Christmas is coming but meanwhile the citizens of the state of New Jersey are already here. Along with Connecticut and Pennsylvania and several other of the lower 48 states. At least it feels that way. I’m talking about the Traffic. New York is wall-to-wall cars. Saturday night at 7:30 Park Avenue was gridlock. Upper East Side streets were in gridlock. Fifth Avenue below 72nd Street was closed for several bocks for reasons unknown to me. A cab driver told me that maybe it was a device for controlling traffic going in to midtown. At this point I’d say give up.

By this week the charity parties have just about folded up tents until after the turn of the year.  Now it’s the holiday cocktail parties. According to an article in yesterday’s Style section of the New York Times, New Yorkers are giving more elaborate, more expensive parties with all kinds of tricks up the event planners’ sleeves.

The holiday parties cause quite a bit of anxiety for a lot of people because they feel like a fish-outta-water. Who to talk to, what to say? The fear is always that there will be no one to talk to, or worse, nothing to say. I used to feel that way although having attended probably thousands of receptions while working this beat, I’ve got used to the fact that I have nothing to say and don’t really care if I talk to anyone. I mean that. To get over my anxiety about it, I simply gave up and gave in to being a lump (who’s always reaching for the hors d’oeuvres). Of course I have an objective in attending – looking for something to report in this Diary. That makes it a helluva lot easier. So now I prefer to just stand by myself and look around – at the people, and the place.

Thursday night I stopped by a holiday cocktail given by Jeff Pfeifle, the head of J. Crew and his partner Adam Mahr.  Mr. Pfeifle has a penthouse on the Upper East Side in Carnegie Hill. Penthouses hold some magic for me.  Having that little bit of terrace outside where you can pot a few plants and flowers (and trees and shrubs) lends the illusion of living in a house on the top of the city.

I was there at night but could see that Mr. Pfeifle has that great luxury of a lot of light.  His party was quite crowded with a lot of people I didn’t know, had never seen before. Aha! Even better for standing around and watching.

In his living room which was brightly candlelit and looking very elegant in the glow, there was a beautiful shiny black grand piano in one corner, turning out the perfect melodies for a Manhattan party, just like you’d see in a Woody Allen movie. I was surprised as I maneuvered through the crowd to it (maybe there would be singing?) that there was no player. The piano was the player: a player piano. And no one on the piano stool. Although there were two very attractive young woman standing by looking like they were waiting for someone. They were. 

A few minutes later the piano stopped and our host introduced them. They sang “I’ll Be Home For Christmas….(if only in my dreams)” a cappella. With voices as pretty as the singers. This song is often a bit of a tears-welling-up experience for a lot of people. Not me; I’m beyond that. At least until around Christmas Day when it seems relevant again albeit briefly. So while they were singing, and I was admiring their voices, I was taking in the platters of hors d’oeuvres, another one of the great holiday party bonuses. In abundance. And so I helped myself. And then I started touring the place.

In the entrance gallery there was a beautiful tree, as you can see.  Millard “Mickey” Drexler who is Mr. Pfeifle’s boss suddenly appeared and so I took a picture of the two who’ve made J.Crew the big success that it is these days. I asked our host where he got such a beautiful tree thinking he’d probably paid several hundred dollars for it at some posh florist. Not at all: came through the mail (?!) And with a price of…I think he said…$125. This is now a bargain price in New York.

For those of us who grew up celebrating Christmas, the Tree still kicks in the sentiments and Jeff Pfeifle’s tree did exactly that.

Friday night Celso and Sondra Gilman Falla gave a cocktail reception for photographer Ken Collins and writer Victor Wishna (who is also the managing editor of Quest) and their new book In Their Company; Portraits of American Playwrights.

Sixty-one playwrights are photographed and interviewed on being a playwright, becoming a playwright, being inspired to become a playwright. A fabulous array of writing talent including Edward Albee, Robert Anderson, John Guare, A. R. Gurney, Marsha Norman, Wendy Wasserstein, Paul Rudnick, Tony Kushner, Arthur Kopit.

Beautiful portraits and really fascinating (and frank, as you might expect) interviews with the playwrights. A perfect holiday gift for someone you know who loves theatre or even just loves to write.

Last Wednesday, JH and the Digital and Andy Reznik, a friend in from LA on a job (production design) went for a helicopter ride above Manhattan with Topsy Taylor (see The List) who owns Helicopter Flight Services. Topsy, who is a personal friend, took up helicopter flying quite a few years ago and invested in this business as a result. I was supposed to go but chickened out. Helicopters are interesting to watch but the single time I’ve flown in a helicopter (from Nice to Monte Carlo — over the Mediterranean — and then return) was interesting but enough. JH and Reznik, however, are with Topsy Taylor: they could hardly wait.

JH took the pictures of the thrilling sights of the city from up in the clouds. Topsy told me later that the haze was so heavy it looked like New York needed a bath.

She loves helicopters because they are so accessible in the city and also because she can get to Newport (where she summers) in a little more than an hour (which sure beats the seven hour crawl up 95). And when she goes to visit her daughter and grandchildren in Southampton, from Newport it’s less than 45 minutes.

Helicopter Flight Services has the only 407 Bell four-bladed helicopter – a pilot’s helicopter operating in the Manhattan area. Based in Teterboro, they fly out of all three heliports in Manhattan doing charter, sightseeing flights, photo flights and special requests that people have.

The sightseeing flights are:  The New Yorker: 12 to 15 minutes at $129.00 a person.

The Ultimate Tour: 19-22 minutes at $179.00 a Person.

The Deluxe Tour: for 30 minutes at $275.00 a person (a minimum of 4 passengers)                    

For more information, call 212-355-0801 or visit their web site: www.heliny.com

Preparing our buddy copter, a Bell 206 Long Ranger Helicopter, for takeoff.

Topsy Taylor on board.

A cluster of buildings belonging to Columbia University.

Yankee Stadium and the construction site of its new home (left).

The Great Lawn of Central Park and the Rooftop complex of the Metropoltan Museum of Art.

Turning the corner (smoothly, no doubt) ...

Looking southeast from high above the Hudson.

Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving New York City and the northeastern quadrant of North America. The Port is fifteenth busiest in the world today.

The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

Roosevelt Island and the Queensboro Bridge.

On the tarmac looking out at our buddy copter.