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| Sunset. 8:21 PM. Photo: JH. |
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| Wednesday, July 23, 2014. A warm, somewhat humid day in New York. But beautiful. I went to dinner with my friend Emilia at Sette Mezzo. Emilia, whom I have known since the 1970s, always treats me to lunch or dinner on my birthday which is this coming Saturday. We’ve been doing this for years. |
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| Just as we were finishing up, a man and a woman came in to take the table next to ours, and Emilia said to me, “oh, it’s Essie!” I didn’t know who Essie was except that she was obviously a friend of Emilia’s. Then Emilia showed me her fingernails and told me that the color was called Hot something-or-other, and said: “this is Essie’s.” I asked how they knew each other. Emilia and Essie both said: “from the salon.” I figured since the nails were Essie’s and they knew each other from the salon, I started to talk to Essie about her business at the salon and how the clientele all spill their innermost secrets to the staff. |
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Essie agreed but then told me that she didn’t own the “salon,” that she was a customer. Then why did Emilia tell me her fingernails were Essie’s? Probably most women reading this already know the story. Essie manufactures the fingernail polish and her brand is called Essie. She and two others are the most famous fingernail polish in the world. Essie recently sold her business to L’Oreal for $50 million, or something like that.
Then again, Emilia has great taste and style. She’d tell me it’s because of Essie. Yesterday I found this painting by Maurice Prendergast, an American post-Impressionist painter on a wonderful website I often look at called Emphemeral New York. Prendergast lived in the last half of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th I’ve been familiar with his New York scenes for most of my adult life. Their colors are compelling and engaging. Many of his pictures have water in them – either the sea, the river, or in the case of Venice, the canals. What especially caught my eye was the caption wondering if the scene were actually a children’s playground in Carl Schurz Park on the East River. And since Carl Schurz Park is only a few footsteps from my door, and I visit it daily walking the dogs, I looked very closely. |
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| If the year were 1901, which I gathered from the piece it might very well be, there was no FDR Drive then, and no elevated promenade (The John Finley Walk) at the riverside. The land went down to the shore. Nearby was the new neighborhoods including Henderson Place which was built in the 1890s. There were also originally some pieces of sandy beach in Manhattan when the Europeans came to settle. The island across the water could easily be what is now Roosevelt Island, but was then known as Blackwell's Island, with Queens in the background. It definitely is not southern Manhattan on the East River. Nor is there any other island of that shape on the eastern side of the East River with that much industrial activity on the eastern side of the channel where it is divided by the island. The only question is, where is the lighthouse, known as the Blackwell Island Light at the northern tip of the island? Before I went out to dinner, I went down to the Promenade to get a photo of that location of what I think (and so does Ephemeral New York) is the location of Prendergast’s children’s playground. It wasn’t called Carl Schurz Park then although it was a park. It was named in honor of Mr. Schurz a few years later. |
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| The social life in New York right now is actually the social life in New York-adjacent – the Hamptons. There isn’t a free moment on the weekends, from Thursday through Sunday, no matter what list you’re on. Besides the private parties, there are many charity associated gatherings. For example: Jerry Ford and his wife, interior designer Kelli Ford, hosted a cocktail reception for the President’s Committee of Southampton Hospital on Saturday at a private residence in Southampton. |
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| Southampton Hospital CEO & President Robert Chaloner, Southampton Hospital Foundation President Steve Bernstein and Laura Lofaro Freeman, the chairman of Southampton Hospital’s 56th Annual Summer Party, welcomed more 100 guests including Audrey and Martin Gruss, Jean Remmel Fitzsimmons, Cliff and Raya Knight and Howard Marton. Chaloner and Freeman thanked everyone for their support of upcoming August 2nd event, which will take place under the air-conditioned tents on Wickapogue Road, with dinner catered by Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs and music by the Alex Donner Orchestra. This year, the Hospital's 56th Annual Summer Party will benefit the Jenny and John Paulson Department of Emergency Services. For more information, visit www.southamptonhospital.org. |
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| Also on Saturday evening, Love Heals, The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education hosted its Let’s Misbehave ‘80s Style, its 18th Annual Hamptons event at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard. 1980’s cover band, Jessie’s Girl rocked the house with American Idol and Rock of Ages star Constantine Maroulis. Love Heals co-founder Dini von Mueffling and co-chairs Caroline and Eric Villency, DANNIJO’s Danielle Snyder and Jodie Snyder Morel, Alina Cho, Kelly Delaney Kot and Mark Kot danced the night away. |
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| In the crowd: Nicky Hilton, Emily and Lawrence Chu, Eric and Sandra Ripert, Joey Wolffer, Kristian Laliberte, Richie Notar, Rory Hermelee, Samantha Yanks, Sonja Morgan and Thuyen Nguyen and Michael Lorber, and scores more all familiar by no more than 3 degrees of separation, if that.The Alison Gertz story is a sad one but a triumphant memorial for the girl who was a personal friend of many of the guests. |
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| Love Heals was founded in 1992 to carry on the work of the late AIDS activist Ali Gertz. Love Heals empowers young people to become leaders by giving them the knowledge, skills and confidence to protect themselves and their communities from HIV. Love Heals’ HIV-positive speakers break down stigma and make the disease real for young people living in communities hardest hit by the epidemic. The leading provider of HIV/AIDS education in New York City public schools, Love Heals has partnered with more than 700 schools and community groups throughout the metropolitan area, educating and empowering nearly 600,000 young people, parents, guardians, educators, and community leaders. |
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| Then on Friday night, Jeffrey Lane, Alexandra Lebenthal, Andrew Stern and Carrie Gallaway hosted the Grand Opening of the Lebenthal Bridgehampton Office. Yes, this was a party. The office of Lebenthal Wealth Advisors. Alexandra Lebenthal, the third generation in the financial business, explained that they’d “brought a very successful team from Morgan Stanley to LWA in February. One of those advisors was Andy Stern.” Mr. Stern lives in Amagansett year round. An art show curated by Lorinda Ash was displayed around the venue featuring local artists. With work from artists including Ross Bleckner and Eric Freeman and a portion of all proceeds going to the Children’s Museum of East End, the exhibition will run until through the summer until Labor Day. |
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| In the party Jon and Lizzie Tisch, Andy Stern, Carrie Gallaway, James A Lebenthal, Jimmy Lebenthal,Bonnie Lautenberg, Randy Slifka, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Bryan Hunt, Lucy Winton, Noelle Beck, Jesse Pasca, Spencer Peterson, Pamela Boulet, Amy Heilberg, Rajan Mantani, Eric Freeman, Ross Bleckner, Tatiana Platt, Randy Polumbo, Sari Mandel, Susan Zises. Lebenthal Wealth Advisors started in 1925 as an odd-lot firm focused on individual investors. Today, the firm provides personal wealth management, asset allocation and portfolio construction services. The firm is run by Alexandra Lebenthal who was recently joined by former Neuberger Berman Chairman, Jeffrey B. Lane. |
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| The evening was to benefit the Children’s Museum of the East End which all started with a conversation between seven mothers around a kitchen table in 1997. Seventeen years later, CMEE strives to create educational opportunities for children on the East End of Long Island. They continue to present educational exhibits and programs and partner with other arts and social service organizations in the 7,000 square feet of exhibition and program space designed by Lee Skolnik Architecture + Design Partnership. Along with the support of hundreds of stakeholders in the community, CMEE has been successful in their mission, “to enrich the lives of children and families and strengthen the East End community by promoting learning through play.” |
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Contact DPC here. |