Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is in solitary confinement at Brooklyn’s notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, and he might start talking to himself before his next court date on March 17.
“He has no cellphone, no TV and a lack of human contact,” said attorney Arthur Aidala, who doesn’t represent Maduro, but was recently at MDC to meet with a client.
“He can see his lawyers, but otherwise he’s alone,” Aidala said. “He could end up like Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway,’ talking to a volleyball.”
Maduro likely won’t get to see his wife, Cilia Flores, who’s also being held on narco-terrorism charges, nor will he get to interact with Luigi Mangione or rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine.
He missed some other high-profile inmates who have moved on from Brooklyn, including Harvey Weinstein, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, who once said her cell was so infested that a “friendly rat would regularly visit” as she used the toilet.
In their charging documents, prosecutors allege Maduro, his wife and his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
They claim the accused co-conspirators “abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”
After being captured from their home in Caracas and flown to New York, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court. They’re expected to remain detained at the MDC for the time being.
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“The Fantasticks” opened in 1960 at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village and ran for 42 years, playing 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical.
Now it’s being restaged for Broadway, with the characters of young lovers Matt and Luisa being changed to Matt and Lewis, reinterpreting the tale through a modern gay lens. The show’s original pair of fathers, who secretly trick their children into falling in love by pretending to be in a feud, will instead be mothers.
That’s all fine by Anthony Noto, the son of original producer Lore Noto, who said, “The beautiful music and profound lyrics deserve a retelling in any language.”
Casting for the reimagined musical, helmed by “Death Becomes Her” director Christopher Gattelli, will be announced in the coming months.
Among the notable names who have previously performed in the show are Liza Minnelli, Elliott Gould, Glenn Close, Kristin Chenoweth, John Goodman and Megan Mullally.
The show’s signature ballad, “Try to Remember,” has also been recorded by hundreds of artists like Harry Belafonte, Bobby Darin and Gladys Knight.
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The Jonas Brothers’ concerts on their Greetings From Your Hometown Tour were punctuated with celebrity guests, including Demi Lovato, Hanson and John Legend.
For their recent final show at the Barclays Center, the brothers brought JoJo, Norah Jones, Sombr and Japanese rock star Yoshiki onstage to perform with them.
Yoshiki, fresh off a flight from Tokyo, arrived mere minutes before his cue. He played a flawless piano rendition of the band’s hit “Fly With Me” as the JoBros sang alongside him while 18,000 fans cheered.
“This moment with the Jonas Brothers was truly pure magic,” Yoshiki said. “It reminded me once again that music knows no borders. It was a profound honor to share the stage with such talented artists in New York, and it inspires me to deepen my connections with fans in the United States and worldwide.”
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Jeff Mann, longtime publisher of Fashion Mannuscript, the Mann Report and Mann About Town (MAT) magazines, has put a number of prominent New Yorkers on his covers.
The list includes Karen LeFrak, the composer wife of real estate king Richard LeFrak; skin care mogul Peter Thomas Roth; Chagit Leviev Sofiev of Leviev Diamonds; and philanthropist Kimberly Paige Bluhm, wife of billionaire casino magnate Neil Bluhm.
January’s cover of MAT features power couple Amy and Gary Green, founders of the environmental charity The Green Vision.
Gary is the son of SL Green Realty founder Stephen L. Green, whose company transformed Manhattan’s commercial real estate landscape.
While the Greens split their time between New York City and Aspen, “New York is the center of the universe,” Amy tells the magazine, embracing the city where Gary’s family name is etched into the skyline. “We’ll always be part of this great city. My children will always remember and respect the Green legacy.”
The pair are continuing that legacy through their work in New York, as well as real estate, sporting and community-building ventures across the country. Among those is a proposed $114-million project in downtown Omaha, centered around a state-of-the-art soccer stadium.
Featuring housing, retail, dining, entertainment and greenspace, the development is “designed as a catalyst for a new urban ecosystem, one that attracts visitors, drives economic growth and reimagines what a midsize American city can offer,” Jeremy Murphy writes for the magazine.
If approved, they could break ground on the project later this year.
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Techno DJ Jensen Meeker has been rehearsing at Bentley House Studios, where Lenny Kravitz, members of The Grateful Dead and Rosé from K-pop’s Blackpink have played. The private recording studio is owned by his father, artist and lighting designer Bentley Meeker.
On Jan. 30, Jensen will perform alongside rising dark-pop artist Creams at the annual Merge event, held at a secret venue in Brooklyn.
The underground rave — a “queer party that aims to cultivate sonic liminoid experiences through techno music” — is such a hot ticket, the exact location will not be revealed until the day of the weekend dance party.
Other stealth artists performing in the series include Decoder, Auspex, Ignez and MIZU.
Information and tickets are available through the Resident Advisor website.
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Billionaire John Paulson celebrated his 70th birthday at a party hosted by his fiancée, Alina de Almeida, the mother of his 11-month-old daughter, Jacqueline.
Although Paulson owns a $110-million, 30,000-sq.-ft. oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, de Almeida gave the party at P.F. Chang’s, the popular Chinese restaurant Paulson owns in Palm Beach Gardens.
Among the 150 friends enjoying the feast and acrobatic dancers were Suzanne and Woody Johnson, owners of the New York Jets; Dana and Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots; and Lynne and Steve Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins.
Fellow billionaire couples in attendance included Andrea and Steve Wynn, Christine and Stephen Schwarzman, Kimberly and Neil Bluhm, and Karen and Richard LeFrak.
Also on hand were Hilary and Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce during Trump’s first term; Amy and John Phelan, the current secretary of the Navy; and Amy and Bret Baier, the host of “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Fox News.
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Broadway producer Randie Levine-Miller has created “Randie’s Round Table,” a monthly gathering of showbiz people at the legendary Sardi’s.
Richard Kind, Penny Fuller, Ken Waissman, Jeffrey Sweet, Alan Ceppos, Craig Pomranz, Joshua Ellis, Steve Garrin and Marcia Milgrom Dodge swap “behind-the-scenes tales of show business antics” — much like the Algonquin Round Table traded jokes and witty critiques of pop culture in the ‘20s and ‘30s.
“Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall?” Levine-Miller laughed.
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Hamptons private chef Andrew Molen did a good deed on New Year’s Eve while cooking for Miami’s Little Lighthouse Foundation. The organization hosts more than 20 different programs and partners with 90 facilities to provide support and resources for underprivileged youth.
Odell Beckham Jr., former wide receiver for the New York Giants, came over after midnight and asked Molen if he could cook for him and his friends. After a large wagyu steak, the group disappeared into the night to continue their fun.
