I was filling out my taxes today, using one of those computer programs that shows you your refund in the corner as you answer a bunch of questions. After filling out the Federal portion, I forged ahead and slew the state dragon as well. It was actually going very well until I got to one question.

Until this one question, my estimated state refund was a beautiful $3,009. Thoughts danced in my head of all the things I could do with a refund check of that size. I could pay off a credit card, get a new computer, take a vacation to some exotic island, or even head over to Scores West for some entertainment and a police record.

“Did you live in New York City during 2006?” it asked. I clicked the “Yes” button. The estimated refund didn’t change. Woo-hoo! The program then asked if I was a full-year resident or a part-year resident. I clicked on full-year. I looked at the estimated refund. “$181″.

I swear I think I heard the tax software chuckling softly to itself.

The New York City skyline is peppered with skyscraper. While new tall buildings keep popping up in cities across the world, and even when The Freedom Tower is complete, it will have already been topped by a number of other buildings, no city can lay claim to being the home of so many tall buildings, functioning symbiotically.

But, with so many to choose from, it becomes hard to pick a favorite! So, what do you think?

POLL AFTER THE JUMP!!!
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Speaking of green initiatives, the NY Stock Exchange has just converted to a completely paperless system. Finally! How did this take so long?

And here’s a tip for you drivers out there: take the subway! Kidding, kidding. Via Gothamist, it’s a map of NYC parking garages with their corresponding rates and pricing info. There’s no way it can be 100% up-to-date and accurate at all times, but definitely a good resource nonetheless. I mean, if you have to drive and all.

[image from here]

An article at msnbc.com has a startling revelation: a 77 square foot former walk-in-closet is selling in a posh London neighborhood for $335,000.
The startling news isn’t that a room with no electricity or heat (you heard that) is selling for well over a quarter of a million dollars, but the revelation that that’s more than $4,340 per square foot…and New York City has similar properties that go for as much as $5,000 per square foot.
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Last night, on the coldest day yet of the winter, I met up with some friends for drinks at the Old Town Bar and Grill. As frozen as it was outside, it was toasty and cozy inside this popular spot.

Built in 1892, this historic tavern retains a classic style and feel. Just a couple blocks from Union Square, it’s a convenient meeting spot. The decor reflects an older time, with ornate ceiling carvings, hanging lamps, and classic style. Bar stools and booths are available downstairs, with a traditional dining area upstairs. Good luck finding a seat in either on a Friday night, though.
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“When I first experienced French starch, it seemed like a revelation,” says Adam Empois, the erstwhile wine and ironing critic for The New Yorker. “You have to understand that where I grew up in Nebraska, we didn’t have any of the truffle starches everyone takes for granted now. My mother used to send our clothes to the local dry cleaner.” He winces at the memory.

Today, of course, ironing is an upscale hobby phenomenon, with enthusiasts spending over $300 million annually. Empois himself has just been tapped as editor-in-chief of the new magazine, Pressed! The title will compete head-on with newsstand powerhouse Fine Ironing.

“We feel the market is large enough to support two titles,” says Empois, sporting an immaculate wrinkle-free suit in his new penthouse office. “Fine Ironing is a fantasy title for people who want to look at pictures of elegantly pressed clothes, but it’s unrealistic for do-it-yourselfers. Our focus will be geared toward the consumer, showing her where to buy products she sees celebrity ironers using on the Starch Network.”
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Two huge retailers, Apple and Home Depot, have pulled the plug on plans for additional huge stores in Manhattan. Apple planned to open another huge multi-level store in the center of the chain store shopping paradise that is 34th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. Disappointed Apple fanboys and gals will no doubt cry themselves to sleep reading about the planned massive 4-story, 30,000 square foot store on 34th St. But do we really need another huge Apple store, another huge chain store on 34th Street? Evidently not.

Home Depot planned to open a 3 level store in Hudson Square to service SoHo and Tribeca area, but that plan is also dead in the water, much the the chagrin of all the millionaire, trust fund, Soho-dwelling do-it-yourself-ers. Personally, I won’t be too upset about this. There are plenty of other Home Depot and Apple stores in the area and Manhattan turning into a huge outdoor mall is continually depressing prospect. At least we’ve got a little bit more time before that happens.

Apple and Home Depot Pull the Plug on NYC Stores [Forbes via Gizmodo]

Even if you love to cook, have a great kitchen, and a state-of-the-art dishwasher, there are times that you just don’t want to deal with it. In this city, those times call for take-out. You gotta figure even Mario Batali orders take-out once in a while.

One aspect of take-out that I don’t like is when the delivery person, after making a delivery, shoves menus under everyone’s door on their way out. I have a simple policy when it comes to the menus that are shoved under my door: I boycott the establishment. For life. Same thing for menus that have been folded and shoved in my mailbox. Conversely, those that are put in my mailbox by the Postal Service because the restaurant mailed them out are a-okay in my book.

In the Spring of 2006, my policy was put to the test.
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I don’t even remember where I came across this–so I’m afraid I can’t give credit where credit is due–but this MondoMap of NYC neighborhoods is pretty cool. Right now it includes Koreatown, Curry Hill, Alphabet City, Clinton Street, and Little Italy, and in a very clean, user-friendly, and intuitive format maps out each of the restaurants and businesses in those neighborhoods.

Very cool, very useful (much more so than Google or Yahoo Maps, in my opinion), and hopefully they will continue to expand and cover all of the city’s many neighborhoods.

After reading the list of Oscar nominees, I thought I’d put in a quick plug for what has to be THE best experience in theatergoing a film lover can have in New York City: The Ziegfeld Theatre.
Seriously. It rocks.
Typically, the Ziegfeld plays host to “big” films (most recently, it’s been home to “Dreamgirls”) and the general audience with which I’ve seen movies there (about 6 or so in my 5 years living in the city) have been enthusiastic fans.
There was something present when seeing Yoda and Count Dooku battle, or when Jennifer Hudson belted out her showstopping “And I Am Telling You” or when Catherine Zeta Jones stomped out onstage with “All That Jazz” that I’ve never seen repeated in a regular theatre.
A little short history of the Ziegfeld – it is not the original Ziegfeld Theater as built by Follies producer Florenz Ziegfeld, but rather a movie house dedicated in his name and erected in the 60s. The original site of the Ziegfeld theatre is a bit down the street and is now an office building and parking complex. The current owners of the Ziegfeld are Clearview Cinemas.

Check out its listing on Cinema Treasures for a bit more detail…and definitely see a film there. It’s truly one of the last cinematic “experiences” to be had in the country.

(Ziegfeld Theater photo courtesy of Patrick Crowley)