Kofi Annan

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations made his first public speech outside the confines of his Turtle Bay HQ this morning - and took the opportunity to talk about traffic jams.

Ban Ki Moon, who officially succeeded Kofi Annan on January 1, tried to reassure New Yorkers that he would do his best to minimize inconvenience during major meetings of the world body. "Maybe I can help reduce traffic jams by asking visiting heads of state to take subways as Mayor Bloomberg does," he joked.

Keeping the focus local, Mr. Ban also cautioned that the renovation of the UN's headquarters might cause "disruption for the neighbors."

Mr. Ban mostly steered clear of contentious topics. However, in response to a question from the floor about anti-Semitism, he talked about the concern he felt when "a certain country would not recognize the existence of a certain other member state of the United Nations. This is not acceptable." The reference, presumably, was to Iran and its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr. Ban's remarks came at a breakfast hosted by The Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and The Business Council for the United Nations (BCUN.) Among the attendees were former mayor David Dinkins and Diana Taylor, the mayor's partner and the Superintendent of Banks for the state.

On the vexed issue of the U.S. relationship with the UN, Mr. Ban played safe, arguing that the world body and the superpower both benefited from engagement with each other. But, perhaps showing the degree to which Turtle Bay feels under siege, Mr. Ban told the audience, "I hope you will speak up in favor of the United Nations in New York and around the world, and about the importance of U.S. leadership and engagement with the organization. All of us have a stake in getting these relationships right."

The Secretary General also treated the audience to a long and somewhat labored joke about the pronunciation of his first name. Apparently, it should not be pronounced 'ban' but more like 'bawn'. He admitted that he should have changed the English spelling -- maybe 'Bahn' or 'Bon', he said -- before now. But "since there will be so many things to ban as Secretary General, it is very relevant to my job."

-- Niall Stanage

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Although Katrina's aftermath and William Rehnquist's death rightfully dominated the news cycle this long weekend, there's still interesting real estate news out there.

The New York Times provides an update (2nd item) on a deal that The Real Estate reported in July, involving China's most famous woman, Yue-Sai Kan. The wealthy businesswoman and TV star plans on combining a recent townhouse purchase with her current home. The result will be a 20,000-square-foot spread with a whopping $42 million pricetag. If the size alone doesn't sway you, consider summer cookouts with Kofi Annan, who shares the private community garden.

Although record-breaking sales grab headlines during Manhattan's housing boom, the majority of people still dwell at the lower end of the buying spectrum. So how does the person not in the market for a palatial Sutton Square townhouse jump into the fray?

While your average New Yorker pinches pennies in hopes of buying that first apartment, television personality and Jeopardy contestant Bob Costas happily drops $100,000 on a new closet in the Time Warner Center, according to the New York Post. Also, are there any celebrities left that have not yet moved to One Beacon Court?  read more »

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-Michael Calderone

You have a problem running an event when Mayor Mike is your most charismatic speaker. Such was the case at the opening press conference of the Tribeca Film Festival where he joined festival co-founders Bobby De Niro, Charlie Gargano and others to try out a few zingers, as witnessed by our Jake Brooks.

"This has been an exciting twenty-four hours for me. Last night I was introduced by Elizabeth Hurley," said the mayor, who looked tan—either because of the theater lights or all that time spent playing golf in the Caribbean—in a pink shirt and light purple tie. "Today, it's Robert De Niro." He then added with a mischievous grin, that he has to be nice to Mr. De Niro to get "a last-minute reservation at Nobu," which De Niro, in part, owns.  read more »

He also quipped that film commissioner Katherine Oliver had "worked [Kofi Annan] over" to let Sydney Pollack shoot The Interpreter at the U.N. "Nobody stands in Katherine Oliver's way," he said. When a reporter asked why it had taken so long to create a festival of TFF's stature, Mike responded, "Well, I wasn't mayor before then. I'm not taking credit. I'm just stating a fact." Bobby D stood there and laughed.

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