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Week in Pictures for March 29

Here is a slide show of photographs from the past week in New York City and the region. Subjects include the opening of amusement parks in Coney Island, a dodgeball marathon and the Bloomberg administration “bullpen” at City Hall.

This weekend on “The New York Times Close Up,” an inside look at the most compelling articles in the Sunday newspaper, Sam Roberts will speak with The Times’s Nate Silver, Lincoln Caplan, Constance Rosenblum, Michael M. Grynbaum and Michael Barbaro. Also, the authors Anthony Robins and Tony Hiss on Grand Central Terminal.

A sampling from the City Room blog is featured daily in the main print news section of The Times. You may also browse highlights from the blog and reader comments, read current New York headlines, like New York Metro | The New York Times on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



New Police Chief Confident He Can Handle Job

Philip Banks III, who has been appointed the chief of the New York Police Department, said he wants to establish positive ties between the police and the city. Robert Wright for The New York Times Philip Banks III, who has been appointed the chief of the New York Police Department, said he wants to establish positive ties between the police and the city.

The first question was simple: What made you want to become a police officer

The reply from Philip Banks III, the newly minted chief of the Police Department, was unexpected, if only for its own simplicity. “I don’t know. Not sure,” he said.

During a 30-minute interview at Police Headquarters on Friday, Chief Banks came off as a no-nonsense and self-assured leader.

“It’s a big seat. It’s a big chair,” Chief Banks said. “I’m 100 percent confident that I can handle the assignment.”

Over the next few days, the four-star chief will move his belongings from his street-level office inside the Community Affairs Bureau to his new office on the 13th Floor. Chief Banks, who will earn a $201,096 yearly salary, takes the helm as the force’s highest-ranking uniformed officer - top among roughly 34,500 peers - at a time when the Police Department has come under scrutiny for its aggressive use of the stop, question and frisk tactic.

As the father of three children - sons, 24 and 15, and a daughter, 20 - Chief Banks said he has talked to them about what to do if stopped by an officer.

“I tell them to always be very cautious about what you are doing out on a particular street, carry yourself like you were raised correctly,” he said. “They know specifically to listen to what the officer is telling them and to be very respectful.” None of his children have been stopped by the police, he added.

Chief Banks, 50, who lives in the St. Albans section of Queens, said a mutual respect between officers and residents is integral to fighting crime. In fact, when he served as a precinct commander in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, his officers were well aware of a “pet peeve”: failing to immediately address someone who had walked into the station house, he said.

“The one thing I’m most proud of is, when a person walked into a particular precinct, the amount of time and the amount of respect that they were shown,” Chief Banks said. “So we had a thing - everybody stop, and we are going to take five minutes to make sure that person feels as though they’re the most special person in the world.”

In his new role, Chief Banks said he would strive to empower people in the community and work with them to further reduce crime.

“You can’t be a crime fighter without being able to listen to people in the community,” he said.



AIDS Memorial Loses Plants and Gains Supporters


The New York City AIDS Memorial planned for Greenwich Village has emerged sleeker, lighter, more sculptural and a lot less verdant after months of scrutiny by city agencies.

The memorial would take the form of a steel canopy over the westernmost end of a new city park on the triangular block bounded by Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue and West 12th Street, opposite the site of St. Vincent’s Hospital, which is being redeveloped. The construction of the memorial, which is being financed through a group called NYC AIDS Memorial, is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

The architects of the memorial are Studio a+i of Brooklyn. The structural engineers are Robert Silman Associates.

Though similar in many respects to the version of the memorial shown last summer, the revised plan that was made public on Wednesday differs in some important ways. Most obviously, it has lost all of the English ivy, Virginia creeper and honeysuckle that was to have covered it as if it were a garden trellis. This change was championed by Amanda M. Burden, the chairwoman of the City Planning Commission.

“Amanda really pushed us to think of the canopy as a sculptural element that would be beautiful no matter what happened to the plantings,” said Christopher Tepper, a founder with Paul Kelterborn of NYC AIDS Memorial. “In certain seasons, if it was too dry or too hot, she wanted to be sure that the underlying design was beautiful.”


Another leading advocate of the revision was the architect James Stewart Polshek, in his role as a member of the Public Design Commission. “The initial design was very heavy,” said Mr. Polshek, who lives two blocks from the future park and knows the site well. The elimination of the plants allowed the structural elements to become much lighter and thinner. “I was very pleased with their response,” Mr. Polshek said, adding that the commission approved the project unanimously.

A newly introduced dip in the middle of the canopy roof will open a much more generous view of the distinctive O’Toole Building of 1963, which was once threatened with demolition but is now being renovated as a medical complex, including a round-the-clock emergency room, by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

The memorial and associated educational programs will cost about $4 million. The sponsors hope to raise $2.5 million from public sources and $1.5 million privately. On Wednesday, Scott M. Stringer, the borough president of Manhattan, pledged $1 million of city financing. On the private side of the ledger, the sponsors announced the receipt of $250,000 from the Arcus Foundation and $105,000 from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

New York already has a permanent, public AIDS Memorial, in Hudson River Park, at the foot of West 11th Street, but it is not as prominent as the one on West 12th Street promises to be.



In Relocating, a Bar Will Lose No Claim to Celluloid Fame

The Emerald Inn, an Irish pub on the Upper West Side, will move to a new location in the neighborhood.Karsten Moran for The New York Times The Emerald Inn, an Irish pub on the Upper West Side, will move to a new location in the neighborhood.

The Emerald Inn, the Upper West Side bar that was the setting for a scene in the movie “The Apartment,” is moving to the site of a bar that figured in another, much darker, movie, “Looking for Mr. Goodbar.”

The Emerald, as regulars call it, had announced its closing last month. Charlie Campbell, whose grandfather opened the bar during World War II, said the landlord had asked for double the current rent of $17,500 a month. Mr. Campbell said he could not afford that.

He said on Wednesday that he had gotten a deal to move to the ground-floor space at 250 West 72nd Street, between Broadway and West End Avenue, that was once occupied by a bar called W.M. Tweeds.

It was there, on New Year’s Day in 1973, that a schoolteacher who was a regular customer walked in for a drink and walked out with another customer. They went to her apartment, where he raped and killed her. The incident served as the basis for a novel by Judith Rossner that was published in 1975 and for a film that was released in 1977. It starred Diane Keaton and Richard Gere.

Tweeds â€" a play on the name of the Tammany Hall boss, William M. Tweed â€" closed after the murder and reopened as the All State Café. But the All State Café closed in 2007, itself a victim of a rent increase. Another bar, P.D. O’Hurley’s, took over the space last fall, promising moderately priced “comfort food and good drinks” and live music on Saturday nights, according to its Facebook page. It closed by mid-February.

Mr. Campbell said he would pay “relatively the same rent but have much more space” in the new location. “My plan is making it a sports bar,” he said. “I’m going to put TVs up in the back room.”

He said it would open on June 1. The Emerald on Columbus Avenue will close by April 30, he said.

The old Emerald was a longtime haunt for ABC News personalities â€" the network’s headquarters are a few blocks away â€" and was the backdrop for the Christmas Eve scene in “The Apartment.” Jack Lemmon, drowning his sorrows at the bar, was oblivious as Hope Holiday shot straw-paper wrappers at him. Finally she took the seat next to him and offered a deal: She would put some music in the jukebox if he would buy her a drink. The song was “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The drink was a rum Collins.

Although the Web site West Side Rag reported on Thursday night that the Emerald was moving, it was about an hour after Mr. Campbell had said his new landlord had yet to receive the $100,000 deposit that would clinch the deal.

Mr. Campbell said on Friday morning that the check still had not been delivered. When he was asked whether the deal was still on, he said, “I believe so, yes.”



The Week in Culture Pictures, March 29

Sigur Ros, the Icelandic group, with Jonsi Birgisson, center, performing at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening. Sigur Ros, the Icelandic group, with Jonsi Birgisson, center, performing at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening.

Photographs More photographs.

A slide show of photographs of cultural highlights from this week.



Fast-Food Union Organizers Get Some Historical Perspective

Baxter Leach, center, and Alvin Turner, right, during a meeting of fast-food workers on Thursday in New York. Mr. Leach and Mr. Turner were sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968 in Memphis. They came to New York to encourage fast-food workers in their efforts to unionize.Tina Fineberg for The New York Times Baxter Leach, center, and Alvin Turner, right, during a meeting of fast-food workers on Thursday in New York. Mr. Leach and Mr. Turner were sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968 in Memphis. They came to New York to encourage fast-food workers in their efforts to unionize.

When Alvin Turner and Baxter Leach joined a strike in Memphis in 1968, they were two sanitation workers protesting the abuse of black employees and demanding higher wages and the recognition of their union. They recalled being beaten and assaulted with tear gas by the police during marches. But after more than 60 days, the strike ended with the city granting many of their demands.

More than four decades later, in November 2012, New York City’s fast-food workers started their own campaign to improve conditions, calling for the creation of a union and a wage of $15 an hour. Workplace experts called it the largest organized effort ever by fast-food workers. But after a one-day strike in which 200 employees walked out, little has changed for workers at the thousands of hamburger, sandwich and taco restaurants that fill the city.

Which is why Mr. Turner, 78, and Mr. Leach, 73, traveled to Manhattan this week to give a series of pep talks to fast-food servers facing an uphill unionization campaign. “The same fight that we fought in 1968, we are fighting today,” Mr. Turner said Thursday, during an appearance at City University of New York.

Mr. Turner made 65 cents an hour when he began working for the Memphis Sanitation Department in 1951, a pittance even for that era. He and Mr. Baxter worked as garbage collectors, running behind homes, dumping trash into large tubs and hoisting those tubs onto their heads.

They especially remember the maggots, they said. And the fact that the color of their skin restricted them from higher-paying jobs. “I had gotten tired of saying ‘yes,’” to abuse,” Mr. Turner said, “when I knew I should be saying ‘no.’”

During the strike, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to support the 1,300 striking workers. And, of course, it was in Memphis where he was assassinated.

Striking sanitation workers and their supporters are flanked by bayonet-wielding National Guard troops and armored vehicles during a march on City Hall in Memphis on March 29, 1968.Charlie Kelly/Associated Press Striking sanitation workers and their supporters are flanked by bayonet-wielding National Guard troops and armored vehicles during a march on City Hall in Memphis on March 29, 1968.

The strike ended less than two weeks later with the city agreeing to raise wages and recognize the union. Mr. Turner explained how this changed his life: “After the strike, one of those machines that they didn’t allow me to hardly look at” â€" it was called a sweeper â€" “I started operating it. This is how I could get my kids through school. And I put four kids through school.”

New York’s fast-food unionization campaign, called Fast Food Forward, is organized by New York Communities for Change, and has the support of several other organizations, including the Service Employees International Union. But organizers have struggled to convince food servers that improved conditions are possible.

While workers have plenty to lament â€" average wages hover just above $8 an hour, or $18,000 a year for a full-time employee â€" heavy worker turnover and a general apprehension of unions has made organizing a challenge.

Chad Tall, 20, a Taco Bell employee who wants to unionize, said the campaign is stuck in its awareness phase. “There isn’t a next step right now,” he said.

Mr. Tall, who lives in the Bronx, is his family’s primary wage earner. He makes $7.50 an hour and works about 30 hours a week. He dropped out of college because he could not afford to pay for courses. “I’m not trying to be a millionaire working at Taco Bell,” he said. “But I do want the basics. I don’t want to have to sacrifice breakfast to buy a Metro Card.”

On Mr. Tall’s block, nearly everyone he knows works in fast-food restaurants, he said. So do at least six of his friends. He joined the campaign because he does not want to continue a situation in which, he said, “we’re treated like workhorses and paid like slaves” and “the only babysitter you can afford is the crackhead on the corner.”

At CUNY, Mr. Leach and Mr. Turner sat in a circle with Mr. Tall and about a dozen other workers and clergy members. “For all of you to win anything, you’re going to have to stand up,” Mr. Turner said .

“If you don’t stand up, you’re going to stay with what you got,” he continued. “And if you do stand up, you’re opening the door for someone else.”



Who Are the Best Voices in the History of Metal

Ronnie James Dio it a performance in Oslo in 2009.SCANPIX/Reuters Ronnie James Dio it a performance in Oslo in 2009.

“Raining Blood” may not be “Harlem Shake,” but to Howie Abrams and Sacha Jenkins it might as well be. Slayer’s popular 1986 song is No. 4 on the list “Our Favorite Songs by the Best Metal Bands,” one of several indexes the authors compiled for “The Merciless Book of Metal Lists,” set for release this month by Abrams Image. The book features scores of compilations of bests (songs, drummers, bass tones), worsts (“10 Heavy Metal Fashion Faux Pas”) and the only-in-metal (“10 Illegible Black Metal Logos”).

(The authors spoke with The Times about the most embarrassing heavy-metal album covers.)

Mr. Jenkins said he and Mr. Abrams collaborated on the book for the same reason many fans get into the metal genre in the first place: to unleash fury.

“Metal fans are rabid and the love to debate,” said Mr. Jenkins, who co-authored a popular book of rap lists in 1999. “They love to argue and obsess about the music.”

One of the lists that’s sure to get metal fans hair in a twist is “20 of the Greatest Metal Voices.” Here’s who made the top ten:

1. Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Dio)
2. Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
3. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
4. Eric Adams (Manowar)
5. Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)
6. King Diamond (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond)
7. Tom Araya (Slayer)
8. John Bush (Armored Saint/Anthrax)
9. James Hetfield (Metallica)
10. Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly)

Mr. Abrams said Mr. Dio was the unanimous choice for the top spot because the singer, who died in 2010, had a virtuosity that set him far apart from other top metal vocalists.

“If he needed to apply darkness, he could do it,” said Mr. Abrams. “If he needed to belt and go to a higher range, he could. He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, and I’m not there was a taller task for a vocalist. He did it with ease and grace, and he may have improved on what Oz did in the first place.”

In a genre in which singers growl, howl, scream and otherwise create vocal mischief, defining a good metal singer can be a challenge. Who do you think has the best metal voice of all time Post your comments below.



A Last Chance for ‘Happy Endings’

The ABC comedy “Happy Endings” returns on Friday night after a two-month hiatus, with back-to-back episodes that may be the show’s last chance for salvation.

Last week, ABC released an ad that asked viewers to save “Happy Endings” from possible cancellation. Although there have been many “save our show” movements over the years, successful campaigns are few and far between and all of them were started by passionate fans, not the network that broadcasts the program in question. NBC’s “Chuck” was saved in part by a Subway sandwich campaign organized by fans. Viewers who watched “Jericho” on CBS sent peanuts to the network, which helped that drama stave off cancellation for another season.

The larger problem is that ABC seems to have no place for a struggling program like “Happy Endings” on its schedule.The show has averaged 3.5 million total viewers over the course of its third season and during that time, ABC has moved the show from Tuesday nights, to Sunday, back to Tuesday and now, to Friday. Even with the help of a DVR, that can be difficult to track.

Fans of “Happy Endings” in search of hope should perhaps look towards “Cougar Town,” another comedy with a dedicated following that began on ABC but, due to low ratings, moved to the cable channel TBS and gained a new lease on life. It had its premiere on TBS last January and has so far averaged 2.8 million total viewers each week, with 1.7 million adults falling between the ages of 18-to-49, the ratings category most important to advertisers. On Monday, TBS announced that it had already renewed “Cougar Town” for a second season on the channel, its fifth overall.



A Last Chance for ‘Happy Endings’

The ABC comedy “Happy Endings” returns on Friday night after a two-month hiatus, with back-to-back episodes that may be the show’s last chance for salvation.

Last week, ABC released an ad that asked viewers to save “Happy Endings” from possible cancellation. Although there have been many “save our show” movements over the years, successful campaigns are few and far between and all of them were started by passionate fans, not the network that broadcasts the program in question. NBC’s “Chuck” was saved in part by a Subway sandwich campaign organized by fans. Viewers who watched “Jericho” on CBS sent peanuts to the network, which helped that drama stave off cancellation for another season.

The larger problem is that ABC seems to have no place for a struggling program like “Happy Endings” on its schedule.The show has averaged 3.5 million total viewers over the course of its third season and during that time, ABC has moved the show from Tuesday nights, to Sunday, back to Tuesday and now, to Friday. Even with the help of a DVR, that can be difficult to track.

Fans of “Happy Endings” in search of hope should perhaps look towards “Cougar Town,” another comedy with a dedicated following that began on ABC but, due to low ratings, moved to the cable channel TBS and gained a new lease on life. It had its premiere on TBS last January and has so far averaged 2.8 million total viewers each week, with 1.7 million adults falling between the ages of 18-to-49, the ratings category most important to advertisers. On Monday, TBS announced that it had already renewed “Cougar Town” for a second season on the channel, its fifth overall.



Her Gig Canceled After Tirade, Michelle Shocked Plays Outside in Protest

Michelle Shocked outside Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz, Calif.Thomas Vincent Mendoza/Associated Press Michelle Shocked outside Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz, Calif.

After the punk-folk singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked made remarks critical of homosexuality and same-sex marriage while performing in San Francisco two weekends ago, clubs around the country responded by canceling bookings they had made with her. But that hasn’t stopped her: Thursday night she turned up outside one such club with her face covered and her mouth taped shut to protest the way she is being treated.

The site of the sit-in staged by Ms. Shocked, who in the past has acknowledged being involved in lesbian relationships but now describes herself as a born-again Christian, was Moe’s Alley, in the university town and hippie haven of Santa Cruz, Calif., south of San Francisco. Seated outside the club with a mask across her mouth that read “Silenced by Fear,” she did not comment about the backlash against her onstage outburst, but instead pointed to a series of posters that had been placed above her head.

Her scheduled performance was canceled after she made anti-gay remarks at a show in San Francisco.Thomas Vincent Mendoza/Associated Press Her scheduled performance was canceled after she made anti-gay remarks at a show in San Francisco.

“Does speech really scare you that much” one inquired. Another asked “Is it possible Michelle Shocked was a target of fear-mongering in the name of a protection racket” The most prominent reflected directly on the recent controversy: “What would you say to Michelle Shocked if you had waited to hear her side of the story vs. what was reported Were you there”

Dressed in a disposable safety suit, on the back of which was written “Gimme Wit Not Spit,” Ms. Shocked, 51, sat on the ground outside the club and strummed an acoustic guitar. Rather than engage spectators in conversation, she pointed to another sign, which invited people to use a marker and write their comments on her all-white outfit.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Shocked, who was raised in a religiously conservative household and is reported to have spent some time as a teenager in a psychiatric hospital, issued a Twitter message advising followers of what she planned to do. “It’s an art project,” she wrote. “’My Summer Vacation.’ I want your autograph. Bring Sharpie.”

At one point, the owner of Moe’s Alley, Bill Welch, came out to talk to Ms. Shocked. But he later told The Associated Press that he neither planned to rehire her nor take further steps against her. “We will not be bashing Michelle Shocked,” he said. “Rather we will celebrate music, diversity and send some healing Santa Cruz energy her way.”



Her Gig Canceled After Tirade, Michelle Shocked Plays Outside in Protest

Michelle Shocked outside Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz, Calif.Thomas Vincent Mendoza/Associated Press Michelle Shocked outside Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz, Calif.

After the punk-folk singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked made remarks critical of homosexuality and same-sex marriage while performing in San Francisco two weekends ago, clubs around the country responded by canceling bookings they had made with her. But that hasn’t stopped her: Thursday night she turned up outside one such club with her face covered and her mouth taped shut to protest the way she is being treated.

The site of the sit-in staged by Ms. Shocked, who in the past has acknowledged being involved in lesbian relationships but now describes herself as a born-again Christian, was Moe’s Alley, in the university town and hippie haven of Santa Cruz, Calif., south of San Francisco. Seated outside the club with a mask across her mouth that read “Silenced by Fear,” she did not comment about the backlash against her onstage outburst, but instead pointed to a series of posters that had been placed above her head.

Her scheduled performance was canceled after she made anti-gay remarks at a show in San Francisco.Thomas Vincent Mendoza/Associated Press Her scheduled performance was canceled after she made anti-gay remarks at a show in San Francisco.

“Does speech really scare you that much” one inquired. Another asked “Is it possible Michelle Shocked was a target of fear-mongering in the name of a protection racket” The most prominent reflected directly on the recent controversy: “What would you say to Michelle Shocked if you had waited to hear her side of the story vs. what was reported Were you there”

Dressed in a disposable safety suit, on the back of which was written “Gimme Wit Not Spit,” Ms. Shocked, 51, sat on the ground outside the club and strummed an acoustic guitar. Rather than engage spectators in conversation, she pointed to another sign, which invited people to use a marker and write their comments on her all-white outfit.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Shocked, who was raised in a religiously conservative household and is reported to have spent some time as a teenager in a psychiatric hospital, issued a Twitter message advising followers of what she planned to do. “It’s an art project,” she wrote. “’My Summer Vacation.’ I want your autograph. Bring Sharpie.”

At one point, the owner of Moe’s Alley, Bill Welch, came out to talk to Ms. Shocked. But he later told The Associated Press that he neither planned to rehire her nor take further steps against her. “We will not be bashing Michelle Shocked,” he said. “Rather we will celebrate music, diversity and send some healing Santa Cruz energy her way.”



‘Prince of Broadway’ Is Becoming King of Delays

“Prince of Broadway,” a musical retrospective of the career of the legendary producer and director Harold Prince that had been aiming to open on Broadway in the fall, has been indefinitely postponed, the producers announced on Friday.

Despite the show’s pedigree - the 85-year-old Mr. Prince and his fellow Tony Award winner Susan Stroman were to direct, and the Tony winners Linda Lavin and LaChanze were to star - “Prince of Broadway” has had a troubled history. It was supposed to open in Toronto and New York last year until its lead producer abandoned the musical after being unable to raise money for it. A replacement set of producers was announced in May 2012, as was the new target date of fall 2013 for Broadway - but there was also negative buzz among some theater insiders after a closed-door backers’ presentation of the show last year.

A spokesman for the producers said on Friday: “‘The Prince of Broadway’ will not be presented on Broadway this fall. It has proved impossible to coordinate the schedules of everyone involved in the show. It is not clear at this time when the production will move forward.” The spokesman did not immediately have word about whether the latest producers - Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Tom Viertel - were still attached to the musical.

Over his 60-year career Mr. Prince directed and produced acclaimed musicals like “Cabaret,” “Company,” “Follies,” and “A Little Night Music,” and also directed “Sweeney Todd,” “Evita,” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” The show’s indefinite postponement - which is often theater-speak for cancellation - was first reported by Playbill.



Judge Says Cambodian Statue Case Can Go Forward

A federal judge ruled Friday that the United States government has enough evidence to move forward in court with its effort to seize a 10th century Cambodian statue that Sotheby’s had hoped to sell for $3 million.

The auction house had asked U.S. District Court Judge George B. Daniels to dismiss the case.

The judge issued no opinion on the fate of the statue, but said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York could add new information to its original claims that Sotheby’s tried to sell the statue in violation of Cambodian law.

Sotheby’s had argued among other things that the federal lawyers had failed to provide evidence that Sotheby’s knew the statue was stolen.

“The government has sufficiently pled facts regarding Sotheby’s knowledge that the statue was stolen at the time of import into the United States,” Judge Daniels wrote. “The government need not provide unassailable proof to demonstrate Sotheby’s knowledge at this stage of the case.”

Sotheby’s said it still expects to prevail at trial.

“The Court’s decision,” the auction house said in a statement, “defers to another day all the key questions: whether Cambodia declared ownership of the statue with the clarity required by due process; whether the good faith purchase of the statue in 1975 defeats Cambodia’s claim, and whether Sotheby’s knew the statue belonged to Cambodia.

The massive sandstone sculpture, depicting a mythic warrior called Duryodhana, once stood inside a small temple built within a sprawling 1,000-year-old complex of temples called Koh Ker.

Sotheby’s pulled it from auction in March 2011 after Cambodia asked for its return.

No date has been set for the trial.



Big Ticket | Terraced Duplex, Sold for $17.75 Million

A co-op at 770 Park Avenue was sold by the federal government to pay part of the debt of Hassan Nemazee.Yana Paskova for The New York Times A co-op at 770 Park Avenue was sold by the federal government to pay part of the debt of Hassan Nemazee.

A sprawling duplex co-op on prim Park Avenue that had been owned by Hassan Nemazee, who apparently lived a tad too large before being sentenced in 2010 to 12 years in prison for $292 million in bank fraud, was sold by the federal government for $17.75 million, the most expensive sale of the week, according to city records.

Mr. Nemazee, the chairman of Nemazee Capital, was a prominent donor to the Democratic Party and a national finance chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. His ample assets, including the terraced 15-room apartment, No. 14/15A at 770 Park, a 2008 Maserati and residential property in Katonah, N.Y., and TriBeCa, were seized by the government to repay his debts; the co-op was originally listed at $28 million in 2011 but attracted no takers. After several reductions, its most recent asking price was $19.5 million.

The lower floor of the apartment at the Georgian-style 1930 Rosario Candela-designed building at 73rd Street has a 29-foot corner living room and a 20-foot library, both with wood-burning fireplaces and Park Avenue frontage. The windowed kitchen has a breakfast area, a staff hall and a butler’s pantry. The original herringbone floors have been retained throughout the unit. The upper level has six bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom; there are two terraces, one facing east off the master bedroom, a staff suite and a laundry room.

John Burger and Nancy J. Elias of Brown Harris Stevens were the listing brokers on behalf of the United States government. The buyers are Thomas Purcell, an analyst with Viking Global Investors, and his wife, Marina Shields Purcell, a half-sister of the actress Brooke Shields. A confidentiality agreement prevented the brokers from commenting on the sale.

Big Ticket includes closed listings from the previous week, ending Wednesday.



Graphic Books Best Sellers: ‘Earth 2’ at No. 1

There is an embarrassment of riches on our hardcover and paperback graphic books best-seller lists this week.

Volume one of “Earth 2,” from DC Comics, enters the hardcover list at No. 1. The series, written by James Robinson and beautifully illustrated by Nicola Scott, chronicles a parallel world in which Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have died. The central question, at least at the start, is what heroes will rise up to replace them. The “Earth 2” concept is a familiar one to longtime fans. The central heroes were the Justice Society of America - a version of the Justice League whose members could take different paths: age, marry, have children, die - who frequently interacted with the “real” versions of the heroes. This “Earth 2” is putting spins on familiar names and faces. The heroes are younger, Green Lantern is gay and Hawkgirl is no longer white. (“Earth 2” is part of DC’s “New 52” initiative that has tried to make minority representation a priority. Hawkgirl’s precise ehnicity has not yet been revealed in the issues I have read.) Backstory aside, the comics have been exciting. Mr. Robinson is having fun building his world and Ms. Scott’s artwork has been richly detailed and dynamic. I’m eager to see where it all goes.

At No. 6 on the hardcover list is “Spider-Man: Dying Wish,” which made some news when it was revealed that the villainous Doctor Octopus would take over the role of Spider-Man. I had not read Spider-Man in a while, and when I saw this collected edition on the list, I figured I’d try it. Wise decision! Dan Slott has written quite the compelling, tension-filled tale of Spider-Man’s last days. The first issue puts the reader in the middle of the action, the second one explains the hero’s predicament and the third resolves it - but not in the way one would expect. Mr. Slott does a stupendous job of showing Peter Parker’s compassion and humanity and the powerful effect it has on his archenemy. Of course, turning into a champion is not enough for Doctor Octopus. He has to be better than his longtime foe - thus the change in title from “Amazing” Spider-Man to “Superior.” I am now very interestedin reading more.

At No. 1 on the paperback list is volume one of the new “Hawkeye” series, written by Matt Fraction. Hawkeye is a highly skilled archer and a member of the Avengers, who handle some of the biggest threats to the Marvel universe. But readers do need to be well versed in Marvel lore to get into this series. This take on Hawkeye feels more local (he lives in Brooklyn and his first adventure involves an unscrupulous landlord) and more immediate. The dialogue is smart and funny, and the artwork excels (it switches from David Aja to Brian Pulido for a story arc, with absolutely no drop in quality). Both artists are particularly adept at the action scenes, which can shift from down-and-dirty street fighting to high-stakes action-film craziness but are always well choreographed.

Finally, at No. 8 on the paperback list is “Olympians: Poseidon,” published by First Second and written, illustrated and meticulously researched by George O’Connor. This is the fifth installment in an eventual 12-book exploration of Greek mythology. The mighty god of the ocean takes center stage in this chapter, following Zeus, Athena, Hera and Hades, which hit No. 8 on the paperback list in February last year. I’ve always been captivated by the betrayals, intrigues and romances of the Greek Gods, and the same is true for this series, of which I’m a big fan. When I first pick up a graphic novel, I tend to get lost in the words first, but with this chapter I was especially struck by Mr. O’Connor’s page designs. Some of my favorites: a sweeping two-page spread of Poseidon angrily rising from the ocean; a full-page shot of the Cyclops named Polyphemos; and the four-page sequence nvolving Theseus, the son of Poseidon, and his struggle with the Minotaur.

As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.



Some Veteran Rockers Help to Pass the Torch

With Alice Cooper approximating Jim Morrison’s trademark alternation of growling intensity and meditative sultriness, and Robbie Krieger reprising his vintage guitar solos, a starry band dominated by glam-metal veterans worked their way through the Doors classics “Back Door Man” and “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” on Thursday evening in Sioux Falls, S.D., as part of a concert to benefit the city’s new Brennan Rock & Roll Academy.

The performance was the third of five rock and comedy evenings to be staged in the academy’s 300-seat hall, where tickets, priced between $250 and $1,000, are sold out. On Friday the academy is offering a free daylong open house. The closing concert, Saturday evening, brings together Vince Neil, the singer for Mötley Crüe, and Stephen Pearcy, the singer for Ratt.

The academy, a $3.6 million music program for members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire, was started by Chuck Brennan, the founder of the Dollar Loan Center. Mr. Brennan, who was a member of the Sioux City Boys Clubs when he was a child, has said that he regrets not having had the opportunity to learn an instrument when he was younger. He has also cited Mr. Cooper as an inspiration: his academy is modeled partly on the Rock Teen Center that Mr. Cooper started in Phoenix, under the auspices of his Solid Rock Foundation.

Mr. Brennan’s school will offer lessons in guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals, and is equipped with a recording studio and nine rehearsal rooms, as well as its concert hall.

Besides Mr. Krieger, Mr. Cooper was joined on Thursday by Sebastian Bach, the former lead singer of Skid Row - who sang the Doors’ “Crystal Ship,” the B-side of “Light My Fire,” in a duet with Mr. Krieger - as well as Tommy Thayer, Kiss’s lead guitarist since 2003; Eric Singer, Kiss’s former drummer (and later a member of Mr. Cooper’s band) and Chuck Garric, Mr. Cooper’s bassist.



Hit or Flop Expert on Broadway Musicals to Write History Explaining Why

Jack Viertel.Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times Jack Viertel.

Jack Viertel, the artistic director of New York City Center Encores!, has signed a deal with Farrar, Straus and Giroux to write a book about the structure and inner workings of Broadway musicals and why some shows succeed and others falter, the publisher and Mr. Viertel said this week. The book, tentatively titled: “The Secret Life of the Broadway Musical: How Broadway Shows are Built,” is scheduled for publication in winter 2016.

Mr. Viertel, whose Encores! series has become a popular staple of New York theater, featuring rarely heard works by major composers and lyricists backed by sizable orchestras and Broadway-caliber casts, said he will draw on years of classes he has taught to musical theater students at New York University.

“I found that people in their 20s and 30s didn’t understand how classic musicals are built, because that golden age of musicals is so far away from us now,” Mr. Viertel said in a telephone interview on Friday, referring to an era that, for his purposes, starts with the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “Oklahoma!” in 1943 and ends with “A Chorus Line” in 1975. Encores! often produces musicals from that period, including its last well-reviewed production, “It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman” from 1966.

“There was a real blueprint that ‘Oklahoma!’ laid down for people, that was then followed in a fairly rigorous way by composers and book writers, and that reflected an agreed-upon set of principles about America - that we were a can-do, optimistic nation,” Mr. Viertel said. “Then in the 1970s the Hal Prince-Stephen Sondheim shows - ‘Company,’ ‘Follies,’ several others - started changing that, because they were so daring and encouraged writers to think they didn’t need the blueprint anymore. And the cultural ferment going on - related to Vietnam, Watergate - accelerated that change.”

No single blueprint exists today, Mr. Viertel noted, but the scripts and songs of current hit Broadway musicals like “The Book of Mormon” and “Wicked” can be traced to the architecture of the golden age - for instance, an opening number, the lead character’s “I Want” song, a love song, a heavily choreographed production number, an act-one closer, a song for a secondary romantic couple, a so-called 11 o’clock number, and a finale.

Mr. Viertel, who is also senior vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns five of Broadway’s 40 houses and is a producer of shows, said the book will also examine the history of out-of-town tryout and script doctoring - key parts of the development process for shows before they open on Broadway, which for decades was the ultimate destination for artists and producers. Many musicals today, by contrast, are licensed or tour around the world, and profits are often more likely in other countries due to cheaper labor costs.



The Sweet Spot: Pay to Play

In this week’s episode, David Carr and A. O. Scott talk about paywalls, what we download, and what entertainment is worth.



Popcast: Lil Wayne, Sobriety and the Damage Done

Lil Wayne's new album, “I Am Not a Human Being II,” was released this week.Mark J. Terrill/Invision, via Associated Press Lil Wayne’s new album, “I Am Not a Human Being II,” was released this week.

This week, Jon Caramanica and host Ben Ratliff talk about Lil Wayne’s “I Am Not A Human Being II,” the third in his theoretically drug-free era â€" he has consented to regular, court-ordered drug tests since 2010 â€" and talk about Wayne (again, theoretically) pre- and post-sobriety.

How have drugs showed up in hip-hop and other music as a sonic shaper What place do stimulants, depressants, narcotics and hallucinogens have in our understanding of pop sounds â€" tempos, textures, legibility What can we infer about how sobriety may have marked the music of Wayne, Eminem, or even John Coltrane

Or is talking about drugs a distraction from the real issues in a musician’s life: youth and aging, creative flow and ambition, working habits, means of production

Listen above, download the MP3 here, or subscribe in iTunes.

RELATED

Jon Caramanica on Lil Wayne’s “I Am Not a Human Being II.”

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Tracks by artists discussed this week. (Spotify users can also find it here.)



This Week’s Movies: ‘The Host,’ ‘Renoir’ and ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’

In this week’s video, Times critics review “The Place Beyond the Pines,” “The Host” and “Renoir.”



A Date’s Awkward End on the Subway

Dear Diary:

Last fall, I had been out to a concert with a man I had been dating. After an evening of fun, we headed toward the subway to go to our respective homes. My date was moving to a new apartment, so there was some question about which stop we’d be choosing to say goodbye, adding to the inevitable awkwardness that comes with the early stages of getting to know someone.

When we got to the 14th Street stop, he quickly realized he had to be at the apartment nearest there to receive a furniture delivery in the morning. With barely any warning, he left the crowded train, giving me a clumsy hug and a quick kiss on his way out.

I sat down to continue on to Brooklyn, no doubt looking a little downtrodden about dating in New York, and noticed a lovely older couple sitting across from me. The woman, who thought I couldn’t hear her, said to her husband, “It must be so hard to have to say good night like that on the subway!” Her husband saw that I had heard her and smiled politely at me. The woman repeated herself two or three times to her blushing husband until she finally realized I could hear her.

“It’s true!” I exclaimed from across the aisle. “It’s totally awkward! You’re exactly right. Thank you for saying so!”

She smiled sheepishly at me, as her sweet husband flashed me a knowing smile and said, “There’s always tomorrow, dear.”

How did he know exactly what I needed to hear

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