Latest news with #Lebowitz
Spectator
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The vapidity of New York's intellectuals
Fran Lebowitz, the apparently acid-tongued commentator on Manhattan manners, will slip through British customs next month to dazzle the easily dazzled. Though to judge by the interview she granted an earnest lady in the Observer, other verbs leap to mind. From this distance it looks suspiciously like a fog of self-regard. According to the profiler, Megan Nolan, Lebowitz is 'a poster girl for a certain kind of crusty but erudite and essentially good-natured New York archetype, intellectual and judgmental, and walking the line between rudeness and frankness with engaging grace'. Cor! Is this a private ritual between consenting adults, or can we all join in? 'America could be more like New York,' she says, oblivious to the fact that many Americans beyond the Hudson have no desire to hold hands with people who despise them. 'It is my belief that the people in the cities should make the laws.' There's erudition for you. As for her good nature, the wit of the West Village is clearly not the cheeriest singer in life's bathtub. 'The human being is a horrible species,' she tells Nolan, confirming Dickens in his view that those who rail most vigorously against humanity tend to rank among its most unpleasant specimens. She's a philosopher, too. 'There are two kinds of people in the world. The kind who own Rembrandts, and the kind who are racing to get the F train.' As Lorenz Hart wrote in a lyric for Richard Rodgers: 'I was reading Schopenhauer last night – and I think that Schopenhauer was right.' Hart was Jewish, like her; homosexual, like her; a native New Yorker, like her. Unlike her, he was witty rather than clever. His songs were not 'judgmental'. They were for everybody, and will continue to entertain those who value wit above flummery until the East River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Lebowitz does not lack company in the gallery of Manhattan pseuds. She was pally with Andy Warhol (of course), and nobody trapped the nerve of New York solipsism more painfully than that talentless berk. Robert Mapplethorpe, the trendy snapper, must also be numbered among the throng. All those penis-shaped flowers – so daring. Yet, as the restaurateur Keith McNally has written in his recent memoir, Mapplethorpe and his lover, the ghastly Patti Smith, were quite happy to berate waiters. Little people, you see. Not interleckshuals like us. And let's not start on that thundering bore, Susan 'I've read everything' Sontag. Some witnesses saw what lay behind the curtains of celebrity. Tom Wolfe captured the madness in The Bonfire of the Vanities. 'What are we going to do with these Republicans?' a guest asked Wolfe at a dinner party. 'We could vote for them,' he replied. The man who really exposed the charlatans was Robert Hughes, the great art critic for Time magazine. Hughes, an Australian republican, was no stick-in-the-mud. He wrote The Shock of the New, that tour d'horizon of 20th-century painting, and always championed new work. Great were the howls of rage, therefore, when he denounced Julian Schnabel, the darling of the New York art scene, in language which still stings. Nor did he care for Jean-Michel Basquiat, a well-heeled drop-out who passed himself off as a street urchin. Basquiat fooled many New York intellectuals; not Hughes, who spotted 'radical chic' at a hundred paces. What a gruesome crew they make, the salon society thinkers and drinkers who have tried to bag seats once occupied by Dorothy Parker, Edmund Wilson, Robert Benchley, Cole Porter, P.J. O'Rourke and Christopher Hitchens. But let's be generous to Lebowitz when she gets here, for she needs all the affirmation she can get. Nolan obviously sees herself as an understudy: Anne Baxter to Lebowitz's Bette Davis. 'I will tell you all about Eve,' George Sanders says in the opening scene of that great Broadway satire. I will tell you all about Fran, Nolan seems to be saying. Sorry, love, as they don't say on Madison Avenue. We've heard enough already.
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Citi Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Pliant Therapeutics (PLRX)
Citi analyst David Lebowitz maintained a Hold rating on Pliant Therapeutics today and set a price target of $1.70. The company's shares closed today at $1.66. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. According to TipRanks, Lebowitz is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 4.5% and a 55.91% success rate. Lebowitz covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Incyte, Alnylam Pharma, and Cogent Biosciences. In addition to Citi, Pliant Therapeutics also received a Hold from Oppenheimer's Jeff Jones in a report issued today. However, on the same day, Piper Sandler maintained a Buy rating on Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PLRX). The company has a one-year high of $16.10 and a one-year low of $1.10. Currently, Pliant Therapeutics has an average volume of 1.26M.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Raceway RE Partners Acquires Historic Freehold Property to Lead Community-Centered Redevelopment Vision
FREEHOLD, N.J., June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Raceway RE Partners is proud to announce the acquisition of the iconic 58-acre Raceway Park property in Freehold, New Jersey. This landmark transaction marks a significant milestone in the group's mission to thoughtfully redevelop properties that reflect the history, spirit, and evolving needs of the surrounding community. Jake Lebowitz of Raceway RE Partners shared:"This land holds generations of memories—an incredible 171 years of horse racing took place here—and we intend to honor that legacy while introducing a vibrant, exciting, and forward-thinking destination for all." Raceway RE Partners has deep roots in the local community and proudly operates several area businesses that employ many dedicated local residents. With this foundation, the group is committed to delivering lasting value—not only through physical development but through meaningful community engagement and giving back. "Raceway's mission has always been to create more value both economically and socially within the community, so we can give more back—to our local charities, hospitals, police, firefighters, food banks, and more," said Lebowitz. "We're not just building for profit. We're building for purpose." The preliminary vision for the site includes beautifully integrated multi-use retail, chef-driven dining, and a boutique hotel and social club—designed around walkability, family experience, and long-term community benefit. Raceway RE Partners is actively working with township leadership and local stakeholders to ensure that plans are shaped in a way that respects both the site's historic significance and the needs of Freehold's future. Raceway RE Partners will continue to share updates as planning progresses and looks forward to working hand-in-hand with residents and officials to bring this exciting vision to life. About Raceway RE PartnersRaceway RE Partners is a New Jersey-based real estate development group focused on transformative, community-first projects that balance historical preservation with thoughtful design and economic growth. Contact:Jake LebowitzRaceway RE PartnersPhone: (732) 313-3740Email: info@ View original content: SOURCE Raceway RE Partners Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
