Slow Repairs at Plane-Crashed Building Inspire Fretting

Even though more than a month has passed since Yankee relief pitcher Cory Lidle fatally crashed his plane into the Belaire apartment highrise on the Upper East Side, the trauma continues:

The crash has left several people without homes for the holidays because of fire or water damage in 70 of the building's 130 apartments. Owners have fretted over repairs, insurance policies and property values. Industrial air filters have rumbled in the hallways at all hours. Contractors have monopolized elevators.

The humanity. Elevators monopolized. Filters rumbling. Owners fretting! "There is no protection for people in high-rises," complains one aggrieved elderly resident who had been marooned in the post-crash building after Mayor Bloomberg told reporters that it had already been evacuated. Levitating rescue robots for rich people are reportedly still under development. More »

HOWTO: Feed Off the Dead Without Appearing Unseemly

Of course, it would take a marketing flack named David Berkowitz to offer guidance on squeezing dollars from death while dodging questions of bad taste. After noting that some online advertisers pushed to grab keyword searches for "Cory Lidle" merchandise after Lidle's plane crash, placing targeted ads for Lidle/Yankee products next to content discussing his death ("That may or may not be offensive."), Berkowitz goes on to cite several cases of high-dollar Lidle merch for sale immediately post-crash. He concludes, "That can, at least in my book, justify some advertising even after a tragedy; the consumers have spoken." If anything, Berkowitz faults outlets like eBay for insufficient enthusiasm when cashing in on Lidle's death, dismissing their Lidle ads as "too generic." He tries very hard to coin the phrase "ghoulish boom" for this effect, and we might approve if it didn't represent turning a negative into a positive with no shame whatsoever (see also "viral marketing"). More »

Owner of Apartment Hit by Lidle Plane Has Misfortunate History

Sometimes, the gods are tired of whispering that you should get the hell out of New York, and they raise their voices a bit — not once, but twice. Turns out that Kathleen Caronna, whose apartment bedroom was destroyed by the impact of Cory Lidle's plane, was also the same woman nearly killed by a rampaging six-story Cat in the Hat balloon during the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving parade. (Not to be confused with the rampaging M&M balloon during the 2005 parade.) Caronna was in a coma for a month, though she eventually recovered and won an undisclosed but no doubt handsome settlement from Macy's. In a stroke of luck — or at least, less bad luck — Caronna wasn't home during the plane crash, though she was en route there. Perhaps it's time for a nice home in the country, with no tall buildings, aircraft, or parades. More »

$1.5 Million Payout Decided by Who Piloted Cory Lidle's Plane

While there's still no evidence that Yankees relief pitcher Cory Lidle was committing suicide when his plane crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise, the still unresolved (or at least unannounced) issue of who was piloting the plane (either Lidle or his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, pictured above) will have significant financial consequences for Lidle's family. Much like the Phillies' draconian contract penalties for engaging in high-risk activities, there's a caveat in the death benefit plan under which Lidle was covered via the players' union. Lidle's family would normally receive $1.5 million in the event of his accidental death — unless said accident occurred during aircraft travel where Lidle was "acting in any capacity other than as a passenger." Something to bear in mind for those professional ballplayers moonlighting as flight attendants. More »

"This Is a Country That Likes to Move On, and Fast"

Taken yesterday near the 72nd Street building where Yankee Cory Lidle crashed his plane, the photo of these playful, privileged schoolboys evokes another image: More »

Lidle Crash: 'AM New York' Gets Results

This is from a letter printed in AM New York this morning. Take about having your finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist! We're have no idea who Stanley Saji of Brooklyn is, but we're pretty sure you don't want to get on his bad side. More »

Plane Crash: 'Post' Just Can't Resist

It's a tough call as to whether or not this is worse than ESPN's "Lidle, Munson share a connection" (um, yeah), but, at the very least, it certainly out-tackies the News' More »

Ex-Teammate on Lidle: 'Just Wants to Fly and Gamble'

More on the crash of Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle's plane on the Upper East Side: Deadspin finds this photo of Lidle and his plane, and a quote from his former teammate, Arthur Rhodes, who had this to say about Lidle after he was traded to the Yanks in July: "The only thing Cory Lidle wants to do is fly around in his airplane and gamble. He doesn't have a work ethic." More »