Leaving A Nice Big (Carbon) Footprint At The Beach

A fantastic service leaves much more time to prepare for the hangers on who weasel their way into the compound:

As Manhattan motorists sit for hours on the Long Island Expressway making slow progress toward their Hamptons weekend getaways, a new $1,600-a-seat round-trip helicopter service is flying to East Hampton, N.Y., from Midtown Manhattan in 35 minutes flat.

While chartered seaplanes and choppers have offered speedy service to the Hamptons for more than a decade, U.S. Helicopter last week unveiled the first scheduled helicopter service to East Hampton Airport, allowing New Yorkers with big budgets to book flights on a whim hours before takeoff. The convenience comes at a price — it’s nearly twice as expensive as some charters.

“Time is money,” the executive director of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, Marina Van, said. “People want to get to New York and back as fast as possible.”

. . .

Other helicopter companies are also offering spruced-up packages to attract more customers. One charter helicopter company, BlueStar, recently debuted a Hamptons HeliCard, where frequent fliers can purchase packages of trips for the summer. The 30-trip package weighs in at $82,000. BlueStar charters accommodate six passengers and cost between $6,000 to $14,000 a round-trip — with Taittinger Champagne served during the short flight.

Defining Down Disgustingness

It’s easy to be outraged by Taco Bell if you never ate there to begin with:

A TV report ratting out a frozen-yogurt shop for hosting a party of mice didn’t keep crowds of Upper East Siders from the trendy treat yesterday.

Footage on WABC News showed two mice running around the popular Pinkberry shop on Second Avenue at East 81st Street at 4 a.m. The station said it was tipped by a passer-by who saw about six of the critters.

“As long as there’s no rats in the ice cream, I’m OK,” said Josh Feldman, who was willing to wait 20 minutes on line for a serving of the dessert Paris Hilton asked for in jail.

His brother, Seth, said, “There are rats all over the city. I’m OK with it.”

Earlier: Wearing Latex Food Service Gloves Just Doesn’t Feel Right.

You Are All Philip Drummond Now

The Post corrects Friday’s report in the Sun on the most expensive parking space in Manhattan, noting that there is a parking lot that charges nearly $2000 a month for a stretch limousine:

The priciest parking spot in Manhattan costs almost $2,000 a month — more than a rental for a one-bedroom apartment in a trendy downtown neighborhood, a survey found.

The study of space rentals at garages citywide by the commercial Realtor Colliers International revealed 4 E. 76th St. Garage Inc. to be the highest, at $1,940 a month for a stretch-limo parking spot.

And for the first time, the average monthly rental in Midtown will hit $1,000 this year. Colliers research director Ross Moore said the median was $887 last year — when the report found Manhattan monthly parking fees to be the highest in North America.

Funny, I always just assumed that stretch limousines simply idled 24 hours a day in front of their owners’ homes.

Whatever Happened To Gentlemanly Pursuits — Collecting Old Maps, For Example?

No offense, but if you ever, ever again force me to consider the concept of “trust fund DJs” then I will start agitating for the reinstatement of the estate tax:

[D.J.] Berrie, 21, is just one of a burgeoning breed of D.J.’s. Young and rich — Mr. Berrie’s late father made his fortune as the marketer and manufacturer of the Troll doll in the 80’s — they wield their natural-born connections to money, promoters and marketers to secure some of the most coveted D.J. gigs in the city.

It used to be that scions of wealthy families would grow up in Daddy’s image to become pampered workhorses. Or maybe, if his parents were particularly artsy or intellectual, he would be supported while pursuing an M.F.A. or multiple terminal master’s degrees. Connections were always useful for getting into top-notch schools, or climbing corporate ladders.

But today, as we know all too well, the young and trust-funded are often after fame, having secured their fortune as babies. Most of them can get that fame just by going out enough during the week and insulting Lindsay Lohan (what’s up, Brandon Davis!) when there’s a camera around. Yet there are still those wealthy young’uns who manage to develop a work ethic. Today, instead of claiming the corner office, they hunker down behind a set of turntables in a D.J. booth.

Stunning Views Of Architectural Marvels Like 55 Water Street Will Make You Feel Like The King Of The World

It’s not so weird that a condo in Brooklyn now costs $7.2 million — New York real estate long ago ceased to make sense. That said, it does seem strange to pay that much for a view of 55 Water Street:

It’s Brooklyn as you’ve never seen it and probably never will — unless you’ve got $7.25 million to spare for what is about to become the borough’s priciest condo.

The flagship penthouse unit at 1 Brooklyn Bridge Park, along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, will consist of a 4,638-square-foot triplex with breathtaking, 360-degree views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines from inside a state-planned public park.

But only those with the deepest pockets need apply. The price tag for the luxury pad is nearly double that of the current record sales figure for a Brooklyn condo: $3.8 million shelled out for a penthouse at the Aurora in Williamsburg in January.

“It will even have a private elevator that goes up to a rooftop terrace so you really feel like ‘king of the world,'” boasted Robert Levine, developer of the complex, which launched sales last week.

Levine’s “sky house” will feature seven rooms, four bathrooms and state-of-the-art appliances, as well as access to luxury amenities off-limits to park visitors.