assistant program officer for CUNY's Ph.D. program in mathematics, sent out a jubilant email to faculty: A Japanese student had returned with Hagoromo for the staff. "Finally our prayers have been answered," he wrote. The limited supply was divvied up based on teaching load. "Faculty should save this chalk for use only during their most important lectures or when working on their…

CONSIDER THE TRIBECA Great Dane: three feet tall, 200 pounds, sturdy and solid as a Citi Bike, visible from an avenue away. To see a dog of this size—whether Dane or mastiff or Bernese mountain dog—is to all but see the apartment it lives in: square feet in the quadruple digits, outdoor space, maybe the keys to the Rhinebeck house nestled in an Alessi vide-poche. We might not know that dog's name, but we do know everything there is to know about the woman on the other end of that leash—not her personality or likes or dislikes or hopes or dreams, but whether she lives in a private-keyed elevator loft. Such dogs cannot be returned in the morning, nor can they be lent to a friend. They're not just a…

The Chandigarh Armchair by Pierre Jeanneret "In the '50s, Pierre Jeanneret and his cousin Le Corbusier created the capital city Chandigarh from the ground up. They were responsible for every single object. Recently, the Chandigarh Armchair has fetched high prices at Christie’s auctions, and I've sold them to clients like Kourtney Kardashian, who seems to be following Kanye's fondness for all things Chandigarh." —PATRICK PARRISH, OWNER OF THE EPONYMOUS DESIGN GALLERY … LATE 1600S THE... A TURNED ARMCHAIR "We think this chair belonged Jacobus Strijker. A family of their stature would probably have one of these chairs, for the head of the household.” —ALYCE PERRY ENGLUND, ASSISTANT CURATOR OF AMERICAN DECORATIVE ARTS AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART … 1780S A ROCOCO CHIPPENDALESTYLE ARMCHAIR "Among the upper class, tea parties…

“All the hot chefs who use wood-fired grills have a custom Grillworks grill by Ben Eisendrath: George Mendes, Seamus Mullen, Marc Murphy. Using a wood-fired grill in a restaurant is even more of a status symbol because it means you have the permit to do so, which is about as rare as a key to Gramercy Park.” —JOSH CAPON, CHEF AND PARTNER, LURE FISHBAR, BOWERY MEAT CO., EL TORO BLANCO…

… Or the Pierre, or the Plaza. … 1980S Maxim’s … 1990S The Rainbow Room … 2000S Cipriani Club 55 “People say they want offbeat places now, but the fact is these hotels will transform into anything you want, whether it’s an enchanted garden or a basketball arena.” “Maxim’s was very French. New York had not seen anything like this. It was always packed. You had to book your bar mitzvah there way, way in advance.” “So Old World, so spectacular. It is gorgeous, fabulous, wonderful. I did a ton of bar mitzvahs there.” “We did a Moroccan bat mitzvah there. We had a real camel out front. I swear. These people. You can’t make this stuff up.” —PARTY PLANNER HARRIETTE ROSE KATZ…

“Noor is close friends with aristos like Eugenie Niarchos, also a jewelry designer, and they trade each other’s stuff. Another friend, Beatrice Borromeo, just wore Noor’s earrings to her wedding. So having these earrings implies that you’re part of this group of friends.” —S.V. REPORTING BY Jason Chen, Belle Cushing, Nate Freeman, Wendy Goodman, Véronique Hyland, Crystal Martin, Rebecca Milzoff, Seth Porges, Robin Raisfeld, Trupti Rami, Margaret Rhodes, Alex Ronan, Kayleen Schaefer, Katy Schneider, Lauren Schwartzberg, Erica Schwiegershausen, Jessica Silvester, Raven Snook, Joshua David Stein, Alexis Swerdloff, and Sierra Tishgart…

“I’ve been in the city since 1996, all over, and I had always lived in older buildings. I was just tired of hiking up and down to do my laundry, cooking with old appliances, and using old bathrooms. When you live in an old building, things break and run down more quickly. You’re constantly maintaining stuff. I couldn’t stand the old air conditioner anymore, the constant rattling. The heating in the winter was even worse. I couldn’t control it. At a certain point, character goes out the window. My best friends lived in Williamsburg, so I was already semi-familiar with the area. So when I saw this building, One North Fourth , going up, I took it. I love being there. I love coming home to it. Where I used…

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ON OCTOBER 9, 1912, Pablo Picasso wrote a letter to Georges Braque, his confrère in Cubism, whom he later derided as "my wife" and who, for his part, described himself and Picasso as "two mountaineers roped together." "I am in the process of imagining a guitar," Picasso wrote—a line that still sends shivers. He went on to declare that, after their summer working together in the south of France, he was hijacking two of the biggest artistic ideas of the century: collage and three-dimensional assemblage. Both would change the landscape of art. Via collage, painting took on a more physical body, changing its spatial presence forever; assemblage did all this, too, but in even more varied materials and space, a technique so radical that it essentially remapped the boundaries of…

MOVIES 1. See Pawn Sacrifice Checkmate. In theaters. You may find Tobey Maguire mannered and robotic as the demented chess genius Bobby Fischer in this dramatization of the build-up to Fischer's 1972 world-championship match against Soviet titleholder Boris Spassky (a low-key Liev Schreiber). But clips of Fischer reveal the same mannered, robotic quality. Ed Zwick's film is not as edifying as it might be, yet he captures the absurdity of a nation pinning its hopes on a madly unattractive loon. DAVID EDELSTEIN BOOKS 2. Read Elena Ferrante’s The Story of the Lost Child Bring on the ending. Europa Editions. Ferrante's Neapolitan series, of which this is the dark, clamorous finale, is really just one four-volume novel, but its piecemeal translation has allowed the pseudonymous author's American cult to swell to…

Everybody Hates Chris It took the blue-streak-cussing Chris Rock to deliver the rare worthy Wonder Years successor, a sitcom both intelligent and cute, with a teen-boy protagonist equal parts knowing and naïve. Party Down A sublime black comedy set in L.A.’s cater-waiter trenches, about what’s left of life when your once-grand illusions are proven to be nothing more than delusions. Samantha Who? Christina Applegate’s comedic prowess as amnesia-plagued 30-year-old Samantha would’ve made her the Carole Lombard of a previous era; she capably delivers screwball and pathos in the same breath. Key & Peele The just-ended sketch show starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele was a master class on morphing normalness into ludicrousness into hilariousness. For more picks, go to Vulture.com.…

Each doctor has been peer-nominated and selected by Castle Connolly, the nation’s leading provider of information on top doctors. Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. provides Top Doctors lists for many regional publications throughout the country, including New York magazine’s “Best Doctors” issue. UROLOGY David B. Samadi, MD Robotic Prostate Surgery 485 Madison Avenue New York, NY 212-365-5000 ProstateCancer911.com SPORTS MEDICINE Jonathan L. Glashow, MD Shoulder, Knee, Arthroscopic Surgery 737 Park Avenue, New York, NY 212-794-5096 GlashowMD.com PLASTIC SURGERY John E. Sherman, MD 1016 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 212-535-2300 NYPlasticSurg.com NEUROSURGERY Ezriel E. Kornel, MD Minimally Invasive Brain & Spine Surgery 903 Park Avenue, New York, NY 646-751-7295 TopSpineSurgeonNYC.com HAND SURGERY Mark E. Pruzansky, MD Hand, Wrist & Elbow Surgery, Sports Injuries 975 Park Ave., New York, NY 212-249-8700 HandSport.us DERMATOLOGY…

Red-leaf lettuce is a nontraditional accompaniment that Sreparplarn hopes will encourage guests to make wraps and “play with their food.” Thai bird’s-eye chiles add heat. Supachana and Sreparplarn travel to a number of Queens specialty shops to source ingredients. The sour fermented pork is placed in a banana leaf and quickly grilled before serving to infuse it with leaf and charcoal aromas. Of the condiments that often go with the snack, the partners chose their personal favorites—fresh cubed ginger, shallots, and house-fried salty peanuts. After leaving Kao Soy this summer, chef Kanlaya Supachana has resurfaced at a pop-up down the street at Home/Made, whose kitchen she'll borrow for the next few months while hunting for her own place. She'll use the time to serve both…

"Small accessories—pins, patches, necklaces—are a way people try to be individual in our school. I have a Lucky Strike pin that was made for me by another student. We made the pins in class using a machine meant for actual classwork, then made a bunch of other pins for fun on our own." —OPHELIA SNIFFEN "I move the Lucky Strike pin that Ophelia and I made to every jacket I wear. And I have this patch from the movie Alien. I'm kind of a movie and sci-fi geek. I wear it on the left arm of my Carhartt jacket." —DAN CASTRANOVA "One pin I like a lot is this big one-inch button with a picture of Sarah Palin giving a thumbs-up. On top it says, ‘America, Fuck Yeah!’ " —SOPHIA…

’90s Memorial Tees “Featuring Aaliyah, Kurt Cobain, Notorious B.I.G., and other deceased rappers and musicians. This shirt was a very popular limited-quantity run produced right after Cobain’s death in 1994—and arguably the most sought-after from that era.” —BRIAN PROCELL, OWNER OF THE PROCELL SHOP ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE Polo Ralph Lauren Snow Beach Jacket “Worn by Raekwon in the 1994 ‘Can It Be All So Simple’ video, it’s a piece that brings up a nostalgia for a time when it was still dangerous to walk the streets of New York dressed well. Its rarity—Ralph Lauren never rereleased it—plays into the hype, with jackets going for thousands of dollars when they show up on eBay.” —DALLAS PENN, POLO COLLECTOR Set of Six Magazines “Six, Comme des…

Burning Man · Four Seasons, Beverly Hills · Chateau Marmont · The Broad Museum · The Peninsula Beverly Hills · Sunset Tower Hotel · Briermere Farms · Affton, Missouri (his home state) · Dollywood · Blackberry Farm, Tennessee · Southampton · Il San Pietro di Positano hotel · The Berkshires · Kensington Palace Garden · Wimbledon Tennis Club · Hotel Le Bristol · Caviar Kaspia · Gardens of the Musée Rodin · Palais Brongniart · The Surf Lodge · Austin · Garage Museum, Moscow · Le Sereno, St. Barts · Colombier Beach, St. Barts · Four Seasons, Florence · Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc · Cannes · Palais Bulles de Pierre Cardin · Palm Springs · Sunset Tower Hotel · Las Vegas · Scarsdale Golf Club · Icebergs, Bondi Beach, Sydney ·…

The Canned Tomatoes for Dyker Heights Nonna s: Sclafani "The nonnas in the neighborhood buy cases at a time of Sclafani tomatoes—whole peeled and crushed, for making Sunday red sauce, not meat sauce. They get very angry if they're out of stock; I always keep a few extra cases on reserve in the basement." —NICK PESCE, CO-OWNER OF LA BELLA MARKETPLACE The Canned Tomatoes for Italian Chefs: Il Miracolo di San Gennaro "It's like the difference between fresh-made pasta and Ronzoni. They're not available at most stores, so you have to know about them. Gustiamo is the only distributor for them, which makes them precious like a small gem." —EDOARDO MANTELLI, CHEF-OWNER OF SARAGHINA…

1 The shifting economy abroad may have shrunk their audience. The ruble has weakened. The euro's shaky. And then there's China: "The China buyers have already bought their $50 million apartments," says Noah Rosenblatt of UrbanDigs—it's unclear if many more will follow. 2 Even for the megarich, these prices are just too damn high. It's a different calculus investing in real estate with $30 million condos being the norm, according to analytics firm Reis's chief economist, Victor Calanog. He adds that "there are other areas that are clamoring for the attention of the superrich." 3 Which means the prices will likely drop. Though there are 480 properties asking $10 million or more in the city right now, numbers can deceive. Some make the big ask just for the cachet. According…

IN THE FILM Legend, which opens this fall, Tom Hardy plays the infamous English gangster Reggie Kray as well as his English-gangster brother, Ronnie. One day during filming, Hardy received a visit from Freddie Foreman, who is himself acquainted with criminal infamy. Foreman, now 83, was an alleged hit man for the real-life Krays (nickname: "Brown Bread Fred"). And Foreman had met Hardy back in 2008 when the actor was preparing for a different film, Bronson. As it happened, on the day Foreman visited the Legend set, the scene they were shooting—one in which members of a rival gang visit the Krays at a pub—re-created an event at which Foreman had been present in real life. After chatting for a bit, Hardy excused himself—he had to get into his Ronnie…

A Broadway actress, described as the whitest person at her own Whitey McWhite party, teaches a classroom of black men at a high-security prison. But the setup doesn't go where you expect it to in Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott's Whorl Inside a Loop. Scott, as she has proved in works like Everyday Rapture, is not afraid of portraying herself in a highly unflattering light. In Whorl, she's so hilariously wrapped up in herself that even her attempts to satirize her narcissism come off as narcissistic. But the self-mocking chuckle that accompanies her nervous jokes eventually signals full-out bad faith. By the time she begins theatricalizing the prisoners' narratives for her own show ("assimilating," she says), you want to call the cops. You don't want to send her away,…

When you watch Donald Trump run for president, do you see an entertainer? Well, I don't think anybody would pay money to go see him in a theater. I know I wouldn't. I think of him as a reality-show entertainer. And now he's converted celebrity television shows into politics. American President instead of American Idol. And that’s what accounts for his popularity? He's not pretending American politics is anything other than theater. Why has that been such a problem for the other Republican candidates? Oh, because they look fake! Fake and puny. He looks honest and strong. He's not honest, not compared to any other human being on the planet. But compared to the other Republican candidates? And most of the Democratic ones? He is honest. Plus, Trump is a…

MARGARET CHIN First Chinese-American councilperson to represent lower Manhattan, elected in 2009. "The preservation of affordable housing is important. But we're also looking at fixing up our parks and open space. It's just amazing how immigrant families cope with space. Nowadays, there's a lot of sharing of apartments and multiple families living in tiny spaces, so the park is like their living room. On summer nights, people sit out there and talk to their friends because they don't have space in their own home." ERIC NG President of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, which oversees the interests of some 60 family associations and other nonprofits. "Most people now coming from Fujian cannot afford to buy houses in Flushing or Brooklyn. And so, when the Chinese move into an apartment in…

ANDREW CHAPIN, Law-School Counselor What a wonderful beard. People are so outrageous: Total strangers will come up to me on the street and just grab it. I've had it long like this for the past three years—the older I get, the more comfortable I am with being unusual. Where are you from? Born and raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where I had great success as a child actor. I was a spitting image of a young Ron Howard. I did commercials for Schwinn, Sears, an aluminum-siding company, the truckers' union. I had a fan club in Cleveland. Did you keep on acting? I did. I moved here to do theater while working as a cater waiter. At 33, I realized that you have to live to act; it was…

STATUS HAS NEVER been strictly about money. Think of Lily Bart's initial distaste for wealthy Simon Rosedale, whose deep-pocketed "smart London clothes" couldn't change his last name into something acceptable for the social register. It's a truth that's both democratic and not: Status is often acquired without cash, which can make it even more difficult to possess. It's a secret handshake, whether in the form of the fresh jonquils and candied cherries of Wharton's era or the ramp capers that locavore chefs clamor for today. And in a sense, those totems have become more secretive than ever. Perhaps as a reaction to our new age of relentless peacocking—to all the posting with fabulous geo-tags and just-right accoutrements at the outside edges of the frame—people have gotten more subtle at signifying…

An Olfa Blade “Carrying one implies that you’re fabricating the projects yourself; you’re embedded in the whole process start to finish.” —ALEKSEY LUKYANOV-CHERNY, SITU STUDIO A Ted Muehling Necklace “They’re coveted among my colleagues—people who want to be considered to have a high level of sophistication.” —SUSANNAH DRAKE, DLANDSTUDIO An Issey Miyake Bao Bao Bag “It’s highly structured with articulated joints; intuitively attractive for female architects.” —HAYES SLADE, SLADE ARCHITECTURE Shwood Glasses “Wooden frames represent this return to natural representations, the perception of authenticity.” —AMIR SHAHROKHI, SHOP ARCHITECTS…

THE BEACON SCHOOL Not Wearing a Bra “It’s a way for feminists here to show they don’t care what anyone thinks of them.” —ALMA BRADLEY, JUNIOR FIELDSTON Cartier Love Bracelets “Kids are more reluctant to be showy at school, so you see these bracelets more on Instagram, or when people go out. You’ll see a lot of girls making a point to make the bracelet visible on Instagram.” —SARAH HIRSCHFIELD, SENIOR DALTON Free City Sweatpants “Girls will wear them around finals. It kind of has that ‘I just rolled out of bed’ look, but these pants cost like $150.” —ARIA DASBACH, SENIOR LA GUARDIA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS Yumiko Leotards “Everyone wants these—they make your figure look longer and the fabric feels nice, and they are really expensive.” —XENIA NELSON,…

Van Cleef Alhambra Earrings “The designs are all nature-oriented; the ladies love that.” Chanel Tweed Jacket “Always.” Tiffany’s Stationery “With just the name up top and the address on the envelope.” Havanese Dog “Small, but they have a big-dog personality.” Estée Lauder Moisturizer “Evelyn was on our board, so it would always appear in goody bags and such.” Lexus SUV “You’re up higher, so you get to see everything. It’s not too fancy, and it’s reliable.” —GILLIAN MINITER, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CURRENT MEMBER OF THE WOMEN’S COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY…

The Pony “From Dr. Betsee Parker. These are super-well trained and well bred. They win everything. It’s like a golden ticket.” The Farm “Heritage Farm in Katonah. You can find Betsee Parker ponies here. They’re a baby-rider factory.” The Jacket “Custom Charles Ancona.” The Monogram “From Personally Preppy; on your helmet, boots, spur straps.” —A FORMER HUNTER-PONY RIDER…

MASSIVE BUILDINGS 550 VANDERBILT AVE., PROSPECT HEIGHTS On the market: June. Apt. 621; studio $625,000 The Corcoran Group The debut condo to be built in Pacific Park (the area formerly known as Atlantic Yards), a 22-acre development. Eventually, 15 buildings will go up here; this 17-story structure is the first of three planned condos and will launch 278 apartments out of the gate. 40-26 COLLEGE POINT BLVD., FLUSHING On the market: Fall. This is the second phase of the Sky View Parc development—the project will total 800 apartments by the time the third condo rises. Amenities include a private club with a swimming pool. 111 MURRAY ST. On the market: June. This 800-foot tower has architects and designers Kohn Pedersen Fox, David Mann, David Rockwell, and Edmund Hollander working together.…

THE SOUTH BRONX Since Mayor Bloomberg’s 2006 South Bronx Initiative rezoned wide swaths of the area and refreshed streets, parks, and subway stations, developers have converged on the South Bronx and its surroundings. In the past two years, 62 residential-project permits have been filed; that could lead to thousands of new apartments. Big-name developers like the Related Companies—which paid $66 million for a Castle Hill rental—and the Chetrit Group (which, with Somerset Partners, reportedly paid $26.5 million for a waterfront site) have arrived. ST. GEORGE AND STAPLETON, STATEN ISLAND All the planned activity by the waterfront (a hotel-rentals-and-restaurants cluster called Lighthouse Point, an outlet mall, an observation wheel) has meant that there are now 160 buildings in the works along the northern shores of the island, including BFC Partners’ 475…

IT’S NOT UNTIL we're at the bottom of the 30-foot ladder, necks craned up at the bright West Texas sky, that Eileen Myles casually mentions that she's afraid of heights. The rusty ladder is the only way to get to our destination, an old spring-fed railroad tank off a ranch road. Myles recently bought a small stucco house in Marfa, about 20 miles from here, and splits her time between rural Texas and the East Village apartment she's lived in for four decades. Fortunately, the 65-year-old poet doesn't seem inclined to let fear slow her down. She grips the railing and begins clambering up. Once at the top, she drops into the water and emerges wearing a broad, satisfied grin. Four decades into a writing career spent decidedly and defiantly…

WHEN MUPPETS CREATOR Jim Henson died in May 1990, it wasn't just Kermit the Frog who lost his voice; it was his whole enterprise. The Jim Henson Company has struggled ever since to recapture the magic—or at least to remain a viable entertainment brand. A big part of the problem was that word, brand: More than any other set of lovable characters, the Muppets never felt like a product. Between them, Henson and his puppeteer partner, Frank Oz, provided the voices of Kermit, Dr. Teeth, Rowlf, Waldorf, and the Swedish Chef (Henson), and Animal, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and Sam the Eagle (Oz). And they acted them, too, hoisting lovingly crafted creations over their heads. The effect was less like a constellation of salable characters than a repertory company of…