Catching up

Cigarette break. Photo: JH.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015. Rainy days, light not heavy, but damp with strong breezes here and there and temps in the 50s. Kind of raw and chilly, but it’s November and I can remember when there was snow on the ground by now. Major catching up. On Monday the 9th, The New York Public Library held its annual Library Lions Gala, a major black tie fund-raiser for the Library. This event recognizes individuals for their outstanding achievements in the fields of art, culture, scholarship and letters.

Dinner was set up in the McGraw Rotunda.

This year’s honorees included Alan Bennett, the British playwright, screenwriter, author and playwright and actor. Mr. Bennett became famous to American audiences fifty-five years ago in the Broadway hit “Beyond the Fringe,”  an enormous sensation which also brought fame to Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook. (He also went to school with Barbara Taylor Bradford.) Also recognized at the evening were Judith Jamison, the dancer and choreographer who was Artistic Director (and is now the Artistic Director Emeita) of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre; author and illustrator Maira Kalman; Karl Ove Knausgaard, the Norwegian author famous for his six autobiographical ovels entitled “My Struggle”; and Gloria Steinem, author, editor and the woman who altered the address of all women to “Ms.” as well as pacesetter and central to the Feminist Movement in America as spokeswoman and leader in the 1960s and 1970s.

Alex Jennings, Alan Bennett, Sir Nicholas Hytner, and Robert Carlock.

Tony Marx, Alan Bennett, Judith Jamison, Maira Kalman, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Gloria Steinem, and Evan Chesler.

Gloria Steinem with Tom and Sheila Wolfe.

Previous distinguished honorees of the Library Lions, which is now a more than thirty-year tradition have been Nelson Mandela, Elie Weisel, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorcese. Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers, Kazuo Ishiguro, Robert B. Silvers and Anna Deavere Smith. This distinguished company was also feted by a special performance by Renee Fleming. The 2015 Library Lions Co-Chairs included H.R.H. Princess Firyal, Mrs. Oscar de la Renta, Mr. Bayo Ogunlesi and Dr. Amelia Ogunlesi, Mr. and Mrs. John Paulson, Mr. Steven Rattner and Ms. Maureen White, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Schwarzman, Mr. James Tisch and The Honorable Merryl H. Tisch, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Wachenheim III, and Mrs. John L. Weinberg.

Howard and Abby Milstein. Gayfryd Steinberg, Chris Kojima, and Lisa Blau.

Christine and Steve Schwarzman.

Merryl Tisch with Ray and Veronica Kelly. Louise Grunwald.

Busy New York. Three nights after the Library Lions, The New York Landmarks Conservancy hosted its 22nd Living Landmarks Celebration at The Plaza. This year’s honorees were financier and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone; business executives and philanthropists Brooke Garber Neidich and Daniel Neidich; Broadway impresarios, directors of the Shubert Organization, Philip J. Smith and Robert E. Wankel, New York Stem Cell Foundation pioneer Susan L. Solomon, and Bard Graduate Center founder Dr. Susan Weber.

Philip J. Smith, Robert E. Wankel, Susan L. Solomon, Dr. Susan Weber, Brooke Garber Neidich, Daniel Neidich, and Ken Langone at Thursday night's New York Landmarks Conservancy's annual Living Landmarks Gala.

This is always a fun evening, also black tie. The evening’s host was Paul Binder, also a “Living Landmark,” with music provided by another “Living Landmark” Peter Duchin and his Orchestra. Honorary Co-Chairs were Broadway’s Daryl Roth and her son, now head of Jujamcyn Theaters, Jordan Roth. Special presenters included Timothy, Cardinal Dolan, Bernadette Peters, and Joel Grey who performed a song from a hit Broadway show in which he starred, “George M”, about composer/lyricist George M. Cohan. Also performing was Brian Stokes Mitchell. The evening was the Conservancy’s largest and most successful gala, welcoming over 500 guests and raising more than $1.4 million for the nonprofit organization. It was also the 50th Anniversary of the ground-breaking New York City Landmarks Law.

Daniel Neidich, Paul Binder, and Brooke Garber Neidich.

Brian Stokes Mitchell. Paul Binder, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and Ken Langone.

The New York Landmarks Conservancy is dedicated to celebrating, preserving and protecting the iconic buildings and diverse neighborhoods that define this extraordinary international city. It is the only private organization that provides both financial and technical support for this effort.  Since its founding more than 40 years ago, it has loaned and granted over $40 million to help people save their homes and communities including cultural, religious, and social institutions.  These grants and loans have in turn mobilized more than $1 billion in 1,550 renovation projects throughout New York providing much-needed economic stimulus and supporting local jobs.  No other group is engaged in such a hands-on way in sustaining the City’s rich architectural heritage.  The Conservancy’s work generates employment, promotes tourism, and enhances the quality of life for all New Yorkers. For more, visit www.nylandmarks.org.

Daniel Ryniec and Susan Weber.

Marla Sabo, Michael Braner, and Christina Chang.

James Capalino, Ray Kelly, and David Dinkins.

Iris Love, Stan Warshawsky, Martin Camins, Joan Camins, and Sandra Warshawsky.

John Rosenwald, Pat Rosenwald, Peg Breen, and George Wolfe.

Guy Robinson, Elizabeth Stribling, Mary McFadden, and Edward Gallagher.

Ray Kelly and Frank Sciame.

Paul Silver and Julio Martinez.

Peter Duchin, Bernadette Peters, and Joel Grey.

Phyllis Berman and Stan Warshawsky.

Phil Smith and Bernadette Peters.

Scott Rudin, Linda Viertel, and Jack Viertel.

Bruce Knecht, Jeanne Sloane, and Alex Sloane.

On a Wednesday evening, October 28, Columbia University¹s Mailman School of Public Health held its third benefit at the Pierre. CVS Health was honored for ceasing to sell tobacco products in their stores. Judith Rodin, President, of the Rockefeller Foundation was also honored for for public health leadership. Event co-chairs were Perri Peltz, Diana Taylor, Jonathan Smidt, Elizabeth Hess Williams, and Bill Zabel. Planning to attend are Roz Goldstein, Phyllis Mailman, Jody Wolfe, Olivia Wolfe, Beverly Sommer, Diane Belfer, Mary Lake Polan and Frank Bennack, Herb Pardes, Arlene and Joseph Taub, Robert and Nancy Downey, and Arnold Penner.

John W. Rowe, Phyllis Mailman, Linda Fried, and Lee Goldman.

Rockefeller Foundation's Judith Rodin and Mailman School of Public Health's Dean Linda P. Fried.

Jody Wolfe, Olivia Wolfe, and Phyllis Mailman.

Nancy and Robert Downey with Roslyn Goldstein.

Perri Peltz and Linda Fried.

Photographs by Angela Pham/BFA (NYPL); James Salzano & Noël Sutherland (Landmarks).

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