Metropolitan Magazine February / March 2021

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FEBRUARY/MARCH ISSUE 2021

LUXURY MAGAZINE

RARE & EXTRAORDINARY

THE INSIDE STORY OF A YOUNG MIKE TYSON

DAVID BIRNBAUM RARE 1

THE RARE GEM PROFESSIONALS

adjacent to Rockefeller Center $20.00 USD

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A UNIQUE RARE JEWEL BOUTIQUE PROJECTING GLOBALLY David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 PRECIOUS JEWELS OF THE WORLD

INV-1385

“PRECIOUS JEWELS” all 4+ carat centers all top-lab certified center gems: top to bottom: Green Emerald (Square-cut) Sunset Padparadscha Sapphire (oval-cut) Intense Canary Diamond (Cushion-cut) Pink Sapphire (Cushion-cut) White Diamond (Emerald-cut) Blue Sapphire (Emerald-cut) Intense Canary Diamond (Radiant-cut) Red Ruby (Square Emerald-cut) all flanking diamonds: Rare White color Premium clarity

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

shown: actual size x 1.50

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 RAREST JEWELS OF THE WORLDTM

IMAGE-2291 5+ CARATERS RARE WHITE premium clarity GIA Lab-certified OptimalCut certified

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

CONTENTS FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021 COVER

20 DAVID BIRNBAUM

FASION

28 KRISTINA VIIRPALU 38 NICOLE MILLER

ENTERTAINMENT 46 52 56 58

BRIAN HAMILL CONSUELO VANDERBILT COSTIN CRISTA GIULIANI SHEP MESSING

TASTE 60 62 64 66 68

23 Hot Summer Cool Suits

BOBBY VAN’S 54TH STREET DEMARCHELIER BISTRO IKRAA CAVIAR IL GATTOPARDO THE COOP

CONTENTS 77

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2021 LIVING

70 LE LUSTRE 76 DAVE VITALLI

PROFILE

80 THE RARE GEM KING

ARTFORM 100 104 106 110 112 114 116 117

WILLARD MORGAN CHASHAMA UEAST75 GALLERY JOSE TRUJILLO NICK GHAFARI GARY KALEDA ŁUKASZ BIEL PATRICIA PEDRAZA

SOCIAL

118 NEW YORK SOCIAL SCENE 120 NEW YORK CHARITY SCENE

METROPOLITAN

LUXURY MAGAZINE

Publisher Chase Backer Editor-in-Chief Adam Kluger Assistant Editor Willy Nichter

FASHION ISSUE: NOVEMBER 2020

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Copy Editor Sean Buttimer Director of Marketing-NYC Jaime Backer Special Projects Editor Norah Bradford Lifestyle Editor Elizabeth Langevin

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NICOLE MILLER Photographs by Lilly Gabriel $20.00 USD

Fashion | Luxury | Profiles | Features | Shopping | Travel | Art | Design | Auto | Food | Health

Cover Editor Adam Kluger Features Contributor Jadan Horyn Luxury Editor Stephanie L. Howitt Editor at Large | Art, Culture & Fashion Rachel Vancelette

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LUXURY MAGAZINE

Fashion Photographer Matt Licari Profiles Editor Alexandra Appino-Tabone Social Editor

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Clara Morgan Food Editor Andrea Correale Nutrition Editor Lindsay Brustein Rosen, M.S., R.D., CDN. Gold Coast Writer Monica Randall Digital Media Director Nancy Molina

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Master of the Game A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID BIRNBAUM THE RARE & EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE JEWELER

BY CHASE BACKER CHASE: Let me ask you a question. How do you create your pieces? Do you see, in your mind a piece that you want to create, and then you go find the jewels, or do you find an outstanding jewel and then decide that you want to create a piece around it?

DAVID: So, first, you need to ‘read the market’; you cannot create a specific piece without a good feel for where the ‘strike zone’ for the market is; Once, you have radar-lock on the market, you can let the creative juices roll - and design a unique and exquisite piece.

CHASE: How do you stay ahead of the competition?

DAVID: Respectfully, our David Birnbaum / Rare 1 ‘package’ cannot even be approached. We respect our (alleged) competition, however illustrious they may be - but, with due respect, they cannot touch us.

CHASE: Platinum Card advised you that you had the highest average sale in the world - of any jewel company.

How do you explain that?

DAVID: Frankly, it caught us by surprise, as well. I presume it is because we do a big and steady business in important

top lab-certified diamonds, rubies, and related - where the $ per sale can add-up quickly. Plus, periodically, we sell $10 mil+ pieces.

CHASE: So, your formula has somehow allowed-you to trump the international brand Fifth Avenue Retail Jewelers - at their own game; You somehow have managed “to invent a better mousetrap” - apex quality at rock-bottom pricing - with World Class styling in-themix; perhaps more CEOs and Private Equity partners per month buying high-ticket items from you - than from any of the other top jewelers in NY; and, it turns out, greater selection than firms 3x your size; how is this at all even possible?

DAVID: All the components are interrelated; that is what my Clients are entitled-to; I am personally able to handle 75%+ of the deals; I grew up in a diamond family - although that dynamic predecessor firm focused on buying the rough gems (globally) - and selling wholesale (globally) to those same Fifth Avenue international brands; I navigated that prominent De Beers SightHolder firm [Andor & David Birnbaum, Inc.] to quite significant global growth - alongside my formidable late father - Andor

J. Birnbaum - who focused pretty much exclusively on the rough diamond buying aspect.

In many cases, the gem you buy from me currently is, indeed, cut from a rough diamond straight from the mine in Russia or Botswana; it turns-out that I am quite well-versed and quite well plugged-in. Respectfully, no one can match our global sourcing; and, unlike some of the international brand Fifth Avenue firms, we have no covenants precluding us from selling at low margins; we are, indeed, fierce competitors; we have significant important repeat business from a very fine clientele - from talented millennials - thru major American businessmen/execs/financiers - thru Royal Houses in the Gulf.

On the design-front, my late mother was a fine career artist with a large studio in our house; design permeated the air and ‘the buzz is that allegedly I have a strong flair for the nuances of color, design and design trends; i am thus able to ride herd more adroitly over our talented and award-winning designers. On another front, as fate would have it, in 1974 I completed my Master’s thesis - at that well-known Boston business grad school - on diamond investment - and I have a strong ‘record, focus & feel’ for that important dimension; thus, several interrelated key components have conspired to give us a significant competitive advantage from the get-go; and, finally, our core overhead - while classy - is relatively lean. And, finally, again, we have been lucky.

CHASE: Would you say that the financial elite, in general, gravitate to your unique firm?

DAVID: The financial elite, the millennial elite, and the young Royal Family elite [from the Gulf]. Elite gems and value - for an elite group. When we get a call, we concentrate very, very carefully - and endeavor to optimally implement ‘our part of the equation’.

DAVID: It’s not the future, it’s already here.

CHASE: How has the pandemic affected your firm?

DAVID: YES, to each of those questions.

DAVID: Well, the pandemic per se, is horrendous, of course; it is akin to a biblical plague; But, life goes on; the unintended consequence of the pandemic has been the serial and ongoing off-the-charts trillion-dollar US Government stimulus programs; This ongoing surreal government endeavor has super-charged the specter of off-the-charts hyper-inflation; but, which two or three items globally will actually hold value without roller-coaster valuations? It turns out, the list is very short - and very narrow: TOP GEMS: top-lab-certified diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds; thus, rumor-hasit, the grandiose Federal Reserve stimulus programs have catalyzed a ‘perfect storm’ for our specialist firm - and for select gem valuations. And... as they say, ‘we know the deal’.

CHASE: And who holds the gems post-purchase?

CHASE: Basically gemstones as an investment - via Solitaire rings - or studs? That’s the wave of the future?

CHASE: And do you have situations - past few months where clients commission you to buy a million dollars+ of, say, D Color round diamonds - or Pigeon’s Blood rubies?

DAVID: In about half the cases, we are asked to do so.

CHASE: To act as custodian - for potential intergenerational handling of the gems?

DAVID: In cases where we are asked to hold the gems in custody, in about half the cases it is, indeed, for intergenerational handling.

Chase Backer Publisher, Metropolitan/25A

building a special order custom-designed & crafted

Fancy Color Diamond pendant

Fancy Color diamonds are diamonds other than classic (D-Z color) diamonds.

Some Fancy Color diamonds are quite beautiful - and quite rare.

We custom-craft jewels for both White and Fancy Color diamonds, as well as for other precious gems.(like Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire).

Dollar appreciation - past 10 years - for the genre diamonds shown in this focus spread - has been significant.

We also deal in supergem Fancy Color diamonds: 5-50+ carats (see FancyColor1000.com).

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David Birnbaum

Rare 1 THE CUTTING EDGE

IMAGE-4887 rare & unique Natural Fancy Color Diamonds 16” Necklace for formal or informal wear total diamonds: 80+ stones tatal carats: 45+ carats all (individually) GIA gem lab certified

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

international diamond cutters

shown: actual size x 1.50

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 THE WORLD’S RAREST BRAND

FancyColor Diamonds

IMAGE-1949 RIBBON 3 - 30+ carats each Premium clarity Natural Fancy Color Diamonds: Blues, Pinks and Canarys plus Rare White colors [GIA Lab-certified] specific availabilities upon request

*HBS 1974

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

At the Pinnacle New York City is frigid and snow-covered outside right now but when you want to talk about ice you need to speak with New York City’s most exclusive private jeweler, David Birnbaum of Rare 1. A classy and world-renowned King of Rare Gems, David Birnbaum’s extraordinary and rare diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires dazzle and inspire, energize, and transform. They are powerful, timeless, and truly the stuff that dreams are made of. It was no surprise to me that David Birnbaum, an iconoclast thought leader who enjoys discussing metaphysics and Potentialism theory with Deepak Chopra in his spare time, and our Publisher Chase Backer would develop an immediate rapport. Both are men of vision who operate at the very highest rung of their chosen professions and are trusted friends to the world’s most successful and powerful individuals, families and businesses.

Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin is a well-known name, talented musical artist, and famous friend of our publisher who has many famous friends. Anita Durst is another famous New York City name who has opened her real estate empire through her ChaShaMa organization to the city’s many artists looking for spaces to create in during the chaos of the pandemic. Other notable and talented artists in the spotlight this month include Gary Kaleda, Robin Koffler, Patricia Pedraza, Jose Trujillo, and Nick Ghafari.

We lost one of New York’s most respected newspapermen in Pete Hamill in 2020. His vast talent has bettered the lives of many a New Yorker, including his brother Brian Hamill, who shares how a shared love of boxing and the wisdom of an older brother led him on the right path as a photographer who would befriend some of the greatest boxers in the world including The Greatest. Muhammad Ali. But there was a sports star even bigger than Ali back in the ‘70s and my high school sports hero, Shep Messing of the New York Cosmos, talks all about what happened when Muhammad Ali met up with the world’s greatest soccer player, Pele. The greatest athletes, the greatest private jeweler, and the greatest city in the world. Not bad.

Enjoy this amazing February Issue. Be safe, wear a mask, social distance and let’s all look out for each other!

Adam Kluger Editor in Chief, Metropolitan Magazine/25A

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Master of Class

David Birnbaum Photography | Jill Lotenberg PHOTOGRAPHS BY BERNADET TE MARCINIAK & CATERS NEWS STORY BY CATERS NEWS

New York-based David Birnbaum and his extensive network of contacts scour the globe for the most incredible rocks His company Rare 1 are specialists in top-ofthe-line diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls, selling to ‘VIP clientele types Birnbaum deals with elite slice of the market

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If you’re in the market for some $100 million bling, a Fifth Avenue diamond dealer-to-the-stars claims to have the rarest ‘super gems’ on Earth From the newly trendy $1 million ‘Power Rings’ popular on Wall Street to 100 carat diamonds for the mega-rich, David Birnbaum and his extensive network of contacts scour the globe for the most incredible rocks.

His company Rare 1, located above New York’s Fifth Avenue, are specialists in top-of-the-line goods - diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls, selling to ‘VIP clientele types.’

Fifth Avenue brands such as De Beers and Cartier sell their sparklers to the top 2 per cent of the population, on average.

But Birnbaum deals with an even more elite slice of the market - the top 0.1 per cent only, otherwise known as the mega, mega rich.

Fortunately for Birnbaum, these people are heads-of-state or genuine Hollywood A-Listers leading luxurious lifestyles with deep pockets and money to burn.

Birnbaum, who lives in New York, said: ‘What we do lies on the border between mission impossible and mission possible - we have to keep finding ever-more unique and ever-more special gems all the time.

‘Our primary clientele are from the top 1/10 of 1 per cent of the global financial elite but over the years we have developed a dynamic and loyal client group ranging from young bankers to heads-of-state

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fashion

Kristina Viirpalu PREMIUM LUXURY COLLECTION

BY W. A. MULLER

K

V’s couture creations pay a deep homage to historic Estonian embroidery and knitting techniques. Romantic patterns, styles and ornaments are playfully mixed with contemporary sources of inspiration to meet the needs of a modern woman.

The highlights of the brand are the exuberantly intricate hand-knitted dresses created by the masters of this unique craft. These exquisite gowns and detailed couture pieces are inspired by the Haapsalu shawl, a preferred accessory of the Estonian upper class ladies of the 19th century. The shawl was knitted so fine it could be pulled through a wedding ring.

This delicate and fragile technique remains a living source of inspiration for our designer.

KV’s hand embroidered bodies are additionally inspired by the motifs and patterns of various Estonian folk costumes.

Most of KV’s elaborate pieces can be worn in multiple ways for different occasions, giving the wearer a chance to create a personal couture style many times over.

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Materials All Kristina Viirpalu’s luxuriant knitted couture pieces are made from silk, fine wool or cotton yarn. Our delicately embroidered bodies are hand embroidered and -embellished with high quality pearls, laces, ribbons, beads and sequins. Most excellent yarns, gems and beads are used for creating all embroidered and knitted works.

Our craftsmen always work with the most outstanding fabrics. The wool for our coats, jackets and trousers gets chosen from the highest quality sources in the world.

Because of the intricate way the materials get used in the creation of our knitted couture pieces, even some of our most sumptuous dresses and bodies can easily fit into a small handbag.

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The process The patterns and technologies used for Kristina Viirpalu’s knitted and embroidered couture pieces are unique and unknown in the rest of the world.

This makes our lusciously detailed garments also into precious pieces of art, and into living mementos of Estonia’s amazing folk culture.

Kristina Viirpalu’s embroidered bodies are created one pearl and stitch at a time, and take up to couple of weeks to finish. When the designer has come up with the design and pattern, she hands it over to our masterful embroiderer who creates the custom pattern using various laces, wool, beads, pearls and ribbons.

months to finish and three masterful craftsmen to give them their final, delicate form. At first, the gown gets hand-knitted by the craftsmen of this unique craft in Haapsalu. The dress is then sent to Kristina Viirpalu’s Atelier in Tallinn where the seamstress shapes it into the required shape using the finest fabrics. The last person to work on the dress is the embroiderer who adds the necessary amount of pearly exuberance to the gown.

Kristina Viirpalu’s jackets, coats, trousers and skirts are the pinnacle of meticulous tailoring. All items are unique luxury garments that are handmade in our Atelier in Tallinn’s Old Town. @kristina_viirpalu_couture

Each of Kristina Viirpalu’s couture dresses is unique. One exquisite gown usually takes 2 -3

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Nicole Miller SS21 lookbook

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Photographer

Brian Hamill REFLECTING ON SOME OF BOXING’S GREATEST

BY ADAM KLUGER Brian, how did you get interested in boxing?

My dad and my older brother Pete were both fans of Floyd Patterson. He was from Brooklyn as we were. Pete took me to see the first Patterson Johansson fight which was I believe in June of ‘59 and Floyd got knocked out and I was really upset and started crying because I had been a fan. I had just turned 13. Well that summer I started to hang around with a bad crowd in Brooklyn and Pete was kind of worried about me and he wrote Floyd Patterson a letter and this was before Pete was a reporter. Pete didn’t become a reporter until 1960. Floyd invited Pete and me to come up to his training camp because he was starting to train for the second Johansson fight in Connecticut. And we bonded with Floyd Patterson. Floyd would call me to the side and talk to me about how he had gotten in trouble because he ran the streets in Brooklyn and he didn’t want that to happen to me. I stayed there for a couple of days and helped clean up the gym, set up the

chairs for training and it was a big deal. When the rematch with Johansson came around we had ringside seats. Floyd gave them to us and he won spectacularly. He knocked Johansson out in the fifth round and we went into his dressing room afterward and at one point he put me on his shoulders...and I do remember seeing Liz Taylor and Eddie Fisher in the hallway and they were very upset because they were Johansson fans. so that was my first taste of it and then Pete told me about Cus D’Amato and the gym on 14th street.

So how did you first meet the famous boxing trainer Cus D’Amato?

So one day I took a subway over to the Gramercy Gym and I went up the long rickety wooden stairs to the gym and I looked around and I had seen pictures of Cus D’Amato in the newspapers and read some pieces about him. He was talking to some fighters and after about five minutes he walked over to

me and Cus said “What can I help you with?” and I said “I want to learn how to box.” and he said, “where’s your dad?” and I said “where’s my dad? he’s back in Brooklyn.” He goes, “you came here by yourself?” I said, “yeah.” he said, “oh good...that’s a good thing...you’ll learn how to box.” I learned later that he discouraged dads from bringing kids into the gym because it was usually more the dad that wanted the kid to become a fighter. So, he and I became friends. I remember him saying to me once, “the thing about boxing is if you don’t think you can be champion of the world there’s no point continuing on in it. “ I had a couple of amateur fights which I won. I started boxing and I went to the gym all the time and I sort of got away from the tough crowd I was hanging out within Brooklyn and I’m glad I did cause most of them are dead or went to jail or died early. But I always stayed in touch with Cus. I trained for a couple of fights which I won and then at one point I had to decide what I was going to do and so I decided I was going to

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go to college. I asked Pete who bought me my first camera when I was 16 if there were any schools for photography. Pete thought my photos even at the age of 16 were very good.

Pete was an artist before he became a writer so he had a good eye for composition based on his art training. Anyway, I ended up going to RIT to study photography.

How did you first become friends with and photograph a young Mike Tyson?

Cus (D’amato) calls me and he tells me about this great fighter he’s got...” you got to come up and you got to see him in training”, he had already moved to Catskill I said “alright I’ll come up in a week or so,” and he goes, “no no no you got to come up and see him tomorrow he’s going to be sparring with Marvin Stinson.”

Stinson was the main sparring partner for then heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.

I said “ok.” and Cus said. “This kid’s going to be like the Heavyweight Champion of the world someday.” So, I said alright I’ll come up tomorrow.” He said “good.” I get there and I look around the Catskill gym and I see Cus

and then I see this young kid and I thought that couldn’t be the kid that Marvin Stinson is going to train with. He’s like a kid. So I ask Cus, “Where’s the fighter and he says, “over there.” I said, “That kid? how old is he?” Cus said, “He’s 15.” So, Cus introduced me to Mike Tyson and Cus only had him for a couple of months. But anyway I watched him spar and it was amazing to watch this young kid, he really “tuned up” Marvin Stinson and it was all Cus’s moves too. Moving his head side to side, peek-a-boo style hands high. Cus didn’t like the expression peek-a-boo style, he just said,” hands high protect your chin move your head, ten different combinations move your head after the combinations,” those were Cus’s basic things. So that’s when I met Tyson when he was 15.

What makes a boxer great?

Cus used to always say that character is the main thing. If you have good character no matter what you do if you have character and heart you’ll succeed. “Heart” being courage.

In boxing when you say somebody has

heart it means inner courage, inner strength.

Muhammad Ali although he did a lot of things wrong like pulling back from punches, he had such a good sense of anticipation and he also had this legitimate self-confidence.

Who was the greatest boxer you ever photographed?

So the two best fighters that I ever saw were Sugar Ray Robinson, I watched his fights on TV with my dad, and then Ali. I photographed Ali about four or five times. Including in 1968 when he got stripped of his title in 1967 because he wouldn’t go into the army so they took away his livelihood for three years. The first time he fought professionally again was against Jerry Quarry in Atlanta where he stopped Quarry in three rounds. But at the start of Ali’s career, he fought everybody. All these bruising guys including Sonny Liston two times. Everybody feared Liston after he destroyed Floyd Patterson in two different fights. I got very friendly with Floyd and very friendly with Jose Torres who was the Light Heavyweight champion and he was also one of Cus’s fighters and he became February / March 2021 | 49

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best friends with my brother Pete. At one point they were even roommates. Jose was very smart and full of character... he was a great fighter including when he won the title from Willie Pastrano which was the first pictures I ever got published in the Saturday Evening Post. That was a big deal! I was still a student. I just shot them on spec because I was just a spectator I was still at RIT, and Pete wrote the article.

What was your take on Muhammad Ali the boxer and the person?

I met Ali a bunch of times. I met him initially in Puerto Rico in 1965 and he couldn’t have been nicer and funny. He was the greatest fighter who never ever feared anybody including a guy like Cleveland Williams who was knocking everybody out and Liston who was knocking everybody out.

But one of the things about him that made an impression on me was his humanity. I went with Ali and Jose Torres when he was still suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission up to Harlem. Ali wanted to go up to Harlem So Jose drove. He and Jose were good friends. Jose was the driver. Ali was in the passenger seat and I was in the back seat and I took photographs of Ali on 125th street. He had already declared himself as a Muslim and there were some Muslim guys checking him out. One of the pictures shows Ali with a walking stick. He’s walking down the street and then he did rope tricks for everybody. Then we visited Jose’s wife Ramona at a hospital in Brooklyn and it was September of ‘68 so we started driving down a Brooklyn street and I hear Ali say to Jose “stop the car, stop the car” and I hear Jose say, “why? what’s the matter?” and Ali says” just stop, stop...” and they both jump out of the car and I

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thought what the hell is going on? so there was a black dude changing a tire, he had a flat and he was parked on the side and so Ali taps the guy on the shoulder and the guy turns around and he sees Ali and he was like in a state of shock...it’s Muhammad Ali...and Ali says “hey, brother can I help you change that?” The guy says “No, bro, I’m good but man, my wife is not going to believe this!” I thought it was such a humane thing, Ali was a very humane guy and funny and he had a good visual memory. Every time I photographed him and he met so many hundreds and thousands of people in his life but he would always just give me a little nod like he knew me, you know? I met him in ‘65, photographed him in ‘68 again in ‘71 for Rolling Stone, one of the first non-rock and rollers on the cover of Rolling Stone, it was before the first Frazier fight at the Garden.

What do you remember of that famous first Ali-Frazier fight?

I thought it was a close fight but what clinched it for Frazier was when he hit Ali with that left hook I think it was the 14th round and everybody thought that Ali wouldn’t get up but he not only got up but he finished the fight. That was a 15 round fight. He got up from that devastating punch and finished the fight. He lost by a unanimous decision but don’t forget he was off for three years during the prime of his life that was in ‘71 and he didn’t have that many fights leading up to that first Frazier fight. Ali just had a lot of character.

Most exciting fighter?

Who was the best most exciting fighter to watch and to listen to and whose character imbued

something in my soul? It was Ali. He was just a very special human being. Tyson was a totally exciting fighter in every fight he did and Ray Robinson was brilliant...he was unbelievable. I took photos of him in 1968. He would train every day at the same gym where I photographed Liston. It was a downtown LA gym. In Miami, Ali was at the Fifth Street gym.

Tell us about Sugar Ray Robinson.

I think the best pure fighter I ever saw, I photographed him years later, was Sugar Ray Robinson but he was already retired then and he had a youth program in Los Angeles. He had moved from Harlem to LA. He was a brilliant fighter and he was totally a nice guy who couldn’t have been nicer.

Any memories to share about your late great brother Pete Hamill, one of New York City’s treasured and legendary newsmen, who passed away this past year?

If it wasn’t for Pete I probably would have ended up in jail (laugh) I miss him every day. Every day something reminds me of him. He was a special man. He helped out a lot of people in the business that he was in. He ended up being a reporter, writer he bent over backward to help people to get established and get started when he was an editor of the Post and Daily News, he hired a lot of young guys he just did the right thing for people he was a very generous person. Besides being a very talented guy.

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Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin ROCKEFELLER CENTER AT CHRISTMASTIME

R

BY JADAN HORYN | PHOTOGRAPHED BY LILLY GABRIEL

o c ke f e l l e r C e n t e r a t Christmastime - that quintessentially New York holiday spectacle. My Publisher warmly suggested I join the thronged sidewalks and walkways around Mr. Rockefeller’s famous tree for a photoshoot with a Vanderbilt and an eminent fashion designer.

my arm. I look up and there is a womanstriding towards me like Carrie Bradshaw on the catwalk in a lustrous green chartreuse knee-length pleated dress with a matching feather-trimmed frock coat and bright coral scalloped stilettos. She was radiant and smiling ear to ear. I relaxed, you can’t fake that type of joy, she saw my coat and laughed.

I must admit, at first, I was less than amused.

But Christmas in New York City can charm the Scrooge out of anyone. I donned my most outrageously ostentatious coat - metallic lilac - an item I’d first seen IG influencer Jay Gould wear, and set out on the town certain that I would be easy to find even amongst the holiday hubbub.

“Aren’t you striking” she says to me, a statement, not a question. “I love that coat, you look absolutely stunning.” She looks up at me, towering over her despite her gleaming stilettos and says you look like a Californian - I laugh. A common mistake. It’s the Florida tan and curly surfer hair.

As I walked down the five blocks of Fifth Avenue from my apartment to the tree, I did my best to enjoy the Christmas carnival and try to get into the holiday spirit. It’s not every day that someone meets a Vanderbilt - that storied family of New York, Newport, and Palm Beach, - or a polymath fashion designer.

Today I have the very rare opportunity of interviewing them both for a holiday song they did together.

A strange situation by anyone’s standards, even in 2020, but a highly intriguing one. I learned from my wife that you could not get close enough to the Rockerfeller Tree for a photo-op due to Covid-19 restrictions, so Lily, my photographer, and I scrambled to find a suitable change of venue.

Our quest led us into the crowds across from Saks Fifth Avenue, justling for a spot to take photos of the tree with my interviewees. Bah HumBug. I missed a call as Lily and I tried to line up the new angle for the shoot. Lily bumps

She smiles again this time even bigger, I turn and behind me is a man dressed head to toe in a beautiful shiny cobalt royal blue widelapeled suit brocaded with subtle palm trees and slightly upturned shoulders paired with bell-bottom trousers. He looks dashing with perfectly styled jet-black hair and a youthful face. He sees her and immediately starts beaming - a real smile - and suddenly I’m in the holiday mood.

Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, or the rebel heiress as Page 6 as the society rags love to label her, is the 7th descendent of Cornelius Vanderbilt. She was named for Consuelo Vanderbilt - this part is important later, Consuelo has carved out a life for herself separate from her family’s heavy legacy as a singer and entrepreneur.

Malan Breton hails from Taiwan. He charged into the New York scene as a model, who then took up designing, then television, eventually starting his own fashion company, and lately he has branched out into music.

Their energy is palpable. They’re clearly

dear friends, and real ones. The photoshoot progresses from Rockefellerto Saks and then on Malan’s suggestion up to the Plaza Hotel and Bergdorf’s.

As we set up to shoot in front of Bergdorf’s, a gentleman walks out holding a Bergdorf bag. He says to me “they are famous”, another statement not a question. I say yes it’s Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin and Malan Breton. He informs me has seen Malan on TV and as for Consuelo, “She is named no doubt for Consuelo Vanderbilt who was married off to some British royal who never loved her, she missed her family dearly and always longed for home.”

New Yorkers never cease to amaze. But his remark sticks with me, after all, the holiday single they recorded together is “I’ll be home for Christmas.”

We hail cabs and head down to our lunch reservation in RockefellerPlaza.

We walk into Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, one of the few remaining restaurants that take reservations for indoors and outdoors around the plaza. It’s cold out but not typical December weather. I check-in with the hostess and my subjects assure me they are comfortable with whatever I choose. I get us a private table in the back. I’ll need to hear this conversation.

We sit down, the service is Covid slow, but we hardly notice. I am a new friend amongst old friends. The vibe is congenial and direct, the engrossing kind of conversation one can only have in the company of those with whom one enjoys comfortable trust.

I dropped awkward formalities and jumped right in, “This year sucks, is that why you did this song to provide some hope?”. Consuelo

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entertainment

laughs and Malan does too, light and resounding. She says “well yes that is kind of the point right;” Malan dead eyes me and says “yes for others and ourselves.”

Consuelo shared with me that she “lived a very nomadic life while growing up and home was never really a place but an idea. An idea that gave such warmth and hope.

It was this idea of home that drew me to I’ll be home for Christmas.”

I’ll be home for Christmas is one of those Christmas songs that can be overwrought, cliche, and sappy.

To be sure, Consuelo and Malan’s rendition feels like it could go that way, yet it doesn’t. Opening with a warm brass instrumental, Malan’s voice punctuates it with an enunciation that is deep and resonates like a less jazzy Michael Bublé. Consuelo joins with a sultry timbre, and together, their voices provide rich yet contrasting brogues with distinct hints of their origins. The song hits the mark - but in 2020 it’s so much more than just holiday music.

It’s been some four odd years since Consuelo created an album. She was direct in admitting that she’d fallen out of love with music and found entrepreneurship more rewarding. Being a woman in business is daunting and Consuelo clearly enjoys a challenge. Her link to Malan is due to fashion; they were fast friends and became collaborators mostly in the business realm. Malan, ever the renaissance man, built his own multi-billion dollar company yet found he had to expand his passions. He is an accomplished pianist, one of the many talents this prodigious man has. 2020 happened, in all its destructive chaos, and both found themselves drawn back to music.

Christmas music.

We spoke for over four hours - Consuelo’s phone rang multiple times, Malan’s did likewise. Both stayed enraptured in the conversation as it moved from one subject to the next but maintained focus on the human aspects of their stories. It was a rare moment that I felt privileged to witness. In this most trying of years, two friends sought to provide comfort to themselves and to those around them. To use the authentic spark of love and friendship between them, combined with their skills as musical artists, to share something magical with a weary world.

Their kindness and their music are a gift to all those that hear it.

And a powerful reminder of what’s been lost in the many social distances of 2020.

I felt full of electric energy and Christmas cheer, and hoping that next year, we’ll all be a little closer together.

As for this year, “I’ll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams”.

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entertainment

Music Spotlight: Crista Giuliani LEAD SINGER OF DARK NIGHT BLOOM

BY W. A. MULLER

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NYC based indie rock: Dark Night Bloom Dark Night Bloom grew out of singer/songwriter/guitarist/bassist Crista Giuliani’s long term indie rock band Automatic Children. AC played at the Studio at Webster Hall, The Knitting Factory, The Highline Ballroom, and CMJ Music Festival several times. Ed Vail plays guitar and bass and Andrew Thornton is on the drums. AC’s Adam Lippman played guitar and contributed backup vocals. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Grammynominated Oliver Straus at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, New York. There’s an inspirational quote about a seed surrounded by darkness but in fact, it is waiting to bloom. Thank you to friends and visual collaborators who have lent their time, energy, and spirit to plant these seeds: Devvon Simpson, Edy Moulton, Susie Kenny, Amber Sexton, Sofia Estrada, David Brandt, Rod Luzzi, and Blue Parallax Studios. Very special thanks to filmmakers Rafael Iglesias and Carl Fuermann. We are never alone. We are all one.

Spitz, into protective custody. So, for 24 hours we were held in protective custody and we were only getting bits and pieces of what was going on... only that terrorists had attacked the village. We got all our information from television. How do you describe the horror to other people if you are Jewish? You can’t describe it.

entertainment

Goal Keeper

Shep Messing WHEN THE NEW YORK COSMOS WERE THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN A CONVERSATION

BY ADAM KLUGER

Editor’s Note: Being a soccer goalie in high school was always fun and exciting.

My Freshman year at Horace Mann, I was even voted All-City and had a wonderful coach named Richard Remsen along with so many terrific teammates over the years always making me look good. As a teenager, I wanted to be like Shep Messing, the incredibly talented goalie for the world-famous New York Cosmos. All these years later I’m so excited to interview my sports hero, the legendary goalkeeper and broadcaster. -AK Shep, what are some of your high school memories at Wheatley? You were quite the allaround athlete?

I played American football, basketball, wrestling, and at the same time track and field and baseball and it was really just unbelievable circumstances by all rights that I ended up having a place in soccer. I never saw a soccer ball till I was 16. The soccer coach came up to me and said I need a goalkeeper, I know you’ve 58 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

never played but you are a shortstop in baseball you are a point guard in basketball and you are a little bit crazy, and so, I thought I would give it a try.

I ended up going to NYU and I was a walk-on, I just walked onto the field and I was an All-American the first year. I ended up loving it and because I was an All-American in college, they invited me to try out for the Olympic team. I sprained my ankle playing basketball but I begged and pleaded and got a second tryout in St. Louis. I slept in the airport. I’ll never forget waking up at the airport and I picked up the newspaper and there was an article on the Olympic team and I had been named to it. Our Olympic team was a pioneering team with a bunch of kids and it was the first time the U.S. team had gone through qualifying and made it to the Olympics.

So I graduated from Harvard in June, went to play in the Olympic games in Germany.

Tell me about the tragic Munich Games in 1972.

For me Adam, you go through life always not knowing what to expect. To actually get to the games and to Munich was one of the high points in my life. we were a bunch of college All-Americans playing against West Germany some professional players from Bayern Munich. My son tells me I have two Olympic records, one for most saves ever made in a game, 63 saves-- as well as the record for most goals allowed-- which was seven (laughs).

Still, the Olympic Games were a dream come true until I got a knock on my door at four o’clock in the morning. We were right across from the Israeli complex about 25 yards away. I opened my door and there were two German soldiers with machine guns and they said “, are you Shep Messing?” At first my instinct was to jump the bigger soldier because I grew up in the Bronx, I didn’t know what was happening but they showed me their police ids and said,”come with us,” and they took all the Jewish athletes on the U.S. team, including Mark

How did you become Pele’s goalkeeper?

I got home from Munich and found out I had been drafted by a team I had never heard of called the New York Cosmos. I was drafted by the New York Mets too and I was enrolled to go to law school. I started at Fordham law and my father was a lawyer and I told my dad, “ I really want to play one more year of soccer, what do you think?” He said, “Shep the last thing we need is another lawyer...go play soccer.” (laugh) The Cosmos to me were just love until one day there was a helicopter and it flew over the field and it landed and the whole world changed for the New York Cosmos and professional soccer changed when Pele joined the team. We were getting, Adam, maybe two thousand, twenty-five hundred fans at the game, and with Pele, two years after he had arrived, we were playing at Giants Stadium in front of 77 thousand people. New York in the ‘70s was rock and roll, Studio 54, we were owned by Warner Communications, Warner Brothers and Steve Ross so every game there were sell-out crowds of 75 thousand people. We would be whisked away in a limousine after the game to nightclubs in the city.

At Studio 54 there was Robert Redford, Mick Jagger they were all fans of the team. They were at games and coming to the city for the parties after. And if you know New York in the ‘70’s it was financially broke there was a blackout, Son of Sam in 1977 and it’s kind of what sports can do, it can take a city on its shoulders and raise spirits. I think the Cosmos, Pele’s final year when we were playing to sell-out crowds and winning the championship, we were bigger than the Giants or the Jets or the Yankees or the Mets.

We were the talk of the town in the New York Post, Daily News, magazine articles because of Pele and Beckenbauer and Chinaglia those guys were rock stars worldwide.

Was Pele the biggest name in sports at that time?

I’ll never forget I grew up and I loved Muhammad Ali and I went to all his fights and one day I went to the locker room in Giants Stadium and there’s Muhammad Ali he wanted to get into the locker room to meet Pele. Muhammad when he was outside he was being Muhammad Ali, joking and trash-talking, and then when he came into the locker room I was one of the few Americans on the Cosmos so I was like the social director so I brought Muhammad over to meet Pele and Muhammad was the most humble with his head down saying

to Pele, “ it’s an honor to meet you.” and then they became good friends. Muhammad used to joke around with Pele and say, “ hey, people tell me you’re more famous than me, I don’t believe it!” and Pele would say, “I think I’m more famous but you’re prettier.” They loved each other, they hit it off.

I’m still good friends with Pele, we have a business together he still comes to New York all the time to see his grandkids. we have dinner. What’s still amazing to me Adam is that Cosmos team when I go to Europe I can walk into any stadium in Holland and Germany and England and just walk up to the VIP entrance, tell them I was the goalkeeper for Pele and they bring me right in. That team got national publicity.

Why were the New York Cosmos so special?

I grew up in the Bronx and we were like the Bronx Zoo, we had a bunch of characters. Chinaglia, god rest his soul, he was my friend but he would get in fights in the locker-room. One day at practice we were scrimmaging and Giorgio has the ball and Pele starts to make a run near him and Giorgio starts shouting at him, “get away from me you’re drawing a second defender,” I mean who says that to Pele?

He yelled at Pele and he took a shot from like 45 yards out and Pele put his hands in the air like what are you doing shooting from out there and Giorgio starting yelling at Pele,” I’m Chinaglia I shoot from wherever I want to shoot from!” (laugh). If you dream of anything in the sport, this was living the dream the Cosmos had a collection of guys, the owner Steve Ross, Warner Bros. Rock & Rollers want to be athletes, and those were the people coming to our games.

And Warner Bros. General Counsel Marty Payson would sign all the checks?

The story goes that Steve Ross knew nothing about soccer. So, again I signed with the team before Pele and I was making 150 dollars a week, like a semi-pro league. So, when Steve started with the team he said he knew nothing about soccer so he asked, “who is the greatest player in the world?” The answer was Pele. Well Steve didn’t know who Pele was but he got Payson and he put him on a plane and told him,” don’t come back until you sign Pele.”

So, each time it was up to Payson. He was told, “go get Beckenbauer, put him on the corporate plane and don’t come back without Beckenbauer!” (laugh) So, Marty Payson was legendary. We all loved him.

You are a pioneering athlete and respected broadcaster. What are you most proud of?

I’m proud of what I did for American soccer.

Harvard, the Olympics, and goalkeeper for Pele. I was proud to be the first American drafted out of the college draft and signed by the Cosmos. I was the first player on the team that qualified to go to the Olympic games. I’m proud of joining MISL. I was the first player signed. I played on the New York Arrows.

With Steve Zungul another legendary goalscorer.

Yeah, my man Zungul. I’ll never forget how the crowd at the Coliseum called his name “Zunguuuuul!!”

You continue to be passionate about American soccer on your podcast and as a broadcaster.

How important do you see your role as a sports ambassador?

I try to have a social conscience and moral compass.

We would arrive in Rome and there would be 20,000 fans and Pele would sign autographs and every kid would ask Pele, “how do I become a great player?” and Pele would always say, “first you be a good person, don’t worry about being the best player in the world, you be a good person, do the right thing, and then if you love soccer that will come.”

Over the last couple of decades name some U.S soccer players who have caught your attention.

I’ll start with the women first because I am very proud of them and I was one of the first to have women soccer camps and I was actually on the committee that lobbied FIFA for women to have a World Cup in the 1980’s. So Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Briana Scurry in goal, I took so much pride in what they did by winning the World Cup because I knew some of them when they were just first becoming players and I still love the women’s national team and on the men’s side I liked Landon Donovan because he stuck to his convictions. He didn’t really want to play in Europe so he played most of his career here. I like Landon because he’s his own man. and of course Tim Howard is a favorite because I knew Tim when he was 18 years old and sitting on the bench for the MetroStars in New York and he would always come to me for guidance and what a great career he had. But the goalkeepers are a fraternity right? Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tony Meola, and Tim Howard are the four that stick out to me over the course of the last 30 years.

What does it take to be a great goalkeeper?

To me, the best you can be as a goalkeeper is a combination of a few things that I always tell kids and even told goalkeeper Tim Howard when he was 17. You have to have the physical tools, you have to be agile you have to have good hands you have to be able to jump you have to have good reflexes but you have to be tough because physically it’s a tough position. Aside from the physical tools, it’s all mental.

It’s really Harvard physics, it’s all about angles and physics. You have to be able to anticipate the flight of the ball, you have to be able to cut down the angle.

You have to be tranquil like you are taking yoga.

You have to always be in command of the penalty area. The greatest goalkeepers in the world have the physical tools but it’s really the mental aspect of studying and analyzing and your brain is like a little computer chip and after you play so long at a high level, really there is nothing you haven’t seen so it’s anticipation and you want to be proactive you don’t want to be reactive.

Who is the greatest soccer player of all time?

For me, I can’t be objective about it Adam, it’s always Pele. I was told that I’ve played with or against five of the players who have been called the greatest soccer players of all time- Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, I was teammates with Eusebio, I played against Johan Cruyff but look, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are in every conversation and Maradona, but for me, it is always Pele. He had 360 peripheral vision.

It wasn’t that his vertical leap was 5 inches higher than everybody, he defied gravity he was able to hang in the air longer than anybody and he had the ability to head the ball. Physically he was beyond belief but again it’s that genius you can’t quantify it.

He just saw the play developing before it developed, you know, like a Wayne Gretsky in hockey. So for me, Pele is always.

taste

Bobby Van’s 54th Street DINING AT TRADITIONAL STEAKHOUSE

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obby Van’s Steakhouse has earned its place as a venerable New York institution, thanks in part to a continued commitment to cooking techniques perfected years ago by the founding fathers of New York steakhouse cuisine. Bobby Van’s Steakhouse New York, located at 54th Street, is notable for its prime selection of superior steaks, distinctly excellent chops and incomparable seafood selection, invites you to enjoy the warm hospitality and quality fare that

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BY PETER ELSTON the traditional American steakhouses of New York are known for.

The dining is spacious for social distancing, and their delicious fare is also available for takeout.

Situated in a building once frequented by Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, this is the quintessential place for the “steakhouse, New York” experience.

With its richly handcrafted wood walls and wellstocked bar, Bobby Van’s Steakhouse offers both private and conventional seating. Diners can enjoy the outstanding and award-winning wine list, which is personally selected by Bobby Van’s own sommelier.

The process of dry aging its USDA prime quality beef is key to developing the superior flavor of Bobby Van’s’ steaks. Once the team carefully selects wellraised and well-marbled steak, they age it in a specially-designed, humidity-controlled room for up to 28 days, which tenderizes it and enriches the flavor. Prime beef aside, the kitchen imports the majority of their seafood from overseas. The tuna

is flown in from the Maldives, the Branzino comes from Spain, and salmon from Scotland. Locally, Bobby Van’s seafood supplier has a fleet of 30 fishing boats providing the kitchen with the freshest fish and shellfish daily. The restaurant offers guests a wide variety of dining options outside of prime beef and seafood, including supremely-prepared pastas and wood-fired pizza.

In New York City, where restaurants tend to shine brightly then fade like a show on Broadway, Bobby Van’s Steakhouse has more than passed the test of time. Each night the restaurants clientele descends with Wall Street tycoons, famous athletes, New York’s political tycoons, celebrities, and others rubbing shoulders, soaking up the elegant yet safe atmosphere, and impeccable service. bobbyvans.com/steakhouse/54th-street February / March 2021 | 61

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Demarchelier Bistro A TASTE OF FRANCE ARRIVES IN GREENPORT

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BY ELIZABETH ELSTON

amily owned and operated bistro Demarchelier Restaurant has officially opened in November 2020 in Greenport, NY, bringing a taste of France to North Fork. Situated in the charming shopping village, the new incarnation of the Upper East Side classic is currently located in the heart of Greenport on Main Street.

marble top tables and the antique bar top (which was brought over from the former location) to the outdoor seating and colorful paintings by the owner’s father (famed artist Eric Demarchelier) on the wall, the atmosphere of Demarchelier makes it the perfect sojourn in North Fork for a quick bite to eat, a romantic rendezvous or a nice meal with your family and friends.

Unlike the Upper East Side restaurant that closed its doors after 40 years in business, the Greenport location is more casual and extremely cozy. From

Owner Emily Demarchelier explains, “Greenport is very much a village where people are walking around and shopping and stopping at several

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different places, so I wanted to kind of attract that crowd of people that don’t necessarily want to sit for a whole meal, that wants to have a little bite to eat, taste a few things, have a few glasses of wine, and then go onto the next place.”

The bistro is not just your ordinary restaurant – in fact, there is nothing like it in North Fork dining. It has so much Parisian inspiration, Emily Demarchelier has heard people raving, “Wow this is incredible! It was like I just traveled to France!”

Imitating a café in France, you can expect to find small popular plates like Artichoke Hearts with warm goat cheese, Grilled Octopus with chickpeas, and Cheese Fondue. Specialty dishes include Roasted Salmon with mixed vegetables, Steak Tartare with pomme dauphine, Duck Confit with spinach. Last but not least, you can’t leave the bistro without trying one of the desserts like the Chocolate Fondant or Crème Brulée.

The menu, created by Executive Chef Michel Pombet, is paired perfectly with a wide range of predominantly French wines. Demarchelier has partnered with North Fork’s Macari Vineyards to exclusively carry their wines. Bottles range from $40$250. The Libations menu also includes cocktails such as La Provence Martini and Grapefruit Rosemary Mule, Aperitifs, Cider of Normandy, Beers, Champagne, and Dessert Wine.

For more information including the full menu and drink list, visit www.demarchelierrestaurant.com.

Demarchelier Bistro 471 Main Street, Greenport NY 11944 p: 631.593.1650 demarchelierrestaurant.com Instagram: @demarchelierbistro February / March 2021 | 63

taste

Ikraa Caviar THE PERFECT INDULGENCE GIFT BROUGHT TO YOU BY ARTY AND ANNA DOZORTSEV

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BY LILLIAN LANGTRY

rty Dozortsev who is a beloved New York character and a successful entrepreneur is following in his father’s footsteps by bringing the best sourced caviar directly to consumers. Joining him in this endeavor is his gorgeous wife Anna Dozortsev. Arty is well known around town for hosting dinner parties at the most glamorous restaurants in NYC. There are always tons of beautiful girls and European Playboys with long names and longer titles. He originally followed his father Eugene into the liquor business after graduating from college. They own a large distribution company called Dozortzev and Sons based in Elizabeth, NJ. They carry such Popular brands as Alarcan Tequila, Forever Young wines and Saint Arturo which you can find as Scarpetta, Tao Downtown and all NYC Serafinas.

But now let’s get to the caviar. It’s imported from different countries as production is no longer limited to Russia. Arty’s father Eugene was a pioneer in the caviar business when he took a chance by going to Russia’s Far East in the 1980’s and became one of the biggest importers of Russian Caviar in NYC. Eugene also owned , the awardwinning Caviar Russe for many years on Madison Avenue before selling it. Caviar runs in Dozortsev DNA. Anna , Arty’s wife who looks like a Grecian Goddess came from the Real Estate business but has taken to Caviar Business like a sturgeon to cold water if I could be allowed to use this pun. She handles the daily details of running the business. Anna has also been integral with launching new liquor brands such as Root Out whiskey for their successful distribution business, Ikraa Caviar enjoys a celebrity following, including actor Ray Stevenson and artist Domingo Zapata.

The hip brand will hand deliver a Caviar package to your place in NYC or the Hamptons. Their ViP package which starts at $1600 will be at your place within four hours of ordering it. The package includes Caviar, blinis, truffle butter and two mother of pearl spoons. There is also one for $4600 that includes A kilo of Golden Ossetra from Russia .

Bon Apetit ikraacaviar.com

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February / March 2021 | 65

taste

Il Gattopardo ENJOY TRADITIONAL ITALIAN COMFORT FOOD

BY CECILLE LANGTRY

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l Gattopardo serves traditional Southern Italian comfort food that has been adapted for the contemporary palate without compromising the authenticity of the cuisine, which became a must to its loyal upscale New Yorker clientele.

They are committed to producing top quality Southern Italian gastronomy, to the use of authentic ingredients, and to keeping the tradition of Italian culture, and hospitality, vibrant and passionate.

Signature dishes include the Homemade Buckwheat Fettucini served with grilled

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eggplant, scented with fresh basil; Panseared veal loin scented with fresh thyme, served with fingerling potatoes and porcini mushrooms; and Artisanal Ravioli filled with wild pheasant, partridge and robiola cheese in its own sauce.

Owned by husband-and-wife-team Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula BollaSorrentino, and partner Chef Vito Gnazzo, Il Gattopardo opened in 2001, and still attracts a loyal clientele who come for both the authentic southern Italian cuisine and the warm, Italian hospitality.

Originally from Naples, Italy, Gianfranco Sorrentino carries over 40 years of experience in restaurant management from the Quisisana Hotel in Capri, Dorchester Hotel in London, Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo, Bice restaurant in New York, Sette MoMA restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art of New York, and Union Bar & Grill in Great Barrington, MA. In September 2001, Sorrentino opened Il Gattopardo, just across from MoMA, and most recently (2011) the Sorrentinos embarked on one of the most rewarding journeys of their careers; the re-birth of the restaurant at New York landmark Hotel des Artistes.

Brazilian born and raised, of Italian parents from

Veneto, Paula Bolla-Sorrentino is passionate for art, design and Italian culture. With fashion and design background, she had the opportunity of traveling around the world with top fashion designers, as well as worked in one of the most prestigious design firms of New York, Pentagram Design, as Graphic Designer. Graduated from FIT, but with the hospitality industry in her heart, Paula runs all visual and organizational aspects of the company, from Art Direction and flowers, graphic design, and customer relations, to make sure that guests are not only exposed to a wonderful gastronomical event on the table, but to a whole sensorial experience.

Located in the renovated Rockefeller Townhouses, Il Gattopardo boasts a large indoor dining room, a heated outdoor garden, and now has added extra outdoor seating to accommodate for CDC regulations. Il Gattoaprdo is dedicated to serving finest quality dishes while maintaining the safety of its guests and staff. Buon appetite!

13-15 West 54th Street (Between 5th & 6th Ave) New York, NY 10019 ilgattopardonyc.com.

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taste

The Coop FLOCK TO THE EAST END FOR A NEW TAKE ON CHICKEN

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he owners of Southampton Social Club, Union Burger Bar, and Union Sushi & Steak are bringing a new concept to Southampton that has never been done before on the East End. Restaurateurs Ian Duke and David Hilty opened Southampton’s first ghost kitchen called The Coop. And, as food guru Ian puts it, The

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BY HARRY BRADS Coop serves chicken that is simply “scrumptious”.

The Coop is operating out of Southampton Social Club, which is closed during the off-season but is still open for private events. The ghost kitchen concept enables customers to order delivery as well as offer Curbside Pick-Up for guests who order through the website or over the phone. There, in fact, are daily specials for those who order directly through the

restaurant’s website for Curbside Pick-Up. While there is no indoor or outdoor dining, The Coop is available for catering small gatherings and events.

“With the success of Union Burger Bar, it was absolutely part of crossing the idea of there being a ghost kitchen because of the sheer amount of take out and to-go business we’ve done these past

couple of months. A lot of people are staying inside and now that dining outside is nearly impossible, we think there’ll even be a further rise in people wanting to just pick up the phone and order delivery,” Ian Duke says. “We’re excited now because we’re keeping people employed and in fact, we’re employing more. We’re just trying to keep going through this horrible pandemic that we’re all suffering through.”

The Coop is available on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash. The menu certainly features chicken! A variety of fried and rotisserie chicken options are available with a wide assortment of sides. A few items to note that really separate The Coop from others include the Barbecue Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, chipotle mayo, cabbage, and apple slaw. The biscuits topped with fried chicken and covered in a rich sausage gravy are to die for, and the Fried Chicken Bowl brings mashed potatoes, fried chicken, corn, scallions, cheddar cheese and rich gravy together for a dish best described as simply awesome!

In addition, you can order as many as 100 wings for a party (the chef recommends the Mango Habanero sauce, but the others available include Louisiana Hot Sauce, Teriyaki & BBQ) and that comes with homemade bleu cheese, celery and carrots. The menu also includes a Chicken Caesar Salad and Hamptons Wedge Salad with applewood bacon bits. Altogether, there are a variety of sides to choose from including biscuits, both creamed and fresh corn, honey glazed carrots, mac & cheese, and sweet potato fries.

Beverages include ice cream floats, soft drinks, house-made sweetened and unsweetened iced tea, bottled beer, wine and sparkling cocktails.

“Ultimately I find people always have conflicting perspectives on what they want to eat. What we’re doing is incorporating the best of both worlds - we’re going to have ridiculously great tasting fried chicken and the mashed potatoes with gravy and creamy corn,” Ian says. “But we’re also going to have the healthy rotisserie chicken with fresh sides like Brussel sprouts and roasted broccoli that are all farm to table. The chicken that we’re using is cage-free, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free. So essentially, we’re going to encompass something for everybody.”

Located inside Southampton Social Club 256 Elm St, Southampton, NY 11968 631.984.1284 thecooptogo.com February / March 2021 | 69

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Le Lustre

WILL YOU BE THE OWNER OF THE LUX CHAMONIX HOME?

L

BY ANN GRENIER | PHOTOGRAPHED BY ADAM JOHNSTON

e Lustre is a private luxury home in the Chamonix Valley of the French Alps, an epicenter of historical creativity drawing in the likes of well-known mountaineers and poets. Le Lustre presents the perfect restoration with the backdrop of Mont-Blanc.

Modern Chamonix is a painting comprised of a palate of interesting facts - romantic poetry dating back to mid 17th Century when Chamouny was discovered, coupled with a carriage road built in the 1860s to link Geneva to Chamonix.

Add a railway line which first opened in 1901 and making history as the first Winter Olympic games debuting in Chamonix in 1924, to the fabulous art deco period all added to the texture and warmth of this beautiful alpine town.

Seven years ago, a talented interior designer, Georgia May took over a project that had been at the center of town which had been lying dormant and unfinished for several years. “It was clearly going to be a long haul project, but I was captivated by the potential for the project, the extraordinary views and the history of the

building”. The first 24 months were spent acquiring additional adjoining spaces and peeling the whole construction back to “bare bones”. This involved removing an existing roof construction on the upper floor, and designing and erecting a new mansard roof, hand double pinch pleated in copper surrounds complemented with a 9m (27ft) bay window (looking up to Mont Blanc).

The design required planning approvals which received a positive audience once the planners realized how sympathetically the treatment of this unloved building was being brought back to life.

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The building itself was constructed in 1928, and the design concept was to reflect the period of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s while retaining the integrity of the original features of the building.

The conceptual architectural design and the interiors were undertaken by Georgia working closely with two firms of architects — Alexander Stuart Design from Hong Kong and FedArch Studio in Chamonix (who played a key role in achieving planning consents and managing the project).

After achieving planning approval, Le Lustre moved from concept to reality over the course of two years. The result being a juxtaposition of art-deco meets contemporary-modern and includes a pneumatic lift which fits perfectly within the original art-deco staircase, as well as hidden speakeasy with vintage trap and bar and original iron and draylon bar stools. Additional quirky design elements which also play to that romantic art-deco era include carefully curated tiles and mosaic in all bathrooms, restored ironwork and beautiful hand-crafted wooden doors.

As Georgia puts it so well, “Le Lustre is a puzzle of extremes to make a truly inspirational and beautiful property”. “It is very much not ‘alpine-style’ design and this is what makes it so individual and special, coupled with 360 degree views of the Mont-Blanc skyline and Chamonix Valley”. “Le Lustre pays homage to the past and to the present”.

With nostalgia comes romance of the mountains as so well documented by numerous poets, one being Percy Bysshe Shelley who composed Mont Blanc in 1816 ……“Mont Blanc yet gleams on high – the power is there”. As it was then, so it continues today – a breath of fresh air considering the year we have all been through. sothebysrealty.com

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Dave Vitalli A MAN WITH VISION

BY W. A. MULLER Tell us about this amazing house and property.

DV: Well it was built by Paul Rudolph the professor who taught architecture, it was designed as a safe house for the family originally. A safe house to protect against anything biological, natural disaster, war, or attack.

Why is this the perfect house for waiting out the current Pandemic?

DV: The house goes completely off the grid. It’s safe, secure. It’s a 15-minute flight from my helipad to Manhattan and it’s less than a sixty-minute drive. The house could be completely shut down for different parts of the family to be safe in it. It has three different air filtration systems in it. Even 76 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

though it is upstate New York it has its own beach it has any of the amenities you would get in any 5-star hotel and it’s a very unique property.

than sixty minutes drive you are here in Orange County New York and located exactly fifteen minutes from Woodbury Commons.

You had me at helipad. I like how you dropped that in casually.

What are some of the popular features of the surrounding area?

DV: Yes, it’s a 15 minute flight to the East or West side from my helipad which is in the front yard.

I have a pilot when we have guests or throw parties. So if we are bringing people in from Fire Island, Block Island or other parts of Long Island.

A lot of folks have their multi-multi-million dollars brownstones in Manhattan and have their places in Long Island, they are looking for a place where they can get away and be safe and not have to worry about what’s going on in the world. In less

DV: The property is amidst trees and horse farms. You have everything from hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, four-wheeling, horseback riding all within thirty minutes of this house. The place was made for entertaining and to have a homey feeling on the other side of the house. One wing was made for parties with everything from a ballroom to a cigar room to the other side of the house which has small media rooms and living rooms and sitting nooks, a wine tasting

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area up in the loft.

Why are you selling it?

DV: In 2022 I will be running for the United States Congress in the state of Tennessee. I’m an Independent I’m running in a Republican Caucus.

I’m a Constitutionalist by trade. I tell my very dear friends who are Democrats that I am a JFK Democrat, which is a little bit different from what the Democratic party is today. I believe in doing things for the people not for a particular party. Poor has

no color I don’t believe in labeling people. I believe in rehabilitation. The criminal justice system needs a revamp. Police need to be revamped. I would like to do things that are fiscally responsible to get this country back on track. I’m not a cheering section for this recent administration of any administration.

So what’s the game plan?

DV: Well I have most of my financing coming out of the Northeast and if everything goes well I will go for POTUS in 2024.

Really?

DV: Yes. I’ve worked for the previous four administrations as a defense contractor and working with the department of defense for over 20 countries. I also opened up a foundation that protects school teachers and children called the Angel Watch Foundation. It’s an accreditation program for the safety and security of schools, children, and teachers, We are partnered with the American Red Cross and we are the only accreditation for the safety and security of children in the United States. From CPR to first aid to protecting against gun violence to antichoking devices that we designed. Medical Administration training. Interior and exterior threats. We provide over 20 different courses to the staff and we have different technologies that we put into the school to protect the children and also to protect the teachers and staff as well.

I own an environmental company called IEC, the International Environmental Corporation as well. Cleaning the planet. I’m from Orange County New York.

How did you become a defense contractor?

DV: I was going for the United States Marine Corp. then I was recruited to another government agency and then I became a government contractor. I’ve worked under the Clinton Administration, the Bush Administration, The Obama Administration and if need be the Trump Administration. Everything from security to security logistics to investigations, war-time theaters of war, maritime theaters of war.

So, why Tennessee?

DV: Tennessee is the fastest-growing state in the United States and Nashville is the fastest growing city in the United States. I also was invited to star in a TV show to help kids called My Dysfunctional Family on CMT. I’ve been asked to get into politics for over a decade now and I was resistant because I know how dirty it can be with backdoor deals. Then this past year I decided I would do it. My platform will focus on term limits for Congress, The Senate, and the United States Supreme Court. If you tackle that then you can tackle lobbying as well. We also want welfare reform, prison reform, and police reform. Two words should never go together: career and politician.

Any U.S. Presidents that you particularly admired?

DV: JFK, Ronald Reagan.

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The Rare Gem King: The diamond and precious gems dealer who handles only the rarest super gems on the planet - and targets just the top 1/10 of one per cent of the population • New York-based David Birnbaum and his extensive network of contacts scour the globe for the most incredible rocks • His company Rare 1 are specialists in top-of-the-line diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls, selling to ‘VIP clientele types • Birnbaum deals with elite slice of the market

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Published: 14:12 GMT, 22 May 2014 | Updated: 16:45 GMT, 22 May 2014

The Rare Gem King: If you’re in the market for some $100 million bling, Fifth Avenue diamond dealer-to-the-stars David Birnbaum, pictured, has the rarest ‘super gems’ on Earth

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If you’re in the market for some $100 million bling, a Fifth Avenue diamond dealer-to-the-stars has the rarest ‘super gems’ on Earth.

From the newly trendy $1 million ‘Power Rings’ popular on Wall Street to 100 carat diamonds for the mega-rich, David Birnbaum and his extensive network of contacts scour the globe for the most incredible rocks.

His company Rare 1, located above New York’s Fifth Avenue, are specialists in top-of-the-line goods - diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls, selling to ‘VIP clientele types.’

Hunters: Birnbaum and his extensive network of contacts scour the globe for the most incredible rocks

Fifth Avenue brands such as De Beers and Cartier sell their sparklers to the top 2 per cent of the population, on average.

But Birnbaum deals with an even more elite slice of the market - the top 0.1 per cent only, otherwise known as the mega, mega rich.

More...

• Oil and gas boom fuels population growth west of the Mississippi with Texas home to four of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the U.S • The selfic that cost $8million: Kevin Spacey accused of taking payout from Mexico for appearing with president at tourism convention February / March 2021 | 81

“Some uniquely designed pieces seem very contemporary while others look as if they came from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Art Deco inspirations all the way to regal diamonds worn by legendary Movie Stars make the wearer of these jewels feel like they are Elizabeth Taylor, who always followed the motto, ‘never borrow, only buy.’ Rare 1 unites cutting-edge opulent design with personal dreams to make fantastical wishes come true.”

- Rachel Vancelette for Vogue Italia

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 PRIVATE JEWELER EXTRAORDINAIRE

IMAGE-1167 GREEN & WHITE top: green Asscher-cut Emeralds: gem Colombian two x average 1.50+ carats middle: Canary Round dimaonds Fancy Intense Yellow

drops: Asscher-cut diamonds Rare White two x 4+ carats Premium Clarity [GIA Lab-certified] detach-able STUDS: as Emeralds; as Diamonds

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

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IMAGE-4883 all 8-12 carats hand on top: white: Asscher-cut Diamond Ring pink: Sapphire Ring yellow: Fancy Intense Yellow Asscher-cut Diamond Ring

hand on bottom: green: Vivid Green Gem Zombian Emerald Ring blue: Sapphire Ring red: Gem Tanzanian “Mahenge” Spinel Ring (all 8-12 carats)

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 PRIVATE JEWELER TO AMERICA’S ELITE

INV-1383 RARE ROCKS Extra-very-fine Colombian emeralds Colombian / ‘minor’ PearShape drop 12+ carats pendant-necklace earrings top emeralds: two x 2+ carats each bottom drop emeralds: two x 8+ carats each total Earrings carat weight 20+ carats [all lab-certified]

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 THE CUTTING EDGE

18+ 8+

10+

IMAGE-1442 Sapphires and Emeralds center weights noted [Lab-certified]

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

David Birnbaum

Rare 1

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 “Knockout” Diamond Studs

“KNOCKOUT” Diamond Studs GIA lab-certified * OptimalCut certified all TRIPLE EXCELLENT-certified

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

“Demonstrably superior quality and value” - Roger H. Morley, former President, AMERICAN EXPRESS

“Unsurpassed quality, exceptional value, ultimate service, and exclusivity” - PLATINUM CARD

“One of the world’s most respected Private Jewelers” - THE CARLYLE Magazine

“A unique jewelry atelier with a World Class collection” - AVENUE Magazine

“Internationally recognized for quality, selection and styling” - DEPARTURES Magazine

“Legendary quality, styling and value” - COUTURE Jewelry Magazine

David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

Look forward to connecting with you soon

David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

reach beyond extraordinary

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David Birnbaum

Rare 1 #1 in SUPERGEM RUBIES

IMAGE-4888 Extraordinary Rubies TOP LAB-CERTIFIED: RARE PIGEON BLOOD COLOR & RARE NATURAL UNHEATED gem oval ruby & diamond ring center ruby: 5+ carats diamonds: ~2.50 carats gem oval ruby & diamond earrings rubies: two x avg. 4+ carats diamonds: ~4 carats [Lab-certified]

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

Exotics

see also: www.ExoticGems1000.com

ACTUAL SIZE

David Birnbaum

Rare 1 PRIVATE JEWELER

A IMAGE-4006 all items Lab-certified Natural Untreated all premium color & clarity all rare Collector’s Items video-clips available client-customized/designed settings do-able A. Gem Brazilian Paraiba Tourmaline 5.39 carats center oval-cut [ AGL Lab-certified ] set in micro-pavé diamond setting B. Gem Padparadscha Sapphire Sunrise - Sunset color 5.36 carats center oval-cut [ Gubelin Lab-certified ] set with two trapezoid diamonds set in micro-pavé diamond setting C. Gem Madagascar Pink Sapphire 7.03 carats center oval-cut [ GIA Lab-certified ] set in micro-pavé diamond setting

B

C

D Prices range from $20,000- ( for item F) to $1,100,000- (for item A).

E

D. Gem Tanzanian “Mahenge” Spinel 5.13 carats center cushion-cut [ GRS Lab-certified ] set with two half-moon diamonds F E. Gem East African Tsavorite Garnet 6.21 carats center oval-cut [ AGL Lab-certified ] F. Gem Brazilian Indicolite Tourmaline 7.46 carats center oval-cut [ AGL Lab-certified ] set in micro-pavé diamond setting

The Rare and The Extraordinary • Rare1.com • adjacent to Rockefeller Center David.Birnbaum.NY@gmail.com

artform entertainment

Artist Spotlight: Willard Morgan CREATIVE RENAISSANCE MAN WILLIARD MORGAN

BY ADAM KLUGER Will, you’ve lived a fascinating life as a performance artist, musician, fashion designer, filmmaker, actor, and patron of the arts. What is the driving force behind this need to create interesting art?

WM: The driving force behind my need to create is primarily due to my background, being born into a artistic and bombastic family. My mother was a gifted opera singer who was a Metropolitan Opera semi-finalist. So when I was born, I came out of the womb into the equivalence of the fantastic musical drag show, that is opera . Suzy, my mom, was constantly singing and always surrounded by fellow theatre artists. My father, on the other hand, was a charming, handsome, rageaholic who most often took center stage. So 100 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

it was a highly theatrical experience growing up between these two divas! My need to compete and subdue this noisy household led me to develop some formidable skills of my own. Besides being cast as the ‘court jester’ in the family and life early on, at summer camp and at home, I was always juggling and conducting my own imaginary orchestra. Always looking for great cellists to collaborate with! Know any?

What does it mean to live the life of an artist?

You’ve traveled from Europe to Cuba and beyond seeking out inspiration. Can a lifestyle be an art form too?

WM: My lifestyle has been an art form, indeed, as I was born in Greenwich Village, and I was

surrounded by the artists and the bohemian at every turn. The poet, singer, and painter were championed in our neighborhood, from the White Horse Tavern to the Duplex, Max’s Kansas City, to The Bitter End, Washington Square Park, The Electric Lady Studios, the first Whitney Museum of American Art, The Village in the ’50s and ’60s was a mecca for the arts, compared with Paris in the ‘’20s. I was traveling in Europe at fourteen and fifteen, which was unheard of at the time.

I was always the youngest on the tours I was booked on. I went to high school in Lugano, Switzerland, studied in Madrid and Paris, and Dublin. I always had my bag packed and wound up speaking French, Spanish, and Italian to further my art and travels. Japanese still lies within my grasp, I keep telling myself.

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What was it like growing up in the Village of the 1960s? How have the New York Art/ theater/music/fashion scenes changed in NYC over the years? Any favorites stories about being a creative soul in NYC? WM: Everyone wanted to live in the Village and Downtown New York was a constant joy and inspiration for a performer. Every cafe was home to theatre, music, and art. New York of the ’60s & ’70s had endless opportunities to express yourself in countless off-off Broadway theatre dives, cafes, lofts, and in people’s living rooms. I wound up producing on Broadway and Off-Broadway. I still owe the estate of Harold Pinter for royalties on a production of one of his plays. In 1976, while producing on Broadway, street people would be watching from the wings, having wandered backstage from 44th Street. Over the years, of course, these venues disappeared in the wake of gentrification worldwide. It was certainly a lot more fun back then but now we all lead virtual lives. . When not producing music or film, I love performing, either live or live-streaming. I await a return to some of the great rooms I’ve played and aspire to others when Covid subsides.

Ideal Glass Studios is a gorgeous space that has been described as a multi-functional creative space that caters to television and photo-shoots. What’s your vision and mission?

WM: As far as the place and spaces I’ve owned and managed, I’ve always enjoyed collaborating with the circle of talented people I meet and invite to work with me, now more so than ever. Ideal Glass Studios are located on West 8th St. where I’ve created a Victorian parlor, living room, and garden which we call The Mansion as well as a magnificent sky-lit ground floor space, The Atrium. Below, there is a green screen and 102 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

VR studio known as Fractured Reality created and directed by Mike Mokerson and in The Parlor at present is Mexican designer, Jose Luis Gonzalez’ showroom of couture fashion. We all collaborate on projects such as podcasts, video content, and film production. My goal is to keep producing challenging work, pressing the envelope, and always bringing new talents into our circle of creators. Most recently, the Nigerian poet, dancer, and writer, Taiwo Aloba, whose new book, Surulere, Lagos is now available on Amazon, gave a live-streamed reading and performance here and continues to work with Mike Mokerson on her dance pieces. We’re working with talented local designers and presenting their work in a mall concept. Come by www.idealglassstudios.com You have a fashion line called Vestiphobia, you’ve chased filmmaker Michael Moore around with your own camera, performed on stage, and dabbled in a variety of mediumshow fun is it to be Will Morgan? What are you most proud of?

WM: My present project is a horror film that takes place in the world of Fashion,. We’ve shot a portion and are now scripting and casting for Spring production. We have pop up clients resurfacing and coming to present in our spaces and productions are done according to the proper PPE protocols. Oh, in respect to my most memorable gig, I recently was a Tommy John underwear model in an advert that rant thousands of times on cable stations. I’m most proud of the artists’ work I’ve presented at Ideal Glass Gallery. Follow me on Instagram as Willard Morgan, Vestiphobia NYC, and Ideal Glass Gallery. Come visit our sites and join us on social media at @willardmorgan, willardmorgan.com, Instagram & Facebook.

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Starting out by transforming less than a dozen small Manhattan spaces into galleries, artist studios, and street window theaters, ChaShaMa has grown to working with nearly 50 different properties, including venues in upstate New York and Matawan, New Jersey.

So far they have collaborated with over 30,000 artists to create and present their work, believing in the rights of all artists to participate in New York City’s cultural exchange, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, or immigration status.

In reaction to the economic devastation that followed the nation-wide shutdowns in 2020, ChaShaMa launched the Enliven NYC initiative.

Enliven NYC was created to lead New York City’s cultural resurgence through partnering an ever-growing list of unused properties with artists, creatives, and performers. For Durst,

ChaShaMa CREATING ART FROM CHAOS

S

BY ERIKA K . BOGNER

ince 1995 Anita Durst has been giving shape to the New York Art Scene through ChaShaMa, her non-profit arts organization that transforms unused properties into artist studios, exhibit, performance, and educational workshop spaces.

In 2020, ChaShaMa (meaning in Farsi, “to have vision”) recognized its 25th year in existence, though focus was not on their annual, over-thetop fundraising gala, and instead on how the non-profit could not only prevail but excel amidst major city-wide shutdowns and new pandemic protocols. “ChaShaMa is a great catalyst for recovery in the wake of the pandemic”, Durst says, seeing the opportunity to utilize the newly vacant properties left in the wake of the shutdowns. “We can be a bridge between the property owner, the artist, the small businesses, and the non-profits. We can help reignite the economy of New York and bring it back to life.”

As many flee from the City, ChaShaMa seeks to stimulate the economy and beautify communities, keeping the country’s cultural epicenter thriving and its people feeling engaged.

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it is her vision that the initiative, “will remind people of what makes this city so unique: the ability to walk down any street and happen upon something magical.”

Durst says that several major organizations have stepped up and given ChaShaMa large financial donations during the pandemic, including The New York Community Trust, CBRE, Fidelity National Title Insurance, Taconic Partners, and Turner Construction Company, among many others.

“We continue to be approached every day by artists and organizations that need space, and our partners will help make this happen” she says.

ChaShaMa annually gives $9 million worth of real estate to artists, subsidizes 200 artist workspaces, provides over 200 free art classes, and nearly 200 artists free space to present.

To view upcoming events, exhibits, performances and more please visit: chashama.org and follow them on social media at @CHASHAMA. Contact the author via email at e@erikabogner. com, on social media@EXINEB, or their business account, @NYCEVENTPRO, nyceventpro.com.

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ATADECER BY JUAN LAZARO

UEast75 Gallery PRESENTING “MUSING AND MASTERING: THE ORDINARY,” AT UNION SUSHI & STEAK

U

pper East Side’s UEast75 Gallery presents “Musing and Mastering: The Ordinary,” an upcoming pop-up exhibition at Union Sushi & Steak in Southampton, NY. Featuring work from six world-renowned Latin and American artists – curator Alysha Marko, along with Juan Lazaro, Renelio Marin, Rodrigo Pedrosa, Lane Rudder and Carlos Vega – this art exhibit will be unlike any other you have witnessed in the East End.

BY ELIZABETH DARWEN “As this year descends ever so bittersweetly, we can all agree it has been one that has been far from The Ordinary. We have all been forced to some degree to experience what we have right in front of us much clearer. Artists have done it for centuries -- being stuck inside their mental and physical spaces, giving birth to works, beckoning the word ordinary to [come to light]. These moments are expanded here [in this moment]. We thank these artists for each of their unique imaginations within this subject,” Alysha Marko, owner of UEast75 Gallery, shares.

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From December 10th, 2020 through January 18th, 2021, Union Sushi & Steak will be transformed into a one-of-a-kind experience where restaurant-goers will get to dine on exquisite food all while taking in remarkable art. Co-owner Ian Duke of Union Sushi & Steak teamed up with longtime pal Alysha Marko to bring some entertainment in the form of original art and canvases to the Hamptons this holiday season, rather than have New Yorkers, who have remained in the Hamptons these past few months, travel back to the city to shop for art.

Work from “Musing and Mastering: The Ordinary” will be up for sale (ranging from $400 up to $18K) and a portion of the proceeds will benefit NORD (National Organization of Rare Diseases). Now is the perfect time to pick up some amazing pieces for yourself or for gifts for loved ones, make a great investment in art and charitable donation, and add some eccentric decoration to your home.

“I’m thrilled. A lot of my clients who have second homes in the Hamptons haven’t been able to see my new work because they haven’t been coming into the city as much lately,” Marko says. “This new location is what I’ve wanted for a long time. The gallery in NYC, which is street level on 75th

Street off Madison, has seen much less foot traffic and walk-ins lately. Now, I’m just thrilled because this is the perfect market to have a pop-up gallery in Southampton.”

Duke adds, “Ultimately, Alysha and I saw an opportunity for us to work together, which we haven’t had the chance to do before, nor has it ever been done at the restaurant. There are a number of people out on the East End who can’t go in or won’t go into Manhattan to visit galleries, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to bring the gallery to them.

Plus, we thought this would create a very unique environment for people to experience art as well as a unique dining experience.”

ARTIST BIOS Alysha Marko, born in New Jersey, graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Seton Hall University. She is a painter, performance artist, curator and gallerist. While an actress living in Los Angeles, she worked for James and John Cameron, who first introduced her to painting. She continued her studies in New York, taking courses at The Arts Students League while working for The Switzer Group, an architectural interior design firm. Design is a major influence in her conceptual works, and the methods of expression

artform

ALYSHA MARKO

and communication that she learned as an actor allows her to build narrative and construct scenes as a painter.

Renelio Marin graduated from San Alejandro School of Fine Arts in Havana in 1993. He received his Master’s in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University in 2011 and his Bachelor’s in Studio Art from the City University of New York’s Hunter College in 2009. Renelio’s work is in prominent collections internationally, and has had pieces in The Rubin Foundation collection and New Mexico Museum of Art. Renelio was recently mentioned in Forbes and The Times UK for his five mural designs designed for Arthaus Gemmayze hotel in Beirut, Lebanon. Check out the video of him working on the murals at Ueast75 Gallery’s press page!

Juan Lazaro lives and works in Havana, Cuba.

His body of works throughout his 25-year career have focused on the tangible world on his island.

Spanning from eclectic, potent portraits of his native people; bountiful, vital bouquets of local fruits; and most recently the process he refers 108 | MetMagNY.com | 25AMagazine.com

to as “meditations” of the beloved universal object, the Bicycle. Juan refers to them as bicycle transformers, which explores the oh so many feelings and intersections of life, energy, and rediscovering the whole object by its connections and motives.

Rodrigo Pedrosa is a painter and sculptor working in Rio De Janeiro. Among his public works are the monument to Zumbi dos Palmares in Caminho Niemeyer museum in Niterói, Brazil. In his diptychs, he seeks to investigate the relationship between the relationships and possibilities, or lack of, that pose a challenge for the future. His work stands side by side with contemporary artists, such as the British Banksy or the Turkish Ugur Gallenkus in the construction of images that confront utopias and dystopias, chronicles of a liquid, and uncertain time, while consistently imposing the question “How do we live together?”

Carlos Rafael Vega Pérez is a Cuban painter born in Havana, who lives and works from Orlando, Florida. His work began in 1987 when he won the first prize of Graphic Humor of the

Young Cuban Caricaturists. He then went on to graduate from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro in 1993. His paintings have a surrealist style in which he melts the landscape of his city with the characters that inhabit them. This movement, which appears as if it will dissipate if we watch a few more seconds, shapes the physicality and imagination of the transparent performers the city intends to keep on display. He uses the classical technique from the study and inspiration of the great masters such as Antoni Gaudí and Raphael. He continues to publish his cartoons in newspapers.

Lane Rudder is an emerging artist based in New York City. Creating surreal depictions reality, the primary topic throughout Lane’s work is his personal encounters of addiction and loss. Expressing chaos and trauma through a whimsical lens is signature and his means of reconstructing dependance and grief into a pillar; onto which he now lays the foundation of his life. dineatunion.com

CANDYLAND BY ALYSHA MARKO

THE AFRICAN AND THE CAMERA BY RODRIGO PEDROS

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artform

Jose Trujillo AN IMPRESSIONIST PAINTER

BY W. A. MULLER

I

was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1982, and moved to the United States of America with my family when I was nine-years-old. I currently live in Tucson, Arizona with my wife and son.

I am a self-taught artist, who became interested in light, color, and motion at a very young age.

As a young artist, I began visiting museums and studying the paintings of the old masters, finding that I was drawn to the Impressionist’s “blurry” view of the world. Observing the color and style of these paintings transformed how I looked at my world. Once I saw the depth of color in the Impressionist’s view of the sky, I was hooked. After viewing the Impressionist artwork, I was unable to view the majestic skies of Arizona without spending hours contemplating their beauty.

I paint because I love nature and life. I love everything that surrounds us. A perfect day for me involves nothing more than looking at a subject until its true essence reveals itself to me as the colors become vibrant and I truly “see” the subject. I believe a painting should represent the subject and its relationship to the world— it should be a celebration of its existence in the universe in the best possible light. I hope I am able to convey this in my work, and strive to do so with every painting I create.

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artform fashion

Nick Ghafari

N

ick Ghafari was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and migrated to the United States after the Soviet invasion of 1979. He was heavily influenced by German Expressionism early on in his career; paired with his experiences of war and migration, they have shaped his philosophy on life and expression as an artist. Nick currently resides in Los Angeles, California where he continues to evolve and refine his style of artistic expression.

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artform

Stifle

By Gary Kaleda

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artform

“White Tulip”

By Robin Koffler

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“Snowy NYC”

By Patricia Pedraza

February / March 2021 | 117

social

NEW YORK SOCIAL SCENE ARTIST GABRIELA GIL’S NEW YORK SOLO ART EXHIBITION “TIME AND SPACE”

By Clara Morgan

Painter, sculptor, and former dancer Gabriela Gil has opened her first New York solo exhibition.

The artist showed the first volume of her “Time and Space” series at a private opening in Soho: Gabriela Gil ©BFA

Maribel Liberman ©BFA

Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin ©BFA

Malan Breton ©BFA

Michelle Herbert ©BFA

Paula Rochette ©BFA

Beatrice Barletta ©BFA

Andrey Stanev, Anusha Ricci ©BFA

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August Siman ©BFA

February / March 2021 | 119

social

NEW YORK CHARITY SCENE COLLABORATING FOR A CURE & TASTE OF HOPE

By Clara Morgan

Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation Michael Nierenberg at Samuel Waxman Cancer honored Leidos Chairman and Chief Executive Research Foundation’s Collaborating for a Cure Officer Roger A. Krone at its annual Collaborating Gala ©LMG for a Cure Gala Roger A. Krone ©LMG

Elin Nierenberg at Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation’s Collaborating for a Cure Gala ©LMG

Marion Waxman, Samuel Waxman MD at Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation’s Collaborating for a Cure Gala ©LMG

The American Cancer Society (ACS) hosted the 15th annual Taste of Hope virtual celebration. raising critical funds for cancer research and local patient service programs offered by ACS: Sting performing ©LMG

William T. Sullivan at Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation’s Collaborating for a Cure Gala ©LMG

Honoree Chef JJ Johnson at the American Honoree Chef Michael White at the American Cancer Society (ACS) 15th annual Taste of Hope Cancer Society (ACS) 15th annual Taste of Hope virtual celebration ©LMG virtual celebration ©LMG

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Vanessa Joy Walker at the American Cancer Society (ACS) 15th annual Taste of Hope virtual celebration ©LMG

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