OK, we're putting a stop to this viral ad campaign right here, right now. Here's how it breaks down:

• "Richard Nouveau" is the pretend persona created by realty broker Urban Hostess to sell their Pocket Change lifestyle newsletter.

• Previously, "Nouveau" faked a prank that he'd responded to 100 women's J-Date listings and intended to stand them up en masse.

• Earlier this week, BlogNYC received a tip that someone was passing out flyers in front of the Time Life building that claimed "Nouveau," now a "developer," was pressing to rename the stretch of 50th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues.

• Today, BlogNYC runs photos of the flyers, posted in the windows of credulous local businesses. The flyers are actually from a group supposedly opposing "Nouveau's" attempt to change the street name (to "Richard Nouveau Ct."). The group, "Concerned Citizens for Change," has a suspiciously well-designed though content-free website with prose that runs a bit too purple for your average advocacy group.

• The chairman, president, and co-founder of "Concerned Citizens for Change" is listed as "Rose A. Goldstein." This is also the contact name listed in the site's domain name registration; site details are different from those for Pocket Change et al, though they use the same registrar and nameserver. Could be coincidence.

• Except that the phone number given for "Rose A. Goldstein" is a cell phone registered to one Michael Orell — who happens to be the "managing director of creative operations" for Urban Hostess.

The end.

Richard Nouveau Resurfaces [BlogNYC]

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