When I first started in the fine jewelry business more than twenty years ago, I designed a line of men’s cufflinks. They were worn to a special event or occasionally with a suit to the office.
Now, I design a variety of jewelry for formal events and for everyday. Men are wearing suits again to the office and cufflinks are very popular along with tie bars and clips. Brooches are worn in addition to tuxedo studs and cufflinks.
Welcome to art country
JULY 9-12, 2026 | SOUTHAMPTON, NEW YORK
Featuring the deepest selection of modern and contemporary art in the U.S. this summer.
130+ Curated galleries and best-in-class sponsors from around the world. Presenting 500 respected artists, from “hot” emerging to the blue chip masters.
Offering a top-tier selection, from paintings and works on paper, to sculpture, photography, and art glass.
Spotlight Artists: Henry Blond, Kim Chesney, Alejandro de Narvaez, Sam Halaby, Julian Lennon, Henry Orlik, Mel Ramos, Bert Stern
2026 Special Events & Features:
Celebrating America 250
Welcoming all guests—A bronze model of the original Statue of Liberty from France, Presented by Modern Fine Art
Welcome to “ground-zero” of AbEx
This time its about stunning art
4th Annual Induction Ceremony
The Last Sitting™ Presented By The Estate of Bert Stern
Top Left to Bottom Right: Alex Katz, Adamar Fine Art; Mel Bochner, David Benrimon Fine Art; Lee Krasner, Hamptons Fine Art Fair; Julian Opie, Adamar Fine Art; Yayoi Kusama, David Benrimon Fine Art; Giancarlo Impiglia, Counterpoint Contemporary; Mel Ramos, Louis K. Meisel Gallery; Keith Haring, David Benrimon Fine Art; Stuart Davis, Modern Fine Art.
EDITORAT-LARGE
George Wayne
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER
Julie Sagoskin
SENIOR EDITOR Christine Montanti
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Michael Gross
Lisa Stiehl National Sales Manager 914.760.6875 lisa@parkmagazineny.com
PUBLISHER & FOUNDER
Christopher A. Pape
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER R. Couri Hay
ART DIRECTOR
Phuong Truong
FEATURES EDITOR Bennett Marcus SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Patrick McMullan
LIFESTYLE EDITOR Lynn Kane
ARTS EDITOR
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Lexi Wolf, Lauren Bens & Gwen Kozlowski
TRAVEL EDITOR Joe Alexander
ASSISTANT EDITORS
W.A. Muller & Ryann Reynolds
INTERIORS EDITOR Cara Gibbs
Janis Gardner Cecil ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Oliver Li
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Sergey Gordeev, John & Jayne Mayer, Lisa Loverro, Jeremy Murphy
Maria Coyne Director of Florida & Caribbean Sales 305.975.9234 mecoyne@mecoyneinc.com
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Mike Ruiz, Bob Giglione
SALES TEAM
Scott Pauker Advertising Sales Manager 917.859.1343 scott@parkmagazineny.com
Siobhan Shea Rossi National Sales Manager 914.374.0710 siobhan@parkmagazineny.com
MCaseMedia, Inc. Publisher’s Representative 914.953.3202 info@mcasemedia.com
TEditor-inChief’s Letter
he time has finally come for beach days and summer soirees as we bid adieu to an eventful spring season which culminated with the most fashionable event of the year – the Met Gala. Our very own R. Couri Hay, a regular attendee of the star-studded affair, doesn’t hold back on what went on before, during and after the gala, whose honorary chairs included none other than Lauren Sanchez Bezos and Jeff Bezos. All eyes were on who was wearing what, but the real star of the show was the Condé M. Nast Galleries – the brand new 11,500-square-foot, five room expanse that previously functioned as a gift shop. As Couri shared: “This marks a serious step up from its previous basement locale, and an elevation of fashion’s place within the museum.” The stars all aligned at the after party – literally – to top off the most fashionable fete of the year.
We love besties who are also boss babes, and there’s no better duo than pals Rebecca Hessel Cohen and Marcella Guarino Hymowitz. Hessel Cohen is the founder and creative director of one of my all-time favorite fashion brands known for their whimsical and romantic designs, which are perfect for summer, LoveShackFancy, while Guarino Hymowitz is a multi-hyphenate dancer, choreographer, fitness instructor, events producer for her company, Studio MGH Creative, and, most recently, founder of the dance and fitness studio The Pearl NYC. The friends, mothers and philanthropists, who are both passionate about dance, now champion causes they care about together. This includes the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker Family Benefit, which they have co-chaired many times, and the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest dance network. Who wouldn’t love to brunch with these two!
From Manhattan to the Hamptons and around the world, award-winning, double-board certified plastic Stephen T. Greenberg continues to refresh and rejuvenate celebrities, socialites and soccer moms alike. The good doctor doesn’t keep
up with changing trends, he promotes timeless beauty. As he says: “I’m not here to change who someone is. I’m here to bring them back to themselves.”
Known or for his slick moves on Dancing with the Stars, Maksim Chmerkovskiy is now adding actor to his resume. The Ukrainian-born Mirrorball trophy winner is set to star in a vertical drama series, a challenge which he has fully embraced. Still, it is his fellow dancing-pro wife, Petra Murgatroyd, and their three children, who continue to inspire his next moves – whether on the dance floor, or on the screen.
If you are still looking to add nearby travel destinations to your summer itinerary, I highly recommend checking into The Roundtree Amagansett for a charming and historical stay. Just a short trip from Manhattan, guests will enjoy plenty of fun perks including ice cream happy hours, tea time on their lush lawn, and cozy rooms situated in a 100-year-old barn. Just in time for summer, they recently introduced a brand-new wellness-centric restaurant, Nourish by The Roundtree, in nearby Bridgehampton. If you really want to celebrate America’s 250th birthday in posh patriotic style, a visit to the world’s oldest seaside resort, Congress Hall, in Cape May, New Jersey is a must. With special events lined up over the week of July 4TH, plus luxurious rooms.
with ocean views and plenty of dining options to choose from, you will be a part of history – some of the nation’s presidents have even stayed in this large yellow resort which also has its own spa.
Make sure to soak up every moment of sunshine and tag us @parkmagazineny!
Julie Sagoskin Editor–in–Chief
Editor’s Letter
As the warm weather settles in, longer days and sunshine invite us to slow down and step outside to embrace the best of the season.
From outdoor dining and weekend getaways to neighborhood festivals and leisurely walks, summer offers countless opportunities to reconnect with family, friends, and our communities. In this issue, we celebrate the achievements of remarkable individuals, the energy they bring, and the optimism they inspire. Alongside their stories, you will find other compelling features and ideas designed to help you make the most of the season.
Featured in this issue is Ukrainian-born professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, best known for his remarkable 17-season run as a professional dancer on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). Chmerkovskiy has pivoted into an exciting new chapter in his career, starring in the vertical drama series Wild Silence. In the scripted series, he takes on the powerful role of Jack, a widower grappling with profound loss while navigating an unexpected journey of personal transformation.
Kristie Reeter has been a familiar and trusted presence on News 12 Bronx, covering breaking news while cultivating a distinctive voice in lifestyle journalism.
Last fall, Reeter shifted gears, stepping into a new role as host of News 12’s beWell, a program dedicated to making everyday living healthier, easier, and more informed. Be sure to check out her feature article where she shares more about her career journey, her passion for storytelling, and her work on beWell
Also featured in this edition is Tara Zimmerman, who consistently demonstrates that in the high-end real estate market, the most valuable asset isn’t a property, it’s trust. This guiding belief has earned Tara a respected and highly sought-after reputation in Long Island’s luxury real estate industry, whether representing buyers or sellers. Tara is a top-producing Associate Broker at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.
I hope you continue to enjoy the warm weather and all the outdoor activities the season has to offer. I look forward to connecting with you again inside the pages of the next issue of Park Magazine
Christine Montanti Senior Editor
Combining the unexpected with the respected. Traditional techniques, gold and gemstones meet vintage Bakelite and other remarkable materials.
The Costume Institute (PHOTO NICHOLAS CALCOTT)
Met Gala
Anna Wintour reminisced about her first Met Gala. “This is my favorite day of the year, and also my most terrifying one, even several decades in. I sometimes hear it said that my first Met Gala was in 1995, but that isn’t true. I first came here in 1982, when I was a fashion editor at New York Magazine, and Mrs. Vreeland led The Costume Institute. My salary was such that I could barely afford a dress, much less the ticket, but my editor generously paid my way into the Great Hall, which, in those days, one could stand to be on hand as the celebrities exited their dinner. In other words, the cheap seats. I was thrilled.
“I went to Bergdorf’s, I shut my eyes, and I bought a beautiful Saint Laurent cocktail dress for $900, several times my rent. I was a nobody that night, but it meant the world to me, a foreigner who had arrived in New York not so long before, to be part of something so important to the city, and to the daunting world of fashion where I was making my way. I tell you all of this to help explain why it is so meaningful and full circle for me to be here to celebrate the dedication of the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, made possible by the incredible generosity of the Newhouse family, named for the founder of the company that has been a home for me, and for thousands of other working creative people, for nearly 120 years.”
Costume Art
BY R. COURI HAY
The 2026 Costume Institute exhibition, “Costume Art,” explores the most pervasive form in artistic history, the dressed body. The show is organized around 13 forms of the body, including the naked and nude figure, the classical and abstract physique, and the pregnant and anatomical body, revealing the conversation between body and cloth. Fashion cannot be understood without the body it lies on. Sartorial pieces are placed beside sculpture, paintings, photographs, drawings, and more, all drawn from the museum’s vast collection. This juxtaposition accentuates a dynamic, playful, and conceptual relationship between artistic depictions of the human figure and fashion as an embodied art form. In doing so, the show highlights the multiplicity and universality of corporeal experiences. Objects and mannequins rest upon platforms, evoking the equivalence between different figures and art forms. The mannequins also have masks of polished steel, encouraging visitors to see themselves reflected on top of each body, try on each “costume” and consider experiences different from their own.
Condé M. Nast Galleries
The exhibition inaugurates the Costume Institute’s Condé M. Nast Galleries, an 11,500-square-foot, five-room expanse that previously functioned as a gift shop. Nestled between the Egyptian and Greek and Roman galleries, the space is front and center when you enter the famed Great Hall. This marks a serious step up from its previous basement locale, and an elevation of fashion’s place within the museum. As Andy Warhol said, “Fashion is more art than art is.”
Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge
With his 2026 exhibition, Andrew Bolton examines the connection between body and garments, and by putting them in conversation with art from across the museum’s collection, explores new dimensions of fashion. “For The Costume Institute’s inaugural exhibition, I wanted to focus on the centrality of the dressed body within the Museum. Rather than prioritizing fashion’s visuality, which often comes at the expense of the corporeal,
‘Costume Art’ privileges its materiality and the indivisible connection between our bodies and the clothes we wear.”
Max Hollein
Max Hollein, the Director and CEO of The Met, said, “This immensely creative and collaborative show will highlight The Met’s unique ability to position fashion within the context of more than 5,000 years of art represented in its collection. The newly designed, state-of-the-art Condé M. Nast Galleries further reflect The Met’s commitment to displaying and appreciating fashion as an art form.”
The Party of The Year
The Gala’s honorary chairs were Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Jeff Bezos. The evening’s co-chairs were Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. Among those who stunned on the “red carpet,” which was actually “beige sisal bricks with green moss edging,” in their “Fashion Is Art” finery were Madonna, replete with masked handmaidens and a black sailboat on her head, Sabrina Carpenter, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Anne Hathaway, Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams, Janelle Monáe, Sarah Pidgeon and, of course, the Kardashian-Jenner clan, including
“FASHION IS MORE ART THAN ART IS.”
Andy Warhol
The Great Hall (PHOTO GETTY)
my favorite, Kendall Jenner, who got more than 70 million views on my Instagram (@rcourihay), plus Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and mom-manager extraordinaire Kris Jenner.
The guests joined the co-chairs of the Gala Host Committee, Zoë Kravitz and Anthony Vaccarello, in enjoying sips and bites below the massive moon hanging from the heart of the Great Hall’s soaring ceiling, encircled by towering columns. The event team, decked with names including Àvila, award-winning director Baz Luhrmann, and set designer Derek McLane, adorned the hall with cypress trees, wisteria, and terra-cotta pots, creating an Italian dreamscape.
From there, the night moved through the sparkling new gallery space, where attendees explored the sensational show, to the Temple of Dendur for dinner. The round tables that filled the usually sparse space were decorated with centerpieces of lavish fruits, pears, black grapes, pomegranates, and fresh florals. Amidst the botanicals were green and blue china sets by Maison de
Carine, filled with three courses by chefs Olivier Cheng and Shane O’Neill. The garden starter, burrata with green tomato, elderflower, pine, and gooseberry, brought a crisp, breezy taste to the stars, who spent hours preparing for the festive function. A rack of lamb with morel panna cotta, Parmesan gnocchi, asparagus, carrots, spring peas, and mint followed, splashing the guests with invigorating flavors. Finally,
a trio of desserts was passed around, each inspired by a fashion garment from the show. White and red pavlovas of Robert Wun’s Spring 2023 “Bleeding Coat,” also worn by Naomi Osaka that evening, raspberry-infused chocolate spheres, inspired by Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2001 “Voss,” and structural white chocolate mocha cakes covered in dark chocolate ganache resembling Christian Dior’s Spring 2024 “Bar Suit” were served as Sabrina Carpenter and Stevie Nicks serenaded the room with their biggest hits. This show, along with Charles James and Alexander McQueen are, in my opinion, the Institute’s top three installations. The night raised a record-breaking 41 million dollars. metmuseum.org
The After Party
After the Gala, VIPs flocked back to The Mark and down to The Box for Richie Akiva’s annual post-Met bash. Seen out on the town were Lila and Kate Moss, Sarah Paulson, Tessa Thompson, Colman Domingo, Karlie Kloss, Alex Consani, Cardi B, Chase Infiniti, Tyla, Grace Gummer, Doechii, Blackpink supernovas Lisa and Jennie, Ty Dolla $ign, Stefon Diggs, Shaboozey, model and Love Story actress Anna Alimani, and entrepreneur Joseph Hernandez, founder of Blue Water Ventures, who is also running for State Comptroller under the Republican banner.
Met Gala Dinner (PHOTO POUPAY JUTHARAT)
Stairs (PHOTO GETTY)
The Show
Madonna recreating “The Temptation of St. Anthony,” Lenora Carrington, 1945 (PHOTO PMC)
Marble Statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a filet around his head), Roman, 1st - 2nd century
Suit, Glenn Martens for Y Project, Fall Winter 2022-2023
Figure in Rotation, Max Weber 1917 Ensemble, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, Spring Summer 1997
Study for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,” Georges Seurat 1884
Walking Dress, American or European, ca.1883
“Pregnant Woman,” Edgar Degas, Modeled 1896-1910, cast 1920
“Pregnancy” dress, Georgina Godley, Fall Winter 1986-87
“The Poetic Body: Poem Dress of Circulation” Lesley Dill 1992
Ensemble, Olivier Theyskens, Fall Winter 1998-99
Brooch, Tiffany & Co. 1868
“Immortal” dress, Dilara Fındıkogl, Spring Summer 2023
Adam and Eve, Albrecht Dürer 1504
Ensemble, Walter Van Beirendonck, Spring 2009
“Bustle” muslin, Charles James 1947
Impression of Ameliede Montfort, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux 1867
“Corset Anatomia” ensemble, Renata Buzzo, Spring Summer 2025
Ensemble, Designer Pierre Cardin, 1967
Female
probably representing Minerva, possibly Flemish late 18th or 19th century
Plate 33 in Givard Bidloo, Ontleading des menschlyken Lichaems, Abraham Blooteling & Pieter van Gunst 1728
Bathing Suit Designer, Rudi Gernreich
Female Figure, Elamite, ca. 1500-1100 BCE
warrior,
Jumpsuit, Jean Paul Gaultier, 1993
Tabula Rosa, Jane Hammond 2001
Lauren Hashian & Dwayne Johnson
“Can I tell you about my pleated skirt?”
What the said Stars
THE MET GALA
Lindsey Vonn
“I’m not sure how my dancing skills will be, but we’ll make it work!”
PRODUCED BY R. COURI HAY
About their Costumes
Odessa A’zion
“I did my own hair and makeup. I have a problem with too many people touching me at once. I don’t like it.”
“It’s all
Alex Consani
“There’s a reveal. She’s transitioning again.”
PHOTO PMC, GETTY
Sabrina Carpenter
made of Sabrina film, which is my dream.”
Connor Storrie
“I’ve got this big ‘ol thing in the back.
I need
my wind guy to show up.”
Doja Cat
“I feel like a beautiful woman, not like a creature from another time or dimension.”
Anne Hathaway “What I love about the dress is that it turns the person into an object of art. It’s moving art.”
Keke Palmer
“I killed Keke, this is KyKy.”
Lisa
“These are my arms, in 3D.”
Hudson Williams
“It’s nice to not be ugly tonight. I was really ugly in Apparatus, my new movie.”
About their Look Inspiration
Heidi Klum “I was like, I want to become her!”
Janelle Monáe
“Balance must be restored; Nature is talking to us.”
Sam Smith
“My
optimal creative environment is floating in a lazy river.”
Beyoncé
“Juicy, curvy, thin, tall, whatever. Just celebrating whatever God gave you.”
Tate McRae
“How
could this not freak you out a little
bit?”
About the Gala
Emma Chamberlain
“If I did this more than once a year, I think I’d have a mental breakdown.”
Emily Blunt
“We rocked up in a very brightly lit sprinter van, looking like we should be on a bachelorette night. Definitely music, definitely tequila.”
Marcello Hernández & Ana Amelia Batlle Cabral
“I feel like you’re allowed to go up to people that you think are really famous and say hello, and so I want to do that a little bit.”
Amanda Seyfried
“It’s nice coming to the giant Met Ball after just walking on clovers and rubbing my donkey’s ears.”
Gigi Hadid
“It’s our version of high school art class with everyone you work with.”
Kim Kardashian
“I’m excited to see Jafaar Jackson.”
IYAGP
f you were anywhere near Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater on April 16, you could be forgiven for thinking New York had briefly turned pink.
Not pale pink. Not polite pink. Full LoveShackFancy pink – romantic, theatrical, flower-filled, and impossible to ignore. It covered the Koch Theater Promenade corner to corner, floated through chiffon and lace of the beautiful dresses of those in the audience, and seemed to follow the dancers themselves as they moved from stage to dinner, from performance to celebration, from the breathtaking beauty and the discipline of ballet into the joy of community.
Youth America Grand Prix’s 2026 Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala was exactly what its title promised: a meeting point between the artists who define ballet today and the young dancers who will shape its future tomorrow.
On stage, the evening was hosted by
Misty Copeland, former principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, and Tamar Greene, Broadway’s George Washington in Hamilton. Off stage, the gala dinner was led by Marcella Guarino Hymowitz as Gala Creative Chair, with Rebecca Hessel Cohen, Founder and Creative Director of LoveShackFancy, and Melanie Hamrick –choreographer, author, and former ABT
Subashi Performing La
Dancing into the Future
BY SERGEY GORDEEV
dancer – honored for their contributions to dance, culture and the arts.
The audience was as star-studded as the performance on stage. Guests included F. Murray Abraham, Brooke Adams, Skylar Brandt, Chelsea Clinton, Steve Gold, Mara Hoffman, Lucas Jagger, Dylan Lauren, Holt McCallany, Chris Noth, Michelle Ochs, Tony Shalhoub, Sai de Silva, Demi Singleton, Sutton Stracke, Katya Tolstova, Shannon Zhao, and other leaders in the worlds of ballet, fashion, philanthropy, film, and New York society.
But the real star of the evening was dance itself.
The performance brought together a truly stellar international cast, including the likes of Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko of La Scala Ballet, headliner Polina Semionova and Martin ten Kortenaar of Berlin State Ballet, Christine Shevchenko and Calvin Royal III of ABT, Reece Clarke of
Asya
Esmeralda (PHOTO LKSTUDIO)
The Royal Ballet, and Roman Mejia of New York City Ballet. In one of the evening’s most spectacular moments, 120 YAGP finalists from around the world filled the Koch Theater stage in the traditional piece d’occasion – a living reminder of why the evening exists in the first place.
YAGP Founder and Artistic Director Larissa Saveliev has always believed that ballet’s future depends not only on preserving tradition, but on creating access, and the results of the organization’s work speak for themselves. Since YAGP’s founding in 1999, $5 million has been awarded in scholarships to leading dance schools, with up to $500,000 now presented annually. More than 300,000 young dancers have participated in its programs, and 500 YAGP alumni are now dancing with 100 professional companies around the world.
These are some impressive numbers, but what they really represent is possibility.
For a young dancer, possibility can mean a scholarship. It can mean being seen by the right teacher at the right moment. It can mean a first trip to New York, a first performance on a major stage, or the first time a child from a community where ballet once felt like a distant dream realizes that there is a place for them where these dreams can become a reality.
That spirit was also reflected this year in the most ambitious outreach program in the history of the organization – which donated tickets to more than 1,000 local students. Many of them have never been to a theater before and came from organizations such as Harlem School for the Arts, Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, The Misty Copeland Foundation, and many others. For YAGP, it is not just about giving access to the arts for those who need it most. It also helps ensure the future of ballet by building not only the next generation of dance artists, but also the next generation of dance audiences.
The evening also continued one of YAGP’s most imaginative and successful recent traditions: The Pointe Project, in which designers create custom pointe shoes to be auctioned in support of young dancers pursuing professional careers. This year’s participating designers included A-Morir, Alice + Olivia, Carolina Herrera, Hervé Léger by Michelle Ochs, LoveShackFancy, Michael Kors, Monse, and Renna Jewels – a perfect nexus of fashion, fantasy, and philanthropy.
Looking ahead, YAGP’s calendar continues to expand with the same blend of artistic ambition and global reach. This summer, the organization will bring dancers to Italy for a weeklong celebration of dance. Taking place June 20-25, the week will conclude with a YAGP Gala performance on June 25 as part of the Ravenna Festival, one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious cultural festivals, under the direction of conductor Maestro Riccardo Muti. In true YAGP fashion, the gala will feature international stars alongside 200 young dancers from around the world.
On July 7, YAGP returns to the historic Teatro Sociale di Como for another gala performance in its signature format: today’s ballet stars sharing the stage with tomorrow’s most promising young talent. It is part of a multi-year engagement at the theater – and another example of how YAGP continues to create bridges between generations, countries, and artistic traditions.
The future also includes the continued growth of the Marcella Hymowitz Creative Fellowship, which supports emerging choreographers and gives talented young artists the resources to create new work. It is a natural extension of YAGP’s mission: not only training dancers to perform the classics, but empowering them to imagine what ballet can become next.
And in May 2027, YAGP will return to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa for its Season Finals and Gala, once again bringing together thousands of young dancers, master teachers, company directors, and stars of the ballet world.
And that is the magic of YAGP. It begins with a child in a studio, dreaming of a stage. It grows through teachers, mentors, patrons, and artists who believe talent deserves a path forward. And sometimes, on a pink night at Lincoln Center, it becomes something even bigger: a celebration of youth, beauty, generosity, and the people who still believe in the power of the arts to change a human life. P
For more info about Youth America Grand Prix and how you can get involved in ensuring the future of dance, visit www.yagp.org
Christine Shevchenko, The Royal Ballet’s Reece Clarke & NYCB’s Roman Mejia Performing Le Corsaire Pas de Trois (PHOTO LKSTUDIO)
LoveShackFancy Pointe Shoes (PHOTO BFA)
Gallerist Isabelle
IBscher
Innovation & Legacy
BY JEREMY MURPHY
sabelle Bscher, a third-generation gallerist, grew up immersed in the art world. Her grandmother, Antonina Gmurzynska, founded Galerie Gmurzynska in 1965 in Cologne, Germany, where she put down roots after fleeing the devastation of World War II in Poland. The business was later expanded and relocated to Switzerland by Bscher’s mother, Krystyna Gmurzynska, who continues to run the Zurich operation today.
“When I was a kid, the gallery in Cologne was next door to our house. I used to go there after school,” she said. “I think I took my first steps at an art fair, either Basel or FIAC. My school class even came to see a Yves Klein show. They all thought it was scandalous.”
But Bscher was captivated. She went on to study contemporary art in London and New
York, and received a Master’s degree from Sotheby’s.
As she expands their gallery empire to New York, she has remained closely connected with her family. “We speak about 10 times a day,” Bscher told me, laughing.
Unconventional Exhibitions
Despite her desire to continue the Gmurzynska legacy, Bscher’s approach to curation is anything but traditional. She avoids showcasing an artist’s canonical works and instead focuses on their previously unknown relationships, personalities, and inspirations.
Following successful exhibitions on Joan Miró and Roberto Matta, who had never been explored in direct relation, and Dan Basen, an outsider artist from the 1960s who achieved early career recognition before passing at a
young age, Bscher set her sights on an innovative show examining Pablo Picasso and Wifredo Lam’s professional and personal relationship. The last time the duo was exhibited exclusively together was in 1939 at the Perls Galleries in New York. Almost a century later, Bscher is bringing their works back into conversation with one another.
The exhibition comprises 50 pieces, paintings, frescos, works on paper, collage, and ceramics, spanning seventy years (1918-1978). It tells the full story of their intersections, displaying art from before Lam and Picasso met, throughout their profound friendship, and after Picasso’s passing. The duo first came across one another in Paris in May 1938, an encounter that forever changed the surrealist movement as they quickly developed a deep, lifelong companionship. Picasso, twenty-one
Isabelle Bscher (PHOTO UDO SPREITZENBARTH)
years Wifredo’s senior, introduced the Cuban artist to the Paris avant-garde, fostering his style, a blend of Cubism, Surrealism, and Santería symbolism.
The Fuller Building
Between 1940 and 1946, Picasso and Lam regularly exhibited together at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in the Fuller Building, the very same space where Galerie Gmurzynska revives their works’ powerful dialogue.
In 2025, when Isabelle Bscher was searching for a new space for her international and multigenerational enterprise, her instinct led her to the Fuller Building on 595 Madison Avenue.
Purpose-built for galleries and once home to legendary art dealers, Pierre Matisse, André Emmerich, and Charles Egan,
Willem de Kooning’s exclusive dealer, the space offered what Bscher describes as an ideal combination of architecture and atmosphere. Soaring ceilings, expansive walls, and large windows overlooking Madison Avenue flood the gallery with natural light. Just as important, it retained a slightly raw, industrial edge that invites passersby to fully explore each unique collection on display.
The space’s newest exhibition follows the finissage of the Museum of Modern Art’s highly lauded solo retrospective, “Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream,” placing some of Lam’s works previously exhibited at the MoMA on display alongside Picasso’s. Among the collection are a rare Étude pour La Jungle (1943) and other masterpieces from Lam’s estate, including part of his indigenous art collection, as well as two
of Picasso’s rare frescos from his 1918 honeymoon in Biarritz and works engaging in his lifelong interest in African Art, such as Animaux naturels (Art Primitifs) from 1943. The show is an ingenious exploration of the two savants of the avant-garde.
As her history shows, Bscher does not follow a rigid formula. She points to a generation of downtown New York artists, figures like Nate Lowman and Dash Snow, as examples of how artistic movements can reemerge with renewed relevance. Staying current, she said, is less about formal research than immersion within global artist communities.
Baz Luhrmann, Robert Indiana, Christo, and Karl Lagerfeld
Over the years, Bscher has worked with film, fashion, and design figures, including Baz Luhrmann, James Franco, Robert Indiana, and Christo.
Few left a greater impression than Karl Lagerfeld, whom the gallery represented for decades. Bscher describes him as “the most cultivated person I’ve ever met,” recalling his encyclopedic knowledge, constant reading, and tightly knit inner circle. Encounters with Lagerfeld often veered into the surreal, from last-minute security concerns to unexpected guests appearing in private spaces.
Yet for all the glamour surrounding the art world, Bscher is acutely aware of its shift toward commercialization, with newcomers viewing it as a path to financial success. That mindset, she warns, can limit artistic growth.
Her advice is straightforward and based on her own path. “Resist that pressure, let the work develop organically.”
Constantly exploring new avenues and defying expectations, Bscher is not simply preserving a legacy, but expanding it. P
gmurzynska.com
Isabelle Bscher (PHOTO UDO SPREITZENBARTH)
La Joya Jewelry
Luxury Lab Grown Jewelry Made with Love
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
Lab grown diamonds are at the top of the list of the coolest luxury trends, and La Joya Jewelry, founded by Nishit Mehta, is the most talked about brand in the industry for their quality and innovative designs. A third-generation diamantaire, high-end bling is in Nishit’s blood. Since starting his professional journey into the jewelry business in 1992 in Hong Kong, he has since navigated every facet of the global diamond world, from leading major diamond houses to founding directto-retailer suppliers across Europe and America.
“I’ve spent my life seeing diamonds as both a physical science and a family legacy,” said Nishit. With a philosophy of validation over persuasion, Nishit takes the opposite approach when it comes to how high-end brands try to convince consumers that their products are needed to feel “elite.”
“We know our clients are already sophisticated and savvy; they’ve done their research. We see ourselves as their expert partners, providing the technical transparency and high-end design they deserve. We lead with the physics and the ethics, treating our customers like insiders in the trade,” he said.
While they honor the classic architecture of fine jewelry, ensuring every piece has the “bones” of an heirloom, they use the freedom
of lab-grown diamonds to take risks. He refers to this as “Statement Simplicity.” He explained how this translates to using “Old World” hands to set “New World’ stones.”
Within the elegant and unique collections, which offer a range of designs and price points, you will notice plenty of bold, sculptural gold, and whisper settings where the diamond appears to float, as well as unconventional silhouettes such as EastWest emerald cuts. “It’s jewelry designed for the woman who wants to look like she knows a secret,” said Nishit.
He also views lab grown diamonds as more than just a trend, but rather, the “smart luxury” revolution. “For a long time, the industry relied on a scarcity narrative to justify astronomical markups. Modern consumers are far too educated for that now. They realize they can have a chemically identical, visually superior stone without the ethical or financial baggage of mining,” he said.
For Nishit, lab diamonds provide a higher “lifestyle return.” Rather than leaving your sparkly pieces in a safe, he believes people understand the value of getting to really live in a piece. “It allows you to enjoy Red Carpet scale and brilliance every day without the security anxiety.”
For those who are still curious about real and lab, Nishit breaks it down. “There is no physical, chemical, or optical difference.
Think of it like ice. You can get ice from a frozen lake, or you can get ice from your freezer. Both are 100% frozen H2O. One was made by nature over time, and the other was made in a controlled setting using technology. Lab-grown diamonds are 100% carbon, just like mined diamonds. They aren’t ‘fakes’; they are the exact same mineral, just with a more modern origin story.”
La Joya is currently focused on the pieces designed as part of the “Architecture of the Wrist.” After noticing that their collectors in New York and Palm Beach are moving away from single pieces and toward complex, high-sparkle stacks, they decided to expand their Tennis Collection to include mixed-cut bracelets - alternating emerald and round stones - that create a more textured,
contemporary light performance.
Lab has reached all kinds of jewelry lovers. A significant part of their bespoke services is curating “Travel Sets” for high-profile clients commissioning lab-grown replicas of their natural diamond heirlooms. They can now
travel the world without worrying about the risk.
They are also expanding to GenderNeutral offerings. “Jewelry in 2026 is shedding its labels, and we are designing bold, geometric bands and heavy-link chains
that are being embraced by everyone. For us, the news is always about how we can use technology to make the most beautiful diamonds in the world more wearable for everyday life.” P
lajoyajewelry.com
Rebecca Hessel Cohen & Marcella Guarino Hymowitz
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCELLA GUARINO HYMOWITZ)
Rebecca Hessel Cohen Marcella Guarino Hymowitz&
MELD DANCE WITH FASHION
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Rebecca Hessel Cohen & Marcella
Guarino Hymowitz
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCELLA GUARINO HYMOWITZ)
Close friends Rebecca Hessel Cohen and Marcella Guarino Hymowitz are both businesswomen in creative fields. Hessel Cohen is the founder and creative director of the fashion and lifestyle brand LoveShackFancy. Guarino Hymowitz is a multi-hyphenate dancer, choreographer, fitness instructor, events producer for her company, Studio MGH Creative, and, most recently, founder of the dance and fitness studio The Pearl NYC.
The two have bonded as friends, mothers and philanthropists. Their mutual love of dance led them to join forces for causes they care about, including the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker Family Benefit, which they have co-chaired numerous times, and the Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest dance network.
What Makes Marcella Tick
Marcella Guarino Hymowitz is that rare person who was lucky enough to discover her passion for dance as a child, and through hard work and determination, has made it her life’s work.
Throughout her school and college years, she studied all forms of the art, from classical ballet to tap, jazz, street, musical theater and gymnastics. While studying exercise science at Rutgers University, she was a part of the school’s nationally ranked dance team. In 2001, she became a Knicks City Dancer, was featured in publications like Dance magazine, and even appeared on Sex and the City. She wrote, composed and directed her own off-Broadway show in collaboration with renowned dance-world figures Amy Ryerson, Brice Mousset and Jon Rua. Later, she formed her own event production company, MGH Creative, which choreographs and directs entertainment for private events like red-carpet galas and Netflix premieres. Now, she spearheads The Pearl NYC, a new dance fitness and wellness studio on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where she is not only the owner, but also teaches some classes.
Guarino Hymowitz is active in a number of charitable organizations, including the NYC Ballet, for which she has co-chaired the Nutcracker Family Benefit, and Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), which provides dance education and opportunities for underserved young talents, where she acts as trustee and gala Creative Chair.
When I ask the mother of three and stepmother of three how she defines herself, she laughs and says she’s a little bit of everything. “I’m a philanthropist. I’m a studio
owner. I’m an instructor. I’m a creative director with Studio MGH, when clients bring me on, they don’t bring me on to just choreograph. I come in to help direct the entire night. How do we want people to feel when they walk into the room of the party? What is the music that’s playing? What is the lighting design? What does the room look like? Are there performers? I think of myself as a creative director, a philanthropist, just everything…”, she trails off. “That’s a great question. I like to think that I’m not defined by one thing.”
The Pearl NYC
“Aside from my family, The Pearl is what I’m most proud of,” Guarino Hymowitz says. “It is a studio built not just for dancers, but for anyone seeking strength, confidence, creativity and connection. It’s a space where girls, teens and adults can grow stronger in both mind and body; where they can try something new without fear, where movement is joyful rather than intimidating, and where growth is measured in courage, not perfection.”
This establishment is where Guarino Hymowitz feels she has come full circle, back in the studio where she was happiest as a child. “It’s where I built my confidence through movement, community and selfexpression. It’s a space that exists so people can feel seen, supported and empowered in their bodies and in their lives.”
The two really got to know each other during the pandemic, when they lived next door to each other in Manhattan. Guarino Hymowitz had stepped away from work for a few years to focus on motherhood when Covid struck. While everything was shut down, she began teaching dance and leading workouts in her basement studio. Participants would swab upstairs, and if everyone was negative, they’d go downstairs and work out.
The two women were neighborly, and one day when they bumped into each other, Guarino Hymowitz invited Hessel Cohen to join her workouts; she jumped at the chance and thereafter went every day. thepearlnyc.com
Rebecca Hessel Cohen Follows Her Instincts
Rebecca Hessel Cohen founded her fashion brand LoveShackFancy in 2013, and the company has grown over the years, now comprising 27 stores across the U.S., with one in London.
The line has grown from a few styles of dresses to over 100 each season, including children’s, teens and women’s, from fancy beading to everyday cotton to silks, swimwear, activewear, robes and sleepwear. They’ve expanded into other categories, adding fragrances, beauty, smaller accessories, home, bedding, pillows and towels. They even offer a bit of men’s swimwear now.
LoveShackFancy’s aesthetic is unapologetically feminine and romantic, featuring vintage-inspired prints, florals, ruffles, lace, bows and lots of pink. This was Hessel Cohen’s vision from the beginning, and she has never swayed, ignoring industry naysayers who claimed it wouldn’t sell.
When she started out, wholesale showrooms insisted this style wasn’t trending at that time; they wanted monochromatic, modern, bold colors. Hessel Cohen followed her instincts and never wavered. “And they were totally wrong,” she says. “I always say when someone says, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ you have to
trust your gut. I wasn’t about to change for them. I was like, well, this is what it is. This is what I do; it’s romantic, it’s feminine, it’s soft colors, and if you don’t want to be a part of it, well, then that’s okay.”
Emotional Connection with Customers
In a way, Hessel Cohen has built her business the oldfashioned way, trusting her sense of what customers want, rather than being led by marketers and trends. “I’ve been a huge collector of vintage clothing for as long as I can remember. My mom was a big collector; I sort of grew up around all of that, antique lace, vintage textiles. So, it was really always my vision: how can you recreate that?”
Hessel Cohen’s process reminds me of Ralph Lauren, who has similarly achieved great success following his own particular sensibility consistently over the years.
Hessel Cohen feels that the reason big retailers are suffering today is that they are not connected to the customer. “I was always very connected to whoever my customer was, whether it was through social media or just one-to-one. That’s why I love to be in our stores, I love to connect directly with every single girl or woman who’s wearing our clothes.” She reaches her customers on an emotional level, something that simply cannot be achieved through algorithms and spreadsheets.
Brick & Mortar Scores a Draw
LoveShackFancy’s physical stores still draw shoppers in droves, even in this era of online shopping. “We really have a very multi-generational clientele, we say it’s ‘babies to 80s’,” Hessel Cohen explains. “We have little girls all the way to grandmas that connect through LoveShackFancy; they love to come to the stores together, they go shop. It’s very experiential for them. And the minute you walk into our store, it’s like walking into a world of the brand. It’s an extension. It feels very emotional from all different touchpoints, from the music to the florals, to the pink colors, to the clothes.” The brand does have robust online sales, but Hessel Cohen says that going to the stores is very different. “It’s warm, it’s welcoming, it’s as if you’re walking into your home and you’re meeting your best girlfriends and you’re all just having a party. You try things on, you talk, just comfortable and friendly and girly.”
“I WAS LIKE, WELL, THIS IS WHAT IT IS. THIS IS WHAT I DO.” Rebecca Hessel Cohen
Company Origin
When Hessel Cohen married in 2010, she couldn’t find bridesmaid dresses that she liked, so she decided to design her own. As a fashion and beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, she often visited showrooms in Manhattan’s garment district. She bought some fabrics, found a pattern maker and designed an ethereal halter dress for her wedding attendants. People liked the dresses, asked to order them and Hessel Cohen began making them and doing pop-ups in the Hamptons as a sideline. Eventually, she realized it could become a business, left the magazine world and launched her company.
What started as her bridesmaid’s dress was the fancy. And then Hessel Cohen wanted to wear the same dress to the beach as a cover-up, and so it needed a shack version. And then she would wear the same dress every day as a go-to, and that’s the love version. “So, we still think of the line as having all three parts of it, the love, the shack, the fancy. There’s the beachy, undone, easy part. There’s the love, which is what you’re putting on every single day. And then there’s the fancy, which is the occasion and more special pieces.”
The company is still family-owned, and Hessel Cohen is the brand’s creative director, working on sourcing, concept, visuals and storytelling. “I source all over the world, beautiful vintage clothing for inspiration. We’re recreating French lace from the 1800s, beautiful embroidery, we’re making it our own, customizing it. I’m taking antique florals or jacquards or textiles and reinterpreting it and giving it new life.” And then she works with her design team to come up with a concept. “We really get in there and design the story together.”
Collaborated on Hessel Cohen’s 40th Birthday Bash
“Rebecca came over every day to work out, and we were forming this bond, but all she knew of me was that I was another Upper East Side mother,” says Guarino Hymowitz. “She didn’t know anything about my past as an event producer.” Hessel Cohen had been planning her 40th birthday party and asked Guarino Hymowitz to look at a proposal she’d received from an entertainment company. She thought the price seemed much too high. Guarino Hymowitz looked at it and said, “I could do this for you. This is what I used to do. I did it for nightclubs. I did it for my own wedding. I know all the people in the industry. I would love to help you.” Hessel Cohen agreed,
and with only three weeks to go before the event, Guarino Hymowitz took over to rework all facets of the party.
“I’ll never forget my husband turning to me one night and saying, ‘You either made a new best friend, or you’re never going to speak to her again,’” Guarino Hymowitz laughs. “Luckily, I made a new best friend; it was a success. I contacted some of my old event production friends, put together a team and we joined forces and created this incredible party for Rebecca.”
Co-creating Events for LoveShackFancy
After that, Hessel Cohen asked Hymowitz to help her with her fashion shows and presentations with her company, LoveShackFancy. “Rebecca’s love of dance is woven into the creative fabric of LoveShackFancy,” says Guarino Hymowitz.
Hessel Cohen explained that anytime her company does an event, whether for Fashion Week or a product launch, it’s experiential, with music and dancers. “It’s not just models; boom, boom, boom, boom, boom; it’s live performances. There are dancers involved. The models are dancing. The clothes are moving. There’s a feeling. It’s always a party. And every time it’s a mix of fashion meets music, meets dance.” She wants attendees to walk in and experience a feeling of happiness, joy and excitement. “You know when you’re going to LoveShackFancy, you’re going to feel good. You are going to leave everything else that’s going on in life that can be dark and depressing and scary, and you’re going to go in and be filled with this kind of passion and excitement.”
“When she met me”, Guarino Hymowitz explains, “it was, ‘Oh my God, I can actually make it happen. This is someone who has access to the dance world and understands the world of ballet and dance.’ And so, we feature ballerinas and dancers in almost all her brand activations.”
“We do so many events, and that’s where it comes into working closely with Marcella,” says Hessel Cohen. “She has become such a close friend, and she is really my creative counterpart for the events and translating what I see from the fashion into the music, the dancers. She is able to get into my mind and brain and say, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this, and here’s how we’re going to express it in dance and music and make the entire event come to life.’” loveshackfancy.com
Rebecca Hessel Cohen & Marcella Guarino Hymowitz
(PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCELLA GUARINO HYMOWITZ)
Hunter Boots Times Square Flash Mob
One memorable event was a flash mob in Times Square to launch LoveShackFancy’s collaboration with Hunter Boots. Hessel Cohen’s directive was to “make a splash, do something big.” LoveShackFancy’s head of marketing suggested a flash mob, and they loved the idea. Guarino Hymowitz choreographed 40 dancers, ages 9 to adult, performing on the red TKTS steps, all wearing the pink Hunter boots and LoveShackFancy dresses. “It was incredible because the boots were going to be featured on this big billboard in Times Square,” she says.
Stanley 1913 x LoveShackFancy Rockefeller Center Pop-up
Last November, for a LoveShackFancy x Stanley 1913 water bottle pop-up shop in Rockefeller Center, they conjured up a dance performance with three ballerinas, one from Boston Ballet, one from Dance Theater of Harlem and another from ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
Choreographing
LoveShackFancy’s Fashion Shows
Guarino Hymowitz noted that by bringing the spirit of dance into the fashion world, Hessel Cohen is creating a “beautiful intersection” where art, movement and fashion all meet. “She also brings me in to work with her models,” Guarino Hymowitz says. “I movement direct the models to give them a feeling. I give them an idea and some inspiration behind the movement to reach the personality and the feel of the clothes that she wants to exude.” This, she adds, is also a great way to introduce new audiences to the grace and power of dance.
The 2026 YAGP Gala
Through their mutual love of dance, each friend recruited the other to support their favorite dance world charities: Hessel Cohen drew Guarino Hymowitz to the ABT Nutcracker Benefit, and Hessel Cohen stepped up for YAGP.
LoveShackFancy has joined YAGP’s signature “Pointe Project,” in which fashion designers and artists are asked to create unique pointe shoes that are auctioned off at the gala to raise money for the scholarships. “It’s a really fun way of getting the fashion world and design world to support dance education,” says Guarino Hymowitz.
Hessel Cohen was also honored for her efforts at the YAGP Gala alongside Mick Jagger’s fiancé and retired ABT ballerina, Melanie Hamrick. “Rebecca has been so supportive of the dance world and the ballet world, always involving them in everything she does,” says Guarino Hymowitz, who served as the gala’s Creative Chair. “So, it was natural for us to ask her to be honored this year for the Youth America Grand Prix. She’s embraced our mission. She recognizes that every great performance is years of dedication, training and passion. And she has a deep appreciation for the arts, and she has also helped to ensure that dance continues to flourish for the next generation.” P
Stephen T. Greenberg The Art of Transformation: Inside the World of MD,
FACS
BY W.A. MULLER
There is a certain kind of confidence that cannot be manufactured, only revealed. It’s the kind that walks into a room quietly and leaves an impression long after. For decades, that subtle alchemy has been the signature of Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, the award-winning, double board-certified, celebrity plastic surgeon whose work lives at the intersection of refinement, rejuvenation, and reinvention.
From Manhattan to the Hamptons and across the globe, his name circulates in the kinds of conversations that begin in private and end in transformation. Not because he promises change, but because he understands it.
A Surgeon, But Also an Architect of Identity
Spend even a few minutes observing Dr. Greenberg, and it becomes clear: this is not a practitioner chasing trends. This is a surgeon who has outlasted them.
“I’m not here to change who someone is. I’m here to bring them back to themselves.”
With over 30 years practicing the art of plastic surgery, he has witnessed the evolution of beauty, from the exaggerated to the imperceptible and has positioned himself ahead of both. Where others once leaned into dramatic alteration, Dr. Greenberg refined a philosophy rooted in subtlety.
“I’m not here to change who someone is,” he has said. “I’m here to bring them back to themselves.”
It’s a perspective that resonates deeply with today’s patient, one who is less interested in perfection and more invested in authenticity.
The
Celebrity Surgeon Who Doesn’t Need
to Say It
The term “celebrity plastic surgeon” is often overused, but in Dr. Greenberg’s case, it feels less like branding and more like an inevitability. His clientele includes high-profile figures, industry insiders, and those who simply expect discretion as part of the service.
Yet what defines his presence is not who he treats, but how he treats them.
There are no theatrics. Instead, patients describe a sense of calm precision, a surgeon who listens as carefully as he operates. In an
industry that can sometimes feel transactional, this level of attentiveness is its own form of luxury.
The New Language of Beauty
Aesthetic ideals have shifted. The aspirational faces and bodies of today are not obviously sculpted; they are quietly optimized.
Dr. Greenberg has been a key voice in this transition, advocating for results that are undetectable yet undeniable. A lifted jawline that doesn’t announce itself. A refined silhouette that feels earned, not engineered.
It’s a philosophy that aligns with a broader cultural moment, where beauty is no longer about looking different, but about looking confident.
And in that nuance lies his expertise.
Where Medicine Meets Experience
Step inside one of his practices, and the environment tells its own story. These are not clinical spaces in the traditional sense; they are curated, intentional, almost cinematic.
From New York City to Florida, each location reflects a commitment to what can only be described as approachable luxury, an
experience designed to reassure without intimidating.
Patients are guided, advised, not persuaded.
In a world saturated with options, this level of trust has become one of Dr. Greenberg’s signature trademarks.
Beyond the Operating Room
Dr. Greenberg’s influence extends far beyond his surgical suite. A familiar face across major media platforms, he has become a cultural translator of sorts, explaining, contextualizing, and occasionally challenging the narratives around plastic surgery.
His voice carries authority, but also accessibility. He doesn’t mystify the process; he demystifies it.
And in doing so, he has helped reshape public perception, moving aesthetic medicine from taboo to thoughtful consideration.
The Enduring Appeal of Subtle Power
What ultimately sets Dr. Greenberg apart is not just his technical skill, but his understanding of restraint.
In an age of overexposure, where everything is filtered, edited, and amplified, his work feels almost radical in its discretion. It whispers where others shout.
Patients don’t leave looking like someone else. They leave looking like themselves, only clearer, more rested, more aligned with how they feel inside.
And perhaps that is the real transformation.
Luxury, at its highest level, is not about excess, it’s about precision. About knowing exactly what to do, and just as importantly, what not to do.
For Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, that balance has defined a career, and continues to shape the future of aesthetic medicine.
Because in the end, the most powerful results are the ones no one can quite put their finger on… no one knows, but everyone notices.
Request your personal consultation, call 844-486-0005 or visit GreenbergCosmeticSurgery.com
mimmua!
The new age excitement of K Beauty is defined by innovation. Korean skincare brands are known for advanced formulations, ingredient transparency, hydration focused routines, and a level of product development that pushed the beauty industry forward internationally. The perfect mix for the perfect glow. But as the K beauty has exploded commercially, many brands began to look increasingly similar. Nearly identical packaging, repetitive ingredients, trend chasing launches, and viral marketing cycles started replacing the craftsmanship that originally made K Beauty stand out.
A growing number of newer brands are now attempting to shift that direction.
One of them is mimmua!, a Korean beauty
A New Korean Classic
BY RYANN REYONLDS
brand focused on ingredient driven formulations rooted in both modern cosmetic science and traditional herbal compounds. Rather than centering its identity around aggressive marketing trends, the company places heavy emphasis on formulation quality, skin barrier support, and long-term skin health.
The philosophy behind the brand is summarized in its slogan, “A Kiss for Your Skin,” which reflects the company’s focus on creating products designed to improve skin condition through hydration, calming ingredients, and restorative support rather than harsh active overload.
The brand is led by Charles Choi, a Korean born beauty industry professional educated across Korea, Canada, and the United States. Choi first entered the beauty industry while
working part time in New York in 2019 before later returning to Korea to continue working across skincare, makeup, and haircare brands. According to Choi, that firsthand experience inside the industry heavily shaped his perspective on what modern beauty products were lacking.
“I believe the K Beauty industry has long been saturated with the same formulas, the same packaging, and the same viral marketing,” Choi explains. “This needs to change.”
That frustration with repetitive product development became part of the foundation behind mimmua!’s approach toward formulation.
Several ingredients currently featured within the brand’s product development
reflect a larger movement happening throughout luxury skincare right now, particularly the growing interest in ingredients associated with skin barrier repair and inflammation support.
One example is beta glucan sourced from Split Gill mushroom, scientifically known as Schizophyllum commune. Beta glucan has gained increasing attention within dermatology and skincare because of its ability to support hydration retention while helping calm visible irritation and strengthen the skin barrier. Compared to harsher exfoliating acids that dominated skincare trends over the last decade, ingredients like beta glucan align more closely with the industry’s current shift toward recovery focused skincare.
The brand also utilizes tocopherol, commonly known as Vitamin E, a longestablished antioxidant ingredient frequently used to help support moisture retention and protect the skin from environmental stressors.
Another notable ingredient is Anemarrhena Asphodeloides extract, a traditional East Asian medicinal herb containing naturally occurring saponins.
Saponins are being increasingly studied within skincare because of their soothing properties and ability to support hydration and inflammation reduction. While herbal ingredients have always existed within Korean beauty, luxury consumers are becoming far more interested in understanding the actual function behind those ingredients rather than simply seeing them listed on packaging.
That consumer education shift is becoming increasingly important throughout the beauty industry overall. Buyers are reading ingredient lists more carefully, researching sourcing practices, and paying closer attention to formulation philosophy rather than only branding aesthetics.
At the same time, emotional experience is still becoming a major factor in luxury wellness purchasing behavior. Consumers increasingly want products that integrate easily into everyday rituals and create a sense of comfort alongside visible results. That includes textures, scent profiles, packaging experience, and overall product feel.
According to Choi, beauty should function as more than a commodity or trend cycle. “Beauty is an experience,” he says. “It should
serve a purpose, stand out, and be desirable.”
That perspective also extends beyond product development. mimmua! has incorporated philanthropic initiatives supporting single mothers and children’s homes as part of the company’s broader mission. While charitable partnerships have become increasingly common within luxury branding, younger consumers are also becoming more skeptical of performative corporate messaging. Brands are now under greater pressure to demonstrate authenticity both through product quality and company values.
Ultimately, the future of luxury beauty appears to be shifting away from excess and toward intentionality. Less focus on overwhelming ten step routines and more emphasis on thoughtful formulations that support long term skin health. Less aggressive marketing and more transparency around ingredients, sourcing, and craftsmanship. This quieter and more intentional direction that mimmua! offers is the next evolution of luxury skincare altogether. P
mimmua.shop
Kristie NEXT CHAPTER Reeter’s
Bringing Wellness Home on News 12
BY CHRISTINE MONTANTI
For more than a decade, Emmy Award–winning television personality v Reeter has been a familiar, trusted presence on News 12 Bronx, covering breaking news while developing a distinct voice in lifestyle journalism. Last fall, Reeter shifted gears, stepping into a new role as the host of News 12’s beWell, a show designed to make everyday living healthier, easier, and more informed. She brings a practical, relatable approach to topics that matter wellness, parenting, budgeting, cooking, beauty, and smart spending giving viewers tools they can use immediately to improve their daily routines and overall well-being. In addition, Reeter hosts Haunted Tri-State, where she
explores some of the region’s most haunted locations, and also leads News 12’s Holiday Toy specials, a role she especially enjoys as a working mother.
What sets beWell apart is its hands-on approach rather than simply presenting ideas, Reeter often tries them herself, showing viewers what actually works in real life. Segments range from health tips and family-friendly recipes to money-saving strategies and product spotlights, all delivered in a relatable, conversational style. At its core, beWell reflects a shift in local television toward service-driven content.
We sat down with Kristie Reeter to learn more about the journey that shaped her voice and purpose as a journalist. In our conversation, she opened up about her early influences, the experiences that led her to pursue a career in media, and the passion that continues to drive her work today. She also shared insight into NEWS12’s show, BeWell, discussing its mission, the stories it aims to highlight, and how it reflects her commitment to informing and uplifting her audience.
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in such a highly competitive filed as broadcast journalism?
Kristie Reeter: I always loved watching the start of the big network morning shows when I was a little girl. The summer meant I got even more time to watch the whole newscast. I loved how a newscast could help you be informed on so many levels and help get you out the door. It is funny because I don’t consider myself competitive, but this field certainly can be. I just love getting to learn something new almost every single day. As you tell stories, you have to become an expert on what you are reporting on as best you can. You get to really meet people, get to know them, and then tell their stories. It is such a privilege to be in this line of work. News 12 has really given me the opportunity to work on a variety of stories that fuel my inner curiosity. Outside of beWell, I’m the host of Haunted Tri-State, a spooky look into some of the most haunted locations in the region. I also lead News 12’s Holiday Toy specials which I especially love as a working mother.
Q. Can you describe the content of beWell and what the show offers to its viewers?
Kristie Reeter: The whole concept of the show is to “live life better.” And that is what we do with the stories we tell. We show viewers new dishes to help them save time and eat better. We also walk you through a quick step-by-step workout. And of course, you get to hear insightful lifestyle advice from celebrities, health and wellness experts, and local leaders.
We recently launched a new segment for beWell, 90 Days in 3 Ways, which features
three News 12 employees taking a different path to wellness – one working with a nutritionist, one training with a fitness expert, and one using a health app – to see what really makes a difference. It’s an interesting and exciting experiment, and I cherish the opportunity to work with my fellow News 12 colleagues, especially the ones behind the camera.
beWell is an important part of News 12’s slate of programming and provides local audiences with engaging wellness content. There is really something for everyone!
Q. Do you feel your program is geared toward a specific audience, or does it appeal to a broad and diverse viewership?
Kristie Reeter: I think anyone can watch beWell and take something away from it. One day I will be filming with the Rockettes, learning makeup tips from them, and then another story will take me to a sewing shop where I am learning the basics of how to sew a button and mend a hem –the viewers learning with me the whole time! And then the next day I am in studio with an author who is giving dating advice after she wrote a book on her year of really bad dates. Everyone can learn something when they tune in.
Q. What do you find most rewarding about hosting beWell?
Kristie Reeter: Getting to meet so many people and having those people trust me to tell their stories. And I also love how the skills and trends I want to learn about on my own can come to life on beWell. With the viewers in mind, I go find the experts and then do a story on it! I am always learning with the beWell audience.
Q. Is there a particular aspect of the show’s content that you find especially rewarding to report on?
Kristie Reeter: Talking to guests who share something personal to help other people going through the same thing is truly rewarding. Because I know someone watching feels like they are not alone. We have had guests come on and talk about life with OCD, moving forward after a traumatic brain injury, and symptoms they experi-
enced before a cancer diagnosis. Those are things that can have such an impact on our audience, literally lifesaving information.
Q. Can you share a particularly memorable and impactful moment from your time on beWell?
Kristie Reeter: Oh wow, there are so many already. We had a guest who stutters and wanted to educate others on the topic. After the segment aired, a mother reached out to me on social media wanting to connect the guest with her son who stutters. She was able to make the connection and wanted him to start speaking at schools. It is stories like this that just mean the world. This show is to help people and is all about our viewers. I am just so lucky to be a part of.
Q. How do you balance your professional career with your responsibilities as a wife and mother, and do you find it challenging?
Kristie Reeter: It can be challenging, but I, like many parents, find a way to make it work. On days I am up before my family for a shoot I lay out all my girls’ clothes and Facetime when I can for the hair styling part of the morning. Because even if I am not physically there all the time, I know it is all about teamwork when it comes to family.
And my work family helps me in my personal life too! When my daughters were babies, my coworkers knew I needed a lot of «pumping breaks» while nursing. Once I even brought my daughter to a work training event when she was just a few months old. Our SVP and GM of News 12, Audrey Gruber, watched her for me! She is a working mom as well and knew I needed help that day.
It is not always perfect, but I feel involving my family in my career helps. That way they understand some of the demands that might keep me away and also get to enjoy the cool work I get to do!
Tune in to watch beWell on News 12 weekdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. P
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Dr. Paige Benyamein knew early that she wanted to be a surgeon. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor and specifically a surgeon since I was about 8,” she said. That certainty only deepened over time, eventually guiding her into plastic surgery, a field that allowed her to combine precision, creativity and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.
Now based in Orange County, California, Benyamein practices at South Coast Plastic Surgery, where she works alongside the surgeon who founded the practice. Her work is centered predominantly on aesthetics, with a broad range of procedures spanning the face, breast and body.
“My practice is primarily aesthetics, and I focus on everything,” she explained. “About 70% of my practice is breast and body. So I do a lot of mommy makeovers, all the breast surgery, tummy, body contouring after weight loss, liposuction, and then about 30% facelifts, brow lifts, upper eyelid lifts.”
That breadth is one of the things she loves most about the specialty. Plastic surgery, for Benyamein, offers a rare kind of range, both technically and artistically. “It’s really fun to be able to operate from head to toe and use your creativity,” she said. “Every case is a little bit different, not just run of the mill doing the same thing every day. I like that variety.”
Her path into the field was also shaped by something deeply personal. As a teenager, she shadowed a plastic surgeon and witnessed her mother’s breast reconstruction surgery, an experience that stayed with her. In medical school, she explored different disciplines, but ultimately returned to plastic surgery because it felt like the right fit. It offered not only variety and
Dr. Benyamein
A Leading PRESERVÉ Specialist
BY JEREMY MURPHY
Dr. Paige Benyamein (PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. BENYAMEIN)
challenge, but also the chance to improve lives in a direct and visible way.
“It’s fun to improve quality of life,” she said.
That perspective remains central to the way she approaches patient care. While plastic surgery is sometimes discussed in purely cosmetic terms, Benyamein sees her work through a broader lens, one tied to confidence, comfort and everyday happiness. “They’re very, very life-changing surgeries,” she said, “which affect people’s overall everyday happiness. So it’s great to be a part of that.”
She is also paying close attention to how patient interests are evolving. Increasingly, she said, many patients are seeking results that feel softer, more natural and more in harmony with their existing anatomy. “A lot of patients are moving more towards a natural look, preserving your own tissue,” she said.
One area she finds particularly exciting right now is a newer, minimally invasive breast augmentation technique called Preservé. Benyamein believes it reflects a broader need for innovation in breast surgery and may help address some of the concerns that have long shaped the conversation around implants.
“We’ve been really overdue for some advancements in technology and breast surgery specifically,” she said. “Breast implants have had a bad reputation in some ways because of the complications that patients can get from them. And so this new technique and new devices are great for combating that so we can give better outcomes to our patients.”
She is especially interested in seeing how those innovations develop. “It’ll be interesting to see as we get further along in the coming
years if we’re able to expand those utilities to even breast revision surgery,” she said.
At the same time, Benyamein is seeing strong demand for body contouring procedures, particularly among women seeking mommy makeovers and patients who have experienced major weight loss. With the growing use of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Tirzepatide, more patients are coming in after dramatic transformations and looking for help addressing excess skin.
“We’re getting a lot of patients who’ve lost quite a bit of weight and now have all that extra skin,” she said. “So they come in for a breast lift, tummy tuck, arm lift and thigh lift.”
Even as her practice grows, Benyamein is thoughtful about where she may want to focus in the future. For now, she is keeping her scope broad, but she acknowledges that breast-and-tummy work may eventually become even more central to her identity as a surgeon. “I love my mommy makeover patients,” she said. “I’ll never give that up.”
Outside the operating room, Benyamein’s life is full. She and her husband are raising two young children, a 3-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter, and much of her free time is devoted to family. “When I’m not working, I’m definitely spending time with my family,” she said. “My husband and I are both very active, we do CrossFit. I like to lift weights and exercise. We have hiking backpacks for the kids. We throw them on our backs and go on hikes.”
That balance of ambition, discipline and compassion defines both her personal and professional life. For Benyamein, plastic surgery is not simply about changing appearances. It is about helping patients feel more like themselves, confident, comfortable and ready to move through the world with greater ease. P
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Dr. Paige Benyamein (PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. BENYAMEIN)
For Dr. Asif Pirani, cosmetic plastic surgery has never been about chasing extremes. It is about helping patients feel more confident without losing the features that make them recognizable.
An internationally recognized, awardwinning plastic surgeon based in Toronto, Dr. Pirani has built his practice around a philosophy that combines technical precision with an artist’s eye. After earning board certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, he developed a reputation for delivering naturallooking results through an individualized approach focused on safety, balance, and attention to detail. His expertise has also made him a frequent resource for major media outlets seeking professional insight into cosmetic surgery and aesthetic trends.
Dr. Pirani’s honors include recognition from Post City Magazine’s Top Doctors for Cosmetic Plastic Surgery, the Toronto Star Readers’ Choice Awards across multiple categories, the Top Choice Award for Plastic Surgery Clinic in Toronto, and the Consumer’s Choice Award for Best Cosmetic Surgery in Toronto. But while the accolades are meaningful, he says the heart of the work remains deeply personal.
“What initially drew me to cosmetic plastic surgery was the unique combination of artistry, technical precision, and the ability to make a meaningful impact on a patient’s confidence and quality of life,” Dr. Pirani says. “I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and appreciated fields that require both creativity and attention to detail. Plastic surgery offered that balance in a way few specialties do.”
That balance is central to his approach. In a culture increasingly shaped by filtered images, viral beauty trends, and social media comparison, Dr. Pirani says many patients are not looking to become someone else.
“Most patients want to feel more confident, refreshed, and more like themselves again,” he says. “That may involve restoring changes
Dr. Asif Pirani
BY JEREMY MURPHY
Dr. Asif Pirani (PHOTO MRKTMADE)
related to aging, pregnancy, weight fluctuations, or genetics. There’s been a noticeable shift toward refined results over the past decade, patients want improvement without looking ‘overdone.’”
To Dr. Pirani, a natural-looking result is about respecting the patient’s anatomy and creating harmony rather than following trends.
“The best cosmetic surgery is often surgery that people notice without immediately identifying why,” he says. “Patients simply look refreshed and healthier.”
For patients considering cosmetic surgery for the first time, the process can be intimidating. Concerns about safety, recovery, scarring, anesthesia, and realistic outcomes are common. Dr. Pirani says those apprehensions should not be brushed aside.
“I believe patients feel most comfortable when they feel heard, informed, and never rushed,” he says. “During consultations, I spend a great deal of time understanding a patient’s goals and explaining what can be achieved and what may not be realistic or appropriate.”
That candor is part of his standard of care. “If I do not believe a procedure is in a patient’s best interest, I will tell them,” he says.
For Dr. Pirani, patient safety is not a marketing phrase. It is the foundation of the entire surgical experience. He emphasizes the importance of accredited surgical facilities, experienced anesthesia providers, proper follow-up care, and evidence-based practices. Just as important, he says, is choosing a surgeon with the right credentials and judgment.
“I wish more people understood that cosmetic surgery is still real surgery and should be considered thoughtfully and carefully,” he says. “Credentials, training, safety standards, and experience matter tremendously.”
Social media has made cosmetic surgery more visible and, in some ways, more
approachable. Patients can now research procedures, view before-and-after photos, and learn more before ever booking a consultation. But Dr. Pirani cautions that the same platforms can also distort expectations.
“Social media has had both positive and negative effects,” he says. “On the positive side, it has made cosmetic surgery more accessible and transparent.”
The challenge, he adds, is that heavily edited or filtered images can promote ideals that do not translate to real life. “It has also accelerated trends that may not always age well,” he says.
That is why individualized planning matters. Rather than replicate someone else’s appearance, Dr. Pirani encourages patients to focus on what is appropriate for their own anatomy, lifestyle, goals, and sustained well-being.
He also reminds patients that surgery is only one part of the equation. Maintaining results requires healthy habits, including stable weight, regular exercise, good nutrition, sun protection, avoiding smoking, stress management, skincare, and
appropriate maintenance treatments.
For someone curious but unsure, Dr. Pirani says the best first step is simple: have a consultation with a qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon.
“Patients should never feel pressured into proceeding with surgery,” he says. “Education is empowering, even if someone ultimately decides not to move forward.”
That philosophy may explain why his awards resonate with patients and peers alike. “I am grateful for those acknowledgments,” he says, “but more than anything, I see them as a reflection of the trust patients place in our team.”
For Dr. Pirani, cosmetic surgery is about partnership, not perfection, and helping patients make informed choices that feel right for them.
“The best outcomes are individualized, balanced, and built around realistic expectations and a strong doctor-patient relationship,” he says. P
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Dr. Asif Pirani (PHOTO MRKTMADE)
Dr. Kenneth Mark
Meet Dr. Mark
Dr. Kenneth Mark, a worldrenowned cosmetic dermatologist, prides himself on both his outstanding work and the relationships he builds with each patient. Although he manages four practices, in East Hampton, Southampton, New York City and Aspen, Dr. Mark makes sure he embeds himself in each community, relying on patient referrals or, as he says, “good ol’ word of mouth!” to acquire new patients. He is the sole physician at each location. “Most other practices operate like factories,” he said. “But we provide a VIP boutique experience for our patients. When they call, they know us, and we know them.”
This personalized aspect is also what drew Dr. Mark to dermatology. “In my practice, I have treated the grandparents, the parents, the kids and the grandkids. I love the continuity-of-care aspect, and with fillers becoming so accepted, it’s fun to treat mothers and daughters,” he said.
Master of his craft
After three years of training in dermatology at New York University, Dr. Mark completed a twoyear fellowship with a cosmetic dermatology surgeon and a plastic surgeon to sub-specialize in cosmetic procedures, plastic reconstruction and minimally invasive Mohs micrographic skin cancer surgery. During his education, he witnessed unprecedented advancements in the realm of dermatology, such as the development of lasers, Botox and hyaluronic acid fillers, gaining unparalleled experience in the art
BY LEXI WOLF
Dr. Kenneth Mark (PHOTO NIKKI MCDONNELL)
of injectables. “All of what’s being done in dermatology today was brand-new when I was coming out of my residency,” he said.
His unique method
Dr. Mark is famous for his “layering technique,” which involves strategically layering filler over time and at different depths of the skin. This methodical approach not only minimizes the amount of filler required but also maximizes the longevity and efficacy of the results. “I don’t want to be doing the maximum amount. I want to do the optimal amount, and I’m certainly not in a rush to get it done in one visit. It is always a work of art in progress,” he emphasized. Although anyone can study this craft, full mastery involves an innate sense of facial aesthetics. “Some of it is having a good eye for beauty,” he explained.
New procedures: Volux, Emsculpt NEO & microneedling with PDGF Allergan, the maker of Botox and Juvéderm fillers, chose Dr. Mark to join their faculty and train other doctors, which he has been doing for the past 6 years. He is also in the top 1 percent of Allergan’s accounts in the country. “Allergan is the number one company for a reason. They’re not just sitting back and resting on their laurels,” he said. “Constantly learning and seeing new products hit the market and how they can make people look and feel better is one of the best things about my career.”
His favorites among the company’s innovations are Voluma and Volux, the first and only FDA-approved hyaluronic acid fillers made for jawline definition and lifting.
Dr. Mark believes these advancements have created a paradigm shift in cosmetic dermatology. “It’s not just about lips and lines
anymore,” he said. “It’s about thinking like an artist and sculpting the face. Twenty years ago, everyone who hit 50 was getting a facelift, but now, with tactful injections, those facelifts can be pushed off until 60 or 70.”
Dr. Mark also offers Emsculpt NEO, a cutting-edge body contouring treatment that melts fat and builds muscle. One half-hour session is equivalent to 24,000 abdominal crunches.
The hottest new procedure, which has minimal to no downtime, is microneedling with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). This is not 1st generation microneedling. The procedure uses a technologically advanced microneedling device that, when combined with PDGF, is a game-changer for fine lines, wrinkles, blotchiness, hyperpigmentation and overall skin tone and texture.
Finding balance
Dr. Mark has a passion for extreme skiing. He fell in love with the sport as a child, visiting
Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts and Mount Snow in Vermont. However, his favorite locale is Aspen, where he laughs with friends and women yell from the gondola, “Dr. Mark, I need Botox!” “Traditionally, the Hamptons practice quiets down in the winter, and that gives me the opportunity to do a lot of skiing. I just love the beauty of Aspen, the food, the friendships and sense of community,” he explained.
Dr. Mark’s passion for skiing extends to his family as well. His son has become an accomplished skier and recently hiked the Highlands Bowl at age 6. It was a thrill for Dr. Mark to ski with his son and his classmates as they encouraged each other to overcome the challenges of Mother Nature.
“It’s also been extremely satisfying to see Aleksandra embed herself into the community; specifically, teaching a Hot HIIT exercise class, where they nicknamed her the ‘velvet sledgehammer’!” P
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Dr. Kenneth Mark & Aleksandra Mark (PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. MARK)
In a city synonymous with innovation, ambition and relentless connectivity, a quieter crisis has been unfolding, one that lives not in the streets but in the screens people carry everywhere.
Now, the New York Center for Living (NYCFL) is confronting that crisis head-on, appointing Dr. Nicholas Kardaras as CEO and launching a first-of-its-kind Technology Addiction Program aimed at teens, young adults and professionals increasingly consumed by digital life.
For Dr. Kardaras, a nationally recognized psychologist and one of the earliest voices to warn about the dangers of excessive screen use, the mission is both urgent and personal. “We provide Intensive Outpatient for teens and young adults who are struggling with an addiction to video games, social media, online gambling, porn and AI,” he said. “Oftentimes, tech addiction co-occurs with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. We treat both the addiction and the underlying issues to help people reconnect with their lives and communities in meaningful ways.”
Founded more than 15 years ago by Elizabeth Kabler, with early support from the Annenberg Foundation, NYCFL was created to fill a glaring gap in New York City: a lack of accessible mental health and addiction services tailored to adolescents and young adults. “She realized that there were no services, which was sort of shocking because we’re the biggest city in the world,” Dr. Kardaras explained. What began as a targeted solution has since evolved into a comprehensive outpatient program serving individuals ages 13 to 35, offering therapy, psychiatry and community-based care.
But the landscape has changed dramatically since those early days, and not for the better.
“The mental health crisis has disproportionately impacted adolescents and young adults,” Dr. Kardaras said. “Our young people have gotten sicker and more unwell psychiatrically.” In his view, one of the primary accelerants of that decline is technology.
Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Kardaras ignited controversy by describing screen addiction as “digital heroin.” Today, he stands by the comparison. “The brain imaging research is clear, your brain on screens looks exactly like your brain on drugs,” he said, pointing to studies showing that chronic screen overuse can impair the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for decision-making and impulse control. “The prefrontal cortex shrinks over time, and so it’s very analogous.”
The consequences, he says, are not theoretical. They are visible in the lives of patients who arrive at NYCFL struggling with depression, anxiety, social isolation and, in some cases, complete derailment. “Their lives get really small, they’re flunking out of college, they’re back in mom and dad’s basement, they’re depressed, suicidal, they don’t have real-life relationships,” he said.
The Center’s new Technology Addiction Program is designed to address exactly that.
Dr. Nicholas Kardaras (PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KARDARAS)
Nicholas Kardaras Dr.
Takes the Helm at New York Center for Living and Declares War on Tech Addiction
BY JEREMY MURPHY
It combines traditional evidence-based therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, with experiential approaches that push patients back into the real world.
“We use Manhattan as our playground,” Dr. Kardaras said. “We take excursions. We want to get people experiencing life as an adventure.”
That emphasis on reconnection, both to the physical world and to other people, is central to the Center’s philosophy. In addition to individual and group therapy, the program includes family support, skillbuilding for healthier tech use and treatment for co-occurring disorders, such as ADHD and substance abuse.
Dr. Kardaras is blunt about what patients are up against. “The algorithm is like a heatseeking missile that senses psychological vulnerability,” he said. “If you’re a young person with depression or body image issues, it’s going to bombard you with content that attacks that vulnerability because it increases engagement.”
He points to internal research revealed by whistleblowers showing that social media companies were aware of the harm their platforms could cause and chose not to act. “That’s the part that gets me, the intentionality behind it,” he said. “It’s a classic example of profit over people.”
The broader data tells a similarly troubling story. “If you look at generational cohorts, the
older the group, the more mentally well they are,” Dr. Kardaras noted. “The younger the cohort, the higher the rates of depression and anxiety. Suicide rates have essentially doubled for adolescents over the last 10 to 15 years.”
And yet, Dr. Kardaras remains cautiously optimistic. Just as public awareness campaigns once reshaped attitudes toward smoking and drug use, he believes a similar reckoning could emerge around technology. Legislative efforts like the Kids Online Safety Act, on which he has consulted, aim to impose guardrails on how platforms interact with young users.
Still, meaningful change will require more than policy, it will require a cultural shift. At NYCFL, the goal is to restore what has been
lost: not just attention spans or academic performance, but a sense of purpose, belonging and real human connection.
“There was a time when social media promised connection,” Dr. Kardaras said. “It should have been a match made in heaven. Instead, what we saw was the opposite. Today, if you could find me a 17, 18, 22-year-old that’s not struggling with some level of screen time, mental health, depression, anxiety, that’s a golden unicorn.”
With its new leadership and expanded mission, the New York Center for Living is betting that those unicorns don’t have to stay mythical, and that recovery, even in a hyperdigital age, is still within reach. P
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NYCFL Office
(PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KARDARAS)
Dr.
Mustafa Ahmed
At a time when personal confidence and physical wellness are closely connected, Dr. Mustafa Ahmed, founder of Las Vegas Body Sculpting and Aesthetics, has built a practice dedicated to helping patients achieve natural, transformative results through advanced surgical techniques and personalized care.
A triple board-certified physician in general surgery, surgical critical care and internal medicine, Dr. Ahmed brings an
Combines Surgical Expertise and Global Training to Advance Body Contouring and Cosmetic
Surgery in Las Vegas
BY JEREMY MURPHY
Dr. Mustafa Ahmed (PHOTO MRKTMADE)
unusually broad medical background to cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine. He completed his medical education at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, followed by residency training in internal medicine at Mount Carmel Medical Center and general surgery at Morehouse School of Medicine. He later completed fellowship training in bariatric surgery and surgical critical care, further strengthening his expertise in complex surgical care and patient safety.
Early in his career, Dr. Ahmed focused heavily on weight loss and bariatric surgery, helping patients achieve dramatic health improvements through surgical weight reduction. However, he soon noticed an important pattern among many of his patients.
“After losing a significant amount of weight, many of my patients were healthier and happier, but they were left with excess skin that affected their confidence,” Dr. Ahmed explains. “I realized that helping them complete that transformation meant addressing the physical changes that come after major weight loss.”
That realization inspired him to expand his surgical expertise into body contouring and cosmetic surgery, where he could help patients complete their transformation. Procedures such as tummy tucks, liposuction, breast lifts and breast augmentation became central to his practice, particularly for patients who had undergone major weight loss or experienced body changes after pregnancy.
Today, Dr. Ahmed specializes in body contouring procedures designed to restore natural body proportions and improve confidence. His background in both bariatric and general surgery gives him a unique perspective when treating patients who have undergone significant weight changes.
Las Vegas has become one of the most competitive cosmetic surgery markets in the country, attracting patients from across the United States and internationally. In this dynamic environment, Dr. Ahmed has distinguished his practice through a commitment to continuous education and
hands-on training with leading surgeons around the world.
Rather than relying solely on traditional training pathways, he regularly travels internationally to refine his techniques. His advanced training has taken him to Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico and throughout the United States, where he studies with surgeons known for excellence in specific procedures.
“I believe surgeons should never stop learning,” he says. “Whenever I identify someone who is doing exceptional work in a particular technique, I make it a priority to study with them and bring those insights back to my patients.”
Inside Las Vegas Body Sculpting and Aesthetics, Dr. Ahmed works with a dedicated team focused on delivering a highly personalized patient experience. Every surgical journey begins with a detailed consultation designed to fully understand a patient’s goals and expectations.
During these consultations, Dr. Ahmed uses a visual approach to ensure clear communication and realistic outcomes.
“I have patients stand in front of the mirror and show me exactly what they would like to change,” he explains. “Then I walk them through what can realistically be achieved and how we can accomplish that safely.”
Using surgical planning and detailed
markings, he explains how procedures such as liposuction, muscle tightening and skin removal can reshape the body while maintaining natural contours.
“Patient safety always comes first,” he says. “Careful preparation and patient selection are essential for achieving the best outcomes.”
He has also seen a steady increase in male patients seeking cosmetic procedures, reflecting evolving attitudes toward personal appearance and professional confidence.
“Men today are increasingly comfortable investing in their health and appearance,” Dr. Ahmed notes. “Looking refreshed and healthy can make a meaningful difference both personally and professionally.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Ahmed continues to expand his practice by incorporating advanced surgical techniques, minimally invasive technologies and skin-tightening treatments that complement body contouring procedures.
Yet his mission remains straightforward: combine surgical precision, medical expertise and individualized care to help patients feel confident in their own skin.
“For me, cosmetic surgery is about more than appearance,” Dr. Ahmed says. “It’s about helping patients feel like the best version of themselves.” P
lvbodysculpting.com
MAKSIM
Takes a Dramatic Turn in Wild Silence
BY CHRISTINE MONTANTI
Chmerkovskiy
Ukrainian-born professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy is proving that his creative talents extend far beyond the ballroom, swapping dance routines for dramatic storytelling. Known for his 17-season run as a professional dancer on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), Chmerkovskiy has pivoted into an exciting new chapter of his career and is now starring in the vertical drama series Wild Silencev. In the scripted series, Chmerkovskiy takes on the powerful role of Jack, a widower grappling with profound loss while navigating an unexpected journey of personal transformation.
Since stepping away from the ballroom in 2018, Chmerkovskiy’s life both personal and professional has expanded dramatically, and his latest artistic venture with Holywater Tech showcases his true range as an artist. Chmerkovskiy reveals that he has long aspired to shift into acting and has spent more than a
decade building the foundation to develop his craft, studying and training with world-renowned acting coach Ivana Chubbuck.
In an exclusive interview for Park Magazine, I caught up with Maksim Chmerkovskiy about this exciting new phase of his career. Reflecting on his transition into the role of Jack, Chmerkovskiy explains “I always wanted to transition into acting. With this particular script, the way it was written, and with more than 13 years of foundational acting work behind me, it felt like the right moment. Ivana Chubbuck has an amazing system of script analysis, so when the opportunity presented itself, it felt perfect.”
This is the dance pro’s first leading scripted role and the first time a major TV personality has headlined a U.S. vertical series for the global platform. Chmerkovskiy explains why the timing felt right to take on the role. “It was my first time working in the vertical format, which is viewed by close to a billion people already, and it felt like the perfect storm.
“I’M THE LUCKIEST AND IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.”
The app My Drama, which produced Wild Silence, got picked up by Fox Corporation. It was an incredible opportunity. With all these elements coming together, it just felt like the perfect moment, and I was like, ‘Hell yeah!’”
In the microdrama series, the Hollywood star performs several intense fight scenes, including an emotional moment after his character, Jack, is shot. The scenes were filmed in the woods and on steep cliffs, adding to the physical and emotional demands of the role. Chmerkovskiy describes what the process was like preparing for moments that were both physically and emotionally challenging. “We had stunt coordinators who were amazing, and great educators. I learned a lot from them. We had more than one fight sequence and I do have a bit of a leg up in certain aspects because I specialize in partnership and choreography, and that helped. I got to be creative in a different way. I got to move my body differently and be physical in a new way. I’m also a huge John Wick fan, so it was kind of an out-of-body experience.”
Balancing family life with a demanding career can be challenging, but Chmerkovskiy credits his wife with encouraging him to pursue new opportunities. He is married to former Dancing with the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd, and together they share three children. “Life is like a rollercoaster,” he confesses. “I have
PHOTO BENJO ARWAS
an incredible wife, three kids, some who are smarter than me and a dog. My wife said I could go for two and a half weeks to Athens, Georgia to be in the woods, and really dive into this. I’m the luckiest and it was an incredible opportunity.”
Chmerkovskiy’s took home the Mirrorball Trophy alongside Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, a season on DWTS that was widely regarded as one of the show’s most memorable. The fan favorite first began dancing at an early age, but for most of his career, he rarely had the chance to experience dance purely as an art form. “When you reach a certain age and realize dancing is no longer something your body can handle at that level forever, you start looking for other outlets. One thing people don’t realize about me is that although dance has been my life, I only really got to enjoy it as an art in my own tour productions. Productions like the Maks & Val Tour in 2016 and my production with Val and Peta in 2018, those were the moments when I got to live it and enjoy it as an artist. My work on Dancing with the Stars meant a lot to me, but for most of my career, dance was my sport, driven by determination and work ethic. I started dancing when I was four, so consciously, I don’t know how not to dance. But over time, I always knew I wanted to transition into acting.”
Chmerkovskiy is not only focused on his acting career; he is also a savvy entrepreneur. He co-founded Dance with Me Dance Studios, a national ballroom dance company with locations in several states, including Georgia, Texas, New York, and New Jersey. In addition, he also founded his own vodka brand, KAPA Vodka, a clean, premium spirit produced in Napa Valley. The actor reveals, “I have a lot of different opportunities. We live in L.A., and I come across a lot of people here who aren’t here for the right reasons. Everyone in this town wants to be famous, but I don’t. I came here with a job and there
are some incredible people in this town, whom I truly look up to.”
Devoted fans have no need to worry: the actor has expressed a desire to return to Dancing with the Stars, possibly as a judge. Chmerkovskiy confesses, “I would love to be a part of the lineup as a judge and to be part of the panel to present my point in a way that is professional and that fits the format. I think it will be a lot of fun to be on the desk with Derek Hough. Our relationship has gone through so many transformations and we are very fond of each other at the moment. He represents a very specific side and I respect it a lot. I do have my opinion on things and we can create a great contrast. I would love to be part of that process.”
As the interview concludes, the actor takes a final moment to reflect on the complexity and depth of his character, Jack. “He is a Harvard graduate, living in isolation in the woods after his wife dies by suicide following the return of her cancer. There is so much
that this guy is going through. How can you possibly connect to something like that? It was incredible to really lean on the technique of acting and explore how far you can go emotionally. I kept asking myself, what am I capable of? How far can I go emotionally?”
Chmerkovskiy pauses for a moment, looks up at me, and laughs. “It’s surreal to be doing this and not to be talking about the ‘cha-cha.’ “I persevere when it’s most difficult for others. I can fail; I can fall, but you will see the work ethic and the passion behind getting it done right. I don’t want to let people down. I’m just an innocent bystander who had this out-ofbody experience, and it turned out to be great!” P
Wild Silence can be viewed on the My Drama platform Instagram - @maksimC makschmerkovskiy.com Dancewithme.com kapavodka.comv
“WHEN YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE AND REALIZE DANCING IS NO LONGER SOMETHING
BY W.A. MULLER
For generations, the Empire State was the ultimate incubator for the American Dream – a roaring powerhouse of commerce where small shopkeepers, union trade workers, corporate visionaries, and manufacturing giants collectively drove global prosperity.
But talk to almost any business owner today, and they will tell you that the engine is sputtering under Kathy Hochul.
The state is facing a historic exodus as thousands of businesses pack their bags, taking billions of dollars in economic activity, tax revenue, and generational jobs with them. The narrative of New York as a premier destination for builders and creators has been replaced by a harsher reality: a regulatory and fiscal climate that treats the
private sector not as a vital partner to protect, but as an endless revenue source to exploit.
Enter Bruce Blakeman.
While Republicans faced nationwide political headwinds in 2025, Blakeman secured a commanding re-election victory as Nassau County Executive – dominating a purple county that carries a historic voter registration advantage of more than 100,000 Democrats. His landslide victory caught the attention of business leaders from Wall Street to Main Street who urged him to take his blueprint for prosperity statewide.
Since then, Blakeman has built a powerhouse campaign for Governor based on a searing critique of the status quo under Governor Kathy Hochul, framing the election as an urgent battle to launch an
economic renaissance for all New Yorkers.
“If you are working hard every single day to provide for your family,” Blakeman tells an audience of local entrepreneurs and workforce leaders, “it doesn’t matter if you’re pulling a shift in a union, responding to an emergency call, or managing a business. You know the struggle. You feel it the moment you open your bills and see the highest taxes and utility costs in the entire country. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
The Dignity of Grit Blakeman’s intense focus on reducing the cost of living in New York is rooted in his own DNA. Long before he was an attorney or an executive managing a county larger than eight states, Blakeman was punching a time clock in the service industry. He has lived the very grind he talks about on the stump, having worked shifts as a bartender, a busboy, and a janitor.
“I know what it means to work on your feet all day and go home wondering if the
numbers are going to add up at the end of the month,” Blakeman says quietly. “I know the dignity of hard, manual labor, and I know how frustrating it is when a government that didn’t help you earn a single dollar tries to tell you how to spend it.”
Blakeman later served as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the wake of 9/11, tasked with the monumental challenge of securing the region’s vital infrastructure – including
airports, bridges, tunnels, and the ports that fuel billions in international commerce.
He attributes his commitment to service to his family. His mother, Betty, answered the call to serve during World War II by serving in the Women’s Army Corps. His father, Robert, was a Merchant Marine who later continued his service as a Naval Reserve Officer.
Today, as a husband, father, and grandfather, Blakeman views the current
economic landscape through a multigenerational lens. For him, keeping job creators in New York is about making sure the next generation doesn’t have to move across the country just to find opportunity.
“We are losing our families because we are losing our businesses,” Blakeman warns.
“When Kathy Hochul punishes the job creators who keep this state afloat, she is fracturing the future for our kids and grandkids. I want to keep them here. I want them to build their lives right here in New York.”
New York’s Assault on Job Creators
Between 2019 and 2023 alone, nearly 160 powerhouse Wall Street firms packed up and abandoned New York, taking a monumental $1 trillion in managed assets with them to business-friendly states. New York lost an additional 892 companies and $47 Billion in income to states like Florida, North Carolina,
and Texas - which is now home to more Fortune 500 headquarters than New York.
Instead of diagnosing this crisis and reversing course, Blakeman warns that Governor Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are actively doubling down, continuously hunting for new ways to penalize achievement and raid the private sector. The latest weapon in their regulatory arsenal is an aggressive push for an annual pied-à-terre tax – a sweeping real estate surcharge on secondary properties.
“It is no wonder our businesses can’t stay here,” Blakeman tells workforce leaders. “Kathy Hochul is forcing our employers to pay the highest taxes and utility bills in the entire nation. But it goes deeper than that. If workers can’t afford to pay rent, buy groceries, or heat their homes, businesses cannot attract or retain top-tier talent. By driving up the cost of living for everyday people, this administration
is starving our companies of the human capital they need to survive.”
Kathy Hochul’s War on Affordability
To understand Blakeman’s political calculus is to look directly at the economic ledger of the people who keep New York running. He arrives on the campaign trail armed with statistics that paint a stark picture of a state punishing its own productivity.
“The cost of everything is higher in Kathy Hochul’s New York, from income taxes, utility bills, and rent to car insurance, health insurance, and even groceries. And Hochul’s policies are to blame for all of it,” he says on the trail.
Blakeman points to Hochul’s energy policies as the prime example. New York’s electric bills currently hover at more than 70% above the national average – a crippling premium that local companies must absorb
or pass on to struggling consumers. Blakeman attributes this crisis directly to 48 separate utility rate hikes sanctioned by the Hochul administration, alongside a mountain of green-energy mandates that send bills soaring while having little environmental impact.
“Think about it,” Blakeman urges, leaning forward. “Nearly 70% of the average utility bill in this state has absolutely nothing to do with the electricity you actually consume. It is a dense web of delivery charges, regulatory taxes, and policy mandates shifted from Albany onto the back of the consumer and the job creator. I will repeal those mandates as Governor and cut your utility bill in half.”
The Nassau County Proof of Concept
Against this backdrop of systemic critique, Blakeman offers his own tenure as Nassau County Executive as empirical proof that he can make New York affordable. In Nassau, Blakeman eliminated a $150 million tax hike
scheduled by the prior administration and refused to raise property or sales taxes by a single penny. Concurrently, his team invested heavily in law enforcement, earning the county national recognition as the safest county in America. “We showed that if you lower the burden on job creators and back the blue, the economy responds, and communities flourish,” Blakeman reflects. “I want to bring those results to all of New York.”
A Blueprint for the Future
As Governor, Blakeman’s day-one priority is an economic rescue package designed to slash income taxes and eliminate the mandates driving up utility bills. He plans to export his Nassau County safety record statewide by investing in law enforcement, repealing cashless bail laws, and drawing a hard line against the surge of antisemitism on campuses. His platform also balances growth with the environment, focusing on clean water infrastructure and common-sense conservation rather than punitive mandates.
The campaign has a clear path to victory that mirrors Blakeman’s historic crossover success in Nassau County – a purple territory with a voter registration advantage of over 100,000 Democrats. By building a powerful coalition of suburban moderates, frustrated independent business owners, blue-collar union members, and urban voters who can’t afford to live here, the campaign is actively realigning the state’s traditional voting blocs. It is a proven, math-driven blueprint.
As the election approaches, Blakeman’s message across the state is defined by an unmistakable sense of urgency – and an enduring optimism. “We do not have to accept this decline as our permanent reality,” Blakeman says as he prepares for the next campaign stop. “The exodus stops here. Hope is on the way, better times are coming, and together, we are going to build a New York that is safe, prosperous, and affordable for the next generation.” P blakemanfornewyork.com
As we move into summer, the real estate market naturally shifts not necessarily slower, but more lifestyle-driven and emotionally motivated.
Buyers are no longer just searching for square footage or price points; they are searching for how they want to live during the summer months. There is also a heightened sense of urgency because many buyers want to be settled before fall, the start of a new school year, or before another competitive cycle begins. To explore the summer real estate market and the trends shaping buyer demand, we sat down with leading real estate broker Tara Zimmerman for an inside look at this season’s market shift.
Deeply rooted in the North Shore’s Gold Coast community, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty Associate Broker Tara Zimmerman, has built a reputation in Long Island’s luxury market. The Long Island native brings a fusion of hyper-local expertise and sophisticated global perspective to every transaction. As one of the top-producing Associate Brokers at Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, Zimmerman is known for approaching each listing with a curated sensibility, recognizing that exceptional estates deserve thoughtful presentation and strategic positioning.
Tara, how does the real estate market change once summer begins?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: Summer brings a noticeable shift in buyer behavior. The market does not necessarily slow down, it becomes more lifestyle-driven and emotionally motivated. Buyers are no longer focused solely on square footage or price points. During the summer months, they begin thinking about how they want to live and what kind of lifestyle a home can provide.
Tara Zimmerman
The Summer Market Shift
BY CHRISTINE MONTANTI
What should sellers understand about listing their homes during the summer months?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: Presentation becomes incredibly important this time of year. The homes that stand out most are the ones that feel aspirational and showcase a lifestyle buyers can emotionally connect with. Thoughtful staging, beautiful outdoor spaces, and a warm, inviting atmosphere make a significant impact. Summer is when that emotional connection becomes even more powerful, and sellers who understand that have a tremendous advantage.
What features become most desirable during the summer market?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: We consistently see increased demand for outdoor living spaces this time of year. Buyers are especially drawn to properties with pools, patios, outdoor kitchens, and entertaining areas. Homes located near beaches or walkable downtowns also become incredibly attractive because buyers are envisioning a lifestyle centered around convenience, relaxation, and gathering with family and friends.
What is the most appealing aspect of selling your home during the summer season?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: Turnkey properties become highly desirable because buyers want to move in and immediately enjoy the season. Most people are not looking to take on major renovations or projects
during the summer months. They want homes that feel effortless, polished, and ready to enjoy from day one especially during the summer months.
Is there a stronger emotional component to decision-making in the summer?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: Yes, summer tends to create a deeper emotional connection between buyers and a property. People are picturing summer gatherings, outdoor dining, weekends by the pool, and quality time at home with family and friends. Buyers are not simply purchasing a house they are investing in a lifestyle and a feeling.
Does timing create urgency for buyers during this season?
TARA ZIMMERMAN: Yes, there is often a heightened sense of urgency during the summer market. Many buyers want to be settled before fall, before the school year begins, or before another competitive market cycle starts. As a result, when a desirable home hits the market especially one that aligns with the summer lifestyle buyers are envisioning it tends to generate a very strong response. P
Instagram: @Tarafoxrealestate
Philanthropist Andrea Stark, who resides in both Manhattan and Palm Beach, is passionate about giving back. Her calendar reads like a cross-section of causes that define modern America: women’s cancer research and awareness, social services and animal rescue. But for Stark, the work is neither social nor strategic. It is inherited.
“I learned this from my mom,” she says. “My parents were not wealthy. I was the first one to go to college in my family. But my mother did whatever she could.”
Even without financial means, Stark’s mother was the leader of the local Brownie and Girl Scout troops, organized community efforts and taught her daughter that generosity was not tied to income, a message Stark passed down to her children.
Honoring Those Who Came Before
Today, Stark chairs and supports an array of organizations, each reflecting a deeply personal conviction.
Stark has been involved for over two decades with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s annual Spirit of Achievement Luncheon. The event honors global female leaders across medicine, science, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and the arts, such as Senator Hillary Clinton and designer Bobbi Brown, while raising critical funds for biomedical research. einsteinmed.edu
Protecting Those Who Come After
Women’s health advocacy runs through nearly all her work. Stark has long supported breast cancer awareness initiatives and speaks candidly about friends who have gone through the breast cancer journey. “Young girls now are getting diagnosed in their early 40s,” she says.
“One in eight women will be diagnosed. Take charge of your health and get a mammogram.”
Stark’s mission also extends to Palm Beach-based Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper (H.O.W.), which funds ovarian cancer research, supports patients in
Andrea Stark (PHOTO CARRIE BRADBURN)
ANDREA STARK
is Giving a Voice to the Voiceless
BY JEREMY MURPHY
financial need through the Jacquie Liggett Angel Fund and promotes early detection and education. Stark has chaired this women’s luncheon for years. “Women don’t want to go to their doctors. They don’t want to know. But early detection saves lives,” she says. ovariancancerpbc.org
Bringing Her Creative Flair to Charity
In New York, she is deeply committed to Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, the historic 1894 social service organization that provides education, housing support, food programs and healthcare access to vulnerable New Yorkers. For over 20 years, Stark has designed tables for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Gala, channeling her love of aesthetics into design. lenoxhill.org
She has also chaired Holiday House, which benefits the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, both designing showhouses and tabletops in the Hamptons and Palm Beach. The design-driven nonprofit was founded by Iris Dankner, who is a breast cancer survivor. “If I can draw attention to anything, that’s my mantra,” she says. holidayhousenyc.com
Saving All Souls, Big or Small
But if there is one cause that ignites her most, it is animal rescue and adoption.
“Adopt, don’t shop. With over 3 million dogs being euthanized every year, my major passion is animal rescue,” she says, referring in particular to her work with Tri County Animal Rescue, a 100 percent no-kill shelter serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm
Beach counties. “Never before have our shelters been so overwhelmed with dogs that are not wanted. Dumped, strayed, abused.” tricountyanimalrescue.org
She believes abuse has worsened in an increasingly angry society, “It’s gotten worse. We’ve never seen anything like this before.” She follows and admires activists like Joey Tuccio, @therealpaulmueller and Kris Kelly Foundation on Instagram, who expose animal cruelty online. Stark specifically
commended Joey Tuccio’s condemnation of the extreme violence against animals on Skid Row. Stark also praises sanctuary founder Lee Asher of Asher House, who created a sanctuary in Oregon that rescues, rehabilitates and offers a lifelong home for animals in need, and is committed to ending animal suffering.
Stark strives to transform the high-kill shelter system. “Give a voice to the voiceless,” she says.
Stark is planning a New York event called “Save a Soul” to save dogs from euthanasia through adoption, inspired by her admiration for youth activist Sir Darius Brown, who makes bowties for shelter dogs to make them more attractive for adoption. Brown, who grew up in an underprivileged area, is now studying at Morehouse College through the Bill Gates Scholarship and has been spotlighted by ABC on National Hero Day and People magazine as a top teen entrepreneur. The event will center around community, culture and giving, featuring soul food prepared by Brown’s family.
In a world that is losing its compassion and becoming increasingly divided, Stark returns to the lesson she learned as a child in a family without excess: “Give back, and you will have such good karma. Redirect things in your life to helping others. Give a voice to the voiceless.”
It is not a slogan for her. It is a mandate and her mantra. P
John & Andrea Stark (PHOTO ANNIE WATT)
SARAH VIE
Turning Her Purpose into a Multimedia Platform
Bestselling author, worldwide retreat leader, and lifestyle coach Sarah Vie turned a lifetime of guiding and empowering others into her role as host of her awardwinning and nationally syndicated show, Living Abundantly with Sarah Vie. Though she once thought she would slow down by 60, at 62 she is showing the world that her “second act” is just getting started. Airing on CBS’ owned and independent stations WLNY New York, WPSG Philadelphia, and KPIX + San Francisco, Sarah brings her empowering message to millions of people.
“It’s really about the life lessons I’ve learned
Including With Her Show Living Abundantly
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
about living abundantly that I want to use to encourage my viewers, so that they too can live with joy and purpose and fulfillment,” said Vie. “The more you feel something on the inside, the more you attract it.”
Her latest segment, called The Heart of It, touches on the vision she had for the show
from the very start. These extended 30-minute interviews allow her guests to get to a place of “deep truth.”
“What I love is the ride, and the journey to their success,” she said. Whether it’s influential celebrities or everyday people, she is passionate about getting to the heart of their stories made up of triumphs and overcoming obstacles, as well as healing from deep traumas and still being able to make a truly positive difference in the world. “In shorter episodes, I didn’t feel like I could get to the impactful seed of the story, so this is what I really wanted to do, and it’s so much fun. I feel like I’m in my kitchen having a conversation with heart centered people.”
Photo Hannah Duncan Photography @Heyhannahphoto
When a recent guest on her show, a Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse survivor, opened up about her experience, Sarah was inspired to discuss her own trauma publicly for the first time. “It really touched a part of me I thought I had healed,” she said. “Something similar happened to me 43 years ago, and this story helped me to open up and showed me it was okay to talk about something I thought I had healed. I realized the trauma was still there and getting to hear somebody else’s story sparked something in me.” Another guest, a music sensation in the 80s, (name?) sat down with Sarah about her fight against sexism and racism, again proving to her that she is giving them a safe space to be themselves.
“I feel like I’m authentic, so they feel like they can open up and don’t realize it’s
opening up on TV. This show was made to help others know they have a place to be heard and relate to others.”
She describes how emotions in two parts. “At first, I felt this deep sense of safety–like it was finally okay to open up–and that allowed a flood of emotion to come through. Then after the segment, I caught myself thinking, ‘oh my gosh’, this is what it feels like to be doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do. It was a true exhale moment. I love connecting with people and hearing their stories. I know we’ve all experienced some form of trauma, and being able to hold space for that feels both exciting and deeply meaningful.”
While a shorter version of these episodes will appear on the show, the full-length
versions will be available to stream on her YouTube channel which has already racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Sarah has also launched her own award ceremony in an effort to reward the courage and vision of others in various industries. Taking place four times a year, her Courageous Women Awards recognize the efforts of well-deserving recipients with crystal trophies, and they even appear on a billboard in Times Square.
“I think that as humans we forget to celebrate our success and achievements and our rise.”
While she recalls how “lovely” it was to be recognized by fans in a New York hotel lately, this host and entrepreneur remains most proud of how the show continues to evolve, as well as how she has been able to take her vision and turn it into a reality – not to mention how it has pushed her to step out of her comfort zone. From training with the performers of Cirque du Soleil to being photographed for a boudoir shoot, and even performing a stand-up comedy for the first time at Gotham Comedy Club, she believes that battling her insecurities helps her grow, and can give those watching the same courage. P
livingabundantlywithsarahvie.com
MYKONOS
A
Love Story: Jackie Kennedy Onassis
Iarrived on Mykonos with my Couri family and friends, and we were driven to our ten-bedroom villa, where our chef and staff of six were waiting with a superb dinner of local fare. mlv.villas
Known for its decadent nightlife, nude beaches and swanky beach clubs like Nammos and Principote, Mykonos has plenty to offer for every taste: fabulous family-friendly beaches, water sports, cultural experiences, great shopping from tourist trinkets to Chanel, charming towns to explore and the famous windmills that are the island’s most-photographed site. Mykonos is also a longtime magnet for the jet set and their mega-yachts. Over the decades, chic guests have included Princess Grace, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Marlon Brando, Princess Soraya, the wife of the Shah of Iran, and Jackie O, after whom a beach club is named where you can see a fun drag show during lunch. During our stay, we even had dinner at Nōema next to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, we all had the hot spot’s signature lobster and pasta dish. The
The Wildest Place on Earth
BY R. COURI HAY
richest man in the world and his fiancée were staying on their $500 million superyacht, named Koru. Also anchored offshore was the Maltese Falcon, the world’s most glamorous sailing yacht. I highly recommend cruising on this elegant boat. I have been lucky enough to sail on it twice, once to Tahiti and again to the British Virgin Islands. It’s the only way, really.
King Pavlos of Greece, Mick Jagger, Ariana Grande & Leonardo DiCaprio
Once a sleepy fishing port, Mykonos first took the fancy of high society in the early 1950s as a stop on the honeymoon cruise of Greek royals King Pavlos and Frederica of Hanover. The royal couple and their guests were so enamored by the island’s beauty, they returned for a second visit, and its popularity skyrocketed among wealthy Greeks like Stavros Niarchos, Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas.
It remains a favorite of the wealthy today, Mykonos is among the world’s top destinations for private jets, and famous folks still flock there in droves. In recent years, Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio,
Sharon Stone, Alessandra Ambrosio, Demi Moore, Gerard Butler, Linda Evangelista, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Gigi Hadid, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande have all enjoyed this jewel of the Aegean.
Sumptuous Dining
Even though we had an excellent chef at our villa, we chose to sample some of Mykonos’s finest dining spots during our stay. Bonus: many restaurants have spectacular ocean views, so dinner or drinks during sunset is sublime. Our crew was ten strong, from teenagers to their parents, so we checked out a diverse selection of the dining scene. We took in swoony sunsets over dinner at Scorpios Beach Club restaurant, Buddha Bar at the Santa Marina Hotel and Kastros in Little Venice. We dined at Zuma, Kinjo, Apaggio Seaside Restaurant, Rizes Folklore Farmstead, Nice n Easy, BeefBar and Katrin. We tore ourselves away from the poolside, with its spectacular view of the sea and sunset, for lunch at Nammos Beach Restaurant and Alemagou Beach Restaurant. All terrific. First on my agenda when back in NYC: SoulCycle!
What To See & Do in Mykonos
The Capital City: Chora, Little Venice
Exploring the charming, twisting streets of Chora, Mykonos’s beautiful, whitewashed capital, is a delight. Legend has it that the seemingly impenetrable maze-like street layout was designed to deter invading pirates from finding their way into the center of the city or getting back out. Today, in the pirate-free era, this confusing but fun setup makes for delightful wandering through charming alleys and squares.
The neighborhood of Little Venice is one of the most stunning places on the island, studded with gorgeous historic homes built by prosperous ship captains of long ago. Many of them are now restaurants, bars, shops and nightclubs with spectacular sea views, perfect for taking in the sunsets. The area is buzzing day and night, so it’s attractive for families and night owls alike.
The Windmills of Kato Mili
While in Little Venice, don’t miss the famous windmills dating back to the 16th century. The windmills were originally used to provide wind power for grinding grain. Yep, back before electricity, green energy was all the rage. The hilltop views overlooking Little Venice, all of Chora and its harbor are glorious. Grab a seat in the small square across from the windmills,
open a bottle of wine and be mesmerized by the orange and pink skies as dusk settles in.
Soak up a bit of history at the Aegean Maritime Museum, which is nearby. The historic area of Alefkandra is also close to the windmills, lovely for a stroll with plenty of cute restaurants and bars for a bite or a tipple with seaside views. In the evenings, revelers flock here for music and partying. aegean-maritime-museum.com
Ano Mera
Ano Mera is the second biggest city on Mykonos, and as the island’s only inland town, it has a quieter atmosphere, a change from the beaches and nightlife in Chora. It’s also a quick ride away, only 5 miles from Chora. Mykonos is a small island. In Ano Mera’s narrow cobbled streets, you’ll find some fascinating sites like the ruins of Gyzi, a 13th-century Venetian-style castle, and a couple of beautiful ancient monasteries, Panagia Tourliani and Paleokastro.
In the summer, Ano Mera is home to unique fairs known as panigyri, featuring wonderful food and wine, and typically lasting until dawn. Highlights include the panigyri of Saint Marina on July 17th and a weeklong celebration of the Virgin Mary each August with a bazaar in the village square.
Delos: Home of the Greek Gods
Believed to be the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis, Delos is a small, rocky island about 30 minutes by boat from Chora’s port. You’ll be transported back thousands of years to a partially intact ancient Greek society, with temples, houses and marketplaces
Chora, Mykonos
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Mykonos, Greece 1963
adorned with statues and sculptures that pay tribute to its deities.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Delos was once the religious and political center of the Cyclades. Because of its mythological significance as the birthplace of gods, the ancient Ionians made Delos their religious capital. It fell victim to rampant piracy, and after a Roman attack in 88 B.C., Delos was abandoned. Its rich history was discovered during an archeological excavation in the late 19th century.
Today, you can wander about the ancient ruins of once-monumental structures like the Propylaea, a grand marble archway, and the Sanctuary of Apollo. Many artifacts can be seen at the Archaeological Museum of Delos.
Rhenia Island
Rhenia Island, located southwest of Mykonos past Delos, is quiet and uninhabited, steeped in wild nature and Greek mythology. Around 530 B.C., the tyrant Polycrates conquered Rhenia and dedicated it to Apollo, the Olympian god of oracles, prophecy, archery, poetry, music and healing. Rhenia is an easy hop from Delos, so people often visit both on the same day. You can also swim and snorkel in crystal blue waters off Rhenia.
Archaeological Museum of Mykonos
Located at the Chora harbor overlooking Delos, the circa 1902 Archaeological Museum of Mykonos houses artifacts discovered during the excavation of a “Purification Pit,” a repository for urns of cremated remains, on Rhenia island. Relics on display include vases, jewelry and pottery dating as far back as the 25th century B.C., as well as artifacts relating to the history of Delos’ ancient shrines. Notable for history buffs, the museum has a large piece of pottery with scenes from the fall of Troy.
Mykonos Beach Clubs
Then there’s the famous Mykonos party atmosphere. The island, known as the Ibiza of Greece, is a hotbed of partying both day and night, with a variety of clubs, bars and beach clubs catering to all tastes. It’s also a longtime mecca for LGBTQ+ tourists with many venues serving that community. It’s a hopping gay scene that draws attractive revelers from around the world. Here I’ve rounded up some of the island’s best beach clubs.
Nammos
We reserved sunbeds at Nammos to while away one splendid afternoon during our time on Mykonos. This spot on Psarou Beach is perhaps the best-known of the island’s beach clubs and a see-and-be-seen favorite of the jet set. Launched in 2003 on Mykonos, Nammos is so popular that it’s now a high-class brand with locations in Cannes, Dubai and Limassol in Cyprus. Reservations in advance are a must, but one way to snag a last-minute sun lounger is to stay at the brand-new Nammos Hotel; each booking includes two, impossible to get, sunbeds. nammos.com
Scorpios
On the secluded Paraga peninsula, Scorpios offers a holistic space with a beach club in the image of a Greek agora. There’s an inspired menu of Greek classics and freshly caught seafood, a Bazaar stocked with handmade Greek kaftans and cool sunglasses. Daytime is chill and relaxed, and sunset brings mellow music. The vibe here is boho chic. scorpios.com
JackieO’ Beach Club
Named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, whose early-1960s visits to Mykonos were pivotal in the island’s rise to fame, JackieO’
is chic, welcoming and lots of fun. Set on Super Paradise Beach, the club also has a restaurant, swimming pool and Jacuzzi, and features regular drag shows in the summer. Like its namesake, the vibe at JackieO’ is effortlessly stylish and unfussy. Come as you are, no jewelry, hair or makeup is required. jackieomykonos.com
Beefbar on The Coast
Evoking a mid-century jet set cool, sun worshippers at The Coast can order lunch from Beefbar directly to your lounger. Set on the gorgeous bay of Agios Ioannis, the place is accessible by boat with stylish habitués alighting on the private jetty or mooring their yachts in front. Others stay at the elegant hotel at the site. beefbar.com
JackieO’ Beach Club
Lauren Sánchez & Jeff Bezos (PHOTO BACKGRID)
Nammos Beach Club
Athens
On your way to or from Mykonos, I highly recommend spending a few days in Athens. This modern city with ancient roots is a treasure, its historic landmarks like the Parthenon and the Acropolis sit amidst vibrant neighborhoods full of quirky shops, bars, museums and cafes. Noshing is a must, excellent food is found everywhere in Athens. Here’s a brief guide to some of my favorite sites in this amazing city.
The Acropolis & The Parthenon
The Acropolis, the most famous landmark in Athens, is a large, fortified hill in the center, upon which lie several ancient structures that have overlooked the city for 2,500 years. The Parthenon, located on top of the Acropolis hill, is one of the most prominent buildings in Athens. Built between 447 and 438 B.C. as a temple to Athena, the patron goddess of the city, the Parthenon is probably the world’s most iconic Greek ruin.
We toured the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which has been restored quite a bit since we were last there. Restorations of this ancient site have been ongoing since 1975, so no matter how many times you visit Athens, there’s always something new to see in the Acropolis. theacropolismuseum.gr
The Erechtheion
There are other interesting sites on the Acropolis too, including the Erechtheion, where the porch is supported by six columns in the shape of draped women. The Theatre of Dionysus is impressive, and the Acropolis Museum displays many artifacts from this ancient site.
We rode back down in the elevator, yes if you get the right guide, you can not only go to the front of the line with your group, but you can also use the elevator that was put in with funding from the Onassis Foundation. This modern innovation improves accessibility at the site.
Check out Anafiótika, a charming area on the slopes of the Acropolis known for a small cluster of white, island-style homes reminiscent of Santorini. Wander the streets, poke around the shops and stop for a drink or a meal at a taverna.
The Hotel Grande Bretagne
After our walk, we headed to the Plaka, which is opposite the Hotel Grande Bretagne, still the best hotel in town. We strolled in the shade and picked one of many local and authentic Greek restaurants to order divine grilled octopus. After lunch, grab a gelato and then shop and shop and shop. The prices are good, and there is a lot to choose from.
Syntagma Square, The National Archaeological Museum
We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Olympics were first held over 2,000 years ago. We took a stroll near the ocean and watched the changing of the guard, which takes place hourly in front of the Presidential Palace. The guards with black pom-poms on their shoes, tights, beige skirts, red hats and long braids do a truly hilarious march that reminded me of show horses lifting their legs and pawing the ground.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square is a moving memorial dedicated to the Greek soldiers lost during World War 1. Nearby is the excellent National
Archaeological Museum, which features the best collection of ancient Greek artifacts in the world. History buffs could spend hours here. namuseum.gr
The Exarcheia neighborhood was once the home to anarchists, revolutionaries and artists. A bit of the grit remains, but today it is packed with interesting restaurants, drinking establishments and bookstores perfect for an afternoon or evening exploration.
Kolonaki, Mount Lycabettus & The Museum Quarter
Kolonaki is Athens’ swankiest central neighborhood, and a shopper’s paradise. Even if you’re not in the market for designer goods, this area is worth a visit, as it is home to Athens’ Museum Quarter, Mount Lycabettus and the National Gardens.
Mount Lycabettus is the highest summit in central Athens, offering some of the best views of the city. Huffing and puffing are not required to reach the top; you can take a funicular up the hill. lycabettus.com
This area’s museums and galleries include the Benaki Museum of Culture and the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art, which both have impressive collections of Greek art and artifacts from prehistoric times to the modern era. benaki.org cycladic.gr
The Byzantine Museum is one of the best in Athens, with an enormous collection of over 25,000 items from the 3rd century A.D. through to medieval times. The National Gallery has a wide selection of art, and the National Gardens’ extensive grounds are not to be missed. byzantinemuseum.gr
Greece is a trip worth taking! P
Plaka in Athens
The Parthenon
Brigitte Bardot, May 1964 Mykonos, Greece
The Porch of Maidens
DJ Babis
Keskidis
King of Mykonos
BY BENNETT MARCUS
Babis Keskidis, better known as DJ Babis, is one of the world’s top DJs, having spent decades spinning at the top clubs on Mykonos. After an astounding 16-year run helming the turntables at legendary beach club Nammos, Babis made a move to Principote, on Panormos Beach.
“I have the best memories of Nammos. I’m thankful for everything, but it was time for me to make a move,” DJ Babis said. “It was time to try something else.” Principote, he noted, is bigger, which gives him a greater sense of freedom.
The remarkable thing is that in today’s age of superstar DJs, think Skrillex, David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Daft Punk and Deadmau5, DJ Babis has shunned publicity. Unless you’re a regular on the Mykonos club scene, you’ve likely never heard of him. In fact, he told us as we spoke on a terrace at Principote overlooking the Aegean, that at age 53, this was his first-ever interview.
Unlike many superstar DJs, Babis barely has any social media presence. His Instagram account, with a total of 9 posts, has not been updated since 2023. And yet, he has remained in demand all these years.
Musical Prodigy
Babis had a natural talent for music and started playing the piano at age four. He sang and played piano at church every Sunday in Athens, where he grew up. “I think it was inside
of me. I didn’t say, ‘Okay, I’m going to do music,’ it just happened.”
Later on, he had a vinyl record store in Athens, where many club DJs bought
DJ Babis at Nammos (PHOTO COURTESY OF DJ BABIS)
from him, and at age 17, he began to DJ professionally. “It happened that one small club in my neighborhood was looking for a DJ to play the warm-up. I started there and moved to another club the next year and stayed 12 years.”
Babis got to know people in the industry, and everyone told him he should come to Mykonos, and he finally decided to make the move. He opened a record store in Mykonos for his day job and immediately began DJing at night. After two years, he was a full-time DJ, working during the day at Cocos, a gay club, and at Club Mykonos at night.
“I came to Mykonos 25 years ago, and I’m still here.”
Alluring Mykonos
The reasons for Mykonos’s popularity with the superrich and gay travelers are hard to pinpoint. “The energy of the place is good,” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it. You are very tired from the trip, and you come here, and there is a feeling of freedom.”
Babis’s next career move was to Nammos, where he reigned over the dancefloor for 16 years. How to achieve such longevity in a fickle industry? “Hard work, I think.” He
makes his own recordings but says that has become more difficult over the years as the big-name music acts these days are less amenable to remixing their tracks.
Instinctual Track List
Babis does not use a set track list, “You have to know how to read the room and that most nationalities have different sounds from their music. So, I know what they want.”
Every day at work, he uses some psychology. “If you’re prepared and you read the music, you know what’s coming. You own the music.”
He has to keep hundreds of people of all ages, from 16 to 60, dancing. He chooses the music in the moment, as the evening flows. “I can understand how they feel from the way they move, the way they speak. It’s about the journey, not about one song.” His goal is for the customers to have a great time.
Celebs Leo, Mariah, Bon Jovi
In Mykonos, those customers are often highprofile. Babis has had many soccer stars, and the likes of Jon Bon Jovi and Leonardo DiCaprio in his club. “I’m a big fan,” he said.
When Mariah Carey was in the house, he could sense that she wasn’t thrilled with
what he was playing. It wasn’t her style, so he put on some of her music. “I was playing it for her, and she came to me and said, ‘Thank you, let’s take a photo.’ And she came also the next days to have fun.”
Principote Legal Scuffle, Holiday in Mykonos!
In 2023, his club Principote was forced by the government to close due to some allegedly improper building on the site, so Babis inadvertently had the summer off. He booked some private parties, and by July, decided to make a holiday of his first-ever summer without working. Where did he go?
“I stayed here, and I had a great time. I was at home, enjoying the free time. I think it’s most important to have free time in your life.”
Hopefully, he enjoyed the break because Principote settled everything and has been open every summer since. P
“I CAME TO MYKONOS 25 YEARS AGO, AND I’M STILL HERE.”
DJ BABIS
Principote (PHOTO COURTESY OF PRINCIPOTE)
Greek-American philanthropist, artist, gallerist and writer Della Rounick’s life is like that of a swashbuckling heroine in an adventure novel. She was married to the head of Greek’s intelligence spy agency, had a yearslong love affair with a brother of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani Prime Minister, was a Wilhelmina model in her youth, spent summers yachting around Europe with her dear friend, the late Ivana Trump, was CEO of a fashion company that produced clothing for Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta and Bob Mackie and is a major force on the social scenes in New York, Palm Beach and the Hamptons. She’s had homes in Manhattan, Southampton, Palm Beach, Acapulco, Athens and her favorite, a lovely hideaway in Mykonos, where we caught up with her to hear her delightful stories.
Somewhat an anomaly in today’s internetobsessed world, Rounick has virtually no social media presence, so her fabulous life is, until now, largely undocumented.
Early Life: Failed Marriage, South Africa, Top Model
Born in Macedonia, an ancient kingdom steeped in history and now part of northern Greece, Rounick finished school and wanted to join her boyfriend to study in France. “Of course, my parents would not allow me to go with the boyfriend to study, so I got married after I finished high school and we went together to university in Toulouse,” she said.
Eventually, her husband became abusive, and she didn’t want to go back to Greece with him, so she fled to a cousin in South Africa. She spoke no English, only French and Greek, but needed to work, so she started modeling in Johannesburg. Nine months later, when a Wilhelmina modeling scout
Della Rounick (PHOTO PMC)
Della Rounick Queen of Mykonos
BY BENNETT MARCUS
sent from New York discovered her, Rounick was able to do the interview in English. In the summer of 1970, she was whisked to New York. “Can you believe that? It was my first encounter with New York,” she said.
She went back to South Africa later and obtained her divorce. “I was free. And then I was working all over New York, Athens and South Africa.”
Francesco Scavullo, Woodstock, DVF Rounick got to do a shoot with famed fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo in Woodstock, NY, just a year after the famous 1969 music festival. “I was on a bicycle with a dress wrapped around me, and I fell, and I hit my leg, and I couldn’t photograph. So, we went to a little pool there, and I saw the hippies naked. I was not familiar to all that stuff.”
Back in the city, a friend brought her to Diane von Furstenberg’s house, and DVF’s husband, Prince Egon von Furstenberg, joined them for dinner.
Affair with Bhutto’s Brother Rounick had a three-year love affair with a brother of Benazir Bhutto, who became the prime minister of Pakistan. At that time, their father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was Pakistan’s president, was jailed after a military coup, and the Bhutto kids were exiled in London. “The years that I was with him, he was in London. I lived between Greece, London and Pakistan, where we went to see his mother.” The couple was sadly forced to split; his father was put to death, and her lover went to Afghanistan, which was impossible for Della.
Marriage to Herbert Rounick: Fashion Career
In her 30s, she met and married Herbert Rounick, an American businessman in the garment trade who made ready-to-wear for top designers of the day like Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta and Bob Mackie. Della started her own line of clothing, getting involved in the fashion business.
It was her husband who noticed Della’s
skillful sketching and encouraged her to enroll at the Art Students League in 1989, where she studied for three years, until Herbert became ill. After nine years of marriage, in 1993, Herbert died from leukemia, and she had to take over the company. “All of a sudden, from director of design, I became chairman and CEO.”
Herbert had refused Oleg Cassini’s request to do a line based on clothes he made for Jackie Kennedy. “I did it. And one weekend, I remember we had the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s.
Sailing with Ivana, Della’s Diary Column, Athens Gallery
By 1997, she had sold the company and lived in Palm Beach, where Ivana Trump was a neighbor, and the two began traveling by yacht. For several years, Rounick had a column in Life & Style magazine called Della’s Diary with photographs from wherever she traveled.
After 9/11, travel was less appealing; she retreated to the Hamptons and decided to build her house on Mykonos. In the meantime, Rounick became a professional artist, concentrating on painting and sculpture. She opened her eponymous gallery in Athens, where she shows her own work and that of other artists.
“Because of the life I’ve had, my motto is: nothing is forever, but everything is possible,” she said. “And my other motto for art is to inhale inspiration, exhale creation, and for life, inhale glamour to shine, exhale respect. Be humble.” P
While the Amalfi Coast is drenched with hotels with stunning views, Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento stands out as the prize of the Southern Italian Shoreline. This property offers a full five-star, entire body, exhale almost immediately upon arrival.
Dramatically positioned above the rugged shoreline in the heart of Sorrento, the iconic retreat somehow feels grand, intimate, historic, peaceful, and deeply luxurious all at once. Pulling up to the entrance is a visual delight, with lush gardens and bursts of color from bright citrus trees dancing throughout the grounds.
Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria signals the importance of kin and tradition, having remained family owned since 1834. Guests can feel that history throughout the seaside oasis through its warm hospitality and meticulous care for both the property itself and the experience it creates. The warm hospitality here feels sincere and unique. Nothing feels performative. Instead, there is a genuine attentiveness that quietly follows guests throughout their stay.
And while the hospitality is top notch, the views alone would be a reason to book a stay. Nearly every corner of the property opens toward the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius visible in the distance like a painting that doesn’t fully look real. Sunsets here feel fully cinematic. The kind where entire conversations stop because everyone at the table is hypnotized by the coloring of the sky.
Rooms here carry that same understated elegance the property does so well. Timeless Italian design, soft natural light, marble bathrooms, crisp bedding, beautiful terraces overlooking the sea. Elevated and approachable. There is no cliched overdesigned happening here. Instead, the hotel leans into old world charm in a way that feels deeply authentic to the destination itself.
What surprises guests most is that despite being located directly in the center of Sorrento near Piazza Tasso, the property somehow feels completely removed from the bustle below. Once inside the gates, the noise disappears. Guests become immersed in a scene of lemon groves, private gardens, and
shimmering sea views stretching beneath the cliffs. Little pockets throughout the property make time feel almost suspended for a moment.
Its location also makes Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria an ideal home base for exploring Capri, Positano, Pompeii, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. Positioned directly above the harbor with private elevator access connecting guests down toward the port, the hotel makes day trips feel remarkably effortless. What can be a bit comical is how difficult it becomes to leave the property once you settle in.
The pool area calls guests to unwind a bit further. Surrounded by lush greenery and
PHOTO GRAND HOTEL EXCELSIOR VITTORIA
seductively tucked within the gardens, the atmosphere feels serene without theatrics. The space is not designed for timekeeping or performance. Instead, guests settle in for hours beneath the Mediterranean sun, ordering chilled Italian wine, fresh seafood, and pasta, usually lingering far longer than originally intended.
The Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria’s soulfully charming staff showcase a remarkable level of intuitive hospitality, anticipating needs before guests even fully ask. Drinks appear refilled almost instinctively; rooms are refreshed multiple times throughout the day with a level of care that genuinely stands out. There is also something deeply comforting about how the
hotel balances luxury with emotional ease. Families are welcomed naturally. Couples feel tucked away in their own romantic little world. Solo travelers never feel awkward or overlooked. The energy throughout the property simply feels calm.
Dining at Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria only deepens the experience further.
Terrazza Bosquet, the hotel’s Michelin starred restaurant, offers one of the most jaw
dropping dining settings in Sorrento, with panoramic views stretching across the sea. The food feels deeply refined without becoming overly complicated, allowing the ingredients and precision to fully tell the culinary story.
Meanwhile l’Orangerie, located by the lemon groves and pool, offers one of the most relaxed and beautiful dining settings on the property. There is an ease to the atmosphere
that immediately softens the pace of the day. Long lunches somehow turn into full afternoons there. Fresh seafood, handmade pasta, citrus forward dishes, chilled wine, and soft breezes drifting through the gardens. The entire experience feels deeply Mediterranean in the best possible way. Slow. Romantic. Beautiful without needing to constantly announce itself.
Throughout the afternoon, guests linger
poolside over fruit plates, fresh gelato, spritzes, and light bites beneath the Italian sun. By evening, the energy shifts softly into something slightly more elevated as the restaurant and bar transform into a relaxed open air lounge serving tapas style dishes, cocktails, and regional wines late into the night. The menu leans heavily into local ingredients and regional flavors, while the restaurant itself has also become known for serving some of the best pizza in Sorrento.
Even breakfast every morning feels like a scene from an old film. Guests sip espresso overlooking the water while a pianist softly plays nearby. Fresh pastries, fruit, cheeses, cappuccinos, the scent of citrus drifting through the terrace. It becomes one of those little daily rituals you start looking forward to almost immediately.
The Boutique Spa La Serra, located within the gardens, adds even more to that feeling. Built inside a restored nineteenth-century greenhouse, the spa carries the same peaceful energy as the rest of the hotel. Quiet treatment rooms, restorative rituals, complete privacy. Everything feels designed to help guests fully slow down rather than simply fill an itinerary.
The setting itself does most of the work. Positioned deeper within the property, La
Serra feels like a true garden sanctuary with a greenhouse-style structure, spotless contemporary treatment rooms, and a calm that settles in immediately. Each room has its own private bathroom, which adds to the sense of ease and discretion. After a day spent exploring the cliffs, stairs, and nearby coastal towns, this is exactly the kind of place guests want to disappear into for a massage, facial, or restorative ritual that is worth every euro.
Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria is the kind of dreamlike escape that leaves a lasting impression long after checkout. The sort of place that has you reminiscing months later saying, remember when we were in Sorrento completely pampered beneath those iconic coastal views eating incredible food? We need to to go back. P
excelsiorvittoria.com
Cannúa Lodge
A Journey Through Flavor, History, and Regeneration
BY JOHN & JANE MEYER
Tucked high in the emerald folds of Colombia’s Antioquia’s Andes, Cannúa Lodge has emerged as one of Latin America’s most exceptional ecoluxury retreats – a distinction underscored by its recent award of two Michelin Keys. The surrounding mountains form a dramatic amphitheater of mistdraped peaks, terraced hillsides, and cloud forests that shift in color and mood throughout the day. The Andes in this region feel both ancient and alive – orchids clinging to mossy branches, birds flashing like jewels between the trees, and the air perfumed with rain, earth, and wild citrus. Antioquia’s highlands slow time itself, inviting travelers into a quieter, more contemplative rhythm. What elevates a stay
at Cannúa beyond its breathtaking setting is the warmth and professionalism of its staff. Every interaction feels intentional –gracious without being formal, attentive without intruding. We were welcomed not just with service, but with genuine Colombian hospitality. The team’s confidence, sharing stories of the land, and creating the sense that we were being invited into a home rather than a hotel. Their presence is one of Cannúa’s greatest luxuries: human connection delivered with pride and a deep respect for the lodge’s regenerative mission.
Arrival in the Andes
Touching down in Medellín’s José María Córdova International Airport, we were greeted by Brian, one of Cannúa’s four extraordinary
proprietors. As we left the city behind and the asphalt roads turned to dirt, he generously shared his knowledge of Colombia’s early history, the flora and fauna we passed, and –as we neared the lodge – anecdotes about the farmers and neighbors who form Cannúa’s extended community. The journey unfolded to a soundtrack of traditional Colombian Cumbia music, weaving together the country’s sights, sounds, and stories.
Colombia is divided into six natural regions: Caribbean, Pacific, Orinoco, Amazon, Andean, and Insular. Our stay took place in the mountainous Andean region, a dreamscape of rolling green mountains and pastoral farms perched high above Medellín’s vibrant streets, shops and extravagant flower
markets. Spending time here, we quickly saw how Colombians refuse to be defined by past struggles; instead, they are shaped by a profound commitment to renewal.
Our first morning began in the most unassuming way: practicing Spanish over breakfast with fellow guests and Cannúa’s warm, patient servers. While mastering the proper pronunciation of servilleta, we were also learning about Colombia’s national effort to restore landscapes and communities long overshadowed by the narratives of the drug trade. Here, regeneration isn’t a concept – it’s a lived reality.
True Colombia Travel: Opening Doors Few Travelers Ever See
Our journey was elevated even further thanks to True Colombia Travel, a boutique travel agency known for crafting exclusive, personalized and culturally immersive experiences. Their team arranged exclusive visits that would be nearly impossible to access without their relationships and expertise.
One highlight was a private tour of a hydrangea farm, where thousands of blooms in impossible shades of blue, pink, and white stretched across the hillsides. We enjoyed a farmfresh lunch overlooking the fields, learning how Colombia became one of the world’s leading exporters of these flowers.
True Colombia Travel also brought us to the home of Doña Leopoldina, a national treasure who lives among her extended family and the rare flowers she has cultivated for decades. Wandering through her garden felt like stepping into a living museum of Colombian botany – each plant with a story, each bloom a testament to her life’s work. Her warmth, humor, and pride made the visit unforgettable.
These experiences – intimate, authentic, and deeply rooted in place – are what set True Colombia Travel apart. They don’t just plan trips; they open doors into Colombia’s soul.
A Lodge Built on Regeneration, Not Just Sustainability
Cannúa Lodge is a 24acre ecoretreat nestled high up in the Andes. With only ten rooms and eight spacious luxury cabanas, the lodge offers an intimate, highly personalized experience. Each cabana is designed to dissolve the boundary between indoors and outdoors: floortoceiling windows wrap around the space, giving the sensation of living inside the forest canopy. Automated blinds glide open at the touch of a button, and discreet climate control ensures perfect comfort without disturbing the natural serenity. The effect is profoundly calming – a sanctuary where the landscape becomes part of the room.
While the goal is to unwind, the hosts curate a thoughtful list of activities at the lodges main common area: guided hikes through the cloud forest, a surprisingly informative rum tasting, a handson chocolate workshop, and watching sunsets that paint the mountains gold as we sipped one of the lodge’s inventive cocktails.
The culinary program nourishes both body and mind, with creative, deeply flavorful dishes crafted from ingredients grown onsite or sourced from nearby farms. Many of these farms have spent years patiently healing their land after decades of overuse, and Cannúa’s partnership with them is part of a broader commitment to regenerative agriculture. Nearly half of the kitchen’s produce is grown on the property, and the rest is sourced from local farmers, strengthening the regional economy while keeping the cuisine deeply rooted in place.
Cannúa’s philosophy goes beyond sustainability, guided by their Permaculture Ethics & Design Principles that view the lodge, its people, and the surrounding community as interconnected. Once barren cattle pasture, the land has been allowed to heal naturally. “Remove the cows,” the owners explained, “and the forest will return on its own.” Now there are lush, layered, and alive with birdsong. A planned swimming pool was abandoned when an endangered frog species was discovered onsite; conservation took precedence over construction.
Walking Through History – and into the Jungle
Colombia’s past is never far from the surface, and locals speak of it with candor and resilience. High in the cloud forest, Cannúa sits near what was once known as a “guerrilla highway,” a corridor used during the country’s most turbulent years. Today, that same land is a sanctuary of peace, ecological revival, and community cooperation.
Later in the week, a jungle hike made this contrast even more vivid. The trail was rugged and wild, a reminder of Colombia’s untamed beauty. The reward: lunch beside a crashing waterfall, the kind of moment that imprints itself on memory.
A Deep Dive Into Chocolate –From Pod to Cup
One of the most unforgettable experiences unfolded on an organic cacao farm. We tasted the bright, citrusy pulp straight from a freshly cracked pod, sampled reduced cacao honey, and ground roasted beans by hand before whisking them into hot chocolate the traditional way.
Organic farming here is not a trend – it’s a necessity. The cacao trees rely on specific pollinators that would be wiped out by fumigation. Biodiversity is the backbone of the ecosystem, and farmers protect it with devotion.
Highquality chocolate retains its natural cacao butter, which melts at body temperature and carries real health benefits. Many commercial chocolates replace it with
palm oil, sacrificing both flavor and nutrition. In Colombia, cacao remains sacred – complex, alive, and deeply tied to the land.
Understanding Colombia’s Turbulent Past
Conversations throughout the day drifted into Colombia’s layered history – cartels, guerrillas, paramilitaries, government forces, and the fragile peace process that continues today. Media portrayals like Narcos were dismissed as sensationalized; Killing Pablo was recommended as a more accurate account. Even modern politics surfaced, including the polarizing legacy of former president Álvaro Uribe. In Colombia, history is not distant but an evolving conversation.
Food, Culture, and the Everyday Moments That Stay with You
Between these heavier reflections were the small, vivid moments that make travel
unforgettable. One evening we tasted Canoa, a Latin American lamb dish slowcooked in a hollowed log until it is impossibly tender and infused with the smoky essence of the wood. Another afternoon we sipped a Belgianstyle triple beer called La Dame Allegre, its bright, effervescent character a surprising contrast to the rugged mountain landscape around us. At the lodge bar, we tried the signature “Dr. Cannúa” a cocktail as playful as it was complex, followed by simple pleasures like queso dipped in picante sauce that warmed us from the inside out.
Cultural traditions unfolded around us in quiet, intimate ways. We watched families light candles for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, their faces illuminated by soft, flickering light as the mountains faded into dusk. Conversations with fellow travelers stretched late into the night, weaving together stories from around the world and even inspiring plans for future trips.
A Country Defined by Renewal What struck us most was how seamlessly Colombia blends beauty with complexity. It’s a place where reforested land stands beside stories of past conflict, where endangered frogs halt construction, where cacao farmers protect pollinators with the same devotion they give their craft.
At the heart of it all is Cannúa’s staff – warm, intuitive, and exceptionally professional. They are the soul of the lodge, embodying the spirit of Colombian hospitality and the ethos of regeneration. Cannúa invites you to listen, to taste, to learn, and to rethink what regeneration of land, of culture, of community and spirit can look like.
If you allow it, Cannúa will change the way you see the world. P
Ara Maris
Ara Maris is an Italian diamond in the rough that offers a complete nervous system reset from the moment guests arrive. Somewhere between the scent of sea air drifting through the gardens, the slow rhythm of afternoons by the pool, and the panoramic views stretching across the Sorrento coastline, the property creates the rare feeling that time itself has softened. In a destination filled with luxury hotels and dramatic coastal scenery, Ara Maris stands apart not through excess, but through atmosphere. The kind of understated luxury that feels increasingly rare right now: warm hospitality, thoughtful design, breathtaking views, and an energy that quietly invites guests to slow all the way down.
Sorrento’s Chicest New Addition
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
From the moment guests arrive, there is an ease to the experience that becomes instantly noticeable. The service feels polished without becoming overly formal, with staff who understand that true luxury often lives in attentiveness and consistency rather than excess. Every interaction throughout the stay carries a genuine warmth that makes the property feel personal rather than transactional.
The rooms themselves function as quiet sanctuaries above the sea. Spacious and filled
with natural light, each room opens onto a large private terrace overlooking either the Gulf of Naples, Mount Vesuvius, the hotel’s lush Mediterranean gardens, or the charming streets of Sorrento below. Warm parquet flooring, handmade Amalfi Coast tiles, white Apulian marble, and contemporary furnishings create spaces that feel refined while still deeply calming. Nothing feels overly designed for effect. Instead, the interiors carry a soft elegance that allows the surrounding coastline to remain the focal point.
The pool area quickly becomes one of the most memorable parts of the property. Tucked into greenery and surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens, the atmosphere feels peaceful and secluded despite being steps from central Sorrento.
Guests move slowly between loungers, cocktails, and long leisurely lunches while soft music drifts through the background. The experience feels luxurious without becoming scene driven or overly performative. One particularly thoughtful touch is the complimentary ten minute massages offered poolside to guests, a small detail that quietly elevates the entire afternoon.
As evening arrives, the hotel’s Sky Bar transforms into one of the most visually stunning spaces in Sorrento. Panoramic views stretch across the coastline while the sunset casts warm light over the sea below. The rooftop carries a sophisticated energy without losing the intimacy that defines the property overall. Cocktails arrive beautifully crafted while Mediterranean tapas encourage guests to linger well into the evening. The balance between atmosphere and hospitality feels
seamless throughout the experience.
The wellness offerings further complete the resort feel. The spa and fitness center feel fully integrated into the property rather than functioning as afterthought amenities. Guests could easily spend entire days moving between the rooftop, pool, treatments, and private terraces without ever feeling the need to leave the hotel grounds.
And yet one of Ara Maris’ strongest qualities remains its location. While the property feels tucked away in tranquility, guests remain only moments from the lively energy, restaurants, and charm of Sorrento itself. That balance between accessibility and escape is difficult to execute well, but Ara Maris manages it effortlessly.
For those willing to wander just four
minutes from the hotel, SHUB offers a moodier late night counterpart tucked into the heart of Sorrento. The cocktail bar operates as the spirited sibling of two Michelin starred Piazzetta Milù, bringing that same culinary precision into an ingredient driven cocktail format. More than a bar, it feels like a living laboratory where seasonal produce, Italian authenticity, and serious cocktail craft meet without losing their sense of play. Open until 3 a.m. during the summer months, Shub gives guests the perfect reason to let the evening stretch a little longer.
At a time when many luxury hotels feel designed primarily for social media visibility, Ara Maris offers something far more lasting: atmosphere with genuine soul. P
aramarishotel.com
yet Relaxed
Step Back in Time at the Ritzy
HOTEL BEL-AIR
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
Blend effortlessly into the star-studded lifestyle at the Dorchester Collection’s California crown jewel, Hotel Bel-Air. Both ritzy and relaxed, you will rub elbows with the famous and fabulous at this opulent oasis featuring 12-acres of lush landscapes which are home to their resident swans, plus koi pond and secret hideaways. Blending iconic Hollywood history – wherever you go you are most likely standing where Elizabeth Taylor
or Marilyn Monroe once had an epic night out – with modern luxury, Hotel Bel-Air is a portal back in time.
Tucked away behind the gates of Bel-Air, this is luxury on another level. Their carefully manicured grounds, which are reminiscent of a private wildlife garden, offer plenty of picture-perfect moments. With various room and suite layouts spread out throughout the property, guest can choose from more traditional spaces or updated villas, most of
which open to their own private gardens. Wherever you reside, you are sure to enjoy touches of sumptuous Hollywood glam. Some of their suites also offer outdoor fireplaces and plunge pools, while larger accommodations are ideal for longer term stays. My suite, which had its own gate right outside of the pool area, was a convenient surprise, especially as LA weather calls for a dip any time of the day – or night. Ordering specialty cocktails and light bites while you lounge are a definite must.
The romantic indoor-outdoor property is also home to dining options which are inspired by the LA sunshine and Mediterranean freshness. Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are a playful mix of flavors – and just like the hotel itself, no matter how much they innovate, they can’t help but stay true to their roots. They still serve the same tortilla soup that first debuted there in 1980. For a decadent night out, you can just stay within the hotel compound as the bar, which features daily live music, is a sexy mix of wooden floors, dark interiors, a fireplace and black and white photos of the stars who no doubt spent many a night there – you might even be standing next to one.
You can also enjoy quiet spaces in the hotel’s living room which is furnished with cozy
nooks and board games, or can grab a coffee or pastry at The Patisserie which resembles a French boulangerie, and desserts that look more like art than edible bites.
Wellness lovers can take in a fitness session at the on-property gym or indulge in a facial or other relaxing spa treatment at the Spa which features products from Valmont, the Swiss-based beauty brand with a cultlike following.
So immersed in capturing the beauty all around, their team of art curators brings various exhibits to lie throughout the property. The first exhibition in the current series, Monumental: Conversations with Space, features Anthony James’ immersive sculptures. Using stainless steel, glass and
light to both reflect and refract surroundings, each structure appears to extend into an infinite dimension, offering a sensory and meditative experience.
When you do decide to explore the area outside of your enchanting surroundings, it’s almost a rite of passage to book a lunch at the restaurant with the most celebrity sightings, even for LA, The Polo Lounge, which is currently celebrating their 85th year, at their sister property, The Hotel Beverly Hills. After literally entering the hotel on a red carpet, you can enjoy their famous Sunday brunch on their tucked away patio, or grab dinner and drinks within the walls where many a movie deal has been signed. P
dorchestercollection.com
Celebrate America’s 250th at
Congress Hall THE FirstCountry’sSeaside RESORT
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
Ahistoric year for America means a big celebration at the country’s first seaside resort hotel, Congress Hall, in Cape May, New Jersey.
In addition to going big for America’s 250th birthday, the storied property overlooking the Atlantic Ocean has a dazzling lineup of activities to commemorate Cape May’s 175th anniversary as a city, as well as Cape May’s 50 years as a National Historic Landmark, and the resort’s owns 210th anniversary.
The imposing yet laidback yellow resort with white trim, just one block the beach, whisks visitors away to another era in time. A truly special and scenic destination that has been enjoyed by families for generations, this quintessentially American resort is offering Independence Week packages celebrating our nation’s history and heritage from July 4th through July 11th. Stays include deluxe accommodations, welcome cocktails in their famed Brown Room to toast the occasion, and tickets to a Bay Atlantic Symphony Concert on the Lawn if your stay falls on July 7th. On July 4th, the patriotic party will include a fireworks display over the ocean, while complimentary programming will continue during the week, including flag-
raising ceremonies and lawn games, plus live music and beloved American traditions.
Cape May, a quaint town known for its Victorian style homes, is the perfect backdrop for this enchanting resort. Guests can use the property’s bike rentals to explore the nearby beach, stores, and restaurants. They also offer complimentary use of loungers, umbrellas, and towels, while beach tents are available for rent.
Each room and suite in this historic resort offers its own distinct charm. While deluxe rooms feature luxurious marble bathrooms with a glass-enclosed shower and separate soaking tub, original to the hotel’s 1920 renovation, their suites offer private balconies with ocean views. Enjoy a stylish stay in relaxed yet regal fashion, as each room is furnished with American heritagestyle furniture, antique brass hardware, and hand-dyed linens. For larger parties, Congress Place Suites are their apartmentstyle accommodations located across from the property.
The dining options at this family-owned resort include the Blue Pig Tavern, offering farm-fresh classics, while their underground pizzeria and nightclub, Boiler Room, serves
up brick-oven pizza, cold draft beer, and classic cocktails in a dimly lit atmosphere. Enjoy a drink in one of their most historic spots, the Brown Room, a stylish lounge occupying the same spot as Congress Hall’s first legal post-Prohibition cocktail bar. With the weather warming up, guests can enjoy cocktails and small bites in the Grand Lawn & Veranda Bar all summer long. Tommy’s Folly Ice Cream Parlor and Tommy’s Folly Café are ideal for midday snacks and beverages.
Their nearby Beach Plum Farm, which is just a short ride away on their complimentary shuttle, is home to their farm animals and produce, much of which is used in their own restaurants, as a testament to their farm-to-table philosophy. The farm also has additional accommodations, as well as a
gift shop and restaurant. In the summer, their outdoor chef’s dinner series showcase the best of their offerings. Congress Hall’s sister properties, all in walking distance, also offer some of the area’s most delectable dining. Activities such as guided history tours and mocktail making classes are offered seasonally.
Inspired by the healing properties of the ocean, their very own Sea Spa features yellow-striped cabana-style treatment rooms, so you can reconnect with nature without even leaving the property. The spa is partners with another family-owned business, OSEA Malibu Skincare, which uses only non-toxic, vegan, plant-based, gluten free, and cruelty-free ingredients. P
caperesorts.com
Nothing says summer more than a stylish getaway to the Hamptons, especially one that blends classic seaside charm with low-key luxury and carefully curated experiences, all of which can be found at The Roundtree, Amagansett. They are even introducing a new wellnesscentric restaurant in Bridgehampton intended to nourish the stomach and soul.
A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, this secluded hideaway set on two lush acres is ideal for soaking up the sun in a serene setting, yet close to the stylish stores and world-class dining scene on Main Street. A quaint hamlet with just under 1,000 residents, Amagansett offers a refreshing
TheScheffer, and can accommodate larger parties, also means being a part of history, as it was once home to legendary playwright Neil Simon. This secluded private home is a five-minute drive from the hotel’s main entrance.
The Roundtree, Amagansett wants to be your exclusive Hamptons home away from home, meant to feel as if you are visiting a friend, which is why all rooms have private entrances, as well as designs inspired by the surrounding elements of nature. Sleek furnishings and a neutral color scheme also add to the property’s understated refinement. Every space and detail is intentional, including their in-room amenities which include Grown Alchemist bath products as well as Frette linens, while complimentary minibars are stocked with locally produced bites.
Roundtree, Amagansett
Enjoy a Well-Rounded Hamptons Experience
BY JULIE SAGOSKIN
respite full of historic homes, museums, cafes and art galleries. The Roundtree, Amagansett isn’t just contrived rustic charm either, the property was once in fact once a working home farm. Now a collection of five cottages as well as a 100-year-old barn which houses eight guest rooms centered around the Great Lawn, which in summer turns into a communal space to unwind with lawn games or gather by an evening fire pit.
Staying true to their history, the design and unique touches found throughout the accommodations were inspired by the property’s farm-steading heritage. A stay at the Beach House, which was built in the 1960s by East Hampton architect Alfred
Their philosophy of being rooted in the nature around them also extends to their latest restaurant, Nourish by The Roundtree, which will be opening during the summer season in Bridgehampton.
Led by the hotel’s Executive Chef Dewa Wijaya, the restaurant features a menu inspired by the Hamptons’ seasonal bounty and Wijaya’s Balinese heritage, with dishes blending East End ingredients and global influences. To create a space that is both organic and elevated, they used warm timber and exposed wood, all while natural light shines on the surrounding landscape. In an effort to connect food with nature, you will be sure to find seasonal produce, as well as meat and seafood sourced from local farms and fishermen.
Lunch and dinner is offered through the end of September, and guests of The Roundtree, Amagansett will have priority access to reservations. During the off-season,
Chef Wijaya will offer custom menu planning and cooking as a cook for guest-in residence. He is also available as a private chef to cook in private homes in the Hamptons and tri-state area.
From wine tastings at nearby vineyards to s’mores by the firepit, you can have a well-rounded itinerary all trip long at The Roundtree. They also make every moment an occasion – you might just find a touch of sweetness with ice cream happy hours, or afternoon tea on the lawn. In summer, guests can enjoy beach passes to Amagansett Beach, or explore the area with one of the property’s complimentary bikes. Guests can even be chauffeured to dinner in their in-house BMW.
Nearby outdoor outings can include a visit to Montauk Downs State Park Golf Course, where all guests of The Roundtree enjoy priority reservations. Guests can also tap into the utmost tranquility with in-room treatments available, including massages and private yoga sessions. Conference spaces and a large outdoor area also means that they can accommodate business meetings and special occasions - think charter fishing excursions, or clambakes on the beach.
Young guests can also turn vacation time into a chance to explore their entrepreneurial and philanthropic sides, as The Roundtree can set up a Lemonade Stand on Main Street for them to take charge of. All proceeds from sale can either be donated to the Animal Rescue Fund (ARF) of the Hamptons or another charity of a budding entrepreneur’s choice. P theroundtreehotels.com
Discovering the
Walker Hotel Collection
in New York City
BY LISA LOVERRO
From Tribeca’s industrial-chic energy to Greenwich Village’s timeless charm, the Walker Hotel collection offers two distinct boutique stays that capture the spirit of downtown Manhattan.
On a beautiful spring weekend in New York City, one that felt more like the height of summer as temperatures soared into the 90s, I checked into two distinctly different hotels that share one thing in common: both are part of the Walker Hotel collection These stylish boutique properties offer travelers an authentic taste of downtown Manhattan through thoughtful design, warm hospitality, and a strong connection to their neighborhoods. From Tribeca’s creative, industrial-chic energy to Greenwich Village’s historic charm and artistic spirit, each hotel delivers its own unique perspective on New York City living.
In Tribeca, where old New York charm meets modern creativity, Walker Hotel Tribeca occupies a former ribbon factory that has been transformed into a sleek 171room retreat. The hotel’s design pays homage to the neighborhood’s industrial roots while embracing its contemporary artistic energy. High ceilings, oversized windows, wood finishes, and marble accents create spaces that feel polished without being pretentious. Like many Manhattan hotels, the rooms are cozy, but they’re smartly designed and comfortable, many offering sweeping city views. It’s the kind of place that feels like a welcome escape after a day exploring the city. Food and drink are a big part of the experience here. Guests can enjoy seasonal, globally inspired dishes at Seventy Seven Alley, slip into Saint Tuesday speakeasy for craft cocktails and live music, or head
upstairs to Walker Rooftop for sunset drinks overlooking the Tribeca skyline.
A short taxi ride away, Walker Hotel Greenwich Village offers an entirely different atmosphere. The hotel feels timeless and distinctly New York, from its copper-clad bay windows to its Art Deco touches and vintageinspired details, the property captures the creative spirit and elegance that have long defined the Village. The 113 guest rooms are warm and inviting, featuring custom furnishings, wood tones, and thoughtful details throughout. Some rooms include private terraces or coveted views of the Empire State Building, while the bathrooms channel classic New York apartment style with subway tile and deep soaking tubs. Dining centers around the hotel’s popular farm-to-table restaurant, Society Cafe, a neighborhood favorite that draws both locals and visitors, offering pizzas, pastas, meat, and fish. The lively lobby lounge provides a welcoming setting for morning coffee, evening cocktails, or live music performances that reflect the artistic energy of the surrounding community.
Of course, one of the greatest luxuries both hotels offer is their location. Walker Tribeca
puts guests within easy walking distance of SoHo’s boutiques, galleries, and restaurants. Walker Greenwich Village, meanwhile, sits at the crossroads of many downtown neighborhoods, making it an ideal base for travelers looking to experience a more residential and historic side of Manhattan. Whether you’re drawn to Tribeca’s creative energy or Greenwich Village’s timeless charm, Walker Hotels offers two distinctly different ways to experience downtown New York. P
walkerhotels.com
Maison Sun
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
Maison Sun is a culinary portal for the dinning curious crowd that enjoy spaces that feel almost counterintuitive to New York. In Boerum Hill, behind an unassuming exterior, the eightseat chef’s counter offers a Vietnamese fine dining experience that trades culinary flare for something more deliberate and personal.
Upon arrival, the initial ambiance shapes everything that follows. Guests gather around a stainless-steel counter inside a converted apartment, with a repurposed Molteni stove anchoring the room. The kitchen is fully exposed and allows guests to have an intimate relationship to the preparation of the meal. There is no separation between process and presentation. Each course is accompanied with a story as it arrives, giving the experience a steady, purposeful rhythm.
Chef Nancy Nguyen’s background is evident without being overstated. Her training in Michelin level kitchens shows up in her precision, while her Vietnamese roots can be noticed through vibrant flavor profiles. The menu dances between the two without forcing the contrast. French technique combined with Vietnamese ingredients and seasoning deliver a sense of structured depth.
The progression of the tasting menu is
thoughtful. Courses build on one another rather than competing for attention. There is a focus on balance, both within individual dishes and across the full arc of the meal. Flavors tend to arrive cleanly, then develop, often revealing more complexity as they settle. It is less about immediate impact and more about accumulation.
Wine pairings are handled with the same confidence. They are designed to support the structure of the menu rather than stand apart from it, which keeps the experience cohesive. Service follows a similar approach. The team remains present and engaged, but without overexplaining or interrupting the flow of the evening.
The format does require time. At roughly three hours, the pacing will not suit everyone, and portions can feel restrained early on. By the end, though, the menu lands with a sense of completeness.
At $185 per guest, Maison Sun sits comfortably within the city’s tasting menu landscape, but its appeal is more specific. It is not built around excess or theatrics. Instead, it offers a focused, detail driven experience that rewards attention and patience, and feels, for now, slightly outside the broader spotlight. P
maisonsun.nyc
BROOKLYN’S BRIGHTEST STAR
In the hill town of Ragusa Ibla, where stone buildings glow gold under the Sicilian sun and winding streets seem suspended in another century, Chef Ciccio Sultano has built more than a restaurant. He has created a philosophy. Through his celebrated Ristorante Duomo, Sultano has become one of the defining voices of modern Sicilian cuisine, transforming food into a narrative about culture, identity and history. Awarded two Michelin stars since 2006, the restaurant has just 35 seats, a cellar with over 1,450 labels, and is deeply rooted in Sicilian tradition.
Born in Turin in 1970 but raised in Ragusa, Sicily, Sultano’s relationship with food began early. At just thirteen years old, he started working in a pastry shop, moving between pastry production, bar service and Sicily’s beloved tavola calda traditions. What started as a job quickly evolved into a calling. By nineteen, he was fully immersed in professional kitchens, becoming a head chef at twenty-four and executive chef by twenty-six.
A pivotal moment came during his time in New York, where he worked alongside famed Italian-American chef Lidia Bastianich. The experience helped clarify his vision. “It was there that I understood my direction,” Sultano says. “Not simply cooking but building a deeper narrative around food.”
That realization brought him back to Sicily, where he opened Ristorante Duomo in Ragusa Ibla on May 16, 2000. Over the past two decades, the restaurant has become internationally recognized for its inventive interpretation of Sicilian cuisine. For Sultano, Ragusa was always the only place where this vision could fully come to life. Though originally from Gela and raised in Vittoria, he says he fell in love with Ragusa Ibla at seventeen years old. The city’s layered beauty and sense of timelessness stayed with him for years before eventually becoming home to his culinary project.
Sultano’s Sicily CHEF
A
CULINARY STORY OF HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CONNECTION
BY LISA LOVERRO
According to Sultano, American, British and Commonwealth travelers have represented nearly 60 percent of his guests since the beginning. Sicily’s allure, he says, has long rested in its unique combination of art, architecture, cuisine, microclimates and ancient history.
That layered history is exactly what drives Sultano’s cooking philosophy, which he defines as “gastronomic anthropology.”
Sultano views the island as a living archive of civilizations. Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and French cultures all left their marks on Sicily’s food traditions, creating a cuisine that is constantly evolving through
centuries of exchange and influence. This philosophy is reflected in two ideas central to his work: “Io sono Dominazioni” (“I am Dominations”) and “mi sento citrico” (“I feel citrus”). The first references Sicily’s long history of cultural stratification and conquest. The second expresses something more emotional and sensory, with freshness, brightness and energy. Together, these concepts shape Sultano’s approach to cooking, where every dish tells a story that extends far beyond the plate.
Another defining principle of his work is what he calls “cucina educata,” or “educated cuisine.” It is a philosophy that bridges different culinary worlds: popular home
cooking, bourgeois traditions and aristocratic influences. At its core, cucina educata is about accessibility without sacrificing sophistication. Ingredients are carefully sourced and thoughtfully prepared, but the food remains approachable and deeply human. Sultano believes fine dining should never feel disconnected from everyday life.
This concept comes to life not only at Ristorante Duomo, but also at I Banchi in Ragusa and Palermo Airport, where bakery culture and contemporary dining intersect in a more casual setting. There, food returns to what Sultano sees as its essential role – nourishment, sharing and community. “Cooking is not about complexity for its own sake,” he says. “It is about creating a language people can recognize, understand and enjoy together.”
When discussing Sicilian cuisine more broadly, Sultano describes it as inherently Mediterranean. Unlike many mainland Italian regional cuisines that remain more geographically and structurally defined, Sicilian cooking thrives on diversity. “Sicilian cuisine is a cuisine of crossings, not of boundaries,” he explains.
That openness has helped propel Sultano’s growing restaurant empire beyond Sicily. In addition to Ristorante Duomo and I Banchi, he also oversees Pastamara at The RitzCarlton in Vienna, which opened in 2018, and Giano at W Rome, launched in 2021.
Though there are no immediate expansion plans, Sultano hints that Milan could eventually be part of the future.
Despite his international success, Sultano remains deeply committed to Sicily and its communities. Supporting local producers has long been a cornerstone of his business model, with the chef emphasizing collaborative relationships that help sustain the region’s agricultural traditions and economy. He also maintains a long-standing
partnership with a convent in Scicli that supports children in need.
Accessibility remains another key mission. Through initiatives such as “Cogli l’attimo” and special tasting experiences designed to make fine dining more approachable, Sultano hopes to open the doors of high-end cuisine to a broader audience, including local Sicilian guests.
“For us, fine dining should not be
exclusive,” he says. “It should be inclusive without losing quality.” That belief may ultimately define Ciccio Sultano’s legacy more than any single dish. In his hands, Sicilian cuisine becomes more than luxury dining. It becomes a bridge between cultures, generations and communities; a reminder that food is not simply something we consume, but something that connects us to history, identity and one another. P
cicciosultano.it/en/homepage
I Banchi
BY LISA LOVERRO RAGUSA’S MODERN SICILIAN GATHERING PLACE
In the heart of Ragusa Ibla, I Banchi has become much more than a restaurant.
Conceived by celebrated Sicilian chef Ciccio Sultano, the space blends bakery, bottega, wine bar, and restaurant into what he describes as a “contemporary piazza,” a place where food, culture, and community naturally come together.
“The concept is what I define as cucina educata,” says Sultano. “A cuisine that tells and conveys an identity shaped by popular, aristocratic and monastic elements, expressed through a contemporary and accessible language.” For Sultano, educated cuisine is not exclusive or overly refined. Instead it welcomes everyone from solo diners and families to business travelers and locals stopping in for bread.
That spirit of accessibility defines I Banchi, as it was intentionally designed to be casual and approachable. “I strongly believe that
good food should be democratic,” he explains. “It is not fine dining, but it still relies on high-quality ingredients. The goal is to give everyone the opportunity to eat well and to experience Sicilian cuisine in a simple and immediate way.”
The restaurant’s motto reflects that philosophy perfectly: “Buoni, non cari,” meaning good, not expensive. At the center of the concept is the bakery, which Sultano says inspired the entire project. “The original idea behind I Banchi comes from a very simple need: to have good bread,” he says. Working with ancient Sicilian grains including Russello, Perciasacchi, Tumminia, and Madonita, the bakery produces breads, grissini, scacce, sfincioni, and biscuits using organically certified methods and traditional techniques. “All baked products are made here, in the bakery of I Banchi, including the bread and grissini served at Ristorante Duomo,” Sultano says.
The menu reflects Sicily’s rich culinary heritage through dishes that are comforting, yet elevated. One standout is the Ragusa focaccia with vegetables, where the bakery’s naturally fermented dough becomes the foundation for seasonal local produce. Another signature dish, pork neck glazed with Modica chocolate and served with peppers and mashed potatoes, highlights one of Sicily’s most historic ingredients. The famous chocolate of nearby Modica, introduced centuries ago under Spanish influence. Pasta also plays a starring role.
The rigatoni with Turiddu sauce includes the bold Sicilian flavors of capers, tomato, black olives, and wild fennel. The ingredients are simple, but the flavors are unmistakably expressive of southeastern Sicily.
But for Sultano, bread and food carry emotional significance beyond craftsmanship. “For Italians living abroad especially, food becomes memory, nostalgia and identity,” he explains. “Products such as bread, panettone or colomba are not just food items, but real symbols.” That connection inspired the restaurant to launch an online shop, allowing Sicilians living abroad to reconnect with flavors from home.
Inside I Banchi, guests move easily between the bakery counter, wine cellar, and relaxed dining spaces. The atmosphere feels intentionally social. Sultano envisioned the restaurant as a gathering place where people could meet, converse, read, or simply spend time together. “Coming to buy bread becomes a daily gesture that creates connection,” he says. “A reason to go out, meet people, exchange a few words.” According to Sultano, the clientele shifts seasonally. “In spring and autumn, we welcome many international guests, especially Americans,” he says. “At the same time, the local presence is constant.”
While the atmosphere may be more relaxed than Duomo, the standards remain identical. “We work with the same suppliers as Ristorante Duomo,” Sultano explains. “The raw materials are exactly the same, always of the highest quality. The difference does not lie in the ingredients, but in the approach: here the language is more direct, more immediate, more pop.” P
ibanchiragusa.it
Marva Layne is regarded in foodie whirl circles as the modern matriarch of Caribbean cuisine.
The iconic Jamaican-born restaurateur remains that one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking, intuitive culinarian who pioneered the cultural journey and resonance of Caribbean cuisine in New York City with her and her husband Carlton’s eponymous and legendary restaurant in the heart of Manhattan’s West Village, known across the diaspora simply as Negril Village.
This summer, as Negril Village celebrates its 25th anniversary, it surely must warm the heart of ‘Mother Marva’ as she is revered in these parts now more than ever. The milestone comes at a time when West Indian-infused cuisine is at the height of its popularity and critically acclaimed in the pedigreed foodie circles of these United States. Surely she must take pride in realizing that many of today’s superstaracclaimed chefs in the genre began their careers in the kitchen at Negril Village and have since gone on to their own paths, elevating the genre while knowing full well where their careers first began.
Negril Village, located on West 3rd Street in the West Village, continues to define Jamaica’s culinary past, present and future as a mecca and the cradle of the most cravable and delicious comfort food anywhere in New York City. ‘’I arrived in America as a young girl from Kingston, Jamaica, to Jamaica, Queens (NY), and I always knew I wanted to carve a career in hospitality,’’ she opines. ‘’Opening a restaurant based around cuisine that was never instantly recognizable 25 years ago was an immense risk, and there have been ups and downs, but Negril Village is still here and still the pioneer.’’ Hear! Hear! Mother Marva! Hear! Hear! And the food has never been more delectably mouthwatering, consistent, and on point.
Back in the day, before Jamaican jerk chicken and oxtail stew were mainstream staples in fine dining, Negril Village and its famous intuitive diva were very much the vanguard of the tantalizing spices and innovative techniques of delicious Jamaican food. Without Marva Layne’s vision and pioneering drive, there would have been no
Miss Lily’s – or Kabawa, a Caribbean-rooted restaurant hailed by major critics as the number one restaurant in all of the United States for 2026.
Decades-long success begins with quality, consistency, and innovation whilst maintaining the highest standards, not to mention location, location, location, which certainly has played a part in Negril Village’s constant draw for ordinary folk and the rich and famous alike, from Shaggy to Rihanna et al. They have long been aware that Negril
MARVA LAYNE
BY GEORGE WAYNE
Village is an authentic dining destinationfrom the minute you walk through the doors, you are immediately transported to another world - the land of glorious flora and fauna, full-on Jamaica-no-problem laid-back island vibes and the requisite Raggae percolating to further set the tone. At the Rhum Bar on the lower level, the vibe is sweet and dandy. Order carafes of the house signature Rum Punch and, more so, the GW favorite... Coconut Rym Punch – thick and creamy, and always gets the happy buzz going immediately. The bespoke speciality
PHOTO BILLY TARLTON
cocktails are just the start to a perfect date night or boisterous birthday bacchanal.
Upstairs in the low-key yet elegantly appointed main dining room replete with a semi-third level, booking The Crow’s Next banquette has long been the favorite when iconic Jamaican entertainment moguls like Elephant Man bring the entourage intent on polishing off most everything offered on the mouthwatering menu. And for the arbiter here who knows the menu by heart since Negril Village remains GW’s sanctuary and home away from home now and forever, consider this the perfect order.
The busy kitchen is firing on all cylinders, with Chef Kay-Ann leading her precision team as the bubbling room packs in, arrivals lining out the door, and stalwart, decadeslong wait staff with names like Linden, Jermaine, Renee, Christina and Joel, humming through the gorgeously lit room. Everyone is on a first-name basis at Negril Village. It is just part and parcel of the warm, genuine, and incredibly friendly team led by the astute front-of-house gorgons – Sean and Camille and the reigning house ambassador we know as Miss Lorna.
Now to the must-order: any day from Wednesday to Sunday, dine in or take home. So whilst sipping on the best rum in the
world, Wray & Nephew infused white rum in Negril Village elixirs and recited as GW writes. The starters to start - the best oxtail soup in North America comes out of this kitchen. West Indian folk love their hot, comforting soups even in the summertime. It’s still a thing. Laugh out loud as you begin with warmth with sides of daily-made artisanal fried plantain chips, and the mustorder Ackee & Saltfish Tostones, and of course, an order of the irresistibly piquant jerk shrimp starter and a basket of guava butter and the melt-in-your-mouth homemade cornbread. For the main? There’s no denying, you cannot go wrong with the Chef’s Special! Order everything! The spot-on curried goat and the delicious stew peas dish, and two orders of the unctuous, delectable, always first-rate oxtail stew! The best soul-filling serving in all of Manhattan. The whole snapper is a must!
And there is also a delicious array of vegetarian and vegan options to sate any belly.
For dessert? More rum punch and Red Stripe Beer, along with the perfect homemade bread pudding and rum ice cream to call it the perfect evening. This is Negril Village – legacy dining for 25 years and still talked about as a bucket-list experience for many.
Mother Marva and Daddy Carlton are true culinary legends of the ever-growing buzz for next-level Caribbean cuisine exploding in popularity across the zeitgeist. Maybe now it’s time for The Negril Village Cookbook. P
negrilvillage.com
ZOI Mediterranean
A GREEK GODDES IN NEW YORK
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
In the city where restaurants truly must earn their keep, ZOI Mediterranean feels refreshingly quietly confident. With locations in both NoMad and the Upper East Side, the restaurant captures the kind of understated luxury New Yorkers are craving right now: beautiful food, strong cocktails, warm hospitality, and an atmosphere that makes you want to stay awhile.
The NoMad location, tucked inside The Life Hotel, carries a polished intimacy that immediately softens the pace of the city outside. Warm lighting reflects off textured finishes while the dining room moves with an easy confidence that never feels overly curated or performative. There is elegance here, but it feels lived in rather than staged. The kind of place where a casual dinner
unexpectedly turns into hours over cocktails and shared plates.
Part of the restaurant’s appeal is its ability to create atmosphere without relying on spectacle. The interior glows in warm amber tones, giving the space an earthy, almost transportive energy that feels worlds away from Midtown chaos just a few blocks over. Between the soft lighting, layered textures, and eclectic design details, the room manages to feel trendy without slipping into the kind of aesthetic overkill that dominates so much of downtown dining right now.
Meanwhile, ZOI Mediterranean Cuisine brings a slightly livelier energy while maintaining that same sense of warmth and refinement. The Upper East Side location has
become especially known for its weekend brunch scene, where bottomless mimosas, bloody marys, sangria, and Mediterranean inspired brunch dishes turn long afternoons into full social events. The atmosphere feels vibrant without losing the polished hospitality that defines the ZOI experience as a whole. There is movement and energy to the room, but it never feels chaotic. Instead, the restaurant carries the kind of effortless social rhythm that makes people settle in and stay longer than planned.
At both locations, the menu leans into fresh Mediterranean flavors presented with restraint and intention. There is a strong focus on quality ingredients, balanced dishes, and shareable mezze that encourage guests to slow down and actually experience
the meal together. Nothing feels overly complicated for the sake of being impressive. Instead, the food carries the same quiet confidence as the spaces themselves.
Menu highlights include crispy brussels sprouts, perfectly cooked salmon, and tender lamb chops designed for sharing across the table. Presentation arrives polished and visually beautiful without feeling overly precious. While some dishes lean more subtle in seasoning than bold or aggressive, the overall approach feels intentional: clean flavors, approachable luxury, and food designed to complement conversation rather than overpower it.
Service also plays a major role in shaping the experience. The staff moves through the dining room with professionalism and warmth, creating an elevated experience that still feels welcoming rather than stiff. There is attentiveness without interruption, something increasingly rare in New York dining where service often swings too far in either direction.
Behind the growing hospitality group is Onur Safak, whose vision for elevated Mediterranean dining continues to resonate across New York City. Safak first entered the wellness space with Green Blend Eatery before expanding into concepts including Blue Mezze, Ten11 Lounge, and Barrow & Barrel Wine Imported. Across every project, there is a consistent understanding that hospitality is about far more than aesthetics. People remember how a place made them feel.
Just downstairs from ZOI, Ten11 Lounge extends that world into something moodier and more nocturnal. The sultry late night sister spot brings cocktails, music, and a lower lit energy to the experience, offering a natural second act after dinner upstairs. Together, ZOI and Ten11 create the kind of full evening destination New York does best: dinner that slips into drinks, conversation that lingers, and a night that feels effortless without ever feeling accidental. P
zoinomad.com
Kiwami
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
At a time when omakase in New York City can feel a dime a dozen, Kiwami Omakase stands out in Dumbo by demonstrating unwavering dedication to precision and authentic approach to hospitality. Perched above the city and framed by dramatic sunset views, this restaurant carries the kind of energy that immediately makes you exhale a little deeper. With an ambiance that mirrors the meticulous execution in the kitchen, every detail feels intentional and artfully arranged.
From the moment guests step inside, they’ll sense an element of polished refinement. Warm lighting reflects off natural wood finishes while the skyline glows in the background, creating the kind of setting that makes you instinctively put your phone down for a second and settle into the experience. There is elegance here, yet nothing feels performative. The restaurant moves with a quiet confidence that allows
the food and service to speak for itself.
The omakase carries certainty. Every course arrives with a sense of balance and restraint, paced in a way that allows each bite to fully land before the next arrives. Nothing feels rushed. Instead, there is a strong focus on technique and ingredient quality. The chefs’ attention to detail becomes apparent almost immediately, from the temperature of the rice to the clean cuts of fish and the subtle layering of flavor throughout each course.
Seasonality quietly drives the experience. Delicate white fish arrives nearly translucent, allowing texture and freshness to speak for themselves, while richer selections melt slowly with a buttery finish that lingers long after the course is cleared. Garnishes are thoughtful rather than decorative, enhancing rather than distracting.
The bar program carries the same intentionality as the rest of the experience, with cocktails like the Tokyo Twilight offering a bright, citrus driven mix of sake,
yuzu, and sparkling soda finished with a delicate red wine float. It feels lighthearted yet elevated, the kind of drink that lands perfectly as the skyline begins to light up.
What makes Kiwami particularly compelling is the emotional quality of the meal. So many high-end sushi counters in New York can feel transactional or overly performative. Here, there is warmth beneath the excellence. The chefs guide the experience with subtle hospitality that makes the evening feel personal without becoming overly formal. It creates the rare sensation that you are being taken care of rather than simply served.
Of course, the sunset framing the skyline certainly does not hurt. As daylight fades and the city transitions into evening, the room becomes even more cinematic. It is the kind of place that reminds you why dining out in New York is pure magic. P
omakase.kiwaminyc.com
SHAKES UP THE BROOKLYN DINING SCENE
U Omakase
Greenpoint locals looking for a chef-driven elevated Japanese dining experience no longer need to leave the neighborhood. U Omakase has established itself as the area’s only dedicated omakase spot, and one worth non locals crossing borough lines for.
U Omakase feels like arriving at your favorite friend’s dinner party that also happens to completely crush it in the kitchen with innovative approaches to traditional Japanese fine dining. Think culinary theater paired with a vibey playlist that delivers a deeply personal dining experience. Housed inside what almost resembles a private home from the outside, the restaurant’s warm atmosphere is felt almost immediately upon arrival, removing the intimidation sometimes associated with traditional omakase counters.
The 12-course tasting menu blends Japanese technique with French and Latin American influences in a way that keeps each bite feeling unexpected. Every course arrives with intention. Rich clam consommé layered with deep buttery umami, delicately
torched scallops balanced with smoky sweetness, melt in your mouth A5 wagyu paired with mushrooms, kampachi finished with basil jelly, and beautifully prepared king salmon were among the standout dishes throughout the evening.
What makes U Omakase particularly special is owner and Chef Luis Durand alongside his team. They create an experience that feels social, engaging, and genuinely welcoming. The energy throughout the evening resembles a gathering among friends more than a rigid fine dining experience. Guests often end up chatting with one another, sharing sake or wine thanks to the restaurant’s BYOB no corkage policy, while still maintaining a relaxed sense of privacy and comfort.
Luis’ personal story adds another layer to the restaurant’s identity. Born in Paraguay and raised in Queens, his culinary perspective reflects a life shaped by multiple cultures and experiences. After a life changing accident in his twenties, a friendship with an awardwinning Japanese chef shifted both his diet
BY RYANN REYNOLDS
and ultimately his career trajectory. That evolution now reveals itself through dishes that merge Japanese precision with Latin warmth and French technique, all tied together by Luis’ signature sauces, oils, and glazes that local chefs have reportedly nicknamed him “the sauce guy” for.
The omakase itself moves at a leisurely pace despite technically being a 75-minute seating. Most guests can expect closer to two hours, which honestly feels ideal given how layered and conversational the experience becomes over time. Courses change frequently depending on seasonal sourcing, making every visit feel slightly different from the last.
U Omakase is the kind of culinary experience where you can show up alone, on a date, or with friends. The creativity behind each dish sparks conversation almost immediately, leaving guests asking themselves and each other, how did they even think of that? And was that also the best bite of your life too? P
u-bk.com
In a city where culinary boundaries are constantly being redefined, Chelsea’s newest standout, Tradicionale, offers something both deeply personal and refreshingly original. Located at 156 Ninth Avenue, the restaurant is the latest venture from the team behind the beloved Filipino eatery Tradisyon, bringing together the rich culinary traditions of the Philippines and Spain in a vibrant, contemporary setting.
At the helm is Chef Anton Dayrit, whose menu reflects centuries of cultural exchange between Spain and the Philippines while honoring the flavors and memories of his upbringing. The result is a dining experience that feels both comfortable and unexpected, where traditional recipes are elevated through refined technique and thoughtful presentation.
The meal begins with an enticing selection of tapas designed for sharing. Highlights include the Kinilaw, a Filipino-style ceviche featuring steelhead trout, coconut milk, and tropical fruit, and the Baby Octopus Adobo, cooked in its own ink for a rich, deeply savory flavor. The Spicy Prawns Alavar showcase the kitchen’s skillful use of coconut milk, crab fat, curry, and chili, creating a dish that balances sweetness, spice, and complexity. For larger plates, Tradicionale continues to impress. The Kare Kare Short Rib offers tender braised beef in a velvety peanut sauce accompanied by bok choy, long beans, and eggplant. The Lamb Kaldereta, slow-cooked in a tomato and pepper stew with olives and aromatics, pays homage to a beloved Filipino
Tradicionale
BY LISA LOVERRO
comfort dish, while the Seafood Sinigang delivers bright, tangy notes from tamarind broth filled with shrimp, mussels, and monkfish.
The beverage program is equally distinctive. Developed with inspiration from Filipino ingredients, the cocktail menu features creative offerings such as pandancoconut martinis and tamarind-infused cocktails that complement the bold flavors emerging from the kitchen.
Warm lighting, contemporary design, and a lively atmosphere make Tradicionale an
ideal destination for everything from date nights to group dinners. Yet what truly sets the restaurant apart is its ability to tell a story through food; a story of history, migration, and cultural connection.
In a dining landscape crowded with trends, Tradicionale succeeds by focusing on authenticity, heritage, and exceptional flavor. The result is one of New York’s most exciting new restaurants and a compelling celebration of Filipino-Spanish cuisine. P radicionalenyc.com
BRINGS FILIPINO-SPANISH HERITAGE TO CHELSEA
SOCIAL SAFARI
What’s Doing in NYC
Brad Pitt & Yoshiki, Chloë Sevigny & Bentley Meeker, Megyn Kelly & Arthur Aidala, Marcus
Samuelsson & Herb
Karlitz, Chad King & Nancy Davis
Couri’s Birthday
BY R. COURI HAY
C ouri
Last year, Mayor Eric Adams helped me celebrate my birthday in NYC. I decided to leave politics out of it this year. I didn’t think Mayor Mamdani was going to jump on a private plane with the Mrs to Miami to help me blow out my candles. That didn’t stop a stellar group, including composer Karen LeFrak, who sits on the board of the New York Philharmonic, and philanthropists Kimberly Paige Bluhm, who serves on the board of the Norton Museum, and Steve Simon and Blaine Trump, Vice Chair on the God’s Love We Deliver board, who was talking up the organization’s Midsummer Night Drinks party that will be held at the whimsical Hamptons estate of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka on July 11th. Also on hand were Peter Thomas Roth and his 103-yearold mother Carole Roth, Body by Julia designer Julia Haart, who has moved to Miami full-time, author Jean Shafiroff, and Joseph Hernandez, who’s running for State Comptroller in New York under the Republican banner. The dress code of the party, held on Fisher Island, Florida, at the oceanfront home of developer Janna Bullock, was Blue & Bijoux, and the hostess did not disappoint in a blue and bejeweled knockout sheath by Dolce & Gabbana that clung and clanged in all the right places. Her
daughter Eugenia Bullock’s company, Savoring Spaces, catered the party that featured double baked potatoes with a mound of caviar from Caviar Kaspia, piles of Joe’s Stone Crab, and two kinds of pasta and salad, washed down with Dom Ruinart Champagne. I blew out the candles on a cake from Cipriani, and wished, “With Carole (Roth) as my inspiration, I hope to make it to 107!”
Yoshiki & Brad Pitt
F1 starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Best Sound. The Miami Grand Prix, which recently brought more than 275,000 spectators to the Miami International Autodrome, has drawn fans from Timothée Chalamet, Gordon Ramsay, and DJ Khaled to boxer Evander Holyfield, and Baltimore Ravens’ running back Derrick Henry. Across the ocean, this year’s TIME100 honoree and rock star, Yoshiki, who has shared the stage with The Jonas Brothers, Josh Groban, Ellie Goulding, Bono and will.i.am, performed his country’s National Anthem at the Formula 1
Japanese Grand Prix. Next up for Yoshiki is Walt Disney’s Concert Hall for two nights on July 16 and 17. yoshiki.net
Bentley Meeker & Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny, a movie star for three decades, is starting to regret her lack of privacy. “The more annoying aspect is the way we’re photographed now: phones, in public, the lighting
R. Couri Hay & Julia Haart
Photo PMC
Karen LeFrak Photo PMC
Steve Simon & Blaine Trump Photo PMC
Janna & Eugenia Bullock
Photo PMC
Carole Roth & Peter Thomas Roth
Photo Courtesy of Peter Thomas Roth
Yoshiki
Photo Aoki Sayaka
Bentley Meeker
Photo PMC
on the red carpet, and the runways,” she said. “Nobody’s doing anybody any favors; there’s no more glamour or nuance to it. As an aging woman, it sounds less enjoyable to be a part of all that, because it just feels really vulnerable and exposed, and then you’re just being picked apart on the internet.” Lighting guru and artist Bentley Meeker, who has lit hundreds of events and galas, said there are better ways to do it. “We have warm lighting, so it isn’t just bright white light. When we do our red carpets, we use amber to make complexions pop and skin tones blush,” Meeker said. “Shadow really does have a way of accentuating the beauty of somebody’s features. More angular light, more color, and more saturation flatters everyone.” bentleymeekerart.com
SOMOS & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has always been a favorite cause for the A-list, with stars including Jennifer Aniston, Sofia Vergara, Luis Fonsi, and Drew Barrymore backing the organization’s mission to treat the toughest childhood cancers and pediatric diseases. stjude.org The energy headed to Cipriani Wall Street for this year’s tenth annual St. Jude Hope and Heritage Gala, presented by Dr. Ramon Tallaj of SOMOS Community Care and his wife, Ines Hernandez. The night was an important tribute to the hospital’s roots and held a special connection for Dr. Tallaj, who shares the same Lebanese heritage as the organization’s founder, comedian Danny Thomas. somoscommunitycare.org
navigating today’s landscape of shifting social mores and the ongoing fight for gender equality. Known for representing VIPs such as Tom Brady, Laurence Fishburne, and Andrew Cuomo, Cohen’s memoir is a candid and humorous account of her most pivotal cases. csklawny.com
Chad King & Nancy Davis
Singer Chad King just released “The Road Ahead,” a four-song collection inspired by his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. King, who created the band A Great Big World with his NYU classmate Ian Axel, told me, “I just want to share more music with people.” He called Axel his “best friend, like a brother.”
Half his earnings from the song “All in Time” will be donated to Nancy Davis’ non-profit Race to Erase MS, which funds top MS research centers. erasems.org “They’ve been a big champion for me,” said King, who was diagnosed with MS in 2007, and now uses a cane. “I sometimes think of my life in two chapters, before my MS symptoms began affecting how I move through the world, and after. This EP was written in the ‘after’ chapter,” King said. @itsmechadking
Harriet Newman Cohen’s Book Talk
Celebrity divorce attorney and Barnard College alumnae Harriet Newman Cohen joined the college’s President Laura Rosenbury for a fireside chat as part of the school’s Authors’ Shelf series. Cohen, a legendary figure in family law, discussed her new memoir, Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds. The 93-year-old legal icon chronicles a sweeping narrative that mirrors the evolution of women’s rights in America. Cohen also reflected on
Arthur Aidala’s Power Hour
Arthur Aidala celebrated 1,000 episodes of his radio show, Power Hour, with a live broadcast from Times Square. The lawyer started on AM970 The Answer/WNYM four years ago, broadcasting five nights a week. “Sometimes it’s a little exhausting after a day in court, but it’s a lot of fun,” Aidala said. “It’s as New York as New York can get. I’m trying to make it different from other media.”
Among his guests on the 1000th episode were Megyn Kelly, Geraldo Rivera, Rosanna Scotto, Lawrence Taylor and Carol Alt. The two-hour event broadcasted live at USA Brooklyn Delicatessen on West 43rd Street. aidalalaw.com
Herb Karlitz’s Elevated Dining Fancy restaurants are about more than food. “Elevated dining is about intention and orchestration: the seamless integration of food, service, atmosphere, narrative, and exclusivity, coming together to create a cohesive experience that feels purposeful rather than transactional,” said Herb Karlitz, the veteran event marketer. Karlitz, who produced
Harlem EatUp!, hosted a panel at the NY Restaurant Show at the Javits Center with chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Simon Kim, Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef at Shuka and Shukette, and Eugene Remm, the restaurateur behind Catch Hospitality Group. karlitz.com
Join me on the following pages for a look back at the season’s best parties.
Ines Hernandez & Dr. Ramon Tallaj
Photo PMC Harriet Newman Cohen & Guests
Photo Barnard College
Chad King Photo PMC
Arthur Aidala & Megyn Kelly
Photo Courtesy of Arthur Aidala
Herb Karlitz & Marcus Samuelsson
Photo Ken Goodman
TEFAF
Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
The Story
Drew Barrymore, Muffie Potter Aston, Jamee and Peter Gregory, and Marcella Hymowitz were among those checking out the top-tier art at TEFAF, aka the European Fine Art Foundation, NY Collector’s Preview to benefit The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) at The Park Avenue Armory. The evening featured over 88 VIP galleries from around the world, including dealers selling antiquities, contemporary and modern art, jewelry, and design pieces. The always fun affair drew a wide variety of collectors, philanthropists, designers, and art world aficionados in support of MSK, which raises funds for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. mskcc.org
TEFAF Chairs included Beth Blake Day, Alexandra Edwards, Mercedes de Guardiola, Joyce Kwok, Kamie Lightburn, Anjali Melwani, Amanda Waldron, Cecily Waud, and Sarah Wetenhall and 2026 TEFAF Design Chairs included Alessandra Branca, Sallie Giordano, Lisa McCarthy, Alexander Papachristidis, and Stephen Sills. This year’s event was sponsored by Veronica de Piante, the renowned fashion house. tefaf.com
Guest, Alison Wade & Kristin Guiter
Bracie & Muffie Potter Aston
Drew Barrymore & Lona Vigi
Jamee & Peter Gregory
Leo Braudy
Nicole Yang, Josephine Legrelle, Av Mark & Alicia Blomme
Rachel Heller & Michael Arguello
Joyce Kwok, Anjali Melwani, Lisa McCarthy, Claudia Overstrom, Mercedes de Guardiola, Amanda Waldron, Alexandra Edwards & Beth Blake
PICASSO & LAM
Galerie Gmurzynska
The Story
Elliot and Robert De Niro, Grace Hightower, and James Franco are all fans of gallerist Isabelle Bscher’s Galerie Gmurzynska. Bscher hosted an opening of her show “Wifredo Lam & Pablo Picasso” at their new expansive location in the Fuller Building at 595 Madison Avenue. Eskil Lam, Wifredo’s son, and designer Rachel Scott of Diotima and Proenza Schouler made remarks to over 150 guests, including Galerie Gmurzynska’s Krystyna Gmurzynska and Mathias Rastorfer, Lucas Bscher, actress Anna Alimani, designer Ammar Belal, Janna Bullock, Bella Meyer, and Magnus Resch. Attendees enjoyed delectable cocktails as they perused the 50 works on display, including rare pieces such as Lam’s Étude pour La Jungle and Picasso’s Animaux naturels (Art Primitifs), and watched a presentation of Scott’s recent Lam Inspired Collection. gmurzynska.com
Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a nationally recognized addiction treatment expert and the new CEO of The New York Center for Living, and the center’s founder, Elizabeth Kabler, hosted an open house to launch the center’s new Technology Addiction Program. As a two-time bestselling author, Clinical Professor of neuropsychology, and congressional consultant for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), Dr. Kardaras has become a go-to authority in the field. NYCFL provides first-rate personalized care, and with Dr. Kardaras leading the way, it is incorporating new innovative, experiential therapies to foster healthy habits and real-world connections. DJ’d by Samantha Ronson, who was featured in Mean Girls and has performed at the Super Bowl, Cannes Film Festival, and the VMAs, the afternoon included tours of the state-of-theart treatment facility and demonstrations of its groundbreaking outpatient services for teens, young adults, and families. Patrick McMullan, Bob Kravitz, Lucy Kardaras, Molly Bierman, Brad Sorte, Sloane Spanierman, Jill Griffin, Marty Gaudrault, and Dr. Taryn Jaramillo were among the attendees. centerforliving.org
Andrew Cohen, Cesar Rosado, Pat Shay & Siena Brolin
Lucy & Dr. Nicholas Kardaras
Maks Ezrin & Sloane Spanierman
Melanie Forman, Blake Porter & Kathleen Quinn
Patrick McMullan
Bob Kravitz & DJ Samantha Ronson
Brad Sorte, Marty Gaudrault & Molly Bierman
Dominick Marty & Erin Royer
The Event
JAY MCINERNEY’S
Book Launch
The Story
Jay McInerney came to fame in the 80s after the wild success of his first book, Bright Lights, Big City. The best seller was made into a movie starring Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Phoebe Cates. This season, he had a dinner party for his new tome, See You on the Other Side, about New Yorkers growing older and still behaving badly at The Odeon in TriBeCa, where some of his first book was set. His popular wife, Anne Hearst, and the digital newsletter Air Mail hosted the festivities. Guests included Emily Ratajkowski, Amanda “Binky” Urban, Patrick McMullan, Morgan Entrekin, and Molly Jong-Fast, among other literary figures. The author brought a car full of 16-liter bottles of vintage wines for the dinner, as he is wont to do. jaymcinerney.com
Angela Janklow & Veronica Harrington
Cynthia Rowley & Amanda
“Binky” Urban
David Kuhn & Emily Ratajkowski
Oscar Boyson & Linda Wells
Rose & Will Cotton
Anne Hearst & Jay McInerney
Carolina de Armas
Cristina Greeven Cuomo
NY PHILHARMONIC
Maestro Gustavo Dudamel
The Story
Art patron Barbara Tober was honored at the NY Philharmonic’s Spring Gala at the Wu Tsai Theater in David Geffen Hall. Tober told the crowd, “It has been said that New York is the Philharmonic, and that the Philharmonic is New York.” She added, “Tonight is also dedicated to the memory of my husband, Donald. In our almost 50 years together, music was always in our lives. Music is for joy and love, and I am pleased to share it with you as it reaches new highs under Gustavo’s baton for many years to come.” Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and pianist Evgeny Kissin delivered brilliant performances of Mussorgsky, Scriabin and Stravinsky masterpieces. Chairs included Daisy Soros, James and Margo Nederlander, and Oscar Tang. In the mix were Lucia Hwong Gordon, Margo Langenberg, Youth America Grand Prix’s Larissa Saveliev, Fe and Alessandro Saracino Fendi, and Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, who all donned their best Spring florals to help raise a record breaking 3 million dollars. nyphil.org
The Event
Tabitha Rhee
Rieko Tsuchida & Anthony McGill
Pianist
Evgeny Kissin & Conductor Gustavo Dudamel
Lucia Hwong Gordon & Margo Nederlander
Barbara Tober & Elizabeth Segerstrom
Aditi Shah
ABT Christine Shevchenko & Alexander DiMattia III
NY Philharmonic Spring Gala
LENOX HILL
Neighborhood House
Schneps, Nancy Cantor & Assembly Member
Rebecca Seawright
Martha Stewart, Honoree Assembly Member
Rebecca A. Seawright, Andrea Stark, Gala Chair
Emerita Diana Quasha, and Design Chairs Lindsey Coral Harper and Harry Heissmann were among the merrymakers at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Spring Gala. The benefit, themed “Once Upon a Dream,” was held at Cipriani 42nd Street.
The evening kicked off with a preview of the spectacular and fantastical tablescapes crafted by renowned interior designers and creatives, including Stark’s whimsical table topped with a giant cupcake. More than 500 supporters of the House enjoyed a lively cocktail hour and dinner among the surreal scenery. Lydia Fenet led the energetic Paddle Raise, raising essential funds for the House’s programming. lenoxhill.org
The Event
The Story
Alison Kenworthy (of Homeworthy) & Michael Koenigs
April Shen & Lisa Ehrlich (of Gingham & Gable Interior Design)
Amy Urban & Laura Casale (of Laura Casale Architects)
FAIL OR PREVAIL BUT MAKE IT BOLD
A IRFIGHT
Unique design inspired by mechanical measuring instruments, RESERVOIR watches redefine boldness. The Swiss Made movement offers a radical way to read time – retrograde minute, jumping hour, power reserve. It transforms time into a precious resource, a faithful ally of adventure. Every 60 minutes, the single hand retrogrades and activates the next moment with the same intensity. To make every hour count.
