New York Social Diary - Social Diary

Family picnic in the park. 2:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014. Very Warm For May. That was a Broadway show written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II which opened in November 1939 at the Alvin Theater which is now the Neil Simon Theater on West 52nd Street.

(Details: the theater’s original name came from two producers ALvin Aarons and VINton Freedley. Fred and Adele Astaire opened it in 1927 with “Funny Face” by George and Ira Gershwin. Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut and became a star overnight three years later in the Gershwins’ “Girl Crazy.” Now you know.)

Anyway, New York theatre history aside, I woke up yesterday morning thinking of that title because I’d read the night before that warm was in the forecast, and I was wondering if May were warm or cold back in the day (1939). Well yesterday the temp was 81 and the “real feel” was 91. Humidity. The stark reality. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting another scorcher this summer and another hurricane in New York. I don’t read the Farmer’s Almanac but my friend Pax does. Drama everywhere. And heat. Yesterday was too warm in my book of favorite temps. However.

On my way to lunch over on Madison Avenue and 82nd Street yesterday, I passed this spiffy townhouse where the hydrangeas had just been delivered. When I was returning from the lunch, they been signed and sealed too. And beautiful.


	Helen and her little brother DPC on Easter Sunday of her 17th year.

Today is the birthday of both of my sisters who were born on this day six years apart. My eldest sister, Helen, who is celebrating her 87th today, has been looking after her little brother, like a second mother, all of his life. She moved out of the house to get married before I was of school age, and she had her first child (a son) when I was six.

But because our mother worked, much of Helen’s new family married life time was shared with me. My sister Jane, though older than I, is still at the age where she’d prefer to keep the number to herself. There comes a time when most of us feel that way. Either way, I was lucky to have them as sisters.

Yesterday I went to lunch with an old friend from Los Angeles whom I hadn’t seen in more than twenty years. She was in town briefly and I met her for lunch on Madison Avenue near the Met.

The flowers we’ve been photographing for the past couple of weeks are now getting to their end. Yesterday’s heat probably helped. I got a shot of some hydrangeas being added to someone’s front stoop in the East 80s. At the same time, JH was in Central Park working his magic lens recording the last of the first Spring blooming.

Vanitas by JH ...

Yesterday afternoon Betty Sherrill died. I don’t know the details except that I know she was in her 90s. Although up until recently she was still going into the office which came as a surprise to no one who knew her.

I’d known Betty for almost 25 years. Betty was a force. I met her when I first came back to New York and started writing these social columns. She was president of McMillen, the decorating firm. Sometime back then, the firm was celebrating its 75th Anniversary, and she invited me over to their offices to see all the photographs of their (rich and) famously prestigious clientele over those years.

Betty with husband Virgil.

She was Old School– a term that has outlived its meaning in the land of No School. There were rules; a code of behavior. They was followed. She was a Southern girl from New Orleans or thereabouts. She came to New York like a lot of us to make her way in life. And yes she did. She still had some of that Southern drawl in her sentences all those years later, and with it she could say the most trenchant things in an offhand, almost lazy/daisy way, and you got the message.


	Three generations of Sherrills: Betty with daughter Anne Pyne and grandaughter Elizabeth Pyne.

She always spoke her mind (or said nothing – which I’ll bet was always hard for her). She had decided opinions, and expressed them. But she was a lady, which meant she was respectful and kind in her methods. Mrs. Brown who had owned McMillen took her on even though Betty admitted she “knew nothing” about interior decorating. What Mrs. Brown probably saw was what anyone who ever met Betty saw: she’d find a way.

She and her husband Virgil (who was an investment banker) lived here in New York at One Sutton Place South (when I knew her) and a lovely house in Southampton which Stanford White designed for Elihu Root, a New York lawyer, who was in Secretary of War under McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, and later Senator from New York (he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912). There in their younger years they entertained the smart young social crowd of Southampton summers mid-20th century including Anne and Henry Ford II and Gary and Rocky Cooper.

She had two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom she was very proud (her daughter Anne Sherrill Pyne joined the firm about a decade ago, as has Betty’s granddaughter Elizabeth). She was a career mother long before it was fashionable for society women to work. She was a child of tradition obviously, and although I never asked her, I’d guess she was a “conservative” politically. But there was a side of her that was in touch with the times (coupled with a side of her that was uninterested in what other people thought).

One of our earliest HOUSE interviews was done with Betty (with a subsequent interview with her daughter Anne) about ten years ago. I re-read it last night and decided that Betty can tell you best about herself in this interview, so we’re running it again in tribute to the plucky lady who knew what she wanted and achieved it. Betty, as you will soon see, didn’t need anybody to explain her.

Last night in New York, the American Ballet Theatre’s opened its 2014 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House opens with the annual Spring Gala benefit. Sponsored by LANVIN, the evening featured ABT’s renowned Principal Dancers in preview performances from the eight-week season.

Michelle Obama served as Honorary Chair. I’m not sure if Mrs. Obama was there; I didn’t see her and heard no one referring to her. The Gala co-chairs were Emily Blavatnik, Nina Rennert Davidson, Nancy McCormick, Kalliope Karella Rena, Mary Elizabeth Snow and Monica G-S Wambold.

The principal dancers of the second half of last night's performance in the Metropolitan Opera House of the American Ballet Theatre's annual Spring Gala. The evening on stage was a Wowser.

Vice Chairs for the evening included Cecile Andrau-Martel, Valentino Carlotti, Donna and Richard Esteves, Susan Feinstein, Victoria Phillips, Martin and Toni Sosnoff and b. Junior Co-Chairs for the evening were Sarah Arison, Julia Spillman-Gover and Mark Tashkovich.

A portion of the proceeds from the Spring Gala will support ABT’s education and community outreach programs. These are very important because they give children the opportunity to find about something that can enhance their lives, a rare element in these harried times. Also a rare antidote for angst that seems to envelop the world these days. What you see on stage, undeniably, is the beauty of the work of artists, dancers, composers, musicians, set and costume designers and the brilliant musicians. And it’s reality; that’s the awesome part.

The Met Opera House letting out after the performance of the American Ballet Theatre, last night about 9:30 p.m.

I was never a fan of the ballet. Not because I knew it and had rejected it, but because I had no idea what it really required to accomplish, and how extraordinary the performers are in achieving their goals. I’ve learned this over the years on this beat beginning with the ABT, the New York City Ballet and the extraordinary School of American Ballet and the Jacqueline Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre.

If you love music, and if you love dancing, you see what these dedicated dancers (many of whom start at age four and five) are able to achieve. From the schools, you are able to see what the rigors of learning to dance provide to everyone who participates: dedication, commitment, focus, and discipline. All of the students of ballet develop these qualities early in life, giving them a head start with any education, and capability with any pursuit.

The view looking east from the Met Opera House, with Avery Fisher Hall on the left, and the David Koch Theater on the right.

The evening began with a cocktail reception at 5:30. I couldn’t make that early hour. It was a black tie evening for those hundreds attending the dinner after the performances. The performances featured selections from the 2014 season’s full-length ballets including Don Quixote, Cinderella, Coppélia, La Bayadère, The Dream, Giselle and Manon; Kylián’s Nuages and excerpts from Gaîté Parisienne.

Last night’s performances kept the audience in their thrall. The evening opened with a performance by students from The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT. They call it the JKO School. The program lasted for about two hours with one intermission, as well as a few minute pause after each performance. Afterwards, the gala guests moved to the tent set up in Damrosch Park next to the Metropolitan Opera House for dinner.

Contact DPC here.

3:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The perfect Spring day yesterday in New York with the temp around 71 degrees, a bright sunny day and a soft cool breeze coming off the river, and temperatures dropping to the mid-fifties by mid-evening.

Not an eventful day for this writer in the city, but a pleasant one. The news wherever you look is bad, and yes there are many of us who prefer to look away, but it’s there anyway. However, for those of us who are powerless to change the course of human events even in our own personal lives, the next best thing to ignoring it is to (try to) enjoy and be constructive in your day. Or something like that.

JH was Looking up ...

And down ...

I had a business appointment late morning in midtown. Then I went over to the Container Store in the Bloomberg Tower on 58th aned Lex, and bought some simple transparent plastic boxes to house papers and journals which have been sitting in sagging cardboard boxes since they were sent here from California 22 years ago. This is fascinating stuff, no?

If you’ve never been to a Container store, it is sort of fascinating. Because the merchandise is basically telling you to straighten up and fly right. In other words, get your life in order for the sake of ... having some order in your life. I left the Container store and went around the corner (same building) to Home Depot on 59th and Third Avenue, another fascinating shop which I never enter. I needed some small planting pots. Which I found three floors below the avenue in Home Depots warehouse-like basement. I admit that this is one store where I could become an almost compulsive shopper. I don’t because I’m too practical about “shopping.” But it’s a super-hardware store and they have everything and lots of it for anything you do around the house (I know you already know this – but I don’t). So I was tempted. And so it was.

Another versoin of getting your life in order (also via JH) ...

My lunch had been canceled, which is always a kind of relief. Although I have the residual “guilt,” if you want to call it that, of feeling like I’m not doing my job. I think it’s part of the New York energy where you feel you should be doing something all the time. Later in the afternoon I gave a video interview to a filmmaker doing a project on a prominent New York woman who is no longer with us.


	At Carvaggio sitting by a Stella, last night at 9 p.m. (Photo by J. Regan).

I can’t reveal the name now only because the man with the project hadn’t granted me permission. I hadn’t asked either; but it’s a great story and I’ll get it out there when the time comes (and everybody else is getting it out there too).

Speaking of New York women, we got a lot of mail about the HOUSE piece with Betty Sherrill which we first published in 2003. One reader also sent along an interview Betty gave to (the late) great journalist Charles Gandee, 22 years ago in 1992 for the (also late, and great) HG (originally House & Garden).

What I found most interesting about it -- after being entertained reading Betty’s comments about various subjects and people – was how she was the ultimate New York pro when it came to business, or rather, her business. This always to-the-manor-born perfect lady (and she was) had a real knack for out-and-out good ole marketing.

Gandee’s piece is full of her comments about people, places and things, and she didn’t disappoint by throwing in some barbs and sallies other people, places and things. She had a way of doing in in which you might thing she didn’t realize what she was saying at the time. Ah, but she did.

Doing the math, this interview was given when the lady was hitting the age of 80 and still very much in the game. “I turned down Mrs. (Leona) Helmsley for the house in Greenwich she was sentenced to jail for,” she told Gandee, adding ... “She also dragged me up to her apartment at the Park Lane and said, ‘Look at my antiques.’ And I said, ‘You have no antiques.’”

Earlier in the interview Betty was promoting “FFF” (Fine French Furniture), adding that “not everybody” could afford good 18th century nowadays but McMillen & Company was doing their collection of antique re-pros for Baker furniture.”


Betty Sherrill with her daughter Anne Pyne and granddaughter Elizabeth Pyne, in Architectural Digest, 2006.

Everything about the interview was a stroke of strong marketing. There was the snob-appeal, the expertise, the certainty of a decorator’s purpose, as well as the personal provenance – the where-she-came-from and the who-she-knew client list (“Queen Noor, Doris Duke, Henry Ford, Marjorie Merriweather Post”) and the chic dismissals “Palm Beach has changed. It has gotten to be kind of Eurotrash. Don’t you think it’s sad?”

I laughed out loud reading Charles Gandee’s because I could hear her saying it all, sounding so innocent and unaware. I don’t doubt Gandee was as amused. I learned about that device of hers when it came to personal conversation.

I knew she knew the score, all the while seeming properly naive. But this time, after the fact, after it was all over, I could also see that Betty was a just a brilliant businesswoman with a natural instinct for marketing and image-making. She had the goods, the materials, and the instincts to make a successful business (she was that person in reality). She was her brand, selling it as the well-bred girl from New Orleans only doing what was right for her clientele who simply wanted the best. She may have been one of those girls who pooh-poohed Women’s Lib in its day, but she always did exactly what she wanted to do, Lib or no Lib. At the top of her game.

Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto on Madison Avenue between 72nd and 73rd, last night at 9:35 p.m. I took a picture of those tomatoes because they looked so perfect I wasn't sure if they were real. The shape and intense color was brilliant.

Last Wednesday night, readers might remember, I went to an anniversary dinner at the Morgan Library given by Judy Price, who founded the National Jewelry Institute ten years ago. Mrs. Price is nothing if not productive. In its first ten years, this “institute” which began as a concept and an idea about the preservation and cultural and economic aspect of jewelry, had staged 14 exhibitions in world capitals, and published four books.


	Judy Price, William Griswold, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.

We learned that night that Mrs. Price had decided to host this dinner, a fundraiser for the NJI, at the Morgan because Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan himself was the premiere collector in the world of precious gems and jewelry in the late 19th and early 20th century. He would have understood exactly what Judy Price was planning to do. And why.

Attending the dinner were all the high jewelry brands who have supported the NJI for the past 10 years. At the dinner, Joel Towers, Executive Director of Parsons at the New School, announced the new partnership that had been forged between the National Jewelry Institute and Parsons to create intensive a one week course “in the fine art of high jewelry.” The designers for the jewelry brands supporting the NJI will serve as adjunct professors on the Parsons faculty.

The honorary chair of the evening was HRH Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, who was joined by her husband HRH Prince Pavlos. William Griswold, director of the Morgan, also spoke enthusiastically about the NJI and the plans with Parsons.

Mrs. Price also announced that a jury from Parsons and the NJI will recognize the best single piece in all new high jewelry and timepiece collections at a dinner in the Louvre on July 6, 2015 on the first night of haute couture week in Paris.

Judy Price and Joel Towers.

Marta Nowakowski, Alice Tepper Marlin, and Elizabeth Kanser.

Christiane Fischer.

Avi Gelboim, Meri Horn, and Brian McGrath.

Wilbur Ross and Hilary Geary Ross.

Anja Vacca and Zachary Izzi.

Paul Vartanian, Christabel Vartanian, Andrew Jeffries, and Annabel Vartanian Jeffries.

Dr. Natalie Hahn and Dr. Martin Fox.

Anna Di Stasi and Maria Leininger.

Richard Corbo, Winnie Ma, Peter Kramer, Erica Kasel, Keith Scott, and Angela Dotson.

Dr Gale Allen and Linda Dango Hailey.

Elizabeth Kabler and Diane Finnerty.

Barbara Cirkva Schumacher, John Schumacher, and Mickey Ateyeh.

Arnold Bamberger, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Carla Bamberger, and Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece.

Amale and Elias Daniel.

Martha Kramer and Dale Brown.

NJ Goldston and Daniel Paltridge.

NJ Goldston and Nicole Weiss.

Alice Harris and Stanley Harris.

Claudia Mata, David Chu, and Shannon Adducci.

Meeling Wong and Sally Morrison.

Skip Stein and Anne Gains.

Meghan Po, Stephen Bianchi, Christina Falcon, Patrick Carroll, and Egle Petraityte.

Leslie Hall, Michael David, and Celine Assimon.

Dhruv Kapoor.

Philip Donaldson, Nicolas Ricroque, and Michelle Faul.

Catanna Berger and Richy Petrina.

Heather Norton.

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, and Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia.

Alexandra Leighton and Ricardo Golibart.

Somers Farkas and Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece.

Jean Shafiroff, Christopher Meigher, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.

Jaquine Arnold and Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia.

Victoria Wyman, Bob Bradford, and Martha Kramer.

Ruth la Ferla and John Loring.

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, and William Griswold.

Chris Malstead and William Griswold.

Lawrence Lewis.

Robert Tanis-Evon, Inger Ginsberg, and William Ginsberg.

Roz Jacobs.

Cindy Lewis and Jim Mullaney.

Tim Chang, Patty Tang, and David Chu.

Diane Finnerty.

Ashton Hawkins and Charlotte Cowles.

Vanessa Friedman, David Friedman, Rickie de Sole, and David Chu.

Rickie de Sole, David Chu, Sally Morrison, and Robert Wolf.

Stellene Volandes.

Stephanie Foster and Christabel Vartanian.

Robert Wol and Kathleen Beckett.

John Loring, Doris Valle, Linda Buckley, Henri Barguirdjian, and Marianne Lafiteau.

Joel Towers, Jean Tatge, and Peter Price.

David Rosenberg and Marsha Dubrow.

Marcus Teo.

Jennifer Fayed, James Fayed, Cher Block, Liam Fayed, Anastassia Khozissova, and Sam Fayed.

Nishan and Michelle Vartanian.

Ralph Destino, Geoffrey Bradfield, and Peter Price.

Emma and Neil Clifford.

Charlotte and Nigel Blow.

Tracy and Ali Al-Fayed.

Francesco Paolillo and Benito Tabatabai.

Contact DPC here.

Riverside Park. 4:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Thursday, May 15, 2014. Mainly grey day yesterday in New York, with temps in the 60s, with a light fog and very light drizzle in the early evening.

I went down to lunch at Michael's with Blair Sabol, our No Holds Barred columnist who is in town on her bi-annual visit from way out in the Southwest. JH joined us after the meal.

Michael’s was its Wednesday self: jammed and happening. On one side of us was documentarian Perri Peltz with Susan Mercandetti, Vice President of Business Development and Partnership for ABC News. Next to them: Diane Clehane with Carlos Falchi and his daughter Kate Falchi and luxury retail guru Mickey Ateyeh. On the other side of us was Nikki Haskell with Judy Price and Saundra Whitney.


	JH couldn't help but capture Blair Sabol in all her green glory.

	Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner and his life long friend and occasional guest, Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth.

Next to them in the bay at table one was Glenn Horowitz, Rare book seller and archivist/dealer in 19th and 20th century manuscripts, correspondence. He was with artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe, who are represented by the Marlborough Chelsea Gallery. Mr. Lowe is the brother of the famous actor with the same last name.

Moving along: Real estate broker Eva Mohr was hosting a table with Diana Feldman. In the corner were actress Vanessa Williams with agent Sam Haskell. Next to them, Herb Siegel (Blair’s uncle) and Frank Gifford, and next to them: international architect Norman, Lord Fosterand Lady Foster and architectural historian Paul Goldberger; next door to mega-literary agent Esther Newberg and former Senator Chris Dodd; and next to them, Pat (Mrs. Gerald) Schoenfeld and two friends.

More: Star Jones was lunching with EJ Johnson (son of Magic); investor Steve Ratner; Peter Price; Andrew Stein; PR consultant Jim Mitchell; Susan Duffy of Stewart Weitzman; Nick Verbitsky of United Stations; Judy Twersky celebrating Victoria Shafer’s birthday; Tom Schumacher, the Disney Executive Vice President in charge of the highly success theatrical group (“Lion King,” “Aladdin,” etc.; PR guru Susan Magrino with Roger Myers, proprietor of Sugar Beach in St. Lucia, who is developing the Glenconner Estates on Glenconner Beach that belonged for years to the late Colin Tennant, the 3rd Baron Glenconner.

For years his property on Mustique was a favorite tropical getaway for the British royals including Princess Margaret and her husband Antony Armstrong-Jones, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and others just like ‘em. When Lord Glenconner died three years ago, he left $48 million to his valet and carer of 30 years, Kent Adonai, cutting out his wife of 55 years and family.

Meanwhile, back at the Michael's lunch: Warner Brothers’ VP Dave Dyer; Gigi Haber; Shelly Palmer; Candia Fisher with Arielle Madover; WSJ’s David Sanford and Lewis Stein; author Pamela Keogh with producer Liz Aiello; Lisa Linden with Chris Cleary; Showtime’s Matt Blank with Steve Mosko; Henry Schlieff, of Discovery ID with Daily News’Linda Stasi, Colin Myler and Jessica Nicola.

The flowers behind DPC's table at Michael's.

After lunch I took Blair over to Verdura to introduce her to Ward Landrigan, its CEO who this year is celebrating his 40th anniversary as owner of the firm (his son Nico is now President). Blair is a big big fan of Verdura. This year they are also celebrating Ward’s 50th year in the business and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the firm by Fulco di Verdura (with major backing from Cole and Linda Porter). I can never resist getting a shot of the view from Verdura’s offices of the corner of 59th Street/Central Park South and Fifth Avenue with its General Sherman statue and the vista of the amazing Central Park, Central Park West and north to Harlem.

The view from the windows of Verdura of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. Wednesday, 4 p.m.

I began the evening down at Doubles, the private club in the Sherry-Netherland where Toni and Jim Goodale were holding a cocktail reception to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The Goodales have family, grandchildren and loads of good friends and acquaintances. Jim Goodale, a lawyer, was chief counsel for, and represented the New York Times in the “Pentagon Papers” case, among many other matters for the newspaper. He and Toni are major supporters of many literary causes and ventures including PEN/America and The Paris Review.

Jim has a CV that could lead you to believe he’s four people because he’s involved in so many organizations, projects, as well as published writer himself. His “Fighting For the Press; the Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles,” published last year is an eye-opening report on how far we stray from the intentions of our Founding Fathers. That is putting it mildly. “Fighting for the Press” is not an expose but a treatise on how we fool ourselves over and over. And a lesson for all of us, although God knows there are a lot of lousy students among us.

Arriving at the Goodales' 50th anniversary reception at Doubles last night at 7 p.m.

Toni Goodale, besides bringing up a family and participating actively in a number of cultural, charitable and literary matters, also for years ran a prosperous consulting business for foundations and philanthropy. Both man and wife have long been active political supporters on a local, state and national level, and over the years have established themselves as leaders – mainly unrecognized – in the community that is New York.

There were about 250 guests to fete this great couple and very successful marriage, with lots of familiar faces from media and what could generally be described as the so-called Liberal Establishment in New York.

Everyone was having a good time. The hors d’oeuvres were Doubles excellent and there was conversation everywhere. On many people’s minds was the announcement hours before that Jill Abramson, the Executive Editor of the New York Times, was let go. Or resigned, depending on who was repeating the news. The Times’ Arthur Sulzberger Jr. was also at the party.

Ms. Abramson was a controversial figure for a lot of journalists who worked for the paper. This was public knowledge the way matters of fact are often reported first as hearsay from those involved. Ken Auletta, who was at the party last night, writing for the New Yorker, reported that Abramson discovered she was earning considerably less pay and pension benefits than her predecessor Bill Keller. Evidently the matter irked her, which is not surprising. But surrounding that “explanation” of what is referred to as her “dismissal” was the back story about her work relationships generally with many who were under her. Last summer, it was reported in Newsweek that she was “high-handed, impatient ... and obstinate” by nature. In other words, not easy to work for.

The bridal couple in 1964 here in New York, and in 2014 last night at Doubles. They're quite a pair and great to know.

So there is a story within a story. I’ve never met Ms. Abramson so I have no take on what has been reported other than the not infrequent remarks about her behavior toward her associates at the paper. It always sounded to me like a woman who took herself and her position at the New York Times very seriously without sharing its distinction and prestige with her co-workers.


	Jill Abramson via Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire.

She definitely left an impression of being “unfriendly.” Which leads me to wonder if this was a case of a person in a prominent position misreading the requirements of that position. Power does that to many (most, maybe) people and we all have experienced its ramifications at some point. Then there is the very real matter of the business of the Times as a business. Executive changes reflect that more than the personality of an individual.

The thing is, the New York Times is a bit of a fable, in a way, for a lot of those who have worked for it or wished to work for it. Kind of a legend in its own mind. The reason for this is because for many decades, it was the paper of record here in New York and across the world. However, the paper, like the rest of us has been subjected to the cultural and technological changes of the past five decades in this country and the world, and they have altered that former reality radically.

The paper of record is now often perceived as the official voice of the Establishment, and not always reliable. The WMD business that was reported in the Times at the beginning of the Iraqi War, was the last straw for a lot of people. The internet did the rest – not only for the Times but for all print and broadcast journalism. Credibility is under threat everywhere in media and public life, and for good reason. Whatever the personal, or business issues surrounding the departure of Jill Abramson at the Times, it is most likely she is also casualty of the transforming culture.

Just as I was leaving Doubles, in comes these chic New York girls (and longtime friends) in basic black and very bright white, Katherine Mezzacappa and Carolyne Roehm.

After a very pleasant and interesting time with the Goodales and their many friends, I left party to get up to Sette Mezzo where I was meeting (again) Blair Sabol, Joy Ingham and Joe Pugliese for dinner. Getting around was very difficult in New York in midtown and the Upper East Side especially in areas near Fifth, Madison and Park, because the Obamas were in town.

It is unfortunate that a Presidential visit to this great city has now become a matter of closing off streets and avenues especially during business and rush hours. I know the “reasons” why (security, security and more security) but there’s a terrible irony about it all, and it is extremely inconvenient, as well, for the citizens going about their day in this very rushed city. It shouldn’t be that way, and the President, any President, visiting the city should be a reflection of the honor of it all.

Whatever, I made it to dinner about ten minutes late – not bad. The restaurant was jammed and I don’t know what everyone was talking about. We didn’t talk about Jill Abramson and the Times, but there was a lot of laughter about the ordinary things of our day.

Joy Ingham and Blair Sabol last night outside of Sette Mezzo showing the camera their shoes (part of the dinner conversation), without the flash and with the flash. The two friends of mine met for the first time at this dinner. As you can see they got along swimmingly. I wasn't surprised. P for Personality abounding.

Catching up: This past Monday night there was a New York kick-off reception for the upcoming 5th edition of Masterpiece London which took place at new apartment of interior designer. Joining Drake to welcome the Masterpiece London’s Nazy Vassegh, Thomas Woodham-Smith, Philip Hewat-Jaboor - were his American Patrons Committee co-chairs Geoffrey Bradfield, EllieCullman, Audrey Gruss, and Scott Snyder.

Thomas Woodham Smith, Geoffrey Bradfield, Audrey Gruss, Tamarie Dobias, Nazy Vassegh, Philip Hewat-Jaboor, Margaret Russell, Scott Snyder, Ellie Cullman, and Jamie Drake.

Also in the crowd were Margaret Russell, Tamarie Dobias, Natalie Leverack, Kevin Fairs, Juan Pablo Molyneux, Mario Buatta, Vicente Wolf, Matthew Yee, Bruce Bierman, William Secord, Rod Keenan, Juan Montoya, Urban Karlsson, Penny Drue Baird, Cub Barrett, Sam Cochran, Alison Levasseur, Jacqueline Terrebone, Stephen Wallis, Chas Miller, Birch Coffey, Brian McCarthy, Danny Sager, Greg Kan, Alex Papachristidis, Scott Nelson, Madeline Stuart, Michele Beiney Hawkins, Maureen Footer, Joan and Jayne Michaels, Meg Wendy, DeBare Saunders, Ronald Mayne, Christopher Mason, Charlie Scheips, Carolle Thibaut Pomerantz, Shelly Farmer, Elizabeth Held, Ronald Bricke, Vyna St. Phard, Louise Nicholson, Frank De Biasi, Tom Scherer, Sheila Camera Kotur, Josh Burcham, Marcy Masterson, Dennis Rolland, Philip Mezzatesta, Henry Neville, Judith Dobrynszki, Wendy Moonan, David Masello, Miguel Flores Vianna, Brook Mason, Jennifer Watty, Peter Trippi, Lloyd Princeton, Paolo Pantelone, Daisy Hill Sanders, Eileen and Fred Hill, Elle Shushan, Franck Laverdin, Harry Heissmann, Charles Pavarini, Bennett Weinstock, William Wyer, Peter Krause, Daniela Laube, James Andrew, Scott McBee, Daniel Hamparsumyan and Sandra Nunnerley.

Scott McBee, James Andrew, Bennett Weinstock, and Jamie Drake.

This year, 17 prominent American galleries head to London to join the ranks of the other 130 international exhibitors who are offering a massive array of fine and decorative arts and other high-octane trinkets from Monets to Maseratis -- all under one roof for the uber-sophisticated connoisseur. The fair opens with their preview on June 25th through July 2rd at the South Grounds of The Royal Hospital Chelsea. This year's principal sponsor is RBC Wealth Management.

William Wyer, Daniela Laube, and Peter Kraus.

Eileen and Fred Hill, Thomas Woodham Smith, and Daisy Sanders.

Ronald Mayne, DeBare Saunders, Bruce Bierman, and William Secord.

Elizabeth Pachoda, Liz Feld, and Shelly Farmer.

Jennifer Watty and Meg Wendy.

Elle Shushan Michele Beiny, Liz Feld, and Shelley Farmer.

Vicente Wolf and Matthew Yee.

Alex Papachristidis and Charlie Scheips.

Urban Karlsson, Juan Montoya, and Henry Neville.

Cub Barrett and Joshua Burcham.

Margaret Russell and Mario Buatta.

Jane Michael, Joan Michael, Charles Pavarini III, and Randall Tarasuk.

Jayne Michaels, Madeline Stuart, and Joan Michaels.

Juan Pablo Molyneux, Audrey Gruss, and Scott Snyder.

Maureen Footer and Susan Zises Green.

Ellie Cullman and James Andrew.

Nazy Vassegh, Margaret Russell, and Philip Hewat-Jaboor.

Edgar Cullman, Jr. and Ellie Cullman.

Alison Levasseur, Maureen Footer, and Sam Cochran.

Lee Siegelson, Margaret Russell, Jamie Drake, and Louise Nicholson.

Christopher Boshears, Stewart Cohen, and David Masello.

Franck Laverdin and Juan Montoya.

DSC_0862-Chas Miller, Philip Hewat-Jaboor, Birch Coffey, and DeBare Saunders.

Jacqueline Terrebonne, Steven Wallace, and Christopher Mason.

Marilyn White nad Audrey Gruss.

Rod Keenan and Christopher Mason.

Tamarie Dobias and Kevin Fairs.

Urban Karlsson, Brian McCarthy, Joan Michaels, Sandra Nunnerly, Jayne Michaels, Madeline Stuart, and Juan Montoya.

Photos by Annie Watt (Masterpiece London)

Contact DPC here.

Canopy of trees on 74th Street between CPW and Columbus Avenue. 12:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Monday, May 19, 2014. Weekend started with rain; forecast as “very heavy at times.” But that part of the storm missed at least the Upper East Side. We got rain, sometimes light, and sometimes steady. It was different downtown or over on the West Side or up in the Bronx or out in Brooklyn. The weather has shown us that we New Yorkers live in micro-environments. We got off easily over in our zone. Other places had flooding. Then Saturday the Sun came out. And then Sunday again. Sunday was an especially beautiful day in New York. On the cool side with the temps 60 and just south.

Sunday in Carl Schurz Park there was some kind of fair/event going on. I stopped to look and get a shot of Clifford the Big Red Dog (I think Clifford was posing), and to watch the little one looking at the dog. It was very sweet.

The lace cap hydrangea where the flower which sits in clusters like Scarlett O'Hara on the front veranda of Tara.

The aftereffect of Friday night's deluge in Riverside Park. Saturday, 9 AM.

Sunday Street fair on Amsterdam Avenue. 1:30 PM.

AIDS Walk New York on 85th Street. 1:45 PM.

This was a quiet weekend for me. Rarely strayed far after the Zabar's run on Friday before the rain. I am finally reading Victoria Wilson’s“A Life of Barbara Stanwyck; Steel-True 1907 – 1941.” I’d put it off because of its size – it’s 868 pages of prose, not including the appendix, the acknowledgements, the index, etc.

It’s a handsome book to begin with. Ms. Wilson’s prose is also encyclopedic when it comes to Stanwyck’s life and world – from birth – the environments, the neighborhoods – she was born in Brooklyn – the theatre world, and New York in the first third of the 20th century. If you like the atmosphere of that kind of American history (and I do), you’ll love this book. The story is full of flavor with details that create a kind of chiaroscuro painted deftly with a soft brush, of our life at that time.


	Click to order“A Life of Barbara Stanwyck; Steel-True 1907 – 1941."

Stanwyck’s hardscrabble early years is the story of many a family in the metropolis (and elsewhere) in our history that is now known as American culture. It was being created by refugees of the great European emigration in the latter part of the 19th century. The arts came from across the sea and defined it all for us now.

Survival was the story for millions. Stanwyck’s mother died at 41 after getting kicked in her pregnant belly by a drunk getting off a trolley. She lost the child and died. The bereft and troubled husband left. Went to Central America. And the four-year-old girl Ruby Stevens (later Barbara) lost everything and lived. She became an orphan (not technically – she had older siblings), but realistically. Her life was shaped then and there.

I’m drawn to this book naturally because I have had a lifelong interest in the profession, the art, the characters and the centers – New York and Hollywood/Los Angeles – its same roots are part of my heritage also. There are the classic notes of Horatio Alger woven throughout. This was America. This was the dream; and not coincidentally Stanwyck became famous for working in the Dream Factory.

Daunted by the size of the tome, I soon learned that Wilson’s style is simply expressed and reads fast. The facts ma’am. And it also reads smoothly, like viewing a great map of a life. Once you’re in, she’s got you. Barbara Stanwyck was an archetype for many a woman at that time. Her essence, however, would later emerge for all women only after the 1960s. She also worked all her life. Worked hard. That sensibility was ingrained in early childhood. It would be her path.

The medium of popular film is now old enough to produce what can be recognized as scholarly works. This book is an excellent example of that. Plus it’s a fascinating life and a powerful personality in a richly detailed business. If you ever saw “Double Indemnity,” this is the story of what it took to make that character that you’d never forget.

So, there has been that. Then yesterday afternoon a friend invited me to go with her to see “Act One” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. I’d been curious to see it. I have never read the memoir by Moss Hart the great Broadway playwright/ director (and screenwriter) who created several famous shows and films and died at the young age of 57 in 1961.

People living today know him, if they do, as the husband of Kitty Carlisle Hart. In reality, it was the other way around. It’s stuck in my memory since youth of a quote of his to his wife when they’d moved to Palm Springs: “You’ve been with me through thick and thick ...”

The play, which opened a couple of weeks ago, got pretty good reviews although not all raves. I have a friend who loved the book as one of his most favorite memoirs and was disappointed in the play. I loved it. I loved it. Perhaps because my expectations had been somewhat lowered by my friend’s review, I had none other than curiosity.

I loved it. You heard me say that before, right? The performances of all the actors are fabulous. Several parts are played by actors playing more than one or even two different roles.

You only know this if you read it because each character they play is nothing like the others, Tony Shalhoub who was nominated for a Tony for his roles, plays the narrator, middle-aged Moss Hart, as well as George S. Kaufman– who was Hart’s collaborator on his first (and it was a hit) Broadway show, “Once in a Lifetime” and Moss Hart’s father. Santino Fontana who plays the young man Moss, plays opposite Shalhoub in those three completely different characterizations. All were powerfully and memorably – and at times very amusingly – expressed.


"Act One" at the Vivian Beaumont Theater

It may be that the power of this play is in the ripeness of the multi-characterizations that these actors produce, because you are with them every moment – and it’s a two and a half hour show. Santino Fontana carries the energy of the venture, the break-neck pace of the story – all about Moss Hart's extraordinary beginning. He was a boy with a dream of being in the theatre ... somehow. Then he suddenly and serendipitously gets his first Broadway show – collaborating with George S. Kaufman, who was already a giant, a famously regarded playwright and director, who would direct and star in the play.

What first looked like buying the lottery ticket turned into the classic drama of Broadway theatre: a hit or a flop (closing out of town). Anyone who knows any theatre history (or was in the drama group in high school or college), knows the outcome, because they’ve performed in it, seen it, or read. It’s now a classic, and this version is full of life and triumph.

Crossing the plaza to the Vivian Beaumont, a view of the cafe under the ...

... urban park where people were relaxing taking in the day (and the passing parade for excellent New York people watching.)

It’s in the telling that makes “Act One” such a great show, almost an autobiography, actually an autobiography (with some flourishes of this artist’s license). But: The play’s the thing ...”

What a great thing! This is something you could only see on a stage. This is why theater will never die, no matter the technology, because it’s there before your eyes, in the flesh, with the eternal promise of the thrill. “Act One” and its fabulous cast over at the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center did that for me yesterday afternoon.

Contact DPC here.

Riverside Park. 4:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Fair, mostly sunny weather yesterday in New York. Big clouds, blue skies and the inevitable forecast of some rain (none).

I went down to Michael’s to lunch with Linda Fairstein who is publishing her sixteenth (!!!) Alex Cooper detective novel, “Terminal City.” Alex being Alexandra, if you’ve never read one of them.

Linda is a New Yorker. She grew up in Mount Vernon just north of the city. Her father was a doctor. He was very verbal about his work, so the girl growing up was being unconsciously tutored in the ways of life and the human condition. She was a big reader as a kid and she dreamed of being a writer. When it came time to think about taking care of herself as a grownup, her father suggested she get herself a profession first so she could be sure of supporting herself.


	Linda Fairstein with a copy of Terminal City.Click to order.

I don’t know if he suggested it although it sounds as though he was a strong influence in her thinking early on. She decided to study law. After Vassar, she went to the University of Virginia Law School. And after that is was back in New York and in the early 70s and DA Frank Hogan’s office, she got a start on something new. There were 7 women attorneys in his office when she was first there. Now, she told me yesterday, half the office is women.

But I’m telling you all this to lead up to Linda’s “today’s story” which is partly that her sixteenth novel is being published on 17 June. But three and a half years ago, Linda lost her husband Justin Feldman. He was 92 when he died. Mr. Feldman also had a great career in law and in politics – he helped manage Robert Kennedy’s 1964 Senate run in New York – and was not only Linda’s husband but her mentor and editor/adviser. They had been married 25 years and it was a great loss for her.

Cut to the chase. In the last year or so, Linda has been seeing an old friend whom she first knew as a student at UVA Law. Michael Goldberg. Mr. Goldberg and Linda were good friends back then, and the friendship continued over the years, as he too became a practicing New York lawyer and was also a friend and admirer of Justin Feldman. Mr. Goldberg had been married but was divorced a few years ago. And since Linda was now a single woman, and he was a single man, and they had always been good friends, they began to spend more time in each other’s company. They share many interests, many friends and are approximately the same age – late sixties. Familiarity breeds content (in this case).

DPC and Linda Fairstein at Michael's. Steve Millington, Michael's GM, the man with the camera, is making with the corny jokes while taking the picture.

These stories always amaze me personally. They sound like they were made up. At least in my experience. But fate and good fortune often prevails (now and then, if it does). What’s interesting about this story is that the mates are old friends. It sounds so sensible. How fortunate for them. Oh, and Linda has a house on the Vineyard that she had with Mr. Feldman. And Mr. Goldberg has a yacht and a ranch in the Northwest. The question arises: will Alex Cooper become an international detective? I’m sure she could get used to the yacht in the Mediterranean in summertime.

Conversation was about that and books and writers and stories at our table. There were other writers in the room. Amanda Foreman who wrote the fascinating biography of “Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire” and “A World on Fire” about the British aristocracy’s support of the Confederacy in the Civil War. She is now writing a book about the history of women. Something like that. It’s about women.

Amanda (whose to her friends, family and husband as “Bill”) is the daughter of screenwriter and producer Carl Foreman. Interestingly, she catches the “flash” in her work not unlike a camera catches the moment to grab your interest. She grew up in England but went to Sarah Lawrence. Her parents were American. Her father had moved to England in the 1950s to get away from the McCarthy “blacklist” politics that was enveloping Hollywood.


	Ronda Carman with a copy of Designers Home; Personal Reflections on Stylish Living. Click to order.

I don’t know her very well but she’s one of those women who is seriously bright, possibly intellectual yet very accessible. She’s gentle-spoken (not soft-spoken) and she has five children. And nice. Really nice. A highly desirable combination of qualities. She was lunching with Catie Marron, former head of the Board of the New York Public Library. This is New York.

Also stopping by the table was Ronda Carman. I hadn’t seen Ronda since we had lunch at that table at Michael’s a couple of years ago maybe more. Ronda, an American girl, was living in Scotland with her husband and son. But she’s moved back to Texas, and was in New York.

We’d met because I’d read her blog All The Best and was interested in her work. Yesterday she brought me a copy of her book published last year by Rizzoli, “Designers Home; Personal Reflections on Stylish Living.” Martha Stewart wrote the Foreward. It’s a beautiful compendium of designers Ronda has come to know, and their work in their home environments. Fifty of them. If you open the book, you’re caught.

Last night Yanna Avis hosted a "Taurus" dinner party for her friend from Los Angeles, Kelly Day. Yanna's apartment on Fifth Avenue overlooks the Park and Central Park West. It was a beautiful sunset when I arrived about 8 o'clock. Unfortunately shooting through the window darkened the tree tops of the Park as well as the facades across the way. The twin towers with the pinnacles is the San Remo. Farther south (to the left) are the twin towers of the Century.

I took this shot at dinner of Marina Pellecchi and Adrienne Vittadini. Both women of fashion (Adrienne was a successful women's fashion designer), they were discussing the current Charles James show at the Met and other aspects of changing times and fashion. It reminded me of that quote of YSL's ... Fashions fade, but style is eternal.

Last night, the 92Y held its annual Spring Gala, celebrating 140 years of culture & community, featuring a performance by COUNTING CROWS. Gala Co-Chairs included Susan and Stuart Ellman, Elena and Scott Shleifer, and Brett and Daniel Sundheim.

For 140 years, 92nd Street Y has been serving its communities and the larger world by bringing people together and providing exceptional programs in the performing and visual arts; literature and culture; adult and children's education; talks on a huge range of topics; health and fitness; and Jewish life. As a nonprofit community and cultural center, 92nd Street Y seeks to create, provide and disseminate programs of distinction that foster the physical and mental health of human beings throughout their lives, their educational and spiritual growth and their enjoyment.

The Counting Crows at 92Y's annual Spring Gala ...

Also last night, Ralph Lauren presented the Fall 2014 Ralph Lauren Children’s Runway Show at the New York Public Library. Uma Thurman hosted. The show included next season’s best back-to-school styles and featured a live performance by the cast members of Broadway’s Tony Award-winning “Matilda the Musical,” based on the Roald Dahl children's novel.

Ralph Lauren’s brand is creating a special T- shirt which was showcased in the runway show that benefits charitable literacy programs around the world. The T-shirt, part of a new limited-edition capsule collection featuring a new Polo Pony designed to promote childhood literacy. It will be on sale at Ralph Lauren stores and RalphLauren.com beginning August 5. A percentage of sales from the capsule collection, as well as from the looks in the Fall 2014 Children’s Fashion Show, will benefit Reach Out and Read in the United States, as well as a number of other charities globally.

David Lauren and Uma Thurman.

Edie Falco and daughter Macy.

Uma Thurman and Alicia Keys.

An exclusive performance by the cast of Matilda the Musical helped Ralph Lauren kick off a literacy program committed to boosting literacy for children in need by providing access to books.

Reach Out and Read is an evidence-based nonprofit organization of doctors and nurses who promote early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. Now in its 25th year, Reach Out and Read serves 4 million children and families annually via 5,000 health centers, hospitals, and pediatric clinics in all 50 states, with a focus on serving children in low-income communities.

Lauren Bush, David Lauren, Uma Thurman, Alicia Keys, and Edie Falco front row at the Ralph Lauren Fall 14 Children's Fashion Show in support of Literacy at New York Public Library.

The finale.

Reach Out and Read was founded in 1989 at Boston City Hospital (now Boston Medical Center) in Boston, Massachusetts, and was based on the premise to "encourage parents to read regularly to their children and give them the tools (the books) to do so.” As a result of the early literacy intervention, Reach Out and Read families read together more often, and their children enter kindergarten better prepared to succeed, with larger vocabularies and stronger language skills. To learn more, please visit www.reachoutandread.org.

Alicia Keys and Ralph Lauren with children wearing Ralph Lauren Children. (Photos by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Ralph Lauren).

Contact DPC here.

Delivering down Fifth Avenue. 7:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014. Beautiful, sunny day, yesterday in New York.

And as usual, a busy one on the calendar. For example, last night at the Edison Ballroom, Joyce Carol Oates was honored at the Author’s Guild black tie dinner. While over at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, Urban Stages held a benefit dinner and honored veteran agent Lionel Larner for 30 years devotion to the organization. His longtime friend and client Dame Diana Rigg presented the award.

Because it was in Central Park, on a beautiful night, and at the Boathouse, the evening included dinner and cocktails of course, and entertainment and dancing, and boat rides! Meanwhile down at Capitale on the Bowery, the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter hosted a benefit evening with singer Nellie McKay. And dinner of course.

My day started like this. (Horrible traffic in the midtown cross streets, not because of too many cars but because of too much building construction which takes up lanes and often the entire street with construction equipment like plows and bulldozers and cranes).

It took three quarters of an hour to cross from the FDR Drive at 63rd Street to Fifth Avenue and 59th Street and the Plaza where at noontime in the Grand Ballroom, the National Audubon Society’s Women in Conservation were hosting their annual 2014 Rachel Carson Awards luncheon.

They honored Ellen Futter, the brilliant President of the American Museum of Natural History; Actress and director Kaiulani Lee, and Nell Newman, daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Over the past 21 years Ellen Futter has raised more than $1.3 billion for the AMNH. During the past two decades the museum’s Center for Biodiversity and conservation has advanced a global mission of environmental science as well as education and outreach about conservation. Eight years ago, with the establishment of the Richard Gilder Graduate School, the museum became the first in the United States authorized to grant the PhD. Degrees. Three years ago the AMNH was the first freed-standing museum-based Master of Arts program in teaching, focused on Earth science.

For the past 22 years, Kaiulani Lee has been performing her one woman play, “A Sense of Wonder” to remind the audience of the monumental stature and influence of Rachel Carson, of how precious our natural world is, and just how dramatic and difficult the challenges can be for those who stand to protect the truth. Ms. Lee’s play promotes environmental education and activism.

Ellen Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, with Allison Rockefeller, President of the Audubon Society's Women in Conservation, yesterday at the Plaza Hotel.

Nell Newman, who grew up in the Connecticut countryside where she had an early introduction to natural foods thanks to her father and mother. After college she worked at the Environmental Defense Fund, served as Executive Director of the Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary, working to reestablish the Bald Eagle in central California, and as Development Director for the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, the non-profit responsible for captive breeding and restoration of the Peregrine Falcon in California.

It was her commitment to organic foods and sustainable agriculture that led her to convince her father to establish an organic division of Newman’s Own. She did this by creating a completely organic Thanksgiving dinner and then suggesting organic food products for the new Newman’s Own Organics line. Twenty years later Newman’s Own Organics produces more than 100 organic products.

Nell Newman of Newman's Own.

Kaiulani Lee, actress and promoter of the legacy of Rachel Carson with her one-woman play, "A Sense of Wonder," based on Carson's life and work.

Allison Rockefeller who is president of Audubon’s Women in Conservation told me yesterday that the organization is committed to promoting and providing opportunities for young women interested in science and environmental careers. She said that amazing as it sounds there are still few women working in the field, which has traditionally always been thought of as a man’s field. Which is surprising just considering the honorees at yesterday’s event. Women in Conservation are working to change that.

This was a very successful luncheon with more than 500 men and women attending; very serious and committed and naturally visionary.

The Grand Ballroom of the Plaza yesterday at the Women in Conservation luncheon.

I started out the evening at the Knickerbocker Club where Frank Wisner, Frank Richardson, Tom Pulling, and Jeff Peek were hosting a book party for their friend James Zirin and his new book “The Mother Court; Tales of Cases that Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court” with Foreward by Robert M. Morgenthau.

NYSD readers may be familiar with Jim Zirin as he and his wife Marlene Hess are active participants in many philanthropic causes in the city.

Last night’s gathering of more than 100 of some of the city’s more prominent men and women affirmed their popularity and activity. Jim, a longtime litigator who has appeared in federal and state courts around the country, is also a former Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and served in the Criminal Division of that office under Mr. Morgenthau, a legend in his field.


	Jim Zirin with “The Mother Court; Tales of Cases that Mattered in America’s Greatest Trial Court."Click to order.

He has also written more than 200 op-ed pieces for Forbes, Barron’s, the LA Times as well as The Times of London. Currently is also co-host of the popular weekly prime time cable television program “Conversations in the Digital Age.”

Although there was a lot of camaraderie and affection around the room in speeches about the author last night, one couldn’t help thinking that this new book of his, despite its alluring title of “Cases of Tales That Mattered” might be a little on the dry side for those of us who have little or no legal background.

However, when I got in last night from my travels and was thinking about what I might write about the new book, I randomly opened my copy to page 256 to a trial of one Leon Friedland, “a corrupt accountant who helped a conniving businesswoman named Edith Kendall prepare fraudulent financial statements, covered by fake accountants’ certificates which she gave to banks in support of loan applications,” which were so convincing that Mrs. Kendall was about to secure millions of dollars from the banks.

Mrs. Kendall was described in the courtroom as“quite charming,” “spoke with a European accent that projected glamour and urbanity,” and possessing a “generously endowed bosom” which she “displayed en decolletage with great effect on the gullible bankers…”

Mr. Friedland, aka Lee Armand, was also an SEC accountant by day, working for Mrs. Kendall in the evenings. His defense was that he’d been seduced by Mrs. K and really went to her offices at night ...

In the cross of Mr. Friedland about his hoped-she-would-be client inamorata:

Q. Did you tell her sweet things?
A. Yes.
Q. That you liked her hair?
A. Yes.
Q. Her clothes?
A. Yes.
Q. You lost your head with Mrs. Kendall, didn’t you?
A. Yes.
Q. She seduced you?
A. Yes. I succumbed.
Q. Was it mutual?
A. It was mutual.

Whereupon in the courtroom Mr. Friedland’s long-suffering wife burst into tears and had to be led from the courtroom.

Ah, the nitty gritty emerges and takes over. You can tell this book is a great read of all kinds of cases for all of us who love detective stories, courtroom shows and much much more.

Jim Zirin’s “Mother Court” provides a ringside seat at some of the most famous cases that went down in the US District Court for the Southern District including the trials of Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs, The “Pizza Connection” case – longest criminal trial in America history and Government obscenity suits against James Joyce’s“Ulysses” and the film “Deep Throat.”

Cover detail.

Meanwhile back at last night’s beat. I left the Knickerbocker at 7:15 and walked the two blocks down the avenue to the Metropolitan Club where the Lighthouse Guild was hosting its annual A POSH Affair benefit honoring Lifestyle Visionary: Potter, Designer, and Author Jonathan Adler; Fashion Visionary designer Thom Browne; and Artistic VisionarySheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentary Films.

POSH dinner hosts were Hamish Bowles, Amy Fine Collins, Alex Hitz and Lorry Newhouse. Honorary Chair was Arlene Dahl, who with her husband Marc Rosen, all assisted by a long and distinguished list of Vice Chairs as well as Committee members. Benjamin Doller, Vice Chairman and Senior Auctioneer of Sotheby’s Americas, conducted a brief auction, raising more funds for the Lighthouse Guild’s work.

The centerpiece at last night's POSH Lighthouse Guild dinner at the Metropolitan Club.

I happened to be seated next to one of the honorees, Sheila Nevins, who is famous in her business but not as well known publicly as Messrs. Adler and Browne. However, since assuming her position at HBO Documentary Films ten years ago, she has in her capacity as an executive producer or producer, received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, 31 News and Documentary Emmys and 37 George Foster Peabody Awards. During her tenure at HBO, their critically acclaimed documentaries have won 23 Academy Awards and she has personally supervised the production of more than 1000 documentary programs! This is New York!!

Mark Ackermann, Executive VP and COO of Lighthouse, presenting the award to Jonathan Adler.

Mark Ackermann presenting Thom Browne with his award.

Sheila Nevins of HBO Documentaries accepting her award.

Contact DPC here.

Columbus Avenue. 6:30 PM. Photo: JH.

Friday, May 23, 2014, and the beginning of the holiday weekend that calls out to summertime. All you Geminis can come out now; it’s your time. The Sun’s not out (and the weatherman is predicting more rain).

An astrologer once told me that people born under the sign of Gemini love “information” no matter what it is. I’ve got more than a little bit of that in me too. When I was a little one, one of my aunts used to call me “Scoop” because I’d repeat the next morning at the breakfast table what I’d heard the adults talking about in the other room the night before (while I was safely under the covers and presumably asleep). Of course I had no idea what they were talking about, but I could often repeat words and phrases (having no idea what they meant), which always amused the grownups. I only knew the value of the words by their vocal reactions (laughter, etc.) In many ways it’s still like this in my life.


	Sidewalk hydrangeas, pretty in pink.

I was in Gemini territory the day before yesterday at the Michael’s (Wednesday) lunch, and then again yesterday. On Wednesday, the volume was naturally up a few decibels. The music, the cacophony, of the human voices talking the talk, while munching on the Michael’s bill of fare filled the room.

I had a lunch date with a friend who (it turned out) had another date in his calendar. I didn’t know this when I sat down at table at 1:15. I figured he was, like me, very late because the traffic in midtown, which was practically at a standstill above 59th Street, no matter the route you took.

Michael’s was abuzz, as usual. At the table on one side of me was Glenn Horowitz with Howell Raines, former Executive Editor of the New York Times. On the other side of them was mediabistro.com’s Diane Clehane lunching with Dr. Philip Romero, the family therapist who is launching a new web site.

On the other side of me was Montel Williams and Ghislaine Maxwell; and next to them was Joy Behar with the recently retired (or retiring) Barbara Walters. I’m one of those people who believes Barbara Walters is not retiring. Why should she? Age? What has that got to do with it? Contracts? Who cares? Audience? She’s always got one; that’s her ace.

Hello or goodbye?

Meanwhile back at the tables: next to Behar-Walters (and another woman whom I didn’t know) Sigourney Weaver was deep in conversation with a woman whom someone identified as an agent. On the other side of them: Stan Shuman of Allen & Co. Across the aisle was author and distinguished plastic surgeon Dr. Jerry Imber with Jerry Della Femina and Michael Kramer. And in the bay at table one, Bonnie Fuller of hollywoodlife.com and Penske Media’s Gerry Byrne, were hosting their (almost every) Wednesday luncheon for a group of guests.

Around the room: Mickey Ateyeh with Julie Browne; Emily Smith of Page Six with Robert Zimmerman; literary agent Luke Janklow; Elizabeth Harrison of Harrison Shriftman, with Kate Betts; Quest’s Chris Meigher with Jim Mitchell; John Sykes of Clear Channel Media; Bob Friedman of Bungalow Media; Jim Abernathy;Paris Vogue’se-i-c Emmanuelle Alt with Joan Juliet Buck; Matt Rich with Eva Roosevelt; Euan Rellie; Jay Fielden, e-i-c of Town & Country; David Poltrack of CBS News; Anthony Shriver; business advisor Lewis Korman; Lynn Nesbit of Janklow and Nesbit; Christine Varney with Kevin Sheekey; Rich Gelfond of IMAX; Fern Mallis with designer Tracy Reese; investment banker Bob Towbin of Stephens, Inc.; Stephen Greenberg of Allen & Co.; Tom Goodman with Peter Costiglio of LexisNexis; Eric Shawn of Fox News; and dozens more whom I didn’t see or didn’t know to recognize.

And then about one-thirty, when I realized my lunch date most likely wasn’t going to show, who should come into the restaurant but my friends writer Tracey Jackson (Mrs. Glenn Horowitz) and Paul Williams, who have just completed a book “Gratitude and Trust; Six Affirmations That Will Change Your Life,” which is being published this Fall by Blue Rider Press. They sat down at my table, the talk began, and all was well at the Wednesday Michael’s lunch for this reporter.

A window (featuring Juliet Longuet), walking home from dinner Wednesday night, 72nd and Third. Anthologie.

And Gracious Home, the same night.

Thursdays in New York, before holiday weekends (3 days) become the “first” day of the long weekend for a lot of New Yorkers who are getting out of town. The Hamptons crowd is about to settle in for the summer. Within a couple of weeks when the schools let out, a lot of families will be moving out there for the duration. And the city will quieter in certain neighborhoods, and busier in others (for the tourists).


	Ambassador John Loeb and Lady Henrietta Churchill at his 75th birthday party at Blenheim Palace.

I went down to Michael’s to lunch with Ambassador John Loeb. John and I are fairly new old friends although I knew him well enough nine years ago to be invited to his 75th birthday party at Blenheim Palace at Woodstock, Oxfordshire. That was an extraordinary celebration and a great experience for the two or three hundred guests who came from all over the world to attend.

John and I share an ongoing vivid interest in history and families. Every month or two we lunch together and I always manage to learn something about New York and people that is new (and John manages to hear out my copious opinions on life, politics, finance and people, as well as share his experiences and insights).

He himself is a scion of one of the great banking families of the New York 20th century, as well as being directly related to several other distinguished New York families who were known in New York mid-century as “Our Crowd” – specifically German-Jewish families whose great fortunes were made in the late 19th and early 20th century in Europe and New York and other parts of the country. These families used their fortunes for great philanthropies building hospitals, neighborhood houses, libraries, schools and universities as well as funding museums (The Jewish Museum on Fifth Avenue and 91st Street was originally the home of Felix and Frieda Schiff Warburg).


Cynthia McFadden's plate of congratulatory cookies.

The effect of the influence of these families on arts and culture as well as finance in 20th century America is immeasurable. John Loeb’s father, John Sr. was for years head of the family firm Carl M. Loeb, Rhoades (later merged into Shearson).

He and his wife born Frances Lehman, (known as Peter), were major benefactors of Harvard for decades, funding programs, departments, scholarships and finally bequeathing the college $70.4 million. John has also seen a slice of New York and a time that came just before me, so there is great interest to share. Although yesterday we were talking about the current state of affairs in the city and its citizens.

Meanwhile, at the table just around the corner, in the bay Lesley Stahl and Norah O’Donnell were hosting a small lunch for the friend Cynthia McFadden to celebrate her move to NBC after 20 years at ABC. Cynthia officially starts on Monday when she’ll be sitting in for Brian Williams on the nightly news.

Alex Wallace, Savannah Guthrie, Lesley Stahl, Cynthia McFadden, Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King, and Deborah Turness, President of NBC News.

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Empire State Building. 10:30 PM. Photo: JH.

Monday, May 26, 2014. Memorial Day Weekend in New York. A beautiful summer weekend in New York. It’s one of the few times that JH and I discuss whether we should post anything — on this particular weekend because (1) it’s a day off, and (2) what can we tell you about New York that might interest on a quiet time such as this.

This is the first weekend of the summertime where many New Yorkers almost feel obligated to leave town. Those who have summer houses or houses in the country, notwithstanding, many of us feel that urge almost by habit. I did, for a long time, and exercised it. Since starting the NYSD almost 15 years ago, however, staying in town, doing nothing on any weekend is the most enchanting respite. Taking a snooze, reading a book, etc.

Memorial Day remains largely a childhood memory, excitement associated with the activities of the day, beginning with watching the parade of soldiers and armed forces veterans, along with a brass band and a fife and drum corps marching by, and local dignitaries riding in open cars up Court Street to the Pine Hill Cemetery where they laid the flowers on the graves of those who died in the wars. It was solemn but spectacular to the child.

This was in the decade after the Second World War. A much quieter and less stressed time in America, despite the fact that there was a smaller war going on between the two Koreas in Southeast Asia. People thought of the world then as Modern although in retrospect it was simply then versus now.

Friday, 1 p.m. My favorite entrepreneur is there, ready and waiting to go through for his objects of interest. I’ve never met the man but he’s been there rain or shine, snow or storm, every Friday at 1. A few times he’s had an assistant, and a couple of times a young Hispanic woman was taking care of everything. For whatever it appears, this man is a professional in his work (and it is work!) and not only is he organized and productive but what he is doing is productive and possibly will become more productive as time passes.

It was an important moment in “My Country t’is of thee, Sweet Land of Liberty ....” This was taught in the school and reflected in the home, no matter the home. The parade we watched symbolized it and symbolized the “togetherness” — a term used frequently in contemporary media of that time.

So I loved the day for its (grown-up version of) reverence and respect (and togetherness) for others. I was a little boy but nevertheless enthralled with the sense of being part of something grown-up, something important. Something that was “good.”

Then, the festivities following the parade: a cookout or a picnic “out back” at a picnic table (almost everyone had one). Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips, pies, cakes, soda, the works! This too was very exciting. Simple but heavenly.

Down by the river on Saturday afternoon about 1 p.m. Looking north to the Robert F Kennedy Triboro Bridge. It poured on Friday night. Poured steadily for hours. These clouds were all moving east.

Same time, looking south across to Roosevelt Island and south to the Edward I. Koch Queensboro Bridge.

Most of that reverie ended for me by adolescence, and the world was changing too. The War in Viet Nam traumatized millions of Americans and the result was heavily divisive, although that heaviness has faded into distant memory. But there was even a moment when the national sentiment was turning against the soldiers themselves. That was very brief but nevertheless a first.

By the time I was in my 20s, we were going out to the beach on Memorial Day — to the Hamptons — sans the yet to be extended LIE. There was a parade in Southampton (and probably in many nearby towns) that resembled the one I saw growing up. Of course the little ones out there were getting a somewhat similar picture, however the nature of their sentiments or interest. And there remains for many outside the city the inevitable luncheon/ cookout/picnic.

This Memorial Day Weekend in the city has been a beauty weather-wise. Warm but not hot; bright, sunny; and very quiet. I had an early dinner on Friday with a friend. Saturday I did the clean/reorganize the closets. The limitations of a New York apartment require constant editing lest you end up a hoarder (of mainly “stuff”).

Sunday late morning walking the dogs down by the river and into Carl Schurz Park I was glad I took my camera.

Sunday around noon. A lone cabin cruiser with family (and/or friends) enjoying a slow cruise down the river.

Same time, Sunday’s clouds, looking toward Roosevelt Island.

And to the north to the RFK Triboro and Queens.

The walk from the Promenade into the Park looking west to East End (that’s the Chapin School across from the entrance to the park).

I noticed that the flowers – which we photographed a little more than a week ago – have changed and new ones have blossomed. White seems to be the theme of some designer assistant of Mother Nature. I don’t know what these are called but one of you reading knows and perhaps will let us know. I took a closeup so you can see their delicate beauty.

Then just up the walk there are these ...

Again, I cannot identify but here is another closeup ...

And yet another beautiful bush of the most delicate blossoms.

With closeup.

Exquisite is its natural name.

A bower of what look like white pansies on my neighbor’s stoop.

View from the terrace about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Notice the empty roadway and empty sidewalks. Those who are out are in the park. Many who live here are away for the long holiday weekend. It’s quiet and lovely and green.

Just picture a penthouse way up in the sky, With hinges on chimneys for clouds to go by; a sweet slice of heaven for just you and I, When we’re alone ...

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Looking up Sixth Avenue and 12th Street towards the Empire State Building. 1:30 PM. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Yesterday in New York was very warm, like an early Summer day, with temps in the low 80s and a “Real Feel” of low 90s. There was a touch of humidity so that it felt even warmer. The air conditioning was on in the cabs for the first time that I noticed.

Then, about the time the Sun was beginning to set, the grey skies moved in and brought a calm but somber mood with marine mist. I photographed the river hoping to catch some of it in an image.

Tug pushing a tanker down river, under the Edward I. Koch Queensboro Bridge at 7 p.m.

Same spot, looking northeast, same time.

Down on the Promenade by the river the tide was flowing in with a strong almost choppy current. The current, and the light and temperature over that vista looking at the RFK bridge evoked in my imagination the famous PS General Slocum disaster that occurred in that area of the river 110 years ago this June 15. The 272-foot-long ship, built ten years before, was used for trips around Manhattan, much like the Circle Line today. It was a Wednesday in 1904 when more than 1400 people – mainly women and children – boarded the General Slocum for an excursion out to a picnic site in Eatons Neck, Long Island.

The boat had been chartered by St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Little Germany (the neighborhood around Second Avenue and St. Mark’s Place below 14th Street). The trip had become an annual rite for 17 years. They got underway at 9:30 a.m. About fifteen or twenty minutes later as the ship was passing East 90th Street (a couple of blocks northeast of Gracie Mansion), a fire started in the Lamp Room in the forward section. It may have been a cigarette not properly put out. Straw, oily rags and lamp oil strewn around the room were quickly ignited.

The PS General Slocum.

Soon after, by 10 p.m., the fire had spread. The fire hoses hadn’t been in service in so long that when the crew attempted to use them, they fell apart. Also the lifeboats were inaccessible because of the way they were attached to the ship. The life preservers turned out to be cheap imitations and were useless. Pandemonium and chaos ensued in grim, terrifying detail. Captain William Van Schack made the fatal decision of keeping the ship on its course rather than run aground or stop at a landing nearby. Mothers threw their children into the river with life jackets that sunk! Women going overboard were weighted down by their long skirts and garments. Furthermore, most Americans at that time couldn’t swim. More than one thousand passengers burned to death or drowned almost immediately.

It was the worst public disaster in American history until 911. It wiped out many families who lived in that section of the city. Many of the survivors moved uptown after that to what became known as Germantown, or Yorkville, just to distract themselves of the memories. Eight people were indicted afterwards, including executives of the Knickerbocker Steamship Company, but only one, Captain Van Schack, was found guilty. He was sentenced to ten years in Sing Sing. (Van Schack was released after three years.)

Firefighters working to put out the fire on the listing General Slocum.

Meanwhile, yesterday, there was also a warm but cooling breeze sweeping up the avenue. This is when I really appreciate my terrace. Small though it is, it opens to the great outdoors (ignoring the reality of the city’s sooty grit that no doubt comes wafting in). I put my house plants outside. I bought some flowering plants and ferns that might join us inside later on in the year. The weatherman had forecast thunderstorms and a drop in the temperature to the low 60s. As of this writing (10 p.m., Tuesday evening), it’s still just a forecast.

The modest terrace garden.

My once-a-week housekeeper Norah Hernandez told me she had very good luck with flowering plants in her house over on the other side of the Hudson during the colder months. She also gave them Miracle Gro regularly. So I have acquired the habit with optimism. The big plant with the green leaves I rescued several years ago from the laundry room. One of the building’s porters had rescued it from the trash. It had two leaves on it and was about ready to fade away. It prospered over time as soon as I took it in. Although it wasn’t until I started the Miracle Gro last January that it has really flourished. I think of these little moments as our guide.

The flowering push I photographed on Sunday. I took it this time in a light without sun so you can see how delicate its blossoms are.

Yesterday was the 12th birthday of my little Missy, aka Madame who came to live here eleven and a half years ago. I met her through a neighbor who had a friend who wanted to find a home for her because her energy overwhelmed the friend’s other, much older dog.

She was called “Princess” by the previous owners – a name which she obviously had no problem adapting to (it was, after all, all she knew and has ever known), although I don’t think of myself as her owner so much as her protector and provider. She wouldn’t have it any other way, I can assure you.

MIssy (left) wth her siblings Jenny Jen Jen and Bryone Boogie.

She has several “devilish” habits, all of which speak of her deep sense of right and self ... the two being the same in her book. All of which always provokes laughter from me, even in just thinking about it. She’s been quite annoying in her behavior toward Jenny, the (now 14-year-old) blind shih tzu who came to live with us two years ago. Jealousy, female style. Subtle but not really. Those girls know the language. When I reprimand Madame – as I tend to call her – she looks up at me six feet above, and wags her tail. I’m sure she’s just wondering what treat she’s about to get.

FYI on May 31 & June 1, 2014, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals will be hosting (FREE) Maddie's Pet Adoption Days in New York City. Pictured above are just some of the little beauties available for adoption. Click here to see more just like 'em who could really use a loving home ...

The 27th of May is a significant date in my life. Heather Cohane, the English lady who founded Quest magazine and gave me my first break in writing about New York life, celebrates a birthday on this day.

It was Heather who first suggested I do a column. She sold the magazine about eighteen years ago to Chris Meigher who has been publisher ever since, and grown it with the same flourish of those beautiful plants on my terrace.


	Heather Cohane at the Central Park Conservancy Hat Luncheon back when she was still living in New York.

The New York Social Diary runs monthly in Quest, and Heather now lives in Monte Carlo where she lived when she was a teenager. One of her daughters, Candida, lives there as well. Another daughter, Ondine, lives in Tuscany, and Heather’s son Alexander Cohane lives in the Cotswolds where he has a flourishing antiques business.

Yesterday was also the birthday of my former brother-in-law Patrick O’Donnell who lives in the Northwest and would probably be shocked to know that I remember his birthdate. (For a long time I thought it was also JFK’s birthday which is how I remembered Patrick’s). I was wrong: JFK was the 29th. Tomorrow will be the 97th anniversary of his birth.

My brother-in-law and I have rarely seen each other in decades and almost as rarely communicate, but he was a great brother-in-law and a great friend; a generous spirit.

Catching up. Earlier this month, GenerationOn the youth service division of Points of Light held its Annual Benefit at the Mandarin Oriental. They honored Carolyn Rafaelian, Founder, Creative Director and CEO, at Alex and Ani, Charles F. Lowrey, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, International Businesses, at Prudential Financial, Inc. CBS 2 Anchor Maurice DuBois and wife Andrea for their steadfast commitment to youth service and education. Rafaelian was presented her award by her good friend, Paula Abdul.

Silda Wall Spitzer, Francesca Capaldi, Paul Abdul, Max Page, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and Jordan Fisher.

GenerationOn, in partnership with Hasbro, also honored six extraordinary young service leaders from across the country as the recipients of the fifth annual Hasbro Community Action Heroes Award. These outstanding superheroes included Ethan Cruikshank (age 15), Gabriele Eggerling (age 10), Neha Gupta (age 17), My’Kah Knowlin (age 13),Kellon Oldenette (age 5), and Remington Youngblood (age 13).

The benefit raised more than $730,000 to support GenerationOn’s mission to inspire, equip, and mobilize youth to take action that changes the world and themselves through service. In other words, the mission is to provide kids the tools and means to help others, to empower them with the positive experiences of taking responsibility. It’s a simple idea that produces powerful results.

Carolyn Rafaelian, Paula Abdul, Kevin Arquit, and Maurice DuBois.

I first learned of the organization several years ago through Silda Wall Spitzer who was one of its founders and mother of three of its participants. She was amazed at how quickly daughters flourished under the program and soon were actively thinking about how they could be of help to others. It’s a natural antidote to the selfie.

More than 300 attended the event, which also included Silda, who is a generationOn Co-Founder and was Benefit Co-Chair; and Olympic medalist skiing stars, Shannon Bahrke and Billy Demong, and others. Also in attendance were celebrity youth ambassadors, Francesca Capaldi (How I Met Your Mother), Cozi Zuehlsdorff(Dolphin Tale), Jordon Fisher (Disney Channel) and Max Page, a 9-year-old who has overcome a heart defect to be a busy actor in TV shows like Prime Suspect and national commercials (he starred as mini-Darth Vader in a 2011 Volkswagen commercial “The Force”).

Gabriele Eggerling, Ethan Cruikshank, Kellon Oldenette, My'Kah Knowlin, Remington Youngblood, Barbara Goldner, and Brian Goldner.

Shannon Bahrke, Kevin Arquit, and Billy Demong.

Maurice and Andrea DuBois.

Neil Bush and Chalres F. Lowrey.

Paula Abdul, Kevin Arquit, and Silda Wall Spitzer.

And just a few days before that at a luncheon at 320 Park Avenue, The Child Mind Institute kicked off its Speak Up for Kids campaign with some of New York’s biggest supporters.

Entitled "Anxious Children, Anxious Adults: Why treating children is the best thing we can do for the adults they will become", the attendees heard personal stories and got expert advice about a disorder that impacts millions of Americans, including 1 in every 33 children.

Ali Wentworth.

The program included an intimate interview by actress, comic and TV host Ali Wentworth with Atlantic Editor Scott Stossel, who spoke openly about his lifelong struggles with anxiety, a topic he documents in his book My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread and the Search for Peace of Mind. Jerry BubrickPhD, Senior Director, Anxiety & Mood Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute, discussed his experiences treating children with anxiety, and the gold-standard behavioral therapy that can be very successful, especially when children are treated early.

Over 15 million children in the US have a psychiatric disorder and less than half will get the help that they need. This May, the Child Mind Institute convenes 100 partners to battle the stigma and misinformation that can prevent kids and families from seeking life-changing treatment. To see the complete list of Speak Up for Kids partners visit childmind.org/speakup.

Chris Mack.

The campaign began by asking parents, friends, educators, kids, and advocates to share who or what they speak up for when it comes to children’s mental health by taking an #ISpeakUp Selfie and sharing it on social media. Guests at the luncheon also joined the effort by participating at the #ISpeakUp selfie booth that was be on-site. The selfie booth will be touring the country throughout the month of May, making stops in New York, Washington, DC, and Chicago at campaign events sponsored by Hunter.

The event was hosted by: Tania Higgins, Laura Kleinhandler, Tammy Levine, Christine Mack, Valerie Mnuchin and Debra G. Perelman. Guests at the luncheon also received Aerin candles donated by Harry and Laura Slatkin and NEST Fragrances.

Scott Stossel.

Other guests included: Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, President and co-founder of Child Mind Institute; Brooke Garber Neidich (Board Chair), Arthur Altschul, Jr., Julie Minskoff, Amy Phelan, Ginevra Caltagirone, Dori Cooperman, Vanessa Cornell, Jennifer Creel, Diana DiMenna, Lise Evans, Amanda Fuhrman, Isabel Gillies, Deborah Grubman, Valesca Guerrand-Hermes, Marjorie Gubelmann, Marjorie Harris, Molly Jong-Fast, Erica Karsch, Beth Kojima, Ann Leary, Simone Levinson, Lindsay Marx, Roxanne Palin, Paulina Porizkova, Zibby Right, Kelly Rutherford, Mara Sandler, Natasha Silver, Harry Slatkin and Laura Slatkin, and Amy Tucker-Meltzer.

The Child Mind Institute (childmind.org) is dedicated to transforming mental health care for children everywhere. Founded by Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz and Brooke Garber Neidich, the organization is committed to finding more effective treatments for childhood psychiatric and learning disorders, building the science of healthy brain development, and empowering children and their families with help, hope, and answers. The Child Mind Institute does not accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry.

Kelly Rutherford.

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Thank god it's Friday. Photo: JH.

Friday, May 30, 2014. The very warm summery weather on Wednesday ended abruptly (like, in a few minutes) and turned ten or more degrees cooler in the early morning hours of yesterday, remaining that way all day yesterday. Sunny and cool (not chilly). Very pleasant New York weather.

Midtown traffic seemed unusually heavy on all the avenues and cross-streets. There continues to be a lot of major commercial construction going on in this area, including the world’s tallest apartment building. Trucks and construction equipment everywhere. Fifty-fifth Street between Park and Madison is a single wending lane border by construction fences. Very slow moving. This has been going on for months, maybe years. It’s easier to forget the time, lessens the stress.

As JH reminds us, there is also the "green" to lessen the stress ...

I was going down to Michael’s to lunch with Tomas Maier, the Creative Director of Bottega Veneta and his partner Andrew Preston, and Ellin Saltzman, the intrepid fashion reporter who covers the Fashion Weeks for NYSD. Ellin was carrying a large handbag that Tomas designed about 12 or 14 years ago for Bottega. One of those Bottega bags with the leather weave. Black. Beautiful, and as fresh looking as if it were new.


	Ellin's Bottega Veneta Handbag.

We were talking about handbags and the phenomena of fashion and retailing today. Tomas remarked that the phenomenon is only that where handbags were always important among the fashionable and chic, now the interest has expanded to all women.

The thing about Fashion is it’s a serious business but it portends. Its participants and creative contributors who make fashion are interested in all kinds of things of which fashion is only one. There is the artist’s eye and sensibility always present and at work at some level of consciousness. So the talk went from books, to handbags, to movies (someone thought that Larry Kramer was at the next table waiting for Glenn Horowitz), and they’d just seen “The Normal Heart” on HBO, and ... and ... and ... it wasn’t Larry Kramer. The most sophisticated New Yorkers are fans too. (It was, I later learned from Tracey Jackson/Mrs. Glenn H., Vincent Virga who wrote Gaywit, one of Larry Kramer’s best friends.)

We didn’t cover the Kardashians although everyone at table saw the MailOnline coverage with its dozens of pictures of the wedding party arriving at Versailles for their ... something before the wedding in Rome. First Versailles and then to Rome. Talk about Love Among the Ruins! When you think of it, the Kardashians – and I’ve never seen the show – but have seen the tabloidal quotidian coverage – are the video document of this moment in our world and our society. The froth, the ghee. I don’t write that with any kind of judgment, moral or otherwise. Their phenomenon is ours; they express what we now call Consumer Society.


Tomas Maier and Andrew Preston on Fifth Avenue.

The Kardashians are perhaps the most realistic description of “society” today in America, and maybe in the world. Looking at the party arriving at the Chateau of the Sun King, the same Chateau from which Queen Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI were seized by the crowd who arrived there on that fateful day in October 1789, having trekked the fifteen miles from Paris on foot in the rain and the mud, with pitchforks and other sundry would-be weapons in October 1789; and now seeing Kim and Kanye arriving with the 21st century version of “royal” – albeit proletarian – flourish at this world monument to kingly extravagance, vanity and excess, this is history too, post-modern though it may be. You had to be there (in my head).

All this from a passing phrase at table, at Michael’s.

Meanwhile, back at Wednesday night. I gone to Michael’s to lunch on that day also. The Wednesday lunch with its roster of Michael’s celebrities and bankers and agents and media barkers. I had lunch with Jesse Kornbluth who is wrapping up (or has by now) his serial on rich kids from the Upper East Side in The New York Observer. He and I are never at loss for words. Jesse always has a story, an anecdote about many among the passing parade, and there isn’t a morsel without a moral or a denouement of laughter. Jesse also writes about books (HeadButler.com) and reads a lot more than I do.

Wednesday night. Over at Jazz at Lincoln Center, they held the 4th Annual CollegeBound Initiative Celebration of CBI with 400 guests attending.

The CollegeBound Initiative (CBI) now has a 13-year track record of significantly increasing college enrollment and 4-year degree attainment for predominantly low-income, first-generation-to-college students in New York City high-need public schools.

Ken and Margie Blanchard with students.

They’ve helped make the dream of college a reality. More than 11,500 low-income students were served this year by CollegeBound Initiative (CBI), a comprehensive college access program run by Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN).

Wednesday night’s CBI Celebration honored our college-bound students and their achievements. This year’s honorees were: Ken and Margie Blanchard, Co-Founders, The Ken Blanchard Companies; Victor Cruz, Wide Receiver, New York Giants; Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, actors, writers, and philanthropists. These honorees showed the students that hard work and perseverance leads to tremendous opportunity, inspiring all of us to make a difference in our communities.

Victor Cruz and Ann Tisch with students.

CBI’s full-time, school-based college counselors guide students in the 6th-12th grades to overcome financial, cultural and personal obstacles to college access and success, while providing supports to families throughout the college application process.

For thirteen years (Classes of 2001-2013), students served by CBI have achieved significant college-going outcomes: 94% average college acceptance rate; 70% into four-year colleges; 84% college enrollment rate; 75% enrolled in four-year colleges; $86 million in total financial aid awards; $12,700 average student financial aid package.

I first heard about CBI through Ann (Mrs. Andrew) Tisch who has been involved since the inception. It’s a very good example once again, of how women and men in New York can take a simple constructive notion of charity and turn it into a thriving enterprise for the community.

Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox with students.

Also Wednesday night, there was the annual Frick Spring Garden Party for Fellows. Like everything else the Frick does, this is an elegantly simple party, or as elegant and simple as it can be in and around one of the great remaining mansions from early 20th century New York. The Frick is always the allure.


	Parmigianino, Schiava Turca, ca. 1531–34.

The world feels better, at least for the moment once you are on the grounds and in the house of Mr. Frick with his stupendous collection paintings, sculpture and furniture, not to mention décor.

This year’s party was named Sprezzatura. The name was taken from the famous and enigmatic portrait by Parmigianino, Schiava Turca, which is on loan to the collection through July 20th. The painting of the sumptuously costumed noblewoman epitomizes the “nonchalant grace” (sprezzatura) of Renaissance courtly behavior and fashionable style.

It wasn’t the warm night that it had been only a couple of days before, so the 500 guests moved into the mansion once the Sun began to set over Central Park across the avenue. In the 1935 Music Room The Bob Hardwick Sound had begun warming up the guests for the night of dancing and cocktails, champagne and hors d’oeuvres. A beautiful party in such an elegantly timeless environment. Here are a few photos of the evening. On Monday’s Party Pictures we’ll deliver a much larger collection of the guests enjoying the night.

The Garden Party atmosphere at The Frick.

Frick Trustee Aso O. Tavitian, Frick Trustee Ayesha Bulchandani-Mathrani, Chairman of the Frick Board of Trustees Margot Bogert, Frick Trustee Barbara Fleischman, and Frick Director Ian Wardropper.

Barbara Reibel, Sandeep Mathrani, and Frick Trustee Ayesha Bulchandani-Mathrani.

Sofia Blanchard, Frick Trustee Juan Sabater, and Marianna Sabater.

Frick Trustee Jean-Marie Eveillard and Jeremie Patrier.

One more once. As I was completing my rounds before heading over to Swifty’s for dinner with Quest publisher Chris Meigher and his wife Grace, I stopped by the Park Avenue Armory where there was a cocktail party in one of the newly restored clubrooms on the second floor. The point of the party, I learned, was to introduce people to the facilities – these club rooms, restored to their original beauty and grandeur, are excellent rooms for entertaining for philanthropic, cultural, and social purposes.

The Park Avenue Armory, Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.

One of the restored club rooms at the end of the cocktail hour.

Hostesses and supporters Immi Storrs, Nina Griscom, Wendy Belzberg, and Audrey Gruss.

More catching up from falling behind. Pilobolus, the world-renowned modern dance theater company, celebrated the kick-off of its annual New York City performance season at the 2014 Pilobolus Ball/NYC at Tribeca Rooftop this past May 22nd.

The evening was artistically chaired by Mary-Louise Parker, and included a special preview of Pilobolus’s newest dance work, On the Nature of Things, which is premiering this summer at the American Dance Festival and the Joyce Theater, along with other performances throughout the evening.

Pilobolus Dancers Ben Coalter, Nile Russell, Shawn Ahern, Eriko Jimbo, Derion Loman, Matt Del Rosario, Mike Tyus, Jordan Kriston, with Mary-Louise Parker.

The fundraiser ended in a dance party with the Pilobolus dancers.

Proceeds from the NYC Ball will allow Pilobolus to make new work, grow the company’s audiences, and reach more of New York City’s young people through Pilobolus’s education programs.

Pilobolus Board Chair Ed Klaris and Pilobolus Board President Anne Hubbard.

The Host Committee was Robert Aronowitz, Judy Brill and Danny Levinson, Marcy Epstein, Tim and Mary Lies, Michael Feder, Leslie and Greg Warner, Tara and Brian Swibel, John Truex.

The annual four-week engagement of Pilobolus Dance Theater at The Joy begins July 15 and runs through August 10.

Suzan-Lori Parks and Pilobolus Board Member Howard Weinberg.

Richard Lambertson and Mark Proicou.

Lisa Cholnoky and Pilobolus Board Member Rich Levine.

Autumn Bear and Randy Baron.

Paul Shaprio and Alvin Ailey Executive Director Emerita Sharon Luckman.

Leslie Kaufman, Pilobolus Associate Artistic Director Renée Jaworski, and Robin Pogrebin.

Pilobolus Artistic Associate Jun Kuribayashi, Khaliya Khan, and Thomas Ermacora.

Doug Hamilton and Pilobolus Board Member Ciara Burnham.

An Umbrella Event at the 2014 Pilobolus Ball/NYC.

Also, one more: The National Academy Foundation (NAF), founded by Sandy Weill, held its annual Gala a few nights ago at Cipriani Wall Street. This year's event honored Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson.

The NAF is a network of career-themed academies that open doors for underserved high school students to viable careers. For more than 30 years, NAF has refined a proven model that provides young people access to industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. Nearly 5,000 business professionals volunteer in classrooms, act as mentors, engage NAF students in paid internships, and serve on local advisory boards. During the 2013-14 school year 70,000 students attended 565 NAF academies across 38 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2013, NAF academies reported 96% of seniors graduated.

NAF honored Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. NAF Board Member, Ron Williams, presented Mr. Gorsky with this award.

Mark Standish, Partner, Taursa Capital Partners, James D Robinson III, Executive Vice President of HP, John Hinshaw, NAF President JD Hoye, NAF Board Member Barbara Friedman, and Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, Alex Gorsky.

Alex Gorsky and Ron Williams meet NAF students and alumni.

Alex Gorsky meets students from California's Palomares Academy of Health Sciences.

NAF President JD Hoye, with Norm Fjeldheim from Qualcomm, and John Hinshaw, EVP of HP.

Alex Gorsky meets NAF students and staff from Lancaster High School Academy of Finance.

NAF President JD Hoye with guests and NAF Board Member, General Partner and Co-Founder of RRE Ventures James D Robinson III.

Photographs by Christine Butler (Frick); Oriel Pe'er (Pilobolus).

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Activity on the Hudson. 1 PM. Photo: JH.

Monday, June 2, 2014. Beautiful late Spring weather all weekend in New York with a 20 minute steady rainstorm late on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday early afternoon, the blue skies around us were filled with these beautiful, massive clouds that hinted rain.

Looking northeast toward the RFK Bridge.

Driving home from Zabar's on Amsterdam Avenue and 81st Street, waiting fo rhte light, you can see what look like sensational storm clouds just a score of blocks north at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Back on the East Side, traveling down East 82nd Street at 1st Avenue. Those two apartment towers sit across from each other on 82nd and East End. 3:45 p.m. The rain started about ten minutes later. A lovely summer rain that washed the streets and the sidewalks.

Sunday morning, Carl Schurz Park at the John Finley Walk, off Gracie Square. The red flowers have a soft rose-y fragrance that always remind me of handsoap. I'm not sure what the purple flower is either. And then farther down the plot, there are lillies dancing.

And then these beauties.

Sunday morning pleasure boats on the river ...

A perfect getaway to catch a few Z's on a perfect Sunday afternoon at a doorway of the Brearley School that leads to the Promenade.

In today’s Diary, we’re featuring one of those fascinating obituaries – this one of Prince Rupert Loewenstein -- from the Telegraph of London. Prince Rupert, who died two weeks ago, was famous in the world (those who knew of him) as the financial adviser to the Rolling Stones. This obit will explain how he was much more involved than that from the early 1970s until the early 2000s. I never met him although I first heard of him when I was living in Los Angeles; he had rented (or bought) a house nearby.

His was a European name that everyone in Hollywood perked up to, both the aristos and moguls in the music and the movie business. That’s magnetism in the world of the high rollers. The prince (everyone referred to him as Rupert) also had a good reputation, as someone likeable, as well as shrewd – not so ordinary in ole Tinseltown. His title – Prince – was legit and that , along with the Prince’s association with the Stones, gave him heft in the more rarefied circles both in Show Business and in the world outside of it. This obituary provides the explanation of a great career – although he probably never would have described it as such – in the international music and entertainment business. He was his own kind of showman, but an authentic.

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with Keith Richards (KEN REGAN/CAMERA 5).

From the Telegraph of London:

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein was a Bavarian aristocrat and banker who disliked rock and roll but made The Rolling Stones very rich.

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein, who has died aged 80, was the Bavarian aristocrat who for decades managed the financial affairs of The Rolling Stones.

Loewenstein was a key member of the Stones’ entourage for almost 40 years. The subfusc banker’s suits and high Roman Catholic connections which made him such an incongruous figure amid a backstage ambience of sex, drugs and rock and roll were in some ways deceptive: he had a lively sense of humour, and he observed his clients’ antics with a worldly twinkle in his eye. “He’s a bit of a showman, a bit extraordinary,” one City colleague said of him. “He always lived life at a very high rate.”

Prince Rupert Loewenstein with Mick Jagger discussing business.

It was as managing director of Leopold Joseph & Co, a small London merchant bank, that he was first introduced to Mick Jagger by a mutual friend, the art dealer Christopher Gibbs, in 1968 — though Loewenstein claimed at the time never to have heard of the band. Jagger — no slouch in financial matters himself — was increasingly angry at the handling of the Stones’ affairs by Allen Klein, the aggressive New Jersey accountant who had been the group’s manager since 1965 and whose terms included a 50 per cent slice of their recording royalties. “Half the money I’ve made has been stolen,” Jagger later told an interviewer — and his first question to Loewenstein was whether the skills of Leopold Joseph could extricate them from their contract with Klein.

“I discussed taking on the group with my partners but they were very much against any involvement, saying it would be bad for the image of the firm,” the prince recalled. “It was very hard to win them over, but I finally prevailed.”

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with Mick Jagger (JAMES YEATS-BROWN/MUSIDOR BV).

Loewenstein later wrote that he and Jagger “clicked on a personal level. I certainly felt that [he] was a sensible, honest person. And I was equally certain that I represented a chance for him to find a way out of a difficult situation. I was intrigued. So far as the Stones’ music was concerned, however, I was not in tune with them, far from it. Rock and pop music was not something in which I was interested ... After the first two or three business meetings with Mick, I realised there was something exceptional in his make-up, that his personality was able to convert his trade as itinerant performer into something far more intriguing.”

From then on, Loewenstein was a particularly close personal adviser to Jagger, who developed a liking for rubbing shoulders with high society. Shortly after they met, Jagger helped to plan a White Ball at the Loewensteins’ home in Holland Park, which kept neighbours awake until a quarter to six in the morning. When one rang the police to complain, she was told: “We can’t do anything about it, Princess Margaret’s there.”

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with Keith Richards (REX).

Loewenstein realised that a great deal more money could be made for the band from touring: “After reviewing a few of the basic documents, I realised [the money] would have gone to Klein and therefore they would have depended on what he gave them, as opposed to what the record company or the publishing company did. They were completely in his hands. What had also become apparent to me was that the band would have to abandon their UK residence. If they did not do this, they could be paying between 83 and 98 per cent of their profits in British income tax and surtax. I selected the South of France as a suitable location for them.”

By 1972 Loewenstein had managed to reach a satisfactory contract with Allen Klein (although litigation continued for a further 18 years), allowing the Stones to record with a company of their choice. He then set himself to find a new recording contract for them to replace the existing one with Decca; during their European tour of 1970 he conducted what amounted to a trade fair on their behalf from a series of hotel bedrooms.

Prince Rupert Loewenstein with daughter Dora and Stones bassist Bill Wyman.

The prince’s services extended not only to managing their money, negotiating their contracts and accompanying them on tour: he once described himself as “a combination of bank manager, psychiatrist and nanny”, while the tabloids christened him “Rupie the Groupie.” In 1978 he was called upon to provide an affidavit to a Toronto court as to the extent of Keith Richards’ casual spending — $350,000 in the previous year — as evidence that the guitarist was wealthy enough not to commit crimes in order to feed his heroin habit.

It was the prince who was most influential in persuading Jagger to go on touring through the 1980s and ’90s, as relations among the group members cooled and the wear and tear of advancing age took its toll. The prince also stood as godfather to James, Jagger’s son by Jerry Hall, in 1985 (the actress Anjelica Huston was godmother).


	Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with Jerry Hall.

When Jagger and Hall parted, Loewenstein masterminded the financial settlement that followed — and remarked in a rare interview that “when families split up you have to make it absolutely clear whose side you are on at once”. It was due in large part to his wisdom that Jagger’s fortune is today estimated at more than £200 million.

Rupert Louis Ferdinand Frederick Constantine Lofredo Leopold Herbert Maximilian Hubert John Henry zu Loewenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg was born at Palma, Majorca, on August 24 1933.

His father, Prince Leopold, a native of Salzburg, traced descent through the royal house of Wittelsbach from the Elector Palatine Friedrich I (1425-76), whose son Ludwig— by a mistress, Clara Tott, whom the Elector married to legitimise the child — became Count of Loewenstein, near Heilbronn in what is now Baden-Wurtemberg, in 1488. Rupert’s mother was a daughter of the Count of Treuberg, and the family’s connections could be traced throughout the Almanack de Gotha. Non-noble forebears included the Frankfurt financier Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the famous banking dynasty.

The young Rupert was brought to England in 1940 and sent to Beaumont, the Roman Catholic public school. Later he read History at Magdalen College, Oxford — where he emerged as one of the glitterati of his generation — and began his City career as a trainee with the stockbrokers Bache & Co. He and a group of friends swiftly decided that the best way to make serious money would be to own their own merchant bank.

Together with, among others, Jonathan Guinness (now Lord Moyne), the exotic French Baron Alexis de Redé, and Anthony Berry ( son of the Sunday Times proprietor Lord Kemsley and later a Conservative MP who was killed by the 1984 Brighton bomb), he arranged to buy Leopold Joseph & Co from its founding family for £600,000.


Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with the Duchess of York (REX).

The bank had been set up in 1919 by a German-Jewish immigrant who first came to London as a reporter for the Frankfurter Zeitung; three Joseph brothers remained in the business, which had been operating on a very modest scale.

Under Loewenstein’s leadership, it rapidly made a new name for itself in lucrative corporate finance work and investment advice for very wealthy private clients. His success with the Rolling Stones’ account brought him a number of other showbusiness clients, including Pink Floyd and (before his conversion to Islam) Cat Stevens.

In 1981 the prince left Leopold Joseph to set up his own business, Rupert Loewenstein Ltd, based in St James’s. He took his best clients with him, and once explained why he enjoyed working for people who had only recently made their fortunes. New money, he said, was “much more interesting than old. People with old money are nearly always having to be adjusted downwards.”

Loewenstein’s own money, both old and new, enabled him to live in grand style in later years in a former grace-and-favour mansion, Petersham Lodge — not far from the Jagger ménage on Richmond Hill — which he bought in 1987 for around £2 million.

Loewenstein and Mick Jagger's former girlfriend Marianne Faithful, 1969. Photo: Desmond O'Neill.

But in parallel with a life of money and parties, there was also a spiritual side to him. He petitioned for the preservation of the Tridentine Mass — writing to The Daily Telegraph in 1975 about its numinous beauty — and held high office in ancient Catholic orders of chivalry: he was Grand Inquisitor of the Constantinian Military Order of St George and president of the British association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

Loewenstein’s association with The Rolling Stones ended amicably in 2007 — although his publication six years later of a memoir, “A Prince Among Stones,” was said to have upset Jagger.


	Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein with his wife Josephine hosting The White Ball.

In the book, the prince wrote of his relationship with the band: “All the time I worked with the Stones I never changed my habits, my clothes or my attitudes. I was never tempted by the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle. Although I enjoyed a good vintage wine, I was never a heavy drinker, nor a drug-taker. I always aimed to maintain a strict discipline backstage, for security reasons, and tried to see that the band and the entourage did not get drunk or disorderly.

“To many outsiders it must seem extraordinary that I was never a fan of the Stones’ music, or indeed of rock ’n’ roll in general. Yet I feel that precisely because I was not a fan, desperate to hang out in the studio and share in the secret alchemy of their creative processes (something I never did since I couldn’t take the noise levels), I was able to view the band and what they produced calmly, dispassionately, maybe even clinically – though never without affection.”

Prince Rupert married, in 1957 at the London Oratory, Josephine Lowry-Corry, a barrister’s daughter who had trained as a ballet dancer at Sadler’s Wells until she grew too tall, then retrained as an opera singer. The honeymoon included a visit to the Wagner festival at Bayreuth.

The Loewensteins had two sons, Princes Rudolf and Konrad, both of whom became priests, and a daughter, Princess Maria-Theodora (Dora), who married an Italian count, Manfredi della Gherardesca, and became a director of her father’s business.

Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein, born August 24 1933, died May 20, 2014

Prince Rupert Loewenstein with his wife Josephine.

Contact DPC here.

Carl Schurz Park. Photo: Jeff Hirsch.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Beautiful, sunny day; yesterday in New York.

Regular NYSD readers are familiar with our frequent park shots. Our choices have to do with proximity. JH lives near Riverside Park, and also keeps his camera handy when he crosses town. He is naturally drawn to Central Park which was “his” park growing up in New York as he did. He remembers the Park as a kid when it could be a dangerous place for a kid to play, and is well aware of the great differences that have resulted from the Central Park Conservancy’s work.

I’ve been familiar with Carl Schurz Park all my adult life. In my twenties, I lived nearby, and then since I came back to New York from California in the early 90s. Being a “dog person,” and since it has been on my doorstep, I’ve been walking through the park almost everyday – often year-round – for more than twenty years.

Carl Schurz Park dog run.

This time in my life it has been a different experience of the park. I’m older now and my interests have adapted. For example, I love the Promenade in the park that runs along the East River and looks out on Roosevelt Island and Queens. You’ve seen my views of those locations on this Diary probably ad nauseum. But the river (actually it’s technically a channel, not a river) is beautiful, and very calming just to sit or stand and watch its flow (both north and south depending on the tides), and to watch the river traffic which runs from kayaks to luxury yachts to oil tankers and the inevitable tugs. And filled with tales of the Naked City. I often think of the scene in E. L. Doctorow’s“Billy Bathgate” where the smart talkin’ fast talkin,’ slick-looking hood named Bo Weinberg (played by Bruce Willis in the film) is taken out one night for a “ride” on a tug where they take him down to the hold and place his feet in a bucket of wet cement. Unseen and unknown to anyone ashore, as the workhorse tug moves along the current out into the Atlantic.

I love to watch all the boats along the river from the perch of the Promenade. But then in the last couple of years, at Springtime I’ve found myself intrigued by the flora and the fauna of Carl Schurz Park.

“I must be getting old ...” That phrase we heard our parents’ mutter has also entered my consciousness. I remember as a kid, watching my mother on a Sunday afternoon walking around the yard looking at her small flower garden. It wasn’t spectacular by any means but I could see she was fascinated. Dumb kid, I thought it was stupid. Now I see. SEE is the key.

This passing Spring has been a memorable one for me in the park. I’ve photographed it frequently just because I’m awed by the beauty everywhere you look.

Carl Schurz Park New York, William Glackens, 1922.

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with a woman named Pat Nardosy, and David Williams, who is my next door neighbor coincidentally, and also the Executive Director of the Park. Mrs. Nardosy is a former currency trader, as well as mother of grown children. At a certain moment in her life, she left all that behind and went back to school and got her PhD. In Botany! Her specialty: Rosemary.

Okay. This is the thing about New York — as I’ve pointed out at other moments: where else in the world would you go to lunch and meet a mature woman whose intellectual world has extended from currency trading (!) to studying Rosemary? And you know what? Rosemary is really interesting.

Executive Director of Carl Schurz Park, David Williams.

Among Mrs. Nardosy’s choices after she left the world of ongoing financially-induced stress was to volunteer to work in Carl Schurz Park, which is just down the street from where she and her husband have lived for many years. The park is where she walked and took her kids and took in the river for many years before. Now she is a fulltime (frequent) volunteer in charge of a particular zone of the park (where the leader “manages” its flora and fauna and keeps it in shape). It’s exactly like a smaller version of what the Central Park Conservancy does.

During our conversation about Mrs. Nardosy’s work and passion for the park and all its natural wonders, we got to talking about the beautiful flowers blooming throughout this Springtime. Many NYSD readers have emailed to tell us how much they love the flower pictures we’ve been running (including JH’s huge variety from around town and in the Parks he covers).

The talk came down to me asking what were the names of this flower and that. I’m completely ignorant about such facts. It’s like being familiar with a great aria and never knowing the name of the opera or composer whence it came.

White Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) in Carl Schurz Park.

I learned that the park’s website — http://www.carlschurzparknyc.org— has a monthly column for people like me (dummies), about what’s in bloom. I asked Williams and Nardosy if we might run one (or more) of these columns on the NYSD — for those of us who find ourselves curious about the beauty that is just around the corner from our daily lives.

The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy is— like the Big Girl in the middle of old Mannahatta — a community-supported operation. There is a certain amount of money that comes from the City but the care and maintenance relies heavily on volunteers and donations. It is an ongoing project impressing upon all of us users of the park that it’s a gift from ... ourselves to ourselves.

Wild roses among the delphinium in Carl Schurz Park.

If you should live in proximity — ten or fifteen minute walking distance — amble on over on one of these beautiful sunny days and see what your personal Estate looks like (right next door to the City’s Mayor).

The following is this month’s “What’s In Bloom” journal (late May) posted on the park’s website. If you'd like to support the the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy in its horticultural efforts please MAKE A DONATION:

This has been a rather unpredictable spring as far as weather goes and also the blooming times of our favorite plants. Early spring in Carl Schurz Park was almost two weeks behind our average, but now our flowers are not only catching up, but even getting ahead of themselves. There seems to be more in bloom now than usual due to the early flowers coming late and the late flowers arriving a bit early!

Now that the Kanzan Cherry blossoms have fallen to earth and disappeared wherever small blooms go, the fabulous colors are along the Esplanade.

The Cherry Blossoms from the Cherry Orchard cover the pansies surrounding the trees.

The Bearded Iris (Iris), with their sword-like leaves and brilliant showy purple, lilac, and yellow colors, are putting on a spectacular show. The 'beards' are on the lower petals of the blossoms. There are so many hybrids, that it is hard to pick a favorite. Easy to grow, Iris need to be watched for rhizome rot and Iris borer. Every three to four years, we dig up our Iris rhizomes, inspect them, cut out any diseased tissue (sterilizing the tool afterwards) and replant the healthy ones.

The Bearded Iris, Esplanade Gardens.

Near the Bearded Iris, you will notice the slender buds of the Siberian Iris, which will bloom soon in deep purples. The foliage of the Siberian Iris lasts all summer, unlike that of the Bearded Iris. Peonies are about to bloom so they will add their pinks, roses and whites.

Inside the Park, many of our white flowered Hawthornes are still in bloom. Different cultivars bloom at different times. South and North of the 86th Street entrance, you will find some of the late bloomers.

The trees with flowers way up high are the Black Locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia), sometimes called False Acacias. In fact, they are not true locusts as are the Honey Locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos). The best view of the pendulous clusters of creamy white flowers is just to the north west of the Peter Pan Bridge. We almost lost this tree in Sandy, but ended up just having to trim the top off. There is a very tall Black Locust on the west side of Playground Walk just south of the 86th Street stairs.

Black Locust, Playground Walk.

A young 'Purple Robe' Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Purple Robe') is just to the north of the Large Dog Run to the left of the boulder garden. A good way to differentiate between Honey Locusts and Black Locusts when they are not in bloom is to look for thorns on the trunk of the Honey Locusts.

Black Locust 'Purple Robe,' Large Dog Run (South).

Turkish Honeysuckle is not a vine, but rather a tree that is also considered a small shrub. These vase shaped small trees, dripping with the characteristic fragrant white and yellow blooms of honeysuckle, are found on either side of Playground Walk, along the Hockey Rink Path and to the right of the esplanade stairs as you face the East River. Landscape records from the 1930's show that these trees were planted in NYC parks in that era. Though regarded as invasive, our four seem to keep nicely to themselves.

Turkish Honeysuckle, Esplanade Garden South of Hoop Stairs.

Throughout the Park, tall purple pompoms have been popping up in the garden beds. These alliums (Allium) are decorative members of the onion family; some are the cultivar Allium aflatunense. Though there are tall and short cultivars, our volunteer gardens love the pop that the tall ones provide in late spring.

Alliums, Hockey Rink South.

The first columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) are to be found in the garden bed opposite the 87th Street building and also at the North End of the Park. The spurred blooms of these delicate natives are orange and yellow, but as we move into summer, we will see more of the purple hued varieties.

Canadian Columbine, Garden North of 89th Street Entrance.

The North End of the Park has two major gardens. There is a long woodland bed stretching from the entrance at 89th Street up the stairs and along the walk north of Gracie Mansion. The other garden area covers the areas around the FDR vents and along the overlook to the FDR. From now through fall, these gardens will be full of colorful blooms.

In the 89th Street garden, the Siberian Bugloss 'Jack Frost'(Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost') continues to bloom amidst the ajuga (Ajuga reptans). The silver and mint green variegated leaves and the bright light blue blossoms provide a great contrast to the dark purple of the ajuga flowers. Though both of these are shade plants, they tolerate direct sun.

Siberian Bugloss and Ajuga, Garden north of 89th Street Entrance.

One of our few Wiegelas (Wiegela florida) has a two-tone pink graceful bugle-shaped flower. These tall deciduous, old garden shrubs are quite showy with arching flower-covered branches. Butterflies love the flowers.

Wiegela, Garden North of 89th Street Entrance.

Lower to the ground, you will see a Park favorite, Spiderwort (Tradescantia). This is a tough plant that blooms throughout the summer with a succession of flowers in shades of purple. The flowers close at night and on very cloudy days. The Latin name of the genus, Tradescantia, was to honor the British naturalist John Tradescant, the Elder, and his son, John Tradescant, the Younger, the gardener to Charles I.

Spiderwort, Garden at 89th Street Entrance to the Park.

To the east and north of this garden, the roses are blooming in pink and rosy rose.

Rose with a Visitor, North Lawn Garden.

One of our beautiful light purple Persian Lilacs (Syringa x persica), a late blooming lilac, just came into flower.

Persian Lilac, North Lawn Garden.

As you walk between the woodland hills along the 87th Street path, you will notice a bevy of blooms – bleeding hearts in pink and also in white, Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum) with bell shaped white flowers nodding down on the slender branches.

Solomon's Seal, South Woodland Hill.

Barrenwort (Epimedium), also known as Bishop's Hat, grows in shady areas, crouching low to the ground. Some species have four spurs which look like a bishop's four-peaked biretta. On the north woodland hill, the spidery flowers of the species have either pink flowers or yellow flowers. These plants grow slowly, but are a favorite of shade gardeners for their delicacy in leaf and flower and their tolerance of low moisture.

Barrenwort, North Woodland Hill.

Near the epimediums, the Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa) with its strappy, gold/green striped leaves cascades down the north and south hillsides like a stream. We grow this grass-like plant for its foliage, not its flowers.

Golden Japanese Forest Grass, North Woodland Hill (87th Street Path).

As you go under the Peter Pan Bridge, the southern rocky outcropping is filled with blooms. One of the highlights is Heuchera (Heuchera), with its startling flower emerging from the beautiful multi- lobed leaves.

Heuchera, Hill Garden in Southwest Corner of Peter Pan.

The rosy pinks continue with the astonishing clematis climbing up our light posts along the Esplanade south of 86th Street.

Clematis, Garden along Esplanade.

Sometimes the Park seems to have only white flowers. This is primarily due to the large white complex flowers of the Doublefile Viburnums (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum). When we showed a class of young Brearley students the double rows of flowers on the branches, they loved the idea of double file instead of single file! Birds are attracted to the fruits which is part of the reason we have so many of these shrubs in the Park!

Doublefile Viburnums, Garden South of Polly Gordon Walk.

Under the Doublefile Viburnums in Peter Pan, the white flowers of the Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum) peep out in front of the green hosta leaves. These bulbs were planted decades ago and spread beautifully in the Park.

Star of Bethlehem, Edge of Peter Pan Circle.

Another low growing white beauty across the southern Peter Pan stairs from the Star of Bethlehem is Creeping Mazus (Mazus reptans). Prized as a truly low growing ground cover, this plant withstands some foot traffic so is suited for low traffic areas in a public park.

Creeping Mazus, Hill Garden in Southwest Corner of Peter Pan.

Just north of the Peter Pan garden is our most beautiful Deutzia (Deutzia) at the eastern edge of the Flagpole Lawn garden. To see why Deutzia is recommended for full sun, compare this plant with the ones in the partial shade just inside the entrance at 84th Street. All of our shrubs bloom with their delicate white flowers in panicles, but the full sun plant is in full bloom.

Deutzia, Garden West of Flagpole Lawn.

As we enter June, the fragrance of our Linden Trees, mostly north of 86th Street will fill the air, especially at night. In Peter Pan, the Mock Orange (Philadelphus) will be covered with white four petaled blooms with yellow stamens in the center.

Largeleaf Linden, North of Peter Pan Circle on edge of Path.

Mock Orange, Southwest Corner of Peter Pan Circle.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Cherry Blossoms Lith Gontijo Iris Jefferey B. Evans Black Locust Pat Nadosy Black Locust Purple Rose Pat Nadosy Turkish Honeysuckle Pat Nadosy Allium Michele LaGamba-Himmel Columbine Michele LaGamba-Himmel Ajuga and Barrenwort Milt Verstandig Wiegela Milt Verstandig Tradescantia Milt Verstandig	Rose Milt Verstandig Lilac Milt Verstandig Epimediun Milt Verstandig Heuchera Jeffrey B. Evans Clematis Michele LaGamba-Himmel Viburnum Lori Guarnera Star of Bethlehem Jeffrey B. Evans Creeping Mazus Jeffrey B. Evans Linden Pat Nadosy Mock Orange Jeffrey B. Evans

Contact DPC here.

A summery scene. 3:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Summer-like weather, yesterday in New York, with temperatures in the low to mid-80s and the “Real Feel” about ten degrees higher. A tiny preview of things to come. And only two months ago people were complaining about the winter that wouldn’t leave. With this heat, the cabs all had their air-conditioning blasting. Riding home from lunch this afternoon, I noticed that my cab, which had a temperature dial in the backseat had it at 60 degrees. I turned it up to 70. Late in the afternoon about five, the predicted storm clouds rolled in and we had some distant thunder and about ten minutes of steady rain.

The traffic from the Upper East Side down through midtown was horrendous. It’s a combination of the double parking, the few lanes left by the last administration making room for bicyclists, and tourists (to sit outside at tables in Times Square and other local junctions), and by the plethora of ongoing commercial construction on the midtown streets.

Summer-like heat. 7 PM.

I was going down to Michael’s to meet with the Quest editorial staff to discuss upcoming issues. Michael’s was very busy and very noisy with the verbal excitement bouncing off every art-covered wall. In the table in front of us was Susan Sarandon, the actress and ping-pong tycoon with His Holiness, the Gyalwang Drukpa, who is head of the world’s second largest sect of Buddhism, the Dragon lineage.

The Dragon lineage has its biggest following in the nations and Kingdoms of Nepal, Vietnam, Tibet, Ladakh Northern India and Bhutan where it is the state religion. His Holiness, as he is universally called, is one of the “Super Lama’s” of Buddhism, second only to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was the Dalai Lama who recognized and confirmed His Holiness as the twelfth incarnation of the Dragon lineage when the Drukpa was only three years old.

His Holiness, the Gyalwang Drukpa, and Susan Sarandon at Michael's.

Ms. Sarandon has known His Holiness for quite some time. She hosted him last year at New York’s Ruben Museum for a standing-room-only dialogue between the two. That went over so well that Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famed astrophysicist, will present His Holiness on stage at the Beacon Theatre on Broadway and 75th Street tomorrow night, June 5th. I am told that 3,000 seat theater is all but sold out.

So what did they talk about? The staff for His Holiness said he invited Sarandon to join him in northern India for a Pad Yatra, (a “spiritual walkabout”) through the foothills of the Sub-Himalayan Range. Sarandon, who is expecting a grandchild in August or September, seemed excited at the prospect to join in the weeklong trek.

One of the reasons Sarandon is so drawn to the dynamic Holy man is that he broke the millennia-old prohibition of letting women practice the ancient spiritual art of kung-fu. The BBC did a fine documentary on these so called “Kung-Fu Nuns.”

Several people stopped by the table to say hello to Ms. Sarandon and meet His Holiness, including Kathie Lee Gifford, Judy Cox and Sharon Bush -- who was quick to invite the couple to her box at Saturday Night’s Pastor Joel Osteen revival at Yankee Stadium -- and the lovely Maureen Reidy, the newly installed President of the Paley Centerfor Media.

The first photo of His Holiness with Sarandon was taken by Michael's GM and sometime NYSD photographer Steve Millington. The second two were taken by another photographer.The old grump in the center is none other than me looking apparently disapprovingly (?). I was looking at the photographer, wondering if she were taking the photos for NYSD (which we didn't need). It never occurred to me (duh) that my scowling face would be in the middle of it. In fact, I didn't like seeing it. JH, however, thought it was hilarious (caught off-guard, Mr. DPC, you old crab!) and insisted we run it. Photobombing is what he called it. I'd heard the term before but didn't know what it meant. Now I know: watch out for any photo lens before you.

The late afternoon rain cooled off the town somewhat by early evening. It was a busy one. Down at Cipriani-Wall Street, the Gordon Parks Foundation honored individuals who have contributed their lives to the arts. The Foundation itself permanently preserves the works of the award winning photographer as well as other artists. The works are made available by the Foundation through exhibitions, books, and electronic media. It also supports artistic and educational activities that advance what the distinguished photographer/ director described as “the common search for a better life and a better world.” Also a musician and a writer, Gordon Parks was most famous for his photo essays in the great days of LIFE Magazine, and as the director of several films including the 1971 hit film SHAFT.

Invitation detail.

They honored Irvin Mayfield, the Grammy Award-winning American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He was introduced by Soledad O’Brien; and artist and photographer Lorna Simpson, who was introduced by Leslie Parks, daughter of Gordon; plus fashion designer Vera Wang, who was introduced by Chelsea Clinton; and Ed Zwick, filmmaker and producer who was introduced by Adam Gopnik. George Lucas and Mellody Hobson were presented with the first Gordon Parks Patron of the Arts Award.

Irvin Mayfield and Janelle Monae last night at the Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner.

The evening’s Co-Chairs included Alicia Keys, Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, and Kaseem ‘Swizz Beatz’ Dean. Dinner Chairs were Anderson Cooper, Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, Annie Leibowitz, Lisa and Richard Pepler, Peggy Rice, Jed Root, Russell Simmons, Alexander Soros and Gerhard Steidl. The funds raised by this benefit will allow the Foundation to continue to grow its educational scholarship program and to continue to make Gordon Parks’ work available to schools, museums and communities around the world.

Janelle Monae performing at Gordon Parks gala. Alicia Keys is dancing along.

Meanwhile, back uptown, the Liceu Barcelona Opera House US Foundation hosted a “Welcome Reception at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute at 684 Park Avenue in the Presence of Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain.” This visit comes, coincidentally or otherwise, the day after it was announced that the Queen’s husband, King Carlos, will step aside from the throne and be succeeded by the King and Queen’s son Crown Prince Felipe.

The Liceu, also known as the Gran Teatre del Liceu was, unlike other European opera houses, founded by the private patronage of Barcelona’s entrepreneurs. Because of that, being a theatre of the people, as it were, it has no royal or presidential box.

However, it has been graced by the personal interest of Queen Sofia herself. Following in its tradition of private commitment, the Liceu Barcelona Opera House US Foundation wants to engage American friends and patrons (read: opera lovers) to help support the operatic life of the Liceu and to promote the dialogue between the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the United States.

Dr. Robert L. Bard and his wife Loretta.

F. Paul Driscoll and Diane E. Silberstein.

Yvonne Bendinger-Rothschild, Executive Director of the European American Chamber of Commerce.

Amy Zhou, Chairman, American-China Sports Association.

Just a few blocks from the Spanish Institute, over in Central Park, the City Parks Foundation was holding its annual Gala honoring Andrew Tisch and featuring the music of the Beatles at Summer Stage, with cocktails at 6, dinner at 7, and then a concert at 8. Fortunately they got by with only a light touch of raindrops. As I didn’t make it to this, we’ll have more in the next few days. And now far from then up on East 80th Street at the New York Junior League, interior designer Brian McCarthy was lecturing on “A Grand Tour of Design: Collecting Across the Globe.”


	Lynn Sherr with her new biography of Sally Ride, last night at a booksigning at the home of her agent, Esther Newberg. Click to order.

And then a few blocks east on 72nd Street, also at the same time, literary agent Esther Newberg was hosting a book party for her good friend (and client) Lynn Sherr, who has written a biography of Sally Ride, the first woman (and youngest) astronaut ever to fly in space. Last night, Lynn told the guests about her long friendship with Ride who was married to another astronaut, Steve Hawley, at the time.

Lynn and her husband, and the Hawleys became friends. Later Ride divorced Hawley. Lynn told us last night that after the divorce she lived with a childhood friend, Tam O’Shaughnessy as partners-in-life. This relationship was never publicized although it evidently was not a secret from her many friends. She was, according to Lynn, and to others, a woman who liked her private life private.

She was a trailblazer, a Southern California girl, an ace tennis player, who was studying astrophysics at Stanford when she filled out a form volunteering to enter an astronauts program. Lynn Sherr asked her what was behind her wanting to be an astronaut. She had no explanation other than it was just something she wanted to do. It was never a question.

The view looking southwest from the apartment of Esther Newberg on East 72nd Street.

Over the years Lynn Sherr got to know Sally Ride as a friend. Sally never would have wanted a biography, Lynn told the guests at Esther Newberg’s. She evidently had no ego about her trail-blazing. Although I speak without statistics but having had long and personal relationships with several native California girls, Ride fits perfectly into my observations that there remains in many of these women, a kind of “pioneer” spirit, the likes of which you could read in a Joan Didion novel or essay. Sally Ride just had that. Her interests were her interests, and the experience was her independent adventure in learning. “An inspiring biography” is only one of the compelling phrases about “Sally Ride; America’s First woman in Space” (published by Simon & Schuster) and edited by Alice Mayhew, who was among the guests last night.

The dessert: little sugar cookies with a likeness (in sugar) of the book cover on them.

Contact DPC here.

Red-tailed Hawks playing on a rooftop of the Upper West Side. 3:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Thursday, June 5, 2014. Beautiful, warm, summer-like weather again, yesterday in New York. With rain coming in from the west close to the midnight hour.

Good news.Florence Fabricant, writing in the New York Times yesterday announced that Charles Masson, formerly the sensational chatelaine of La Grenouille, will be the manager of the French restaurant, lounge and bars at the Baccarat, the new hotel and apartment tower going up across the street from the Museum of Modern Art at 20 West 53rd. The Baccarat is being built by Starwood Capital which owns a major stake in Baccarat, the French maker of crystal glassware. The restaurant is slated to open in December with Shea Gallante, who was chef at Cru and Ciano. For years now, La Grenouille, under Charles’ directorship and management has been the only French restaurant of its kind in New York. Now there will be two.

JH witnessed another kind of lunch way up on the rooftops.

It was Wednesday, so it was Michael’s. Even busier than Tuesday, and louder than hell, thanks to the Con Ed workman who were drilling on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, and right by my table. Nevertheless the show must and did go on.

I was invited to lunch by Leslie Stevens, Lisa McCarthy and Kathy Rayner, all working on organizing the 40th anniversary celebration this summer of the Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) of the Hamptons.

In their forty years, ARF has rescued and secured adoptions for 20,000 dogs and cats. They are a no kill shelter and never turn an animal away, including those adoptees who are returned.

About fourteen or fifteen years ago, JH adopted a beautiful mutt named Oliver from ARF. Oliver had been one of the dogs brought to an ARF benefit that summer for potential adoption. He was three. He had had three homes. None worked out. That’s because he was waiting for JH (and vice versa). A sweeter, more clever, greater friend of a dog, no one ever had. What looked on paper like a potential problem was simply the paradise of chemistry and fate. Oliver left us a couple of years ago but his legacy of love remains in memory. That’s what ARF can do and does not only for the animals but for those of us who know the immense value of the affection these animals evoke.

Oliver Hirsch — A sweeter, more clever, greater friend of a dog, no one ever had.

You’ll be hearing more about the ARF “Bow Wow Meow Ball.” It will take place on Saturday, August 16th at the ARF adoption center at 90 Daniels Hole Road in Wainscott. Steve Kroft (of “Sixty Minutes”) will be emcee. They’ll honor past ARF president – Sony Schotland, Raymond Cortell, Jill Caras, Doug Cassidy, Billy Rayner and Polly Bruckman. My lunch partner Lisa McCarthy is the current president. David Monnand Alex Papachristidis are creating the décor which should be spectacular when those two get finished. Dogs and cats can be adopted on site.

ARF was founded in 1974 as a charitable organization funded entirely by private donations. A great many of its animals come from extremely high risk situations, thanks to all those humanoid monsters out there. ARF provides a safe environment without risk of euthanization under permanent homes are found. Each year they place more than 1000 cats and dogs in caring homes. Tickets for the Bow Wow Meow Ball are $500, $1000, and $2500.

And as always, dogs and cats can be adopted on site.

Meanwhile back at the Michael’s lunch tables. At the table next to us: Lovey Arum and Mary Carol (Mrs. Milton A. “Mickey”) Rudin. Mrs. Arum is the wife of Bob Arum, the biggest fight promoter in the world and is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Mrs. Rudin is the widow of the prominent Hollywood lawyer, one of the power figures of tinseltown in its heyday. He was famous to the public as Frank Sinatra’s lawyer but that was only one of many famous names on Rudin’s client list.


	Mickey Rudin with Frank Sinatra Jr. leaving LA Federal Court in 1964.

	In case you missed it: Lynn Sherr on Tuesday night with her new biography of Sally Ride. Click to order.

	Joan Hamburg was simply told she could leave. After 35 years. Very classy, WOR.

The relationship with Sinatra was a long and deep one as “counsel, defender, investment partner and friend. He was also Marilyn Monroe’s lawyer and coincidentally, at the time of her death, the brother-in-law of her shrink Ralph Greenson. Other clients included Lucille Ball, the Warner Brothers, Marvin Davis, Steve Ross, Steve Wynn, Elizabeth Taylor, the Jackson Five, Norman Lear, Liza Minnelli, and even the Aga Khan.

At table one next to Arun and Rudin, agent David Kuhn with Kerry Kennedy. On the other side of the ladies: Joe Zee with a woman from Carolina Herrera; and in the corner: George Lucas; next to him Stan Shuman. Next to him Alice Mayhew with Jill Abramson, the recently relieved executive editor of the New York Times. Alice Mayhew, the great Simon & Schuster editor, was also editor of Lynn Sherr’s new biography of Sally Ride, the first woman astronaut. Lynn was lunching a few tables away with Peter Price, as was her agent on the project Esther Newberg, who also gave the book party for Lynn this past Tuesday night.

Meanwhile back to the list: in the middle of the room, Duh Boyz:Della Femina, Kramer, Imber and Bergman. Across from them TV producer Joan Gelman with her friend Joan Hamburg, the WOR talk-radio veteran who after 35 years of keeping the listeners interested, got the boot Tuesday morning. Called into the Human Resources office (where she thought was going to be told she’d also have to fill in for someone who had called in sick), she was told she could leave. Now! No thanks, no nothing. This form of firing is not new in the big bad world of media, be it broadcasting or print. It is cruel, but then, so are a lot of the people practicing that method of executive direction. Jerks, ultimately.

Back at the ranch, on the other side of us: literary agent Lynn Nesbit who represents editor/author Victoria Wilson whose excellent biography of Barbara Stanwyck I’m reading right now. Across the way, Mickey Ateyeh and Adria Roush. Around the room: Fern Mallis; Star Jones, Shirley Lord with Freddi Friedman; Jerry Inzerillo; Susan Duffy (of Chanel); Jay Fielden with Jay McInerney; Tomas Maier (of Bottega Veneta) who is about to open his own store on Madison Avenue in the 70s, with Robert Rufino; HeadButler’s Jesse Kornbluth (you read him here) with pals Wendy Goldberg and Marshall Cohen; Hearst’s Deb Shriver; WSJ’s David Sanford and Lewis Stein; Jane Hartley (said to be in line as Obama’s next Ambassador to France); Glenn Horowitz; Barry Frey; former Governor of the FED, Kevin Warsh; PR guru Harriet Weintraub; Susan Duffy of Chief Marketing Officer for Stuart Weitzman; Andrew Stein; John Tishman; Dini von Mueffling; producer Bevelry Camhe; Mark Rosenthal; Jack Kliger; Leonard Harlan with Ed Bleier; Scott Schiller with Martin Puris; Matt Rubell; and scores more just like ‘em.

Last night Cornelia Guest threw a small cocktail party at her offices in the East 70s. It’s from here that Cornelia runs her catering business, as well as her handbag business and her animal philanthropies. The office was once upon a time the ground floor of limestone mansion. I know this because all of her doors open to a garden.

Cornelia Guest before her office table setting, last night.

Family photos, center: CZ, Alexander, Winston and baby Cornelia Guest.

Catching up: my friend Olivia Flatto -- just came back from Paris a few days ago sent me some pictures of a great gala night over there given in honor of Brigitte Lefevre, the director of Dance at the Paris Opera and Ballet, who is retiring and will be handing over the leadership of the Dance to Benjamin Millepied in the Fall.

A prestigious group of patrons of the American Friends of the Paris Opera and Ballet flew to Paris to attend the event. Exceptional experiences were arranged for the American including a performance of the new creation by Benjamin Millepied -- Daphnis et Chloe (music by Ravel and décor by French artist Daniel Buren). The production was praised both in the French and American press.

A performance of Benjamin Millepied's Daphnis et Chloe.

Following the performance, there was a dinner given for the very first time on the stage of the Opera Bastille, setting the mood for a unique evening between the grand sets of Traviata and Capuleti I Montecchi.

The evening was attended by a wonderful group of supporters of the Paris Opera and Ballet including members of the business community in Paris, officials from the French government and artists like John Neumeier, Bob Wilson and Benjamin Millepied. It was quite a grand night and made the “American Friends” team proud to support new productions at the Paris Opera and Ballet, along with the help of partners like the Florence Gould Foundation and the American Friends board.

The dinner scene on the stage of the Opera Bastille.

Benjamin Millepied, Dorothée Gilbert, Brigitte Lefèvre, and Jean Louis Beffa.

Kamel Mennour, Olivier Aldeano, Jean-Paul Cluzel, and Christophe Beaux.

Benjamin Millepied, Aurélie Filippetti, and Brigitte Lefèvre.

Bruno Roger and Maryvonne Pinault.

Laura Zeckendorf, Sana Sabbagh, Dina Chartouni, Christian Shcirm, Olivia Flatto, Pilatr Molyneux, Pablo Molyneux, Carolyn Wiener, and Elizabeth Wiener.

This past Tuesday, K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers held its "8th Annual Women in Industry" Luncheon. K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, a non-profit organization based in NYC and one of the largest industry charities, works with retailers, manufacturers and designers to provide new product to families and people in need.

This year, K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, Inc. honored Celeste Gudas, CEO and founder of 24 Seven Inc., a prominent executive search firm; Deidre Quinn, president and co-founder of Lafayette 148 New York, a leading fashion design company; and Patti Buckner, a vice president in the Apparel & Accessories, Licensing Division at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Local NYC television personality, Jessica Abo, served as the mistress of ceremonies.

This year, the organization surpassed its fundraising goal of $250,000, with some donations still coming in.

Honoree Deirdre Quinn; K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers board chair Allan Ellinger; honoree Patti Buckner; K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers board chair Gary Simmons; honoree Celeste Gudas; K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers board members Karen Bromley and Carole Postal; and emcee Jessica Abo.

Honorees Deirdre Quinn, Patti Buckner, and Celeste Gudas.

Presenter Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City; Dr. Joyce Brown, president of Fashion Institute of Technology; and honoree Deirdre Quinn, co-founder and CEO of Lafayette 148 New York, with friends.

Karen Bromley and K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers board member; and Jean Butler, Executive Director, Toy Industry Foundation.

Audrey Smaltz with honoree Deirdre Quinn.

More catching up: A couple of weeks ago board members and friends of the Breast Cancer Alliance gathered at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York for a reception and discussion on the latest developments in research initially funded by BCA. The event paid tribute to the Greenwich, CT-based organization’s $2.5 million worth of support since 1996.

“The evening provided an insightful look into the innovative work being done at Memorial Sloan Kettering, some of which received its seed money from Breast Cancer Alliance,” said Breast Cancer Alliance president, Sharon Phillips. “It’s extremely rewarding to see the impact of the Alliance’s funding investments on breast cancer research and treatment.”

Dr. Monica Morrow, BCA President Sharon Phillips, BCA Executive Director Yonni Wattenmaker, and Dr. Clifford Hudis.

Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, Chief of Breast Cancer Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering and President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Dr. Monica Morrow, Breast Surgery Team Leader, immediate past President of the Society of Surgical Oncology, and member of the BCA Medical Advisory Board, lead the panel discussion. They were joined by four of the doctors and researchers who received grants from the Breast Cancer Alliance in past years, who spoke passionately about their work and tremendous gratitude to the Breast Cancer Alliance. Dr. Tiffany A. Traina, discussed Triple Negative Breast Cancer Research; Dr. Edi Brogi, elaborated on Breast Cancer Metastases; Dr. Elizabeth Comen, Investigating Select Mutations Associated with Breast Cancer Metastases; and Dr. Tari King, reviewed her work into Understanding the Risk of Breast Cancer Associated with Lobular Carcinoma in Situ.

Jane Weyl, Nicole Reynolds, and Dr. Monica Morrow.

Since its inception in 1996, Breast Cancer Alliance has awarded more than $19 million in grants, supporting its mission to improve survival rates and quality of life for those impacted by breast cancer through better prevention, early detection, treatment and cure. The organization invests in innovative research, breast surgery fellowships, regional education, dignified support, and screening for the underserved. Over its nearly two-decade history, the Alliance has funded cutting-edge research and one-year postgraduate breast surgery fellowships at 25 of the nation’s leading research institutions.

Polly Park Hyman, BA Executive Director Yonni Wattenmaker, and Dr. Mary Gemignani.

Carla Kidd and Dr. Tari King.

Kathy Clark.

Erica Gottlieb, Stacy Pashcow, and Heidi Brod.

Dr. Ayca Gucalp, Joan Whipple, Nancy Smith, Anne Amato, Sharon Phillips, and Dr. Tiffany Traina.

Diane Zarrilli and Deborah Black.

Contact DPC here.

The scene at last night's New York Botanical Garden's Conservatory Ball. 11:00 PM. Photo: JH.

Friday, June 6, 2014. Rain the night before, sunny all day yesterday. And not very hot, but 72 with cooler nights. Very nice weather right now in New York. I took the dogs out for a quick walk just before making the rounds last night. There was a dramatic cloud formation at sunset over the East River and Queens. And the roses en masse in the Park by the Promenade.

A rose bush growing wild on the Upper West Side, via JH.

Life as a bed of roses, 7:30 p.m. last night on the Promenade.

The dramatic cloud cover over Queens at sunset. 7:45 p.m.

From East End Avenue and 83rd Street.

Last night’s calendar was filled with parties and events. Up at the New York Botanical Garden, they were holding their annual Conservatory Ball and honoring Gregory Long who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as Director of the Botanical Garden. It is one of the most beautiful and famous secrets of New York and blessed with a deeply committed group of supporters over the generations.

Gregory Long with Gala Chairmen Cosby George, Ann Johnson, Gilllian Miniter, and Patti Fast. Photo: Cutty McGill.

For many New Yorkers of the social set, it is the last big ball of the season. I won’t wax on about gardens, as I’ve been doing a bit lately, but the Botanical as it is often referred to, is a miraculous creation. The Conservatory Ball is, like the Enid Haupt Conservatory that dominates the Garden’s architecture, beautifully produced in the old fashioned sense. The idea is to celebrate by having a beautiful, good time, with good food, good music and the ladies dressed to reflect it all: elegantly.

JH and Danielle Hirsch attended, so his lens will be our eye for this day’s Diary – with more photos to come next week.

The Haupt Conservatory, 11:00 PM.

Cocktails at New York Botanical Garden's Conservatory Ball.

The Haupt Conservatory, 7:50 PM.

A quick walk through Mrs. Rockefeller's Garden in the Haupt Conservatory—an evocation of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Maine.

Dinner activity as seen from outside the tent.

Under the tent.

At table.

On the dance floor.

The Haupt Conservatory, 11:00 PM.

Meanwhile, down in ole Manhattan, there was a cocktail reception and booksigning party for Barbara Taylor Bradford and her new book, or rather her latest New York Times bestseller, “Cavendon Hall” hosted by Vanessa Noel. Barbara and her producer husband Bob Bradford are longtime New Yorkers and members of the social circuit.

In the meantime, Barbara is one of the most prolific popular novelists in the world of the past half century. Yes, she started early. She is a writer but a businesswoman if a businesswoman were a writer. She has the touch. She gets up in the morning with it, works on it daily, like any great task, and builds what has become a library of work. Seventy-five million copies sold in 57 languages (I threw that last number out as a wild guess but it’s up there) is what she’s tallied up, not to mention all the film adaptations her husband has produced of those works.

At the same hour, just at few blocks away at The Links Club, Patricia Burnham and Bill Brock hosted a “Summer Cocktails” for their friends, a kind of send-off (or see you in the Hamptons). Ms. Burnham is a longtime major real estate broker here in Manhattan and so the guest list was long, wide, and varied. A good time was had by all. The invitation’s dress code was a relief to more than a few. Hear! Hear!

I was over at the Park Avenue Armory where they were presenting the opening night of Macbeth, starring Sir Kenneth Branagh making his New York stage debut, with Alex Kingston as Lady Macbeth, co-directed by Sir Kenneth and Rob Ashford.

I didn’t attend the performance because I’m seeing it as a guest of JH and his wife Danielle on another day. But I went as a guest of the Armory for the dinner. The dinner was held on the second floor of the Armory with tables set up in the long corridor and two of the historic Seventh Regiment club rooms that are still in the process of restoration (to its original 19th century interiors).

One of the Park Avenue clubrooms on the second floor, set for dinner guests last night.

On the second floor landing we were greeted by waiters in white jackets serving up Dom Perignon (Vintage 2004 Brut), which hit the spot, and then again. The dinner was attended by the cast, including Sir Kenneth and Alex Kingston, and the crew. It was only a half hour after the show that Sir Kenneth appeared, out of costume and makeup and in a business suit, taking the mike in hand and greeting all the guests, a welcoming host, thanking them for being there and urging them to enjoy the evening.

Among the two hundred or so guests were Colin Callender, the Producer, Rebecca Robertson who is President and Executive Producer, Park Avenue Armory, Alex Poots, the Artistic Director of the Armory, Elihu Rose who is Co-Chairman, Park Avenue Armory as well as an initial partner with the late Wade Thompson in establishing the Park Avenue Armory. Also, Adam Flatto who is Co-Chairman, Park Avenue Armory, British Consul General Danny Lopez and Mrs. Susan Lopez, British Ambassador Sir Peterand Lady Westmacott, Martin Scorsese, Helen Schermerhorn Morris, Francesca Scorsese, Anna Wintour, Kate Beckinsale, Willem Dafoe and Giada Colagrande, Daniel Radcliff, Neil Patrick Harris, Matt Bomer, Kristen Chenoweth, Bebe Neuwirth, Janna Bullock, Felicia Taylor, Jay and Tracy Snyder, Jamie Tisch, Lola Kirke, Lorraine Kirke, Daniel Loeb, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney, Edmond and Marielle Safra, Millard and Peggy Drexler, Jamie Tisch, Richard and Kathy Fuld, Gloria von Turn und Taxis, Amy Fine Collins, Tiffany Dubin, Alfred and Judith Taubman, Cora Cahan and Bernard Gersten, Angela (Mrs. Wade) Thompson, Lynn Wyatt, to name only a few.

A second club room.

I had arrived at the Armory just as the performance was letting out. The theater – which is the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, named in memory of Mr. Thompson – seats 1000. I did ask some people as they were exiting what they thought of the show. If I were Daily Variety, I’d sum up the audience reaction in one word: BOFFO! When they left the theater, they took Macbeth with them.


	Creative Director of the Park Avenue Armory Alex Poots and Angela (Mrs. Wade) Thompson.

The Park Avenue Armory, originally known as the Seventh Regiment Armory was completed in 1880, built with private funds for the 7th New York Militia Regiment in what was known right up into the 1970s as the Silk Stocking District of Manhattan (now simply the Upper East Side). A large proportion of its original militia members were among the city’s elite. Many of their portraits remain hanging in its corridors and meeting rooms. The library which was known as the Silver Room or Trophy Room was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, assisted by Stanford White. The creative provenance of the building’s interiors are all equally as distinguished for that time.

A century later the purpose of the Armory had faded. Even the neighborhood’s elite had changed, and the building itself had become something of a white elephant. However, there lived a man, across 67th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, named Wade Thompson, a native New Zealander who came to the US on a scholarship to attend NYU where he earned an MBA. Shortly thereafter he set out on a career in mergers and acquisitions. The story of his great successes is well known in the business community.

Early in his career he married a young woman from New Zealand whom he met here in New York on a blind date, arranged by a mutual friend. It was one of those blind dates that just clicked. Angela had been working in the New Zealand Consulate.

The couple married, had two children -- a son and a daughter whom they brought up in Scarsdale -- and then moved into the city (67th and Park) when their children grew up and moved out of the house.

The table settings.

It wasn’t long before Wade Thompson was fascinated by the Armory which he looked down on from his apartment. It disturbed him to see the great architectural antique had become derelict from decades of neglect. The roof was beginning to give way in certain parts. Neighbors could see men on the roof in daylight relieving themselves. More investigation showed Wade Thompson the wounds of neglect inside. This was genuine decay developing in his neighborhood. But Thompson had an idea for turning the wasted space around: make it a cultural center that could serve the citizens of New York and its visitors. You could call it vision.

Somewhere in there he shared his thoughts and joined with Elihu Rose and Rebecca Robertson and several other civic minded individuals -- such as Adam Flatto, the current co-chairman with Elly Rose of the Park Avenue Armory -- and set the idea into process.

Wade Thompson died in 2009 at age 69. He saw the beginning of his vision actualized. He saw the forces had been organized that would be building a dream, his dream.

Janna Bullock and Felicia Taylor.

I was seated next to Angela Thompson last night at the dinner. She recounted her husband’s vision. She told me that he was a man who had suffered long from cancers but always managed to get out there and get things done everyday despite the pain and endurances. He was one of those people who lived with cancer. His successful business career began with acquiring an aging failing company (Airstream trailers) and revitalizing it. The Park Avenue Armory was the apotheosis of Wade Thompson’s vision, and his relationship to his community. This is the essence of Philanthropy, not a number, or a figure, so much as a consciousness -- of values, including the human ones.

Wade Thompson obviously had that. Another triumph last night at the Park Avenue Armory.

Contact DPC here.

"Curtain Call" for Macbeth at the Armory. 10:10 PM, Saturday night. Photo: JH.

Monday, June 9, 2014. Another summer-like weekend in New York. Temperatures in the high 70s to mid-80s, cooling down into the 60s at night. The city has begun to take on some of the weekend-quiet that summer brings. Although no matter how many leave for the beaches and the countryside, there are still lots of people in New York out enjoying the city and its beautiful weather.

Sunday saw the Puerto Rican Day parade on Fifth Avenue which always draws a big crowd. Fifth Avenue parades making getting across town a little dicey briefly causing long single lanes of traffic waiting. I know because I did this, having forgotten that it was the parade day. Once on the West Side, I discovered that they’d closed the uptown lanes of Broadway from 83rd (my destination) to 86th Street for a Street Fair. Street Fairs on weekends are another temporary nuisance to New Yorkers wanting to go somewhere fast. However, they are inevitable and those who are visiting them are enjoying themselves. So, chill.

Friday afternoon, warm with a brisk breeze and traffic on the river including a returning tanker and the water taxi heading to the 34th Street pier.

Empty tanker, compared to ...

Full tanker heading out into Long Island Sound.

Friday afternoon: A group of volunteers from Deloitte who were giving the iron railings a fresh coat of protective paint. And relaxing in the noonday Sun.

Someone's missing a shoe ...

These were personal experiences for this writer this past weekend. On Sunday I drove over to the West Side to the Barnes & Noble to get a book I’d read a review of in the New York Times: “Twilight of the Belle Epoque; The Paris of Picasso, Stravinsky, Proust, Renault, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, and The Friends Through the Great War” by Mary McAuliffe (Rowman and Littlefield, publishers). My friend Peter Rogers in New Orleans told me he had to order it because “the publisher was out of it.” I thought I’d test the New York-accessibility factor. (And got it.)

Traveling east through Central Park on the 66th Street transverse Sunday afternoon.

Waiting in the bumper-to-bumper traffic at the Fifth Avenue light, looking across the Central Park Zoo and its offices to the Pierre, and then the Sherry-Netherland and the former GM and former Trump Building, once the site of the Savoy Plaza Hotel that faced the Plaza across the square.

I also made the trip (mainly) because it was a good day to put the top down and go for a brief drive for the fun of it. There is still that old-time-thrill of going out for a drive on a perfect sunny day. And it was. I waited patiently (like a grown up) for the parade to pass, and got a good look at the Street Fair (interesting), and drove a few blocks down Riverside Drive overlooking that park, and the Hudson. Then I drove down Central Park West to 65th Street – which was the only Central Park Transverse that was open traveling east – and crossed over that way.

I was sitting at my desk last night about 7 when I heard a chirping so loud, it sounded as if the bird were inside my apartment. I grabbed my Canon and rushed very quietly to the terrace door. And there he was, Robin Redbreast with a worm in his beak. I used a zoom lens from the doorway although he was no more than four feet from me and looking right at me. I turned away for a moment and then he was gone. He did return briefly, chirping away, a few minutes later. It is very rare that a bird perches on my terrace railing.

Meanwhile, over on the West side, JH's wife Danielle had a bird (a Red-tailed Hawk to be exact) sighting of her own, perched right on their windowsill! Danielle thinks the hawk was interested in having a closer look at these two ....

Fortunately they were napping when Danielle's new friend came a-knockin.

Saturday night I went, as a guest of JH, with his wife Danielle and mother-in-law Kathleen, to the Park Avenue Armory to see Shakespeare’s“Macbeth” starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston. This version was commissioned and produced by Park Avenue Armory and Manchester International Festival (where it was performed last July). This New York production was produced in association with Colin Callendar, and it’s not a secret among theatre-goers.

It is spectacular. Ben Brantley in the Times reviewed the production last July when it was performed in a cathedral in Manchester, England. His final paragraph fit the experience for the audience on Saturday night:

Such stagecraft gives a frightful echo to Macbeth’s “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” soliloquy toward the end. We’ve seen what he’s seen, an endless, doomed pageant that keeps marching into the same black hole. But time does not, as Macbeth would have it, creep in a “petty pace.” Fast, furious and unstoppable, time keeps rushing forward in this “Macbeth,” knocking the breath out of everyone, audience included.

Set designer Christopher Oram's drawings of the heath and set created for Macbeth at Park Avenue Armory.

But, it is also now a given that “spectacular” is in the language of this great new New York venture: the Park Avenue Armory. The Wade Thompson Drill Hall which once upon a time (a few decades ago) was exactly that, for the military, is now a mecca for the creative and performing arts in New York. You’ve read about this venture on these pages before. The entire building has been/is in the process of being restored to its original condition for public use in cultural ventures/ productions/activities and is now a full-fledged cultural venue.

The Saturday night crowd for “Macbeth” was dressed for Shakespeare in the Park summertime productions: casually and comfortably. The mix was all ages. The experience of waiting to be ushered (literally) into the Drill Room/Theatrical Hall is even interesting. The guides – young men and women who had a kind of theatrical personality to their ushering (are they theatre students maybe) – provided an “introduction” with their directions to the theatrical experience awaiting us.

Waiting in the reception hall at the Park Avenue Armory before the show on Saturday night.

Different sections of the seating/bleachers (with comfortably padded benches) had the Scottish names that are in the play, Our section was named “Angus” and those of us in that section waited in one of the reception rooms until the name was called out and then we were “escorted/ushered” into the darkened, misty great hall which was like entering another place in an ancient time. The experience was developing.

There were three sections of seating, as if in a theatre of mezzanine, first and second balconies. Angus was on the second. A steep climb of roomy, strongly built, lighted steps, reminding me of those walkup apartments, three and four stories that most New Yorkers lived in. More adventure hinted. Finally you arrive at the top, high above this massive dark space, to look down on this magnificent theatre set with its massive, Stone Henge-like walls bordering. Immediately you’re transformed.

Entering the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, you see this -- a heath on either side of an ancient stone walk.

A glimpse of the audience being seated.

The view from our section.

The cast getting a standing ovation.

The whole evening was like that. A two-hour play, as you may know (although some have made it longer in their productions). The one thousand guests including some children sat rapt throughout. One little boy, probably no more than 8 or 10, with his father, never took his eyes off the performance. There are battles and rains (yes, real rain and real mud)and thunder and fires and blood bursting. A doomed fright. All because of the Thane of Glamis and Cawdor and the imagined promise of power.

Amazingly this is the stage debut of the great Sir Kenneth Branagh in New York, as well as his leading lady Alex Kingston. It’s a limited run, through Sunday, June 22nd. I hear it’s sold-out -- although try and see, if you can. You won’t forget it.

I also attended the opening night post-performance dinner this past Thursday night, which was was attended by the cast, including Sir Kenneth and Alex Kingston, and the crew. It was only a half hour after the show that Sir Kenneth appeared, out of costume and makeup and in a business suit, taking the mike in hand and greeting all the guests, a welcoming host, thanking them for being there and urging them to enjoy the evening. Pictured here are Kenneth Branagh, Alex Kingston, Elihu Rose, Adam Flatto, and Rob Ashford.

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston.

Susan and Elihu Rose.

Kenneth Branagh and Kate Beckinsale.

Kate Tydman and Stuart Neal.

Colin Callender, Kenneth Branagh, Rebecca Robinson, and Rob Ashford.

Flora Fine Collins and Amy Fine Collins.

Anna Wintour.

Matt Bomer and Bridget Regan.

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Poots.

Colin and Elizabeth Callender.

Jamie Tisch.

Colin Callender, Lady Susie Westmacott, and Sir Peter Westmacott.

More weekend Shakespeare by the way of Steven Miller, Executive Director, Boscobel House & Gardens: The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival annual gala was a great success this past Saturday night at Boscobel House & Gardens. At least 300 people participated and the evening could not have been more beautiful. I don't know if you've been here but our setting is, as they say, "to die for." (Fortunately to my knowledge that has never happened.)

Boscobel is one of America's most important Federal style mansions. It was built by a British Loyalist of old Dutch New York stock, States Dyckman, beginning in 1805. He did not live to see it finished so his widow, who was 21 years his junior, completed it. It was rescued from heading to the scarp heap by concerned citizens of Garrison, NY and moved up river from its original site in Montrose, NY. Lila Acheson Wallace underwrote its restoration and established an endowment for its care.

Cocktails on the great lawn of Boscobel.

Guests on the great lawn enjoying the view.

In 1961 the mansion opened as a historic house museum furnished in high-style Federal decor. In addition to a busy season of programs, activities, event, lectures and educational outreach, for 28 years it has been the landlord for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

The HVSF is the only resident Shakespeare company in the region. Productions and education programs reach 75,000 people of all ages each year, and its performances are constantly acclaimed for their spontaneous, spare and freewheeling playing style. A dedicated ensemble of professional artists and designers performs and helps train young talent, inspire children and assist teachers while engaging the broadest audiences possible. The HVSF uses the nationally prominent view-scape of Boscobel as its stage backdrop.

Robin Arditi, President, Board of Directors, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festiva, with Nat Prentice, Board of Directors.

Saturday night's gala featured cocktails on the great lawn of Boscobel, followed by an exciting auction lead by auctioneer of Antiques Roadshow fame, Nicholas D. Lowry, President and Principal Auctioneer of Swann Auction Galleries in New York City. Dinner on the lawn in a festive tent or outside with the view at sunset was followed by dancing in the huge "space age" HVSF theatre tent to the music of The Alex Donner Orchestra.

HVSF's new Artistic Director, Davis McCallum, Leslie Ann Kent, and Heather Hopkins.

United States Congressman Sean Patrick Malony with his partner (soon to be husband) Randy Florke and their daughters, l. Essie and Daley.

Maia Guest, Frederick H. Osborn III (Boscobel trustee), and Annie Osborn (Former HVSF trustee, now serving on the Advisory Board).

Judith Lowry and Nicholas D. Lowry.

Sarah Geer, Thomas Hayden, and Preston Pittman.

Jennifer Johnson, (actor) Eric Tucker (directing The Two Gentlemen of Verona), Jason O'Connell (actor), and Kate Hamill (actor)

Gilman Burke (Boscobel Board of Directors) and Sarah Bayne.

Emilya Chachafor and Chris Shuff.

Abigail Adams, Managing Director, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

Carmine Serino and Leopold Lowe.

Jane Miller and Christopher Radko.

Melissa McGill (Artist in Resident at Manitoga).

Katherine Whiteside and Bob McCaffrey (A HVSF Benefit Chair).

Steven Miller, Executive Director, Boscobel House & Gardens.

Nicholas D. Lowry conducting the benefit auction.

Maggie Whitlum, Executive Director, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

Evening Dining and a camera that had no idea what to focus on.

Contact DPC here.

Looking east from 42nd and 10th Avenue. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014. Sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy warm day yesterday in New York. The weather was perfect late afternoon when the Four Freedoms Park Conservancy hosted its Sunset Garden Party at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island.

It was also great weather a couple of days ago in Kenya where my friend Joy Ingham is visiting the giraffes with her daughter Stephanie and her children ...

Which leads to a little catching up: two Mondays ago at Cipriani 42nd Street, The Nature Conservancy held its “Nature Matters” Gala to celebrate the ways that nature matters locally and around the world. More than six hundred attended, and they raised a bit more than $2.1 million. Dan Harris, co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and the weekend edition of “Good Morning America,” hosted the evening.

These funds will support The Nature Conservancy’s mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. This is irrelevant and even unknown to many of us. Although gathering 600 people willing to give as much as was given, tells us something contrary. So why does “Nature Matter?” All of us are connected to it in our everyday lives—from the air we breathe and the food we eat, to the water we drink and the places where we play.

Our growing needs, however, for food, water and energy are now straining the natural systems on which we depend. Working on land and in oceans, lakes and rivers, the Nature Conservancy’s global staff of more than 3,600—including 600 scientists—are on the ground in more than 35 countries to find and develop solutions to protect the planet and our livelihoods. One crucial solution is making everyone aware of the situation. Mother Earth doesn’t need us. We need her.

Kevin Callahan, Beth Stevens, Mark Tercek, Gil Bulter, and Jay Rasulo.

This year’s Nature Conservancy Gala recognized two conservation leaders: The Butler Conservation Fund and The Walt Disney Company. The Butler Conservation Fund, and its founder Gilbert Butler, is dedicated to supporting the conservation, restoration, and protection of the environment as well as providing opportunities for outdoor education, especially for the younger generations of today.

Environmental stewardship and nature conservation are a rich part of Disney’s history. Disney has been collaborating with the Nature Conservancy for more than 25 years, working on innovative approaches to protecting important lands and waters.

Bil Ulfelder, Mark Tercek, Joshua Carrera, and Dan Harris.

Melissa Butler Turckerman, Gil Butler, and Ildiko Butler.

Missie Rennie Taylor and Emily Rafferty.

Steve Denning and Mark Tercek.

Bill Ulfelder and Natalie Aristy.

Joe Gleberman, Brigitte Griswold, and Jason Bonet.

Amy Tervek, Mark Tercek, and Alison Tercek.

Bianca and Dan Harris.

Matt Arnold, Camilla Seth, Mark Tercek, Othel Kerr, and Jason Scott.

Matt Gallira and Alison Tercek.

Barbara and Jay Rasulo.

Dana Beach, Carol Ash, Peter Lehner, and Sophie McCullan.

Two nights ago, also over at Cipriani 42nd Street, The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the FIT Foundation honored trustee and foundation chairman (and former Kohl’s president) Dr. Jay H. Baker; Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo; and jewelry designer, philanthropist, and FIT trustee Joan Hornig at its annual gala.


	Linda Fargo arriving on Monday night at Cipriani 42nd Street where she was being honored by FIT. She had the biggest smile on her face, reflecting the fun she was having that night and also in her daily work at Bergdorf's.

Again, more than 600 attended the black tie event, and raised $2.5 million -- $1.4 million in ticket sales, plus $1.1 million from two endowed scholarship gifts that were announced at the event. During his remarks, Dr. Baker announced a $1 million gift from his wife Patty and him! He received his award from two Baker Scholars, after which more than 30 scholarship recipients joined the Bakers on stage.

Then George Hornig surprised his wife, honoree Joan Hornig, by announcing a $100,000 scholarship in her name to be given to a Jewelry Design student who has demonstrated a commitment to giving back.

Alber Elbaz presented the award to Linda Fargo. “Linda,” he said, “is a dreamer, but Linda is also a doer .... You push all of us designers to design with no fear because you love original design.”

Linda is the quintessential New Yorker. A woman from the Midwest who came to the Big Town to make a big life. Focus and serendipity guided her spirit to Bergdorf Goodman at just the moment Bergdorf Goodman was going to be in need of a guide. You’ve read here about their windows numerous times. Because they are always changing and always beautiful and intriguing and compelling.

This is one of Linda Fargo’s achievements. I’ve never worked for her or with her, but I’ve got to know her well enough to know that she’s still that girl with those solid Midwestern values that are the foundation of her gifts to New York. You can see it on her face in that picture I took of her just outside Cipriani this past Monday night.

The table settings.

The table centerpieces ...

This was a real New York Fashion event. Co-chairs were Pamela Baxter, Joy Herfel Cronin, Victoria Elenowitz, Yaz Hernandez, Jane Hertzmark Hudis,Joshua Shulman, and Liz Peek. The décor was created by Devin Bruce and included mannequins transformed by FIT students into fanciful birds.

Anong those from the industry and its supporters: Amsale Aberra, James Aguiar, Dennis Basso, Erika Bearman, Hamish Bowles, Alex Bolen, Maria Buccellati, Lucrezia Buccellati, Alina Cho, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Jennifer Csengody, John Demsey, Ken Downing, Richard Ferretti, James Gager, Caroline Geerlings, Prabal Gurung, Carolina Herrera, Naeem Khan, Steven Kolb, George Kolasa, Jacqui Lividini, Federica Marchionni, Tamara Mellon, Josie Natori, Cristina Ottaviano, P.J. Pascual, Stefano Tonchi and David Maupin, Isabel and Ruben Toledo, Adrienne Vittadini and Gigi Vittadini, and Diane von Furstenberg.

The décor was created by Devin Bruce and included mannequins transformed by FIT students into fanciful birds.

Among those also attending: Patty Baker, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President of FIT, Noreen Buckfire, Joy Herfel Cronin, Caren Brooks, Catherine Petree-Biron, Gabriel Rivera-Barraza, Victoria Elenowitz, Joele Frank, Jim Gold, Yaz Hernandez, Jane Hertzmark Hudis, Michele Gerber Klein, Lisa and David Klein, Jessica Joffe, Richard Lambertson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Larry Leeds, Kamie Lightburn, Julie and Billy Macklowe, Dawn Mello, Elizabeth Mussmano, Liz and Jeff Peek, Barbara Regna, Peter Scotese, Kelly and Michael Stanley, Kara Stanley, Joshua Schulman, Jean Shafiroff, Dr. Valerie Steele, and Barbara and Donald Tober.

Linda Fargo and Alber Elbaz.

Linda Fargo, Yaz Hernandez, and Alexandra Lebenthal.

Julie and Billy Macklowe.

Catherine Petree-Biron and Brigitte Segura.

David and Lisa Klein.

Dr. Joyce Brown and Dennis Basso.

Dr. Jay H. Baker.

Linda at the podium.

Iris Apfel, James Aguiar, and Linda Fargo.

George Kolasa, Erika Bearman, and Andrew Taylor.

Caren Brooks.

Dr. Joyce Brown, George Hornig, Joan Hornig, and H. Carl McCall.

Marilyn Kirschner.

Tai Thomas and Lee Myers

Pauline Brown, Victoria Elenowitz, and Jasmine Aarons.

Marianne Naberhaus, Stephen Keefe, and Kate Richards.

Carrie Crecca and Heather Jacobus.

Nicole Truscinsk and Shannon Howe.

Doreen Remen, Svetlana Acquista, and Frederica Marcchioni.

Jean Shafiroff, Barbara Regna, Alexandra Lebenthal, and Yaz Hernandez .

Cristina Ottaviano.

Kelly Stanley, Michael Stanley, and Karen Stanley.

Adrienne and Gigi Vittadini.

Jennifer Csengody and Devin Bruce.

Delphine de Causans.

Giovanna Battaglia and Linda Fargo.

Liz Peek.

Mary Costantini, David Kong, and Anne Kong.

Laura Tanne and Julia Carter.

Iris Apfel and Alber Elbaz.

Barbara and Donald Tober.

Linda Fargo and Carolina Herrera.

Adrienne Vittadini and Ari Kopelman.

Diane von Furstenberg and Hamish Bowles.

Michael Ovitz and Tamara Mellon.

Carolina Herrera and Ariel Foxman.

Also Monday night, at the University Club, The International Women’s Health Coalition was celebrating its 30th Anniversary at their annual gala where they also honored UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who was the keynote speaker. Dr. Ninuk Widyantoro, Co-Founder of YKP Women's Health Foundation, was presented with The Joan B. Dunlop Award.

Ms. Dunlop, who died two years ago at age 78, was a founder of the IWHC, devoting her life to expanding women’s rights to control their own bodies. On her last day at work at the IWHC in 1998, she was presented with a volume of letters from women around the world describing what she had done for them. “It’s almost better than an obituary,” she was quoted in the New York Times, “because you’re not dead.”

Aria and Yvette Neier.

Ban Ki Moon and Trichen Lhagyari.

Most of at least half the human race (male) don’t know or don’t understand the issue of “reproductive rights” and “freedom to choose,” and not a few don’t want to know, basing their arguments on their beliefs. What the IWHC has done is to gather and educate women around the world in promoting the facts and the situation to making a healthier society. Ms. Dunlop originally became interested in the issues while working on population issues.

Nancy Missett, Michael Dellert, and Susan Mitze.

Ann Unterberg.

The evening was chaired by Marlene Hess, who had the Secretary-General at her table. Among those attending: Wendy and Henry Breck, Jim Zirin, former New Jersey governor Tom Kean, Peter and Barbara Goergescu, Kathleen and John Gerard, Geoffrey Hoguet, Melinda and William vanden Heuval, Anna Bulgari, Nancy and Joe Missett, Samantha Topping Gellert and Michel Gellert; Kathy Lacey, Marnie Pillsbury, Michael Meehan, Sheila Labreque, Wendy and Bill Luers, David Knott, Susan and Peter Nitze, Ambassador Ib Peterson, who presented the Secretary-General with his award; Annalu Ponti; Lisa and David Schiff, June and Paul Schorr, Angela Thompson, Ann and Thomas Unterberg, Susan Solomon, Candace and Jonathan Wainwright, Lauren and John Veronis, Maureen White.

Pat Durkin and Tom Kean.

Diane Tierney and Francoise Girard.

Jim Zirin, Karen Zukerman, and George Kellner.

Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid and Sarah Zeid.

John Veronas, James Zirin, and Michael Meehan.

Marlene Hess, Marnie Pillsbury, and Barbara Taylor.

Barbara Zweig and Phyllis Mailman.

Peter Friedland and Joseph Missett.

Paul and June Schorr.

Photographs by Patrick McMullan.com

Contact DPC here.

7 PM smoke. Photo: JH.

Thursday, June 12, 2014. It was going to be an occasionally rainy day in New York, and maybe humid. According to the weatherman. Sometimes it was sunny and sometimes not. Not rain. No humidity either, at least none that I noticed. By late afternoon the temperature was reported to be 72 but with a cooler Real Feel. That’s what we felt.

It was Wednesday. I went to Michael’s to lunch with Peter Lyden, who is the President of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, a post he assumed only three months ago. We’ve known each other professionally for probably two decades. He was the executive in charge of fund raising and development for the American Ballet Theatre and most recently for the American Museum of Natural History. I don’t know much about that field of endeavor (raising money for cultural purposes) although I do know that it is, in New York anyway, very big business.


	Janet Ross, Peter Lyden, and Mark Ferguson at The Institute of Classical Architecture & Ar's 33rd annual Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition.

	Peter with Sarah Medford.

These men and women are the ones who pass the plate amongst the gilded classes, their foundations and corporations. It takes a special kind of talent to tune a personal exchequer. No one has ever bothered (as it would be pointless) to include me in such endeavors since I am a humble (sometimes), poor (relatively), writer. However, I have observed the progress made by Peter Lyden and others of this particular expertise. He is one of the thoroughbreds -- knowledgeable, sociable, curious, informative, and always seeking the far-seeing and innovative. (In his career of the past two decades, he’s raised more than $2 billion for the aforementioned organizations and others.)

Peter’s two previous assignments were very high profile in the New York philanthropic world, and in the popular mind: both very popular in the world of New York, as well as the world itself. The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art is a newer project. The organization which is very prestigious in the architectural community, was founded twelve years ago in a merger of two classical architecture organizations. It is now the leading non-profit organization of its kind with 15 chapters nationwide. Their charter: dedication to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts.

To you and me, the man on the street, this can sound too lofty to be comprehensible. Except when you think of it: organizing the world we live in so we can live comfortably, optimally, and well, or as well as possible is an enormous and mind boggling task. Architects and their ilk are naturally inclined to be charged with that responsibility. As the forces of nature speed up in these times, so too do the creative forces of urban and architectural planning. Peter Lyden’s vision of the ICAA is to be one of those overseeing forces, educating us (and no doubt raising the funds to actualize his vision)

Meanwhile most of our conversation yesterday was about mutual friends (of which we have many), as well as the crowd in the lunchroom at Michael’s yesterday. At Table One in the bay, Shari Rollins was celebrating a birthday with Nancy Collins, Lyn Paulsen, Bess Friedman, Jolie Hunt, Susie Friedman, and Shari’s husband the uber-political advisor, Ed Rollins.

Shari Rollins poses with her birthday dessert for Steve Millington, yesterday at Michael's.

At a big table in the middle of the front room were several men, all in seersucker jackets and suits and one raven-haired young woman wearing a pale peach seersucker jacket. Her name, I learned, was Laurie Haspel Aronson from Baton Rouge. She is the President and CEO of Haspel, the men’s suit manufacturer started by Laurie’s great-grandfather down there in Louisiana.

Meanwhile down in our nation’s capital yesterday – I learned from Ms. Aronson – 30 members of Congress were posing for a photograph to toast the day National Seersucker Day. I’m not making this up. I’m not sure exactly what the name of the occasion was, but it was an opportunity to get some of the inhabitants of Foggy Bottom to get into something cooler. Laurie’s lunch guests, meanwhile, were James LaForce of LaForce and Stevens with Brenner Thomas,Tom Wallis, Jean Palmeri of WWD, Brian Coats, Michael Philouze, and Ben Setiawan.

Simply seersucker: James LaForce, Laurie Haspel Aronson, Brenner Thoma s, and Tom Wallis.

Seersucker trio at Michael's, circa 2008: Peter Rogers, Andre Leon Talley, and DPC.

I love seersucker in the summer time. It not only looks appropriate for a lot of occasions out and about, but it is cooler, lighter and with some summertime zip to its colors. I’ve known about Haspel for goodlooking, well-made, reasonably priced businessmen’s suits since I first got a job behind a desk in an office after college. I know this sounds like a commercial but it’s also a reality. I never realized until today that it was the name of a family business now in its fourth generation of leadership. It also turns out that Laurie Aronson is an old friend of Michael’s and has been patronizing his establishments for a couple of decades.

Congresswoman Janice Hahn (D-CA); Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Congressman Vance McAllister (R-LA); and Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) at 'National Seersucker Day' at U.S. Capitol.

'National Seersucker Day' with members of U.S. Congress at U.S. Capitol.

Joseph Haspel Sr. founded Haspel in 1909 creating seersucker overalls for American laborers.

A Haspel ad from yesteryear.

Across the room at Michael’s: at the corner table, entertainment mogul Ron Meyer with mega-producer Harvey Weinstein; Tad Smith with Christy Ferer; Glamour magazine’s publisher Connie Ann Phillips; Phoenix House founder Dr. Mitch Rosenthal with Pamela Gross and Melanie Lefkowitz; Diane Clehane of Mediabistro.com with Judy Twersky and media coach Bill McGowan; Nikki Haskell with uber real estate broker Eva Mohr and her husband Stanley Mohr.

Moving along: Michael Garin of Abu Dhabi Media; Reese Schoenfeld Food Network founder; Susan Blond; Peter Price; Linda Fairstein with Joan Carl of D. Porthault; Jerry Inzerillo; Mickey Ateyeh with Jeffrey Aronson, financial adviser, investor to the fashion industry, former fashion executive; Jay Sures with Dan Abrams; Tom Goodman of Goodman Media with Eileen Murphy of the New York Times; Wenda Millard, Michael Tannenbaum. Also Keith Meister with Mac Levine, Doug Hirsch and Jonathan Schwartz; Tom Goodman of Goodman Media with Eileen Murphy of the New York Times; Brad Reifler; Michael Tannenbaum; and scores more more along that broad spectrum of arts, culture, business, banking, marketing, celebrity, and good old Noo-Yawk metropolitan anxiety ...

Maryanne Gilmartin, President and CEO; and Bruce Ratner, Executive Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies, accepting their Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal last night at the Municipal Art Society's annual gala.

Which, speaking of metropolitan and culture and architecture and fund-raising, coincidentally, last night I went down to 283 Park Avenue where the Municipal Art Society was hosting its 2014 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to real estate developers and owners Bruce Ratner and Maryanne Gilmartin of Forest City Ratner Companies. The Municipal Art Society (MAS) is completing it 120th year of work advocating excellence in urban planning and design. Its charter is a commitment to historic preservation and the arts, and the empowerment of local communities to affect change in their neighborhoods.

Vin Cipolla, President of MAS opened the evening. The co-chairs were architect David Childs and real estate developer Larry Silverstein. Premier sponsor was Fred Iseman, and Signature Sponsors were Eugenie and Bob Birch. Last night Mrs. Birch told the guests that they’d raised more than $1 million for MAS and its work.

The award was named for Mrs. Onassis in 1994 in memoriam to honor her efforts in preserving New York’s architectural treasures. Her involvement in the campaign to protect Grand Central Terminal from the wrecker’s ball not only brought public awareness to the matter but also to the existence of this long-standing organization.

This years awardees, Ratner and Gilmartin, with their Forest City Ratner Companies (Gilmartin is the CEO), have played an important role in the renaissance of Brooklyn. In the past 28 years, Forest City Ratner Companies have developed 44 office, retail, residential, hotel and sports and entertainment projects in all five boroughs and throughout the metropolitan area. Last night, Mrs. Birch also told the guests that both a national political convention and the Olympics were very real potentials for Brooklyn in the near future. Mr. Ratner and Ms. Gilmartin’s work has played a major role in the renaissance that brought about these very real possibilities for a borough that has been transformed radically in the past two decades.

Contact DPC here.

Father's Day picnic supplies in Central Park. Photo: JH.

Monday, June 16, 2014.The weekend just past: Big, heavy rains Friday afternoon and occasionally intermittently that evening. Saturday and Sunday: Sunny and bright and mild, and cool in the evening. If you’ve never lived there, this is what Southern California is like, which is why those of us who’ve lived there love the weather. By this time, every year, a lot of my neighbors clear out for their summer destinations (Hamptons, Connecticut, etc.) and everything is quieter. And lovely.

More Father's Day activities.

Last Thursday night at the Wildlife Conservation Society, the rain was already threatening. It was spritzing when I arrived at the Central Park Zoo at 7:30 (cocktails began an hour before) for the black tie affair.

They hold this event every year at this time and at this location (it used to be at the Bronx Zoo). They’d been blessed in the past with Great Weather. Cocktails are held outside around the Sea Lions’ pool, and the inhabitants are out there playing to the crowds (you get the feeling that they like the company in their confinement). Because the party starts out in a “center,” the vibe is very “social” in that people moved around the Sea Lions’ pool, and talk to a lot of people. Hello, how are you, is even enough to put you in the mood.

Soon after I’d got there, the rain began, gentle but steady. The tables were set, as they are every year in the pavilion that surrounds the Sea Lions’ home, and so every – all several hundred quickly made their way to a roof overhead.


	Honoree Hillary Clinton.

Allison (Mrs. Leonard) Stern chaired this event for several years (or so it seems in memory) and she produced a very glamorous party that produced a healthy figure for the night (over $ million) for the cause.

The WCS is a noble and important philanthropy in a world that is losing track at a breakneck pace of what is important (i.e., survival). That nobility appeals to more people than you might think. It crosses all the political lines because it makes sense.

They honored C. Diane Christensen and Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. I didn’t know about Mrs. Christensen but she is a very important individual in the world of Wildlife Conservation -- as well as other matters philanthropic. She grew up in San Francisco where her parents created a foundation to fund causes such as the WCS. She has been a lifelong devotee to wildlife conservation. She has traveled and visited sites all over the world that they are funding to protect wildlife.

I didn’t meet her, but saw, and listened to her acceptance speech. This is a woman, with a no frills, plain talking, Out West manner and presence; a woman of independent means, obviously, who has given much of her life and her resources in protecting wildlife on the planet. Or, to put it more realistically: to protect LIFE on the planet. You could tell from her speaking that it was just something that has to be done, has to be taken care of, the way a good mother protects her children. Mrs. Christensen is the essence of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s charter.

Ward Woods and honoree Diane Christensen.

The big draw of the evening was Mrs. Clinton. Hillary Clinton in New York at least, is the star of the moment. She is our former Senator, the former Secretary of State, the former First Lady and from the looks of things, she’s thinking about being our first women President. She is also a superior speechmaker. Her talks are relevant, informed and informative, thoughtful and mainly delivered (most times I’ve seen her) without notes. You know you are listening to someone who’s smart. There’s a certain kind of relief in that.


	Mayor De Blasio and Hillary Clinton.

She was introduced by our new Mayor De Blasio. Mr. De Blasio is currently not a favorite with many in this crowd, and on this side of town. Personally I have no opinion except to note that he’s somehow ended up on the bad side of many of the electorate (around me).

I had never seen or heard him speak until Thursday night when he took the podium to tell us about his relationship with Mrs. Clinton. He is a very appealing speaker. He worked with her when she was Senator. He described the experience with an almost effusive awe at her ability to Get To The Heart of the Matter, to solve or deal with a problem. His information wasn’t surprising: she’s tough, she’s sharp and she’s got a strong woman’s instinct to solve a problem. Or deal with it in some constructive way.

Thursday night was clearly not a campaign stop (although it was good exposure for a potential candidate). The former President, her husband, was with her, as was of course her daughter Chelsea who is evidently taking over the reins as head of the family foundation.

The focus of the evening, the theme was “An Elephant’s Tale.” Cristian Samper, the president of WCS, talked to the guests about the poaching of the elephants. He told about a tour he took in Dzang Bai in the Central African Republic where the poachers have moved in and are killing the elephants for their ivory tusks. The killing of elephants is now running close to 100 elephants a day across Africa. In a few years, they will be extinct.

Ward Woods, Cristian Samper, Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton.

When Samper saw what the illegal ivory trade was doing he called Hillary Clinton (when she was still Secretary of State). The Clinton Global Initiative got involved. Chelsea Clinton made a documentary for NBC News on the story, and Secretary Clinton gathered intelligence and security advisers to assess the issue. The results of these efforts was a campaign “The Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants. Poaching has become more sophisticated, using automatic weapons, night-vision goggles, helicopters, explosives.

The elephants share many things in common with us humanoids, our taste for murder and violence notwithstanding. They are emotional, intelligent and self-aware creatures, with long lives and long memories. They have feelings like us, and grieve over personal losses. Like us, they live in communities of families. The more you learn about them, including the threats to their mass destruction, the more you see that “saving” them is also related to saving ourselves.

Bill and Hillary at table.

After Mrs. Clinton spoke about the plight of the elephant, Chelsea Clinton took the podium to thank everyone for their efforts in helping the elephants. She pointed out that as a child, her parents often took her to the zoo where she learned, as she shared with us, that ultimately “for many of us, our love of wildlife and appreciation of the greater ecosystem in which we all live, does start in zoos.”

Ms. Clinton, who, as the world now knows, is about to become a mother herself, is a very confident and able speaker -- not surprising considering her background. Her mother presented the basic message but daughter was graciously enthusiastic in thanking the guests for their interest and help in the matter. Growing up as she did with two of the best public speakers in the world, surely must have been a challenge for the young girl. However, as she spoke on Thursday night, I couldn’t help thinking of her father who was seated only 20 feet from his daughter, and how proud he (and his wife) must feel about their daughter’s ability to convey the message.

Ms. Clinton’s fashion statement for the evening, however -- an ensemble that inevitably conjured up characters from consumer celebritydom -- the Kardashians -- was a puzzlement.

Last Friday's Daily Mail Online was quick to show how Kim Kardashian has had a major influence on fashion, if not style-wise.

"For many of us, our love of wildlife and appreciation of the greater ecosystem in which we all live, does start in zoos.”

I’ve been attending this event every year since the mid-90s. It’s a serious evening although usually not a speaker’s evening. The Clintons’ appearance added another dimension to the matter, making it seem more urgent, more timely.

The honorees speak briefly and the president of the organization reports on the WCS activities and progress, all of which is preceded by a lovely cocktail reception, a good dinner (this year’s menu was African in origin. Starter was a “Regional Taster” – Ethiopian vegetable somasa; West African sweet potato soup; South African black-eyed pea “koek”– interesting and good). After dinner the younger crowd is invited in for dancing and drinks and desserts. So it is a pleasant evening all around. The appearance of the Clinton women added greater public attention to the business of the WCS, and that is good for the cause. It was a good night, and the rain stopped in time for the after-party, so hundreds more young New Yorkers were happy too.

Larry Killmar, Pat Thomas, Laurie Thomas, and Craig Pugh.

Beth Koenigsberg.

Nick Murtha.

Dalia Capolongo.

Charlie Nordfeldt, Sari Elliot, Ian Solomon, and Katheryn Thompson.

Willard and Jason.

Hannah Gershenson and Anton Dobrosevic.

Stephanie and Bill Joseph.

Katie Germano, Shannon Conley, D McAloose, Bonnie Raphael, and Patti Calabrese.

John and Sally Green.

Barbara and Don Zucker.

Caroline Sidnam, D McAloose, and Rosina Bierbaum.

Rett Butler and Allison Morrow.

John Wambold Jr., George Wambold, Melanie Wambold, and John Wambold.

Laura Briskman, Pat Price, and Kathryn Heintz .

Bertina Ceccarelli and Scott Schiff.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Katie Lee, Hillary Clinton, and Melanie Wambold.

Carlyle Stewart and David Koch.

Leah Doyle and Peter Coleman.

Sherry and Brett Odom.

Brad Goldberg, Sunny Goldberg, Candy Udell, and Mark Udell.

Laurie Thomas, Boo Grace, and Caz Rosson.

Nicole Smith and Francis Greenburger.

Dale Guldbransen and Sally Dodge.

Barry Goldberg and Melissa Conklin.

Pat Price and Denise Hurley.

Whitney Keefe, Natalie Harrington, Nora Malgeri, Stephanie Brag, Paige Peterson, Sarah Roberts, Nedinia Hutton Craig, Kerwelyn Craig, and Isabel Solmonson.

Dr. Amy Attas and Stephen Shapiro.

Alison Minton and Daniel Colon.

Lizzy and Linda Fraser.

Chelsea Leyland.

April Grunow, Christopher Trump, Alison Hodge, and John Sascitelli.

Dave Ostrander, Eyal Arad, Billy Kreitsek Jr, Kesher Fleming, Chise Virtrue, Meggie Kempner, Christopher Trump, and Richard Small.

Chris Kempner, Meggie Kempner, Christopher Trump, and Mia Anderson.

Natasha Blodgett and Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz.

Lisa Roumell and Mark Rosenthal.

Anique with Jackson Malle.

Taiki Kasuga, Claire Canazan, and Caroline Melly.

Allison Morrow and Valentino Carlotti.

Katie Waugh, Marina White, Ben Bologna, and Lauren Whatley.

Margo and Ben Bouche.

Gina Lambiase, Matthew Lambiase, and Christina Lambiase.

Sue Ann Weinberg and Michael Teitler.

Linda Cox and John Robinson.

Musette Morgan, Caroline Nype, and Toni Pryor.

Judith Katz, Hugh Freund, and Julian Salsbury.

James and Ward Woods

Whitney Keith and David Snider.

Patrick Fiorvanti, Jessica Griffith, Brooke Block, Nick Melvoin, Alexandra Segalas, Max Nugent, and Lexis Marsden.

Anisha Reddy, Elizabeth Bundschuh, Caitlyn Brennen, Caroline Irving, and Emily Swann.

Natasha Das.

Polly Hendricks, Katie Mitchell, and Lindi Duesenberg.

Aiden Burns and Clare McCarrick.

Cody Baird, Cameron Bell, Paige Newquist, and Peyton Newquist.

Robert Farrior and Mia Anderson.

Nicolas Dekowski, Olivia Ridge, Elizabeth D'Antonio, and Alan Leland.

Lucy Lynch, Brendan McCartney, and Gillian Christie.

Michaela Culver and Kristina Gabler.

Kristen Finnon, Mercedes Barba, Briggs Elwell, Harriet Manice, and Jenny Webb.

Natalie Harrington and Elise Fischer.

Catherine Azmoodeh and Ambassador Robert Hormats.

Photographys byPatrick McMullan (WCS)

Contact DPC here.

Riverside Park. 6:05 PM. Photo: JH.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014. Yesterday was a warm sunny day in New York.

I never know what my day will be like until the night before when I look at my (New Yorker) calendar to see what’s in the book. This Monday was a lunch with an old friend, and a dinner with another old friend. This sort of commitment is like a vacation day for me.

When asked where should we lunch, I suggested Michael’s simply because ... you never know what’s going on there. Monday at the beginning of summer is usually a slow, or slower day in New York. Michael’s, ditto.

Last week at the Municipal Arts Society, I was seated next to sculptress Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas who told me about her latest exhibition at the Leonard Tourné Gallery on 46 East 65th Street, running through June 30th. On the left, "High Voltage", 2010, Bronze, gold patina, 24x15x12 inches, and at right, "Arch III," Bronze, 1985, at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at 47th Street and Second Avenue, through July 31st. You can visit her web site at: www.sc-sculpture.com.

However, as I approached the restaurant yesterday about 12:30, there were two big black SUVs with the tinted windows parked in front, and what looked like Secret Service men (suits, but each with one of those coiled plastic wires attached to one ear). Inside, it turned out, there was a private event in the Garden Room and one of the guests was President Bill Clinton. Ahh, so.

I’ve been seeing more and more of the Clintons lately – the former President, the former Secretary of State and daughter Chelsea. We are reminded that they are New Yorkers too, and both father and daughter have become familiar figures to many New Yorkers as they attend events, dinners, etc., often. Mother, of course, has been on the road for the past few years. (I read yesterday that she’d chalked up a million miles during her terms as Secretary of State.


	Bill and Hillary last Thursday at The Wildlife Conservation Society's annual Spring fundraiser.

	Bill and Linda Fairstein yesterday at Michael's. Today is the launch date of Linda's latest Alex Cooper detective novel “Terminal City.” Click to order.

	Bill with Linda and Jurate Kazickas.

	Bill Clinton (with Ellen Futter and Faye Wattleton) sharing his love of space and next read, Lynn Sherr's Sally Ride, America's First Woman in Space. Click to order.

However, Mother is back in town now, with a new book out; and no matter what you read, it does look like she’s got the White House in her thoughts about the future. Just last night, for example, six friends, Martha Stewart, Kathy and Harvey Sloane, Alice Kandell, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Jimmy Xhema hosted a “discussion” on “Ready for Hillary at Ms. Kandell’s Upper East Side penthouse. David Brock was slated to speak. I don’t know if Mrs. Clinton was present although I kind of assumed she would be.

I know about the evening because I had been invited by a friend. And although I was curious to hear Mr. Brock speak (I hadn’t before), I decided not to go because it was essentially a partisan political gathering, and I generally avoid reporting on political gatherings. Anymore. I recall writing about a couple of the fundraisers for Mrs. Clinton when she first ran for Senate, because it was the talk of New York at the time, and they were hosted by friends of mine.

From this writer’s viewpoint, it’s all like watching A Life, and always interesting. The Clintons, whether you like them or not, are rather friendly people for historical characters and mega-celebrities. Both Mister and Missus. They have that old-time neighborly comportment that many of us grew up with in our home towns across America. It comes naturally to them, and it is accepted just as naturally. She’s very gracious, but he delights in it. You can see it’s a pleasure for him to greet people; the ambassador of life.

Experiencing courtesy is always a pleasure, even moreso today where it is often absent, especially with people who are regarded (or self-regarded) as VIPs. This kind of reception, this kind of hail fellow neighbor is not true of all politicians –- no matter their rank –- including the dynastic ones (I’m not referring to any particular family now or then). The Clintons, however, have a real “just folks” quality about them on meeting.

Yesterday about one-fifteen Mr. Clinton appeared in the front room, obviously on his way out. Everyone perked up to have a look. There were several Secret Service men within a few feet of him, as he slowly made his way up to the front, stopping frequently to say hello to people. He looks rather well, compared to the man we see in photos. He’s thinner than the Bill Clinton we first saw in 1992, and the bulkier guy we saw in 1998, but he looks healthy and the eyes were always smiling.

He stopped for several minutes at the table of Dr. Mehmet Oz and was engaged in conversation with Oz and his lunch partner, Montell Williams. Then Mr. Clinton moved on to another and then another. Michael’s was not quiet for a Monday. It was packed. Felicia Taylor (lunching with Ron Insana); Dr. Mitch Rosenthal, Louise Grunwald, Tony Hoyt, Leslie Stevens, and Barbara Liberman whom I was lunching with.

At table one, Linda Fairstein had brought her beau, Michael Goldberg to meet her pals with whom she has one of those traditional group lunches every few weeks: Lesley Stahl, Esther Newberg, Ellen Futter, Faye Wattleton, Jurate Kazickas, Lynn Sherr, and probably some others I’m forgetting or didn’t see.

The picture of Linda with Mr. Clinton was taken because today is the launch date of her latest Alex Cooper detective novel “Terminal City.” Which means she’s going to be traveling across the country and making TV and booksigning appearances.

As the former President was moving through the room, he also posed briefly with Lynn Sherr and her new book, the biography of Sally Ride. He lingered for several minutes, clearly enjoying the conversation and the camaraderie. That is a major portion of his charisma.

As he was about to pass our table, he extended his right hand and said hello to us. “Nice to see you,” I said. “Nice to see you,” he responded.

We don’t know each other; doesn’t matter. Soon he was on his way. This is New York.

A new handbag belonging to Kathy Steinberg whom I dined with this past Sunday night.

Ultra Violet,one of the original members of the Warhol Factory gang died this past Saturday morning (6/14/14) in New York Hospital. She was 78 and had been ailing from cancer.


	Ultra Violet, 2001. Photo: JH.

Born Isabelle Collin Dufresne in La Tronche, France on September 6, 1935 to an upper middle class French family, she was a rebellious girl whose beginnings presaged a presence on the international art scene marked by her relationship with Andy Warhol. She published a memoir in 1988 “Famous for 15 Minutes: My Years With Andy Warhol.”

I met her about fifteen years ago when JH and I first started the New York Social Diary. She was one of our first interviews. She lived in an unusual penthouse on the top of an apartment building behind (and overlooking) the Guggenheim Museum on 88th Street and Fifth Avenue.

She had a quality of quiet authority about her. Hers was a dramatic persona but there nothing hifalutin about her presence; she was one of those people who had no problem expressing her opinions and answering a question directly and candidly. She was also used to giving interviews to curious reporters like Columbia and Hirsch who were just beginning this thing called the NYSD. We are re-visiting that original interview here.

Catching up. Last Wednesday night, The Central Park Conservancy gathered 850 guests on a beautiful summer evening for the annual Taste of Summer benefit held at Bethesda Terrace. The evening featured its traditional tastings prepared by New York's top restaurants, participated in a luxury-filled silent auction, and danced to the music by DJ Kiss. Guests included community leaders, philanthropists and prominent New Yorkers all coming together to support Central Park Conservancy's mission of restoring and maintaining Central Park. The event, which was sponsored by Macquarie Group, raised $925,000.

The site of Taste of Summer: Bethesda Terrace Arcade.

Marcus Samuelsson hosted The Taste Café featuring dishes from Red Rooster Harlem, American Table Cafe and Bar at Lincoln Center, and Samuelsson at HP at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda. 35 additional restaurants participated serving sample tastings throughout the evening.

Some of the signature dishes guests enjoyed: Gooseberries with Tomato and Tarragon from Betony, Crab Cakes with Cucumber Salad and Caper Remoulade from TheCentral Park Boathouse, New England Lobster Roll from Left Bank, Lightly cured Sardines with Sicilian Capers and Confit Lemon from Ristorante Morini, and Fried Cheese Grits with Homemade Chorizo and a Yellow Tomato Radish Salsa from Tavernon the Green.

Reyka Vodka Foraging Bar.

One of the highlights was a Reyka Vodka Foraging bar where guests could create their own cocktails using a selection of herbs, fruits, garnishes and spirits. William Grant & Sons, a family-owned and independent distiller, was the exclusive spirits partner at this year's Taste of Summer.

Hosts included Central Park Conservancy Trustees and Event Chairmen Kristy and Jonathan Korngold, Carol Sutton Lewis and William M. Lewis, Jr., Laurie and Jay Mandelbaum, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Jenny and John Paulson, Melissa Vail and Norman Selby.

Maine Sea Scallop Crudo from The Regency Bar & Grill.

SD26 Soft Egg Yolk Raviolo.

Host Committee members and guests included: Kitty and Tom Kempner (Chairman, Board of Trustees, Central Park Conservancy), Doug Blonsky (President and CEO, Central Park Conservancy and Central Park Administrator), Suzie and Ainar Aijala, Charles Altchek, Sarah Arison, Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond, Melissa Seligmann Gokhvat and Eugene Gokhvat, Rebecca and Larry Grafstein, Anne Harrison, Yaz and Valentin Hernandez, Rachel and Ara Hovnanian, Cathy and Bill Ingram, Sharon and Bill Jacob, Veronica and Ray Kelly, Kamie and Rich Lightburn, Liz and Jeff Peek, Sandra Ripert, Alexandra and Alex Robertson and Nanar and Tony Yoseloff.