Frank and Dawn Bodenchak are involved in over 30 deals per year, making them one of the most active teams in all the Hamptons.
They are consistently ranked a top team among Sotheby’s International Realty’s worldwide network of 25,000 sales associates.
With a unique background in finance and real estate development, they offer clients decades of real-life experience as experts. They pride themselves on knowledge, honesty...and creating value for their personal clients.
1. Stunning Terraces & Views Over
Central Park
115 Central Park W. 5BR. 6 Bath
$25M Web #21388164
John Burger 212-906-9274
2. First Time Offered and Delivered Vacant
9 Chittenden Ave. 9BR. 5.5 Bath
$5.5M Web #21704225
Felise G. Gross 917-405-7783
3. Designed for Entertaining
160 Central Park S. 2BR. 2 Bath
$4.2M Web #21985762
Robert D. Dienes 917-570-7599
Andrea Saturno-Sanjana 212-888-0550
4. Riverside Harlem Home
– Bring Your Architect
634 West 147th St. 4BR. 4.5 Bath
$2.45M Web #21899434
Whitney Osentoski 917-804-0134
5. Opportunity to Own Half a Townhouse
52 King St. 3BR. 3 Bath
$3.85M Web #21022940
Judith Medwin 917-370-1244
6. Sunny and Chic in Chelsea
246 West 17th St. 2BR. 2 Bath
$2.925M Web #21948091
Mike Lubin 917-371-6723
7. 1,875+ Sq. Ft. & a Great New Price
400 East 56th St. 2BR. 3 Bath
$2.295M Web #20346433
Leslie Penny 917-613-4542
8. Superbly Located with Iconic Park Views
880 Fifth Ave. 1BR. 1.5 Bath
$1.995M Web #21876742
S. Jean Meisel 917-705-2888
Gillian G. Bland 203-687-0433
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9. Downtown Duplex Penthouse
300 Newark St. Hoboken, NJ. 4BR. 2 Bath
$1.75M Web #21743765
Peter Cossio 917-855-5817
10. Bright Kennedy House Corner Home 110-11 Queens Blvd. 3BR. 2 Bath
$1.169M Web #21682746
Vivian Barna 347-993-2300
11. Oversized Condo Across from Central Park 116 Central Park S. 1BR. 1 Bath
$1.15M Web #21704363
Wendy J. Sarasohn 212-906-9366
Jamie S. Joseph 917-215-5993
12. River and Bridge Views
180 Cabrini Blvd. 1BR. 1 Bath
$775K Web #21747231
Louis Pulice 917-848-5749
Brian Shadood 917-992-2521
13. Value on Sutton
50 Sutton Place S. 1BR. 1.5 Bath
$710K Web #21507206
Amelia S. Gewirtz 212-381-2219
Andrew Phillips 212-381-2227
14. Classic Design and Sustainability
205 East 85th St. 4BR. 4.5 Bath
$5.75M Web #21848934
Scott Harris 646-302-5710
Jonathan Goldstein 914-391-6247
15. Stunning Duplex 2BR on the NJ Waterfront 24 Ave at Port Imperial 2BR. 2 Bath $675K Web #21932335
Sabina “Lori” Feiler-Fluger 212-381-6532
16. All-New Sponsor 2BR in Forest Hills
72-11 110th St. 2BR. 1 Bath
$558,888 Web $21960981
Joseph Marx 917-627-6332
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Deborah A. LaMacchia 631-691-9771
“Our most profound
Compass Coastal
upon the
the nation’s top performing agents
water
as well as engaging in partnerships
Susan
other luxury lifestyle entities
take pleasure
client
how our
the realms of wings, wheels, water and art.
explains Susan Vanech (Founder).
I have been told that I am universally relatable. Clients feel incredibly comfortable and able to share the personal information that gives me the edge when negotiating on their behalf. I have created valuable, trusted relationships with the Agents in my region as well after years of experience and getting all of my deals over the finish line quickly and with ease.
Share a piece of hyper-local market advice to clients for an ever shifting market.
In an ever shifting market you must use an Agent who is hyper local to that market. I sell in Darien and Rowayton, CT and know who to call when I need a house for my clients. I am hyper connected in the schools, town and I’m able to make a call to get my clients set up from A to Z. I also sponsor multiple local charities to give back to my community.
How does being a member of Compass Coastal help you better serve your clientele?
I am honored to be a part of Compass Coastal. I am collaborating with the best of the best Agents on the Coast. It elevates the level of luxury we are able to bring to our luxury clientele and I know when I refer my clients to our Compass Coastal team I can sit back and smile knowing it will be a success for them on every level.
Share a piece of hyper-local market advice to clients for an ever shifting market.
The Rye market almost always has limited inventory and strong demand, so selling or buying here and in surrounding areas is best when a sale or new home is best for you and your lifestyle. You can’t time the market.
How does being a member of Compass Coastal help you better serve your clientele?
Compass Coastal helps me better serve my clientele because I have a sense of all homes on the market by the coast here, and in other markets. My fellow Compass Coastal agents are the best of the best, and we guide each other on how to best serve our coastal communities and clients.
Servicing Larchmont, NY
What is your agent super power? My intuition.
Share a piece of hyper-local market advice to clients for an ever shifting market.
Both buyers and sellers should not try to time the market, but rather, sell or buy when it meets your personal and family needs.
How does being a member of Compass Coastal help you better serve your clientele?
Lic. RE Salesperson Servicing Rye, NY
What is your agent super power?
I’m told my agent super power is caring about every home buying and selling journey as though it is my own.
Compass Coastal provides an extensive network of top luxury agents and another level of vendor connections that are valuable to the buying and selling of a property. For sellers, the additional marketing exposure is incredible.
As the founder of The Leibowitz Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, our team is ranked among the top 4% of agents companywide.* With 18 years of industry experience, I offer clients a wealth of residential advisory services, boots-on-the-ground knowledge, around-the-clock attentiveness, and a warm, bespoke real estate strategy. Known for my mantra of ethics, I take the time to understand every customer and how I can best make their lives a little better.
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Julie SagoskinEDITORIAL DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER R. Couri Hay
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ope you all had a wonderful summer and even though it’s hard to say goodbye to those perfect sundrenched beach days which always seem to go by too quickly, I always fall for this sweater weather season and official start to the holiday season. It was an exciting summer indeed for PARK as we hosted an exclusive VIP event at the Hamptons Fine Art Fair and had the pleasure of being a sponsor at Hamptons Fashion Week.
In case you haven’t heard yet, there’s a new power couple in Palm Beach, and they are younger and hotter than you might imagine. After all, Palm Beach is known to be the playground of the richest and most famous, and while that usually includes those within an older generation, that has all changed with Nick Hissom and Kameron Ramizez. Hissom, the stepson of Steve Wynn who got his start in the music industry, along with Ramirez, who worked in film, are now cofounders of Aktion Art on Worth Avenue. Their openings are commonly attended by fashion designers such as Tommy Hilfiger – a neighbor of theirs - as well as those from the film industry, business titans and the area’s most illustrious families.
This summer also saw the exciting reopening of The Pridwin in Shelter Island following an extensive renovation to coincide with the property’s 96th year anniversary, and the fall is such a perfect time to experience all of their seasonal delights. Wherever you go this season, one of our favorite new brands, Eve & Max, which carries the ethos that fashion should be seen as a work of living art, will have you looking standing out. All of their limited-edition and sustainable pieces, from kimono dresses to wool coats, are presented as one seasonless collection yearly.
We also give you a glimpse into the lives of Zachary Peck, the grandson of famed actor Gregory Peck, as well as Blaine Trump – you know, the Trump everyone can love, especially as she continues to guide the beloved charity God’s Love We Deliver which is hosting its annual gala this season.
Here’s to a wonderful fall – may it be filled with as many pumpkin spiced beverages you can handle! P
Julie Sagoskin Editor-in-Chief
recently had a meeting with a private equity firm that heavily invests in the media space. Very bullish was he on the future of digital publishers. For my part, I know the value of the digital space to reach readers, inform and entertain, and drive traffic to our brand. However, as much as my brain says to play in the “digital sandbox,” I still cannot give up print. It’s in my DNA; it’s the foundation of what makes me, me; and I know it’s a winning formula that attracts amazing advertisers. In essence, it’s my belief that a strong media company like PARK needs both print and digital to make an impact.
I’m proud that we are the only complimentary magazine in Manhattan that is mailed to our wonderful readers. It’s my hope that every time you receive the magazine, you find joy or are informed or surprised by what’s inside. We work hard to bring you the best, and I hope that shows!
In a spirit of keeping this letter pithy, thank you to our wonderful advertisers for taking the journey with us, and thank you to all our readers.
I look forward to receiving your comments!
Till next season.
ou might know her last name, but you definitely might not know the real and very relatable Blaine Trump who is wide ly known for her 35 year leader ship of the now legendary char ity, Gods Love We Deliver. This year GLWD will deliver more than 2.5 million meals to those in need. Although the Trump name has always conjured up a variety of reactions Blaine has always remained, well, Blaine. What’s behind all the glitz and glare of someone with the last name that once led a waiter in California to say he wouldn’t have served her had he known her last name was Trump ?
One could easily say that this original society lady who cochaired ABT and Met gala events with Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Pat Buckley has mostly stayed out of the spotlight in recent years and thats how she’s preferred it. She might be one of the lesser known Trumps especially in today’s generation, but Blaine continues to remain passionate about her charitable endeavors, something which has given her great purpose in life.
Born to southern parents in Orlando Fla who customarily give their children a minimum of 2 to 3 names, Martha Lindly Blaine, referred to as Blaine, has lived a life of privilege, which she has combined with great social responsibility.
Though Blaine seems like the quintessential New Yorker, she in fact grew up in Japan due to her father’s position as president of IBM world Trade Corp - Asia. Blaine attended school in Tokyo then boarding school in Switzerland. She returned to the University of Tokyo for college. With blonde hair and a tall stature by age 11, she certainly stood out in her adopted country of Japan. At one point, Blaine tried to convince her father to allow a Canadian doctor to perform a surgery that would take a few inches out of her knees. “My father said, young lady, one day, you will be happy that you’re 5’9”and he was right. But when you grow up in a coun try where you tower over most people it’s difficult to fit
in and it’s a challenge! Since those days Blaine has done just fine standing out in her own right.
After studying at the University of Tokyo, Blaine‘s father convinced her that it was time to come home to America. While it took a bit of acclimating, she quick ly planted her stylish and selfless roots in New York, where she started working at Christies. Shortly after she became familiar with MSK when her grandmoth er (Martha)required cancer treatment at MSK. She joined the board of MSK where she served for several years and helped start the Dream Team at MSK.
Her philanthropic efforts reached heavenly new heights when she joined Gods Love We Deliver in 1987. Blaine is lifetime vice chair of the board. Yes, that means she can’t ever step down, and she would never want to. “In the 80s we completely focused on our cli ents diagnosed with AIDS. There were no social ser vices being offered at that time to feed people once they were sent home from the hospital. The fear factor was overwhelming but we found a way to feed and care for New Yorkers during the AIDS pandemic. Dur ing the 80s an AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence. With a group of volunteers we managed to feed friends and New Yorkers that were suffering and dying. Thank fully an AIDS diagnosis today is no longer a death sentence. We have changed our program to feed any one who is too ill to shop and cook for themselves, free
of charge. We have created new programs, including special meal and nutritional programs such as Food is Medicine. With demand for freshly cooked meals growing exponentially, especially during the pan demic, God‘s love cooked and delivered 2.8 million meals in the last year alone. They are now feeding New York’s most vulnerable who are suffering from 200 different diagnoses. All it takes is a phone call and note from your doctor and the first meal arrives with in 24 hours. The organization has served over 31 mil lion meals since it’s inception in 1985. glwd.org.
Blaine’s heart is truly what has led so many hearty meals being delivered. “I remember the first time I took my mother on a delivery and we delivered and served a meal to a Vietnam Vet. He proudly showed us his bullet wounds from Vietnam and shared his stories, we listened trying to hold back our tears. Our clients are from every walk of life and embrace us like family. We are lucky to have enormous support from New Yorkers!
Her journey with God‘s love all started when her friend, James Revson, who was suffering from and eventually died of aids contacted the organization and was told they were extremely low on money aka broke. James suggested they reach out to Blaine. She received a letter from the man who had spoken to Revson, Buddy Noro, and immediately took a taxi over to the West Park Pres byterian Church. “I asked where is Buddy Noro or Gan
ga Stone? I want to see your kitchen and the work you are doing, I think I can help you”
Glass House Golden Heart benefit
October 17, 2022
Blaine has also been instrumental in securing funds from top donors, including Michael kors. She remem bers asking Michael for a $5 million donation to re furbish their building in Soho. He generously agreed and the fashion designer continues to be closely con nected to the charity. He serves on their board of di rectors and his team has helped create memorable events for them throughout the years. The Golden Heart gala is a signature Michael Kors event with the help of cochairs including Ryan Murphy, Alan Cum mings, Iman and Aerin Lauder. This year‘s gala is be ing held Monday, October 17 at the Glasshouse, where Billy Porter will be the MC. Anna Wintour is serving as the benefits honorary chair. They haven’t announced the two honorees but they will be honoring GLWD CEO Karen Pearl who is retiring after 16 years. They are now delivering approximately 2.8 million meals a year with an annual fundraising goal of $29 million. Don’t be surprised if you see Blaine delivering meals when she’s in town with some celebrity friends in tow, as she did many times with the late Joan Rivers.
With a laid-back yet fiercely witty demeanor, Blaine has always been branded “the nice Trump“. In fact, a
well-known writer once said he couldn’t think of any thing bad to say about her and neither can anyone!
She is, in fact, not trying to be anything but Blaine. “I don’t think people see me or know me for who I am.
The Trump name throws them off I guess. After meet ing people they will often say how surprised they were that I am not how they thought I would be. I wonder, what does that mean? I love the theater, ballet, but most of all I am a sports addict. A little known secret is I’m a total jock and was proud to be invited to par ticipate in the Jr Olympics for swimming and diving. I would have preferred to be on an Olympic basketball team the truth be known. I’m grateful for all the won derful opportunities that have come my way, lucky me! Ive learned to just be as private as possible about my personal life, because as much as you like to think everyone is rooting for you and is thrilled that you’ve had such a success, it’s not always the case. Like most people I’m quite sensitive and try to protect myself from all the bows and arrows out there. There are a lot! I think that separates me from being as visible and being out there as I never wanted my personal life to be as public.
Still, there is no doubt that she has indeed been front
and center, having been photographed consistently for her style and glamour, and receiving recognition for her well deserved charitable works. She was even named one of people magazines most beautiful peo ple, and of course, asked if it was a prank phone call when she received the news. She remembers sitting in the upstairs box for the opening night of American ballet theater surrounded by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. “I looked around and I thought gosh I can’t be lieve this, little old me sitting here with all these fancy people. But,I feel that way and I’m grateful. It all starts with having an open heart and mind if you are inter ested in helping others and giving back.“ I believe there are givers and takers in life and I like to give”
What advice does this philanthropic pillar of soci ety have for other aspiring philanthropists? “If I were moving to New York city today, I would zero in on one or two charities that touch me and I would volunteer for that organization. Volunteering is really an impor tant part of character building and an important part of who you are and who you want to become.
Having always been intrigued with the history and architecture of Manhattan, her Pied a terre, in the Gains borough studios was a perfect choice. Her apartment
was featured in AD and remains one of her favorite places. Built in 1905 it was known as an artist building. They didn’t have kitchens in the apartments, so the artist would have meals together in the dining room on the ground floor. I loved that history and kind of feel their embrace when I walk in my front door. It’s a great feeling. I would say I am a traditionalist but I do like to incorporate modern touches with classical architec ture. Finding your perfect nest in New York is exciting and challenging, but fun.
After a very public divorce from Robert Trump, Blaine moved back to her Florida roots and closer to her family. She has also been an advocate for mental health and is glad to see some of the stigma being washed away. “It was one of the darkest times in my life and I feel lucky and grateful that I had the support of family and friends to get me through it“. Today a problem is trying to remain coy about her last name when meeting new people. “Thats an hour of conversation about how they feel about Donald and the family.”
“Everyone has their opinion but at this point I am worn out with everyones opinion, aren’t we all?”
While she loves to stay away from the drama, she does sometimes find herself in the middle of drama,
especially when a stray bullet came through her 34th floor window in Miami. The police conducted a full investigation but they still don’t know if the incident was a targeted or random attack. While she tries not to worry about it, she says it was definitely a “wake up call.”
Miami is her full-time home but loves her visits to New York when possible. Her residence is close to her favorite basketball team, the Miami Heat. Blaine is set tling into this very comfortable chapter of her life with her longtime partner, Steve Simon. She happened to be introduced to Steve by a mutual friend at a Miami Heat basketball game. She feels that was destiny speak ing. Her son Christopher and his wife,Katie, just wel comed their first son a few weeks ago. It’s a dream come true for Blaine and she is soaking up all the family time she can get.
This particular Trump will not be getting into poli tics, but she is cultivating some of her own projects, such as when she created the Blaine Trump American classic collection for QVC where she donated 100% of the proceeds to the charity of her choice. All and all, when it comes to fashion and raising money for chari table causes, few do it better. P
BY R. COURI HAY
Portrait of Lena Horne, 1945
The iconic star became a friend of mine after a producer pal took me to her glamorous far-flung apartment in the Apthorp, the iconic building on the Upper West side, for a drink. The topic, a onewoman show on Broadway. Nine years later, Lena Horne: A Lady and Her Music opened at the Nederlander Theatre in 1981. Naturally, at our very first meeting, I asked her if she’d sit for a series of conversations with me for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, where I was a contributing editor. Luckily, she said yes! Andy loved movie stars, and we both loved Lena.
Over time, the singer explained that things had always moved slowly for her from the very beginning of her career. In the end we ended up as neighbors, and I’d be invited to pop over now and then to visit and gossip. After Lena’s Broadway show finally opened, I went back a half dozen times over the next 14 months to bask in her beauty, grace, and music; this included her extraordinary last show. You are invited to read excerpts from our far-ranging conversations below that I originally wrote for Andy in 1972. Lena died in 2010, and now, 12 years later, Lena Horne will become the first Black woman to have a Broadway Theatre named after her. The Nederlanders have announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre will be renamed The Lena Horne Theatre this fall. Things are still moving slowly for Lena, but she’s back on the Great White Way where she always belonged.
‘‘WE ENDED UP AS NEIGHBORS, AND I’D BE INVITED TO POP OVER NOW AND THEN TO VISIT AND GOSSIP. ’’Lena Horne (Center) with Group of Dancers onset of the Film, “Broadway Rhythm,”
ena Horne is a dream come true. She is pretty, witty, and wild. Our third meeting in six months never dulled her smile or interest in talking about any and, as you will read, everything. How and where she finds the strength to sing and talk, I don’t know; having lost her father, husband, and son within a year and a half, you’d think she’d still be on a long vacation. But instead, she’s gone to work with new vitality that’s inspiring to all who hear and see her, and that’s undoubtedly the way her men would have wanted it. Young at a freely stated—I didn’t even ask—fifty-four, with a body and face to match any super-sultry starlet, Lena Horne is adding to her legend. And can she sing! It’s goodbye to the airy-fairy Lena and hello to the sexy soul siren. She has got to be seen and heard to be believed. What a thrill to see the product of a brilliant career singing the songs of and carrying on like a Seventies Super Star. Talk about holding a note; Lena Horne has defied Time.
Because you were the first black movie star, you were always told that you were representa tive of all Blacks and as such your behavior had to be exemplary. Have you or do you enjoy being representative?
Now, I am not being required to be representative; I’ve served out that time. Personally, I didn’t enjoy it when it was happening. It started when I was eighteen and on the road with Nobel Sisell’s band; he told me that I had to be representative of Black women. It went on when I went into the movies in 1940. Because I was told by the NAACP and the Urban League and those outfits that I was the first one, and you know, I was the first one in white cabarets I couldn’t visit and attend as a customer. I fell for that lie, that I had to be exemplary so the rest following me would have an entree, you dig.
You didn’t enjoy it, but you did it because you felt you had a responsibility.
That’s right, but I found out in 1960 that Black people still had to go to lunch counters not only in the South but in the North too. It took me five years to get an apartment to live in, in New York. I found that my being exemplary one way or another hadn’t proven a damn thing. There was still inequality in hiring, inequality in housing, inequality in wages per se, and what had I proved?
Do you think that your being exemplary was wasted effort?
I think possibly it was.
Do you wish you hadn’t done it?
Oh no; I don’t wish that. I think it was helpful to me in that I could be politically involved with people that were working for these sorts of equalities, and I was useful because the name could be used for that pur pose. So I’m not sorry that I did it. I’m sorry that it didn’t accomplish anything. The children in the six ties proved that we no longer need representative people or leaders per se. This generation is going to do its own thing; and anything that I did before isn’t workable at this time.
I don’t believe that what you did didn’t uplift a lot of people; I’m sure it served a positive
purpose. Please don’t feel that it was all useless. Good leadership is never wasted. Well, I look at Jackie Robinson’s life and I think, till he died he still said, “I don’t see a black coach in that corner.”
I won’t say a middle-aged lady because Alan King said, ‘Do you know many people who live to be a hundred?’ So I’ll say I’m an old lady who is still doing a little bit of show business. I’m very interested in young people. I don’t want to be around anybody my own age or older. I’m reasonably happy and reason ably adjusted because I’m not really impressed by too much. I’m more or less pessimistic; I think that keeps me going.
I’m not impressed by too much either, but what does impress me is good performance. I’m impressed with that, and I’m impressed with you!
That’s something else; that’s my work.
Are you kidding? I’m a fan! When I said that I wasn’t impressed by much I meant the ego that suppos edly goes with this business. It’s a trap if you get caught in it. I’m impressed with singers particularly and dancers. I think the theater is marvelous. I don’t know too much about it, the legitimate theatre. I came along at a bad time, and yet it was a good time. I came along when the great stars like Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, and Butterfly McQueen were going strong, and we all made Cabin in the Sky together, and they all impressed me very much. When I got my first real singing job, I worked at Cafe Society, and I worked with Teddy Wilson, J.C. Heard, J.C. Higginbottom, and the great musicians. I knew Billy Holliday and I listened to her, and she was a dear friend of mine, a sister, and I loved Dinah Washington, and she helped me. I got the chance to learn from all these great stars; my background was basic.
Yes, and even now, I learned from the Beatles when they came along; I learn from everything that I hear,
because I love music, all kinds. Inside me, Aretha is there. It doesn’t come out sounding that way, but inside she’s there. This is what I’m impressed by: cre ative people, writers, painters, musicians, artists. I’m not impressed by the B.S. and the entourage and the possessions and the “important people” that one has to deal with.
You know it. That’s only putting it mildly.
What was the most impressive thing that ever happened to you in your life?
I went to Jackson, Mississippi, just before they murdered Medgar Evers, to sing in a church there. The people listened to me, they took me in, and they treated me beautifully. I had been away a long time, and I hadn’t been in a Black church for a long time. I wasn’t raised in the church, but they knew I was there to be a part of what was happening, and they let me be a part of it. That was most impressive; it was the greatest audience I ever had in my life.
You mentioned all the stars that were influen tial in your life. Will you tell me about Billie Holliday?
Billie was to me, very beautiful, very tender, very protective, very aware of sisterhood. She was a big star. Life, people, never let her be happy. She was very pained, she was ill, she was caught, she was trapped, but she was tender and protective about other Black women in the business.
In your opinion, would Billie have been flattered by Diana Ross’s interpretation of her in Lady Sings the Blues?
Oh, I don’t know. I think that Diana—and I’m sure that she is aware of the fact that she has been given the chance to tell a little bit about one of our great ladies—probably gained a great deal from it herself. I have a feeling, and everybody tells me that her per formance is phenomenal, that Billie was there with her and into it with her. I don’t know how Billie would react to it because Billie was a lady who was never given a great deal of happiness by many people. She had a few people who were able to get close to her, whom she trusted, but on the whole, she was an unhappy, fragile woman, and life was just
too much for her. I don’t know what she’d think about this. She might not be too impressed either, you know.
What about Louis Armstrong, your co-star in Cabin in the Sky?
I only worked with him that once. I knew him as a good person and a jolly man. I know his wife better; she and I were in the Cotton Club together in the chorus. She was always very beautiful and very tal ented, and I’m sure they had a very happy life togeth er. My husband Lenny and I would go to wherever he was working, when we could, and hear him. He was the same, always great.
There was an ad in Variety not too long ago that said they wanted a Butter fly McQueen type.
Well, why not Butterfly?
Exactly, she showed up. And they said she was too much.
She’s fantastic. Butterfly is sweet and bright, a very brilliant girl. She has always worked with young peo ple uptown in Harlem. She never left her sources. She got treated very badly, but she has taught at schools up there. She has always concerned herself with the theatre. She is a giant.
I saw Ethel Waters singing for Billy Graham the other night; you played with her in Cabin. What do you think of her singing for Billy and God?
I guess that’s wonderful. I don’t know about that feeling of mass religious movement, but she’s certainly marvelous.
What I’m getting at is messages in song, humanitarian mes sages. Would you sing about the plight of the Blacks, etc?
I do, do them. Not so much because they are messages but because, well, as opposed to some completely unre alistic song about the pie, moon,
gloom thing. Whereas people are living, working, and reacting to being hurt and being mistreated much more frequently than they are being offered the riches of the world, and I don’t mean riches, money; I mean happiness. As I grew to be older, I found that I performed more real istic songs. I’m sorry that people always think they’re messages. They’re not. But young people moved into writing songs that said things. And now that the forties and fifties and the Rogers and Harts, and the Lern ers and Loews are gone, there has emerged a whole new school of writ ing, which is very interesting to me. It’s very real.
Do you feel that music is evolving for the better?
I think so. I think that music is one of the better things that man has been able to have; music, paint ing, the arts came here to keep the bestial side of our nature at bay as long as possible. I don’t know wheth er the beasts are winning over, and I don’t mean the animals. I mean the beast in us. I think as long as there are creative people and beau tiful sounds, this is why music is
valuable, all kinds of music. I’m like Duke Ellington. He says he likes everything, including Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk.
Oh well, of course it’s marvelous. Let’s start with Ray Charles and go on up.
What do you think about the comeback of Jazz and the Big Band sound?
I’m happy about that because that’s where I got my schooling. It’s been basically there, Jazz in the church has been the thing that’s kept music alive this long.
What does it mean to be a Star today? Are there any more Stars today?
I think Al Green is a Star, Marvin Gaye to me is a Star, but that’s my idea, and The Temptations are Stars, and Nina Simone is a Star. I think that very talented people are Stars; but it’s not the kind of expla nation that used to be. It used to be that they were people who had large groups of people carrying their luggage and their telephones.
Money doesn’t make a Star.
No, no, not at all, and I hope they get a new word for that. Aretha is a Star. I think that being a Star is gauged by the impact you have on an audience. It’s that thing, that vibration that comes from you and goes to the audience.
Did you ever lose that touch of a Star during your career?
One night I worked at the Concord and lost it. I laid the biggest egg I ever laid. Nobody listened.
How do you feel about yourself as a Star? Do you worry about another night like that?
No, that had never happened to me before; and I thought that when that happened, I would just be destroyed. But it came at a time when a lot of things were happening in this world that were more impor tant to me, so it didn’t destroy me. I went on to work three days afterward, and I did fine. It was just a lapse, and I’m glad it happened, because it showed me that one just gets up if one’s knocked down and goes ahead and does the thing again right.
You’ve got to work at it always.
‘‘I ONLY WORKED WITH HIM THAT ONCE. I KNEW HIM AS A GOOD PERSON AND A JOLLY MAN. I KNOW HIS WIFE BETTER; SHE AND I WERE IN THE COTTON CLUB TOGETHER IN THE CHORUS.’’
Oh, I never take anything for granted especially an audience, oooeee, good God, no!
Were you ever a part of that Hollywood Star syndrome?
I was never a part of that Star system. I worked in movies at MGM, but I sang in a number that could be separated from the rest of the picture and cut very easily. Because during the forties and fifties, some places in the South and in certain countries like South Africa, they wouldn’t show a Black on the screen with somebody else. So I never got carried away with being in the movies, then.
Just how scandalous was it when they first put you in the movies?
There was a big scandal, yeah.
Was Mr. Mayer or Mr. Thalberg foresighted in that respect, what do you think the reasoning was?
They said that they were very interested in doing something with a Black person, something different than Tarzan pictures.
Do you think it was for monetary or social reasons?
I don’t think it was for money. I think Mayer told himself it was for social reasons, but then when the first flak came from white audiences, they cut it out.
What about Stormy Weather and Cabin in the Sky? You sang and acted in those two pictures all the way through.
Yes, but those were the only two that I had any con cern with other people in the cast. The other ones that I was in, I sang separately by myself in a scene. And I never had any conversation with the white people in the cast.
Well, how did you feel about them cutting your parts out?
Just think I had to wait until 1960 to really work because after Stormy Weather and Cabin, movies began to not do anything. There were no more black musicals made.
Why didn’t they make any more?
Don’t ask me. I don’t know.
Did you feel those films exploited Blacks?
No, not at all; I didn’t feel that then. I was glad they put us to work.
What movie did you make that you would like to resee again on TV?
Nothing, none of them. I hate them.
I couldn’t sing; I didn’t act. I didn’t know if I could act because I didn’t get the chance to. I wasn’t too bad in Cabin, but I began to learn during the years, and I think I sing better now than I did then. My learning process didn’t come from acting in movies. Mine came from working all over.
Currently we are witnessing a Black blitz in movies, and I’d like you to comment on it. Have you seen Super Fly, Sounder, and Blacula? Do you think the Black movies are representa tive of the Black people?
I’ve got to say, just as Billie Holliday said to me when I first was heading into the movies and was getting flak from all sides, Black and White: “If you’ve got to feed your children, you go ahead and do it.” The only thing is, if you’re making so much money for that Man whose making that movie and you’re not getting an
Above: Cast of Stormy Weather: Bill Robinson, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, 1943
Right: Lena Horne & Tony Bennett, 1974
equitable piece of it, then that blitz should be unblitzed.
I don’t think that it’s bad. I think the more the better, or I should hope that they will get better in quality and in content, I should hope. I don’t know how the cash was divided up in Super Fly, but Sounder and Blacula wasn’t all Black money. I talked to a White distributor the other night, and he said that all of us are in this business to make money, and I’m going to show it, as long as they make it, and it’s making money. And he wasn’t particular about the content, because he was talking about Blacula, and now they are going to do a Black Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde; and I think it’s going to be in another year or two that we are going to be inundated with this sort of thing. I was offered a part in Come Back Charleston Blue as some lady who had buried a gangster or something but didn’t take it. It’s going to be a little while yet before the well runs dry, and then they will stop and worry about what they’re writ ing and what they’re work ing in.
How do you feel about being beautiful?
I was lucky. It hindered, but it helped a great deal too. I’m at the stage now where I find people saying oohh woo, and they get very close to try to find the scars of the lifting, and I keep thinking, well this year the screw is going to fall.
How did you like working with Frank Sinatra?
I like him as a performer very much. We don’t like each other personally. It’s been that way for a very long time. It started with Ava Gardner and . . .
Several famous White men have put on Black face for the stage and screen. What did you think of Black men reversing this and playing in White face?
We had a great Black actor who did that a long time ago when he played in The Duchess of Malfee, which
is a very murderous tale of killings and rape and all this sort of thing, and he played in White face.
Well, you know I don’t know. Politically, I can’t tell you too much about it, except a great many Black people are disenchanted with integration. Now I don’t know what my personal views are yet about it; as a performer, I don’t find myself with people in the street enough to stand right up and say, “I’m against integra tion.” First of all, I work with White musicians as well as Black. I work to audiences that are mixed; I was married for many years to a White man; my grand children are mixed. I would say at the moment that I am unhappy about the slow rate of better education for Blacks and Browns, and other minority groups. I’m unhappy about unequal hiring in construction, and I’m unhappy about it backstage in the theatres.
Do you get briefed by the NAACP or other concerned Black groups about these injustices?
They used to in the forties, but they don’t anymore. I see it myself. I see it in hotels where I live. I just moved from an apartment where there was Latin help but only one or two Blacks. There are very few Black door men. There are beginning to be a few around town. I see these inequalities in my daily life. I’m more sensi tive to it because I am Black. The NAACP knows that the young people are going to do what they want to do. I think the NAACP has had a marvelous record as far as legal rights are concerned, but they are still having to batter their heads against stone walls trying to see that these things that we are even promised under the law we get. So they don’t have time any more to worry too much about our leaders. I never classed myself as a leader. The people that we respect and adore—leaders like Malcolm and Medgar and Martin, the Kennedys were killed; they were knocked off. I wouldn’t risk a leader anymore. I don’t want to see any more slaughter. I don’t think that they should say anybody’s a leader anymore or representative, you know. Not that I’ve ever been in fear of my life, but I certainly have gotten a lot of scurrilous mail during my years, and I’m sick of that too.
Some young Blacks don’t like the slow pace of
equality either, so they are turning to bricks and bombs. Do you condone or condemn these tactics?
I can’t encourage or discourage it. I feel that young people may know something I don’t know; they cer tainly should. What makes me so unhappy is that every time there has been a riot in Watts or in Wash ington, or when they murdered Martin Luther King, for a few months or a year maybe, they got things together a little bit more and they moved one inch further. Is that what it takes? What are you going to tell young people when they ask you that?
I hope not.
I know you and I hope not, but how can I look some kid in the eye after he says,
“Well, how come they passed the law right after Martin got it, but now they’ve stopped?”
It’s terrible. Is the Black woman still the matriarch of her family?
Oh, I hope not. We never wanted it that way. It was a forced thing, anyway. It was forced by the establish ment from the era of slavery on, you know that. Just think how I felt when my son called me a matriarch. I hated it.
You give your support, your presence, and talent to a lot of charities. We talked when you sang at Roseland in support of Phoenix House and their drug abuse program. You recently were up in Harlem singing for Arthur Mitch ell. How do you decide what to support and what not to support?
I’m getting tired of doing so much charity work. It’s very easy to get yourself in a circle of performing for organizations, and I find that one’s potential as a fund raiser grows less the more frequently you’re seen. My one big objection is that the so-called “expens es” of these affairs sometimes take more money than the charity itself winds up receiving; I find this hap pening more and more, and I resent it. I’m trying to cut down as much as I can. I sang for Phoenix House because I know so many young people that need a Phoenix House, people very close to me who are into dope. I also am interested in young people, and Arthur Mitchell’s Dance Theatre of Harlem is one of the
things that I do.
Are you okay financially after all these years of ups and downs?
I don’t know, but I should imag ine I’m all right. But you see, I’ve never lived lavishly. My husband and I loved to travel, and the most money we ever spent was when we would take much less salary to be in the place we wanted to be, that was our extravagance. And whenever I did work, I tried to have great musicians. But I didn’t need cars because I don’t drive; I don’t own a lot of houses. Once I had two; now I don’t own any. I live in an apartment very comfortably, I guess. I don’t have a lot of jewels and furs and yet I’m happy.
You have had two husbands. Would you marry again?
No. I believe that the outside world has made mar riage a little difficult. I always thought I was a mar riageable animal. I always wanted to be married. I was raised that way. If you are going to dig a man, you married him, which is not the right reason at all. As it worked out, my second one was more successful because that really was a working partnership, and I had something to offer to that, that is my creative self. Whereas I was a terrible first wife, because I didn’t work, and it brought out of me something I hadn’t had. I came from a displaced family, and I was left around with people. I learned no kind of family attitude at all. So I was completely unfit for my first marriage, whereas by the time I married Lenny, I had an art and I pol ished it, learned it, and grew in it and we shared that together.
I don’t think so. I’m a little lonely sometimes, but I was lonely when I was with people. I’m by nature rather lonely.
Oeeee, Jesus God; I think that all men are beautiful. I don’t think that all men want to be attached to older women, but sometimes I think oh, all right, great, that will be a nice romance, but it doesn’t upset me too much.
You wrote a book called Lena. Do you have you any plans to write another book?
I don’t think so. That book came at a turning point in my life, and I stopped singing right after I wrote that book. I went on the road with the National Counsel of Women for a year and a half on a membership drive for the South— high schools and colleges and met with groups of Black women who are involved—and it interested me tremen dously, much more than my so-called career. But I don’t know if I will eventually go into that kind of work or not; I’m a little lazy also, and I have to be pushed.
I have a little supper after I work, go to bed around three, get up around two or three in the afternoon, get breakfast, which is a steak and a salad, then I go down stairs to the dressing room and get geared up for that first show, and it’s the same thing over and over.
Speaking of Vegas, you don’t gamble, you don’t booze like the Rat Pack …
I can’t booze and work, so afterwards I have a couple of drinks, eat my supper, and go to bed. I can’t drink before the show, but that’s all that’s happening.
That’s why you don’t go to Las Vegas, because you’re not into what’s there?
You’re whoring, or vacationing, or gambling, and I don’t do that.
Do you feel you have as much energy now as when you made Cabin in the Sky?
When I’m working, yes, with good musicians. I find myself tired when I’m not doing anything, really.
Do you think you sing better now than you ever did?
Yes, I think I sing better than I did; I hope it will last for a while. But listen, I’m still learning.
ena Horne had many firsts. In 1942 the brilliant singer, dancer, actor, and valiant civil rights activist became the first African-American performer to sign a long-term con tract with one of America’s leading entertainment companies, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). She was also the first African American elected to serve on the Screen Actors Guild board of directors. This was a milestone for her career. In 1958, she became the first Afri can-American woman nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Jamaica Today, Horne will be the first Black woman to have a Broadway Theatre named after her. The Nederlander Organization announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City will be renamed after her, honoring the vast impact she made on Broadway and on the world. The Brooks Atkinson Theatre is currently home to the musical Six.
When it opened in 1926, the 1,031-seat auditorium was known as the Mansfield Theatre after the actor Richard Mansfield. Of course, Broadway theaters have always been named after the atrical giants, among them, George and Ira Gershwin, Eugene O’Neill, and Neil Simon. This honor, however, has not been bestowed on Black artists in the past. As a Brooklyn-born actress who started her career at the Cotton Club, Horne rarely played a leading role in her movies because she was Black, which would have called for revisions in cities that won’t screen black films. In spite of this, Horne recorded albums, appeared in countless films, and performed on stage, setting a precedent for others to follow.
In response to the news, Mayor Eric Adams said, “As a daugh ter of Brooklyn, a civil rights leader, an artist, and an activist, there is no one who embodies the spirit of this great city more than Lena Horne. With this renaming, an iconic New Yorker will rightly take her place amongst an iconic New York industry while being introduced to new generations as they visit this beautiful theater.
BY MICHAEL GROSS
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February sparked a tidal wave of fury and inspired a fresh burst of scrutiny of that nation’s oligarchs. The uber-wealthy jet-setting pals of President Vladmir Putin, they are presumed to be his puppets, both on his payroll and providing him with the funds to pursue his revanchist agenda, while serving as human shields, protecting Putin’s own assets, which many assume to be one of the world’s largest hordes of wealth. If, as Balzac said, a crime is behind every great fortune, then Putin and his oligarchs may well be the most nefarious criminal cartel in human history, willing to destroy a great nation and its people to serve their own selfish, shabby needs.
Despite a deficit of taste, shabby is not a word previously associated with the oligarchs. And each day brings fresh evidence of the upmarket expenditures that marked their triumphal rise from the ashes of the Soviet Union. Outrage has mounted as news reports about where the oligarchs have parked their money pile up. Russians have been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom; their assets frozen and sometimes seized
The Biden Administration even formed a task force with the colorful name KleptoCapture for that purpose and planned to ask Congress to pass laws that would allow asset sales and the transfer of the proceeds to Ukraine. “I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more,” President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union Speech this year. “We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments,
your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”
Among the greatest hits of this anti-Russian band have been the seizures of Dmitry Pumpyansky’s $75 million yacht Axioma in Gibraltar, Andrey Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht A, valued at $577 million, in Trieste, Alisher Usmanov’s $700 million yacht Dilbar in Hamburg, Viktor Veselberg’s $90 million yacht Tango in Mallorca, a $50 million yacht docked at London’s Canary Wharf, more yachts detained
in Spain, properties owned by Roman Abramovich in France and on the Channel Island of Jersey, Sardinian real estate valued at well north of $200 million, billions of dollars more in properties and assets in Italy, France, Switzerland and Belgium. Legal difficulties and challenges will no doubt ensue, but a moral point has already been made. And Russians-inNew York thus far untouched by the crusade should be looking over their shoulders as local legislators, including Manhattan borough president Mark Levine, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and state Senator Brad Hoylman target these piggies’ banks.
Two prime candidates for sanctions played outsize roles in my 2015 book House of Outrageous Fortune, the story of the limestone condominium on Central Park West, just north of Columbus Circle. Neither oligarch seems outwardly concerned, but appearances can deceive.
Today, Dmitry Rybolovlev is thought to spend most of his time in Monte Carlo, where he owns a majority stake in the soccer club Monaco; it’s been speculated that like Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, he might be forced to sell it, but Rybolovlev hasn’t commented. He was last seen in public the day before the invasion of Ukraine, when his superyacht Skorpios won a race off the island of Antigua. Early in March, another of his yachts, the Anna, was also in the Caribbean. And the New York Post recently reported that Valery Kogan, born in Mariupol, Ukraine, but later Russia’s 41st wealthiest man, has put his American real estate holdings, including
two Manhattan properties, his 15CPW apartment and a Plaza Hotel condo quadruplex, on the market via so-called shadow (or unofficial) listings. While waiting to learn their postinvasion fate, you can read about the era when these two flew through the radar unconcerned in this excerpt from House of Outrageous Fortune
Fifteen Central Park West
Woe and rejection long met attempts by Arab sheikhs, Latin potentates, and Russian oligarchs who hoped to buy a home in one of New York’s traditional “good” co-ops. Condos appeal to newer, faster money, and those who won’t reveal their finances to their wives, let alone a co op board. But that tide turned as the twentieth century ended. As Elizabeth Stribling, founder of the eponymous brokerage, put it, “Money trumped the club,” and today, “It’s a different kind of club,” says an apartment owner at Fifteen Central Park West, New York’s most famous condo. “You just need a big checkbook.”
After Fifteen apartments went on sale in 2005, some of the biggest checks were written by Russians, even though that wasn’t what the building’s developers--Will and Arthur Zeckendorf and their partners, Goldman Sachs and Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer--wanted. Said Ofer, “I don’t think we allowed Russians to be first,” doing what they could to ensure that early buyers would be “an inducement and not a deterrent. Since we were all intending to live there, we wanted to have the right group of people, a base of quality, not of pure money.”
Among the real estate lawyers watching that process was Edward Mermelstein, who’d left his native Ukraine in 1974 and built a thriving New York practice advising high-net-worth individuals on the purchase of “second to fifth homes” in New York City. After September 11, 2001, “Everybody took off,” he said. “They were very scared.” But Russian nationals knew their country was “a very unstable place, and as quick as they
“WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID, THAT’S THE BEGINNING OF THE END…YOU MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT: NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, YOU WON’T GIVE AWAY WHAT’S YOURS.”
Dmitry RybolovlevCentral Park West building
made money, they could lose it,” so by 2003, they were eyeing Manhattan again.
Mermelstein advised them to avoid cooperatives. “They have no way of showing credit history,” he said. “There was no history. Why start the process and subject clients to an impossibility?” So Eastern Europeans focused like lasers on high-end condos, and their wealth changed the market, “Because they were willing to pay whatever it took. They go to developers and say, ‘You’re asking fifty million dollars? Here’s sixty, but we close next week.’” Mermelstein understood that the 15CPW developers weren’t exactly eager to sell to them. Still, Russians did infiltrate the ranks of early buyers.
One of the first to kick Fifteen’s tires was Dmitry Rybolovlev, an oligarch who wasn’t fond of winters in Geneva, where he was based, and was hoping to find a warm place to spend the season, as well as a pied-à-terre in New York, or so he said. He first made an unsolicited offer for Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill’s penthouse—one of the best in the building—but it wasn’t for sale. Then he agreed to buy another penthouse being flipped by an Israeli who’d never moved in.
Born in Perm, an industrial city in the Ural Mountains, Rybolovlev studied medicine while working as a cardiac-unit orderly and nurse, and married a fellow student, who quickly gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Ekaterina. Dmitry became a local doctor and prepared to join the Communist Party, but under the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, some dormant capitalist instinct arose, and instead, he went into business, setting up a company to sell alternative medical treatments using magnets.
With the Soviet economy teetering on ruin, Rybolovlev found himself bartering treatments for goods instead of money and abandoned medicine, became a middleman for whatever was on hand—bringing beer from Moscow to Perm, for instance. In 1992, Rybolovlev became one of the first graduates of a Finance Ministry–sanctioned broker course in Moscow, earning government certification as a securities dealer.
In the Wild West days after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with Boris Yeltsin as the new leader of the smaller Russian Federation, the shares of what had been state-owned
industrial enterprises were distributed to workers. Returning to Perm, Rybolovlev opened an investment company, and like other oligarchs-in-training around the country, started buying up those shares on the cheap. By 1994, he had his own bank and made an agreement with the local committee that managed state property to keep an inventory of the shares of a former state-run enterprise that mined potassium and manufactured potash for fertilizer. Then, he located the shareholders and began to buy their shares. Knowing the local mentality, he would pull semi-trucks filled with the Russian cars called Ladas up to the gates of factories and offer them to workers for their shares.
By 2007, Rybolovlev had about $1 billion. His ascent wasn’t smooth, though. In the mad bad Russian 1990s, enemies lurked in both the criminal shadows and the corrupt bureaucracy. In 1993, he’d moved his family to Odessa, and by 1995, he’d deposited them and, presumably, some of his money in Switzerland, and begun trying to force criminal elements out of his companies. “He left the bank only behind a live shield of bodyguards,” said a friend. “Identical cars with identical license plates” registered to him roamed the city to foil ambushes. He was right to worry. One of those cars was attacked, and then, in May 1996, he and a partner were arrested as the masterminds of a murder.
The only one of Rybolovlev’s executives to refuse bodyguards had been shot in the doorway of his own apartment building. One Oleg Lomakin, arrested for the shooting, won a promise of reduced charges for saying Rybolovlev put him up to it. The potash prince was jailed on charges of conspiracy to murder and spent eleven months in prison. Offered his freedom if he would sell his fertilizer company shares, he refused.
Finally, Rybolovlev was released on bail of a billion rubles, and at the end of 1997, Russia’s Supreme Court dismissed the charges and found Lomakin guilty of organizing the murder; his puppeteers, assuming they existed, were never identified. In a rare interview, Rybolovlev said, “When you’re afraid, that’s the beginning of the end…You must be absolutely confident: no matter what happens, you won’t give away what’s yours.” In a Russian newspaper profile, he was described as “a totally lonely person,” who’d by then cut ties with all his old associates, spent most of his time on airplanes, and a week or less a month with his family. He was “a sea of charisma but with steel teeth and the cold gaze of a professional appraiser. . .a matchless and most rare intellect of a strategist and at the same time blindness to people and their human qualities.”
Rybolovlev’s interest in American real estate emerged in the summer of 2008 with his purchase of a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, from Donald Trump for $95 million. He called
it an investment. Around the same time, he offered $75 million for that Israeli’s 15CPW penthouse and his offer was accepted. He transferred a deposit and contracts were drawn up. But the seller got cold feet, most likely after he learned of the serious tax implications of a short-term capital gain by certain types of corporations owned by foreign nationals.
Meantime, other Russians had infiltrated Fifteen. The most important—at least until Dmitry Rybolovlev came along—was Valery Mikhailovich Kogan. With an estimated $1.6 billion fortune, he ranked number 804 on the 2012 Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, thanks to his co ownership of a company that held a 75-year contract to run Moscow Domodedovo Airport.
PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLANBorn in Ukraine, Kogan is a former Soviet navy man who’d studied economics and worked as a diplomat. In the 1990s, he and a partner grew wealthy by moving merchandise between Russia and China and building homes on a former chicken farm near Moscow, which resulted in an accusation of deceitful practices. Kogan moved to America after Russian authorities disputed his airport lease in 2005 and threatened to nationalize it. Ever since, it’s been unclear if Kogan’s company owns, leases, or merely operates the airport. Making matters even murkier, an Israeli newspaper alleged that Kogan was connected to the secret services in Russia and was a close but “secret” friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Donald & Melania Trump
to 15CPW was Kogan’s ownership of a $10 million duplex apartment on the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth floors of the Zeckendorfs’ 515 Park, likely the reason he was able to get around the quiet ban on Russians at Fifteen and buy both penthouse 40A, for almost $23 million, and a second $2 million one-bedroom unit.
What is sure is that Kogan also collected luxury real estate. Public records indicate he’s owned estates in Atherton, California, and Fairfax, Virginia; a $30 million apartment near Tel Aviv; a beachfront complex in Caesarea, just down the road from former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and an $18.5 million estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, which the Kogans hoped to raze and replace with a home so massive, even by the loose local standards, that it set off protests (“It’s not a residence, it’s an industrial project,” said one neighbor) and was subsequently scaled back considerably. More relevant
In November 2011, Sandy Weill abruptly began, as he put it, “downsizing a little bit,” offering both his Fifteen penthouse and his yacht for sale, explaining to the Wall Street Journal that it was “a pretty good time” for the American rich “to be quiet,” and that his intention was to give “the proceeds of what we get” to charity. Within weeks, his penthouse was reported sold and word leaked that Dmitry Rybolovlev had finally gotten a foothold at Fifteen. Or had he? A spokesman for the Russian oligarch claimed it wasn’t Rybolovlev but his elder daughter, Ekaterina, a twenty-two-year-old student at an unnamed American college, doing the buying. That assertion set off one of the looniest episodes in 15CPW’s short history.
That fall, father and daughter had repeatedly visited another brand-new condo, starchitect Jean Nouvel’s 100 Eleventh Avenue, to look at one of its penthouses, and after a
“RYBOLOVLEV’S INTEREST IN AMERICAN REAL ESTATE EMERGED WITH HIS PURCHASE OF A MANSION IN PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, FROM DONALD TRUMP FOR $95 MILLION.”Andrey and Aleksandra Melnichenko
bidding war, flew into New York late in November to sign a contract to buy it for about $20 million. They’d set up the appropriately named Property NY 100–11 LLC to do that a few weeks earlier. But that day, the pair appeared, speaking only in Russian, until Ekaterina turned and coolly told the broker, “We’ll let you know.” It later emerged that on the spur of the moment, she or they had decided to buy Sandy Weill’s penthouse instead. They used that same LLC to do it.
Back in Russia, Rybolovlev had an issue: the Kremlin was trying to take his company away, opening a fresh investigation of a mine collapse two years earlier, which drove its stock down 60 percent. More of the backstory emerged after filed for divorce and sought a freeze on her husband’s assets, alleging that he’d been hiding their money.
Elena had concluded that her husband had lived a double life since they’d moved to Switzerland. In 2000, when she was four months pregnant, she’d received an anonymous package containing a photo of her husband and another woman. Five years later, she alleged, Rybolovlev had asked her to sign a postnuptial contract that would have given her $100 million in the event they split up. But he was worth $1 billion then, so she saw a lawyer and refused. Ever since, he’d kept having affairs, and spending lavishly on his girlfriends, having assignations with multiple young women in Courchevel, Venice, Monaco, and Dubai. When she confronted him, she said he boasted of his conquests of girls Elena suspected were younger than Ekaterina. She even alleged that he shared his women with other oligarchs and said he’d bragged he’d organized everything “in an industrial way”: the girls were all virgins and submitted to VD tests before boarding his yacht. Ekaterina, Elena believed, knew all about his exploits and Elena charged that he’d bought his daughter’s silence with gifts: a $1 million horse and a $500,000 car.
Elena also quantified the family’s fortune, claiming it fluctuated between $7 billion and $13 billion, and provided a list of their assets, which included more real estate in Gstaad, Moscow, Perm, and Cyprus; four private jets; two yachts; three Mercedes, a Bentley, and a Rolls-Royce; art and furniture worth $670 million; cash and billions in stock, tucked away
in banks and anonymous shell companies in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, Panama, and Jersey, all tax havens known and loved by the rich for their loose financial regulation; paintings by Modigliani, Monet, Picasso, van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, and Rothko, and a vast collection of museum-quality, eighteenth-century French and German furniture.
“Love and trust have completely disappeared from the life of the couple,” the divorce filing concluded. “Madame can no longer put up with his infidelities, his egotism and contempt.”
In spring 2009, Dmitry agreed to pay family support, the mortgage on Elena’s Swiss home, and her share of their taxes while they battled it out over their fortune. But he also informed Elena that he’d transferred most of his assets to two irrevocable trusts in Cyprus, and now, even though he was the protector of those trusts, as well as a beneficiary (the others were his daughters, but not his wife), under Cypriot law the trustees were refusing to tell him what they contained or what they earned. Back and forth the charges flew. And the war of the Rybolovlevs became an international affair when the Palm Beach Post uncovered documents showing Elena had sought a court order to freeze the former Trump mansion—and her husband claimed he didn’t own it after all.
In March 2012, after the Swiss divorce court ordered all his assets frozen, she filed suit in New York, too, seeking to freeze the Fifteen apartment—and all hell broke loose. The suit contended that the apartment wasn’t Ekaterina’s at all, but rather, that the LLC was a sham created “with the specific intent of hiding and diverting” Dmitry’s assets. The story was an irresistible feast for the city’s feisty tabloid press.
After months of silence, Rybolovlev finally shot back at his wife and chose the New York Times to give his side of the story in a piece on Russians trying to get money out of their homeland by buying trophy real estate. His lawyer claimed that his asset machinations were set in motion by a desire to keep them out of reach of the Russian authorities—not his wife. And the lawyer seemed to be the source of an unattributed claim that elder daughter Ekaterina had “bought the condominium with cash” from “a trust set up to benefit her and future children.” Her plan was to use the apartment for four months while finishing her studies for a liberal arts degree from Harvard University Extension School.
After that, silence descended. Between September and December 2012, the lights in the disputed penthouse rarely came on. Finally, Christmas week 2012, the whole place blazed with light for several evenings. Then it went dark again. P
Adapted from “House of Outrageous Fortune: Fifteen Central Park West, the World’s Most Powerful Address,” by Michael Gross Copyright © 2014 by Idee Fixe Ltd..
Published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
When Nick Hissom and Kameron Ramirez first met at Soho House in 2018, they never thought they would end up living in Palm Beach together. At 26, Nick, the stepson of Steve Wynn, was rocking the music indus try, and 19-year-old Kameron was working in film. They were two Millennials living their best bicoastal lives. But Covid changed everything, and as New Yorkers flocked to Florida and real estate boomed, so did the art market. Now, as cofounders of Aktion Art—which they run out of Wynn’s art gallery on Worth Avenue— they reign as the new “Power Couple of Palm Beach.”
In a town where other power couples have included Jackie & John F. Kennedy, CZ & Winston Guest, Dina Merrill & Stan Rumbough, Estée & Joseph Lauder, Hilary Geary & Wilbur Ross, and even Ivana & Donald Trump, how is it that a young, unmarried, gay couple could wield such influence in Palm Beach?
Like many of the younger generation who found themselves isolating with their families on Palm Beach Island during Covid, Nick pivoted in 2020 to serve as the director of his fam ily’s Wynn Fine Art. Specializing in museum-quality master works, the gallery that showcases the work in Steve Wynn’s collection opened on the upper level of The Esplanade in 2019. Picasso, Monet, Basquiat, Gauguin, Renoir, Bacon, Van Gogh, Warhol, Modigliani, and Lichtenstein are just a few of the artists in the collection. Nick curated two shows for Wynn Fine Art’s return-from-Covid season in 2020-2021: Master Works by Roy Lichtenstein featuring seven paintings by the world-famous pop artist from the1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, and Warhol x Basquiat, which featured a selection of works by Andy and Jean-Michel. Both exhibits were widely covered by the media, including Town & Country, Artnet, and The Palm Beach Post
When I asked Nick about growing up with Steve Wynn -the king of Vegas and an important collector, as his step father, he confided, “Growing up surrounded by art was an amazing opportunity and training exercise for me. I’ve been lucky to spend time living alongside masterpieces and learning to understand what comes with it. The best-of-the-best art deal ers, collectors, auction house executives, critics, conservators, designers, and entrepreneurs are all a staple of the day-to-day life and culture that surrounds and follows each of these kinds of masterpiece works. So, to have such proximity to them, within my family’s homes, has been an enormous privilege, responsibility, and learning opportunity.”
Born and raised in London, Nick’s mother, Andrea Hissom, married Steve Wynn in 2011. Nick was educated at Institut Le Rosey and the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored
in History, Anthropology, and Art before establishing Aktion Art with Kameron. He also supports numerous charities, including Children International, UNICEF, AmfAR, Make-aWish, Share-the-Meal, a host of donations to private individ uals in need, as well as a variety of LGBTQ causes.
Originally from Palm Springs, Kameron moved to New York in 2018, where he founded a creative and directive agency called Red Button. Specializing in film, fine arts, television, advertising, talent, and directing, Red Button created awardwinning productions in collaboration with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube RED, and ABC. At 21, Kameron was nom inated for a SAFTA Award for his record-breaking produc tion A Very Bonang Year, featuring South African Superstar Bonang Matheba, making him the youngest recipient of the award. His father is from Nicaragua, so he speaks Spanish fluently, which is helpful in the art world today. He is also a member of the junior Luminaries Committee of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC.
“When Kameron and I are not working, we love spending time with friends, playing padel, running, biking, going to the gym, and boating. Kameron is a certified licensed captain and so can drive a variety of boats, and we love being by the beach and in the sea. We’re pretty relaxed and healthy during the Palm Beach season - and love taking advantage of all the sun and amenities the community and island has to offer. At night, we enjoy the social scene, too. Art never sleeps so it’s always exciting being out and seeing people, hosting events at our gallery, and supporting other local businesses, friends, and charities,” said Nick.
Kameron’s eye for talent led to the discovery of Aktion Art’s first artist, Kevin HEES. (HEES: Honor, Empathy, Energy, and Strength). Kameron oversaw the production of HEES’ early works and exhibitions as well as an artist-in-residency pro gram at the Paris Elysée. The series, titled PARIS 2020 went on to become a major establishing body of work for the artist and the gallery, selling out to collectors and foundations throughout the US and Europe. His works were recently exhibited at the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach, the
Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, and have been auctioned at Sotheby’s.
While working with the Museum of Arts and Design, Kam eron discovered emerging artist ThankYouX (née Ryan Wilson) as well. Inspired by Andy Warhol, but with a De Kooning-esque aesthetic of his own, Ryan began his career graffitiing street stencils in spray paint in homage to the late legend. ThankY ouX’s work has been placed into some of the world’s most prominent collections, and he has also become one of the leading artists in the NFT and hybrid digital-physical art space, most recently with record-breaking auctions at Phil
lips and Sotheby’s, as well as a widely acclaimed collaboration with Hans Zimmer.
Nick told us, “Working in the art world in Palm Beach during this rapid change via Covid, we saw the need for a faster-paced art advisory, which specializes in younger contemporary bluechip and emerging artists, but whose work still makes sense displayed alongside the museum-quality works of collectors here.” Aktion Art is both a primary gallery and a secondary market dealer and advisory, servicing both their collectors’ and artists’ needs. With their experience curating collabora tive shows alongside the likes of Haring, Hirst, Lichtenstein, Warhol, and Basquiatas as well as dealing to top-tier collec tors from around the world, Nick and Kameron use their
unique network and platform to create opportunities for the galleries’ roster like no other.
Connor Addison & Nick Hornby Nick and Kameron began working with two additional art ists this year, Connor Addison and Nick Hornby. In addition to managing the careers of these artists, Kameron oversees the production of six to eight exhibits a year for the gallery in Palm Beach and has even bigger plans for the year ahead. “We want to expand to another location, travel and attend more art fairs like Frieze London and New York, Scope in Mexico, and Art Basel Miami. We want to get the Aktion Art name out there, develop new artists and clients and become a house hold name for people who love art.”
Palm Beach neighbor Tommy Hilfiger was just one of the bold-faced names, along with an attractive crowd of young people from some of the most illustrious families in Palm Beach, to attend the opening of “Still and Still Moving” by acclaimed British Artist Nick Hornby at Aktion Art x Wynn Fine Art in March 2022. The art—described by Nick as “cubist figurative sculpture”—was juxtaposed next to works by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, and Henri Matisse from the Wynn Collection, all of whom are major influences on Hornby and his work. The gallery featured seven pieces in an array of mate rials that perfectly communicate both their abstract and figurative nature. And Hornby’s art-historical perspective combined with his unique sense of scale allows the sculptor
to transform the smaller-sized works on display in the gallery into the monumental site-specific works for which he is known. Hornby took on a cubist approach in combining digital soft ware with traditional materials such as bronze, steel, granite, and marble to create works that cast expanding shapes, sil houettes, and shadows in a unique way. “The show was a sell out,” said Nick.
“Palm Beach is such a cool place, and so it was exciting to bring such a big star in the art world like Nick Hornby here and to introduce him to so many high-level collectors who have the space to show his type of work. The larger homes and larger gardens of Palm Beach are perfect for his monumental site-specific work and for our art-savvy Palm Beach collectors who are also a major influence in New York,” he continued.
Born in 1980, Hornby is a student of the prestigious Slade School of Art and Chelsea College of Art. Hornby was awarded the University of Arts London Sculpture Prize and has exhib ited at the Tate Britain, The Southbank Centre, Leighton House London, CASS Sculpture Foundation, and the Fitzwil liam Museum Cambridge. Internationally, Hornby has exhib ited at The Museum of Arts and Design New York, Ponznan Bienalle, Poland, and Eyebeam (New York). Also, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors, his work has been reviewed by The New York Times, Frieze, Artforum, The Financial Times, Architectural Digest, and Vogue. Hamish Bowles is said to be a fan.
This summer, friends joined Nick and Kameron in St. Tropez to celebrate Nick’s 30th birthday. On an Instagram post about the week-long event, he wrote, “Thank you to all my friends who made such a huge effort to make this weekend so special. I am so proud of what Kameron Ramirez and I have accom plished with Aktion Art and all we are continuing to build. More updates on our Tour des Artes through Europe to come - and I am beyond excited to welcome our collectors next year!” This summer they also visited their artists and collectors in London, Paris, Barcelona, and Tokyo, and ended their travels in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Aktion Art is curating a show at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art featuring Warhol, Basquiat, Haring, HEES, Kristin McIver, and ThankYouX, in
collaboration with Warhol muse and Palm Beach resident Jane Holzer. The exhibition runs through January 2nd, 2023.
How is it that two young men can work and play together 24/7 as they do? Kameron says, “Although we work together, we have very different perspectives and skill sets. I enjoy find ing, discovering, and scouting artists. My favorite part about my job is meeting people. Nick is a tastemaker and is able to see the potential in art and artists. He looks to the future and is great at promoting whatever he’s involved in. Nick excels at what I’m not as good at and vice versa. Certainly, there are challenges, but overall, it just works for us. We balance each other.”
We asked Nick & Kameron how they felt about being named Park magazine’s 2022 Palm Beach Power Couple, and Nick replied, “It’s a huge honor and joy for us to have been welcomed with such open arms into the Palm Beach community by such wonderful people of all ages, and like all of our young friends here, hard work and mutual respect has been a big unifier that keeps all of us happy and thriving as we enjoy this amaz ing island.
“I think that for some time, Palm Beach has been attracting a younger group of people, and Covid really catalyzed that change and put things into overdrive, which was also when we moved here full time and opened up the gallery. Covid created a huge growth in the community and culture of Palm Beach, as people opted for a more remote way of life, and this was followed by the opening of top galleries, retail stores, and restaurants from around the world that are all contributing to make Palm Beach the cosmopolitan center it is today—and we are so happy to be a part of it!”
“The art world closely follows real estate, so we have seen a mass interest in the gallery both on the Wynn Fine Art (museum quality) and Aktion Art (blue chip and contemporary) sides, and we are so thankful that we’ve had the turnout and com munity response to our events, and cannot wait to do more this season! I come from a background in hospitality, so apply ing that to the gallery and to our collectors, making it not just a place to buy art, but also a social and cultural hub, has been a key part of our mission,” said Nick. P
Top Burberry Pants : Burberry Sunglasses: Planet i Top: Barragán
here is not one specific entity that serves as inspiration for New York fashion designer FREDERICK ANDERSON’S fall 2022 collec tion titled ‘In Full Bloom.’ “When I do a collec tion, I have several layers. It’s never just one thing. It’s three to five different layers all the time. I always think of my woman and how she feels right now,” explains Frederick. “For this collection, it was about how we blend excite ment with wearability. How do we get our women in dresses instead of sweats? Between Covid and a year off, I finally get what I really wanted to do. I understand who I wanted to be as a designer. I feel comfortable with myself.”
Frederick showcased a myriad of looks for the new season. There were the refreshing florals, lush crochet pieces, like the crochet halter mini dress under a cardigan on model Fabiola, and a crochet sweater over a fuch sia jacquard skirt. The catwalk was buzzing with modern looks in satins, luscious laces, tweeds, and sheers. It truly was a story that showed the growth and emergence of a new bloom—a freshness of sorts and definitely a turning curve, much respected and appreci ated by Frederick’s followers, who understand his vision.
I asked Frederick about his average cus tomer. He explained, “My customer is young, the maid of honor. I’ve become the ‘go-to’ designer for the maid of honor.” He laughs. “I’d say my customer is fluent (money). She has a perception of luxury; she looks at it a certain way and puts it into her life. The cli ents I have are ladies who ‘cocktail.’ They are not sitting at home. She’s a self-thinker, building a life for herself. She may be 30 or 40 or 50 . . . They want clothes that take them
from work to an evening cocktail. I think of my clothing as sexy and fun, but within that story, it’s a wide variance. My experience sell ing at Saks showed me they are not cookiecutter ladies. They are inventing new ways, and I can shake it up a little, but it’s not the old way of dressing. They are wanting some thing new, and I think that’s exciting.”
“It’s a celebration for me,” beamed the designer as he reflected on the uncertainty he felt coming out of Covid19, and the fact that he ended up with a collection of strong, design-driven pieces. “One thing that hap
pened during Covid, people stopped and looked around. It was a quiet time, and peo ple started discovering things. People had extra time to do that. It’s been a wonderful moment. Now, we are going through a tran sition. It’s going to be interesting to see five years from now, the shift created in American fashion because of Covid and recovery.”
‘In Full Bloom’ marked the fifth-year anniversary since his first singular show, a sixteen-piece collection called ‘Black Like Me.’Frederick emphasized the reality of his journey, since his early days collaborating, to
now coming into his own and developing an aesthetic that’s all his own. “When I started twenty years ago with Douglas Hannant, it was a collaboration. Back then, I always worked in a mixed vision through the gaze of someone else. Now, it’s Frederick—I can’t create a vision for someone else. It’s more emotion realized, and I can spread my wings and expand. The women have changed, and I have changed. It’s no longer New York or the US; it’s Dubai. I didn’t know I had a follow ing in Russia. I found out what my brand is and what I want her to be. It’s a new vision.” P
‘‘THE WOMEN HAVE CHANGED, AND I HAVE CHANGED. IT’S NO LONGER NEW YORK OR THE US’’
ynamic duo Alberto Campos and Ilber García, both Venezuelan natives, have been taking over the fashion photography scene since settling in New York five years ago. After knowing each other for more than a decade and studying at the same university – Alberto, who has been a lawyer since 2014 and Ilber, a prior theater actor who was on his way to becoming an economist – wound up fleeing the political turmoil of Caracas, Venezuela for New York and now reside in Miami. It wasn’t long before they started
doing shoots together and working with models from their homeland. Their talent was soon discovered by a well-known photographer who became a close mentor and advisor. He helped to introduce the duo’s photography to magazines and now they are ingratiated in the industry and working with a well-known agency.
“Our main objective is to transform the look of our models and to capture the natural style while maintaining the diversity of the classic look,’ explains Alberto. “It’s not about
Fashion Photographers Making their Mark from Miami to New York
sticking to strict ideas. We love working with new faces and models and always strive to stay classic while mixing things up with alternative accessories and outfits.”
Currently, the duo has exciting projects in the works including a collaboration where they will be pulling from their roots by showcasing models and brands from their home country of Venezuela in photographs around the US as well as in other countries. The unique vision of these two creatives, whose imaginations let loose through their lens, already work with fashion icon Nick Wooster and have been featured in international magazines including L’officiel, Grazia and L’officiel Hommes in addition to other outlets. Alberto and Ilber are even working on an upcoming cover with Wooster where they will be shooting icons in New York.
Since arriving in the US, these two talented and established fashion photographers, who continue to be inspired by Inez and Vindooh as well as Manny Roman, also work with talent from top agencies such as Wilhelmina, Next Models and LA Models. You will soon be able to find more of their work as they have multiple projects lined up with campaigns for brands between New York and Miami – and this is still just the beginning for them. P
“OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO TRANSFORM THE LOOK OF OUR MODELS AND TO CAPTURE THE NATURAL STYLE WHILE MAINTAINING THE DIVERSITY OF THE CLASSIC LOOK’’
BY BETTY TAYLOR
e might be heading into fall, but one thing remains constant regardless of the season: Del Toro shoes are always in style. This fine Italian shoe company’s Creative Director, Emma Greenbaum, gives us a glimpse into the latest S’S ’22 collection. “This collection introduced new colorways inspired by Claude Nori’s ‘An Italian Summer,’ dreamy Italian coastal hotels like the Splendido and Il Pellicano, and the joy and ease of days spent by the sea that end in three-hour-long dinners,” explains Greenbaum. “As soon as we saw the samples, we knew they had to be photographed in Italy, where they were born. We chose one of our favorite photographers and a dear friend of the brand, Alberto Chimenti, who has spent his whole life in Torino, Italy, to shoot the campaign. He traveled from Relais Villa Pomela to Varazze highlighting the Italian nature of the shoes.”
In addition to a new line based on the dreamy streets of Italy and the brand’s beloved bold colors, they are also working on creating a dog line called ‘Dogtoro,’ as they expand their lifestyle lines and continue the tradition of carrying out philanthropic efforts. “We’ll be partnering with ‘Love of all Dogs’ in Brooklyn and donating a portion of all sales from the new line to their rescue organization.”
Greenbaum also explains that Del Toro is committed to ensur ing that they differentiate themselves from other shoe brands. “It’s important to me that we push the boundaries with unusual
collaborations, unique colorways, and new styles that continue to uphold the elements and qualities that make them a wardrobe staple. We also want to create a community with our Del Toro cus tomer base and strive to anchor our collections and campaigns to interesting references and inspirations that will resonate with our particular customers and serve as conversation starters.”
With quality at the forefront of everything they do, all of their collections are inspired by the rich heritage and timeless style of the Italian velvet slipper. Del Toro’s products are all handmade in Italy, in Naples and Milan, with an uncompromising commit ment to craftsmanship and quality. Their customer is someone who is passionate about craftsmanship, art, and design and has an inquiring mind about the world around them, all the while pursuing effortless elegance when it comes to dressing, and they continue to evolve to appeal to all types of shoe wearers.
“While many people know us for our Velvet Tuxedo slipper, we love using our campaigns to showcase how we have something (sneakers, hats, and more loafers) for everyone and the everyday and giving our customers a jumping-off point to see how we believe our products belong in the world and add to their quality of life.”
EW YORK, FOR AT LEAST AS LONG AS many of us remember, has always been the brightest star in the firmament of cities -- the center of finance, deal-making, commerce, art, fashion and more. While it may be true that recently there have been tough times for our beloved home, things are changing for the better. And, so many New Yorkers have started to ask themselves if New York is finally having its glorious comeback moment, reminiscent of a more prosperous time. The answer may well be, Yes! This is particularly true when Manhattan’s real estate is in the equation. From a few remaining old mansions to a score of new uber-luxury high-rise condos, record sales are being broken in the high-end market.
A case in point -- 854 Fifth Avenue, one of the last regal homes of the Gilded Age.
Enter Tristan Harper, the mega-broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. After over 75 years in the same hands, Tristan recently sold this 20,000 square foot haute residence for a whopping $50 million. Additionally, and unusually, the buyer paid all the closing costs adding almost 12% to the total price, in this unique off-market deal.
Designed in 1903 by architects Warren and Wetmore of Manhattan’s Grand Central Sta tion fame, this historic home was designated an Individual Landmark, for its “impressive purity of style which was executed with such finesse and authority,” in 1969.
Over 30 foot-wide stately Beaux Arts-style residence was inspired by Le Petit Trianon of the Versailles Palace complex. The mansion features 32 oversized rooms and 12 bathrooms spread on nine levels directly opposite Cen tral Park. Its spectacular views are of some most iconic buildings, both old and new.
Most of the home’s original details remain intact to this day, including two stunning 18th Century French tapestries presiding over the grand winding staircase, 17 fireplac es, hand-carved balustrades made of single pieces of rare Italian marble, gold-leafed
boiserie, hand-painted ceilings reminiscent of the Old Continent, paneling from an an tique French Chateau retrofitted to this space, and two elevators. There is also an ornate skylight over a two-story high main hall with ceilings 34 feet tall.
Tristan Harper is likely the only broker who would have been able to pull off a record setting deal selling such a trophy home. A New York resident for over 30 years, Tristan has been born, raised, and educated through out Europe. His ancestors were prominent landowners who had once been granted aristocratic titles from the Venetian rulers of their coastal Adriatic territories, so Tristan has a genteel quality and unique approach to real estate.
Underneath his air of refined yet friendly sophistication lies a businessman who does
Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White
not break, no matter how many fickle clients he is forced to deal with simultaneously. In this case, those were five foreign governments who jointly owned the property, a couple of local billionaires (the would-be buyers), and finally, a purchaser whom he never met or spoke with directly.
Tristan is well known as the pre-eminent broker to the gilded set. He offers personal ized services to an elite group of clients, many of whom own multiple properties around the world. Their broker-extraordinaire is perhaps one of the few in the business whose interpersonal relationships and attention to confidentiality are valued substantially over social media promotion or “electronic” com munication.
While he sells throughout the City, he fo cuses on prime “Fifth to Park Avenues cor
ridor”. This is where he works, lives, and has his office. With other homes in Palm Beach and in Europe, Tristan not only sells, but also understands the lifestyle of his clients. He truly lives by his business motto -- “making the unbelievable - livable”.
“It is my business model to act as a ‘private broker’ to a limited number of exclusive cli ents, those who require my full attention, expect the highest level of service, and ap preciate my expertise in real estate, but also in architecture, design, art, investments, development, and more. I chose such a modus operandi many years ago, and I remain con sistent to it. I rarely advertise and can hardly ever be found on social media. My business is almost all referral based and private. I am committed to my clients whether they are looking for a manor or a studio. Many of them
jokingly ask if I ever sleep, as I routinely answer their calls or messages from different time zones, almost immediately,” says Tristan. Among numerous significant transactions, the tenacious Mr. Harper has been respon sible for the largest sale of the year recorded in Manhattan after the 9/11 tragedy. At the time, the rest of the City’s real estate was at a total standstill. Most brokers were in total despair. “My client had flown in from the Midwest, just weeks after the attack. Having previously sold his technology company, he was looking to purchase his perfect Manhat tan pied-à-terre. His main requirement was outdoor space, because his then girlfriend had a ‘green thumb’. A weekend and almost $19Million later, he purchased a 5,000-squarefoot penthouse duplex with a wraparound terrace in a billionaire-filled building on Park
HISTORIC HOME WAS DESIGNATED AN INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK, IN 1969, FOR ITS “IMPRESSIVE PURITY OF STYLE WHICH WAS EXECUTED WITH SUCH FINESSE AND AUTHORITY.”
Avenue,” Tristan remembers.
Fast-forward to 2022, and the logistically complex sale of 854 Fifth Avenue, the prop erty with perhaps the most unique history involving just a few, but very high-profile owners.
The house was built for R. Livingston Beek man who became the Governor of Rhode Island and sold the house to George Grant. Soon after, Henry White and his heiress-wife Emily Thorn Vanderbilt Sloane White, the granddaughter of scion Cornelius Vanderbilt, became the new owners. They hosted count less Gilded Age society soirees, dinner parties and balls in the house.
In 1946, Josip Broz Tito, the late head of Yugoslavia’s socialist federal republic pur chased the house for his country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The com munist strongman rarely visited but he hid
out in the property following an assassination attempt against him at the Waldorf Astoria.
Two years earlier, in 1961, Tito and the presidents of Egypt, Ghana, India and Indo nesia drafted a plan for the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement in one of the main rooms of the mansion. The Movement will grow to become an alliance of almost one third of the world’s nations that purported to be “nonaligned” with the two superpowers of the Cold-War.
After Tito’s Yugoslavia disintegrated in the civil war of the 1990s, the property was “in herited” by the governments of the five Suc cessor States including Bosnia and Herze govina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.
In the early 2000s the five Balkan countries signed an UN-sponsored treaty on distribu tion of Yugoslavia’s assets – a portfolio of over
200 properties worldwide, including 854 Fifth Avenue. However, it was not until 2016 that the owners got ready to sell the prop erty and released a worldwide “Invitation to Tender Services.” An advertisement in Fi nancial Times required anonymous submis sion of multiple documents proving the broker’s expertise and financial ability to market the building. A Joint Committee of the five sellers unanimously granted Mr. Harper and his firm the exclusive listing for this property, and four additional compara ble assets in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and the US.
The week the listing went live, the veteran broker received two full-price all-cash offers. However, the sellers appeared “caught by surprise” at the interest the home garnered. “Due to the complexity of negotiations and internal procedures among the owners, those
deals were never agreed upon,” explains Tristan
Then, in December of 2018, a devastating fire caused by faulty wiring, almost destroyed the gilded residence. At least four people, including three firefighters, were trans ported to the hospital. Thankfully, the dam age was localized to the façade and the third floor, but the house couldn’t be shown until repaired. Also, it remained off the market for most of 2020, due to Covid-19 pandemic.
However, in mid-2021, the perennial top agent received another full price offer, this time sight-unseen. It took almost nine months for the contract to be ready for signatures, and necessitated Tristan’s multiple trips to the Balkan countries, even meeting one of the presidents, there. According to Tristan, who successfully tackled many tumultuous upsets and standstills surrounding nego
tiations, the sellers’ primary concern was a transparency among the parties. Therefore, the representatives of the five co-owners would have to physically sit together in the same room and sign at the same time. Even the closing, further six months later, was unusual. It was split up into three parts, with different paperwork signed at different “sessions”. “This was a truly a one-of-a-kind deal, and undeniably the most challenging one for all. It would have never happened without the commitment and determination of everyone involved,” humbly notes the superstar broker.
Now, the new owner will give the new life to this Grand Dame of New York’s Gilded Age. The much needed renovation and res toration will likely take years before the stately home will be brought to the old glory at 21st century standards. Among the
possible “upgrades” is an architect’s vision to build an infinity-edge pool on the roof of the mansion, so swimming there would feel like “floating” above Central Park.
While the sale of this Gilded Age prop erty may have been the most remarkable deal of his career so far, Tristan believes that the future of real estate business is in Metaverse, far away from the Gilded Age. “Technology already enables clients to tour homes which may be thousands of miles away, offering a clear utility in our field. Embracing virtual reality and the Metaverse to sell real estate is one of the important paths I am taking in order to remain competitive and better serve my clients,” concludes Tristan.
And, what will come next in the future of 854 Fifth Avenue? The rest, and perhaps the best part of its history is yet about to be written. P
BY NAME HERE PORTRAITS BY UDO SPREITZENBARTH
or artist Gregg Emery, art is his love language, and he is spread ing his message all over town, from public art projects to cre ative collaborations and has even broached the new world of NFTs and beyond.
Growing up in a small town on the US-Canadian border, a short drive from Montreal, Emery got his initial inspiration from a nearby Mohawk reservation and by learning to quick ly sketch hockey players. In fact, Gregg says that he was draw ing and painting even before he could write. “I just started making pictures and never stopped. I was always sketching people and things and would often even give drawings to the minister at the end of church services. I still feel like the North Country gives me the ground and foundation for everything.”
This passionate painter was brought up in a church where his mother, a writer, served as an organist as well as learning about meditation practice from his grandparents while attending Quaker meeting. His father, a math and com puter teacher, car mechanic, bee keeper and gardener taught him a connection to the math that exists in all things, the importance of hard work, getting up in the morning and a deep love of and relationship to the land. He contin ued to study meditation practices and the similarities and contrasts of different approach es to art and ways of life, all parts of these worlds would heavily influence his career. “My travels throughout the world have tempered what I do in gestural painting with what I have seen and experienced firsthand as well,” explains Gregg. It is these inspirations which have allowed him to test his process, somewhere between a ‘meditative moment and an athletic event’ in different ways, including when he was asked to make his mark on an 8,000 square foot mu ral on Roosevelt Island. This unique project all began when Krista Ninavaggi, founder and director of interior design firm K&Co., brought him on as the third artist in three years to work on a large outdoor pool that they had been originally brought in for a much-needed aes thetic update. Gregg’s work helped to draw attention to the pool, and each year they con tinue to bring on someone new. According to Gregg, this pool project also dramatically im pacted how he worked, especially given all of the texture and tiles. “A former student remind ed me of the technique of putting a brush on the far end of a stick to give perspective and do these circles by hand, which I had never tried. It’s a lot more work but it is beautiful and opened things up quite a bit. Think of it: 20 circles on the deck of the pool. When I measured them, the smallest circle was larger than anything I had ever done.”
Though he gave up his Brooklyn studio dur ing the pandemic, Gregg, who teaches and lives on the Upper West Side, remained resilient and was given an artist residency with a non-
“THINK OF IT: 20 CIRCLES ON THE DECK OF THE POOL. WHEN I MEASURED THEM, THE SMALLEST CIRCLE WAS LARGER THAN ANYTHING I HAD EVER DONE.”
profit group called 4heads. Gregg and his fellow artists were given space on Governor’s Island from 2020 through 2021. “I was there during lockdown and had a whole floor of an old, aban doned house with other artists. It was great but also put things into perspective.”
His painting process during the pandemic period? Well, sticking to his own style which he has been doing for over 20 years now. With a focus on circles and horizontal drags across, Gregg explains that this just opens up how beautiful the simplicity is. “During this time, I limited my color palette even more. There were six different whites I played with, all seen on the layers of peeling paint in my Governor’s Island studio. I became the circle painter, which my high school self would have made fun of, and now I am also the white-on-white painter. I really focused on calm. Being alone and watch ing traffic go across the bridges, around the harbor influenced me as well. It just really brought me back to the small country town, Bombay, NY, where I grew up. The people in cars on the George Washington Bridge during rush hour outnumber the people living in my town. I’m just fascinated by all these people and their unique stories. Every line in the painting is like one of those individual strands that make up this fabric. Meditating on that flow of the day keeps drawing me back to the painting process.”
This time living alone and realizing that the absence of human contact and physical touch was palpable, got Gregg’s collaboration juices flowing with fellow artists as well. “I found ways to work with poets, musicians, DJs, a whisky maker and other creatives. I started taking time to meditate on what was really important. Next was the importance of human touch and hu man contact and the loss of that, and third was finding ways to use my voice as a means to provide a platform for others that don’t always get heard. My way of giving back was reaching out to younger artists as well as those who didn’t have the same opportunities and providing this space for them. Artist Guy Philoche was a huge inspiration for me.”
Gregg not only got his groove back, but also added to his growing skill set, especially as he started taking on new projects, including NFTs, which led to being approached by The Finan cial Times. The paper followed his journey while he was showing his work digitally through the pandemic as well as physically before Covid broke out. His NFT navigating adventure was even made into a documentary, allowing him to connect with experts in this new medium. After much publicity and his first NFT being sold in one week, this painter found himself in the prime of his career showing his NFTs in Miami during Art Basel and constantly being recognized at parties.
This forward-thinking artist currently remains focused on everything from his physical paint ings to drawings and even teaching others more about making and marketing NFTs. “There are so many younger as well as older artists who are trying to make money off of it, but don’t know much about it. Anybody can really do it, it’s not that hard. I use it as a platform for my own personal art as it adds motion to my works, making them more meditative. I also see it as it platform to highlight community, connection and collaborations.”
Most recently, he was hired to, once again, sketch musicians and attendees of the famous ‘Electric Forest’ music festival. At the last gath ering in the woods of Northern Michigan he sketched beat box champion Honeycomb, and the two are now discussing partnering on an NFT together which would include music and words along with some sketching. “I haven’t done this with NFTs yet, it’s all just at early stages which I believe will settle down a bit and become another artistic medium. Creatives are just starting to discover what is possible in
“DURING THIS TIME, I LIMITED MY COLOR PALETTE EVEN MORE. THERE WERE SIX DIFFERENT WHITES I PLAYED WITH, ALL SEEN ON THE LAYERS OF PEELING PAINT IN MY GOVERNOR’S ISLAND STUDIO. I BECAME THE CIRCLE PAINTER, WHICH MY HIGH SCHOOL SELF WOULD HAVE MADE FUN OF, AND NOW I AM ALSO THE WHITE-ONWHITE PAINTER. I REALLY FOCUSED ON CALM’’
the metaverse, which is a whole new world to collaborate and explore. I like the democratic nature of this digital world and that authentic ity seems to be slowly rising to the top. A young Latina artist right now is making money steadi ly by posting digital versions of her graffiti work. There is no gallery attached to the NFTs, so you are in charge of the whole thing. I also figured out how to highlight my nearly decade long partnership with the Poetry Society of New York in some upcoming collaborations. You really shouldn’t be seeing the painting without the words that were formed in connection with the visual art in some way, and when poets read their own poems, it’s even more beautiful. I embedded the audio of my creative collabora
tions with the NFT fused together and am also trying to do some things like that with video and audio clips.”
Other exciting projects in the pipeline cur rently include a limited series of NFTs with a good friend of his, the renowned basketball legend and five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards, which are gearing up to be released early this summer. Edwards’ recent book called Black Gold narrates her remarkable life and career and this will be her first ever NFT.
Gregg, who strives to show people a new way of seeing things through his art, aims to do the same thing with his students at Upper West Side College Preparatory School where he served as the head of Visual Arts and Art History for
nearly 8 years and continues to teach painting and drawing classes. He is even a digital resident with a group called Silver Arts Project that pro vides studios spaces in the 4 World Trade Build ing and creates a platform for a range of incred ible artists. “The students are amazing artists and such brilliant, savvy kids from having grown up in the city. I always get inspired and pushed by my kids. They are sincere and I always get an honest review from them. It keeps me inspired and humble.”
This A-list artist who continues to push bound aries with his great body of work, highlights one of the greatest moments of his career. “I was able to show my figurative drawings and paintings together, something which rarely happens because galleries had said that people wouldn’t see the connection. A lot of my paint ings were born out of the drawings and sketch es and they are all tied together. I am like two completely different artists that are very much related.”
Gregg also recently won an Instagram contest to create artistry designing and painting the entire storefront for LAAMs, an eclectic store where you will find an on-site tattoo artist as well as unique clothing that is fabricated on site and highlights many local artists thanks to founder and owner, Scott Selvin. The stylish, alternative space was even featured in Vogue last year as part of a story on the Lower East Side returning to its hay day. Next up you will be able to see Gregg’s paintings and sketches together again in a Manhattan show at the 19 Dutch building with the group RevArt opening the first week of June and his first solo show, since before the pandemic, featuring some of Gregg’s never before seen works and projects as well as pieces from lockdown at the D.Cola bella Gallery in Ridgefield, Connecticut open ing this fall.
By pushing his own boundaries, this alwaysevolving artist also pushes his audience to rethink their own. P
The artist Robert Cenedella discovered the Grateful Dead and pot smoking at age 80.
The painter was commis sioned to do a painting of the legendary rock band
The Grateful Dead in 2019. The renowned artist Robert Cenedella went all-in on studying his subject, attending five of their concerts, pre-pandemic, and smok ing marijuana for the first time. These classic counterculture rituals have been a rite of pas sage for college-age folks since the 1960s, and like many of them, Cenedella became a fan. Unlike most, he began his “Deadhead” journey at age 80.
A longtime rabble rouser in the art world, Cenedella was profiled in 2015 in the critically acclaimed documentary Art Bastard, and his body of work includes political and pop cultural satiric work including The Presence of Man and Fin del Mundo.
While the prolific artist works in a range of genres, including still life, landscape, and sculpture, as well as commercial work for com panies like Absolut Vodka, experiencing the unique Grateful Dead culture was a complete ly new adventure full of surprises. “That kind of music, it just was not my thing,” says Cened ella. “I’m thinking; what am I doing? When I met Jerry Garcia’s daughter and I told her that, more or less, I was becoming a deadhead at 80, she said, ‘Well, what music did you listen to?’ And I said, ‘Beethoven.’ She replied, ‘Oh, my father would’ve loved you. Beethoven was his favorite.’” The finished piece So Many Roads (2021), a mural-sized triptych portraying the Grateful Dead from 1965 to the present and
into the future, is being exhibited at Carlton Fine Arts on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
As Cenedella got more into the Dead universe, he began to understand that it was more than just a rock band and lead singer, Jerry Garcia’s, brilliance as a musician. Attend ing five concerts within a four-month period, Cenedella realized that the magical thing was the band’s followers, many of whom had at tended hundreds of concerts over the decades. “Call it a cult or a religion, but it’s most benevo lent. It was a wonderful atmosphere that ex isted with these people; they knew every tune.” He discovered that famous scholars were fans, like Joseph Campbell, who had written about becoming a Deadhead later in life. At one con cert someone handed him a joint. “I had never smoked any kind of cigarettes—even though people look at my art and think this guy must be stoned all the time, but that really isn’t the truth. There was a worldly feeling that I got; it was a very positive group,” Cenedella explains. “In other words, it was not political. And here I am, a political painter for years, and so it was kind of a relief to be working on a subject like this and getting into it and not taking on Wash
ington or whatever people over the years that I wasn’t too thrilled with.”
It wasn’t only a Grateful Dead awakening that formed the backdrop of this project. Amid the depths of the pandemic, he left his NYC townhouse of 38 years and moved to a new space in Maine, in July 2020. He luckily found an ideal home with studio space with 40-foot ceilings and skylights that was close to his island in Maine where he spends summers. He finished the painting there, while adjusting to the new studio after 60 years in NYC.
A trailblazer, Cenedella was the first, in 1994, to come up with the concept of selling stock in a single painting. Critics viewed it as too commercial, but he felt that the art world had become very commercial, with more focus on the prices than on the art itself. Today there are more than 20 companies selling stock in artworks.
Now he and a partner have come up with a new anti-counterfeiting and tampering holo gram technology that will be used on the So Many Roads digital archival prints. Featuring UV invisible marking, micron text hologram technology, and kinematic and color move ment patterns, it will also be applied on all of Cenedella’s existing limited edition digital archival prints, silkscreens, stone lithographs, drawings, and posters.
“I might be first again in using this concept. It seems like it’s absolutely airtight. There’s no possible way of forging that,” Cenedella says. He hopes the new technology will also spur interest in artworks. “People love technology so much that they forget it’s not more important than whatever the hell it’s connected to.” P
BY SERGEY GORDEEV
It was a nightmare—or a dream, depend ing on whom you ask. The year was 1980, and the setting the top ballet company in America, at a time when cultural news made front-page headlines. When the top stars of American Ballet Theatre, Gelsey Kirkland and Patrick Bissell, failed to show up to a dress rehearsal, it was one time too many for ABT’s Artistic Director, Mikhail Baryshnikov. They were fired, and replaced on a two-day notice by a promising young ballerina, who wasn’t even in the main company of ABT at the time.
Susan Jaffe made national news when she stunned the sophisticated New York audiences with her spectacular—and unexpected—de but in Pas D’Esclave from Le Corsaire, opposite the celebrated “Russian Adonis,” Alexander Godunov, at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. A star was born overnight.
For the next 22 years, this supernova would blaze across some of the world’s most prestig ious stages, and would continue to reinvent
herself again and again after retiring from her brilliant performing career. She has served as an Artistic Advisor to ABT’s Chair of the Board, trained fellow ABT dancers as their Ballet Mas ter, headed her own ballet studio, served as the Dean of Dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and revitalized an American dance company as Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Bal let. Now, in a full-circle moment, she returns to her Alma Mater—American Ballet Theatre—as its next Artistic Director. If this all sounds like a dream, the beginning of it was anything but a fairy tale.
“It was really a shocking event, to be a no body, and then a star. I spent the next 10 years trying to catch up to my name,” says Jaffe, now known as one of the most beloved and celebrat ed American ballerinas.
“I first tried to get the movement just right. I worked on my technique, on the style—the classics like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, the style of Balanchine—but then I still felt I needed something more. And I started to dig deeper.” Digging deeper meant going beyond
the steps. “It’s not just the pirouettes or the jumping that makes dancing beautiful. It’s the humanity behind it—that’s what the audience comes to see; and it’s important to develop that humanity within oneself.”
To develop the humanity that audiences worldwide yearned to see, Jaffe went to the source of everything. To deepen her under standing of movement, she contacted Juliu Horvath, the founder of the Gyrotonic method for improving the body’s strength and move ment efficiency. She asked him, “Where does movement originate from?” and worked diligently to incorporate these principles in her dancing. She worked with the legendary Rus sian Ballet Master Irina Kolpakova to dive deep into the classical ballet roles. She then sought out a dramaturg to learn about storytelling. “Because that’s what ballet is: it’s storytelling at its best. It’s very deep. And it’s not just emotion al, it’s also quite an intellectual experience.”
If this sounds less-than-relatable for some one who is not a dancer, consider this: the key to this prima ballerina’s path to true, lasting
success was something that could not be more universally applicable to anyone aspiring to the top of their profession. Her “magic” ingredi ents? Curiosity and work ethic.
“A lot of people have talent. But it’s what you do with it that matters. So, work ethic is the one thing that often separates a successful dancer from the others. And, if you approach every thing like a student—‘I don’t know anything, teach me’—you can understand things in a way that you couldn’t if you approached it as if you were already an expert.”
Learning, and teaching, have been very important to Jaffe throughout her entire career. That is why she says that one of her most important affiliations was with Youth America Grand Prix—the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition. Since its founding in 1999, she has served as a YAGP student mentor, adjudicator, master teacher, scholarship pre senter, and even as a board member, helping guide the development of the organization. “YAGP has done so much for the ballet world. It has brought dancers together from ballet schools across the globe. It is very important for students to see other students and for teach ers to see other teachers—this improves the quality of their performing and their teaching. It brings together company directors from around the world. And, of course, it’s the world’s largest pipeline of talent for dance companies, and I am definitely planning to continue my in volvement with YAGP so that we can continue to bring good talent to ABT.” Yagp.org
Educating and mentoring the dancers and audiences of today and tomorrow is perhaps the most important focus for Jaffe as she now takes on the leadership of America’s national ballet company. After all, her own career was jump-started when Mikhail Baryshnikov took her “under his wing.” And so, it’s not surpris ing that she ends her interview with advice for young people: “I think the most important thing is to make sure that you maintain a good friendship with yourself. So that you are authentic. So that you are not trying to be anybody else but yourself.”
Good advice, indeed. After all, as Oscar Wil de has famously said, “everyone else is taken.” ABT’s Fall season at Lincoln Center runs from October 20th to October 30th with a variety of performances taking the stage. P
ABT.org
A luxury five-star hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, Park Hyatt New York offers both high-end amenities and a chance to view their own curated art exhibitions. Their latest rotating art exhibition is by contemporary abstract artist and hotel bellman for eight years, Jeffrey Okyere-Agyei.
arking OkyereAgyei’s third exhibit at the iconic Park Hyatt New York, the collection titled “TeRa-NiSeR ToTeMs,” is inspired by the artist’s upbring ing in Ghana, where totems were a large part of the physical symbology he experienced, as passed down through the generations. Ghana’s culture, artifacts and storytelling, like many across the world, honor totems as important fixtures embedded in their his tory, and typically possess spirits of animals, plants, and various other entities associated with their ancestors.
“I have always been intrigued by ancient mythical artifacts and have found their
relevance to the human story fascinating,” said Okyere-Agyei. “’TeRa-NiSeR ToTeMs’ has become my creative interpretation of one as pect of our human history – modern art – and its spiritual symbology as a way to connect the past to the present. With the use of resin and vibrant color pigments, each piece has a unique mystical reverence about it to draw in today’s discerning traveler.” Last fall, the hotel presented Okyere-Agyei’s “EDIFICE,” an abstract interpretation of New York City’s incredible cityscapes and famous skyline. Prior to that in September 2019, OkyereAgyei displayed his first Park Hyatt New York exhibit, “Future Art for the Present,” which re flected his love of movement in nature, space, and geometry. “TeRa-NiSeR ToTeMs” will be on display at Park Hyatt New York’s ground-
level Avenue Gallery and in The Living Room through the end of December 2022.
“In the spirit of Hyatt’s commitment to car ing for others so they can be their best, we’re thrilled to feature another impressive collec tion from Jeffrey and simultaneously offer guests and locals a new, thought-provoking art experience,” said Kimberly Dixon, Interim General Manager for Park Hyatt New York.
“Demonstrating Jeffrey’s dexterity as an artist as well as the destination of New York City as a melting pot for diverse cultures from around the world, it’s only fitting that his last exhibit focused on New York City, and this one visual izes his home country of Ghana.” P parkhyattnewyork.com getsteezartgallery.com
Businesswoman
Philanthropist and investor Afsaneh Akhtari is New York’s newest salonnière, inviting inspi rational guests from a wide array of fields to her East Side home for stimulating discussions.
In April, Akhtari’s first salon, a talk with Steve Forbes, Nathan Lewis, and Elizabeth Ames on their new book, Inflation: What It Is, Why It’s Bad, and How to Fix It, drew business and political types like Larry Kudlow, John Catsimatidis, WSJ editor-at-large Gerald Baker, Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo, and musician/singer/songwriter Tommy James.
In May, French fashion house Balmain tapped Akhtari to host a private soiree for creative director Olivier Rousteing, who was in town to open the brand’s new Madison Avenue flagship. Fashion industry folks and VIP clients, known as the “Balmain Army,” took in a fashion show in her living room.
“To me, art and culture and fashion are equally important,” says Akhtari. “I love beauti ful things; I love to be surrounded with beauty, and I find beauty in a lot of things.” She enjoys hosting people at her art-filled apartment, and at 6,000 square feet, the place can accom modate a crowd—the Forbes book event was originally planned as dinner for 12, and they ended up having 150 people.
When she came up with the idea for the salon series, people advised her to have a niche, in art or politics or music, but she let her broad Afsaneh Akhtari
AFSANEH “SUNNY” AKHTARIscope of interests dictate the programming. Inspiration comes from everywhere, from an extraordinary young Julliard-trained pianist she came across named Llewellyn SanchezWerner to Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s first female president, whom Akhtari met recently. “I’m all about empowerment of women and girls,” she says.
The plan is to hold 8 to 12 salons per year. “If it sounds interesting and I like the people, abso lutely, I’ll host it. And I have a really spectacular apartment with panoramic views of New York and the East River, so it’s just really a fun place to throw parties.”
Akhtari grew up in Iran, the youngest of five children in a very affluent but protective Per sian family. “Despite my privileged upbringing, I decided to take my own journey and live my own way,” says Akhtari.
Leaving her family’s home at age 17 for short stints in Barcelona and Montreal, she then headed to Vancouver, where she put herself through college, eventually earning a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia.
She raised her daughter, Jazmin, now 19 and studying at NYU, as a single mom. This
life trajectory was unusual for a woman from a conservative Iranian family.
All her siblings were also educated in North America, and are successful professionals living in the U.S., all are married with their own children born in this country.
After completing her studies, a successful career in San Francisco followed, first at Bristol Myers Squibb and then at Merck & Co., where Akhtari worked for 18 years. She became a pillar of San Francisco society, serving on the boards of the SF Opera Guild and the Modern Art Council. Former California Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Willie Brown Jr. attended her 50th birthday celebration.
In 2017, Akhtari made an unexpected move to New York after a whirlwind romance and marriage to financier Donald Smith. His death from pancreatic cancer in 2019 was followed by the pandemic, and she’s finally beginning to emerge from this period of mourning and social distancing to take on New York. “Now I want to do things. I’m ready. I’m a social person, I love to be active, and I love to be involved.”
An avid runner, Akhtari has done four halfmarathons, and hopes to run the New York marathon. She’d planned to do that in 2019, but her husband passed away just days prior.
“I am in a brand-new chapter in my life, at 54,” she says. “It’s a chapter I didn’t ask for, but I love change. I’ve lived in three different continents and many different cities. I think you have to evolve as a human being. You constantly have to change to become a better version of yourself.”
Akhtari hopes that as a woman and a mi nority from a very protective Muslim Persian family, she can be a role model and show others that anything is possible. “I think I am like a poster child of the American dream.” Hers is an inspiring journey that’s beginning its next chapter. P
BY LINDA FELIZ
oard-certified dermatologist Dr. Marie Hayag makes it her mission to deliver exceptional cutting-edge dermatological care and treat ment to her patients. Attending the recent Miami Cosmetic Surgery Conference, she learned about Nutrigenomix’s new DNA test ing. “I immediately contacted them, since as a physician, I like to stay on top of all the new scientific developments and advances in medi cine and those specific to my specialization of dermatology to enhance patient outcomes,” she explained. “That’s what led me to Nutrigeno mix, which utilizes exclusive, state-of-the-art genetic testing specific to your skin.” Now, Dr. Hayag is the sole dermatologist in New York who offers Nutrigenomix’s DNA testing in order to curate patient-specific, personalized skincare. “As soon as I found out about the test, my husband and I did it the same day,” she says. “It was amazing.”
Genes are the fortune tellers of the scientific world. Through genetic testing specific to your skin, the report identifies how your genes can influence your skin’s ability to combat the signs of aging, including your risk of elasticity and
collagen loss, fine lines and wrinkles, agerelated pigment spots, as well as a wide array of other related aging risks. For Dr. Hayag, a look into them is a look into the skin’s health and aging, and according to Dr. Hayag, “genes don’t lie.” Genetic skin testing can be a key to help slow the aging process and to keep your skin in top condition. “My patients are very excited about this. I just recently started the testing, and the response has been tremendous,” says Dr. Hayag, who is providing her patients with this new service that will not only enhance their skin health, but their overall well-being.
The DNA test itself is a simple saliva test that is also very comprehensive, evaluating 70 dif ferent genes. With the Skin Genomics RX plan, 10 to 14 days after the test is taken, Dr. Hayag will review the results of the genetic analysis to craft a precise, personalized medical skincare treatment plan “as tailored as your individual DNA profile” to optimize results to prevent the skin’s aging and how to best maintain the well ness of your skin’s youthful appearance into the future. It is easier for the report to do the talking as Dr. Hayag states, “I can tell everyone that
they should use vitamin C and wear sunscreen, but whether they listen to me or not is another thing. However, if I tell them through this report that they’re more prone to aging, wrinkles, and sunspots due to their diminished genetic ca pacity to protect against oxidation and stress, it might leave them thinking, ‘Wow, then I should be using this product.’”
While Dr. Hayag’s focus is on the dermatolog ical aspects and individual treatment plan, the genetic report also tests and makes recommen dations specific to weight management, body composition, cardiometabolic health, food intolerances, fitness performance, and injury risk. Which is why the test also includes a nutri tional analysis and a one-on-one consultation with a certified dietician. “I think that when we do these types of tests, it’s important to know that what we eat has a lot to do with our general health and our overall skin health; we are what we eat, it really is true, and you see it after you read your report,” says Dr. Hayag.
Unlike other genetic testing, such as
23andMe, there is no concern about patient pri vacy with Nutrigenomix. “Number one, I want people to know that the results are private, and only I know what the results are through these barcodes, and that the data that is taken from the test is not shared with any third parties,” says Dr. Hayag.
The popularity of Dr. Hayag’s new Skin Genomics RX service is growing quickly. When Dr. Hayag placed one of the largest initial orders for a two-month supply that Nutrig enomix’s has ever seen, the tests ran out in two weeks. While currently only offered at her 5th Avenue office, Dr. Hayag also plans to bring the Nutrigenomix DNA testing to her Palm Beach office, as well as to patients’ own homes. “This is an easy test that I can take anywhere. I could send the test kit to a patient in Alaska if needed,” explained Dr. Hayag. Additionally, as the science expands, Dr. Hayag plans to con tinue adding new gene testing as it is released to offer to her patients. P
At the apex of the COVID-19 crisis in New York City, Dr. Ramon Tallaj was at work with New York’s vulnerable Hispanic community—a group that he affectionately refers to as “his people.” Now, he is helping New York City attack another of its most prominent problems: litter. With the help of his long-time pal and Yankee World Series Champion, Mariano River, Dr. Tallaj and SOMOS Community care have launched a campaign called “Basket In.” This phrase was coined by the healthcare network to inspire a new community movement in which citizens slam dunk their trash into the appropriate receptacles, instead of leaving it on the ground. With the help of NBA basketball stars Francisco Garcia and Jamel Thomas, a PSA was filmed to show actual basketball stars taking part in the campaign. In addition to this PSA, Dr. Tallaj included a multicultural digital awareness campaign to teach people the importance of throwing away their trash.
While on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Tallaj and his healthcare crew captured every moment on video. Now, his
documentary “Doctor Tallaj: The Hispanic Physician Who Faced COVID-19 In New York,” has been nominated for a NY Daytime Emmy. “We raised the alarm at the beginning,” says Dr. Tallaj, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who founded SOMOS Community Care, a non-profit, physician-led healthcare network caring for over one million New Yorkers, who are almost exclusively from vulnerable Hispanic, Asian, and AfricanAmerican populations. “Because our doctors are part of these communities, because we are immigrants and speak the languages of our patients, we could listen to our community and see this coming. It meant that we were able to prepare.” Listening to the community meant that SOMOS’s network of 2,600 physicians was able to gather supplies. It meant that they were able to quickly open bilingual coronavirus testing centers in underserved areas like Queens, the Bronx, and upper Manhattan (where Dr. Tallaj’s Inwood office is based). “Our people have perhaps $100. They make $15 an hour. They have no money saved for healthcare. They didn’t, in some cases, have money to buy Lysol. Without question, this was the most important crisis I’ve faced in my career,” says Dr. Tallaj, who has half a century of experience. To date, SOMOS has set up more than 200 vaccine sites, administered over two million vaccines
and served over two million meals to the most in-need New Yorkers. In April 2022, SOMOS became the first primary care network group to partner with New York State to receive direct shipments of the Covid-19 vaccines to their medical offices. As recognition for his valuable work against COVID by his peers, Dr. Tallaj presented Pfizer with the Best Covid Vaccine Award at the VIE Awards in Washington, DC.
Growing up as the eldest of six children in a mixed Lebanese and Dominican family in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dr. Tallaj faced hardship, preparing him for the bumpy road that his career would lead him down. Dr. Tallaj quickly became a prominent figure in his country, being appointed the undersecretary of public health and social service, a member of the Dominican-Haitian Frontier Affairs Commission, and then the medical director of the Social Security and Welfare Institute. When Cardinal John O’Connor of the Archdiocese of New York asked him to come serve in New York, he immediately accepted, turning down a position as the Dominican Republic’s Minister of Health. Little did he know that a few decades later, he would advise President Barack Obama on healthcare reform. “It was a dream for me to come to New York,”
says Dr. Tallaj, who now enjoys painting and international horse racing in his free time. “It was the American dream.”
Prevention is The Key
Today, as New York heals and reopens, Dr. Ramon Tallaj has been appointed as the cochairman of Mayor Eric Adams’s COVID-19 Recovery Roundtable and Health Equity Task Force. Even with all of this on his plate, he is still with his people—in the streets, at their homes, and in the hospital. That may sound strange for a Manhattan doctor and healthcare executive, but Dr. Tallaj says that is precisely why we have to transform our “sick care” system into a true “health care” system. “We have really done something unique in New York City,” he says of the healthcare platform he founded in 2015. “We establish genuine relationships with our patients and get to know their family circumstances, social lives, and the environmental factors that impact the health of the patient and their families. Prevention is the key.” And because so many of SOMOS’s patients rely on Medicaid, those long-term health improvements mean big savings for the state via a 25-percent reduction in hospital admissions..
Dr. Lee Phillips, an awardwinning psychotherapist and Certified Sex & Couples Therapist (CSCT) with practices in both New York City and Virginia, is bringing his expertise to the Hamptons. He just opened a new office in Watermill. drleephillips.com With over 13 years of experience, Dr. Phillips has built a successful, safe, non-judgmental, sex positive, empathetic, and warm practice, helping his clients achieve their goals using holistic approaches to treat the whole person and not just the symptoms. Dr. Phillips works withand patients with de pression, sexual challenges, anxiety disorders, trauma, bipolar disorder, substance use disor ders, chronic pain, chronic illness, disabilities, and disease. He also works with LGBTQIA populations. Dr. Phillips also offers advice on his Sex & Chronic Illness Podcast to connect with individuals all over the world. podcasts. apple.com
Sex therapy is a form of talk therapy; people talk about sexual challenges. These may be lack of desire and arousal, erectile challenges, women experiencing painful intercourse, or those struggling sexually with their partner due to lack of emotional connection. Psychotherapy helps calm the body by restructuring our thoughts, becoming more relaxed during sex, and being able to communicate intimate and sexual needs to one’s partner. Some clients may have fetishes or fantasies that they don’t feel comfortable sharing with other people. “We talk to patients about how to have healthy sex and how to be honest and how to change their behavior through a sex-positive lens, because people have erotic needs,” Dr. Phillips says. “We’’ve normalized a lot in sex therapy and give
“WE TALK TO PATIENTS ABOUT HOW TO HAVE HEALTHY SEX.”
Dr. Lee PhillipsPHOTOS
people a comfortable place to be able to talk about their sexual desires and their issues.”
As a certified sex therapist, Dr. Phillips provides a safe, non-judgmental environment for all types of relationships and all sexualities. Those in non-monogamous, polyamorous, and/or kink relationships are welcome, as are swingers, people of color, and members of the BDSM and LGBTQ + communities. “I’m kinkaware and see a lot of folks that are in different relationship structures, so patients know that they may throw out a term and I’ll know what it means,” he says.
He helps couples who may want to open up their relationship to come up with a nonmo nogamy agreement. Others may want to close their relationship back up, – a phenomenon that became more prevalent after Covid hit.
“My thing has always been as long as it’’s consensual and you’’re protecting yourself, have the sexual freedom that you want to have, because pleasure is our birthright, and it’’s something that we all deserve, no matter what that is.”
Dr. Phillips also works with people to help them have different types of sex. “There’’s this idea that we have to have intercourse, but no, the skin is the largest sex organ, and the brain is the most important sex organ. So, we have erogenous zones on our bodies that we can explore. There’’s a lot of power to touch that can really enhance eroticism,” he says. People can be sexual in different ways. “And that’’s really the work that I love doing, because I love when my patients can walk out of my office and say, ‘There’’s really nothing wrong with me. I can enjoy pleasure any way that I want to.’”
With his unique background in treating people of all sexualities, genders, and abili ties, Dr. Phillips’ expert advice is highly sought after by the media. He has been quoted in Teen Vogue, Men’s Health, The Washington Post’s “The Lily,”, and Bustle. He has been featured on many podcasts focusing on sexuality, including that of internationally renowned psychothera pist Esther Perel.
“Psychotherapy has become one of the lead ing treatments for chronic pain, because doc tors can prescribe but people need to learn how to regulate their thoughts and their emotions as it relates to their pain,” explains Dr. Phillips. “If they can do that, what the research finds is that they can manage their pain a lot better.”
He treats patients with cancer, autoim mune disorders, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, and chronic migraine headaches, as well as accident victims with chronic back pain or neck pain. Dr. Phillips is a recognized specialist in treating people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and neurolo gists and other medical professionals often refer their patients to him.
When diagnosed with a chronic illness, a person’s life is shattered; it changes, and they eventually reach a resolution phase in which they start to adapt to their new needs as their
body has changed. That is where the desire for intimacy may resurface. “They want to be able to reclaim their life again, to be able to have sex. Maybe they can’’t have the sex that they used to because they have a lot of pain. So, we work on how do we map that out.”
An example might be an MS patient who has more energy in the morning, so they may be sexual in the morning where prior to getting sick, they were sexual in the evening. “We talk about how to manage that, and how to sup port the healthy partner because sometimes they can become their caretaker,” Dr. Phillips explains. That is an important factor, since a high percentage of marriages end in divorce due to chronic illness. “It’’s really hard for some one who had a vibrant sex life prior to getting ill because sexuality is definitely a part of our identity.”
The healing properties of teas have been an essen tial component of Eastern medicine for centuries yet have only recently begun to be explored by Americans seeking an alternative to pharmaceuticals. Four years ago, when New York entrepreneur and model Anna Cher nitskaya discovered that she was chroni cally ill, she turned to the tradition she knew from her youth to treat herself successfully and naturally through tea and lifestyle changes. Anna has since founded @the.rit ual.tea, bringing teas of exceptional quality and healing potential into the marketplace, beginning with her Buckwheat Tea.
Upon moving to the US from Eastern Europe, Anna was becoming ill frequently. “There is constant air-conditioning every where, which I was not used to, and my body reacted. I was diagnosed with chronic ton silitis and treated with antibiotics and other medications, but the symptoms persisted.” Anna began seeing her body reacting to problematic American food. “I was definite ly not feeling like myself because so much of the food here is processed. I gained more than twenty pounds.” She explored ways to
treat herself with intermittent fasting and Buckwheat Tea. “A lot of illness is attributed to sugar intake, which creates many compli cations, up to and including cancer.”
What makes Anna’s Buckwheat Tea unique is the taste and the process through which it is produced. Originating in China, where much of the world’s highest-quality
teas are grown, its benefits are abundant. “I am obsessed with this tea because it’s filling and tasty. It’s FDA-approved, and it has no caffeine,” she says. “It has a relaxing quality, reducing stress, and the body feels more comfortable, in addition to curbing your ap petite. When I lost twenty pounds by drink ing Buckwheat Tea, I was hooked for life.” Born in Poland, Anna says, “I grew up in a very healthy environment, where we used nature for medicinal needs by treating ailments like high blood pressure, flu, and heavy monthly periods with herbs and teas. Also, we ate a cleaner diet without pro cessed foods. Natural foods are much more satisfying to the body.”
Developed during the pandemic, @the. ritual.tea is launching with Buckwheat Tea, but Anna has more in the works, including a sleep-inducing tea driven by valerian root extract, and then a blueberry tea, high in antioxidants. “I really love the idea of help ing yourself with supplements as part of a broader healthy routine and healthy ritu als,” she says. “That’s why I named my brand The Ritual. It is a ritual that you can add to your daily life for improved health.” You can purchase Anna’s The Ritual Tea at
BY LAUREN BENS
ith a flair for art and design, Alexandra Reboul, a New York native, founded ALIPRINTS Atelier, and now you can get all of the customized Ali designs you have room for on your walls, or in your home.
Growing up on the Upper East Side and spending much of her weekends in the Cat skills, Ali was continuously inspired by all the arts the city had to offer, along with the natural beauty of the Catskills. She went on to study art and work with some of the most well-known fashion houses in the world.
“I was initially drawn to fashion because it was art that people could experience, and then when I got into the interior space, it just felt
like a perfect combination of art as well as the experience of storytelling through art,” says Ali.
“I studied in London at Central Saint Martin’s. I just wanted to create. After college, I was liv ing in the city and started working for Diane Von Furstenberg, where I created textile prints. I later opened my art-to-print design company so that I could turn my art into textiles. I also worked in Italy at a textile companies’ archives. I became so fascinated with the textiles that they’ve done for so many years and got to see how they’re interpreted. Each piece and figure and icon really meant something. I love this idea that things had more significance than just be ing pretty. I’m always interested in the story be
hind the piece and the reason people were using those textiles back in the day.”
After working with other clothing brands including Oscar de la Renta, she decided to launch ALIPRINTS a few years ago. With every thing from textiles to wallpapers, plus artwork, tapestry, and traditional painting, her varied business built around her talents allows her to do what she does best – create. “I’m really fo cused on all things custom made. For me, it’s such a collaboration with every single one of my clients. Some clients are very specific, and so I’ll create something similar to their vision, while others will have no idea what they want so I will research what their style is and try to get their
dreams from their head onto an artwork.”
Ali, who grew up with parents who are both lawyers, could tell from a young age that she tended to see things much more visually and, well, her own way. “They would say, ‘until I see it, I can’t envision it,’ so I really want to make things as visual as possible for those more left side brain types. I will paint a million different paint ings until I get the exact right artwork for the pro ject I’m working on. For custom wallpaper, my most popular design project, I start by creating a mood board which really helps my clients and I decide on the artwork direction together. They will tell me a story and I will pick out elements that I know will make really good artwork.”
Her main business comes from word of mouth or through her social media channels, and she has also worked on many creative col laborations, including a recent project with the World Wildlife Association + Airwick. The pro ject, called SuperBloom, allowed her to incorpo rate a lot of flowers, as well as greenery and crea tures, something that came naturally to her as she is constantly being inspired by nature. She also worked for the children’s clothing company Giggle, where she helped develop prints for kids’ brands, using her imagination and colored pen cils to create cute and fun designs. Recently, she used this sense of whimsicality to paint a child’s bedroom with koi fish in dreamy watercolors.
“The process of creating a custom design is so much fun. I love figuring out how everything is going to come together and the style I am go ing to use for the project. I find it so interesting working with clients and seeing what’s impor tant to people and most importantly, getting to
As an Artist in Residence at Scribner’s Cat skills Lodge, you can now view Ali’s wallpaper works in the hotel’s quaint and charming rooms. The lodge, which was originally built in 1966, re cently reopened in 2016 as a new interpretation of a Catskills classic. Set amidst a backdrop of awe-inspiring nature, the rustic yet chic 38room eclectic mountain lodge is indeed the per fect setting to display Ali’s own interpretation of the outdoors. Her Winter Forest is currently in a Catskill Queen room while the Catskill Ferns can be found in the Mountain King room. She is also working on a contemporary spin of the Ancient Roman gardens meets the Cat skills, something Ali is enjoying due to the pro ject’s uniqueness, which lends itself to allowing her to come up with a special story. As wallpaper is one of her most popular projects, Ali is also excited about an intricate wallpaper mural she is about to embark on, where she will be includ
ing a different story on each panel. Addition ally, she is planning on flying out to California to work on another mural for multiple rooms. “It’s going to be a very cool, layered piece. One of the mural’s is for a kid’s room with an around-theworld theme featuring monuments with layers on top.”
One of the reasons Ali is so sought after is due to her dedication of going behind the scenes to find out what her clients really want and com bining unique elements into their home. For in stance, she might hide a name or picture of a pet somewhere in a piece, something she recently did with a family’s pet pug. “I try to be thought ful, whether it’s working with their interior de signer or designing a project on my own. When it comes to creating a custom wallpaper, I think of it as a way of expressing oneself, so I believe the client’s vision and personality should show through.”
Also heavily inspired by the serene beauty
and design of France, where her family is origi nally from, Ali goes back on frequent visits to find things that resonate with her aesthetic. She is also passionate about quality and sustainabil ity. “All of my manufacturing is done in the US. There is no footprint for me. Everything is cus tom and made to order. Even if it’s a 100-squarefoot wall, or wallpaper on the ceiling, I make it happen.”
You can usually find this talented painter at museums or art galleries, so that she can stay on the pulse of what’s happening right now, or you can find her experimenting with different art techniques of her own. Ali appreciates the beauty of textures and prints.
After all, whether it’s a mural for the home or a design from her new wallpaper line, Ali designs your dreams, even if you might not know what they are just yet. P
“EVERYTHING IS CUSTOM AND MADE TO ORDER. EVEN IF IT’S A 100-SQUAREFOOT WALL, OR WALLPAPER ON THE CEILING, I MAKE IT HAPPEN.”PHOTO
Whether you’re an artist, art collector, curator, or enthusiast, finding the right place to store and/ or showcase your precious collection is crucial and relies on several factors, including space and temperature.
These homes were selected for those with art collections in mind, offering a variety of features—from in-home gallery spaces to state-of-the-art humidity and temperature control—to ensure your precious works are kept in the best possible condition.
Epitomizing the thoughtful design and lavish appointments for which Upper East Side townhomes are known, 128 East 74th Street is equipped with an in-home humidification system. This is a rare feature that can be optimized to ensure your artwork is kept in ideal conditions.
The welcoming entry gallery of this sophisticated Upper East Side apartment is the perfect place to display your art. Its multi-zone central AC and humidification system will protect your collection for years to come.
Flowing over 10,350 ft2, this superlative duplex houses five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, expansive, regal entertaining rooms, and a meticulous, unmatched eye to finishes and details. Located in the the landmarked Mrs. Armory S. Carhart mansion, any art collection would shine inside the jaw-dropping 1,100 ft2, the handsome, wood-paneled living room with 18.5 ft. ceilings and a wood-burning fireplace.
Ambience is everything when it comes to displaying art, and the indoor/ outdoor flow at this Upper West Side penthouse is the perfect stage for any chef d’oeuvre. Highlights of this modern dream home are tasteful millwork, state-of-the-art lighting, solid core doors, an integrated audio system, electronic blinds & temperature control throughout.
A rare gem of Manhattan’s Gilded Age, this stunning home is located just down the road from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was restored, updated, and utilized by the American Irish Historical Society to house and showcase books, manuscripts, and works of art. Its elegant Beaux-arts style interiors are both hospitable and museum-quality.
Currently owned by an acclaimed artist, this home’s whimsically designed interiors are sure to foster creativity, with multiple spaces throughout showcasing various design styles suitable to compliment a variety of art. There is even a large artist’s studio overlooking the backyard on the garden level.
The abundance of wall space in this home is perfect for those with large art collections, as seen with its current owner. Its artful, contemporary design adds to the gallery-like ambiance.
The wall of incredible floor-to-ceiling windows at this stunning penthouse will allow for an incredible viewing experience and a ton of natural light. There are also four sprawling outdoor terraces that overlook Broadway and Lincoln Center - a true feast for the senses.
BY LISA LIPPMAN
oday, our homes are tricked out with all of the bells and whistles that one could imagine. Developers, designers, and decorators alike draw inspiration from showhouses and push the limits of each and every trend. Yet, despite the possibility for endless customization, one amenity that remains exclusively unique is the home’s view.
Over the past decades I’ve had the pleasure to work with countless buyers in the City. At the onset, together we create a list of must-have attributes to help refine our search and it is not uncommon for views to be prioritized right alongside location, size, and style of the homes.
Oversized windows that frame sweeping cityscapes, sprawling green spaces, and iconic landmarks set the tone and add character, warmth, and a dynamic energy. These views also contribute to the property’s prominence and price.
At the mid-year mark, the median price for resale apartments that included three bedrooms or more was $2,950,000 and $3,300,000 on the East Side and West Side respectively. However, similarly sized properties along Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, for example, that showcase sky high and park views, generally commanded a premium of at least 20 percent.
Each building and in-turn each floor within a building offers a different perspective. The second floor might boast a house like park view, while the fifth floor just starts clearing the tops of the trees, at the eighth/ ninth floor one sees the trees and the City beyond, and on the twentieth floor one can enjoy the full expanse of Central Park bookended by the dazzling City lights. Every view is special, and unique in its own right. P
About Lisa: Lisa K. Lippman is the #1 agent at Brown Harris Stevens, an honor that she has held for the past six consecutive years. For more, visit: https:// www.bhsusa. com/real-estateagent/lisalippman
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Meet Gabe Leibowitz, a native Manhattanite who’s lived in Brooklyn for the past 17 years and run his own team with Douglas Elliman since 2018. He offers a wealth of residential advisory services and boots-on-theground knowledge to his clients across both boroughs, steeped in his personal mantra of ethics, around-the-clock attentiveness, and a warm, bespoke approach to the industry.
Gabe started his own brokerage at the age of 25, which he ran for a decade before merging with Warburg Realty; there, he annually fin ished among the company’s top 10 before join ing Elliman in 2018. He’s now in his 18th year in the industry, and his team consistently ranks among Elliman’s elite producers. When he’s not pounding the pavement of his city, Gabe—who celebrated 16 years of marriage in July, to his wonderful wife, Francesca—enjoys spend ing time with his family, which also includes his 12-year-old son and a beautiful standard poodle. Prior to becoming a top broker, he was a film critic and continues to write reviews to this day, one of the many ways he naturally con nects to the people he works with!
With endless experience under his belt and countless deals closed over the years (spanning bushels of neighborhoods, clients, customers, and scenarios!), Gabe takes the time to really get to know to know each and every customer and how he can best make their lives a little better. After all, that’s what makes this field so rewarding! You can even check out his admit tedly eclectic movie taste at https://letterboxd. com/AragornX151/.
left NYC and landed in Rome at 9:30 a.m. and was met by a sleek, black Mercedes car with a knowledgeable driver from the Hotel Gregoriana. Forty minutes later we arrived at my charming hotel literally 40 paces from the Spanish Steps.
This intimate four-story hotel housed in a 17th-century former convent has been run by the same family since 1971. Its location is superb, next to the famous Spanish Steps, and within easy walking distance to many of Rome’s other historic treasures, including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Villa Borghese. A delightful 30-minute walk through the ancient, cobbled streets will bring you to the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. Hotel Gregoriana’s prime location is in the very center of Rome, but tucked away on a quiet, charming street so you’re not faced with hordes of tourists outside your door.
Suite Number 3
I was thrilled by the ultra-glamorous suite, simply called No. 3, that I was shown to. An inviting sitting room with Art Deco décor opened to an enormous and well-appointed living room with comfortable furniture in shades of light green. The suite included two bedrooms, one spacious with dark wood original Art Deco furniture (that I wanted to take home); one smaller bedroom with a single bed perfect for a nanny or a secretary. But the piéce de résistance was the ginormous terrace overlooking the city, with lush plantings of lavender and lemon trees bearing fruit. Because of the heat, I didn’t spend much time on the divine terrace, which is large enough to easily accommodate a cocktail party for 75 people.
Thankfully, the air conditioner at the hotel was powerful enough to keep the suite as close to frigid as you could want. I immediately took a refreshing nap and woke up in time to meet my family, who were staying just down the block at the Hotel Hassler, for drinks before heading out to dinner. hotel gregoriana.it
One look at my family’s rooms and I knew I’d made a wise decision, as my accommodations were truly grand and that’s saying something as the Hassler is no slouch and was one of Travel & Leisure’s top five hotels in Rome last year. As I entered the Hassler, Roberto, the son of the recently deceased owner, greeted me as an old friend. The courtyard with a fountain at the Hassler is a perfect spot for cocktails or its divine breakfast buffet. A green moss wall behind the bar is dotted with ancient statues, making this an ultra-glamorous stop for a glass of Ruinart. We had dinner at a charming spot nearby and, needless to say, the pasta was per fetto, as was the chateaubriand. Hotelhasslerroma.com
One of Rome’s most famous attractions, the Spanish Steps, were named for the Piazza di Spagna Spanish square at its base, outside the embassy of Spain to the Holy See. A popular
gathering place since its completion in 1725, early on the steps became a magnet for artists and, later, photogra phers, and thereby attracted a noticeably good-looking crowd hoping to be discovered as models. Ever since, the Spanish Steps have been an ideal spot for people-watching.
The steps have been a backdrop in countless movies, including The Talented Mr. Ripley, Bertolucci’s Besieged, and, perhaps most notably, 1953’s Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Partway up the Spanish Steps you’ll find the Keats-Shelly House, a museum ded icated to the British Romantic poets who were spellbound by the Eternal City. It’s where the poet John Keats lived and, sadly, died of TB in 1821 at the age of 25.
In July, Italian design house Val entino closed off the Spanish Steps to show its autumn/winter 2022/2023 collection to a celebstudded audience, including Anne Hathaway, Naomi Campbell, and Andrew Garfield. After ward, Dior slapped Valentino with a lawsuit demanding $100,000 in damages as the runway show blocked cus tomers from entering its nearby boutique that day. Who else would tell you these things?
This high-fashion kerfuffle can be chalked up to the
fact that Rome’s high-end luxury shops are clustered near the Spanish Steps on Via Condotti. This exclusive street is where you can drop mega-bucks at Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Bulgari, and Armani, or just window shop.
The entire Couri clan is here, so the next day we piled into our Mercedes van with our driver and guide, Nick, who gave us a tour of the city that included Michelan gelo’s Sistine Chapel. Tip for the Vatican Museums: Have your conciergerie buy the tickets so you don’t wait in line. Initially they’ll tell you it’s sold out, but the clever concierge goes directly to a broker and presto-you’re in to see the endless treasures of the museums. vatican state.va
Next stop: pizza and pasta for lunch and then on to the Colosseum, which is still under construction and gets better every time you see it. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for a lot of steps and unbearable heat if you’re there in the summer. One of the marvelous things about Rome’s ancient wonders is that no matter how often you visit, there’s always something new to see. The Colosseum, dating from the year A.D. 80, has been undergoing yearslong restoration projects. In 2021 a 160,000-square-foot section never before accessible to the public opened after a four-year restoration under written by the fashion house Tod’s.
The next phase is rebuilding the wooden, retractable
floor (remember, this place was built 2,000 years ago) expected to be completed in 2023. The floor had been removed by archeologists in the 1800s, exposing the under ground network of tunnels where gladiators and lions waited before the Roman blood sports began.
Once the floor is rebuilt, the government expects to hold cultural events like concerts and exhibitions at the Colosseum (no blood sports, with the exception of the occasional fistfight between superfans), so there will be new things to see for eternity at this ancient monument.
On to the Trevi Fountain, a true architectural master piece. Of course, we turned our back and threw our coins in to ensure our return. Completed in 1762 and inaugu rated by Pope Clement XIII, the fountain’s name signifies its location at the junction of three roads―tre vie in Italian. One of Rome’s most high-profile sites, the Trevi has been immortalized in movies like Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, in which Anita Ekberg waded into the fountain with Mar cello Mastroianni. The ancient practice of tossing coins into a fountain was popularized by the 1954 American movie Three Coins in the Fountain and the Oscar-winning song of the same name.
Last stop was the Catacombs, where the remains of multiple popes of the roughly 270 who have been the Bishops of Rome lie. This is the perfect end of our tour, as it’s a blessed 55 degrees several stories underground, and the site stretches for 12 miles.
Another fabulous dinner, this time pasta with truffles and porcini mushrooms and egg plant with cheese―wickedly delicious. Really, terrific food is everywhere in Rome; you’re spoiled for choice. Ask your hotel concierge for dining recommendations if you’re overwhelmed.
After a good night’s sleep, we packed and headed for the port, an hour from the hotel, for our cruise to Greece and Turkey
Our first stop was Santorini, the island that is the epitome of the Greek Isles, known for its dazzling sunlit blue-green cliffs speckled with whitewashed villages cascading down to the shoreline. It is a picture postcard come to life. Ride the funicular up and eat at a cliffside restaurant to take in the panoramic views overlooking the Aegean Sea. Tip: Arrange for a van and driver to take you around, as it’s not easy to find a taxi.
Known as Greece’s Pompeii, Akrotiri is an ancient Minoan city on Santorini that was buried in ash from a catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 17th century B.C.
Uncovered in 1967, the ruins are remarkably well preserved, making this one of the most significant archaeological sites in Greece. Housed within a cool protective structure, you’ll pass through a city com plete with roads and elaborate drainage systems, and peek at wall paintings inside buildings that survived. A guided tour is best. There’s also the Museum of Prehis toric Thera that tells the story of ancient Akrotiri.
We are on Mykonos; there is a nice breeze to keep us cool, and the island’s glitzy beach club, Nammos, and new-ish (2020) Soho House are the places to see and be seen. Known for its decadent nightlife, Mykonos is also a longtime magnet for the jet set and their mega-yachts. Chic guests over the years have included Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Grace Kelly, Marlon Brando, Princess Soraya (wife of the Shah of Iran), and Jackie O, for whom a beach club is named, and where we took in a drag show during our visit.
Famous folks still flock here in droves in more recent years Mariah Carey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, Alessandra Ambrosio, Demi Moore, Gerard Butler, Linda Evangelista, and Ariana Grande have all enjoyed this jewel of the Aegean. Indeed, at Nammos we saw Elon Musk whooping it up at lunch. Of course, Mykonos has plenty to do for every taste fabulous beaches, even for families, water sports, great shopping from tourist trinkets to Chanel, charming towns to explore, and the famous windmills that are the island’s mostphotographed site.
While on Mykonos, take a boat to the sacred island of Delos, the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Aphrodite, a Unesco World Heritage site, and one of the most impor tant archaeological sites in Greece. This small island features a well-preserved ancient city containing the remains of a sanctuary to the gods Apollo and Artemis, plus an on-site museum with one of the finest collections of ancient Greek sculpture and artefacts. I’ve been coming to this
idyllic island since I was a teenager, and although the crowd has changed dramatically, its charms have not been totally extinguished by the cruise ships and the day trippers, at least not yet.
We headed to Ephesus, a harbor city in Turkey packed with history dating from 6000 B.C., once home to Amazon female warriors who would cut off one breast so they’d excel at archery. Nest ce Pas? Of Turkey’s many ancient cities and classical ruins, Ephesus, a Unesco World Her itage Site, is the grandest and best preserved.
Just outside Ephesus, we went to the home of the Virgin Mary, a chapel built atop the foundations of a ruined house where she is said to have lived for several years. It is believed that the Apostle John brought the Virgin Mary to Ephesus near the end of her life. A French priest found the house in 1881 based on the visions of a bedridden German nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
We then went to the ancient city itself, which is clearly laid out with quite a number of buildings more or less intact, with wonderful examples of Doric and Corinthain
columns. There is a nearly fully restored amphitheater, The Great Theatre, the city’s most spectacular site. Orig inally built in the first century A.D., and later recon structed by the Romans between A.D. 41-117, the theatre is still used today for live musical performances, with a seating capacity of 8,000. Ephesus.us
Another must-see in Ephesus is the façade of an archi tectural marvel commissioned in 110 A.D. as a funerary monument for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, who was buried there. One of the world’s largest libraries of its time, it held over 12,000 scrolls. Amidst the scrolls was a secret tunnel that led directly to a brothel, so the oldest joke in Turkey was for a husband to say “Honey, I’m going to the library to study,” but of course, once inside, he slipped into the brothel to study the oldest profession in the world. The interior was destroyed by a fire in 262 A.D., and an earthquake later destroyed the remaining façade. Archeologists rebuilt the façade in the 1970s.
At an authentic local restaurant, we had chicken and lamb kebabs, lamb chops, the famous yogurt dip, tahini, and Turkish pizza made of thin pita bread topped with tomato and herbs. Lunch finished with an enormous bowl of delicious and rare white figs.
Because we had teenagers with us, we braved the crowds at the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which has been restored quite a bit since I was last there. Restorations to this ancient site have been ongoing since 1975, with the most recent phase completed in 2020 and more in the works.
We rode up and down in the new elevator—yes, if you pay off the right guide, you can not only go to the front of the line, but you can also use the aforementioned elevator that was installed with funding from the Onassis Foun dation, founded by Jackie Kennedy’s second and last husband, Aristotle Onassis. This modern innovation greatly improves accessibility to this site.
After our tour we headed to the Plaka, which is oppo site the Grand Bretagne Hotel, still the best hotel in town. Marriott.com. We strolled in the shade and picked one of many local and authentic Greek restaurants, where we could order the divine grilled octopus. On your trip, grab a gelato after lunch from one of the spots and then shop and shop and shop. The prices are quite good, and there is a lot to choose from.
We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium, built in c. 330 B.C. for the Panathenaic Games (a combination of reli
gious, cultural, and athletic events). The marble stadium was the venue for the first modern Olympics held in the 1800s and was an Olympics venue for games in 2004. Nearby, we watched the changing of the guard in front of the Presidential Palace. The guards with black pom poms on their shoes, wearing tights, beige skirts, red hats, and long braids do a truly hilarious march that reminded me of the legendary Lipizzaner Horses in Vienna lifting their legs, prancing and pawing the ground.
We moored in Capri, one of my oldest stomping grounds, for lunch at one of the beach clubs and then drinks on the Hotel Quisisana’s iconic terrace—this is still the island’s chicest hotel. Capri’s Grand Dame hotel has hosted Tom Cruise, Sting, Oscar Wilde, Gianni Agnelli, Gerald Ford, and Sartre. Although Capri’s main square has turned into a luxury mall, the views and the sea are the same as when Emperor Augustus discovered it and used it as a health spa. Quisisana.com
We took out the tender for a private tour around the island, taking in the dramatic coastline, the tiny coves, and grottoes surrounded by turquoise waters. This way, we were able to stop and visit a friend on their yacht, which was moored near the Blue Grotto. It’s the only way, really! Archeology buffs should head to Villa Jovis, ruins of the largest and most sumptuous of 12 villas on Capri commis sioned by Roman Emperor Tiberius in the first century A.D. The vast complex and its gardens were famously designed to cater to Tiberius’s debauched tastes, and its cliffside location required feats of engineering to provide water to the estate. The views are breathtaking from Salto di Tiberio—Tiberius’s Leap—a sheer cliff from which Tiberius had out-of-favor subjects and lovers hurled to their death into the sea. It’s the only way, really. P
The Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
reaming of jetting to Morocco and resting at a prestigious resort-style hotel? The hip and avant-garde beachfront Four Seasons Hotel of Casablanca awaits you. Positioned atop Anfa Hill in Casablanca’s classiest neighborhood, this hotel enjoys a remarkable view of the vast Atlantic Ocean. This sleek getaway is just a quick 10 minutes from the business district and historic city center of Morocco’s largest city, Casablanca.
Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by a glitzy entrance accentuated by the lobby’s floor-toceiling windows that frame a jaw-dropping view of the deep blue expanse of sea. The mesmeriz ing landscape is the only true distraction from the unrivaled flower arrangements and highend jewelry that decorates the lobby. Think emerald-green jewels that parallel the vibe of the hotel’s bright and luscious lawn.
Once you’ve stepped into your holiday abode, you will notice a more European luxurious feel from your assigned room. The gorgeous marble
flooring and smart décor create a crisp ambi ance. The peaceful bathroom, also lined with suave marble, may have floor-to-ceiling win dows and a massive bathtub overlooking the beach and ocean. If the jaw-dropping view that overlooks the 100-year-old El Hank lighthouse is not entertaining enough, the bathroom does come equipped with a TV in the mirror for ulti mate relaxation as you soak in your spa-grade bathtub. There is also a separate walk-in show er, leaving room for your travel companion to rinse as you bathe. The modern interior design of your room will also incorporate local Moroc can heritage by using traditional fabrics and brass finishings. These recommended rooms come equipped with private balconies, allowing you to enjoy an intimate breeze.
The ambitious hotel offers three on-site sea side restaurants. Bleu, the signature restaurant, has a menu inspired by its Atlantic location. It offers daily breakfast buffets and dishes fea turing freshly caught seafood and fish. French executive chef Christophe Laplaza leans on Casablanca’s expansive coastal line for inspira tion for his creative yet delicate menu. Featured dishes include the bisque shrimp with lem ongrass rosemary jelly and cream cheese, the Atlantic fresh salmon with black rice herb jus, tomato, and paprika, along with other dreamy dishes curated from listening to the whispers of the sea.
The poolside eatery, Latitude 33, focuses on regional specialties that are encouraged to be shared. Chef Laplaza truly strives to create memorable culinary experiences that draw from local ingredients. Named for its geograph ical location, the 33rd parallel, this restaurant’s signature dish truly showcases Laplaza’s culi
nary talent while honoring Moroccan flavors. Here you can try The Crab, a Niçoise-style plate with fresh guacamole, vegetables, and an earthy tomato dressing.
For the most traditional meals, the outdoor terraces of the Mint offer all day dining options. Visit this elegant lobby lounge to enjoy a causal meal of authentic Moroccan specialties and light gourmet. While a five-star hotel isn’t usu ally the sought-out spot for tagine, this hotel’s interpretation is unpredictably delicious. It should be noted this is a dry hotel, with no alco hol on-site. The intoxicating views can be thor oughly enjoyed with craft mocktails and locally produced teas.
Putting dining aside, the hotel’s most impres sive feature is its destination spa with treat
ments by Guerlain. The 90-minute Imperial Relaxing Massage is a must for anyone passing through Casablanca.
Visiting Casablanca is perfect for those at tracted to seaside cities drenched in history, stunning architecture, and high-caliber din ing. Guests of the Four Seasons Casablanca are supported by the hotel’s ability to create an experience tailored to unique desire. The hotel’s primary goal is to help reestablish a romantic connection to the Moroccan air and encourage visitors to see the land like a local. Carefully planned private tours can be booked through concierge service to help guide your experience of the White City. P
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BY ALEX LAI
arrakech taught me color. Before Marrakech, everything was black.” That is the remark Yves Saint Laurent made after his trip to the region in 1966. While the legendary French couturier counted icons such as Betty Catroux and Cath erine Deneuve as his muses during his 60-year career, a trip to Marrakech has become a bigger source for his endless imagination that mate rialized in countless avant garde designs. For anyone who intends to appreciate Saint Lau rent’s sartorial ingenuity, it might be quite the lofty goal to immerse in his archival collections all day long, but the good news is that you could always plan your next stay at the Four Seasons Marrakech and invent your own color story this summer, in true haute couture fashion.
The stylish and well-appointed guest rooms of this luxurious resort offer the very best in
comfort and privacy. In the sun-splashed Gar den-View Terrace rooms, a passionate shade of tangerine lights up the interior through the wallpapers and cushions, and then fades into a softer yellow on the petals of the roses delicately arranged within the silver vase on the nightstand. After a rejuvenating night of sleep, wake up to splendid views of the lush green canopy of the resort gardens before getting ready for an eventful day ahead in the ivory full marble bathroom furnished with handcrafted Moroccan décor details. If you crave even more sweeping settings, you could not go wrong with the Pool-View Terrace Room, where you will catch the sun setting over the pool’s shimmer ing waters while sipping on a cup of mint tea or nous nous (half and half Moroccan style) with friends and family on your private balcony.
Step into Azzera, the pool side restaurant that offers something for everyone with its lunch and all-day menu; an assortment of avo cados, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and prawns is mixed with red wine vinaigrette in the Cobb Gambas Salad. The Juicy Burger, as the name suggests, comes in a cerulean tray with drip ping blue or cheddar cheese and a side of crispy golden fries. For the ones who appreciate a pleasant surprise, go for the Catch of The Day and explore new gastronomic depths in the daily fish selections and grilled vegetable skew ers accentuated by taupe anais and ivy green parsley leaves.
Should you be enticed by true Moroccan flairs, make your way to the palm-fringed lounge at Inara, the restaurant modeled after a traditional riad located at the heart of the
resort. Prepare to be mind blown by the slowcooked, dangerously flavorful beef stews tex tured with the aromas of prunes and apricots when you take the lid off the terracotta tagine. Rewind and rejoice with a sophisticated selec tion of handcrafted cocktails such as the Cos moroccan centered around fresh mint leaves infused Grey Goose vodka and the rum based Daîqu’inara which draws refreshing sweetness from dates and passionfruit purée.
Last but not least, a good color story is never complete without strokes of inspiration that occur unexpectedly. With a breadth of activities both onsite and offsite, the Four Seasons Mar rakech guarantees guests an enriched getaway with memories that will lasta lifetime. Start the day with a morning vinyasa yoga class, and then treat your group to an authentic Moroccan
tea ceremony, where they will watch the tra ditional mint tea being prepared and poured. Capitalize on a Sunny afternoon by embarking on a two-wheeled adventure or a balloon ride that offers breathtaking views of the maze-like Medina and Atlas Mountain, before heading back to soak in the sunset while listening to the whispering fountains and live music in courtesy of their in-house band. Oh, and did I mention that there is a tour that grants you an insider view into the life of Yves Saint Laurent during a private estate visit?
Breathe in the magic that is Marrakech when you stay at Four Seasons Marrakech. P
BY LAUREN BENS
ind yourself in your own perfect fall postcard with the natural beauty of mountaintops and unobscured views of the Hudson River, plus charming Upstate inns and resorts, plenty of history, large estates, a vibrant art scene and much more when you escape to the Hudson Valley this season.
Just 30 miles north of New York City, nestled among 32,000 acres of untouched parkland is where you’ll find Rockland County. Situated along the majestic Hudson River, you will ex perience idyllic waterfront villages, mountain vistas, hiking trails, historic sites, art galleries, world-class restaurants, unique shopping, championship golf courses and more. Explore our parks and trails. Experience our rich his tory, and our thriving arts and culture scene. Enjoy exceptional cuisine and craft beer at Rockland’s award-winning restaurants and microbreweries. Fall foliage is a must see when
traveling on the Palisades Interstate Parkway from the George Washington Bridge along the Hudson River all the way up to Bear Mountain. Stop along the way and take in the breathtak ing river views. For a solo adventure or familyfun getaway any time of the year, visit Rock land County. With something for everyone, we guarantee you’ll be back time and time again!
rocklandgov.com explorerocklandny.com
Enjoy a tasting – or ten – at the award-win ning Milea Estate Vineyard, which is located in Staatsburg, New York, halfway between Hyde Park and Rhinebeck. Founder Barry Milea’s family has a century of Hudson Valley farming roots, with his grandfather having farmed ap ples outside of Newburgh, NY during the pro hibition era. Barry and his father purchased the original 25-acre farm in 1984 to be used as a getaway from their lives as successful car
and truck dealers in the South Bronx. Over the course of the next two decades, Barry became enchanted by winegrowing, especially in the Hudson Valley. He began making wine on the Estate with the assistance of local vintner’s. In 2016, at the behest of local viticultural experts, Barry and his wife Sang, purchased the adjoin ing farm in order to plant an 11-acre vineyard consisting primarily of Cabernet Franc and Central European varieties which thrive in the continental climate and glacially derived soils of the Hudson Valley. Now, Milea Estate farms 22 acres across 5 vineyards and intentionally sources grapes from partner growers across the great appellations of New York State.
Bruce Tripp, Milea Estate’s winemaker has nearly two decades of experience growing grapes and making wine in the Hudson Valley. He has received much recognition, including when his 2020 Cabernet Franc achieved the accolade of being named the best Cabernet Franc in New York at the Great American International Wine Competition. Russell Moss, an international vineyard and winery consult ant, was consulting for Milea Estate Vineyard since he took a faculty position teaching viti culture at Cornell University. He now oversees the property as the day-to-day leader of Milea Family Wines. The winery also is also proud to offer an impressive culinary program.
mileaestatevineyard.com
Settle into the most romantic spot in the heart of the Hudson Valley when you stay at The Millbrook Inn. Located in a century old building which is situated on a country road dotted with lush farmland and grazing horses, this charming spot will have you feel ing like you have just walked straight into a Hallmark movie. Having previously served as a boy’s dorm for the Greer School when it was founded in 1906, the building was reinvented as The Millbrook Inn in 2010 and has recently undergone a complete renovation and expan
sion under their new ownership which in cludes a restaurant and bar, which serves fresh farm-to-table finds, plus expanded gardens and greenspace. Each charming room of this American Colonial style inn also features its own unique décor.
themillbrookinn.com
If you fall in love with this special and scenic part of New York this fall – which you surely will – contact Jason Karadus, co-founder-own
er and Principal Broker of Corcoran Country Living. This Manhattanite who specializes in luxury listings, is focused on the picturesque areas of Millbrook and Rhinebeck. As one of the top power brokers in the US, Karadus has also expanded across the Hudson River, add ing offices in Woodstock, Kingston, and Hud son, New York. His second home in Rhinebeck has now become his primary residence, and he wants to show clients why they will love the area as much as he does. P
corcoran.com/corcoran-country-living
here in the Bahamas is that? That was a question I was asked repeatedly after sharing pictures of my trip to Amelia Island. I couldn’t blame anyone for asking—after all, each image featuring crystal-blue waters, relaxed island architecture, and wild horses was more pictur esque than the next. Hardly anyone believed that this special slice of serenity is actually
located in Florida, just a short distance from Jacksonville near the Georgia border. Truth be told, the locals like that their secret spot still has some secrecy left to it.
With all the charm of a small Victorianinspired town, diverse ecosystems, plenty of outdoor activities, a rich pirate history, and historical sites—they are home to the Palace Saloon, the oldest bar in Florida—you do truly feel like you are far away from it all. From sporting tournaments to music festivals and everything in between—we’re talking a Miss Shrimp pageant as part of the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival to celebrate the island’s shrimping industry—to the popular Amelia Concours d’Elegance, a showcase of rare cars from private collections around the world, plus Dickens-inspired streets during the holiday season, there is something for everyone.
Kick your getaway off to an adventurous start with the family-owned Amelia Island Kayak Excursions team. They were even named one of the top kayaking companies in the country by USA Today. Paddle through the scenic marsh and take shade under the trees as you learn about the area’s unique attributes.
Enjoy perfect scenery rich with native plants and wildlife as you gear up for a hike or biking excursion through Fort Clinch, one of the most well-preserved 19th-century forts in the coun try. Check out the museum or explore the park with views of the biggest sand dunes in Florida. The shoreline is also home to a vast array of
shark teeth.
Despite its small size, this secluded spot houses a diverse selection of cuisine and fresh local finds. I highly recommend Wicked BAO, which features some incredible Asian street food bites and a friendly owner who will give you the inside scoop on all her authentic creations. After dinner, set sail on a sunset cruise with Amelia River Cruise and Charters, where you might just catch a glimpse of local shrimping boats, and what really piqued my excitement levels, the island’s wild horses. For an intimate and special experience with a loved one or even a group of friends, Luxe Picnics by LES curates personalized picnics with gourmet treats and décor right on the beach.
Over recent years, Amelia Island has become home to some very popular breweries, with favorites including Macoma, located in an old 1950s car dealership, downtown’s Amelia Island Brewing Company, Marlin & Barrel, the island’s own distillery—this was a pirate town, after all—and family-owned First Love Brewing.
From upscale resorts to family friend stays, the island has a range of accommodations for getaways ranging from glam to casual, or both! Omni Amelia Island Resort, a five-star property with its own Pete Dye designed golf course and serene spa, also offers their unique Sprouting Dinner Project. Each themed dinner, from blooms to truffle, includes a tour of the resort’s state-of-the-art aquaponic greenhouse, expan
sive organic gardens, the barrel room, and large collection of beehives.
The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island is also home to world-class golf courses and the only AAA Five-Diamond rated restaurant in the state of Florida, Salt. After taking a Yoga Nidra class right in the midst of paradise, I am ready to sign up for their fall meditation retreat. Located just up the street from the beach, the latest Springhill Suites Amelia Island and Courtyard by Marriott Amelia Island, connected proper ties, both offer a clean, modern spot for couples or families. Their Luna gallery, which features dozens of local artists, is part of The Hive, the social responsibility program of Innisfree Ho tels, where all gallery commissions are donated to local causes.
You will also find some unique shopping destinations, one of my favorites being the husband-and-wife-owned Story & Song Bookstore Bistro, where patrons donated their own money during the pandemic to ensure they were able to stay in business. Take a piece of your getaway with you when you sign up for kindergarten class at The Julie Delfs Gallery downtown or try your hand at miniature play ing at Duck Pinz Fernandina, which becomes a fun hot spot at night.
Visiting this special spot is now easier than ever with Breeze Airways announcing direct flights to JAX from several major cities. P
BY SUCHETA RAWAL
litz, glamor, shopping, night life, suntans, and beaches—there are plenty of reasons to travel to the coveted Magic City. The ultimate play ground for to day’s jetsetter, Miami’s action-packed vibe and glamorous happenings are dynamic all year round. This year, one of the nation’s top resorts, The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with luxuries designed
Gto woo the most discerning travelers. An overthe-top Diamond Anniversary Experience awaits those who want to indulge themselves in the ultimate dining, shopping, and pampering available.
The extravagant getaway begins on board private jet transportation with evoJets from your getaway city to Miami, Florida. Once you arrive at the exclusive enclave in Miami Beach where The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort sits, you are welcomed by deep-blue Atlantic waters and expansive white-sand beaches. Striking chandeliers, a series of mirrored walls, and unique artwork welcome you into the opulent lobby. Grab a glass of champagne and make
your way to your accommodations at the Presi dential Suite on the 24th floor via a private el evator. The Resort features 216 guest rooms and suites with separate living and dining areas, galley-style kitchens, and wraparound glasswalled balconies offering breathtaking ocean views. And for the moments you feel you are too many steps away from the beach, you can relax at an elegantly decorated 600-square-foot Oceanfront Day Villa, featuring a plush daybed, shower, flat-screen television, and spacious and private patio.
The Diamond Experience includes two luxe Blue Diamond facials at the St. Regis Spa. The restorative treatment removes signs of stress
and renews aging skin using diamond-infused peptide complex and special ingredients. Lin ger on at the spa for a holistic wellness-focused treatment, such as the full-body Four Elements Couples Journey, or Abhyanga Ayurvedic treatment that promotes deep relaxation using Chakra points to calm, balance, renew, and reinvigorate the mind and body.
As part of the Resort’s 10-year celebration, you can enjoy your own exclusive dinner party at the famed St. Regis Wine Vault. A curated, globally inspired seven-course menu is created by Chef Ricardo Jarquin, each course carefully paired with fine wine and an elegant, hand crafted cocktail. Colorful fresh sashimi, chilled grand seafood tower with lobster tails, jumbo shrimp, seasonal oysters and crab claws, Asian tapas, and Italian Lobster Fra Diavolo are just some of the showstoppers at the dinner party. Expect to spend the entire evening indulging in food and drink, but arrive early to partake in the St Regis’ evening ritual of Champagne sabering, and linger on for a sip of The Peacock, featuring Michter’s 10-Year Single Barrel Bour bon, Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire, and lemon juice, garnished with a candied orange, elegant peacock feather, and gold dust (priced at $100 per glass).
Another experience you cannot miss during your stay is the signature Anniversary After noon Tea experience at La Gourmandise. Inspired by Mrs. Caroline Astor’s famous lavish receptions at her mansion on Fifth Avenue, the luxurious afternoon includes an assortment of teas, paired with delectable, savory tea sand wiches filled with truffle eggs, lobster and peas, and smoked salmon and dill, followed by petit fours and French macrons delicately placed inside a silver bird cage.
For a more laidback breakfast, head down stairs to Atlantikós. The blue-and-white interior
transports you to the islands of Greece, where you can enjoy endless spreads of fresh-baked frittata, flaky croissants, baklava tarts, and homemade granola.
The unparalleled luxury getaway continues with a private styling experience at Bal Harbour Shops, located directly across from the Resort. The Bal Harbour Shops was the first luxury re tail space of its kind, created in 1965 by vision ary Stanley Whitman. The renowned shopping venue is home to the first Neiman Marcus to open outside its native of Texas, the first Gucci’s mall store, and the first Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, and Santa Maria Novella stores top open outside of New York. After shopping for fashion, jewelry, and home décor at over 100 boutiques, make sure to take a break at one of the open-air cafés and restaurants at Bal Harbour Village, where you can feel the evening sea breeze and enjoy some of the hottest dining in Miami.
Finally, partake in a bespoke diamond jewelry design experience at De Beers, located
at The St Regis’ lobby. Here you can try on their finest diamond pieces, such as the Portraits of Nature collection that heroes a butterfly’s breathtaking journey of personal transforma tion using colored diamonds, and even design your own signature ring, while enjoying a glass of champagne and no interruptions. Learn about each of the De Beers Jewelers rare and upcoming collections, their meaningful connection to nature and culture, and how the company ensures that diamonds create a lasting positive impact for the people and the places in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Canada.
A milestone year offers a rare chance to jet set at the glamorous oceanfront resort like never before. Pricing for this over-the-top Diamond Anniversary Experience at Miami’s best address,The St. Regis Bal Harbour, starts at $110,000, but the memories created are priceless. P
“AN OVER-THE-TOP DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY EXPERIENCE AWAITS THOSE WHO WANT TO INDULGE THEMSELVES IN THE ULTIMATE DINING, SHOPPING, AND PAMPERING AVAILABLE.
hen I walked through the quaint streets of Georgetown and entered the marble-floored lobby of the Four Seasons Washington DC, the iconic line from Scandal echoed in the back of my head: “Do you want to be a gladiator in a suit?” As pleasantly surprised as the heroine upon finding out that she had been selected for her dream job at the top political crisis man agement firm, I found myself falling instantly for the interior and ambience underpinned by a sense of smart sophistication native to the capital city.
Steps from world-leading institutions and historic monuments, the hotel is located at the crossroads of DC’s social and political hubs. I knew I was in good hands from the moment the friendly staff assisted me through a seam less check-in process. The Georgetown Suite,
located on the fifth floor, welcomed me with sweeping views of the C&O Canal and Potomac River, quickly releasing my senses from the tethers of travel fatigue. Neutral tones of gray, beige, and white fill the space from wallpapers to bed linens, forming a calming and elegant gradient in juxtaposition. An epitome of the art of compartmentalization, the 1,220-square-foot room is designed in equally elegant fashion. It was effortless for me to set up healthy bounda ries with work when there is a door that sepa rates the bedroom and living room. Who says you can’t mix business with pleasure?
Living as a gladiator in a suit means you are no stranger to time zones hopping. Luckily, the in-room dining service is committed to bring ing the best of the DC food scene straight to your room. The Revitalizer, made from freshly
squeezed green apple, orange, kale, and ginger, replenished my energy like an elixir, and going through my inbox felt way less dreadful when a plate sat right next to me, filled with delicately cooked medium-rare hanger steak, golden sunny-side ups, and steaming breakfast pota toes bathed in chimichurri sauce. For lunch I decided to swing by the Bourbon Steakhouse to meet up with a business partner, and the restaurant, led by the Michelin-starred chef Micheal Mina, truly brings the idea of power lunch to life. The White Gazpacho salad set the scene with Maryland crab tossed in herb oil and toasted marcona almonds, followed by the Connecticut Lobster Roll served with smooth brown butter, which segued into the main act of the show: pristine cuts of American and Japanese beef slow poached and cooked over
a seasoned wood-fire grill to a mouthwater ingly tender finish. This award-winning chef’s dramatic take on new American cuisine is delightfully delectable.
When the night falls, a gladiator in a suit knows how to unwind with class. After a long day of traipsing around the city, I could not wait another second to sink into the plush armchairs under the leather ceiling at the Georgetown Bar & Lounge, which offers handcrafted gourmet cocktails with tongue-incheek names to spice up your night. The wagyu fat-washed Woodinville bourbon and Cocchi Di Torino vermouth-based YOU GOT BEEF?! had as much smoke in its taste as in presenta tion, while the YOU’RE ON MUTE perfectly harnessed the revitalizing synergy of Ketel One vodka, matcha, and grapefruit in its clear body
decorated with floral notes. Last but not least, the BSDC MANHATTAN prepared by the lead bartender, Mr. Engidawork Alebachew, is an experience that should not be missed—if you are as lucky as I was, you might be able to learn firsthand how he pivoted from bioengineering into hospitality while he deployed his mixol ogy magic. When asked what I should try on my next visit, he suggested the Monuments by Moonlight tour, saying with a smirk, “You might have to reserve it three days in advance, but what better way to soak in what this town has to offer than a private two-hour chauffeured tour?”
Let’s just say I toasted to a very tasty and tasteful stay during my time in DC! P fourseasons.com
“YOU MIGHT HAVE TO RESERVE IT THREE DAYS IN ADVANCE, BUT WHAT BETTER WAY TO SOAK IN WHAT THIS TOWN HAS TO OFFER THAN A PRIVATE TWOHOUR CHAUFFEURED TOUR?”
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
or an enchanting getaway just a short drive from Manhattan, Emerson Resort and Spa is as charming as it gets. From indulg ing in tranquil spa treatments to outdoor activities, your Emerson experience can be as relaxed or adventurous as you want it to be, and that even includes your accommodations. Choose to stay in The Inn, which is located in the same part of the resort as the restaurant and shops, or opt for more rustic surroundings at The Lodge.
Surrounded by nature, this 20-acre boutique property, located in the town of Mount Tremper in the Catskill Mountains, offers everything from guided hikes to bike rides along their picturesque paths, to postcard painting and upscale dining options. Savor seasonal special ties at their signature Woodnotes Grille, where you can enjoy local smoked salmon, fresh fish, and brunch favorites. Coffee, pastries, and sandwiches are available from Ralph’s Café. Due to their Stay Safe Pledge, the resort is com mitted to ensuring all guests remain healthy with the most up-to-date sanitizing practices, and they continue to remain closed Tuesdays and Wednesdsays.
FFor an enchanting getaway just a short drive from Manhattan, Emerson Resort and Spa is as charming as it gets. From indulg ing in tranquil spa treatments to outdoor activities, your Emerson experience can be as relaxed or adventurous as you want it to be, and that even includes your accommodations. Choose to stay in The Inn, which is located in the same part of the resort as the restaurant and shops, or opt for more rustic surroundings at The Lodge.
from massages to body scrubs to their Biotec Skincare System, a series of anti-aging and energizing facials, you can keep the positive vibes going all vacation long. Other popular treatments include vegan nail care and hot and cold stone treatments. Don’t forget to try a body scrub with their divine seasonal oil.
Skincare System, a series of anti-aging and energizing facials, you can keep the positive vibes going all vacation long. Other popular treatments include vegan nail care and hot and cold stone treatments. Don’t forget to try a body scrub with their divine seasonal oil.
With friendly staff throughout the property, don’t be surprised if they know your name by the end of your stay. The enchanting Emer son mixes rustic chic with modern comforts, especially after undergoing a six-million-dollar renovation, which is reflected in their public areas, 6,193-square-foot spa, and 53 spacious yet cozy rooms and suites. For a truly special stay, the Royal Suite looks out onto Esopus Creek and the wooded surroundings. Their Adirondack-style lodge, located just steps away from The Inn, offers all the comforts of a country home, with unique décor ranging from antler chandeliers to wood carvings, and is also ideal for large groups and families traveling together.
Surrounded by nature, this 20-acre boutique property, located in the town of Mount Tremper in the Catskill Mountains, offers everything from guided hikes to bike rides along their picturesque paths, to postcard painting and upscale dining options. Savor seasonal special ties at their signature Woodnotes Grille, where you can enjoy local smoked salmon, fresh fish, and brunch favorites. Coffee, pastries, and sandwiches are available from Ralph’s Café. Due to their Stay Safe Pledge, the resort is com mitted to ensuring all guests remain healthy with the most up-to-date sanitizing practices, and they continue to remain closed Tuesdays and Wednesdsays.
Get ready to recharge when you step through the door of the spa, which used to be part of a temple. Legend has it that once you step over the threshold, all negativity leaves and posi tive energy takes over. With services ranging
Get ready to recharge when you step through the door of the spa, which used to be part of a temple. Legend has it that once you step over the threshold, all negativity leaves and posi tive energy takes over. With services ranging from massages to body scrubs to their Biotec
Named after the famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose love of nature is captured in his many poems, the Emerson pays tribute to Mr. Emerson with framed poems, clas sic books, and trays with his most inspiring words. These items can be found throughout the resort as well as in the rooms. After all, the Emerson is a place where Emerson himself would have felt inspired! The area itself has
much history dating back to the 1800s, and it is now one of the best-kept secrets amongst Manhattanites looking for an unpretentious yet upscale getaway.
Manhattanites looking for an unpretentious upscale getaway.
With two conference rooms, your employees can enjoy a relaxing retreat where they can get business done as usual—or rather unusual— with yoga, massages, and gourmet dining options. You can also say “I do” to the most romantic day of your life amidst the natural beauty of the Catskills. Their event spaces range from the Waterside Pavilion, offering views of Mt. Tremper and Esopus Creek, to the more intimate Great Room, intended for 60 guests or less, where you will find an imposing chandelier and fireplace. The charming Cata mount is the perfect place for stunning indoor events year-round.
With friendly staff throughout the property, don’t be surprised if they know your name by the end of your stay. The enchanting Emer son mixes rustic chic with modern comforts, especially after undergoing a six-million-dollar renovation, which is reflected in their public areas, 6,193-square-foot spa, and 53 spacious yet cozy rooms and suites. For a truly special stay, the Royal Suite looks out onto Esopus Creek and the wooded surroundings. Their Adirondack-style lodge, located just steps away from The Inn, offers all the comforts of a country home, with unique décor ranging from antler chandeliers to wood carvings, and is also ideal for large groups and families traveling together.
Named after the famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose love of nature is captured in his many poems, the Emerson pays tribute to Mr. Emerson with framed poems, clas sic books, and trays with his most inspiring words. These items can be found throughout the resort as well as in the rooms. After all, the Emerson is a place where Emerson himself would have felt inspired! The area itself has much history dating back to the 1800s, and it is now one of the best-kept secrets amongst
With two conference rooms, your can enjoy a relaxing retreat where they business done as usual—or rather unusual— with yoga, massages, and gourmet dining options. You can also say “I do” to the romantic day of your life amidst the beauty of the Catskills. Their event spaces range from the Waterside Pavilion, offering views of Mt. Tremper and Esopus Creek, more intimate Great Room, intended guests or less, where you will find an chandelier and fireplace. The charming mount is the perfect place for stunning events year-round.
Located just a short drive from Woodstock, Emerson boasts being home to the world’s biggest kaleidoscope. You can also explore The Shops at Emerson, where various stores carry seasonal items as well as unique gifts, includ ing goods from local artists, clothing, and artisanal food products, all located within a converted 18th-century barn.
Located just a short drive from Woodstock, Emerson boasts being home to the world’s biggest kaleidoscope. You can also explore Shops at Emerson, where various stores seasonal items as well as unique gifts, ing goods from local artists, clothing, artisanal food products, all located within converted 18th-century barn.
Small children and even dogs are welcome— enjoy the Emerson Pupgrade option, which includes a welcome basket featuring a dog toy, bowl, placemat, and treats.
Small children and even dogs are enjoy the Emerson Pupgrade option, includes a welcome basket featuring bowl, placemat, and treats.
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“SMALL CHILDREN AND EVEN DOGS ARE WELCOME— ENJOY THE EMERSON PUPGRADE OPTION, WHICH INCLUDES A WELCOME BASKET FEATURING A DOG TOY, BOWL, PLACEMAT, AND TREATS. ”
special and secluded spot that requires a boat or ferry ride from Sag Harbor, Shelter Island reopened their most historic and beloved boutique hotel over the summer, on its 95th anniversary.
After an extensive two-year renovation, the charming 49-room waterfront hotel now includes four floors in the main house, along with 16 private cottages. The project is in part nership with the Petry family, who have owned and operated the property, which originally opened its doors in 1927, since 1961.
Guests staying at this luxurious yet laidback resort on Crescent Beach overlooking Peconic Bay can enjoy pool services, water activities including sailing and fishing, a full-service spa, and a restaurant.
“As a historic landmark on Shelter Island, we have sought to preserve the tradition of this exceptional property while enhancing offer ings for year-round enjoyment,” says Curtis Bashaw, managing partner of Cape Resorts. “We are thrilled to reopen The Pridwin and to be a part of the legacy that the Petrys have cre ated over the last 50 years!”
This special partnership has allowed the team to renovate and operate the hotel with
a more contemporary approach and state-ofthe-art services and amenities.
“Our family could not be more excited for this next chapter of The Pridwin,” says Glenn Petry. “In Curtis and his team at Cape Resorts we have found kindred spirits dedicated to tradition, community, and service. The resto ration of the hotel and surrounding properties reflects our collaborative approach to taking a classic like The Pridwin and updating it for the needs and expectations of today’s guests.”
The playful redesign evokes a feel that is both classic yet casual and features an eclectic mix of old and new. The goal was to create a space that gives guests the feeling that they are
Making a Very Posh and Picturesque Comeback With a Reopening to Coincide with Their 95th Anniversary
entering a timeless seaside resort while build ing upon the hotel’s image of classic Adiron dack summer camps and cottages given the distinct landscape, which is set on seven acres.
You will certainly feel the history of the resort upon entering the restored upper lobby, which features a reception and concierge area, along with original wainscoting and hardwood floors. Three dramatic chandeliers, salvaged from the 1927 dining room, are rehung along the length of the space. There is also an inti mate lounge surrounding the fireplace with books and vintage ship models recycled from a former estate on the island. Below, the lower lobby has a separate check-in area complete with lounge and the convenience shop ‘Edie’s,’ named after Pridwin’s former matriarch, Edie Petry. You will also find a ‘history hall,’ featur ing photographs, original property signage, room keys, and hotel mementos from the past 95 years.
Indulge in freshness with locally caught fish and seafood, plus Shelter Island’s own produce, and wines from East End vineyards and beyond. Pridwin’s beloved freshly baked breakfast doughnuts will also make a return
while the Frost and Morgan reception rooms are available for intimate dining experiences, receptions, or meetings. The swimming pool and private beach, which overlook the 120-foot east and west docks, also offer both full bar and food services.
For a more personal stay, The Pridwin Hotel has 16 private cottages named after various trees found on the island, including Frasier, Black Cherry, Red and White Oak, and Hickory. The cottages each have their own unique design features, such as wood-burning fireplaces, kitchenettes, and private decks with water views. These cozy cottages range in size from studios to two-bedroom duplex cottages
with cathedral ceilings, separate living rooms, and two bathrooms.
Adventure lovers will find plenty of activities and rentals, including bikes, paddleboards, kayaks, tennis, fishing and motorized water sports, and more. Golf carts will also be avail able to drive between the main house and cottages, and visitors can even take a boat from Pridwin to Cape Resorts’ sister property, Barron’s Cove in Sag Harbor.
With such an enchanting renovation, The Pridwin is a place where picturesque memo ries can be made once again for generations to come. P
“WE ARE THRILLED TO REOPEN THE PRIDWIN AND TO BE A PART OF THE LEGACY THAT THE PETRYS HAVE CREATED OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS!”
For a Manhattan stay that is both classic and modern, just like the city itself, Mandarin Oriental, New York, overlooking Central Park, offers the perfection fusion of stylish Oriental flair and in novative design. Wi th high-end amenities and five-star hospitality, make your self at home in one of their spacious rooms or suites featuring elegant, contemporary décor, and unparalleled views.
Located in Columbus Circle’s Deutsche Bank Center, you are truly in the center of the center of the world at this chic hotel which is surrounded by famed dining destinations and world-class dining, including the Shops at Columbus Circle, plus tons of entertainment. You are, after all, just steps from Jazz at Lincoln Center and Broadway. Their concierge can also arrange for unique experiences so that you can
partake in the best of the Big Apple, your way.
Enjoy laidback luxury at their MO Lounge, where you can indulge in an all-day menu of de lectable American cuisine made with local and sustainable ingredients, well-crafted cocktails and expansive views of the park and skyline.
Find inner peace at their 14,500 square-foot spa, where ancient traditions are incorporated into personalized treatments to restore balance to body, mind and soul. Their Aroma Stone Therapy, a Native American practice used as a healing therapy, generates energy, creating a balance and calm while giving relief to deep seated muscle tension. The Restorative Detox Wrap will leave you feeling revitalized with a boost of energy to take over the city, while the Diamond Cocoon Experience Facial protects skin from modern pollution with relaxing massage techniques using signature sculpting tools. If you’re traveling far, they have just the
jet lag cure for you as well. Most recently, the spa has introduced the Intelligent Movement, an 80-minute treatment that uses trigger point release work, and deep muscle manipulation to soften muscle tissue, release tension, increase circulation and improve overall body mobility.
Get your workout going in their state-of-the art fitness center featuring a 75-foot lap pool with views of the Hudson River or host a busi ness meeting in one of their function spaces with the latest technology and knowledgeable staff.
Whether you come to work, play, or stay, the Mandarin Oriental, New York, has all of the excitement you could want plus all of the com forts you need to unwind. Plus, you will find a copy of PARK in every room and suite! P
Instead of feeling sad that summer has come to an end, get ready to fall in love this fall with all the seasonal offerings at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center, the one and only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Hotel. From a 57th-floor infinity-edge pool to Michelin Star dining experiences, you’ll feel right at home in the most stylish and tranquil spot in the city of Brotherly Love.
Look at Philadelphia from a whole new— and very posh—perspective in one of their decorative rooms or spacious suites. Make your escape truly enticing by enjoying views of City Hall and the Delaware River from the onebedroom Cityscape Suite or entertain in your A-list Skyline Corner Suite, which will allow you to host extravagantly from your sumptuous living room.
Dig into deliciousness at the hotel’s JeanGeorges Philadelphia, where you can indulge
in a sophisticated menu surrounded by exqui site panoramic views. You can also chow down on succulent seafood at Vernick Fish, relax with a cocktail at JG SkyHigh, or grab a morning coffee at their coffee bar.
Find yourself surrounded by serenity in their award-winning spa featuring over 700 pounds of healing crystals ensconced into the structure of the walls. Summer sun can wreak havoc on your skin, so the spa has introduced the new “After Summer Skin Rehab” facial just in time for fall. Tailored and customizable to individual skin types, this facial treatment is designed to restore natural radiance and leave skin feeling regenerated, hydrated, and revital ized. The treatment is then complemented by a pressure-point facial massage for a lasting, even complexion. To complete this experi ence, kick back in the anti-gravity chairs in the relaxation lounge with a complimentary glass of champagne and Philadelphia’s cityscape.
Hotel guests can also reserve a private tour in partnership with Philadelphia Cruise Co., for a memorable time on the Delaware River. This two-hour tour includes a customizable picnic basket from the hotel’s culinary team, such as a cheese and charcuterie board, allow ing guests to enjoy an afternoon of sightseeing or an al fresco sunset tour before dinner with a glass of champagne. Tours will run through mid-October.
Guests arriving between Thursdays and Saturdays will be treated to an extra special treat from featured merchants of the famed Reading Terminal Market. Check out the rest of the market in person, along with many of the other historical and cultural sites the city has to offer while staying in the center of it all. P
THERE IS ONE NEW YORKER, A LONG ISLANDER, that probably never read this sage comment from the famed man agement consultant - Peter Drucker. Well, at least not until he was well into building, and eventually sold his J. Kings Food Services business to one of the industry’s global leaders – SYSCO; for tens of millions in 2019.
The J. Kings Food Service is storybook, especially if you like long reads. It was just 45 years in the making. Starting in his parents German-style deli in Oceanside when John King was in high school, he eventually created a tri-state hospitality empire with more than $150 million in annual sales.
BY PATRICK SHANNON PHOTOGRAPHY: UDO SPREITZENBARTH
John King, CEO and Chief Customer Officer, Grapes & Greens, explaining the science of Wines by the Glass
This astonishing entrepreneur is John King, the founder, Chief Customer Officer, and CEO of Grapes & Greens. G&G is an importer and distributor of fine wines. He began incubating G&G in 2015.
Understanding the wine import and distribution business today can be like unpacking an MIT mul tivariant algorithm. There is critical, often conflict ing input from restauranteurs, sommeliers, restau rant staff, regional/state regulators, and most importantly diners on the best things to do and how to do them. It can get tricky and complicated.
Remember, your first algebra classes in high school? The teacher scratches out an equation on the blackboard (or whiteboard or tablet, depending on the era) to solve. She says, “Solve for “x.”
Hmm? How do you do that?
Easily, and elegantly isolating the variable, she shows a very simple factor realignment among the numbers, adds, or substracts, and multiplies or divides and the result magically appears; there you have it, x = 3.
“Ok, that was easy, right? Any questions?” Nobody says anything.
“Great, here is your homework.”
You get home, start on the assignment and, you freak, it was like you were watching a magic act in class. What, how did she do that?
Eventually, you get it, some more than others, but the important fact is the best teacher and com municator turns out the best students. It is the same way with King. When things get tough to understand, he makes it easy for his customers and leans on his
experiences and the thought leadership he developed over 40 years.
“This is where John is at his best,” according to James Metzger, Chairman and CEO of The Whit more Agency. Whitmore is a leading insurance brokerage on Long Island and a partner agency of the Acrisure $3.8 Billion global insurance and finan cial services network. “It is my pleasure and privilege to support John’s insurance needs for his growing Grapes & Greens business,” said Metzger.
There are 3 King’s Keys to Success. Work Hard Work Smart
The working hard part is easy to understand, as King once said, “It’s amazing how lucky you get when you work 80 hours a week”
Creating and innovating is an outcome of work ing hard and working smart
Working smart is a special, developed talent on its own
Smart is ‘Knowing Your Retail Customer’ and straightforwardly, asking them how you can earn their business, and contribute.
Smarter for King is ‘Knowing Your Customer’s Customer.’ The manifestation of this is improving consumers retail experience with our products and service ideas.
According to King, “Thinking you know you what you need to know, isn’t enough. You must have the
facts.” Late last year, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, King embarked on a fact-finding mission developing and implementing an exhaustive survey with almost 200 of his G&G customers. With data and insights in hand, earlier this year, King wrote to all his customers and certain prospects, talking to them like they were at the family kitchen table.
The issues and opportunities he explored included: Covid and its lingering effects; one of which is increased costs due to a shortage of workers. Second, everything costs more. Prices are multiplying to produce and deliver every food product. Why? Not only because of labor and the natural outcomings of demand outpacing certain supply, but because of increased prices for energy and gasoline. Other “perfect storm” factors expand harsher levels of importance including global political unrest and the war in Ukraine.
Restaurateurs, both casual and fining dining establishments quickly are beginning to realize John and his team understand the dynamics of their “Wines by the Glass” business improvement recommendations. Just some of the overview data points and questions include:
How many wines do you feature?
What size serving do you typically pour?
Do you have a separate WBTG menu?
Do you offer a Double Pour?
Do you often change your menu?
Do you use a small carafe to measure pour?
Do you use glasses with a wine pour line?
Do you train your staff about wine?
The survey dives deep into the nuance difference between casual and fine dining and covers Red, White, and Bubbly wines.
King happily shares the results with clients and prospects becoming an expert and trusted resource they can use to gauge what they are doing and explore things they may do differently. It is at this point the educator, salesman, and chief customer office hits his stride and separates from the competition. The end-result of this conversation is an Opportunity Analysis Grapes & Greens has developed to help restaurant owners of take advantage of remarkable wines, attractive pricing, promotion, and increased profits. This easy-to-understand magic comes together simply by asking (and having the answers there for you) the question “What does $1 per glass mean to you?
[They’ll also have the analysis for you at $.50 and $2.00 too].
For John King’s customers’ customers, it is a better experience with surprising new wines at more affordable prices. For John’s accounts, depend ing on the volume (bottles and 6 oz. pours) it could mean as much as $35,000 in incremental profits; and $7,000 to $8,000 in additional gratuity income. Sounds like an “All Day” menu offering worth exploring? P
‘‘WITH DATA AND INSIGHTS IN HAND, EARLIER THIS YEAR, KING WROTE TO ALL HIS CUSTOMERS AND CERTAIN PROSPECTS, TALKING TO THEM LIKE THEY WERE AT THE FAMILY KITCHEN TABLE. ’’
Franco Zitoli, owner of Franina in Syosset, with long-time friend and Business associate John King of Grapes & Greens
If you find yourself meandering through thickly scented aromatic and sun-bathed Spanish streets this summer, chances are you are either in Spain – or above Madison Square Park at Bazar Tapas. With authentic bites, divine wines, themed fiestas and a sleek setting, it’s time to try your favorite new tapas spot.
Located in the vibrant Nomad area, Bazar Tapas is a neighborhood gem located on 26th street in Flatiron. Fall in love at first bite at this welcoming restaurant where guests are invited into an intimate space with a charming indus trial interior and an array of contemporary and shareable tapas to tantalize your tastebuds. Unwind at the bar with its exposed brick wall decorated with wine bottles and an extensive
wine list offering renowned global regions, such as the 2019 Argentinian Malbec from Mendoza and Marques de Caceres Brut Span ish Cava. Looking to enjoy a more romantic evening? Set the mouthwatering mood with the blue gin-based Genie in A Bottle or move on to the Lovers Poison with the intoxicating aroma of hibiscus cinnamon-infused mezcal.
Serving up a scrumptious brunch, lunch and dinner, Bazar was imagined by owner Lad ia Kulisek, and Executive Chef Manuel Mejia brings classic yet innovative Spanish staples to the neighborhood. Think classic Paella Del Mar with fresh assortments of shrimp, scallops and monkfish that comes in a whopping fivepound serving, and a special Brunch Paella cooked with sunny-side up eggs in saffron
and lobster broth. Delectable tapas will keep coming your way, so be ready to indulge in the drool-worthy and extra garlicky Gambas Al Ajillo, their Sesame Crusted Tuna dipped in ponzu and sriracha aioli, crispy Brussels Sprouts drenched in balsamic and Manchego cheese and roasted beef bone marrow comple mented by the kick of jalapeños.
In true Spanish fashion, a good meal is never consummated without a little fiesta. At Bazar Tapas, you can seize the day – or more impor tantly - the night, on Live Music Fridays. They also offer happy hour every day at the bustling bar. Sit back, relax and as the Spaniards so often say,
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Authentic Greek Fare
Restaurant industry veterans Karim Sopariwalla and Amin Himani have just launched their newest venture, White Olive, serving Mediterranean fusion cuisine in Midtown Manhattan. The menu by chef Hasan Karci offers up a fresh take on authentic Greek fare; think grilled branzino, lambchops, grilled octopus and authentic mezze spreads. Named for the rare white olives grown in Greece and southern Italy, White Olive evokes the Mediterranean culture and food that the pair became enamored of while visiting Turkey and Greece. “The bal ance of spicy and savory is what truly capti vated us,” says Amin. “We wanted to take both worlds and create a culinary masterpiece, so we thought of the white olive, which can also be found in coastal areas of northern Africa, Portugal and Malta.” A noteworthy fact about white olives, he adds, is that they’re sweeter than green and black olives because of their lower levels of antioxidants—your palate will thank you!
Chef Hasan Karci, a master of Mediterrane an cooking, is an alumna of The Ritz-Carlton
Istanbul and now brings the same traditional European- and Asian-inspired flavors to White Olive. “We met Hasan while at The Ritz in Turkey, and we flew him in because we knew right away that he would bring our culinary vi sion to life,” says Karim. Karci’s menu features dishes like Lavraki, a char-grilled Mediter ranean sea bass known for its light and flaky texture and mildly sweet flavor, baby lamb chops served with fresh seasonal vegetables on a bed of couscous, and spicy ezme salad, a house specialty with tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, green apples and pomegranates fired up with jalapenos and red peppers.
Highlights of White Olive’s cocktail menu include drinks that pay tribute to the Mediter
ranean fusion theme. Try the Mangopolitan, made with Bacardi mango, fresh lime juice, mango purée, and a hint of cranberry juice, or the Fig and Fabulous, a cocktail-style martini created with Figenza Mediterranean fig-fla vored vodka, fresh lime juice and pomegran ate juice, garnished with a dried fig.
Seed Design Planning (SEED DBC) Inc, a New York-based interior design firm, cre ated the coolly understated look at White Olive, which has the feel of a chic taverna on a whitewashed Aegean island. “The inspiration behind the décor and color scheme is contem porary Greek style,” says Karim, who adorned his sandstone walls and white oak floors with cream-colored leather chairs with elegant
“WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FOODIES; WE LOVED COOKING AS KIDS”
gold frames. A warm LED-lit wall leads you into the space, which seats 70 for lunch and dinner.
SEED CEO Lesly Zamor is well known in the hospitality industry, having designed prominent hot spots including Donatella Restaurant, TAJ Lounge, Avenue Nightclub, Slate, and Penthouse at the Dream Hotel in New York, as well as Lavo Night Club and Restaurant in Las Vegas.
Karim Sopariwalla and Amin Himani are cousins who grew up in Mumbai, India in homes where cooking was a priority, filled with spices and family. “We have always been foodies; we loved cooking as kids,” says Karim. “And now we enjoy hosting our friends and our
customers.” Amin owns high-end Asian fusion spot River Dock Restaurant and Bar, Seattle Coffee Roasters, and Nanking, a vegan-friend ly eatery that combines the explosive flavors of India, China, and Thailand. Karim currently owns ZZ Pizza Bar and Grill in Staten Island, where customers are not only raving about the baked-to-perfection crust, but also about the affordable prices. “Customer satisfaction is our number one goal,” Karim says. The two also own a number of restaurants together, including Seattle Café in Manhattan, and sev eral concessions at NY Waterway stations and Grab-and-Go operations at five-star hotels, in cluding the Park Lane on Central Park South and M Social in Times Square. After graduat ing from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a business degree, Karim joined his cousin
Amin’s restaurant organization, and over the past 21 years eventually became a partner and co-owner.
Now, they’re thrilled to open White Olive to the dining public. The location, at 39 West 55th Street, is in the center of everything, close to MoMA, Fifth Avenue shopping, Central Park, Carnegie Hall and Rockefeller Center. The space was offered to them by its owner. “They had seen our past performance, and we were lucky to jump onboard,” Karim says. “We always had a dream of opening an authentic Greek-style restaurant with a modern flare. And that’s exactly what we did.” P
BY GEORGE WAYNE
The Greenwich Village restaurant 3 Gio vani is the classic epitome of a familyowned, white-table-cloth, -red-sauce Italian restaurant. It is that cozy, warm and welcoming, tried- and- true, can’’t- go- wrong staple to dine in style at least once a week if the idyllic West Village is close to home.
It is the sort of dining establishment one would choose to entertain friends and family visiting from near or far. It is the perfect desti nation for one hoping to experience a sumptu ous meal in the heart of Manhattan without the sticker shock check flopping in their lap at the end of lunch or dinner. The menu here is a superlative spin on the home-cooked Italian classics.
From the simple yet unctuous Spaghetti Rusticana brimming with Calabrian chiles and the fresh- farm organic basil to the Vitello
Capricciossa, or rack of organic lamb, orand the homemade mozzarella; Robert De nNiro may not be waiting, but the menu definitely speaks Italian.
Other menu staples from the kitchen of Chef Hido Holli include the best mushroom ravioli you will ever eat, to the rigatoni, andto the pappardelle. - iIn other words, - if pasta is your passion, – 3 Giovani is worth the reserva tion. And because this is not your typical pre tentious foodie review, we feel it best to have a chat with Gent Kasmi, the second-generation heir apparent to his family brand established in 1988.
GENT KASMI - In the spirit of a bygone era, it is a casually elegant family-owned and
family-run neighborhood restaurant. My father originally opened 3 Giovani with two friends. The restaurant name translates from Italian to three young men, so we keep the legacy of 3 Giovani remaining with myself, my brother, and my cousin. We are tucked in a cozy nook in Greenwich Village, and when we first opened in 1988, we were just a pizza joint with a wood-burning oven.
GK Our menu is inspired by the rustic fare of Tuscan cuisine. Dishes are heavily influ enced by the land and use ingredients of the Tuscan countryside. We love our herbs (basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme), aromatics (onion, garlic, red bell pepper, spicy red pepper flakes, cracked peppercorn), lemon and citruses, and olives. We’ve brought these rich flavors
to Greenwich Village. We strive to elevate the staples every day of the week.
It’s a harmonious union of simple ingre dients and complex flavors. I grew up here. I used to love it when my dad would bring me with him when I was young; I would watch them cook, and watch the people come and go. When I got a little bit older, I would make coffee and help behind the register. As a teenager, I would make trips into the city to restaurants. I loved it. I worked in the industry all through college. My family is here almost every night.
GW - What are some of the signature dishes?
GK - The Ravioli Funghetto, Squid Ink Linguini with mixed seafood, and the Chicken Martini.
GW - What’s the perfect pairing with a 3 Giovani T-bone steak? What would the chef recommend?
GK - In Tuscany, the T-bone steak is served with Cannellini beans cooked with tomato and sage. It’s a beautiful pairing of flavors. P 3giovani.com
It is a new era at the old NYC Carlyle hotel, as its restaurant reignites classic fine dining traditions that dominated the 1930’s. ‘Dowl ing’s at the Carlyle’ is named for Robert Whittle Dowling, a real estate investor and philan thropist that acquired The Carlyle hotel in the 1940s. In 1915, Dowling was the first recorded man to swim around Manhattan. This took him about 13 hours and 45 minutes. The dedication Dowling exerted in this pursuit, is exactly how Executive Chef Sylvian Delpique approaches his menu and execution at the revamped restaurant.
This Upper East Side hotel eatery of 80-seats has become an intimate space for Delpique to reinvent and elevate classic American and European dishes. With immaculate service and table side preparations, it could be said that old school dining is successfully making a come back at The Carlyle hotel.
Inspired by art deco designer Dorothy Draper who originally styled the hotel lobby, the once lively lux restaurant ambiance had since faded to a gloomy brown monotone décor. Modern designer William Paley gently revived the space by packing the walls with pretty and playful wall art and reinventing the rooms palette to a vibrant mix of black, white, and brown. Paley’s carefully chosen art display includes paintings by Ludwig Bemelmans, for whom the adjoining Bemelmans Bar is named. With good judgement, Paley also kept the main room’s adored centerpiece, a classic ensemble of banquettes arranged like a pinwheel.
There is a lot of old that is new at the Dowl ing. Many of the new featured dishes echo oldschool Manhattan fine dining traditions. You are welcomed with warm bread and butter and serviced like royalty for the duration of your meal. Treated almost like a dinner with a show,
there are tableside flames, carving stations and saucing. The old-style service includes dishes like the salt-crusted branzino filleted tableside and paired with the dreamiest lemon butter sauce. A flambe station is used to ignite inti mate table side interaction with just one pour of cognac. This flair can be seen when ordering dishes like the steak Diane and the flaming Grand Mariner sundae.
The Dowling’s Menu remembers many classic dishes that may have been forgotten. It showcases items like the spicy lobster bisque, pumpkin-ricotta raviolo and a chicken pillared that is perfectly pounded paper thin. Under Delpique’s direction, all items are made fresh and in house. Open seven days a week, be sure to make a reservation in advance to secure your experience. P
J.MAK doesn’t think it’s just about a great hotel room. There is much more to it, where Hospitality meets Personality. Whether you choose nature, nurture, culture or adventure, J.MAK has the dot on the map just for you—in your own neighborhood or around the globe.
Whether you’re an NYC local, or just visiting for fun, if you find yourself wandering the streets of Manhat tan, do yourself a favor and pop into Foragers Table for one of the best farm-to-table experi ences the city has to offer. You may recognize this concept from the success of its sister store previously located in Dumbo. Established in 2012, Foragers Table is a full-service eatery connected to the Forag ers Market of Chelsea. The Foragers Market proudly offers high-quality ingredients by sourcing seasonal organic produce and highgrade meats from small local New England farmers and artisanal producers. Most of the products offered in the market are craft-ori entated operations. Foragers Market founders are extremely passionate about their sourc ing. They have established their own farm in Columbia County, New York. Here they plant a wide variety of organic vegetables and raise free-range hens for eggs. Their guiding
philosophy of offering the freshest, healthiest, and clean groceries from trusted framers and artisans is the basic ingredient to what makes the Foragers Table restaurant so delicious.
Newly directed by Executive Chef Ol ivier Palazzo, this restaurant is restoring the energetic culinary vibe of the heart of Chelsea. Palazzo has effectively refreshed the meaning of a ‘modern-Mediterranean’ menu through his embodiment of newfangled ideas, international reach, and an inclusive mindset. Palazzo’s culinary approach is a clear reflec tion of the social movements that we see actively growing inside of New York City.
Born in West Africa and raised in the South of France, Palazzo’s ultramodern take on plant-forward dishes speaks to nourishing the mind, body, and soul. Palazzo works closely with local Hudson Valley vendors to find the highest quality resources to deliver a seasonal dining experience that combines a mix of French, Italian, and Israeli flavors.
Open nightly for dinner, this charming concept rotates its seasonal menu every three weeks. Their hyper seasonal ingredients encourage regulars to return to try what’’s new and attracts novice diners alike. Their thoughtful wine list offers natural, organic, and biodynamic labels hand-picked from the market’s wine shop. On weekends, you can gather your friends and family to enjoy a deli cious brunch. The locals lover their Ricotta Pancakes, Waffles with Nutella and Fresh ber ries, and Soft Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon. Some brunch staple menu items include the smoke salmon tartine topped with a fresh Alderfer Farm egg, rosemary currant scones, and farmer- ground whole wheat waf fles topped with seasonal berry marmalade & house -made bacon jam. Not sure what to order? Ask the staff;, they are well equipped with valuable recommendations. P
Isla & Co. is the newest concept from Parched Hospitality Group (PHG), which brings upscale Australian café food and specialty coffee to New York City and beyond. It joins a list of successful ventures from the Aussie run hospitality group including Daintree, The Sentry, Ghost Burger and the enormously popular Hole in the Wall restau rants. Since the flagship location of Isla & Co. opened in Williamsburg this past Spring, new locations have launched in Fairfield, Con necticut and most recently at Hotel Hendricks in Midtown Manhattan. Thanks to the unique fusion of Australian tradition, with the upbeat soul of New York, Isla & Co. has been a hit from the start, which is precisely what CEO and creator of PHG, Barry Dry hoped would drive its one-of-a-kind quality to the masses.
Barry Dry, a New York transplant as of 2011, left his financial career to pursue his longtime passion for hospitality, resulting in the first Hole in the Wall. After the expansion of PHG from a single concept, to a portfolio of thriving businesses, he’s gone on to launch four Hole in the Wall locations, Daintree at Hotel Hen
dricks and The Sentry at Hotel Henri. Dry’s entrepreneurial vision to create encompass ing experiences, fueled by Australian flavors and New York’s racing energy continues to deliver fresh and timeless dining scenes to the big city.
The kitchen at Isla & Co. is helmed by Executive Chef Matt Foley, formerly of two Michelin-starred Marea in NYC. His menu actively seeks to serve food that encapsulates the beauty of Australian coastal towns by day while simultaneously maintaining the vibe of a cocktail driven dinner destination by night. Initially working at Manhattan Beach Post, Foley learned to cook from Michelin-starred chef David LeFevre, eventually joining Mi chael White’s staff at the two-Michelin-starred Marea in NYC as the Sous Chef. Over three years at Marea, he improved his knowledge of fine dining, flavor creation, aesthetically pleas ing plating, and leading a productive unified culinary staff. Matt was the Corporate Chef at the fast-casual restaurant chain DIG before joining Parched Hospitality Group as their Corporate Executive Chef directing the menus
at Hole in the Wall and Isla & Co.
The addictively flavorful food at Isla & Co. draws culinary inspiration from Australia, Eu rope, and South-East Asia while implement ing Aussie-style cooking methods, exceptional cuts of meat and seasonal vegetable-focused dishes. The sociable café setting also offers espresso and drip extraction originating from Ethiopia and the Americas while dishing out an everyday exciting brunch menu with signatures like Brioche French Toast and Griddled Banana Bread. Signature evening plates include Spicy Shrimp Vodka Rigatoni, Fish & Chips, and Half Chicken with seasonal roasted veggies. The flexibility of the kitchen and diverse menu make it the perfect spot for a morning coffee, midweek lunch, a romantic evening date, or a social gathering.
There’s more to come from Isla & Co. which is set to open additional locations in West Palm Beach, Miami, Atlanta and Dallas later this year. P
isla-co.com
BY LAUREN BENS
Offering Mediterranean delicacies with an almost poetic take on some very unique and palatable plates from re nowned chef Eyal Shani, Greenwich Village has a new gastronomic gem with the opening of Sh mone. Meaning ‘eight’ in Hebrew, Shmone, one of more than 40 Shani-helmed eateries around the globe, all part of the Good People Group, has found its true home appropriately enough on Eighth Street. Since originally starting the seafood-focused Oceanus in his hometown of Jerusalem more than three decades ago, Shani has become known as the leading proponent of contemporary Israeli cuisine.
With intimate seating—only 50 seats altogether—and a seasonal, market-driven, neo-Levantine menu rooted in Shani’s core cu linary values, New York is thrilled to welcome this new addition to Shani’s already expansive restaurant empire, which includes HaSalon, Miznon, North, and his most recent, Naked
Tomato in Hudson Yards.
With an open kitchen concept, diners can sit around the bar and begin their tasting tour with scallion-inflected bourkas baked on hot stone or hot focaccia studded with tomatoes rich with sour cream. Continue with their “veg etable creatures,” or dishes drawn directly from the earth, which include asparagus cooked on charcoal and doused with sour cream or the flesh of an heirloom tomato tucked within “the softest tortellini you’ve ever tasted.” They also offer the freshest fish and meat dishes that are rich with delicate flavors and constantly change based on the seasonal ingredients as they ripen and age.
The wild fish “from the depths of the ocean” encompass a white-fish carpaccio, Spanish mackerel with a deep beet “perfume,” and monkfish enriched with Osetra caviar butter. For the best meat dishes outside of Israel, try their hand-chopped lamb kebab with yogurt
and “burned” vegetables; thinly sliced entrecote “on a sharp metal,” sweetbreads and freekehstuffed onion, and a 60-day dry-aged prime rib steak which are all undeniably taim, or tasty, in Hebrew.
Pair your plates, which are inspired by the earth’s bounty, with a global wine program. Enjoy French pours as well as carefully selected varieties from Italy, Australia, and California, plus notable selections from Israel and Leba non. Creative cocktails include The Helen of Troy, which pairs ouzo with fresh lemon along with the sweet almond syrup, orgeat, plus rose mary, olive oil, and egg whites. The Pearl of Tel Aviv includes Pernod, yellow chartreuse, lime, agave, and fresh oregano.
Try this latest outpost from the Good People, who are dedicated to not just offering up deli ciousness, but an “open-heart” philosophy in the hospitality industry. P
If you’re constantly craving creative sushi, the city’s swankiest new sushi spot, Sushi Lab, in the East Village, lives up to the hype – and more. Though Sushi Lab has a much beloved rooftop location at The Sanctuary Hotel as well as a sister restaurant, The Chemistry Room, in the hotel’s lobby, this latest outpost gives guests an innovative twist on traditional sushi. With only 12 seats and two signature omakase offer ings nightly, reservations are a must.
BY LAUREN BENSChoose from two unique omakases includes a 10-course offering with a handroll for $65 and a 15-course option for $100 per person. Their equally creative cocktails consist of sake served by the glass or bottle, or try a few options with their popular flight of three. You can also enjoy Sake Sangria and Sunset Spritzes, plus a selec tion of international wines and beer.
While the space might be small, the intimate room features an eight-seat, natural wood omakase bar with royal blue flashlight-shaped light fixtures overhead to give every piece of their artistically created sushi with some well-deserved lighting. The room also has a four-seat sake bar.
This fun and flavorful concept is brought to you by Brandon Freid and his father Hank Fre id. Brandon Freid is co-CEO of The Impulsive Group and co-owner of The Sanctuary Hotel in NYC, which is home to Sushi Lab Rooftop, The Chemistry Room and Haven Rooftop. A native New Yorker, the younger Freid oversees the operations and management of the complete Impulsive Group portfolio, which includes The Sanctuary Hotel, Sands Harbor Resort & Marina and The Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Pompano Beach in Florida. Brandon Freid took Sushi Lab from its original home at the concierge desk of The Sanctuary Hotel, to its expansive rooftop based on the immediate popularity of the brand. Owner Brandon Freid said, “I’m proud to bring Sushi Lab downtown with more locations to come in the near future including a new location open ing in September at Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Pompano Beach/Oceanfront.”
Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, you’ll want to get a bite of this scrumptious sushi spot yourself. P sushilab.com
It’s always been the case that New York City nightlife sets the template for the rest of the world. People from all over the globe used to come to New York City just for the nightlife. It happens here first, and then the rest of the world follows.
That is since the ’70s, when Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened a nightclub called Studio 54. As the impresarios, they set the template and the still-unequalled ideal of utter glamour and escapism of a night out on the town.
Since the international sensation and still constant mythologizing of Studio 54, other Manhattan impresarios of the night have gone on to wield global influence on the zeitgeist of the night. The fact is, the original Pasha of the Party, Ian Schrager, still remains the most global influential player in the nightlife/ hospitality space. Without him, there would be no Peter Gatien, Peter Stringfellow, Steve Lewis, Noel Ashman, Noah Tepperburg, Richie Akiva, or Scott Sartiano, who from the 1980s through today have all been acknowledged ringmasters of the night. They
have dictated the evolution of the night. Now, in the post-pandemic era, there is a new ringmaster, and his name is Richie Romero.
GW: Tell us about Nebula and the concept behind New York’s hottest mega-club, where even the VIP toilet seats are heated!
RR: My partner, Yang Gao, conceptualized the Nebula brand. His amazing vision intrigued me, and I wanted to help him bring it to fruition. Nebula is an immersive experience that is unparalleled compared to clubs in Manhattan. The state-of-the-art lights, sound, and moving LED ceiling panels project moving images across the entire room, giving the audience a moment of suspended reality. It’s just incredible. The combination of technology allows it to be a hybrid dance club with high-end table service. The venue is further elevated as the best event space because it can adapt to any event scenario. And yes, the toilets are fabulous.
GW: Tell us your age, zodiac sign, and early
provenance growing up in NYC.
RR: I’m forty-six years young. My sign is Scorpio. Born on the Lower East Side and raised as a Queen’s kid. Growing up in the outer boroughs, there wasn’t much to do, so I found entertainment by throwing house parties and park raves. I broke into local McDonald’s playgrounds with kegs of beer and boomboxes and charged admissions for entrance to the Mickey D’s during the late ’80s. It was a different time back then. Nowadays, ninety percent of the things we did, we wouldn’t be able to get away with.
GW: You’ve had your fingerprints all over all the most famous nightclubs in New York City for the last 30 years and were mentored by all the legends from Peter Gatien to Steve Lewis to Noel Ashman. Define NYC nightlife in the 21st Century and the keys to creating a successful club in 2023.
RR: In the 21st century, the nightlife industry relies heavily on booking talent and technology, which means even more
strategizing to entertain audiences.
Programming the right talent, such as DJs and performances, has a ripple effect on bringing the right human capital into the team and venue. To make something successful in 2023, you need to plan your actions, and goals must align to the brand story. Most importantly, you need the balance of the right crowd ecosystems to also create your corporate and event side.
GW: What in your mind is the most iconic NYC nightclub after Studio 54? And why?
RR: Limelight. I started at Limelight as a promoter in my teens. The venue was a former church turned into a nightclub. I still get goosebumps from the vibes and energy from
the venue every time I set foot inside. Peter Gatien was a genius. He created so many different crowd ecosystems and team promoters. Limelight was packed every night with people from every walk of life, diversity, look, and gender. It didn’t matter who you were. Limelight was truly the melting pot.
GW: What is the most memorable celebrity club scandal you’ve ever witnessed.
RR: Best celebrity scandal I witnessed was during my time working alongside Noel Ashman at Plumm. Axel Rose was performing on stage, and suddenly Tommy Hilfiger and Axel Rose started brawling out of nowhere, right there on the stage. It was unbelievable.
GW: That’s the most hysterical story because one of GW’s most scandalous celebrity club moments I ever witnessed was also at Plum! I remember opening the door to the private bathroom next to Noel Ashman’s office, and there was Mr. Big himself (Chris Noth) with some chick on her knees, slobbering all over his dong. He turned around and said, “Oh, it’s only George,” as he slammed the door. GW was squealing, “I want to join in?” Plum was definitely a favorite, along with Cafe Tabac, where GW witnessed the most scandalous celebrity moments ever. But that sus will be saved for GW’s third book and current work in progress: THE R.O.M.E. CHRONICLES.
RR: You have the best stories, GW!
GW: With your 25 years in the hospitality and marketing brand, Richie Romero has never been more prolific. Talk about your various other brands and businesses, such as your Zazzy’s Pizza and your hand-rolled sushi joint loved by the NYU kids in the East Village.
RR: I love creating brands and working on multiple projects. My passion for synergy (working with others), strategy, and programming led me to establish other businesses in the restaurant industry. Coming Soon Food Group was founded by my partner, Jon Gabel, and me. It’s all about programming and building the brand. Right now I have three Zazzy’s in Manhattan, and we just opened one across from the Wynwood Walls in Miami. Internationally, we have a Zazzy’s in Cartagena, Colombia, and will be opening in Bali, Indonesia, in December.
GW: Zazzy’s has the best gluten-free pizza in the world, people! And thank you,Richie Romero. GW truly adores you. P
With a lineup of festive and tasty new products from KAYCO, America’s largest source for gourmet-forward kosher products, plus tons of new recipes on their website, Kosher.com, this holiday season is sure to be the sweetest one yet.
KAYCO, a family-owned company that continues to bring people together over deli cious, healthy, and traditional yet reimagined products, recently introduced sweet products for the season that you will want to enjoy all year long. Included in these are Heaven & Earth Date Syrup, as well as the Granulated Date Sugar. It might be hard to believe, but all this deliciousness is made just from dates.
A low-glycemic, healthy version of sweetener, dates make for a perfect replacement for honey or syrup.
You will want to keep Manischewitz Apple Butter on your table long after the New Year is over. “It’s a one-ingre dient item and is great on Challah or any dessert that you make,” says KAYCO CMO Shani Seidman. The Gefen 1lb and 2lb Honey Bears are other fun and flavorful finds, which add a dose of deli ciousness to your holiday—or any day. Serve Gefen’s Homestyle Apple Cake at your next dinner party; and since they will not know you did not make it yourself, we will not tell.
Take your traditional dishes to another level with Tuscanini’s imported Sweet White and Red Cooking Wine. Tuscanini offers an authentic taste of Italy with high-quality ingre dients that can be used with family recipes, or
new creations you might be inspired to create with them. Head to Kosher.com for recipes, including Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs and Creamy Truffle Salmon Gnocchi.
From potato latke mixes to cookie kits, Manischewitz’s holiday lineup of tasty treats includes new chocolate Chanukah Ma nischewitz Crypto Gelt, plus their already beloved Chanukah House and Cookie Orna ment kits. Also included is their Ugly Chanu kah Sweater Cookie Kits, which you decorate and then bake. They are making the holiday trendier than ever with the introduction of Crypto Gelt, which will have corresponding social media contests.
“We build our products around people and their lifestyle,” says Seidman. “There is a diverse group of people seeking kosher food for different reasons, whether it’s for religious purposes or they view it as another level of a cleaner product. We also want to make Jewish food accessible with recipes replicated from our families.”
For all things kosher and community, Ko sher.com offers thousands of kosher recipes from both award-winning chefs as well as those who want to share their own traditions with others—make sure to keep checking for new content around the holidays.
“It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the holidays, so our articles provide ways to use products, along with how to set your table, and so many other helpful tips,” says Seidman. P
“WE BUILD OUR PRODUCTS AROUND PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFESTYLE.”
Move over chocolate chunk and butter pecan, there’s a new specialty ice cream brand in town that is not only beyond delicious but features exotic flavors which pay homage to the cultural background of Mansoor Ahmed, the founder of Heritage Kulfi.
Growing up in Manhattan and born to Paki stani parents who emigrated to the area when they were very young, Mansoor was raised in a very distinct South Asian culture which inspired his authentic Frozen Dessert line.
“I built my identity around food almost en tirely,” says Mansoor, who pursued a master’s degree at Columbia University. “Having those memories and the nostalgia be reflected in my new brand Heritage Kulfi was important to me on so many levels.”
When the pandemic hit, Mansoor took the opportunity to express his creativity and that combined with his experience in the food in
dustry, decided to launch Heritage Kulfi late last year. He embarked on an ice cream journey in an effort to bring the flavors of his childhood to others.
Mansoor wanted to pay tribute to his culture and background and bring his heritage to both the South Asian com munity and all those who seek international flavors. “I felt ice cream was so wholesome and people have such an emotional connection to it, so my goal was to build on that with the distinc tive flavors and as well as creating packaging that reflected all that as well.”
eight flavors including Cardamom Chai, Earl Grey, Alphonso Mango, Saffron, Pistachio, Rose water, Vanilla Bean and Coconut. The line has no extracts or flavorings and are all made with a proprietary process. “I’m creating my own ‘lane,’ like gelato did. We only include four to five ingredients in each ice cream.”
The uniquely designed packaging is also sustainably sourced and certified by the Sus tainable Forestry Initiative.
All the Heritage Kulfi products are vegetar ian, egg-free, gluten free, non-GMO, Halal, all natural and sweetened with pure organic sug ar. The ingredients are locally and regionally sourced to ensure the best freshness of milk and cream. The delicious, velvety, alluring and intense flavors include a distinct lineup of
Heritage Kulfi is available in Metro NY area at Kalustyan’s, Westside Markets, specialty stores and is gaining rapid distribution re gionally. For more information on where to buy, go to their website. P
heritagekulfi.com
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Zackary Peck has lived an extraordinary life. A multihyphenate creative, Zack is an actor, model, musician, and designer. He studied music and acting at NYU’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts and at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is an accomplished drummer who has played professionally. He has acted on the New York stage doing mainly Shakespeare productions but his movie, EuroTrash, is now in post-production, and he recently launched a clothing label, The Ramblers.
An avid cook, Zack is adept at Italian cuisine, having grown up alongside Frank Sinatra’s family. Zack’s grandfather, actor Gregory Peck, was Sinatra’s best friend. “We had this great tradition, where the Pecks would spend all of the big holidays with the Sinatras,” says Zack. “No matter what the meal was, if it was July 4th and everyone was having burgers and hot dogs and ribs, if Frank was there, there was also a full
Italian meal.” At Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner, along with turkey and stuffing, there was always a full Italian meal. “I think it’s such a funny and beautiful tradition of Frank’s that I feel compelled to have it live on in our own home,” he adds.
Every Sunday night Zack’s grandparents hosted a poker game at which Hollywood greats like Lauren Bacall, Jack Lemmon, and Liza Minnelli joined in. “Those were hysterical, and that was the first time I’d ever played poker,” he says. “I was just a kid, and I wish I’d been more invested in it because what a cool table to be at, but when you’re six, it’s hard to find the attention span for a game of poker.” In retrospect, the 30-year-old realizes that his childhood was as remarkable as it sounds. “I grew up with the best storytellers in the world; I had Atticus Finch reading bedtime stories to me. I mean, that voice is ingrained in my head, and I think that it set the foundation for my interest in acting, that poker table and growing up with them. Man, was it a real privilege to just
be in the same room as those greats.”
Zack doesn’t hide his heritage, but his father, actor Tony Peck, proudly points out that everything his son is doing is under his own steam. Indeed, it wasn’t until the tail end of his interview with PARK, when asked about his family, that Zack mentioned that his mother is supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. “I don’t like to walk into a room and introduce myself as Gregory Peck’s grandson. That always feels a bit awkward,” says Zack, although his agent does it sometimes. “I am very much doing my own thing.” He’s very comfortable networking and making new contacts. Zack met his acting agent through friends. He started his fashion brand completely on his own, making necklaces out of his kitchen 18 months ago, and personally sourced the retailers that carry it, and now it’s growing organically. “I’ve got my parents’ support, and I love them for that, but I’m not relying on anyone else for the success of my work. I’m really proud of what I’ve done and want to continue to grow in that way.”
The Ramblers line is inspired by the excesses of the ’70s and ’80s and geared toward nighttime and nightlife with artwork by tattoo artists. Currently there are linen-blend pajamas with rosé bottle motifs and modalcashmere blend scarves with skull and animal prints. “What I really wanted to do was make eco-friendly clothing sexy. I find so many eco-friendly items are earth-colored and scratchy, so I wanted to show the world that you can do it in a sexy way.” Everything in the line is “nighttime” inspired, whether that means wearing it at home for a cozy night in or going out on the town. New products are in the pipeline, and Zack is working with a jeweler as well, so necklaces will eventually be in the mix.
In addition to the brand’s website theramblers.co.uk, the clothing is currently sold at Peri. A in Aspen and L.A., Aquarius Luxury Concierge in London, and at the eco-friendly Cuixmala resort in Mexico, whom The Ramblers did a collaboration with.
Launched in December, it’s already broken even. “I haven’t taken any financial investment because I like maintaining creative control, and I’d rather grow it slowly and do it the right way,” Zack says, adding that it gives him an opportunity to learn how to run a business.
Now based in the English countryside, he lives with “the coolest wife, the most charming and hilarious children, and two horse-sized dogs” in a converted Gothic school abutting a cemetery. “It’s quite dark and mysterious and beautiful.”
@TheRamblersClothing on Instagram.
info@thesoundcheckgroup.com
If you are a high-net-worth individual, or the spouse of one, and seeking a divorce, you may want to consider consulting Daniel Stock, one of New York’s most respected matrimonial lawyers. His spe cialty is “high-asset” divorce cases. This may sound counterintuitive—you’d imagine that all highly experienced family lawyers want to represent wealthy clients who can pay big fees, which for a high-asset divorce start at around $100,000 per lawyer and go up from there. But this is, in fact, a specialized area of matrimonial law.
High-net-worth divorce cases are also usually high-conflict and highly complex, often taking years to litigate. “A lot of lawyers, strangely enough, do not like high-conflict cases,” Mr. Stock explains. In such cases a hus band and wife cannot agree on virtually any
significant decisions regarding their divorce, from how much the house is worth to what private school the children attend to what the children should eat for breakfast. “I have a case now where one parent accused the other of feeding a two-year-old child too much sugar,” Stock says.
Hotly contested custody battles in high-asset divorce cases present additional complexities that make this area of law challenging for the average family law attorney. “These cases typi cally go on for years. One or both parties have the money for legal fees, and they tend to take entrenched positions.”
Neither parent wants to lose custody of their children, and those who can afford to do so are willing to mount all kinds of trials. People try to hide assets, claim dubious tax deductions, or give away artworks, thereby reducing the value of marital assets. These require hiring forensic accountants to comb through voluminous pa perwork, or art appraisers. Other experts may be called in if there are accusations of drug or
alcohol abuse. “Trials are very expensive; they involve witnesses and evidence and people’s time. Those cases can get quite involved,” says Stock.
Stock thrives on such complexity. “You have a lot of number crunching going on, which I find personally very interesting.” He enjoys the strategy aspect of pulling together a diverse group of professionals to build a case.
Very skillful lawyers, he explains, need to have multiple skills; they need to be very good at talking persuasively in court, at writing, and at being very aggressive, when necessary, in order to win cases.
“As the cases get more complicated and more high-net-worth, there are more moving parts, and to me, that’s more interesting. So that’s what I’ve gravitated toward.”
Over the last 24 years, Stock has built up his
practice specializing in high-net-worth divorce cases. More than a decade ago he settled what was then the largest contested matrimonial case in Ulster County. “The amount of the marital assets by the time I finished litigating the case was $31 million, which was a lot for upstate New York at the time,” Stock says. “I was asking colleagues there how they thought the judge would react to certain things, and they were telling me, ‘Dan, we’ve never seen a case like this. You’re on your own.’”
After graduating from Pace Law School, Stock worked as a securities lawyer on Wall Street, which he soon found to be tedious. However, the exposure to the financial industry proved valuable, and he took a detour into the banking arena, working as an assistant vice president at Bank of New York for several years.
Itching to return to practicing law after a while, Stock decided on family law, starting at
the bottom as a law guardian in family court, providing legal aid to people who don’t have the income to retain private counsel.
It wasn’t long before he graduated to private, paid, litigated divorce cases involving custody and child support. “From that point on, it was pretty much a short step to taking on higher and higher net worth cases.”
Stock is active in a number of organizations offering pro bono legal services, including the New York Women’s Bar Association Pro Bono Matrimonial Law Project, the New York County Supreme Court Matrimonial Neutral Evaluators, and the Hudson Valley Collabora tive Divorce & Dispute Resolution Association.
As one of two attorney members of the Coalition for Family Justice, Stock devotes one Sunday per month offering free legal advice, guidance, and strategy to lower-income women who don’t have the money to hire divorce lawyers.
Yankees fan
Bronx-born Stock is a lifelong Yankees fan and holds season tickets, and more recently, he became a Rangers fan. An amateur guitarist, he plays blues and electric guitar with a garage band in Connecticut.
“THESE CASES TYPICALLY GO ON FOR YEARS. ONE OR BOTH PARTIES HAVE THE MONEY FOR LEGAL FEES, AND THEY TEND TO TAKE ENTRENCHED POSITIONS.”
s a pioneer in agriculture, economics, and technology, it’s no surprise that the young nation of Israel is also the most forward-thinking coun try when it comes to education. At the forefront of that education is AMIT, which currently has plans for an extraordinary expansion.
AMIT offers an innovative approach to education and aspires to lead a new generation forward, all while inspiring the rest of the world with their methods. This education initiative, which welcomes chil dren of all backgrounds and regardless of socioeconomic status, was founded in 1925 and currently educates over 40,000 children each year in a network encompassing 96 schools across 32 cities in Israel. “We’re stronger now than in any other time in our history,” says AMIT’s Executive Vice President, Andrew Goldsmith. “We were founded by a group of women nearly 100 years ago, who were very far ahead of their time. While men were running the world and the charities, our found er, Bessie Gotsfeld, said, ‘No, I’m not going to raise money and have a group of men decide where it should go. I’m going to raise money, and we will decide where it should go.’ The root of our organization is to make sure the children of Israel are given every opportunity to suc ceed, in the spirit of Bessie Gotsfeld,” adds Goldsmith.
AMIT currently oversees everything from co-ed elementary schools to co-ed high schools to schools for young women and young men, plus youth villages, and orphanages for children from the age of four and up who are raised there until they move to the youth village. “We are responsible for every aspect of their life,” says Goldsmith.
AMIT schools are also open to any child regardless of religion or background, and the organization is dedicated to helping students find and realize their life dreams and goals. “We look at the potential of the child and charter a course for each student individually,” says Goldsmith.
AMIT will soon break ground on the AMIT Kfar Batya Campus in Ra’anana, Israel’s model city. At the earlier part of the century, Gots feld traveled to what was then Palestine with money sewn into her
coat and bought land in what was to become Ra’anana, but at the time was only a sea of sand dunes. Originally founded as the Bessie Gotsfeld Children’s Village and Farm School, it later became known as AMIT Kfar Batya.
With plans to break ground in the next few months and an expected opening date in September 2025, the new campus elevates and expands state-of-the-art education for the state of Israel. The campus will train hundreds of teachers and educate thousands of students and house many features, including school buildings, community athletic com plex, foundation buildings, education innovation center, AMIT head quarters, and foundation buildings. The entire campus and all AMIT schools are based on AMIT’s renowned education platform known as Gogya, a 21st-century approach focused on changing economical, tech nological, and societal shifts. This Gogya approach emphasizes crea tivity, curiosity, teamwork, flexibility, and critical thinking, ensuring the children of Israel can succeed in the ever-changing world.
AMIT, which has already partnered with schools in the United States as well as the United Arab Emirates, is living up to the ideal that Israel should be a light unto the rest of the world. “Our culture is that we al ways evolve. We make an impact on the world’s education and create artists, architects, doctors, lawyers, and world leaders while giving all students a chance to succeed.”
Donors in the United States can support the AMIT overarching mis sion as well as the new campus groundbreaking educational endeavor, to make it part of their lasting legacy. With building naming oppor tunities, a memorial park , amazing outdoor spaces, and even a com munity athletic center that is going to be open to the entire city after hours, supporters have an incredible chance to make an impact, while having a footprint in Israel. For ways to get involved and donate, please visit their website. P
Before Jeffrey Beri found his calling as an animal rights organizer, he had spent most of his career as a mechanical engineer and jewelry designer. In 2016 he pivoted roles to become a full-time animal activist. “I grew up with dogs,” Beri said. “Dogs are man’s best friend and pigs are mutually smart, there are so many animals that are being recklessly slaughtered for consumption, but I have a huge passion for dogs.” Since then, he’s organized heroic efforts that resulted in the saving of 117 dogs from the slaughterhouses in Yulin, China. But that was just the beginning. Soon after, he started No Dogs Left Behind (nodogsleftbehind.com), a nonprofit that works to save, advocate for, rehabilitate, and adopt dogs.
In a video available on YouTube titled, “Yulin Survivor Iron” you can watch Jeffrey calm down a seemingly violent dog named Iron. Iron is not a violent dog by nature, but an animal that has only known abuse; raised in inhumane conditions for the sole purpose of being consumed during the yearly Yulin dog meat festival. In the video, Jeffrey slowly earns Iron’s trust by providing medical intervention and therapy. Thick leather gloves are needed to protect Jeffrey’s hands from bites, and he must keep Iron at an arm’s length distance. Little by little, as Iron nibbles on his gloves, Jeffrey teaches him to embrace human touch and accept the help that Jeffrey provides. The transformation in the video is a poignant snapshot of just some of the work that Jeffrey and his team put into helping abused dogs. At the end of the video the gloves come off and
Iron embraces Jeffrey as he learns to trust humans for the first time.
Following his passion for the arts, Jeffrey studied jewelry making, manufacturing, and marketing, finding a successful career working for the prestigious Jewelry designer David Yurman. While attaining his professional goals, Jeffrey yearned for a deeper sense of purpose. “It got to the point where I wanted to make change, make the world a better place,” Jeffrey said. His passion for animals led him to animal activism.
After hearing about the horrors of the dog meat trade in Yulin, China, he chose to target the problem at its root. “The dogs in Yulin are beaten, boiled, blow torched, many of them stolen from the streets, stolen from homes,” said Jeffrey. “It’s a type of abhorrent behavior
that’s not warranted, that’s why I chose dogs.”
The abhorrent treatment of dogs in Yulin doesn’t only occur in the day-to-day operations of livestock farming, but also methodically throughout the culture at large. “A lot of the processes involve how can they torture the dog,” said Jeffrey. “There is a myth in Yulin that torturing the dog will make their meat more tender. They believe eating dog meat will keep you warmer in the winter and cooler in summer, or it’ll keep you healthier or cure impotence in men.”
Rescuing abused dogs for human consumption takes enormous preparation and community organizing. “We have volunteers and activists all over eastern Asia and they work to spot illicit dog slaughterhouses and dogmeat markets,” said Jeffrey. “It then gets passed along through our channels of communication and we gather evidence and
When Jeffrey targets a facility or abusive dog farm, he rallies the community to help. “We’ll go in, surround the place, we’ll have brave activists demand and execute seamless and effective emergency responses,” said Jeffrey. “We bring in government, police, mayors and villagers, and we showcase what they’ve done, providing evidence of the slaughtering. Then, they demand the sellers show proof of purchase and the health and quarantine certificates for dogs.” At that point, almost always, that information is not able to be provided and the government officials will step in and ask them to render the dogs to the volunteers because the fines will exceed the proceeds of the meat by that point.
After Jeffrey rescues the dogs, his
organization begins the long and arduous process of rehabilitation. “Some dogs are so petrified they’ll attack the second you get close to them because all they’ve felt is torture; tubes down their throats, pumped with liquids, break their jaws, slammed into slaughter cages, stuffed into chicken cages,” Said Jeffrey.
The dogs are taken to a quarantine center, then sent to the ‘No Dogs Left Behind’ sanctuaries, where they’re treated and rehabilitated. Treatments for the animals include vaccinations, spaying and neutering, deworming, and flea and tick treatments. “We then adhere to a strict schedule around being fed, going out to park time, working with them to be leash trained, and eventually being able to trust people again. Some dogs we’ve treated for 2 years, some 4 years and they’re still really fearful and scared,” says Jeffrey.
Jeffrey is mobilizing his army of community activists and volunteers for the upcoming Yulin summer solstice festival. During the festival, Jeffrey estimates that tens of thousands of dogs are slaughtered at the festival. “We’re fighting to make sure it doesn’t happen and that the slaughters don’t happen during the upcoming festival,”. said Jeffrey. At prior festivals, Jeffrey said he was followed by up to 25 secret police. “They are worried about me, but they don’t have the rights to really detain me,” said Jeffrey. “I think they’re more worried about martyring me because I have so much support from east Asia and globally.”
Jeffrey attributes this to the outpouring of support he garners in East Asia and globally, stating unequivocally, “The support of social media fans and keyboard warriors has been extremely helpful. Our work truly does take a village.”
If you would like to find out more about Jeffrey and his organization, and his work combating the illicit dog meat trade, as well as the efforts made in saving and adopting out rescued dogs, please visit: P
With divorce
being an awful, emotionally intense, and painful experience for all those
involved, adding an arduous legal process to the hardship only increases agony and maximizes stress. As one of America’s most resolute matrimonial lawyers —quoted extensively in the New York Times, Town & Country, the New York Post, and the New York Law Journal — Attorney Ken Jewell operates Jewell Law, PLLC, with a steadfast philosophy: Resolve matrimonial disputes efficiently to allow clients to move forward with peace of mind.
At Jewell Law, staff members refer to clients only by their first names to maintain anonymity. Appointments are staggered and clients are immediately ushered to a private office. Former clients include high-profile fashion models, performance artists, owners of renowned business establishments, real estate moguls, and other well-established professionals and business owners.
“It’s only the two parties that are in the room and there’s no way of being able to prove what’s really happening unless someone shows up with bruises,” says Jewell. Given that background, he advises getting the divorce done smartly and sooner rather than later. Jewell Law excels in highly contested cases where the parties are likely to fight over every little thing. “It’s figuring out what is driving the fight. Once that is addressed, the case takes far less
time to get done than it would with other matrimonial firms.”
“We pride ourselves on getting the job done, doing what’s necessary, and expediting clients through the process instead of having their cases drag on unresolved,” says Jewell. “A happy client is a client who’s got whatever they need done,” he adds. “So, if they’re looking to get divorced, they want to get divorced. They don’t want to go through years and years of agony; they want to get the job done sooner rather than later.”
Jewell tries to get his clients to see divorce proceedings in an optimistic light, to move on from an unhappy situation. “One of the biggest problems in matrimonial law is that everybody wants justice,” Jewell explains, “but marriage is one of the closest relationships anybody can have. It’s not the kind of relationship where justice is always available.”
Before attending law school, Jewell spent ten years as a Supreme Court law librarian in Nassau County, helping judges and lawyers with research. He was torn between becoming a psychologist or an attorney. Matrimonial law seemed a natural fit. “It hits the hybrid of being both a psychologist as well as being an attorney to help people.” Jewell worked for another matrimonial practitioner for a short period, but quickly realized that with years of legal research experience already under his belt, he could bring in business and help people in a way that he considered more appropriate. He opened Jewell Law in 2003.
his fall, don’t forget to prior itize your health, especially as fall includes Tay-Sachs and Ovarian Cancer Aware ness Months, and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Taking control of your health and your fam ily’s health is now easier and more reliable than ever with JScreen, a national public health initiative based out of Emory Universi ty School of Medicine’s Department of Human Genetics in Atlanta.
“I am passionate about bringing cancer genetic testing and reproductive carrier screening to people who need them, regard less of where they live in the US,” says Karen Arnovitz Grinzaid, MS, CGC, Assistant Professor of Human Genetics at Emory Uni versity School of Medicine, and JScreen’s Executive Director. “All you have to do is visit our website at JScreen.org, where you can learn about genetic testing and sign up for an at-home test kit.”
JScreen offers two types of testing. Their CancerGEN test includes more than 60 cancer susceptibility genes associated
with hereditary risks for ovarian, breast, prostate, colorectal, skin, and many other types of cancers. In fact, cancer survivors Sharon Osbourne and Fran Drescher have both recently advocated for JScreen.
“Cancer genetic testing is powerful because it gives people information about their risks so they can be proactive about their health,” explains Karen.
Knowing one’s risk for ovarian cancer, one of the most common cancers among women, is important. “Most women don’t realize that they have ovarian cancer until it’s in advanced stages because symptoms are vague. If we can tell a person they have a high genetic risk that predisposes them, they can intervene by having their ovaries and tubes removed after having children to significantly reduce their risk.”
JScreen’s reproductive carrier test, known as ReproGEN, tests for over 200 genetic dis eases, including Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell disease, which could impact
a couple’s future children. If a carrier couple is identified, JScreen goes over options available for family planning, including in vitro fertilization and using healthy embryos for each pregnancy, or using an egg or sperm donor who is not a carrier of the same dis ease to mitigate risk. Doing carrier testing prior to preg nancy is essential, as it gives couples the most options for family planning.
To get tested, simply go to www.jscreen. org and order your at-home kit. After test ing, you will schedule a telehealth appoint ment with one of JScreen’s genetic counse lors to go over the results and implications. The genetic counselor will also guide you through next steps and provide reports to you and your healthcare provider.
Take your health into your own hands with these affordable and easy-to-use test kits from JScreen. It might just save your life, and it will give your family a healthier future.
BY LINDA FELIZ
First Vice President and Financial Advisor Sergio Nicolosi and his team, The Genesis Group, are a financial consultant team at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where they offer meticulous advice through a client-centered practice. The Genesis Group is a full-service wealth management team that works with small business owners, profes sionals, mid- to upper-level corporate leaders, and divorced women. The practice is focused on Wealth Planning that typically starts with a comprehensive financial plan, which then leads to an extensive investment review and risk analysis. “Our goal is to make sure our client’s investment objectives, goals, family values, and lifestyle are all aligned,” says Nico losi. “We have over 100 years of experience and
manage over $2B in assets (as of August 5th, 2022).” Many of the firm’s clients begin to seek advice in their 50s and 60s, as they start think ing about retirement, or a more financially independent way of life.
At the time of client engagement, the team holds an all-hands-on-deck whiteboard meet ing, which entails a brainstorming event where they identify those strategies, products, and services that will best serve the client’s needs.
“The team dynamic is special,” says Nicolosi. “In that everyone is engaged in the mission, which is delivering a client experience that cli ents truly appreciate.” The group finds unique approaches to solving complex issues, and it is the same kindred spirits within the team that ultimately show up in the client engagement. When deciding which teammate works with an
individual client, however, that depends on the client’s needs and chemistry. “If the Financial Advisor brings in a new client from their per sonal relationship, they will take the lead with the team as an overlay,” says Nicolosi.
With a 42-year high in inflation and a jump in consumer inflation expectations, it is no surprise that the Federal Reserve had no choice but to hike the fed funds rate to cool off the economy. The Genesis Group is now advising their clients to have maximum diversification, to stay more protective toward the year’s end, and to reallocate to areas of the market that they see is holding up better—i.e., Health Care, Real Estate, and Utilities. According to Nicolosi, the Fed is not necessarily making it harder to borrow money; however, the cost of capital is higher, which results in the process not being
great for the borrowers but better for the inves tors. “Our capital markets Financial Advisor focuses on trying to identify investment-grade debt at attractive yields,” says Nicolosi. “So, while the next few months are likely to see the equity markets trade lower in our opinion, the team is very optimistic about the next two years. We believe the secular bull market is still intact, and significant gains will be made as the US equity markets recover and get back to their former heights.”
Keith Galanti is a Financial Advisor, CERTI FIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a Retire ment Income Certified Professional. As the head Financial Planner, Galanti oversees Alter native Investments and Asset Allocation for the group. “As important as it is to make money, it is more important not to lose it,” says Galanti. “This is important because when clients come to us with their life savings, our job is to help protect it and grow it.”
Alan Rutchik, a Financial Advisor whose area of focus is Capital Markets and Lending Solutions for Ultra High Net Clients, indicates the importance of this category to the company. “Capital markets and lending greatly influence the overall asset allocation of clients’ portfolios and chance for success,” says Rutchik.
Andrea Schwarz, Financial Advisor, focuses on Retirement planning and tax-free municipal bonds, offering tax-free municipal bond strate gies for the group’s clients, especially women. “This is important to the company because it’s what we keep after our taxes are paid to the government, and that is the real rate of return on an investment,” Schwarz said. P
Years of experience:
Sergio Nicolosi – 19 years
Keith Galanti – 35 years
Alan Rutchik – 25 years
Andrea Schwarz – 35 years
Kenneth Miller – 35 years
Matt Mott – 4 years
Jenna Rutchik – 2 years
855 Franklin Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530
advisor.morganstanley.com/the-genesis-group
The information contained in this piece is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or invest ments referenced may not be appropriate for all investors, as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an inves tor’s individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC, or its affiliates.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC is a registered Broker/Dealer, Member SIPC, and not a bank. Where appropriate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has entered into arrangements with banks and other third parties to assist in offering certain banking-related products and services. Interest on municipal bonds is generally exempt from federal income tax. However, some bonds may be subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Typically, state tax-exemption applies if securities are issued within one’s state of residence, and local tax-exemption typically applies if secu rities are issued within one’s city of residence. The
tax-exempt status of municipal securities may be changed by legislative process, which could affect their value and marketability.
Bonds are affected by a number of risks, including fluctuations in interest rates, credit risk, and pre payment risk. In general, as prevailing interest rates rise, fixed income securities prices will fall. Bonds face credit risk if a decline in an issuer’s credit rating, or creditworthiness, causes a bond’s price to decline. Finally, bonds can be subject to prepayment risk. When interest rates fall, an issuer may choose to borrow money at a lower interest rate, while paying off its previously issued bonds. As a consequence, underlying bonds will lose the interest payments from the investment and will be forced to reinvest in a market where prevailing interest rates are lower than when the initial investment was made. NOTE: High-yield bonds are subject to additional risks, such as increased risk of default and greater volatility because of the lower credit quality of the issues.
CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC 4883427 08/22
It may be hard to believe but the year is flying by and the end of the year will be here sooner than you realize. 2022 has been a challenging one for most investors, but the challenge has created opportunities for investors to be proac tive and put themselves in position for a rewarding 2023.
This year has been unusual as both risk assets (equities) and safer assets (bonds) have declined. Investors should use this time to rethink exactly why they are investing and what their investment goals are. Is it to grow assets to fund their lifestyle in the future? Is it for near-term liquidity? Is it for future genera tions, philanthropy, to fund a business venture or some combination of these? Each of these goals requires a well-thought-out, long-term, diversified asset allocation so investors can weather market volatility. Investors should confirm that their current investment plan is aligned with their goals.
Once a plan has been agreed upon, inves tors should check that their portfolio’s current asset allocation is in line with the plan. Market volatility may have shifted weightings such that they no longer reflect the proper allocation to each asset class and may need to be rebal anced. Studies have shown that rebalancing tends to improve risk-adjusted returns over time. Working with a financial advisor can help investors navigate volatility and stick with their plan. At First Long Island Investors we review each client’s asset allocation on a quarterly basis.
With the market’s decline thus far this year there is probably an opportunity for investors to harvest unrealized losses, which can be used to offset realized capital gains. The result is that investors only pay taxes on their net
BY ALEX LAIprofit, thereby reducing their tax bill. Investors should analyze their portfolio and determine where there are appropriate losses to take, being mindful of the wash sale rule, which can invalidate the realized loss. Should an investor still like the company’s prospects, shares can be repurchased after 30 days. Please consult a tax expert for advice. Typically, tax loss harvesting is done towards the end of the year, but given this year’s decline, investors should consider doing so sooner, in order to take action before others have the same idea.
One thing investors should not do is panic sell or get more aggressive to make up for loss
es. Investors need to look out long-term and stick with their investment plan. They should realize that downturns are a part of investing and have proven in the past to be temporary.
While at times it may feel like prices will never stop going down, market history has shown that well diversified portfolios can rebound and become profitable. It’s important to remember that investing is a marathon, not a sprint.
One final suggestion as the end of the year approaches is to be charitable. Besides being altruistic you may get a tax benefit from your donations. I will provide a deeper dive into charitable giving in my next column. P
Philip W. Malakoff, Executive Manag ing Director at First Long Island Investors, LLC, a Long Island based wealth manage ment firm provid ing sound finan cial guidance for nearly 40 years.
Many Latino families escaped oppressive regimes to experience freedom in the United States of America, the greatest country on Earth. Hispanic voters are fleeing the Democratic Party because radical socialists are trying to turn the United States into the same dictatorships these individuals fled.
Recent election results and polling shows a seismic shift in Hispanic voters that are supporting and voting for Republicans in record numbers. Latino voters are abandoning the Democratic party while making a mighty migration toward the right side of the political spectrum. A UnidosUS/Mi Familia Vota National Survey of Latino Voters shows that 60% of Hispanic voters believe America is on the wrong track.
President Biden’s disastrous economic policies led to record high inflation, along with soaring gas and grocery prices. Remember, inflation is really a tax on the lower and middle classes, with many Hispanic families bearing the brunt of this economic downtown.
Latino families also have a deep respect for the rule of law in the United States, especially when it comes to securing our border. The free flow of fentanyl across the southern border is devastating families across America, leading to an illegal drug epidemic that is killing an estimated 150 people per day according to the CDC.
President Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party they lead not only took for granted Hispanic communities, but they also appear to be doubling down on radical policies that are out of touch with all American families.
My Latino family embodies the beauty of the American dream.
As the son of legal immigrants who came to America the right way, my mom and dad came to this great nation with nothing and were honored to become citizens.
I was taught to appreciate American values and to participate in the democratic process. That includes the importance of voting.
When my parents came to America in the early eighties, the common belief was that the Democratic Party represented the “working man and working woman.”
This is why many Latino voters, especially incoming immigrants for many generations, voted for Democrats. Now, many Latinos feel Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party lead the fight for woke corporations and the ultra rich.
Instead of helping immigrant families across the country, the woke agenda of the Democratic Party is focused on defunding the police, raising taxes, increasing government spending, and allowing grown men to compete in women’s sports and share locker rooms with young girls.
AOC hijacked the party of JFK.
I am proudly one of the record setting 102 Latino candidates running as a Republican for Congress this year.
My question to voters of all political parties: Is your family better off now than you were two years ago? For all of us, the answer is a resounding “no.” And to all of my friends in the Democratic Party: Join the many Latino voters who rejected radical policies and spending that led to the worst inflation crisis since Jimmy Carter was President.
We are fed up. We are angry, and we’ve had enough. Come November, we are taking our country back.
It is our obligation to turn anger and frustration into action, and it begins by electing like minded Hispanic members of Congress in the midterm elections. Only then will we be able to lead our country in the right direction and break free from an out of touch political party and President that wrecked our economy and took Hispanic voters for granted.
With a background in leading diverse indus tries, Elie Y. Katz founded National Retail Solutions (NRS)
seven years ago with a mission of helping thousands of small business owners operat ing convenience stores and bodegas (a New York City staple) thrive. He’s done just that –and more. NRS is now the leading point-ofsale (POS) platform for over 19,000 inde pendent convenience stores, bodegas, and other neighborhood retailers nationwide.
NRS offers a custom-built proprietary, all-in-one Point of Sale (POS) system bundle to help businesses attract customers and increase revenue. The technology and equipment bundle enables customers to en joy a fast and easy checkout process with a built-in couponing program that gives these smaller, independent retailers a chance to compete against the larger chain and bigbox operations. It also includes sales and user-tracking with inventory management and features that allow store operators to determine top-selling items and see the average prices in every region.
With a continuous stream of new tech
nologies and initiatives, NRS continues to help businesses gain traction in the current economic climate.
“It may be enough to help increase brick and mortar sales, but we also want to ‘plug all the holes in the boat.’ For example, many businesses are locked into long-term contracts with a provider and suffer hefty penalties if they try to get out. To alleviate this, we offer no locked-in contracts, no cancellation fee, launched NRS Pay credit card processing with clean rates and zero hidden fees, plus, we offer free equipment,” says Katz.
.NRS Pay is now one of the fastest-growing payment acceptance companies for retail ers and service providers across the country. Thirteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series and MVP champion Mariano Rivera uses NRS’s technology in his stores and serves as NRS Pay’s spokesperson.
The revolutionary NRS point of sale sys tem allows retailers to run customer-facing ads as part of NRS Digital Media, a digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising platform. “32 million people see our consumer-facing ad screens in stores and transact more than 22 million times through our registers coast to coast every week. Brands pair this capability with our scan data insights via
NRS Insights to pinpoint the best locations and run ads that influence customers at the point of purchase,” says Katz.
To keep stores safe and protect workers from rising crime, NRS recently announced its patented POS Panic Alarm Button, which dispatches police with a silent alarm trig gered on the merchant touchscreen. The NRS Panic Alarm Button is available for NRS customers in NY and NJ.
Most recently, NRS has teamed up with Bringg, a technology service enabling retailers to deliver products straight to their customers. “We’re making the convenience store more convenient, and customers don’t have to step foot in the store to support their local retailers while enjoying the conveni ence of delivery.”
What started seven years ago as a pointof-sale core product and the subsequent ad dition of NRS Pay credit card processing has evolved in many ways, like the development of NRS Funding cash advance and NRS Petro POS plus EMV for gas stations. These offerings create financial accessibility and expansion affordability for those Mom ‘n’ Pop retailers, whose stores are the corner stones of their communities everywhere. P
Did you know that there is a hidden service that can save you THOUSANDS of DOLLARS on your next car?
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David Rockefeller, Liev Shreiber, Ted Cruz, Andy Sabin, Randy Hearst Harris, & Patrick McMullan.
It was the society wedding of the year. Dashing King Randolph Hearst Harris, who’s known as Randy and is the great-grandson of publishing baron William Randolph Hearst and the son of Anne Hearst, married the elegant Paula Porubcanova at a lavish three-day affair in the Hamptons. The guest list was highly curated with only one hundred forty glamorous attendees. These included Randy’s father, King Harris, and his stepfather, the acclaimed author Jay McInerney. Also in the mix were Princess Yasmin Aga Khan with Blaise Labriola, Milly de Cabrol, Kimberly and Steven Rockefeller, Sharon Bush and her husband, Bob Murray, former US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and his wife, Hilary Geary Ross, Candace Bushnell and Janna Bullock, and her daughter Eugenia Bullock. The endlessly chic
event was held at Randy’s family’s estate Ashgrove Farm. The bride wore a dazzling confection by Monique Lhuillier with embroidered lilies of the valley with faint touches of green. The attractive couple said “I do” under a 16-foothigh white floral arch set against the property’s lily and koi pond; it’s the only way, really. Randy’s sister, Amanda Hearst, who just gave birth to her first child with Maleficent director Joachim Rønning, gave a toast via video while holding baby Hawk. The magician— that is, Alison Mazzola— planned the event, which featured Slovakian traditions in honor of the bride. These included
looked. There was a 16-piece band, monogrammed napkins, and a separate dessert tent to offer artisanal desserts from New York cheesecake to apple strudel; all produced by Chris Robbins of Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs. Guests were invited to pet the family’s miniature ponies, goats, lambs, chickens, and even an emu on the estate’s private zoo. After the dancing, the bride was “kidnapped” by Randy’s groomsman, and per the bride’s native country’s tradition, he pursued her all the way to the afterparty to show his love; I left at 4:00 a.m. The next night, guests, including Lorraine Bracco and Robert Zimmerman, headed to the beach for a dinner of lobster, clams, and corn in the sand, which was festooned with beige and white rugs, enormous white pillows, and even tables and chairs pitched near the surf, which was rolling picturesquely in. At dusk, a bonfire was lit by the dance floor for s’mores, and a tribe of female performers did an elaborate fire dance that I thought looked like a fertility ceremony. Who else would tell you these things?
handmade dolls on guests’ plates with their names on them and pale white floral arrangements with wisps of blue flowers everywhere you
Patrick McMullan’s Birthday Jean Shafiroff and this columnist gave Patrick
McMullan a dinner party to celebrate his birthday in Southampton. The famed photographer received a citation from the NY State Assembly, which celebrated Patrick’s 40-year career as a photographer. The impressive document was hand-delivered by Patrick’s friend and Member of Assembly, Rebecca Seawright. The citation read in part, “Whereas, Patrick has helped capture New York’s role as the social and artistic capital of the world through his acclaimed work behind the camera and as a cancer survivor, Patrick has overcome setbacks and has become one of the most resilient contributors to New York society.” patrickmcmullan.com
Metal magnate Andy Sabin gave a party at his house in East Hampton. Senator Ted Cruz arrived with three Capitol Hill police officers, his wife, Heidi, and their 11-year-old daughter, Caroline. Andy gave them a tour of his private zoo, where they were able to see and pet pigs, peacocks, pheasants, rabbits, goats, chickens, and a giant tortoise. Andy said, “I never saw so many liberals who wanted their picture taken with Senator Cruz.” Guests included Julia Haart, Daphne Oz, Congressman Andrew Garbarino, Jill Zarin, wealth manager Sergio Nicolosi, Carole Crist the former First Lady of Florida, and investor and philanthropist Afsaneh “Sunny” Akhtari, who
shared an ice cream trip to the Mister Softee truck with the senator and his family.
Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber was named The South Fork Natural History Museum’s new global ambassador at a benefit for the museum founded by the aforementioned Andy Sabin. The event was cochaired by Susan and David Rockefeller and honored Sylvia Earle, Richard Grasso, and Greg Manocherian, among others. In the mix was Anna Chernitskaya, the stunning model and entrepreneur who has launched a new weight loss tea called The Ritual, which is being used by the fashionable set to prepare for the holidays. sofo.org
Stronger Together Billionaire diamond magnet
Chagit Leviev of LEVIEV Diamonds has created two miniature Stronger Together bracelets bearing two
tiny diamonds for Pernilla Sjöholm, The Tinder Swindler victim who’s expecting twins this December. The grown-up versions are being sold with all profits going to help all the swindler victims, including Ayleen Charlotte and Cecilie Fjellhoy, recoup their losses. Profits will also benefit the Women for Women charity. The party to launch the bracelet at Mister French attracted Libbie Mugrabi, Isabelle Bscher, attorneys Marianne Bertuna and Arthur Aidala, and divorce lawyers Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha Cohen Stine. leviev.com
Hetrick-Martin Institute School’s Out Martha Stewart, Andy Cohen, and Tracy Anderson have all chaired and supported The Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) School’s Out benefit. The organization, which helps LGBTQIA+ youth, took place at the beautiful Arc House in East Hampton and was led by cochairs Architect Rod Grozier and
Douglas Elliman’s Ben Dixon. Guests enjoyed a yummy dinner dubbed ‘The Best of the Hamptons,’ which featured courses including Duryea’s Lobster Cobb Salad, Steak from STK, and side dishes from ALMOND.
“The money raised tonight, guarantees that young people will have the resources they need throughout the year,” said HMI CEO Thomas Krever. hmi.org/ schoolsout
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The Story
Aerin Lauder, the designer and God’s Love We Deliver board member opened her far-flung Hamptons estate to host the charity’s Midsummer Night Drinks party with her husband, Eric Zinterhofer. Cochairs included Michael Kors and Lance Le Pere, Kelly Klein, Jenny Landey, and Margaret Russell. Over three hundred guests strolled the gardens, admiring the gardens and the imposing white house festooned with Doric columns that belonged to her grandmother, Estee Lauder. “Estee loved columns,” confided Aerin, “and she loved to feed people, so she always had chocolates in her refrigerator in her sitting room for guests.
“ Who else would tell you these things? The organization brings high-quality meals to those who cannot prepare meals for themselves due to life-altering illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer. They served their thirty-millionth meal this year. Guests told Aerin how much they loved her stylish concept store in Southampton. Supporters included Dan Klores, Paul Wilmont Canard Inc., and Blue Lion Events. Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern created the menu, and Bridgehampton Florist designed the festive flower arrangements. glwd.com
Eric Zinterhofer and Aerin Laude
Longtime board member and soon-to-be chairman of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, Chris Burch, held a Young Scholars Concert at the housewarming of his new far-flung Watermill estate and spectacular gardens. Chris encouraged everyone to walk around the house and gardens and to get a drink. “I encourage drinking here.” He chuckled, adding as he introduced the two pianists, “I only like extraordinary humans. I’m not interested in ordinary humans.” Young Scholars Eden Chen and Maxim Lando performed renditions from The Nutcracker, Led Zeppelin, Gershwin, and Sousa. Among those applauding were Lang Lang board members David Hryck and Kyle Wool, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Peter Thomas Roth and his son Ryan, and others of that ilk and stripe. The Foundation works on three continents, including North America, Europe, and Asia, partnering with schools in low-income districts to ensure that no child is denied a musical education. CEO of the foundation, Lukas Barwinski-Brown, ended the night by thanking Chris and announcing his gift of six hundred pianos a year to emerging pianists. langlangfoundation.org
The Story
The Parrish’s exciting new director, Monica Rairez-Montagut, greeted the guests at the museum’s Midsummer Dance and Dinner in Water Mill. Larry Milstein and Destinee Ross-Sutton cochaired the young people’s dance, which kicked off the weekend of festivities. Oscar Nñ of Papi Juice kept Serena Bancroft, Eugenia Bullock, Sarvi Chafik, Elizabeth Kurpis, Laura Brown, Samantha Blake Cohen, and three hundred others who fall in their interest circle on the dance floor until the lights came on. This night is now a must-be-seen-at event for the bright young things on the East End. The following night Debbie Bancroft, Preston Phillips, and George Wells cochaired the museum’s elegant gala dinner. The benefit honored artist Jasper Johns, collector Miyoung Lee, and the curators of the museum’s Set It Off exhibition, Racquel Chevremont & Mickalene Thomas. Sponsors included Amazon. Parrishart.org
East Hampton’s LongHouse Reserve celebrated its community of artists—past, present, and future—at their annual Summer Benefit. The event was titled ONWARD, a favorite expression of its late and legendary founder, Jack Lenor Larsen. Banished was the old-style sit-down dinner under a tent. Instead, LongHouse spread couches, canopied beds, rugs, and chairs throughout the garden under the stars, with five buffets boasting everything from poké bowls to a raw bar. The art auction proved a centerpiece, while multiple bands kept 300 revelers dancing into the wee hours, many of them sporting caftans. Among the artists in the mix were Cheng Tsung Feng, who traveled with his team from Taiwan, inviting guests to enter his bamboo pavilion, Fish Trap VI; Steven Ladd stood inside his piece Right Here, Right Now; Moko Fukuyama engaged us with her Hell Gate Keepers; and Fitzhugh Karol shared Friendship, his immense totems honoring the spirit of trees. Other work on the property for the first time included Bjorn Amelan’s sumi ink paintings and Alexander Polzin’s Parthenope alongside permanent installations by Yoko Ono, Buckminster Fuller, and Willem de Kooning. Guests included Nathan Lane, Edwina von Gal, Alice Aycock, Anna Kulinova, Fern Mallis, Stewart Lane, Robert Wilson, Jean Shafiroff, stylish sister duo Tanya and Temidra Willock, and Victoria Wyman, as well as LongHouse poohbahs Carrie R. Barratt and Dianne “You could feel the love and support in the air,” said copresident Nina Gillman. Nest ce
The evening raised over half a million dollars. longhouse.org
Elizabeth Sommer and Joseph Vazquez
Irina Ourusoff
The host committee of Guild Hall’s signature gala included Ross Bleckner, Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson, Virginia Coleman and Peter Duchin, April Gornik and Eric Fischl, Marlene Hess, Susan Stroman, and the fabled interior designer Peter Marino. In recognition of her establishment of the William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence program, Guild Hall honored Kathy Rayner. “Every so often, a perfect collaboration is born between a philanthropist and a nonprofit. Kathy Rayner has made one of those moments happen,” said the organization’s Executive Director Andrea Grover. Guests, including the New York Times food columnist Florence Fabricant and groundbreaking editor Stefano Tonchi, all hit the dance floor to the tunes of DJ MICK. The benefit was sponsored by First Republic Bank with catering by Laurence Craig. The splendid evening raised $750k. guildhall.org
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Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell and Arthur Dunnam joined Audrey Gruss as the co-grand marshals of her seventh annual Race of Hope in Southampton. Four hundred men, women, children, and dogs raised over 325K for Gruss’s Hope for Depression Research Foundation. Billionaires were everywhere you looked, including Richard LeFrak, John Paulson, Gruss. Candace pumped up the crowd saying, “This organization is important to me because I, too, have suffered from depression. And I can tell you that it really does rob people of a portion of their lives.” Leading the applause were Jamee and Peter Gregory, Anne Nordeman, divorce attorneys Harriet Newman Cohen and Martha Cohen Stein, and Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren. The 5K walk/run is a USA Track and Field-sanctioned event. HDRF’s next event is their annual luncheon seminar on Wednesday, November 9th.
Joanne de Guardiola and Mercedes de
Gia Schmidt, Kyle Schmidt, Kaden Ryan Schmidt, Paul Schmidt.
Martin Gruss
Tanya Willock, Temidra WillockMorsch
Andrea Stark, Campion Platt, and Jean Shafiroff cochaired Iris Dankner’s Holiday House Hamptons annual tabletop event benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Ellen Hermanson Foundation at Chef Jean George’s Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton. The organization’s second annual ‘Coming Together’ Tabletop event showcased the work of leading designers including Ashley Stark, Abundant Habitat, Evan Mason, Hidden Gem, Sarah Lederman, and ABC Carpet. Each designer presented unique and cutting-edge tablescapes. Among those sipping Whispering Angel were The Paddle Diva, Sid and Louise Banon, Aleksandra and Dr. Kenneth Mark, Debra Halpert, Felicia Persaud, Gina Bradley, Helen Gifford, Will Jarosak, and top dermatologist Dr. Marie Hayag. The host committee included Julie Ratner, Elisa DiStefano, Maureen McDermott, Lynn Scotti, Darcy Miller, Alison Stager, Steve Roeder, Thomas Davis, and Timothy Davis. The event was sponsored by Stark Carpet, Adam Miller, FJ Hakimian, and Hamptons Real Estate Showcase among others. To date, Holiday House has raised nearly two million dollars for Breast Cancer holidayhousehamptons.com
Danielle Collimer, Katie White, Natasha Cohen, Hillary Steedle
Andrea Stark, Susan Freidman, Jackie Freidman Brogadir
A stellar performance by Kelis elevated The Southampton Arts Center SummerFest to one of the top benefits of the summer. The event was cochaired by the organization’s founder Simone Levinson and her husband, David, Sylvia Hemingway, Nicole and Allen Salmasi, and Aline and Tom Shapiro. The event also had a fun junior committee, which Andrew Warren and Alexander Hankin pulled together, consisting of Ivy Getty, Conor Kennedy, Gaia Matisse, Grace Murdoch, Princess Noor Pahlavi, and Ming Lee Simmons. The night began with a viewing of the brilliant sculpture of Strong-Cuevas, who was her usual spry and witty self, even late into the wee hours. Work by Deborah Buck and Hal Buckner was also on display. Helena and Rob Vahradian were honored. Other guests, including Neil Patrick Harris, Chuck Scarborough, and Zac Posen also got to enjoy a live medley of songs by Broadway star Jessica Vosk. The After Dark Party DJs Zeke Thomas and Timo Weiland kept the dancing going until two in the morning. The night was sponsored by Bulgari. southamptonartscenter.org
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Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director of Dior, was honored with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion at their annual luncheon for The Museum at FIT. The event’s cochairs, Kara Ross and Julie Macklowe, welcomed guests such as Audrey Gruss in head-totoe Dior, ditto Somers Farkas, Hilary Geary Ross, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Kim Heirston, and Candace Bushnell, to the David Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Other best-dressed women included Jean Shafiroff, who had Rebecca Seawright, Carolyn Maloney, designer B. Michael, and Janna Bullock at her table. “I strive to be attentive to what is happening in the world and to create fashion that resembles the women of today,” said Chiuri. “Fashion that accompanies them in their transformations, avoiding stereotypical categories of masculine/feminine, young/less young, and reason/emotion, which also has complementary aspects.” She also invoked the “vagina” word, sending shivers through the room. Applauding were Yaz Hernandez, Derek Blasberg, Fe Fendi, Nina Garcia, Veronica Webb, Francisco Costa, the museums’ Dr. Joyce F. Brown, and Dr. Valerie Steele. Nordstrom sponsored the event. fitnyc.edu
Carolyn B. Maloney
Jean Shafiroff
The elegant Sunday Grand Prix Lunch at the Hampton Classic is as close as America gets to England’s iconic ascot. The 46th annual edition stretched out over a week and attracted 1,500 horses and riders representing 13 countries, group of Olympians and World Cup champions competing for over $1 million in prize money. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg was there with his girlfriend, Taylor, who said she was wearing the same hat she’s worn to this event for over a decade. The lunch, served on festively decorated tables festooned with flowers and equestrian-themed sculptures, was catered by Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs’s Robbins, who told Countess Luann de Lesseps that he served 1,800 1,000 lobster rolls. The prestigious show attracted Mathew Broderick, John and Alina de Almeida, Molly Sims, Jessica Capshaw, Brooke Shields, Kelly Klein, Christie Brinkley, Don Lemon, John Catsimatidis, Donna Karan, Lorraine Bracco, Howard Lorber, and Kelly Bensimon. Whether you are well-versed in professional equine sports or unfamiliar with this category of entertainment, the Hampton Classic has something for everyone to enjoy. First-time Hampton Classic rider, Karl Cook, swept the 5-Star Grand Prix Qualifier, 5-Star Grand Prix, and the LONGINES Rider Challenge. hamptonclassic.com
PHOTOS BY ROB RICH/SOCIETYALLURE.COM
