Celebreality on an island

The isle of Manhattan is one of the few places where you can see celebrities roaming around in their 'natural' habitat. It all comes down to numbers... The island is only 13 miles long from stem to stern and only 2.3 miles across at it's widest point around 14th Street, so with just shy of 10 million people odds have it that you're going to get celebritized at least once a week.

Here are a few tips on how to increase those odds:

• Central Park. I know this seems like an obvious one, but on my [ahem] daily run on the park drive I see a notable virtually every day. Most celebs put stock in keeping fit [with the exception of the likes of Rush Limbaugh and do you really want to see him in running spanks?]. Just the other day I had a triple dip of Chris Noth [Mr. Bigg, or the Good Husband] and his ripped from the headlines real-life model Elliott Spitzer [not together] and Christine Baranski [also not with Mr. Noth, but the coincidence of it all was rather spooky].


• Hotel bars. Not the cheesy lobby bars of yure, but the living-room-with-an-edge, vibey, loungy haunts offered up at the boutique hotels in the city. Por ejemplo: in the last month Madonna [with Jesus in tow], Jessica and Ashley Simpson, Pete Wentz, Eva Longoria, Joan Jett, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, Robin Thicke, Michael Buble and The Black Eyed Peas have all been spotted at the stylish Inc. Lounge on the second level at The Time Hotel in Midtown west. These spots allow the celebs to hang out, do interviews, etc without having to leave the environs of their home away from home [and the dim lighting and selective door policies keep the paparazzi at bay].


• Barneys New York. I ran into Candace Bergen on two consecutive trips to this retail staple [I think she thought by the second time around I was stalking her]. On the same day as my second Candy sighting, I rode the elevator down from the men's co op to the ground floor with none other than 'The Boss', Mr. Springsteen himself.






• Balthazar. After some 15+ years, they still keep coming. Further west the same is true of Pastis.


• The Broadway stretch. If you happen to be walking around in the theater district this season, keep an eye peeled around the 6-7pm hour. Broadway is rife with big stars this year and they often walk into the theaters just like the rest of us [sans shades and a hat of course].




• The dog run. Just like everyone else with a pooch, the celebs love spending time with their furry friends outdoors. I saw James Gandolfini at an East Village dog run a few weeks back [black and white retriever mix in case you were curious].

You get the picture. Manhattan is easiest navigated on foot and most celebs who spend any amount of time here know that, so get out there and feel the fresh spring air and bump into somebody famous, or maybe better yet just an old friend.