Upper West Side and Upper East Side residents have long debated which neighborhood boasts the best supermarkets, museums, and apartment buildings.

The latest friendly rivalry is being played out in the medians of Park Avenue and Broadway, in those islands of flowerbeds and trees.

Last week, the Broadway Mall Association installed 25 sculptures by Tom Otterness. It’s the first public art project for the lane dividers, which run between 60th and 168th streets.

The folks on Park Avenue have a history of supporting the arts: Fernando Botero’s sculptures graced the thoroughfare in 1993 and Robert Indiana’s work came last year. Mr. Otterness’s ‘Free Money’ also appeared on Park Avenue last year.

At the opening reception of the Broadway installation Monday evening, the president of Marlborough Gallery, Pierre Levai – who represents Messrs. Otterness and Botero – praised the region closer to the Hudson.

“Good art deserves a good public. Marlborough Gallery has participated in many public exhibitions in both Europe and the United States, but by far, the reception on the Upper West Side has been the most happily received of any we’ve ever done,” Mr. Levai said. Helen Rosenthal and Carmen Marino hosted the party at their home in the West 80s. An avid photographer and a member of the local community board, Ms. Rosenthal displayed photographs of her daughter climbing on Mr. Otterness’s “Crying Giant.” Indeed, as soon as the work went up last week, both children and adults were crowding around and climbing on it.

Guests included the president of the Broadway Mall Association, Robert Hermann; Adrian Benepe and Liam Kavanagh of the Parks and Recreation department; City Council Member Gale Brewer; NY State Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell; and the president of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District, Monica Blum.

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Court TV held a luncheon at Capital Grille yesterday for Russell Simmons, the producer of the channel’s upcoming documentary, “Hip Hop Justice.”

The show, which airs October 6, examines how rap artists are targeted by police because of their music’s violent image. The network is trying to become “a little faster, a little sharper, a little younger,” chief executive Henry Schleiff said.

USA Today’s “Media Mix” columnist, Peter Johnson, suggested that Court TV and Mr. Simmons (whose wife Kimora Lee is behind the Baby Phat brand and has her own new TV show, “Life & Style” on UPN) could next collaborate on a line of sneakers. Mr. Schleiff immediately warmed to the idea, suggesting the name “Supreme Court Sneakers.”