NEW YORK — Officials say a metal homage to the late punk legend Joey Ramone may be New York City’s most-stolen street sign.
The Department of Transportation recently had the “Joey Ramone Place” sign reinstalled in lower Manhattan for the fourth time since 2003.
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This time, it was raised eight feet to curb temptation. The New York Post says that puts it about 20 feet above street level.
The group’s longtime drummer, Marky Ramone, thinks Joey would appreciate the most-stolen distinction. But he adds: “Now you have to be an NBA player to see it.”
The sign is at the corner of Bowery and East Second Street.
The department says Broadway, Wall Street and Love Lane signs also have attracted sign thieves.
The sign’s move was first reported on the blog EV Grieve.
Rowling interview will air on Oprah
NEW YORK — Will J.K. Rowling write another book about Harry Potter?
That’s among the topics discussed in Oprah Winfrey’s first interview with the author, whom she met recently in Edinburgh, Scotland. The interview will air Friday on Winfrey’s television program.
More than 400 million copies of the books starring the boy wizard have been sold worldwide.
Forbes magazine has ranked Rowling as one of the richest women in Britain, with an estimated wealth of $1 billion.
Ozzy plays in Israel for first time today
JERUSALEM — Ozzy Osbourne said that alcohol, not politics, has stopped him from playing in Israel until now.
Osbourne is in Israel this week as part of this year’s international Ozzfest tour, along with Soulfly and Korn. Today’s performance will be his first in the Holy Land.
Asked why he hadn’t played in Israel before, the heavy metal rocker, known for decades of decadence and substance abuse, told reporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday: “I guess I was drunk for so many years.”
He said politics had nothing to do with it. “I try to stay away from politics. They don’t understand me and I don’t understand them,” he said, sitting next to his wife, Sharon.
On Monday, Osbourne and his wife toured Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, Israel’s Tourism Ministry said in a statement.
Pro-Palestinian activists in Europe and the U.S. have urged artists to boycott Israel to protest the country’s policies toward Palestinians.
A number of performers, Elvis Costello and the Pixies, recently canceled shows here, angering local fans. Other artists, including Metallica, Elton John and Rihanna, have resisted boycott calls and played in Israel this year.
Osbourne, 61, pioneered heavy metal as front man for the band Black Sabbath.
Songs like “Paranoid,” and “War Pigs,” with their dark lyrics and heavy guitar riffs changed rock and roll and inspired many bands. Osbourne left the band in the late 1970s and has been performing solo since.
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