....July 22, 12:27 PM
 
 
 
Queens Style

Nick Scotti
Home: Howard Beach
Age: 38
Height: 6’2"
Weight: 195 lbs.


Nick Scotti is not just good looking, he was the cover model for a 1996 Newsweek issue titled “The Biology of Beauty.”

If your face and body are used to illustrate the genetic quirks that produce human beauty, it would seem that you have left about 99.9 percent of the human population in your dust as far as beauty goes.

But the magazine cover and many of Scotti’s other major accomplishments— including a starring role in the “Young and the Restless” as Tony Viscardi, a memorable cameo in “Sex and the City,” and a star turn in the indie film “Kiss Me Guido”—came in the mid-90s.

Back then, Scotti was rumored to be involved with Madonna, who invited him to sing back vocals on one of her singles and helped him land a record deal of his own.

So, what has this Adonis from Queens been up to lately?
Nick Scotti is back in a major way, and this time as the host of his own television show. The Style Network recently launched “New York Nick,” a fashion show for people who don’t want to take advice from prissy fashionistas and high-priced divas. Nick has the whole family in on the act, as his Aunt Irene and sister Viv add even more Queens flavor to this one-of-a-kind style show.

The three Scottis offer unpretentious, real-life advice in place of the usual parade of fashion pieces no one can actually afford. Rather than pushing high fashion, “New York Nick” instructs viewers on how to look good in T-shirts and jeans and how to prepare a dinner party with minimal effort and no gourmet nonsense.

To see that even though Scotti spent decades as one of the premiere male models in the world, he has not drifted far from his Queens roots tune in to the show, which airs Saturday nights at 10 p.m.

 
 
This Summer, Queens Hits The Screen

Vince (right) is a new Hollywood "it boy" who brings his buddies from Queens out to L.A. in the new HBO series "Entourage," one of several Queens-inspired entertainments set to debut.
Queens is no stranger to the film and television industries. In fact, the borough has a strong legacy of feature roles, from the working class neighborhoods of All In The Family to the sci-fi reconfiguration of the New York State Pavilion towers in the film Men In Black.

Silvercup Studios in Long Island City still pumps out music videos, TV shows and movies in the same borough where silent film stars pioneered modern entertainment at the turn of the last century. In general, though, these days Queens get far less camera time than its more photogenic counterpart on the other side of the East River.

This summer, however, it seems the tables have turned.
Queens is stepping out of the long shadow cast by the Manhattan skyline for starring roles in a variety of films and TV shows that have critics buzzing.

Earlier this month, cinemas the world over glowed with the borough’s most famous fictional export with the debut of the blockbuster sequel to Spiderman. Of course, no Spiderman epic would be complete without a few visits to Peter Parker’s home in Forest Hills, and the film’s realism was such that even the distinctively Queens hyphenated address was rendered accurately.

But blockbusters are not the only films placing Queens front and center. The indie film Maria Full of Grace, which opened this week, finds a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule, swallowing pellets filled with heroin and smuggling them into the U.S. In the film, which has drawn rave reviews, the protagonist ends up in Jackson Heights, where the tense second half of the film was shot.

Television is in on the Queens act as well. The new HBO series Entourage, which premiered this week, details the exploits of a young Hollywood heartthrob who takes his buddies from Queens on his fast-paced rise to fame. The Queens crew fills out their days as an entourage, the crowd of hangers-on that always surround modern-day celebrities.

Feelin Groovy

Paul Simon and Artie Garfunkel.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have bridged the troubled waters once again and are touring side by side after a more than 30-year hiatus. Whether the formerly lurid distrust of the duo from Kew Gardens Hills was because Simon was the better songwriter or because Garfunkel had the better voice, one will never know.

But it seems now, as they embark on a world tour, that their friendship has returned to what it once was when they first performed as Tom and Jerry at Forest Hills High School in the late 50’s and started “Feelin’ Groovy.”

Or perhaps, and more likely, they just wanted the $65 million they made in only the first leg of this year’s tour.

Bonding In Queens

HBO has given the green light to a new documentary series that provides a look at the life of an unusual family living in Queens.

The show, entitled “Family Bonds,” will closely track a local family in the business of tracking bail jumpers.
The show has been dubbed “Sopranos Lite,” by some HBO executives.

Each half-hour episode will focus on the family and their problems and dealing with complications while partaking in a dangerous career.

TV critics have likened the show to A&E’s “Family Plots,” which focuses on a family that runs a funeral home.

Queens? Rudy Says, No Thanks

Rudy Giuliani
The best food in Queens ain’t good enough for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who snubbed the borough from a list of his top 10 favorite restaurants in the City.

The list was published as part of a guide for delegates expected to visit during the Republican National Convention.

On Giuliani’s list were seven restaurants from Manhattan and one each from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island.

Queens did make the top 10 list for Bloomberg for having one of his favorite site-seeing destinations: P.S.1 in LIC.

Other lists on the convention’s website, www.2004nycgop.org, include Governor George Pataki’s Top 10 Bargains in NYC and former Mayor Ed Koch’s Top 10 Tips for Surviving NYC.

Romano Brotherly Love

Forest Hill's Ray Romano
Forest Hills native Ray Romano is scheduled to get his first children’s book written with his two brothers Richard and Robert published this fall by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

“Raymie, Dickie and The Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers,” is based on the true story of their experiences growing up in Queens and why brothers could be gross, disgusting and mean, but still love each other.

“When my brothers and I weren’t fighting with each other, we had a lot of fun growing up”, said Romano. “Now it’s great as adults to collaborate with them on this book and fight with them once again.”

Poetic License
With apologies to Astoria's Tony Bennett: No, we weren't in San Francisco. It was one night on Main St in Kew Gardens Hill and we found it, just where you left it

photo: Ira Cohen

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