The Afternoon Wrap: Monday

The proprietor of Manhattan's see-and-be-seen nightspot Beatrice Inn is tasked with transforming the home of a Howard Johnson's hotel and a Holiday Inn in Atlantic City into a boutique hotel. [NY Times]

J.C. Penny buys Manhattan's only bona-fide food court (also home to its only Arby's) in Herald Square. [Midtown Lunch via Curbed]

After endorsing Mayor Bloomberg's potential presidential bid, Manhattan's most politicized food franchise Gray's Papaya is throwing its weight behind Barack Obama once again. The branch on West 72nd Street hung a banner supporting the Democratic frontrunner today, but patrons seemed more concerned with hot dogs than politics. [The Politicker]

A Brooklynite offers advice on how to pretend to be a real New Yorker on the How To Web site. [Gridskipper]

New York's annual Best Of issue weighs in on where to get everything from the best summer frock to the best building lobby. [NY Magazine]

Peter Cooper Square in Stuyvesant Town gets a new, $5.4 million gym. [TRD]

Columbus Circle is poised for a major demolition. See what's slated for the chopping block. [Jeramiah's Vanishing New York]