New York
Total Number of Delegates: 282 Pledged: 232 Unpledged: 50
How to Recognize a New York Delegate: After arguing about food and their governor's taste in call girls, New Yorkers spend a lot of time arguing about the personality split that divides upstate from downstate. The constant bickering and knocking of heads has even caused new governor David Paterson to call the state legislature the "least deliberative and most dysfunctional in the nation"! Well, after watching decades of New York-based television shows, from Facts of Life to Sex and the City, every other American is painfully aware of every personality trait of every character type of every Empire State resident. We know that downstaters live in deluxe apartments in the sky, that hot dogs make them lose control, and that for upstaters, the world never seems to be livin' up to their dreams. And we also know that downstaters dress like they live in London and wear a lot of black, while upstaters dress like they live in Wisconsin and wear a lot of plaid and gingham. Otherwise, they all act just alike! To spot a New Yorker, look for someone who is arguing. They love to argue, not because they are always right, but because everyone else is always wrong. About everything. All of the time. They are the original multi-taskers and will be the delegates who are trying to "hail cabs" and "get some service over here" while telling all within earshot about how much better everything is back in New York. They will also be the most curious delegates in Denver and won't be shy to ask questions. Their most frequent queries will be, "Where's the manager?" and "Do you expect me to eat this?"
Famous New Yorkers: Artists Norman Rockwell and Rockwell Kent; writers Herman Melville, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Ogden Nash, Norman Mailer and David Sedaris; actors Humphrey Bogart, James Caan, Billy Crudup, Tom Cruise, Claire Danes, Kirk Douglas, Jane Fonda, Ricki Lake, Ethel Merman, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Christopher Walken and Denzel Washington; comedians Woody Allen, Lucille Ball, Mel Brooks, George Burns, George Carlin, Fran Drescher, Chris Elliott, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Paul Reubens, Adam Sandler, Amy Sedaris, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart; musicians Christina Aguilera, Pat Benatar, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Kim Gordon, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Jennifer Lopez, Laura Nyro, Joey Ramone, Lou Reed and Barbra Streisand; rappers 50 Cent, Big Daddy Kane, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Mos Def, Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac; industry titans John D. Rockefeller and Donald Trump.
Famous New York Democrats: 32nd president of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt; senators Aaron Burr, Robert F. Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton; representatives William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, Nita Lowey, Nydia Velasquez and Charles Rangel; first legally blind African-American governor David Paterson; former governor and newly disgraced emperor Eliot Spitzer.
Famous New Yorkers With Denver Connections: Seventeenth vice president of the United States Schuyler Colfax; Colorado's first senators, Henry M. Teller and Jerome B. Chaffee; banker and railroad builder David Moffat; Colorado photographer William Henry Jackson; future 2nd District congresswoman Joan Fitz-Gerald; Quiznos founder James Lambatos; Qwest inside trader Joe Nacchio; News2 morning anchor Tom Green; News4 weatherman Ed Greene; 9News sports nerd Drew Soicher; Denver Nuggets small forward Carmelo Anthony; Common Era clotheshorse Debra Mazur.
State Nickname: The Empire State, The Knickerbocker State (official); The Bickerknocker State, Da Gawdfadda State, Chock Full O' Nuts (unofficial). Population: 19,306,183 Racial Distribution: 59% white, 17% black, 1% Native American, 7% Asian, 16% Hispanic Per Capita Personal Income: $36,574 Unemployment: 6.3%
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEW YORK DELEGATION
Most New Yorker Denver Neighborhood: East Colfax
Most New Yorker Bar: Peaks Lounge in the Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center 650 15th Street All the scenery of upstate and the sophistication of the city, in a bar with a mountain view that’s more intoxicating than the liquor.
Most New Yorker Restaurant: Deli Tech 8101 East Belleview Avenue Delegates will have to hop on the G train, get off at the Belleview station, walk two blocks south on Quebec Street and three blocks easton Belleview Avenue to satisfy those Carnegie-worthy cravings for pastrami, rugelach and a "poppy widda shmear."
View larger imageBest Day Trip: Cherry Creek Mall
For New York delegates, the state of Colorado will only seem like a lot of dirt piles and thin, dry air. And in truth, all the scenic wonders of the Rocky Mountains combined aren't as spectacular as Niagara Falls (which can be enjoyed both before and after with a plate of America's best hot wings at the Anchor Bar in the nearby city of Buffalo). The city of Denver, on the other hand, will not disappoint. The favorable impression starts at the airport. After arrival at the spectacularly spacious Denver International Airport, it will be impossible for a New Yorker to ever refer to La Guardia or J.F.K. as anything other than "a freakin' nightmare." Downtown Denver will seem remarkably quaint and insufferably clean. The homeless are absolutely unnecessary here but choose their vocation to provide cosmopolitan photo-ops for high-school art students and European visitors. The new Hamilton wing of the Denver Art Museum will make even the most uncultured upstater "dizzy" with delight. Hang on tothat handrail in Daniel Libeskind's vestibule of vertigo! Savvy downstaters might think that it's all a cover up for some glaring civic inadequacy, but in truth, it only gets better. Denver is home to what is arguably America's best mall. Just get in a cab at the front door of the Adam's Mark Hotel and say, "Take me to Cherry Creek!" The lavishly appointed shopping center is in the heart of Denver. It’s anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and Nordstromand features a total of 160 renowned shops that range from Urban Outfitters to Burberry and Tiffany & Co. The surrounding neighborhood is packed with upscale shops (don't miss Filson Denver) and food that only seems to taste better in the thin dry air. Gulp it down, New Yorkers: You'll need your strength for that trip back through LaGuardia. -- Kenny Be
