the buzz log

The case of the swindled socialite appears to be over. The jury on the Brooke Astor trial found her 85-year-old son guilty of siphoning $60 million from his Alzheimer's-afflicted mom, who died at the age of 105 two years ago.

Searches on the Web immediately surged, with lookups on "brooke astor" and "astor verdict" both posting big gains.

The trial had gripped New York with all its Greek-tragedy implications. A fantastically wealthy philanthropist matriarch. A lackluster son who worked for his mother, accused of sneaking himself a million-dollar raise and helping himself to her cash. The conviction of one of the charges could mean up to 25 years in the clink.

The beleaguered son, Anthony Marshall, says his power of attorney allowed him to pay himself more, and to change his mother's will, which originally had benefited charities. He put a stop to the bequests, and instead directed most of the estate to himself. Instead of recipients like the Bronx Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marshall altered the will to pay expenses like his yacht bill.

Mom's high-placed friends did nothing to help her son's case. None other than Barbara Walters and Henry Kissinger testified on her behalf, saying the society queen was not of sound mind at the end of her life — and that her son took full advantage. The prosecution presented 72 witnesses compared with two for Marshall's side. The trial dragged on for an eye-popping 19 weeks.

According to the New York Daily News, the jury found Marshall guilty of 14 out of 16 charges. Marshall plans to appeal. But the reputation of a fine family has already lost.

Filed under: New York City, Crime

New York City has long been home to artists, eccentrics, and oddball types. But now, the boisterous free spirits in apartment 2B better watch out. They might be written up on the Web's newest forum for anonymous complaints, RottenNeighbor.com.

A kind of "Don't Date Him Girl" for the home-owning set, RottenNeighbor.com invites people across the U.S. to register their gripes about the lousy individuals who live next door. Type in a zip code and grouse away—or see if someone's groused about you. Since launching in late July, the site has flourished in popularity. In the past week, buzz for the personal grievance zone shot up 1,744%.

Contrary to what you might think, demand for "rottenneighbor.com" isn't coming from suburban enclaves, long characterized as wary of unconventional activity. Instead, New York City accounts for more than twice the number of searches for the site than anywhere else in the U.S. The citizens of Gotham are packed in, proficient in venting, and, apparently, pining for a little civility in the co-op.

Filed under: New York City, Housing

A controversial police shooting has stirred up some familiar battles on the streets and podiums of New York City. While the delicate relationship between police, politicians, and citizens waivers between pointing fingers, marches, and cries for justice, we turn to see what the results look like in Search.

The shooting occurred on Saturday, November 25, and has since risen into the national spotlight. Five officers fired 50 shots into a car that may have purposefully struck an unmarked police van and threatened the safety of the officers. The driver of the car, Sean Bell, died, while two others are in critical condition.

The incident incited a flurry of relevant searches, including "nypd shooting," "groom shooting," "new york shooting," "nypd," and even spikes for an unofficial police-related message board called NYPD Rant. Folks also searched on previous deadly interactions between police officers and New Yorkers, notably Amadou Diallo.

But despite the interest in the shooting, the names that have drawn the most attention in Search weren't on the scene to witness: the Reverends Al Sharpton (+11,518%) and Jesse Jackson (+1,695%).

Filed under: New York City, Crime