Gawker: this means war

The Dogs Will Replace The Babies That Replaced The Gays

Joshua Stein — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:45:09 EDT

It's the fight this city's been waiting for: Pups against the children. Who will win the battle of cuddliness? Times culture-war reporter Alex Mindlin braves the Manichean battlelines on the future of West Village's Seravalli Playground. Neighborhood arrivistes want a dog run installed for their bichons and puggles to run free in; parents want more play space for their Bugaboo toddlers. A recent community meeting served as their Waterloo.

Both sides showed up in force at a community meeting Monday, where the tone was set by a neon-green hand-lettered poster that read, "Keep Our Park Dog-Free." Sydney Diaz, 2, painstakingly colored in the letters, while her mother, Nancy Lublin, chatted with other parents amid a tangle of strollers.
"I think the dog owners just arrived," Ms. Lublin said, gesturing with a slice of pizza toward the front of the room. "They're the people over there, who don't have spit-up on them."

We just can't wait for Chelsea's pigeon v. monkey wars.

A Park Eyes Its Future and Hears a Few Growls [NYT]

Hamptons-Related Transportation Crisis!

Choire — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:20:18 EDT

Perhaps you needn't skip out of work early—the LIRR Jamaica hub is going up in flames. It's probably just The Warriors v. the Gramercy Riffs. Still, maybe do not take the 1:39 to Montauk, Hamptons brats! And maybe not the 2:35 to Sayville, lazy Fire Island gays!

The Warriors Of Katonah Take On Martha Stewart

Choire — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:40:07 EDT

We love how Katonah, New York, is going "back to its roots" now that Martha Stewart is trying to brand it as her own for a product line. Umm, actual Katonah is only like 110 years old, because "Old Katonah" flooded and they had to start over. Anyhoo, this rich history won't be mangled by Martha! Today's Page Six notes that local songwriter Marc Black has taken up folksinging to stop Martha. We think he's gonna get the job done, right?

When Publicists Attack

Choire — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:35:33 EDT

At the highest echelons of New York's public relations world, a war over clients and status and staff is being waged. And then there's this war too: a dust-up between 5W president Ronn Torossian and the black sheep of the Rubenstein PR dynasty, Richard Rubenstein. Things we can learn from the following email exchange between the two: Richard Rubenstein has been trying to poach from Ronn. Richard's dad, New York's PR kingpin Howard Rubenstein, apparently once sued Ronn. (We can't find a record of that in a quick search, but would love to see it, if it's true.) Finally, after he destroys them all, Ronn is willing to give Richard and Steven Rubenstein jobs at his company. Aww, isn't that sweet! Also: Very unlikely! Enjoy the saber-rattling!

From: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 6:28 PM
To: Richard Rubenstein
Subject: YOUR RECRUITOR

Richard:

Your office and recruiter have tried to poach numerous people from here this week - 4 seperately have come to me... If you'd like to get into a pissing march over staff, we are now twice your size and am comfortable with it.

I'd appreciate you advising your folks to stay away from here... or if you'd prefer let them target our folks, and I personally will stand outside your office to recruit your folks in response...

Ronn D. Torossian
President & CEO

***

From: Richard Rubenstein
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:08 PM
To: Ronn Torossian
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

Ronn,

Please do not threaten me. Feel free to stand outside my door anytime you'd like to. I'm happy to talk about this with you next week but I will under no circumstances be threatened by you. Bullying tactics will not help you when dealing with me.

Dictated, not read

RR/lc

***

From: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:05 PM
To: Richard Rubenstein
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

Wonderful then. Its on. I welcome the war. Just remember you guys began it.

Ronn D. Torossian
President & CEO
5W Public Relations

***

From: Richard Rubenstein
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:13 PM
To: Ronn Torossian
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

Do me a favor, Ronn. Please spare me your childish responses and of course remember that I am more than happy and prepared to litigate with you over the slightest infraction or defamatory statement that relates to my business. I hope you have a qualified attorney and it will be expensive. You can still call me Monday if you'd like.

Dictated, not read

RR/lc

***

From: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:11 PM
To: Richard Rubenstein
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

I would love a lawsuit with you.... not an issue.... doesnt scare me at all - Fighting with the old shop in town has only been good for my business so far, hasnt it ?

You can just have your people stop targeting my firm. The exchange which began this was a courtesy email... remember all that - I asked you not to target my agency. You said no. Fine... now dont get upset.

And BTW, I'll still pay for your dad's retirement.

***

From: Richard Rubenstein
To: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Fri Jun 29 19:27:17 2007
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

If you can afford a lawsuit that's fine with me. Your note borders on harassment and the tone is threatening. I think you might want to consult with your new director of HR, Jane Waldman first.

Dictated, not read

RR/lc

***

From: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:26 PM
To: Richard Rubenstein
Subject: Re: YOUR RECRUITOR

I can damn well afford a lawsuit. Ask your dad when he sued me.....but I wouldn't want adam mazur doing my press in this lawsuit....

Fighting daddys boy of the old school agency is only good for my business.....

We have 85 people and 13 million in revenue...I can afford the lawsuit......and welcome and relish the battle with you.

***

From: Ronn Torossian
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:28 PM
To: Richard Rubenstein
Subject: Re: YOUR RECRUITOR

And yes, the tone should threaten you. I am going to target your business and do my best to continue growing...even with daddys name once he goes you and steven can come work as senior account execs for me.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

***

From: Richard Rubenstein
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:32 PM
To: Ronn Torossian
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

Relax and have a nice weekend, Ronn. Call me Monday if you'd like.

Dictated, not read

RR/lc

***

From: Richard Rubenstein
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:34 PM
To: Ronn Torossian
Subject: RE: YOUR RECRUITOR

Great response for the record.

Dictated, not read

RR/tc

JJ Abrams Is Next To Blow Up New York

Choire — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 17:54:31 EDT

Not content to let Roland Emmerich and various crazed fundamentalists do all the destroying of New York, it seems JJ Abrams, creator of "Lost" and "Felicity," has thrown his hat in the ring with a mysterious unnamed film. Previews for the flick are being shown before "Transformers" and it will open in January, 2008. (N.B. "Transformers" is, strictly speaking, the most awesome movie of our generation.) In the pirated cellphone version of the preview, I particularly enjoyed what looks like Roma Torre of NY1 bringing news of the destruction. Because that's how it's going to happen for real. One second, you're trading anal sex for an iPhone—the next, Roma Torre is bringing on the bad news and then one of the spikes from the Statue of Liberty has impaled you and your cat and pinned you both to an Ikea bookshelf so that you might count out your last empty stupid minutes together, both your glazed, soon-dull eyes reflecting only Roma and her sensible, sensible hair.

Mysterious J.J. Abrams Trailer Confounds Audiences Looking For Hard, Michael Bay-Style Answers [Defamer]
Cloverfield [Aint It Cool]

Yale Prof Defends Baldwin Temptress, Decency, Ownership

Doree Shafrir — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:50:16 EDT

From Yale English professor Bill Deresiewicz, teacher of the students who wrote about their encounters with Alec Baldwin:

Okay, I've seen your new post about this. You might have done the classy thing, or at least the adult thing (speaking of adults), and managed to print my statement without having to make snide remarks about me—one that confuses decency with paternalism, another that repeats an old insult levelled by one or two out of the many hundreds of students I've taught, many of whom will tell you that I'm one of the favorite professors they've ever had—but I suppose that if you started doing the classy thing, or even the adult thing, you'd have to take down the entire site. Or even the legal thing, come to think of it: I also notice that you still haven't said anything about how the original post violates the copyright of the two student-authors in question.

Now how about posting this?

Okay!

Eric Alterman Catfights With Ana Marie Cox

abalk2 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:54:12 EDT

Apparently it wasn't all moist eggs and cherry blossoms (or Julia Allison having sex with Henry Kissinger) at John McLaughlin's post-White House Correspondent's Dinner brunch. There was also a heated discussion between Time.com Political Editor (and, yes, Wonkette editor emeritus) Ana Marie Cox, and Nation columnist Eric Alterman, who is best known for being the living embodiment of the kind of smug liberal condescension that has won the Democratic party a whopping two out of the last seven elections. Cox confronted Alterman about recent comments he had made concerning Time's recent hirings, specifically, the hiring of Cox.

A sputtering Alterman backtracked that he had no issue with Cox, and that it was more of a desire to see more liberal voices in the magazine. When Cox countered that there were plenty of recent stories that could be viewed as taking a skeptical view of the administration, Alterman said something about opinion columns being more important to him than reportage. Cox said that she had been one of the voices calling for greater coverage of the U.S. Attorney firings, and Alterman said, "Well, your role at the magazine—" only to be quickly cut off by Cox's acid, "Oh, yes, Eric, do tell me what my role at the magazine is."

This caused Alterman to launch into a spiral of name-dropping ("my good friend Rick Stengel") that culminated in this classic: "As my good friend [John] Huey said to me at Jim [Kelly]'s party for Walter [Isaacson]...." At this point, any correspondents who were still around crept silently to the bar, cursing their decision not to stay home and watch the NBA playoffs. —balk

Moist Eggs and Cherry Blossoms [NYO]

Glenn Greenwald Is So Right It Hurts

Choire — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:23:12 EDT

Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald has nearly every quality I like in a man: he's pretty, smarter than me, righteous, and he hates both that Washington Post ass Richard Cohen and Gawker. Glenn's crusade against The Politico—they're in bed with Matt Drudge (Mmm! Tasty!) and their barrier-to-print is too low and therefore error-full—has become a war against the shallow right-wing internets newspaper-destroying conspiracy of which we are a part!

According to Glenn, there is a war on overseas! This is no time for "The Gawker cool guy" [Ed Note: Hasten Doree's gender transformation] to be shallow and petty about how The Politico is destroying everything the First Amendment holds dear. Cynicism is the end of us!

Has he been to New York City lately? If he had, he would know just how seriously we in Manhattan take the permanent war of on terror. Hedge-funders are donating significant portions of their bonuses for the war effort, he should know! And also Graydon Carter's Waverly Inn has a little canister by the front door where Bono and Marc Jacobs may slip in their change for our boys overseas.

Conde Nast magazines are putting models in fatigues this season! Lower East Side victory gardens everywhere!

He's right though that things are so very serious down in D.C. among the press folk. Just ask all the serious newspaper men yucking it up with George Bush and dancing with Dick Cheney. Mission accomplished! Fuck yeah!

Also according to Glenn, Wonkette invented the internet. Okay, welcome!

Anyway, how dare The Politico talk to Matt Drudge? Glenn has found proof in Matt's "developing!" whatnots about forthcoming Politico stories of "active communication between Politico and Drudge." Umm, yes. They IM or email links and teasers to Matt. Tons of newspapers do it. AP writers do it. It's easy! Salon should try it sometime—maybe Salon CEO Joan Walsh would stop harassing her staff about traffic.

And as for Politico's couple of bed-shitting stories, what happened when Ben Smith faceplanted on the Edwards-is-out story? He wrote an apology. Twice. And as for their "pernicious" dissemination of talking points against Obama—well, the campaign has made rookie mistakes. (He could ask some of the donors they tried to recruit early from Edwards and Team Clinton and then immediately scared off.)

Errors happen. Like, in Salon:

The March 6 story "The Private War of Women Soldiers" originally included the following statement from National Guard soldier Demond Mullins: "Rapes were happening every night ... Married men were doing it, everyone." Mullins says that he misspoke and was also misunderstood by the reporter. The statement has been deleted.

And:

The Feb. 15 column "Libby's Cynical Defense" mistakenly stated that NBC's Tim Russert testified that Libby had given him information about Valerie Plame. In fact, he testified that he and Libby had not discussed Plame at all. The column has been corrected. [Correction made 2/15/07]

That last must have rankled, given that Plame-world was Glenn's own specialty. So we reiterate, at the risk of sounding like a Dr. Bronner's soap label: All one! One of us! Salon too! One of us! Let's make out! —Choire

Frank Bruni Declares War on Balthazar, Us

Joshua Stein — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:30:05 EDT

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni launched a fierce mortar attack at Keith McNally's mainstay Balthazar today on his Diner's Journal, citing inexcusable risotto, overcooked chicken, chaos (CHAOS!) and discomfort as casus belli.

But how's the actual experience of it? I stopped by in a gearing-up-for-Morandi mood and frame of mind, and on this visit — and do I emphasize it was just one visit — I didn't have such a wonderful time at all...Inexcusable risotto. I mean bad. Really bad.

Not a wonderful time AT ALL? Them's fightin' words, Commodore Bruni. And pursuant to Article 2 Paragraph 4 of the Gawker Media LLC-Balthazar Non-Aggression Treaty of 2006, (signed over a nice Pouilly Fuiss and steak frites), we have no choice to take this as a belligerent act of aggression against Gawker.

Don't you know, FB, that 90% of Gawker's wheeling-and-dealing happens on those chairs you deride as spindly? Or that without the Balthazar bread basket, Denton deflates like a leaky bouncy castle, taking hordes of screaming kids with him?—Josh

Back to Balthazar [Diner's Journal]

YouTube Hurts Songwriters, Kittens

Choire — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:49:55 EDT

A lot of the arguing we're hearing both in the real world and inside our heads about the Viacom-YouTube lawsuit has to do with Viacom's claim of damage to authors, songwriters, and other magical unicorns. You know, the little people! Without getting all up in the merits of the case at all, not being all J.D.-burdened (unlike the folks of the Huffington Post, where law degrees and great racks go hand in hand, or hand in something), this is still where we get stuck on the argument. Really? 90-second clips of funny people on YouTube don't actually help them make more money by making them more famous, and therefore making their products more likely to be consumed? For sure now? So we're hoping that Viacom actually gets to argue that old copyright sawhorse for its billlliooon dollars.

Previously: SueTube: Viacom Will See YouTube In Court, Unless It's Just Another Negotiating Ploy, Which It Probably Is.

SueTube: Viacom Will See YouTube In Court, Unless It's Just Another Negotiating Ploy, Which It Probably Is

abalk2 — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:34:15 EDT

Here we go! Viacom, which has been "negotiating" with YouTube for months in an attempt to protect its valuable clips of foul-mouthed cartoon children and crank-calling pieces of felt, has upped the ante in its battle with the Google property. They're suing the fuck out of them, Kurt Eichenwald style! Full memo after the jump. This one's gonna be good, we can feel it.

TO: All Viacom Employees FROM: Philippe Dauman DATE: March 13, 2007 As you already know, Viacom has spent months trying to come to an agreement with Google and YouTube in order to provide our popular video content on the YouTube platform. Unfortunately, they refused to negotiate a reasonable licensing offer. Instead, YouTube continues to take no responsibility for airing copyrighted content, and selling advertising against it. None of this advertising is shared with us, and despite many promises, Youtube has not taken any significant steps to keep our creative works off the site and no timetable has been set.
Therefore, today Viacom has brought action in U.S. District Court against Google and YouTube in order to protect our creative works from their continuing and intentional infringement, and to be compensated for the significant past infringement of our copyrights, which resulted in damages in excess of $1 billion.
The decision to take this step was thoughtfully considered by our entire management team and our Board of Directors. We had hoped and expected that Google and YouTube would voluntarily comply with the law, and would respect the creativity and hard work of the people whose imagination, effort and investment created some of the most popular entertainment on their platform. We have continued at our expense to take down our content from YouTube but have seen no significant movement from Google or YouTube to rectify this untenable situation.

As always, I greatly appreciate all your continued good work and support. The attached press release describes today's announcement in more detail.

###

VIACOM FILES FEDERAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT COMPLAINT AGAINST YOUTUBE AND GOOGLE
Suit Seeks Court Ruling to Require YouTube and Google
to Comply With Copyright Laws and Pay $1 Billion in Damages

NEW YORK, March 13, 2007 - Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) today announced that it has sued YouTube and Google in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for massive intentional copyright infringement of Viacom's entertainment properties. The suit seeks more than $1 billion in damages, as well as an injunction prohibiting Google and YouTube from further copyright infringement. The complaint contends that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom's programming have been available on YouTube and that these clips had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.
In connection with the filing, Viacom released the following statement:

"YouTube is a significant, for-profit organization that has built a lucrative business out of exploiting the devotion of fans to others' creative works in order to enrich itself and its corporate parent Google. Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws. In fact, YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site, thus generating significant traffic and revenues for itself while shifting the entire burden - and high cost - of monitoring YouTube onto the victims of its infringement.

This behavior stands in stark contrast to the actions of other significant distributors, who have recognized the fair value of entertainment content and have concluded agreements to make content legally available to their customers around the world.

There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process. This is value that rightfully belongs to the writers, directors and talent who create it and companies like Viacom that have invested to make possible this innovation and creativity.

After a great deal of unproductive negotiation, and remedial efforts by ourselves and other copyright holders, YouTube continues in its unlawful business model. Therefore, we must turn to the courts to prevent Google and YouTube from continuing to steal value from artists and to obtain compensation for the significant damage they have caused."

About Viacom
Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands. Engaging its audiences through television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom seeks to reach its audiences however they consume content. Viacom's leading brands include the multiplatform properties of MTV Networks, including MTV: Music Television, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, and more than 130 networks around the world, as well as digital assets such as MTV.com, comedycentral.com, VSPOT, TurboNick, Neopets, Xfire and iFilm; BET Networks; Paramount Pictures; DreamWorks; and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.

Dispatch From The Gossip Wars

abalk2 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:28:50 EDT

Weren't we supposed to see a diminishing of hostilities at this point in the conflict? It hasn't turned out that way. After a blistering early morning attack by the establishment forces, Moktada al-Roshan's scrappy band of Radar insurgents have responded with a surprise strike of their own. Ba'ar Koveesee, the tactical genius of the Maerdi army, just launched the following retort, aimed at the heart of the government's Koran al-Steindler.

[W]e're sorry we couldn't help you out last summer, when you asked one of us if we could get you a job here, or even some freelance work. To be honest, based on your poorly-written, error-prone work at Jossip, we really didn't think you were qualified. But things worked out for you just fine, right?

Even as the Sixers struggled to cope with the blast, the following aftershock was delivered: "Nice job recognizing our photo editor Greg Garry's voice. Guess all that time you spent answering his phone at Budget Living really paid off, huh?" This devastating blow has shattered the fragile hopes of those who thought a cessation of violence might be imminent. From New York, where the bombs are falling, we're Gawker.

Confidential to Corynne Steindler [Radar]
Earlier: Page Six No Longer On Team Maer

Bounty On Bruni Continues To Grow

abalk2 — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:10:25 EST

In covering the recent Jeffrey Chodorow-Frank Bruni feud, The New Yorker's Lauren Collins reported that "Chodorow said that his next restaurant will have a Pacific Northwest theme, and added that he was offering a trip to Seattle to any employee who blocks Bruni from its premises." Today's Post ups the ante, as Braden Keil quotes the disgruntled restaurateur:"I'm telling my staff that the first person to recognize Bruni at any of my restaurants will be given a free trip for two to the Caribbean." Whether this change of prize is a result of confused reporting or merely bluster on Chodorow's part (calls to all parties involved were unmade as of our post time) we look forward to the inevitable moment when Jeffrey declares that "I will buy a villa in Tuscany for the first person who brings me Frank Bruni's giant midsection on a platter."

KOBE BEEF [NYer]
Hunt the Critic [NYP]
Earlier: Jeffrey Chodorow Declares War On Frank Bruni

Clinton and Geffen: What Soured The Greatest Friendship Since Damon and Pythias?

abalk2 — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:02:00 EST

There's been a big falling out between gay gajillionaire David Geffen and lady-loving former president Bill Clinton (and his partner-by-marriage Hillary). Political analyst Mickey Kaus (who proves that you don't have to believe in any single plank of the Democratic platform to still call yourself a Democrat) believes the enmity stems from Bill Clinton's "lying about whether he was going to pardon [jailed Native American activist] Leonard Peltier". Makes sense to us—Hollywood executives are so rarely lied to that when it actually does happen, they're outraged. The Times, on the other hand, has a different theory which, as with seemingly everything else in our world, features Ron Burkle.

Mr. Clinton had long paid homage to Mr. Geffen, and was a frequent guest at his home in Los Angeles. But after his 1996 re-election, Mr. Clinton began staying more frequently with Ron Burkle, a longtime Clinton supporter and onetime rival of Mr. Geffen for ownership of The Los Angeles Times. Mr. Burkle, a supermarket tycoon, lives in a 40-room Beverly Hills home that once belonged to the silent-movie star Harold Lloyd.
By late 1999, the president felt so divided between his two billionaire friends that he once wound up leaving Mr. Burkle's home late one evening to turn in for the night at Mr. Geffen's nearby Beverly Hills home, all to avoid offending Mr. Geffen, one member of the president's entourage said, even though Mr. Geffen was out of town.

Burkle and Geffen are actually neighbors, so this is sort of playing out as the world's most bizarre billionaire version of those bitches in your freshman dorm who would sneak by your room on their way to hang out with someone more popular down the hall. This is why we drink so much: liquor keeps us from having to think too hard about the people who are actually running the world.

Geffen's real beef with Clinton [Slate, second item]
Et Tu, David? A Lucrative Friendship Sours [NYT]

Jeffrey Chodorow Declares War On Frank Bruni

abalk2 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:53:37 EST

Two weeks ago Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni reviewed Kobe Club, the newest highly-contrived chowhouse from restaurateur/felon/Rocco DiSpirito co-star Jeffrey Chodorow. The Brunster did not find favor with the place, granting it zero stars and noting that "it presents too many insipid or insulting dishes at prices that draw blood from anyone without a trust fund or an expense account." Today Chodorow strikes back, taking out a full-page ad in the back of the Dining section (click to enlarge) that rambles on in crazy-person tiny type about how Bruni is out to get him and ends with this inevitable warning:

In the interest of fairness, I am introducing my personal blog, which will be a compilation of my food-related experiences and musings and a special section entitled Following Frank and After Adam, in which I will make a follow-up visit to the restaurants they write about for the purpose of reviewing their reviews. My blog will appear at www.chinagrillmgt.com/blog/. My friends in the restaurant business have warned me that there will be further retaliation against me for speaking up. So be it.

Wow, could this get any more fun? Watch yourself, Frank; Jeffrey's been in the joint. They handle things differently there.

chod-o-blog
Giving Luxury the Thrill of Danger [NYT]

Keith McNally: At War With The Gansevoort Hotel

abalk2 — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 13:30:58 EST

Hot Meatpacking action! A well-placed source alerts us to the ire of Balthazar, Schiller's and Pastis owner Keith McNally:

The Gansevoort put up a fugly billboard that McNally and the some of the meatheat district business owners are not taking kindly to. Haven't seen it for myself, but apparently it's awful, and if you think the Jersey trash is bad there now [We do! -Ed.], wait until you can see that fucker across the Hudson, not to mention the abominations that could go up in its wake. So McNally is having his reservationists say the following when the Gansevoort concierges - all totally sycophantic asshats, by the way - call Pastis: "I'm sorry, but we've been instructed not to take reservations from your hotel in protest against the billboard on Hudson Street."

And we've just heard the same from inside Balthazar. Will Gansevoort owner William Achenbaum tear down this billboard before some dipshit gets hurt?

[Photo: Eat This New York]

Update: Via Curbed, an image of the billboard in question: