Rewind WHO’S LEAVING A LEGACY THIS YEAR? by Haley
Friedlich
Stephen Schwarzman Schwarzman, co-founder, CEO and chairman of the Blackstone Group, and a major philanthropist, has pledged $100 million to Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The money is to be used for scholarships. Schwarzman is involved with a number of major charities in New York; and, most famously, the main building of the New York Public Library bears his name.
Goodbye, Bloomberg Era
MAYOR MIKE, NO MORE:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg will start his next chapter as a creative and influential philanthropist, and as chairman of the Serpentine Gallery—an art gallery in London.
Giving it all Away
Michael Bloomberg says that by the end of 2013, he plans to give away at least $400 million. In an October Time magazine cover story, the departing mayor said he plans to use his charitable and political donations to focus on issues that truly matter. “I want to work on those things that others aren’t working on,” he told Time. He named smoking, obesity, traffic deaths, innovative solutions to malaria and the global eradication of polio as issues on his roster. Bloomberg will also be the next chairman of London’s Serpentine Gallery—a post he will assume as soon as his mayoral term officially ends.
9-Figure Promises
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital received a gift of $100 million from David H. Koch to construct an ambulatory care center at its Upper East Side location in Manhattan. Koch has proved to be a major figure in New York’s cultural landscape—he is a key donor for Lincoln Center and the American Museum of Natural History. The former’s main theater was a gift of Koch’s and the latter boasts the David H. Koch Dinosaur Wing. 68 | AVENUE MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2013
On November 5, Bill de Blasio was elected to become the first Democratic mayor of New York City in 20 years. Defeating Republican Joe Lhota by a landslide, de Blasio was not always a shoo-in for the seat. In the spring, de Blasio was holding fourth place in a crammed Democratic primary race until Anthony Weiner faced another sexting scandal and Christine Quinn began taking heat for her ties to Mayor Bloomberg, especially the self-benefit of approving his third term. In August, de Blasio started making his mixed-race family the public face of his campaign—which turned out to be a good campaign strategy. Voters began positively responding to his liberal agenda. His plans include raising taxes to fund mandatory pre-kindergarten and to bridge the gap between “haves” and “have-nots.” Scott Stringer (who defeated disgraced former governor Elliot Spitzer in the primary) will take office as city comptroller and Gale Brewer will replace Stringer as Manhattan borough president.
DE BLASIO FOR THE WIN:
Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will be the first Democrat to helm New York City in 20 years.