The “Sports Authority Bus Terminal” Is The Obvious Front Runner

Naming rights for the Port Authority Bus Terminal are up for grabs:

The Port Authority wants to sell naming rights to the hulking Midtown bus terminal.

Sports fans sometimes cry foul when teams sell companies naming rights to their stadiums — such as when the Houston Astros embarrassingly played at Enron Field.

But PA officials doubt that even the most ardent preservationists would bemoan the loss of “Port Authority Bus Terminal” from the cityscape.

And money earned by changing the name to Verizon Terminal or Nike Bus Station, for example, could be used to further renovate and improve the long-lackluster facilities, sources said.

Millions of dollars in upgrades have been made to the station since it was a glorified homeless shelter in the 1970s and ’80s. But it would take assistance from the private sector to make the terminal — used by 200,000 people each day — a destination in its own right, sources said.

The Long Arm Of The Lionel-Industrial Complex Returns To Wrap Its Filthy Fingers Around Our Fair City

The entity responsible for this nation’s infatuation with trains is coming home:

After almost four decades working out of a sleepy Detroit suburb, Lionel, the toy train and model railroad manufacturer, is back on Madison Avenue, and trying to bring model trains out of the hobbyist’s basement and into the realm of popular culture.

Founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen in Midtown Manhattan, Lionel grew to mainstream popularity through the 1950s, when trains were icons of Americana and lifelines of cross-country travel. But when cars and planes began to replace train transportation, Lionel’s sales dwindled, with only hardcore hobbyists buying.

The move to Madison Avenue is part of Lionel’s CEO Jerry Calabrese’s aim to “re-establish what Lionel’s tradition was for its first 65 years and stake our flag back in the world of pop culture,” he said in an interview yesterday.

The Madison Avenue showroom, complete with oak floors and three operating train layouts, marks a nostalgic homecoming for the company. “There are old men who weep that we’re back with a showroom on Madison Avenue,” Mr. Calabrese said. The showroom is now seven blocks north of the company’s original Madison Avenue showroom at 27th Street. “It’s great to be back in the city because the roots of the company are in New York,” Mr. Calabrese said.

If the Lionel-Industrial Complex has its way, a grim future of light rail awaits:

Under Mr. Calabrese’s leadership, Lionel has signed licensing deals with the movies “The Polar Express” and “Harry Potter,” with Nascar, and an exclusive deal with the MTA to manufacture replica subway cars.

Last year’s Lionel train display at Grand Central Terminal drew more than 200,000 visitors to the station Mr. Calabrese refers to as “the St. Patrick’s Cathedral of trains,”during the holiday season when train sets suddenly enter the mainstream zeitgeist. “At the end of the day we’re a pop cultural iconic American brand,” Mr. Calabrese said. “Now we have to catch up with our destiny.”

The Devil squints his black eyes, strokes his fiery goatee and breathes heavily, “Choo, Choo.”

Not Clear Whether This Includes The Duane Reade In Forest Hills But We Can Only Hope

This is precisely why they hate our freedom:

New York’s most ubiquitous drugstore quietly got sexy two weeks ago by stocking erotic toys and passion oils, according to Crain’s New York Business magazine.

Among the items for sale from the upscale Kama Sutra line of sex aids are feather ticklers, edible honey dust, vibrators and flavored condoms.

A Kama Sutra executive said selling through Duane Reade was an easy choice, and predicted New Yorkers won’t blink at seeing “pleasure” products next to the pharmacy. “We figured the Manhattan customer was sophisticated enough for our products,” said Beverly Pollington Sirjani, senior VP of California-based Kama Sutra.

Next Stop, 50th Street-Rockefeller Center, Transfer Available To Top Of The Rock

Is the MTA getting paid to have its subway conductors advertise Rockefeller Center’s new observation deck? Officials are mum:

A Transit Authority bulletin directs train crews to mention the “Top of the Rock” observatory when pulling into the 47th-50th St./Rockefeller Center station. Veteran motormen and conductors said they believe the order is unprecedented — and some riders are less than thrilled.

Scott Gocherman, 30, a retail manager waiting for an uptown F-train yesterday had this message for transit managers: “Get me from here to there. I want to get to work. I don’t need you to be trying to sell me anything.”

Some riders said they didn’t even notice the pitches. Others thought the new plugs could be a good way to generate extra money for system maintenance or upgrades.

But Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Tom Kelly said the spiels are a free “courtesy” to let riders know of the tourist attraction. He couldn’t immediately say who requested the “Top of the Rock” mention.

A spokeswoman for Tishman Speyer, co-owners of Rockefeller Center, was tight lipped. “We are declining to comment,” the spokeswoman said.

Riders have been asking conductors what the heck is “Top of the Rock,” conductor Ronald Brockington said.

But nobody bothered to explain to train crews what their announcements were about, he added.

“It’s making us look like buffoons,” Brockington said.

You Saw The Concert, Now Buy The Tour Shirt

Take a stand on the issue of economically unsustainable benefits packages for the working man and, oh yeah, support Roger Toussaint’s TWU Local 100 reelection campaign by purchasing official Roger Toussaint transit strike merchandise:

Roger Toussaint’s reelection campaign is hawking $2 signed photos of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 president from the union’s big battle with the MTA.

One photo shows Toussaint at a rally and one shows him leading a march across the Brooklyn Bridge as he headed to jail for leading the three-day December walkout.

A third simply shows an empty bus shelter with a “TWU on Strike” sign.

The photos are going for $2 each, or three for $5. The campaign — through the Web site www.rogertoussaintvictory2006 — also is selling T-shirts. They bear the inscription, “It’s About Respect. NYC Transit Strike 2005.”

“There is a market out there for mementos or memorabilia from the strike,” Toussaint said. “After all, the strike was historic, there’s no doubt about it.”

That market goes beyond transit workers because, he said, the union took a stand to protect pension and health benefits, which resonates with all workers.

. . .

Token booth clerk Gloria Browne, however, said she just might buy a few T-shirts for family members, and a Toussaint photograph for herself. The T-shirts are selling for $17.50.

How could they not mention the Livestrong-esque Transit Strike bracelets which are also on sale? Sweet!