Now for a dose of juicy and satisfying voyeurism of the rich. So many of Manhattan's superrich who send their kids to the superexclusive preschool at the 92nd Street YMCA on the Upper East Side use chauffeured vehicles that they have to double- and triple-park outside the school in the morning and in the afternoon. Folks not familiar with the city's geography would not know that many of these cosseted children live within 10 to 15 blocks of the school. The problem's become so bad the Y's director has sent out a letter threatening the harshest possible treatment--she will consider telling the super-exclusive kindergartens these children apply to that their parents don't play well with others. Horrors!

We know all of this because the New York Times devoted a lot of reporting time to figuring out who owned those big black cars parked outside the school. (This is the same school that Wall Street analyst Jack Grubman crowed had admitted his twins because he'd inflated his rating of a particular stock that was of interest to his boss, Sanford Weill.) This is a variant on a story that appears frequently in the New York media. Striving, image-conscious, nouveau-riche Manhattanites do whatever they can to get into a handful of expensive preschools because they think the schools will guarantee their kids a quick-trip to the Ivy League and we make them look silly in the bargain. Old story. Easy target. But beyond its obvious entertainment value, does it matter?