Vintage Koons

Artist Jeff Koons — whose sculpture "Tulips" sold to Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn for $33 million last year — has designed a $20,000 bottle of bubbly for Dom Pérignon. The collaboration includes a bottle of Dom Rosé Vintage 2003 inside a Koons sculpture modeled on his 2012 work "Balloon Venus." The limited-edition champagne sculptures — of which only "a few hundred" are being made — come out in September. The Dom Pérignon label has previously made bottles inspired by Andy Warhol and David Lynch. Koons made waves in the spring when he branched out from his longtime gallerist Larry Gagosian to launch a May show with rival David Zwirner.

WireImage

Jeff Koons

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Rooftop revelry

Mark Ronson got the crowd going at Manhattan Magazine's bash celebrating the release of Fendi's new fragrance at Catch Roof. Ronson played DJ and Amanda Warner of the band MNDR performed "Bang Bang Bang." "She jumped on a couch and did most of the song from there," said a spy. Ronson's sister, DJ Samantha Ronson, was absent, but tweeted, "The most important thing I learned from the Paula Deen scandal is . . . Damn that woman had a lot of endorsements."

Getty Images

Mark Ronson

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Hoping for peeks

Members of Soho House had to weave through a crowd of 50 young girls gathered by the entrance Thursday night, hoping to see One Direction's Harry Styles, who was said to be dining in a private room inside. The girls, with cellphones and pens in hand, lined up on both sides of the door — but a front-desk clerk kept watch to make sure none of the youngsters sneaked inside. Styles and his bandmates played Jones Beach Theater last night and return for another show tonight.

James Whatling / Splash News

Harry Styles

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‘Sopranos’ actor fights back

After "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini was laid to rest last week before mourners including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the HBO show's cast is still bickering, with Joe Gannascoli accusing a fellow cast member of being a rat spreading bad blood.

Page Six exclusively reported that some "Sopranos" stars had been turned off in the past by Gannascoli's penchant for "self-promotion," and they believed the actor, who played closeted gay mobster Vito Spatafore, was "using Jimmy's death to get his own name out there" and "grandstand."

Gannascoli tells us he thinks he knows which cast member has been squealing. And although he refused to name the stoolie, he warned: "It's a shame that you — I know who you are, always have . . . decided to bring up this story now when [Gandolfini's] family is grieving with the rest of the world."

Joe Gannascoli

The TV gangster continued: "I didn't want to respond so soon because, unlike you, I thought that would have been distasteful. What I find most comical is that you think I was 'grandstanding' when, in fact, you are the biggest media hog out there. You turned my heartfelt tributes to Jim into something ugly."

After Gandolfini's death, Gannascoli did interviews calling the Tony Soprano actor "a tremendous guy," adding, "He came to my wedding." But a source sniffed, "He wasn't close to Jim. They probably hadn't spoken in around seven years."

Gannascoli shot back: "I could refute every one of your silly accusations, but that would only fuel this nonsense and give it credence . . . This story has absolutely broken my heart . . . Why you would come out with this story at a time when Jim was not even buried is really sad on your part. I feel sorry for you. You are an angry person."

Gannascoli told us of the funeral at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine: "The ceremony for you, Jim, was spectacular, moving and fitting for a king. The world has lost a great actor, friend, humanitarian, husband and loving father.

"To you, James, I say go easy, my friend, until we meet again, I will bring the gabagool."

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Palm Beach set hits UES

The Palm Beach set has begun taking refuge on the Upper East Side as the summer season starts. At Primola, Diana Strawbridge Wister, the Campbell's soup heiress known for keeping a particularly low profile, was spotted by social spies dining with Amy Fine Collins'mother-in-law Carol Collins, Fern Tailer, financier Jamie Figg and Barbara Cates. At a nearby table were Patricia Murray Wood Ney — the mother of Hilary Geary Ross and former Southampton Press columnist whose family established the Hamptons hamlet as a summer destination — and her husband, former Young & Rubicam CEO and ambassador Edward Ney. Clive Davis, meanwhile, sat under a framed cover of his book "The Soundtrack of My Life" before he headed to the South of France for an annual European holiday. Society bandleaders Mike Carney and Bob Hardwick were also spotted at the restaurant, along with Cristina Cuomo's parents Ranier and Regina Greeven, real-estate developer Michael Palin and Houston socialite Podi Constantiner.

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The business of religion

Just before the Obama administration released its final rules on the contentious contraceptive mandate, a federal appeals court weighed in on behalf of an American business fighting it in court.

The case is Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Kathleen Sebelius. Hobby Lobby is a chain of crafts stores that its owners, the Green family, run in "a manner consistent with Biblical principles." Among other things, that means losing out on millions in sales by remaining closed on Sundays. Though the Greens have no issue with contraception coverage per se, they balk at the abortion-causing drugs they say the HHS mandate would force them to pay for.

AP

Hobby Lobby

So they have sued. The district court denied relief on the grounds that Hobby Lobby is a corporation But the 10th Circuit has now ruled that Hobby Lobby does have religious-liberty rights under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act — and that the contraceptive mandate both burdens those rights and threatens the company with irreparable injury.

In short, this case poses fundamental questions about religious liberty the Supreme Court will likely end up deciding. We hope it looks to the law the way the 10th Circuit did. Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, puts it this way: "In America, religious liberty has never been confined within the walls of houses of worship. Religious believers have broad freedom to live out their beliefs in all aspects of their lives."

Whether it be a Jewish butcher whose business follows kosher practices or an evangelical Christian restaurant that won't serve booze, millions of Americans run businesses in accord with their religious beliefs. No one forces anyone to work for them or buy from them or sell to them. All these Americans ask is this: that their government not force them to do things that violate their deepest principles.

You might even call it tolerance.

Have an opinion on this Post editorial? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Uncover the deals and steals at Park Slope's stoop sale central

It's only 1:15 on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but Yona Zeldis McDonough, 56, has already been to five stoop sales. Purchases in her now-brimming shopping cart include a $5 Tocca blouse, a Laura Ashley frock for the same price and several vintage dresses she scored for only $4 a pop. "I love the hunt!" the Brooklyn novelist enthuses. "I love the discovery!"

Stoop sales have arrived in full force with summer, when New Yorkers pound the pavement each weekend in search of everything from clothes to sporting goods sold by their neighbors. For a breakdown of standard stoop-sale finds — and tips on how to distinguish treasure from trash — The Post recruited stoop-sale buff Arianna Rebolini for a day of shopping. As editor of local blog parkslopestoop.com, the 27-year-old compiles a weekly list of the neighborhood's best sales. A resident of the nabe, she shops them, too — a habit she developed growing up in the suburbs of Long Island.

"My mother is a fiend for garage sales, so we would go every weekend," Rebolini says of her early deal-seeking days.

"It's in my blood."

We ventured to Park Slope, where you can't throw an old earring without hitting a stoop sale, and stopped at three — one three blocks long. We found lots of bargains and met a lot of bargain hunters along the way. Here's what we uncovered.

Imogen Brown

Stoop-sale expert Arianna Rebolini is game for a bargain at one of the stops along Reeve Place in Park Slope.

11 A.M.: Reeve Place, between Prospect Park Southwest and Prospect Avenue

Organized annually by Reeve Place residents, this neighborhood-wide sale spans three blocks and more than a dozen stoops. While Nicholas and Anita Viola hawked a Monopoly game for $5 and a pair of Dan Post boots for $25, both brand-new, Nader El Rachidi and Valeria Bassot attempted to entice shoppers with two sets of lefty golf clubs ($10 to $20 per club) and bags to tote them around in for $30 each. A $3 Ketel One martini shaker and a 12-piece dinner set priced at $10 garnered attention at Efrain and Carmen Torres' stoop, though Rebolini was most impressed by the apparel for sale.

"If this was in [Brooklyn consignment store] Beacon's Closet, you'd easily pay $10 for it," says Rebolini, pointing out a kitschy Coca-Cola sweater, "but they're selling it for $3." A bright windbreaker tagged for $3 also piques her interest. "Neon is everywhere," she notes of the jacket's trendy appeal, "and so is color blocking."

Imogen Brown

Rebolini (left) shows off a stylish magenta wrap dress she found at a Bergen Street stop for just $10.

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‘Today’ No. 2 again

Former Food Network staple Paula Deen, who has lost three more endorsement deals, with Sears, J.C. Penney and QVC, respectively, was a one-day wonder for "Today."

Wednesday's Matt Lauer interview with the disgraced Deen helped "Today" beat archrival "Good Morning America" by a narrow margin for the first time since Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast last November.

On Thursday, the tables were turned once again, with "GMA" on top by 600,000 viewers and 31 percent in the adult. 25-54, demographic.

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Sheen on lookout for new foil

A casting call has gone out to replace Kate, Selma Blair's character, on "Anger Management."

The show wants a Latina or Caucasian actress in her 30s or 40s to play a "by-the-book psychiatrist" who joins Sheen's character, also named Charlie, to work on a research project.

The description adds, "If Charlie and Kate were like Sam and Diane on 'Cheers,' then you are Rebecca. Tough, career-driven and you wear your heart on your sleeves... and you hate yourself for eventually becoming attracted to Charlie."

It should be interesting to see which actors are brave enough to contact the casting director.

OLD 'ANGER': Charlie Sheen and Selma Blair.

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Summer’s hot color: 'Orange'

Netflix strutted its stuff yesterday, proving they're very proud of their newest original series, "Orange is the New Black."

The video-subscription company announced they're already renewing the prison dramedy executive produced by Jenji Kohan ("Weeds"), for a second season — and the episodes aren't even available until July 11.

"Jenji and her team have produced a phenomenal series, and we're eager to get a second season to our viewers," Cindy Holland, vice president of original content, said in a statement yesterday.

The series is based on the 2010 memoir by Brooklynite Piper Kerman, who went to jail for money laundering and drug trafficking — 10 years after she committed the crime. It stars Taylor Schilling as Piper (with a different last name) and Jason Biggs as her boyfriend.

BEHIND BARS: Taylor Schilling (center) plays Piper Chapman, who leaves Park Slope for prison after an unexpected arrest.

SAYING GOODBYE: Taylor Schilling and co-star Jason Biggs.

Renewing two weeks before a premiere is unheard of for cable and network TV, but Netflix has proven they play by different rules. Just look at how they release an entire season on one day.

After the lukewarm reception to its much-hyped revival of "Arrested Development" last month, it's important for Netflix to create positive buzz for this series, says Brad Adgate, director of research of Horizon Media.

"They've had to set a really high bar with their early original content," Adgate told The Post. "We saw what happened when 'Arrested Development' was received with a tepid response; we saw the Netflix stock fall a little bit.

"So, I think this announcement says they think 'Orange is the New Black' is really good — it's a subtle way to promote it in a positive way."

Netflix aggressively launched into original programming this year, beginning with a two-season order of "House of Cards," a remake of a popular British series on which they reportedly spent $100 million.

The political drama premiered in February, with big-name stars like Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and was directed by Oscar-nominated David Fincher ("The Social Network," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button").

That pricey gamble paid off. "House of Cards" is a leading contender for this year's Emmy awards. Nominees will be announced next month.

Although Netflix doesn't release streaming numbers for any of their original content because it doesn't have advertisers to answer to, the company does release quarterly subscriber information. Netflix saw an increase of about 2 million subscribers the quarter "House of Cards" was released, bringing the total to 29.2 million viewers in the US and 36 million worldwide.

Netflix also announced this month a deal to air new DreamWorks animated shows based on the studio's characters (think: "Madagascar: The Series"). Those projects should be popping up in 2014. And the company's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos recently told The Hollywood Reporter they plan to introduce twice as many original series next year.

"Orange is the New Black" doesn't have the big-name stars "House of Cards" did or the built-in fan base of "Arrested Development," but the early renewal shows Netflix has taken a look at their subscribers' preferences and have decided that its only female-driven show will be well-received.

"That's how they decide which series to pick up to begin with," Adgate says. "They have a lot of data and information on which series their audience is streaming and they base it on that."

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Nets work out deal for Celtics’ Garnett, Pierce

REUTERS

Kevin Garnett (L) and Paul Pierce are headed to Brooklyn.

The Nets have talked about getting younger and more athletic this offseason.

Instead, they have acquired a pair of future Hall of Famers.

The Nets and Celtics spent this evening working on a blockbuster trade that will bring Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett — the final remnants of the Big Three Era in Boston — to Brooklyn next season.

The two sides spent the hours leading up to tonight's draft — which was held in the team's new home, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and where the Nets also had convened their war room — putting together the particulars of the trade, which was first reported by Yahoo!Sports.

The Nets will send Boston a package including Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and three first-round draft picks, one each in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

The Nets would have to send picks in alternating years, because the NBA's collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow teams to trade consecutive first-round picks. The Nets' 2014 pick would be whichever pick is lower between the Nets and Hawks, as the two teams agreed to swap first-round picks in both 2014 and 2015 as part of the trade that brought Joe Johnson to Brooklyn last summer.

For the Nets, such a trade has an obvious allure, as they would fill their hole at starting power forward with Garnett, who is a perfect complement to Brook Lopez and would give them a defensive backbone in the paint. Meanwhile Pierce, despite being set to turn 36 before next season, is coming off a 2012-13 season in which he averaged 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

The trade would allow the Celtics to start their rebuilding process in earnest, after grabbing an unprotected 2015 first-rounder as compensation for allowing Doc Rivers to escape from the remainder of his contract to coach the Celtics to become the Clippers' head coach and senior vice president of basketball operations earlier this week.

If the Nets were able to reel in both Garnett and Pierce, it would likely be the last major move the franchise would make this offseason, as Humphries' expiring contract was the major trade chip the Nets had this offseason.

Outside of signing 2011 second-round pick Bojan Bogdanovic using their taxpayer's mid-level exception, which starts at just over $3 million for next season, the Nets will likely be filling out their roster with minimum contracts, in addition to Duke's Mason Plumlee, who they drafted with the 22nd overall pickbut were expected to be quite active, as general manager Billy King is always one of the most active GMs in the league on draft night.

tbontemps@nypost.com

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Paying the PC price: Bloomberg’s culture war

The Issue: Brooklyn's Longbow Pub, a Welsh bar, which was fined by the city for seeking British workers.

***

The Longbow Pub was fined because the city's logical and moral compass is askew ("City Hall's PC Thugs," Editorial, June 24).

Does it make sense for a Welsh bar to seek workers that are not of the same culture?

Why don't the politically correct thugs fine Chinese restaurants for not seeking Swedish workers, or Southern cuisine restaurants for not seeking Yankee workers?

Would political parties be fined for seeking honest politicians, or should the politically correct mixture include sleazebags and crooks?

Gabriella Bass

Mayor Bloomberg

Imagine: "Wanted: Mayor of New York City. Must be honest." No Democrat would apply.

Texas would love the Longbow Pub.

Elio Valenti

Brooklyn

For the record, the NYC Commission on Human Rights filed a discrimination complaint against the Longbow Pub & Pantry in July 2012 for expressing a preference for one group over another, not for "not being diverse enough" or seeking an individual "who understands British pub culture."

In this case, the pub advertised for someone who is British, which is illegal in NYC under the NYC Human Rights Law, Title 8 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York. Advertising for a person from a specific group is no different than blatantly excluding all other groups.

Had the pub only sought an individual with knowledge of the culture, there would have been no case against it. It's legal to say an applicant should know British culture but illegal to say an applicant must be British.

Discrimination in NYC is illegal and will not be tolerated.

Patricia Gatling

Commissioner

Human Rights

Commission

Manhattan

Thomas Hobbes famously said: "Unnecessary laws are not good laws, but traps for money." Bureaucratic regulation is both a money-maker and a job-killer. Marty Murphy

Bay Ridge

Mayor Bloomberg is a thug, and his nanny-state shenanigans bring shame on the city I love.

He and his jack-booted, PC bullies can't be gone soon enough.

Glen Henderson

Dohar, Qatar

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Voting rights: It’s about control

The Issue: The Supreme Court's decision this week to overturn a key part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

***

Blaming Congress for not adjusting the Voting Rights Act is a little unfair ("We Have Overcome," Editorial, June 25).

Democrats certainly aren't going to change anything that gives them more control over elections, let alone in predominantly red states.

They're the ones who created the need for the Voting Rights Act in the first place. Republicans can't even think about offering a change, because they are already crucified as "racists" on a daily basis for taking stands that have nothing whatsoever to do with race.

The decision to strike down Section 4 is a classic example of how the separation of powers is supposed to work.

Thank God Chief Justice John Roberts didn't botch this one. The bad news is that Democrats are just as unhinged and insensible to reason as ever.John Laraway

Midland, Texas

The Supreme Court's decision to curtail federal oversight of states' ballot laws means the road from Selma to the voting booth just got longer.

Harry Truman once said that the most valuable real estate in America is the voting booth. I hope that, despite the judicial setback, the underlying truth of this statement will serve as a wake-up call to everyone who believes in the principle of one person, one vote.Denny Freidenrich

Laguna Beach, Calif.

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Anthony & the undecided

Anthony Weiner upended New York's political establishment this week when two major polls showed the former congressman holding a narrow lead or in a statistical tie for first in the Democratic primary for mayor.

We don't take anything away from Weiner's showing in these polls. But what strikes us is how much is still up for grabs.

Notwithstanding an embarrassing sex scandal, Weiner has benefited from being the outsider in this race. Unlike most of his Democratic rivals, he hasn't been in the thick of the city's most contentious issues until recently. Nor has he been promising the world to every liberal interest group.

James Messerschmidt

Anthony Weiner

At the same time, and especially with no endorsements from organized labor, Weiner's been free to speak common sense, for example, by suggesting union members' contributions to health benefits should be on the table in upcoming contract negotiations. He's also been supportive of charter schools and less critical of the NYPD than many of his opponents.

In other words, Anthony Weiner comes across as more sensible on all these positions than the rivals who are all gearing their appeal to the usual suspects. Whether Weiner can hold true on his positions, voters plainly find it refreshing.

But it also means there's an opening for Republicans. The Quinnipiac poll found 28 percent of Democrats are undecided; the Marist survey found 18 percent. Combine that with the support for Weiner, and it suggests a lot of Democrats are looking for a more sensible message than they've been getting.

That accords with history. There's a reason the city opted for 20 years of Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. To put it another way, if a quarter of New York City's Democrats are up for grabs, doesn't this indicate an opening for a Republican with a bold and compelling vision for the future — one grounded in clear support for a police force that has brought crime to historic lows, a willingness to make the city friendlier to business and a commitment to continue to strive to make our public schools work as well for our kids as they do for our teachers unions?

Anthony Weiner sees the opening. Would be nice if a Republican did, too.

Have an opinion on this Post editorial? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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An arranged marriage

Call it the Scalia standard.

More than two decades ago, the Supreme Court justice suggested that one measure of how free societies resolve contentious issues is whether losers have "the satisfaction of a fair hearing and an honest fight." He was writing about abortion, but his words are worth recalling in light of two new high court rulings involving marriage.

The first and most substantive came in a case called United States v. Windsor. Here the court struck down as unconstitutional the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act. It did so holding that the law's "purpose and effect" was to "disparage and injure" married gay couples. This ruling has drawn the most attention, partly because it cuts more to the substance of the marriage argument, and partly because of the bigotry its author, Anthony Kennedy, imputed to opponents.

AP

A gay-marriage supporter at the Supreme Court

The companion case involved a technicality over Proposition 8, the successful 2008 California referendum that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The court did not address the substance of Prop 8. Instead, it held that those defending the proposition did not have the legal standing to do so, and it featured liberal and conservative surprises on both the majority and dissenting opinions.

Like the arguments over abortion, marriage provokes passions. On the one side, gay citizens who want to marry believe that laws prohibiting them from so doing violate a basic civil right. On the other side, the people who oppose same-sex marriage because they believe it undermines the institution hold a position that President Obama held until only last year.

The beauty of our system is that it leaves the great moral disputes to be resolved by the people. For that to work, however, it depends on more than legislatures. It also requires proper modesty from the courts, and an executive branch that meets its own responsibilities. What troubles us here is that these court cases each reward executive branches at the state and federal levels that did not defend laws they disagreed with.

Wherever you come down on marriage, the ugliness we saw in California when Mormon churches were vandalized and some Proposition 8 supporters were forced out of their jobs does not suggest a "fair hearing." Throw in a recent Pew study confirming the overwhelming press bias for same-sex marriage, and it looks like yet another issue where some will push their personally preferred outcome no matter what stands in their way, even if what's standing in their way, as Scalia puts it in his dissent, is "the people of We the People."

Our fear is that, far from returning marriage to the states and the people, these decisions put us down the path of taking the issue out of the democratic process.

Have an opinion on this Post editorial? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Friends, family gather for James Gandolfini's wake

Rich Schultz

Friends and family comfort each other during a private wake for actor James Gandolfini Wednesday.

PARK RIDGE, NJ — Family and friends gathered at a private viewing for James Gandolfini Wednesday. The service was held in a small New Jersey town near where he grew up.

Mourners at Wednesday's invitation-only wake left flowers at the Robert Spearing Funeral Home in Park Ridge.

The 51-year-old star of "The Sopranos" grew up in nearby Westwood. He died last week in Italy.

Rich Schultz

Leta Gandolfini, sister of actor James Gandofini, arrives at Wednesday's private wake.

Nurse Robin Caprio wasn't allowed in to the private viewing and stood outside with a photo of herself and Gandolfini taken when his show filmed a scene in Paterson.

Broadway theaters dimmed their marquee lights in memory of Gandolfini, who earned a Tony Award nomination in 2009 for his role in "God of Carnage."

Gandolfini's funeral will be held Thursday at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

Christopher Sadowski

Mourners look to one another for support at Wednesday's wake for actor James Gandolfini.

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Nets call Celtics about Garnett

The Nets have done what likely every team in the NBA has done this week: Put in a call to the Celtics about the availability of Kevin Garnett.

A league source confirmed Tuesday the Nets have inquired about whether Garnett would be available in a trade in the wake of the Celtics losing coach Doc Rivers to the Clippers and seemingly heading for a full-on roster rebuild and potentially the end of the Big Three Era in Beantown.

Garnett undoubtedly would fill a hole for the Nets at power forward, as well as providing an intimidating defensive presence alongside All-Star center Brook Lopez and giving Jason Kidd one of the NBA's most respected locker-room presences to aid him in his first season as a head coach. But it's unclear whether Garnett would be willing to waive his complete no-trade clause for a trade to the Nets — or whether the Celtics would be willing to deal him to a division rival.

The same likely goes for Paul Pierce, who also is expected to be on the trading block. The Celtics have until the end of the month to decide whether to buy out of the final year of Pierce's $15.2 million contract for $5 million. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a news conference yesterday no decision has been made on the future of Garnett or Pierce.

A Nets package for either future Hall of Famer would most likely feature the $12 million expiring contract of Kris Humphries.

Since talk about Rivers heading to the Clippers began, it was expected Garnett, and possibly Pierce, would wind up joining him in Los Angeles. After the negotiations became public, the NBA ruled yesterday the Celtics and Clippers are not allowed to exchange players for the remainder of the 2013-14 season, because players and coaches are not allowed to be included in the same transaction. Rivers will be introduced as the Clippers' head coach and senior vice president of basketball operations today.

The Nets will hold the final draft workout at their New Jersey practice facility today. The headline name among the six players who are scheduled to attend is Louisville center Gorgui Dieng, who anchored the Cardinals' defense on their way to the national championship.

The other players expected to participate are Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas and four local products: Miami guard Durand Scott, who starred at Rice High School; USC guard Jio Fontan, who began his collegiate career at Fordham after playing high school ball with Nets guard Tyshawn Taylor at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City; St. Bonaventure forward Demetrius Conger and Division III Farmingdale State center A.J. Matthews, both of whom are Brooklyn natives.

LONDON CALLING

The Nets will be trading the Brooklyn Bridge for London Bridge for a few days next season.

For the second time in three years, the Nets will travel to London for a regular-season game, this time facing the Hawks on Jan. 16 at O2 Arena — the same venue where Nets star Deron Williams won his second Olympics gold medal last year.

"It always is an honor to represent the league overseas," Williams said in a statement. "Playing in London has a playoff-like intensity, and the energy in the building is great for the players on both teams. It should be very exciting."

The NBA said the game would be a home game for the Hawks, meaning that the Nets will still have 41 games at Barclays Center.

tbontemps@nypost.com

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A tuner for Liberace?

Michael Riedel

BROADWAY MATINEE

Hbo scored one of its highest ratings ever with "Behind the Candelabra," the compelling — and creepy — movie about Liberace and his boy toy, Scott Thorson.

Now I'm hearing that the producer of the movie, Jerry Weintraub, wants to turn it into a Broadway musical.

There are a couple of other Liberace musicals brewing, as well. One has been authorized by the Liberace estate; the other is a campy, low-rent spin on the fruity piano player.

Neither, though, seems to be getting much traction.

But Weintraub, one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, certainly has the clout to get his show on the fast track.

©HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection

Michael Douglas' Liberace made "Behind the Candelabra" a hit for HBO — and now it may be a musical.

He does not, however, know his way around Broadway — yet. He hasn't hired a director or a writer, though I hear he's been drawing up a list of possible leading men.

At the top is, of course, Hugh Jackman.

Jackman's name above the title of anything guarantees a multi-million dollar advance. And he was fabulous in "The Boy From Oz." What will they call the Liberace musical? "The Boy From West Allis, Wis."?

But I think Jackman's a bit young for the part (much of "Behind the Candelabra" takes place in the last 10 years of Liberace's life), and he's certainly far too good-looking.

In the movie, Michael Douglas captured brilliantly Liberace's obsession with youth and his fear of old age. Douglas, 68, also projected Liberace's haggard appearance beneath the toupee.

A musical-theater actor who could also do that — he's the right age — is Victor Garber, 64. Plus, he's played Liberace before, in a long-forgotten 1988 TV movie of the week, "Liberace: Behind the Music."

I just got it from Amazon, and it's pretty good. Maureen Stapleton plays Liberace's mother, and she's every bit as good as Debbie Reynolds in "Behind the Candelabra."

The old TV movie was based on the recollections of Liberace's business manager, Seymour Heller. It was somewhat controversial at the time because it wasn't authorized by the Liberace estate, and it dealt forthrightly with his homosexuality and death from AIDS — pretty daring for a TV movie in 1988.

Garber is excellent.

I hear Weintraub is also thinking about Nathan Lane, who, as you can see right now in "The Nance" at the Lyceum Theatre, has no trouble playing a troubled queen.

To play Scott Thorson, I'd nominate Sebastian Stan, whose well-toned torso should have received a Tony nomination for its scene-stealing turn in "Picnic" last season.

As for directors, Weintraub might consider Jerry Mitchell, who just staged "Kinky Boots" to a Tony Award. Mitchell would certainly be good on all the Liberace fluff — chorus kids, dancing water fountains, fur capes and flying by Foy.

Another interesting choice might be Susan Stroman. She, too, has fun with fluff ("Crazy for You," "The Producers"). But as she demonstrated with the excellent "The Scottsboro Boys," she can handle a musical with serious, even harrowing, themes.

I'd also consider George C. Wolfe.

He hasn't done a musical in a long time, and I bet his take on sexuality and showbiz would be dynamic.

The go-to writer of the moment is John Logan, who could probably cobble together a script that doesn't depart too far from the HBO movie.

A more inspired choice would be Paul Rudnick. He'd nail Liberace's bitchy humor as well as his preening vanity.

Feel free to pursue any of those leads, Mr. Weintraub.

Oh, and for costumes — paging William Ivey Long!

michael.riedel@nypost.com

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Tiny troupes try to break the ice at theater fest

When the Ice Factory Festival opens its 20th season tonight, no one will be happier than Robert Lyons, its artistic director: That's because he'll finally get to see the shows.

The Obie Award-winning fest is an annual leap of faith for its leader, who doesn't bet on individual productions but theater companies whose work he's admired in such tiny performance spaces as Dixon Space, the Brick and Bushwick Starr.

Lyons has a good eye: Over its two decades, the festival has introduced such now-established companies as Elevator Repair Service ("Gatz"), the Foundry Theatre and Rude Mechanicals.

Jess Chayes

Set on a Metro-North train, the Assembly's "That Poor Dream" explores class consciousness via a Dickensian lens.

So even if you haven't heard of the Assembly, Sightline, the Mad Ones, CollaborationTown, Built for Collapse and Anonymous Ensemble — all players in this year's edition, in Greenwich Village — odds are you will.

Or maybe not.

"Sometimes you bet on somebody, and it doesn't pay off," Lyons concedes. "One time we brought in a group that turned out to be presenting a red-nose clown show. They thought that they could walk through Soho dressed as clowns and bring an audience in. I was deeply embarrassed by that."

But the fest must be doing something right: It's still thriving, even though summer is suddenly a hot time for competing theater festivals, Lincoln Center's among them.

And, Lyons says proudly, there isn't a single one-man show in the bunch. Indeed, this year's edition is heavy on collaborative pieces.

Typical is "Untitled Biopic Project" (July 10 to 13), billed as "a hallucinatory meditation on '60s folk rock culture." It was collectively created by the Brooklyn-based troupe, the Mad Ones — named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" — which enjoyed great success with its "Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War."

Joe Curnutte, the troupe's 30-year-old co-artistic director, describes the piece as "a bit of a fever dream," with "psychological thriller elements that meet a folk-rock biopic."

The rest of this year's entries seem equally obscure at first glance. The Assembly's "That Poor Dream" (tonight through Saturday), inspired by Dickens' "Great Expectations," explores class consciousness and is set entirely on a Metro-North train. Sightline's "My Machine Is Powered by Clocks" (July 3 to 6) uses time travel as a thematic element. CollaborationTown's "Help Me To Make It" (July 17 to 20) deals with a family's emotional conflicts over many years. Built for Collapse's "Red Wednesday" (July 24 to 27) is an "operatic, multimedia spectacle" concerning three generations of an Iranian family. And Anonymous Ensemble's "I Land" (July 31 to Aug. 3) invites its audience to "spend an evening on an island far from your daily lives — an island inhabited by your inner life."

"What keeps the festival very much alive for us is that we're jumping into the unknown with the artists, and seeing what comes out," Lyons says. "I don't know what they're going to unleash."

For both him and adventurous audiences willing to take a chance, there's only one way to find out.

The Ice Factory Festival runs tonight through Aug. 3 at the New Ohio Theatre, 154 Christopher St. Tickets, $18 ($15 students and seniors), at 888-596-1027 and at newohiotheatre.org.

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Toss out this queen of trashy food

Steve Cuozzo

Good riddance, Paula Deen — but too bad gloating over her belated ruination won't make up for years of her televised, stomach-churning dominion over millions of Americans' taste.

Deen was a prime mover behind the bulging national waistline, a food festival butt-barer and a diabetes profiteer. Now, she's revealed as a racist, too (or sounds awfully like one).

But her antics wouldn't have been remotely as destructive if the Food Network hadn't propelled her from regional obscurity to global superstardom. Although the network's acting like she's an aberration — a blemish on its image as home to many great, non-racist chefs — Deen personifies, at its worst, the culinary cult of personality that the channel did more than anything else to create.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The food Network is still promoting Paula Deen and her family despite its decision to not renew her contract.

Of course, she's no Mario Batali, Bobby Flay or Masaharu Morimoto. But, like another Food Network clown, Guy Fieri, she's a hero to tens of millions of fans. To lots of viewers, what's one toque from another as long as he or she enjoys TV air time and fame as a restaurateur/"author"/pundit?

Sure, repugnant Paula's contract isn't being renewed. That isn't quite the same as firing her. In fact, yesterday, the network sent out a pitch for its "programming highlights." Among them: a show premiering July 14 hosted by her son Jamie Deen, "Mom's Garden."

It said Jamie "doesn't need a farmer's market when his mom's garden is around the corner! Paula's garden features the freshest vegetables in the South." Any awareness of inappropriateness in light of slurs she admitted using is nonexistent.

I could never stomach the Queen of Trailer Park Cuisine. My loathing peaked last year when she revealed she'd long been, as I happen to be, a type-2 diabetic — a disease her disgusting recipes helped to worsen in millions of sufferers — and was hawking a $500-a-month medicine of no more proven efficacy than others costing less than $20 a month.

But the reach of the Food Network itself, and the instant fandom it confers on just about anybody who appears on it regularly, is the larger issue — not the gross-out behavior of one of its profit-center personalities.

Rock-star chefdom made our culinary scene into a trashy, traveling carnival. It warped restaurants coast to coast, driving chefs to "brand" themselves so they'd never have to sweat over a real stove again.

The lowliest talents dream of a TV star turn — whether they're a budding Batali or a wannabe Deen or Fieri. No wonder they drift from restaurant to restaurant like moths, leaving owners and customers in the lurch and menus as wobbly as panna cotta that didn't set.

The Food Network is hardly alone in this, of course. But with 90 million US households tuning in, it carries slightly more clout than all other TV networks' food shows, newspaper and magazine reviews and articles, cooking schools, blogs and Twitter feeds combined.

Whoa — aren't we a happier nation to know so much more than we once did about barbecue, Japanese eggplant and desserts made from yuzu and seaweed?

Maybe not. True, a lot of people now spend big bucks to gorge their way through food festivals like the one in Miami where ever-classy Deen infamously mooned the crowd a few years ago.

But in the 1970s, when superstar dancers like Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland briefly popularized classical ballet, a wise friend said of suddenly over-subscribed performances, "Many attend, but few comprehend."

Call me elitist. But for the proof of that in the food world, just look at what Paula Deen has wrought.

scuozzo@nypost.com

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Your table awaits you

When renowned chef Wylie Dufresne opened his gastropub Alder at the end of March, there were lines out the door. Customers had to wait as long as two hours to taste the much buzzed-about rye pasta with shaved pastrami and Caesar nigiri. Naturally, as at David Chang's still hot spots Momofuku Ssam and Noodle Bar nearby, the new East Village eatery wasn't bothering to take reservations. Those looking to get a taste of Dufresne's famously creative fare — without trekking to his pricey fine dining institution wd-50 — had to wait it out.

That was, until late May, when the restaurant joined OpenTable and began accepting reservations.

N.Y. Post: Brian Zak

Chef Wylie Dufresne's gastropub Alder is one of the restaurants bowing to diner demands by taking reservations.

"There are a lot of New Yorkers who need to plan things, [and] we were wondering if we were keeping them out," says Dufresne. He admits that while the restaurant had its busy times, it wasn't always so full, especially on all those rainy nights of late: "Walk-in only restaurants are certainly at the whimsy of the weather."

In recent years, it's become all too common for buzzy New York restaurants to not accept reservations, leaving diners waiting for hours to taste the pizza of the moment or the dumplings everyone's talking about. But this annoying trend seems to be on the decline.

Curt Gathje, Zagat's lead editor, says he's seeing a shift away from no-reservations policies, as was recently the case at the Bowery's trendy Pearl & Ash. It opened in February, and, at first, only accepted reservations via e-mail for the not-so-prime times of pre-6 p.m. or post-10 p.m. Recently, the restaurant began taking OpenTable reservations for all hours.

"When a hot new place opens up, there's a deluge of people descending on them. But once that newness starts to ebb, they start accepting reservations," says Gathje.

According to Pearl & Ash general manager Branden McRill, the restaurant now reserves a whopping 85 percent of its dining room.

Other recent converts include Pig & Khao, a well-reviewed Lower East Side Filipino restaurant from "Top Chef" alum Leah Cohen, and Fatty 'Cue in Williamsburg, a popular Asian barbecue spot that reopened in April after being closed for over a year for renovations.

Colin Camac, service director of the Fatty Crew group that runs both restaurants, notes that it's helped bring more people into the restaurants, both of which are on quiet blocks. Now, at Fatty 'Cue, he says "People aren't worried about going to Williamsburg from the city and not having their seat ready."

Even Mission Chinese, the Lower East Side hipster fave that regularly has two-hour wait times, recently began accepting a limited number of reservations through its Web site, though its rabid fans say they're willing to wait whether or not they can score a table online.

"I'm going to come here either way, the food is that good," says Sat Seshadri, 29, a Murray Hill resident and squash coach who recently dined at the restaurant.

Some downtown restaurant owners are realizing it's best to take reservations from the start. That's what Alex Stupak, a former pastry chef for Dufresne, did when he opened Empellón Cocina in early 2012. "Restaurants going forward in this day and age are going to have a hard time [not taking reservations]," says Stupak, who traces the trend to the economic crisis and the popularity of comfort food. "The clientele won't stand for it."

Other restaurateurs remain steadfast in their no-reservations policy. While Ed Schoenfeld may take reservations for the Peking duck dinners he plans to do at the bar he's opening beneath his West Village Chinese spot RedFarm, he has no plans to take them at RedFarm itself, or its soon-to-open Upper West Side location. His explanation for not taking them at the typically thronged RedFarm, is a simple one: Filling tables isn't usually an issue, and "I have to pay a big f - - king rent," he says. "I don't want to take a reservation for someone at 7:45 that doesn't show up until 8:10 . . . that's 25 minutes of emptiness. I can't afford [it]."

heber@nypost.com

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'Colonel' Sanders trademark white suit purchased at auction for $21G by Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan president

DALLAS — The president and chief executive of Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan purchased the trademark white suit worn by company founder "Colonel" Harland Sanders at auction Saturday for $21,510 — then promptly tried it on.

Masao "Charlie" Watanabe grinned while putting on the suit jacket and black string tie at the Heritage Auctions event, standing beneath a photograph of Sanders. He had already planned to attend a company marketing meeting in Dallas, but arrived early after he found out about the auction, he said.

Watanabe was one of hundreds of in-person, telephone and online bidders vying for various items, including a gun belt owned by legendary outlaw Jesse James and leg irons that restrained abolitionist John Brown.

AP

Masao "Charlie" Watanabe, president and chief executive of Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, stands beneath a portrait of company founder "Colonel" Harland Sanders at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. Watanabe is wearing Sanders' trademark white suit jacket and black string tie after he purchased them at the auction,

Watanabe also bought a mini-collection of Sanders' memorabilia — including his 1973 Kentucky driver's license — for $1,912.

Sanders is a popular figure in Japan, and most KFC restaurants there have statues of him in front, Watanabe said. He plans to display the suit at a restaurant in Tokyo.

"Every child in Japan knows Colonel Sanders' face and his uniform," Watanabe told The Associated Press through a translator.

Sanders was named a "Kentucky colonel" by the state's governor in 1935, five years after he began cooking meals for travelers who stopped at his gas station, according to his biography on the KFC website.

Earlier Saturday, the leg irons used on Brown after his failed 1859 raid on a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, W. Va., sold for $13,145. The winning bidder declined to be identified.

Many scholars believe Brown and his raid hastened the start of the Civil War as he tried to end slavery. The Connecticut native and some followers seized the arsenal, hoping to provide 100,000 weapons to slaves who never joined them. Brown later was hanged for treason, murder and inciting a rebellion.

James' gun belt, one of two that he owned at the time of his death, sold for $16,730. The buyer was not immediately known.

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City yanks license for Bronx produce shop used as front

A Bronx produce peddler who was running his shop as a front for his son's business lost his license today, according to the city's Business Integrity Commission.

Dae Soo Yu, 51, operated 3's Produce at the Bronx Terminal Market last year until the BIC shut him down because he didn't disclose a TKYEAR grand larceny conviction for stealing $128,000 from a former employer.

Yu, however, didn't take the rejecton seriously.

In February, he opened another produce wholesaler, called S&M Tropical Corp., on Longfellow Avenue, right next to the market under his father's name, Sam Nam Yu, 70, legal papers show.

BIC investigators discovered that the father actually running the business for his son, who was rarely showing up at the new site.

And at a March hearing to determine whether S&M Tropical deserved a license to operate, the father was unable to name any of his 10 clients, according to a ruling made public yesterday.

He also was unable to provide the names of one of his three employees and the first name of his manager — even though he claimed to have hired all of these employees, the ruling notes.

As a result, the company's license was pulled.

The investigation "keeps the markets a level playing field for legitimate businesses," said BIC Commissioner and chair Shari C. Hyman.

Neither the elder or younger Yu could be reached for comment.

BIC oversees about 2,000 vendors who operate waste-hauling businesses or in other regulated industries to make sure they're free from corruption or Mafia influence.

Philip.Messing@nypost.com

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More legal trouble for Lil' Reese: rapper charged with misdemeanor theft

CHICAGO — Rapper Lil Reese is in more legal trouble.

The Chicago rapper was in bond court Sunday on a misdemeanor theft charge and the Chicago Sun-Times reports that records show the Def Jam rapper and friend of fellow rapper Chief Keef was arrested after he "presented false documentation to obtain" a BMW in April. The paper says that neither police nor prosecutors elaborated on the charge on Sunday.

His arrest over the weekend comes about two months after he was arrested in Chicago after police in Champaign identified him as the alleged attacker of a woman whose 2012 beating was captured on videotape. Court records indicate he has pleaded not guilty in that case

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Angelina's war on rape as a weapon: Jolie urges U.N. to fight sex attacks in conflict

REUTERS

Jolie, a goodwilll ambassador for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, urged the U.N. Security Council to make the fight against warzone rape a top priority.

UNITED NATIONS — Actress Angelina Jolie made her debut before the U.N.'s most powerful body as a special envoy for refugees Monday and urged the world's nations to make the fight against rape in war a top priority.

She told the Security Council that "hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes."

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said the Security Council has witnessed 67 years of wars and conflict since it was established "but the world has yet to take up warzone rape as a serious priority."

"You set the bar," she told the council. "If the ... council sets rape and sexual violence in conflict as a priority it will become one and progress will be made. If you do not, this horror will continue."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who presided over the meeting, stressed that "in conflicts in nearly every corner of the globe, rape is used systematically and ruthlessly, in the almost certain knowledge that there will be no consequences for the perpetrators."

Soon after Jolie spoke, the council adopted a legally-binding resolution demanding the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence by all parties to armed conflict. It noted that sexual violence can constitute a crime against humanity and a contributing act to genocide, called for improved monitoring of sexual violence in conflict, and urged the U.N. and donors to assist survivors.

It was the broadest resolution adopted by the council on the sexual violence in conflict. Hague said Britain plans to follow-up by convening a global gathering during the annual General Assembly meeting of world leaders in September to keep up the pressure for action.

"The time has come for the world to take a strong and determined stand to make clear that the systematic use of rape as a weapon is not acceptable in the modern world and our objective is to change the entire global attitude to these issues," Hague said.

Jolie, who has traveled extensively in her role as goodwill ambassador, recalled several of the survivors she had met — the mother of a five-year-old girl raped outside a police station in Goma in eastern Congo, and a Syrian woman she spoke to in Jordan last week who asked to hide her name and face "because she knew that if she spoke out about the crimes against her she would be attacked again, and possibly killed."

"Let us be clear what we are speaking of: Young girls raped and impregnated before their bodies are able to carry a child, causing fistula," Jolie said, referring to an injury caused by violent rapes that tear apart the flesh separating the bladder and rectum from the vagina.

She continued: "Boys held at gunpoint and forced to sexually assault their mothers and sisters. Women raped with bottles, wood branches and knives to cause as much damage as possible. Toddlers and even babies dragged from their homes, and violated."

Jolie pleaded with the Security Council — and all countries — to implement the resolution and not let the issue drop.

"Meet your commitments, debate this issue in your parliaments, mobilize people in your countries, and build it into all your foreign policy efforts," she urged. "Together, you can turn the tide of global opinion, shatter impunity and finally put an end to this abhorrence."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to Jolie for being the voice of millions forced to flee their homes "and now for the many survivors of wartime rape whose bodies have been used as battlegrounds."

He called on all leaders to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators "and be part of a global coalition of champions determined to break this evil."

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Bizarre 7-hour ocean standoff ends in arrest

FOX 5 San Diego

John Michael White, 46, was being pursued by police officers for a drug-related felony warrant when he ran into the ocean.

CORONADO, Calif. — A man who appeared to be high on drugs surrendered early Monday after spending more than seven hours in the ocean off Coronado evading police, who said he was wanted on a felony warrant.

John Michael White spent seven hours in the surf off Coronado trying to avoid the police.

John Michael White, 46, took off all of his clothes except for his briefs and ran into the water from the area of the Hotel Del Coronado around 9:50 p.m. Sunday as officers were trying to take him into custody on a felony warrant alleging narcotics violations, according to the Coronado Police Department.

Throughout the night, White stayed in the water as Coronado police, lifeguards, the Coast Guard and Navy Shore Patrol surrounded him and tried to coax him out of the surf. Helicopters flew overhead, divers were on standby and police K-9 patrol units waited on the beach, but the man threatened to kill himself if anyone approached.

Ocean currents eventually pushed him down to Silver Strand State Beach. Finally, shortly before 5:30 a.m., a Harbor Police dive team took White into custody, police said. He was taken to a UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest for observation and faces a charge of resisting arrest, as well as those on the original arrest warrant.

Read more at FOX 5 San Diego.

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We hear . . .

That Michael Sinensky's charity Friends of Rockaway will accept a $720,000 grant from the American Red Cross today . . . That Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley will give a free concert at the Victorinox Swiss Army store on Wooster Street today to promote his film "Faces in the Mirror" . . . That Nigel Barker and Stephen Baldwin will co-host Unik Ernest's Edeyo Ball July 10 . . . That Southampton's historic Village Latch Inn is on the block for $23 million . . . THAT Avenue magazine will host Judith Murat's Hamptons show at Rose Jewelers July 6 to benefit Southampton Hospital.

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Rep’s “sweatsuit”

Rep. Charlie Rangel gave new meaning to the term sweatsuit last week. The congressman stopped at the opening of a new Blink Fitness — a sister gym to Equinox — on 125th Street in Harlem for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and to pose for photos with the spot's staff. While touring the 16,000-square-foot facility and its 100 pieces of cardio equipment, Rangel spotted a rowing machine and decided to jump on for a mini-workout while wearing his natty gray suit, pressed white shirt and floppy bow tie. Spies said Rangel, 83, barely broke a sweat and explained to onlookers that he's been rehabbing a back injury and is quite at home on a rowing machine. A video revealed good form, although we're not quite sure how far he'd get with his stroke speed.

AP

Charlie Rangel

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Into the woods, looking to get out

Sean Parker is speaking out about the controversy surrounding his Big Sur wedding after a settlement with the California Coastal Commission for $2.5 million. Reports said Parker and Alexandra Lenas were hit with millions in fines over their lavish wedding because Parker didn't get permits in a protected forest. But Parker — who says he couldn't speak during settlement talks — contends he asked wedding venue Ventana Inn & Spa whether permits were needed, and "They told us no, repeatedly." "We'd been planning for two years," he said, adding, "They put us in this very traumatic horrible position," and, "because of the high-profile nature of the wedding," the Coastal Commission investigated and found pre-existing violations 20 days before the wedding, for which he footed the bill. "We'd indemnified [Ventana]," he said, adding he'd have to cancel the wedding or pay. "We rolled over." Parker said he paid $1 million in fines, and gave "a charitable contribution from my foundation" for $1.5 million. A member of the commission, which protects public access to coastal areas, said at a hearing: "I thank [Parker] for having his wedding there so we discovered all the violations." Another commission member added, "Parker, in essence, leased an ongoing Coastal Act violation when he leased the campground." Parker, who calls himself "environmentally active," also contends the area was not endangered. "We made the illusion of it being pristine," he said. "We brought in the forest," adding his money will set up a campground for underprivileged kids. A rep for Ventana owner, Oaktree Capital Management, did not return a request for comment.

Getty Images for SXSW

Sean Parker and Alexandra Lenas

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Motown on the Hudson

This evening along Detroit's riverfront, hundreds of thousands will line up to watch the annual fireworks. Now in their 55th year, the fireworks come at a moment when the city's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, is desperately trying to avert a more likely outcome for the city: the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history.

Gothamites might wish to pay attention. Though our cities are different in many ways — New York's economy is more diverse, to name just one — there are broad lessons here about government, complacency and urban decline.

For amid the wreckage of modern Detroit, it's easy to forget that it was once America's most productive city. It was in Detroit that Henry Ford doubled wages for his workers even as he cut prices for his cars, and here that a new middle class would rise. These were the days when the Big Three were spoken of the way we now talk of Apple and Google.

AP

Kevyn Orr

So what happened? Primarily, the city spent beyond its means, placed its bets mostly on one big industry and in dealing with its inner city, looked to the government-knows-best schemes of the Great Society. At first, that led to white flight. Now we have black flight, to the point where Detroit has shrunk to its 1910 population.

Many of us often think that if a problem gets big enough, it will be addressed. That may be true for individuals, but not for government. In too many cities, the exodus of the productive only hardens the grip of the political machine that drove them out. So even amid the high crime, abandoned properties and unpaid taxes, Detroit remains aggressively unreformed.

New York is not close to that. But in the third-world harassment of our small businesses — and the blasé indifference to the wealth fleeing for tax-friendlier climes — we detect a whiff of the same complacency that killed Detroit.

The cliché about Rome is that it wasn't built in a day. It's more apt to say that, like Detroit, it wasn't destroyed in a day. And the ruins we see are entirely man-made.

Have an opinion on this Post editorial? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Lhota’s un-chartered territory

How about that? A mayoral candidate actually wants to help average New Yorkers.

Last week, Republican wannabe Joe Lhota not only defended charter schools, he called for the cap on them to be lifted. Clearly, he recognizes that parents are desperate for more seats at these schools.

Charters, Lhota says, have been "successful" and "parents want and deserve choices for their children." No kidding: Last month, more than 69,000 children applied for spots in the city's 183 charters; more than 50,000 had to be turned away for lack of space.

Why aren't there enough charter seats? Because the teachers union, which views largely non-union charters as a dire threat, has gotten lawmakers to erect roadblocks to thwart charter operators. The most obvious: the state cap on the number of charters — 200 in the city, and 460 statewide.

Paul Martinka

Joe Lhota

Lhota wants to double that, which is surely a step in the right direction. And he's eyeing other ways, too, to help meet the demand by broken-hearted parents.

"We need to make space available" for charters, he says, whether through "co-location" (offering space to charters in traditional public-schools), or by finding space in closing Catholic schools.

That's in contrast to what his Democratic foes have been promising. Aiming to please the union, most of the Dems have backed steps to further crimp charter growth, including a moratorium on co-locations.

Charters work because they're free of the bureaucracy and union rules of traditional schools and can be closed if they fail.

Parents understand all this. Now, at least one mayoral candidate cares about them. It's progress, we guess.

Have an opinion on this Post editorial? Send it in to LETTERS@NYPOST.COM!

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Bottle-service gals bust out

A Group of bottle-service girls with decades of experience in the city's splashiest clubs is aiming to infiltrate the male-dominated industry as the reigning queens of New York nightlife.

Calling themselves "TheSix," the half-dozen ladies — who've collectively worked at Pangea, Pink Elephant, Spa, Exit, Cheetah, Crobar, Mansion, Cain and Star Room — are launching a series of underground "One Night Only" pop-up parties each month, starting tonight.

"The only truly successful nightlife companies are run by men," said Alexandria Murphy — part of the team with Ivanka Naydenova, Mariya Dekhman, Christina Donato, Stefanie Ross and Lizz Ariosto — referring to hospitality honchos including Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss of Strategic Group, Butter Group's Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano, Michael Satsky and Brian Gefter from Provocateur and Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum's EMM Group. "A totally female staff doesn't exist," Murphy said.

NY, NY - June 21, 2013 - Page Six - Alexandria Murphy (black dress), Lizz Ariosto (gray dress), Christina Donato (rust dress, black hair), Mariya Dekhman (navy dress, short), Stefanie Ross (black and white dress), Ivanka Naydenova (thin, blond, lavender dress)

Three of the women currently work at clubs owned by EMM, and the others have recently left EMM clubs after years with the company.

"We're doing it because we're almost 30; you can't be a waitress forever, and eventually you have to break out," Murphy said.

Tonight, TheSix hosts its first bash, "Resurrection Sundays," where Steve Lewis and DJ Dalton will spin. Guests get a location 24 hours in advance.

"It's definitely not 'models and bottles,' " said Murphy. "We want to create old-school, underground parties like the old Bungalow or Butter. We want our Brooklyn peeps, our fashion crowd. We asked ourselves, who do we miss seeing?"

They hope to produce up to 10 events a year and take the concept to other cities and events such as Art Basel, Sundance and the Super Bowl.

Remm doesn't seem to mind the competition. "One of the biggest joys of this business is when our employees aspire to do more and grow," he said. "These ladies are smart, hardworking and have experience in the industry."

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Backdoor man

Old habits die hard. John "Junior" Gotti readied himself for a quick exit at the premiere of "Killing Season," starring John Travolta, last week. "A publicist asked Gotti to walk the carpet [at the Sunshine Cinema], but he turned her down," a spy said. "When she told him that 'everyone was asking for him,' Gotti leaned in and said, 'Who's asking about me?' in a hushed tone." Gotti then asked "where the 'back entrance was.' " Jägermeister sponsored an after-party at the General.

Getty Images

John Travolta

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Hurt Yanks watch Heat

Four injured Yankees — Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Francisco Cervelli and Eduardo Nunez — turned heads when they all hobbled into restaurant The Lodge in Tampa, Fla., to watch Game 7 of the NBA Finals. "They were all working out at the Yankees' facility in Tampa, and they all went to watch the game together," said a spy. "They're training really hard during the day, and they went to relax." But while they were watching LeBron James and the Heat triumph, Yankees teammates were losing to the Tampa Bay Rays without them in The Bronx. (Meanwhile, Jeter's rumored girlfriend, Sports Illustrated model Hannah Davis, dropped some hints about their relationship in Ocean Drive magazine. While not commenting specifically on the romance, she said coyly, "I would rather go to a Yankees game than a Mets game . . . That's my final answer." Nearby in Miami, Giants safety Antrel Rolle was spotted at Brother Jimmy's BBQ rooting for the Heat with former Jet Jon Vilma and NFL players D.J. Williams and Jon Beason.

Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

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Elephant ordeal

Following a screening of Magnolia Pictures' "Blackfish" — a doc on the deaths of SeaWorld trainers by a killer whale — photographer Peter Beard recalled his own close call with elephants while shooting images for a project. "I'm here in New York with titanium," he told us at Circo, describing how he broke a hip and had a tusk go though his leg in a 1996 stampede. "I've been savaged . . . these elephants were out of control. We ran away, and the elephant went back and then it came again. It just never stopped." Nevertheless, Beard doesn't blame the beasts: "Elephants aren't dangerous. [None of them] stepped on me when that whole herd of 15 came around. We just got a major calling card."

Amanda Schwab/Startraksphoto.com

Peter Beard

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Zombie cookies

Brad Pitt had inventive ways to bond with the kiddie co-stars of his zombie movie "World War Z." "We went to this . . . pond with ducks," said Abigail Hargrove, who plays Pitt's daughter in the scary flick. "We decorated little zombie cookies. We'd break off their arms and legs and put red icing on them." Hargrove also told us, "We were filming a scene where I have an asthma attack, and after they called 'cut,' [Pitt] would start singing a song he made up, called 'Super Asthma Guy.' "

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Brad Pitt

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Drake hassled at Heat title

The drama wasn't only on the court during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Rapper Drake got into an argument with a fan sitting courtside at American Airlines Arena.

Sources say an "older gentleman" started annoying the rapper during the Heat-Spurs game. A witness reports, "The guy was like, 'Drake!? Why are you here?' and started heckling him." Then, "They were yelling at each other — the guy would made a stupid comment, Drake would make one back — and it went back and forth."

But the source said that the warring fans reconciled by the time the Heat clinched their second consecutive title. "They made up and hugged at the end," our spy said.

NBAE/Getty Images

Drake

Drake then headed off to party in the locker room with the NBA champs, but was denied when a security man told him, "No access. Media only." Drake shot back, "I am media!" but the guard wasn't buying it.

In the locker room, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen sprayed 100 magnums of Moët Ice Imperial, and Dwyane Wade playfully poured bubbly on his aching knees, we're told.

The champs then headed to South Beach club Story, where DJ Irie entertained, and 100 bottles of Dom Perginon Illuminous were popped. Even Drake finally met up with the team and gave a surprise performance.

"Drake was standing next to LeBron and Wade, drinking champagne, going nuts, rapping 'Started From the Bottom,' " said a partygoer.

Later, hip-hop producer Timbaland made a surprise appearance in the DJ booth. At 3:30 a.m., Heat coach Erik Spoelstra strode in, followed by GM Pat Riley and wife Chris, Blaine Trump and her boyfriend Steve Simon, and Heat owners Micky and Madeleine Arison.

At 4:30a.m., South Beach steakhouse Prime 112 delivered fried chicken and waffles, meatballs, and Kobe beef sliders to the nightclub.

"LeBron and Wade sat in the middle of the club with champagne in one hand and chicken and waffles with the other," said a witness. We're told the place didn't close until nearly 7 a.m.

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Serena’s Wimbledon party

As controversy swirls around a new documentary about Venus and Serena Williams on the eve of Wimbledon, Serena calmly co-hosted a pre-tournament party with fellow tennis stars Maria Sharapova, Laura Robson and Heather Watson for the Women's Tennis Association on Thursday night. Richard Branson co-hosted the London bash at the Roof Gardens in Kensington for the WTA's 40th anniversary. Guests included Prince Harry's gal pal Cressida Bonas, Brit model Jade Parfitt, Bianca Jagger, designers Henry Holland and Jasmine Guinness and London party promoter Henry Conway. Earlier this week, "Venus and Serena" coincidentally premiered in London, even while its filmmakers are being sued in federal court by the United States Tennis Association for using what it claims is unlicensed footage. Directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major said in an introduction at the Curzon Mayfair Cinema, "The USTA is trying to censor and stop the exhibition of this film about two of the greatest Americans to ever play tennis."

Reuters

Serena Williams and Venus

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Extreme Madge

Even Madonna gets tired. At a screening of her concert film, "The MDNA Tour," she admitted how strenuous going on the road was, revealing to Page Six: "I was a mess." She added, "I would have my bad nights, and I would cry and I would say I don't want to do this. Before every show, everyone came into my dressing room and . . . said prayers, and 50 percent of the time I said them, and 49 percent of the time I was crying, usually from overexhaustion. But there's something about pushing yourself."

WireImage

Madonna

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Kate’s NBA pick

After Kate Upton was spotted dancing till the wee hours Wednesday night with LA Clippers star Blake Griffin, she hung with Chicago Bulls' big man Carlos Boozer and the Brooklyn Nets' Jerry Stackhouse on Thursday night. The three were in a private room at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club watching Game 7 of the NBA finals. Also spotted were "Django Unchained" star Jamie Foxx and singer Brandi. Rapper Bow Wow was sitting next to his on/off girlfriend Angela Simmons.

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Kate Upton

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We hear . . .

That Southampton Inn's Café OSO will host a breakfast for chefs participating in Dan's Taste of Two Forks . . . That French designer Juliette Longuet has added Vanity Fair contributing editor Christopher Tennant's avian and aquatic dioramas to her Upper East Side boutique . . . That matchmaker Janis Spindel's Bridgehampton home will be stocked with eligible bachelors at her Club J-Love Meet & Greet bash July 7 . . . That Lenox China signed celebrity caterer Andrea Correale of Elegant Affairs as a spokeswoman.

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Andrea Correale

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Hill power!

'Man of Steel," "Wolverine". . . every superhero needs an origins movie. Now the world has waited long enough. It's time to see how Hillary Rodham Clinton got her superpowers.

"Rodham," a highly touted screenplay by newcomer Young Il Kim about Hillary during her late 20s when she was dating Bill and assisting the Watergate investigation, was included on the most recent "Black List" of Hollywood's most-liked unproduced scripts. It's currently gearing up for production amid rumors that whoever scores the title role is guaranteed heavy consideration for an Oscar. "Great Gatsby" star Carey Mulligan, who has experience playing a figure of fascination married to an adulterous lout, was initially said to be a front-runner, but is now saying she's not interested.

AP

The creation myth of super woman Hillary Clinton will be explored in the upcoming film "Rodham."

So who will step into Hillary's sensible shoes? Among those rumored for the role of Ms. Rodham in her days as a single young lawyer are Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone, plus Jessica Chastain, who's distanced herself from the project.

Let's take a look at some of these options and then consider the dark-horse candidates nobody is talking about — yet.

REESE WITHERSPOON

Pluses: Has already played an astonishingly successful and devious politician in "Election," a resourceful schemer in "Vanity Fair" and a canny Washington operator in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde."

Minuses: Too girly, too nice. Plus, it would be weird for the woman who played June Carter Cash to play the woman who said, "I'm not sitting here like some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette."

SCARLETT JOHANSSON

Pluses: Curvy, sultry, smoky-voiced and bedroom-eyed. Exactly how you've always thought of Hillary! Hey, when that 3 a.m. phone call happens, who better to be on the line with than ScarJo?

Minuses: Let's be careful here. We don't want Hillary Rodham's foxiness to distract us from her very real professional accomplishments. Stop treating her like a fantasy object, guys.

AMANDA SEYFRIED

Pluses: Mamma mia, but Seyfried is everywhere these days, from innocent Cosette in "Les Misérables" to not-all-that-innocent Linda Lovelace in the upcoming "Lovelace." She's definitely got the sizzle to take on a big part, and she has acting chops. Moreover, having starred on the polygamy drama "Big Love," she has lots of experience with stories about women who have to learn how to share their man with lots of others.

Minuses: Incessant smiley perkiness is a drawback when you're aiming to play a '70s Wellesley feminist who is described in the script as "the valedictorian of the 'look-like-s - - t school of feminism.' "

Who'll fill the Hill bill?

EMMA STONE

Pluses: She's one of the hottest actresses of the moment. In "Gangster Squad" she was fought over by Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn, just like Hillary, in the script for "Rodham," is torn between future Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and the Bill she'll wind up marrying.

Minuses: Too boring. Hillary is never boring, unless you're talking about the laser vision that drilled into senators on the Foreign Relations Committee, which tried to trip her up over the Benghazi fiasco.

JESSICA CHASTAIN

Pluses: A great choice, if she's interested. As she showed in her punky turn in "Mama" and her hilarious Southern belle in "The Help," she's got range, and that's not even including her stellar, brittle, icy, stubborn, exasperating work in "Zero Dark Thirty." Chastain's one of the best actresses working, and she'd be able to bring out the many layers of Hillary Rodham.

Minuses: None, really. Except Chastain gives off a real method-acting vibe. We wouldn't want her to explode from the intensity of transforming herself into Hillary.

Dark Horse candidates

ADELE

Pluses: She's ballsy. She's blond. She's about the right age, she's charismatic, she's enduring, she sets fire to the rain. No one messes with Adele. You can smell the determination that made Bill Clinton look beyond the Coke-bottle glasses and sense he had met his match.

Minuses: Unfortunate habit of talking like an extra in "Oliver Twist" could be a drawback when playing a Midwestern girl.

LADY GAGA

Pluses: Out-of-the-box choice. Would whip up some much-needed publicity. And don't tell me she has no acting experience. Wouldn't it be fun to see her in polyester pantsuits?

Minuses: Playing a young operator destined to become the most powerful woman on Earth would be a step down for Gaga, who is too gigantic for any one planet.

DENNIS RODMAN

Pluses: Is at ease in drag, has international diplomatic experience after his recent trip to North Korea and is known for intimidating opponents. Also: The poster tagline writes itself: "Dennis Rodman Clinton."

Minuses: Too old.

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

JESSICA CHASTAIN

She can do tragic and wounded, she can do intensely prepared, she can do angry. When you're destined to be married to Bill Clinton, you'll need all of those things and maybe the gift for interrogation Chastain showed off in "Zero Dark Thirty."

kyle.smith@nypost.com

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Supreme lunacy on voting: Will Jihadis decide Elex?

The Issue: A Supreme Court ruling that overturned an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voting.

***

Arizona's law requiring voter applicants to provide proof of US citizenship prior to registering to vote, was struck down by the Supreme Court under John Roberts ("Voters Do Not Have To Prove Citizenship: Supreme Court," June 17).

On what grounds or justification was this ridiculous decision based?

This implies that anybody residing/visiting within the United States, regardless of reason, can vote in US elections.

Is there something wrong with these judges, or do we not have all the facts? This makes no sense whatsoever.

John Roberts

If there are justifiable reasons for such a decision, what are they?

James L. Nix

Hartselle, Ala.

I fully disagree with the Supreme Court throwing out Arizona's proof of US citizenship to vote.

Our system of voting in this country stinks. It's also corrupt.

In some states, including Arizona, ex-felons can lose their right to vote, but an illegal alien could sneak in to vote.

In some states, like New York, you can vote twice and get away with it.

My children are proof. When they got older, they moved out on their own, but were still registered in the school district to vote for something like 10 years.

My children could have voted where they now reside and come back to this school district and voted again. Who's to know the difference?

Every American citizen should have the right to vote and should prove that they are a citizen, just like every civil servant has to prove they are who they say they are before being hired.

Joseph Taormina

Levittown

It seems that the Supreme Court just nullified voter registration and invited jihadis, Chinese, Russians and operatives from every tin-pot banana republic to vote in our elections.

Every aspect of the federal government has been subverted. How can this be corrected now?Bob Hadsall

Harveys Lake, Pa.

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$horing up the subway

The Issue: Whether the city's next mayor will address MTA debt, which has nearly doubled since 2001.

***

Nicole Gelinas blames the MTA for all of the problems with our transport system and only gives part of the blame to the Transport Workers Union ("Will the Next Mayor Save the Subway?" PostOpinion, June 17) .

The TWU is a cancer on the system and needs to be removed.

The only people who can do that are in the governor's office.

It has been driving up the cost of living for years and needs to be eliminated.

If we don't eliminate it, the court will, after New York is in bankruptcy.

By then, the vacancy rate in the state will be disastrous.Chip Horne

Stamford, Conn.

As an MTA employee, I am sick and tired of reading the same story over and over again: TWU workers are all bloodsucking parasites who do nothing but cry for raises.

It's not enough that taxes go up and general living costs go up.

Gelinas trashes the workforce to no end, and writes the same story about how we're over-compensated. I work hard and don't have a whole lot to show for it. I don't have the little extras, because I barely make ends meet.

I was put on this earth to barely survive, and not have any sort of fun.

I'm a human being who occasionally likes to eat dinner out. She would not accept that.

I should get nothing for all the hard work I do?

Thanks for pointing out what a worthless slob I am.Scott Kravitz

Staten Island

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Democracy vs. freedom

Ralph Peters

With the very best intentions, we got it wrong. By elevating the establishment of democracy above all other priorities in states beyond Europe, we got elections — then had to watch freedom suffer.

The roads to Tahrir, Taksim and Red Squares have been paved with good intentions, but led to the oppression of those who shared our values.

The headline example is Turkey, whose democratically empowered prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was welcomed at the White House as a "friend" by our president — even as his government methodically undercut the country's secular constitution, imposing his party's Islamist values step by skillful step and imprisoning more journalists than China.

SIPA

Rallying for liberty: Protesters in Ankara's Kizilay Square this week. On the flag is Kamal Ataturk, whose secular legacy the Islamist gov't is assaulting.

Mesmerized by elections, we forgot freedom.

Prime Minister Erdogan constantly cites his party's election wins — with just over 50 percent of the vote last time around — as justification for imposing his Justice and Development Party's Islamizing agenda on the entire population.

This month's impassioned demonstrations and strikes in Istanbul, Ankara and other Turkish cities were triggered by the planned destruction of the last green space in Istanbul (and exacerbated by restrictions on alcohol sales), but are really about the struggle between those Turks who lean West and want social freedoms, and a government intent on reestablishing Turkey as an Islamic Middle-East hegemon.

Turkey has been a cultural conduit and invasion route between East and West for millennia. Today, it's the cockpit of a new East-West struggle our politicians dread to acknowledge, a profound contest over the extent to which a majority can demand conformity from the dissenting individual (all too often in the name of a god).

Our president clings to "democratically elected" Erdogan even as Turkey beats freedom demonstrators to a pulp, backs Muslim Brotherhood factions in Syria's civil war, exploits a staged confrontation with Israel and does its best domestically to pack ministries, courts and the military with Islamists.

Last Wednesday's walk-out by the nation's lawyers in sympathy with the freedom demonstrators had more to do with Erdogan's subversion of the judiciary than with saving trees.

In Russia, Putin cites his election wins as justification for increasing tyranny, as do his clones in much of the former Soviet Union. Across the Middle East, sectarian leaders exploit election victories to exclude minorities from any hope of future power through the polls (elections that bring religious parties to power do not appear to come with a reverse gear). Democracy is, indeed, advancing, but freedom is retreating.

Democracy as we know it works within our practiced culture. For us, it's the zenith of human self-organization. Disagree angrily though we may, we've learned to grit our teeth and compromise with political opponents in the clinch. The recent IRS debacle, for all the grandstanding on Capitol Hill, displayed our system's strength: Members of Congress from both parties were genuinely shocked.

But we who self-govern in the Anglo-American tradition have had eight centuries of practice, with plenty of errors made along the way. Americans didn't start from scratch in 1776, but inherited a tradition of the rule of law and impartial judicial institutions, of individual rights and of tolerance (however reluctant) of minority rights. We would even fight a great civil war over the rights of a never-before-enfranchised minority, an event that remains unique in world history.

And then we convinced ourselves that what has worked well for us must work for others with profoundly different traditions in societies at different stages of social and ethical development.

We were wrong. It's time to face it.

We shouldn't turn our back on democracy, but must recognize that the house needs a firm foundation that may take time to build. Instead of prodding ruptured societies to hurtle into elections — a pattern that gave us the treacherous President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and Baghdad's sectarian partisan, Nouri al-Maliki, as well as the hapless President Mohammad Morsi in Egypt — we should stand for the rights of individuals and minorities, for guaranteed freedoms first. And we need to consider that there may be no universally applicable formula for getting to authentic, robust democracy in short order.

Democracy has worked well in two types of societies: The homogenous, such as Sweden or the Netherlands, where elections are about issues, not confessional or ethnic differences, and in diverse societies such as today's United States that form and re-form fluid coalitions and where no single voting block can dominate all of the others.

Democracy consistently has disappointed in ethnically or religiously divided societies in which a majority tribe or faith wins the election and assumes the right to tyrannize minorities or "unbelievers."

Conflating democracy with freedom, we elevated one narrow means over a desired universal end. It's time for us to stand for freedom again.

Ralph Peters is Fox News' strategic analyst and author of the Civil War novel "Hell or Richmond."

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