London in New York

Friday night for me is generally the social sabbath. Once I leave my office rarely will you find me any place but the temple for my body or resting in the solitude of my apartment, alone in my bed on Friday evening. Navigating the work week and divying up the social calendar with Gregory in order to make it to Friday with my sanity in tact is a weekly exercise. As many New Yorkers know, unlike other cities, Friday Night is usually the least important of the social networking nights around town.

Social Life in Manhattan can be overwhelming at times. The volume of private parties, special events and charitable fundraisers is seemingly limitless, especially of late with the NYC Relief for Hurricane Katrina fully underway. What one chooses to patronize is a function of your interests, values, goals as well as obviously your level of access, not to say anything of whatever spare time and energy you have left after working like a typical New Yorker, which is quite hard. For many, not being on the list or being able to get in becomes the raison d’ etre for going to a certain event. I am convinced that the success of certain events in this town is purely a result of a short guess list and then publicizing or leaking it to the world at large only to provide event planners and publicists the option to choose from among those who angle or beg for inclusion. (Photo: Shaun Rose, Alicia Post & Joe Richards of Fuel For Truth and Chris London at the recent American Red Cross fundraiser at Rock Candy for Victims of Hurricane Katrina sponsored by Theorice which raised nearly $10,000)

The week started out in promising fashion with a cocktail party to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the D&D Building. But, it was also Fashion Week, the United Nations was in session and it seemed like every dignitary on the planet was in the city for that or for the Clinton Global Initiative. Leave it to Bill Clinton to figure out how to remain the leader of the free world, a President without borders, wielding more power out of office than he had in office.  An extraordinary volume of partying and fundraising continues around our town for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The most prevalent symbol on the New York social scene has been the logo of the American Red Cross. Even if some believe that "Charities Are For Suckers" and that Hurricane Katrina Relief should be best left to the federal government, the level of fundraising activity rivals that of post 9/11. Ironically four years later as we contemplate rebuilding the Gulf Coast region and New Orleans, there is still an empty space where the Twin Towers once stood. What really disturbs me beyond the obvious is the incompetence of a host of regional politicians who have not made rebuilding the towers a greater priority. As if traffic around town was not jammed enough, The Feast of San Gennaro on Mulberry Street contributed to the sense that everything important was in New York City all at once.

New York is buzzing yet I have remained a voyeuer on the sidelines for much of the past week, sucking up the news online and in the newspapers. I have been feeling somewhat introspective of late and desirous of greater intimacy than the volume of large scale events around town seem to provide.  When I walked out of my office to get another Starbucks coffee on Friday, I could not help but notice how the Sheraton hotel which was location for the CGI was guarded like Fort Knox.  So what did I do? I opted to mix amongst friends in more intimate settings.

On Thursday Night I was invited by friend, Susan Shin of "Shin Advisors" to cover The Grand Opening of the the Sara Tecchia Roma-New York Gallery on West 20th Street. The evening featured Water Flames by Makoto Fujimura. Mr. Fujimura’s Water Flames Exhibition will continue through October 23rd with Artist Talk "A Journey Behind Water Flames" scheduled for October 7th from 7-9 PM. The vibe in the gallery was superb, a great mix of art connoseurs and a beautiful and ecelectic array of uptown and downtown movers and shakers who mixed, mingled and enjoyed the Oriel Wine served along with yummy passed hors d’ouevres. Afterwards, a cocktail party and a spectacular home style gourmet Italian dinner was held upstairs at Fiamma in Soho for friends of the gallery, and I am pleased to report that that I concur with the excellent reviews that Fiamma has already previously received. (Photo: Sara Tecchia, Makoto Fujimura & Susan Shin)

On Friday evening, I broke my cardinal rule and head to FIZZ to meet Mona Wyatt and friends for an intimate gathering to celebrate her birthday. The bubbly was poured, Veuve Clicquot to be precise, and we toasted the sexy and philanthropically inclined red head who admirably used her birthday to raise funds for one of her favorite charities, Stages of Learning. The three additional Bombay Sapphire gimlets on the rocks that I added to the bubbly made for a long slumber on Saturday. But you know I am feeling happy and relaxed when I order the Bombay   (Photo: Dawn Palo, Mona Wyatt & Christine Cachot) more photos

*Note: Look for links to the full photo albums soon. Sorry for the delay.

The preservation and conservancy of beauty, nature’s bounty, is one of society’s highest callings. The task of maintaining/preserving the beauty of our state’s treasures from Manhattan to the Hamptons often seems to be the province of a few of the city’s most well heeled socialites. Take for example, the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy. (Photo: Karen LeFrak & Gillian Miniter at the Playground Partners East Side Party at the James Levin Playground on May 18, 2005, click here to see photo albums from recent Conservancy events.)

The fundraising efforts of a relatively small handful of women form the backbone of Conservancy funding. The several million that they raise annually through a diverse array of events approaches 15-20% of the park’s annual operating budget. Events such as Playground Partners East/West Side Parties encourage other parents, children and families to serve as stewards of Central Park. The Annual Frederick Law Olmstead Luncheon, a virtual cause celebre among socialite women, raised $2.3 million dollars this year. The Taste of Summer Event hosted by many of the Young Associates of the Women’s Committee serves as the official launch of summer in New York City. (Photo: Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Samantha Topping & Gillian Miniter at the Playground Partners East Side Party at the James Levin Playground on May 18, 2005)

The women behind these fundraisers bear a disproportionate portion of the cost of preservation while others in our society benefit far more than their relative contributions. Despite the foregoing the efforts of these women go on in earnest with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm. (Photo: Mommies, Christine Cachot Williams & Nina Bauer & their respective daughters at the Playground Partners East Side Party at the James Levin Playground on May 18, 2005)

It is often said that cleanliness is next to godliness. How we choose to attain balance in our lives and otherwise treat the “temple” that is our body with health and fitness regimens, sound nutrition practices and good hygiene is indicative of or a reflection of our value system as a people. If that is the case, then it would logically follow that the ultimate environment in which that temple resides is of equal if not more importance. One would not place a well crafted piece of art work or fine cherry wood furniture in the middle of a toxic waste dump or land fill.  The case for conservancy and preservation thus grows stronger with the passage of time. Lest we underestimate its import or significance in a parallel fashion our respective temples, the body and the environment around us may devolve prematurely into “ruins.”  (Photo: Susan Shin, Lisa Anastos & Adelina Wong Ettelson)

Society’s matrons are in essence “Mother Nature’s” little helpers. While many of these women could be more easily seduced by the creature comforts of their affluent lifestyles, a number of them such as Gillian Miniter, the chairwoman of the Playground Partners benefits, Karen Lefrak, President of the Women’s Committee and other Women’s Committee Members, Samantha Topping, Nina Bauer and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff creatively invest their time, energy and spirit/creativity towards preservation. Notably, Young Associates, Susan Shin, Christine Cachot, Coralie Charriol, Lisa Anastos, Blair Husain, Adelina Wong Ettelson are women to watch as well.  This is counter to the perception that the beautiful women of the aristocratic classes in New York City and the Hamptons merely shop and do lunch. While I am certain that there are those who choose to spend the days that way, others do not. Their social calling is Society’s gain.

Masculine, testosterone filled impulses may have largely led to the erection of buildings, structures and facilities forming the foundation of the metropolis we know of as New York City.   Yet it is the fabric of our community, the glue or feminine aspect which we often take for granted. Feminine instincts allow us to scale back and more methodically develop, preserve and beautify that which we create. It is at this time of the year, flowers in bloom, warm sunny days on pristine New York beaches in the Hamptons, leisurely strolls through the greenery in Central Park that we should reflect on the sublime feminine influences that beautify our culture. Let us celebrate the feminine as much as we revere the masculine. (Photo: Cindy Adams Gossip Column in the New York Post on May 21, 2005)

The social lives of women of means are the grease that fuels essential New York Charity. Let us toast the women of the Conservancy and their like mined fundraising sisters who take up the calling and creatively put the force of their networks towards beautification and preservations of essential aspects of our enviornment. Their intimate and glamorous cocktail and dinner parties as well as family gatherings in the Park are not without purpose. So, you can have the “Desperate Housewives.” Give me instead “Manhattan Mommies on a Mission.” What matters to these women and about these women is far more than their style and good manners, even though both are always quite impeccable and would make Emily Post as well as Tom Ford proud. We are all prime beneficiaries of their efforts.

Thank you to these women of means for not merely setting a great example but also making New York, the Hamptons and my world a better place to live and enjoy life. You are the salt of the earth. What you do nurtures the spirit of mankind.  My summer will be filled with a little more of the pink and green, and the blue and pink, of Lily Pulitzer in honor of you.

 

Above:  Gregg R. Oehler, Publisher of The New York Dog Magazine, VIP Guest and her dog and R Couri Hay. Click here to see more photos. 

________________

I want a dog, a Chihuahua
When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, you can get lonely
I want a dog

Don’t want a cat
scratching its claws all over my habitat
giving no love and getting fat
Oh, you can get lonely
and a cat’s no help with that………

-The Pet Shop Boys

On Monday night I head downtown to the Spike Gallery in Chelsea (547 West 20th Street at the edge of west side highway) for the Scouts Black Tie *For Dogs* Spring Art Gala to benefit Animal Haven Shelter and the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals. The evening was sponsored by Scout (Dog Boutique and Pawtiserie), The New York Dog Magazine and Spike Gallery.  The door to the gallery was open to a green (grass colored) carpet for the dogs at the end of which was a camera crew and journalist from Animal Planet greeting and interviewing the dog owners. The gallery was tastefully adorned with paintings of dogs. 

It was a spectacle not to be believed. One by one New York Socialite women and their dogs entered the gallery with their pets nearly as well styled, and in some cases even more so than their owners. I noticed a table with delectable looking pastries and cupcakes. I was about to dig in when I was advised that they were “doggie treats” and not for people. The cupcakes were miniature replicas of my favorites from Billy’s Bakery. I was envious of those little pooches. It was clear that this was their Gala and I was merely a spectator.

In plain view at the bar, however, was the friendly orange label with those magical French words, Veuve Clicquot,which if you do not know, means excellent champagne. I am always in the mood for The Bubbly. Better yet the "VC" was being served by a buff blonde girl with arms and a stomach that would shame Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Her face was not exactly difficult to look at either. I said something about wanting to get some photos of her pouring the sponsored champagne from Veuve Clicquot. She had no issues with that and thus gave me license to gawk at her with my Canon G6 Camera and drink another glass of champagne. Anywhere else she might have been considered one of the most beautiful creatures in the room. But here nearly everyone was preoccupied with the dogs. Lest they not know that I was also a dog, albeit one on two legs prowling the room for something a tad different.

I was bewildered by the abundance of major media covering this event. Every where I turned there was a Canon or Nikon SLR in my face. I intended to make it an early evening having actually brought my gym bag to go to CLAYon 14^th Street. But, then it happened. The women, extremely attractive, well mannered and stylish started to pack the gallery, first Christine Cachot Williams, then Mona Wyatt. The parade did not end, so I finished my glass of champagne and did what I normally do, which is take pictures of beautiful people, in this case, with their dogs.  Also in attendance were my friends (Roger Webster, Linda Mansfield, Shawna Enright & R Couri Hay ) from the Office of R Couri Hay, Creative Public Relations, the remier society publicity firm. Linda Mansfield personally introduced me to Gregg R. Oehler, Publisher of The New York Dog Magazine which is in essence the Gotham Magazine of the Doggie Industry. Before leaving I made the acquaintance of many in the Pet Industry. Most notably Kathy Santo, dog behaviorist and author of “Dog Sense”; Heather & Peter Caraballo of The Pink Hotdog.com;and Julia Szabo, Pet Columnist and Author and dog trainer Rikke Brogaard, who recommended that I check out a worthwhile organization that she is affiliated with, the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League. Also networking and mixing in the crowd were the ladies from Leashes and Lovers a singles networking group for dog lovers, who were passing out flyers to their events.

On some level, I was blindsided by the emergence of this urban dog culture. While this constituency, and it is one when politicians and luxury marketers begin taking notice, developed I was clueless and late to comprehend the growing obsession with Dogs in Manhattan in particular. At the end of last year, I attended a benefit for the ASPCA at JCREW and have even had the chance to visit the Woof Spa in Chelsea on several occassions to pick up a pooch for a friend.

I am reminded of the Pet Shop Boys anthem “I want a Dog”, a simple song that symbolizes life in urban society; single, married without children or divorced and returning to an empty home. This is not something that many of us generally look forward to. There are times when I return home wondering what it would be like to be greeted by "Dukie" (my childhood family dog, so much a member of the family that he dined simulataneously with us and we often fed him healthy people food. This was in the 1970’s before the proliferation of services and businesses catering to the pampered pet). We just loved him. He slept in my bed and when he passed away while I was in my first year at college I was depressed for a week. To this day, I still miss him. Not a week goes by, especially now that I do not think of him.

So, when Sara Schaffer of www.dogsarepeopletoo.com asked me to snap a photo of her with “her babies”, how could I say no? They are her family and whom she chooses to pamper. Maybe I should have advised the bartender that men are dogs too, although not necessarily as well pampered. I could learn a thing or two from one of those dogs. Life might be better with four legs and a tail, at least in some households in Manhattan. Just an observation but perhaps it is not too far fetched to suggest that the growing Dog Industry has sprouted to cater to an affluent clientele of lonely New Yorkers (urban dwellers) who have reached the nesting age and replaced animals with the children that they no longer seem to be having for one reason or another. The reasons? Well that is a subject for another day.

I admit it. I have a social addiction of sorts. My social calendar often takes me on a tour of Manhattan where I have the opportunity to meet, speak and socialize on a somewhat intimate basis with some of New York’s real "movers and shakers", or what I like to refer to as my kind of socialites. A friend recently asked me why I even cared or bothered to to promote the interests of and photograph the beautiful, well healed, well coiffed socialites at various upscale private and public venues around town. Aren’t many of these people a bunch of posers who just want to have their picture in Avenue or Gotham Magazine? Similarly an ex girlfriend once asked after I returned back to her apartment after a long day at work and a night on the town, and I was more interested in laying my head on some clean sheets and a soft mattress than I was in a romantic interlude, "how do I know that you can be or are in fact faithful to me if a major interest of yours is social life which often leads you out and about with a camera in one hand, cocktail in the other while you are meeting, networking and flirting with beautiful women?" Good question but one that I did not have the answer to at the time.

The answer is rather simple but until recently it eluded me. As a New Yorker, born and raised (with educational and career stints in Boston and Philadelphia) I have often found a sense of camaraderie with virtual strangers who share my love affair with New York City, even though admittedly I myself had grown weary of my hometown during the Pre-Giuliani era and briefly left for Boston. It began to crystallize for me while I was out covering two events in particular, one for the Municipal Art Society, Urbanists and the other for the New York Junior League and then further driven home for me in a conversation I had with friend Catherine Gordon, a member of New York City Center’s Access Group, about how to best utilize the resources, talents and energies of those in her network to enable arts programs for inner city youth. While listening to her passionate dissertation on the history of New York City Center and how much untapped potential exists to do some great things, I gained an even deeper appreciation and respect for the "social classes" of people who come to this town, adopt it as their own and seek to leave their mark on through volunteerism of this kind.  There is great sacrifice of time and energy without a personal stake other than a stronger community around them.

So there I was recently at the MAS Urbanists Winter Party in the Magic Room  at the LVMH Tower high atop 57th Street overlooking Manhattan’s skyline from a most precious vantage point, camera in one hand and Moet Chandon in the other. Despite the view of the city, my attention was captured at the marvels of grace, femininity and intelligence which graced the room. These were real people, not movie stars. This was not the Oscars and I am not Patrick McMullan……but my camera just steered me towards lively banter with some of the most beautiful and intelligent women you will see on the New York social scene these days, including Urbanist Steering Committee Members Christine Cachot Williams, Regan Lynn, Jennifer Roesner and Host Committee Members Coralie Charriol, Mona Wyatt, Karla Farach and Susan Shin.  While working the room, I ran into Roger Webster, gentlemen publicist of Manhattan’s High Society and contributing columnist to 15 Minutes Magazine, wherein we briefly discussed the character and importance of this organization and the devotion of MAS Chairman Philip Howard and the MAS Urbanists Steering Committee to the quality of this city’s built environment, preserving the best of its architectural and cultural past while seeking to educate themselves and others about the issues that will shape the city’s future. Notably, I also ran into friend Jade Cantor, Publisher Ian Shapolsky, the Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave and film critic Neal Rosen. To see a few of the best photos from the MAS Urbanists Winter Party event click here, or to view the ofoto album with all the photos from the event Click here.

Just a few days later I attended and event I was truly looking forward to for some time, the New York Junior League’s Winter Ball 2005, "Orient Express" at Cipriani 42nd Street. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Kirsten Meadow, briefly said hello to the gracious and always impeccably  & stylishly dressed, NYJL President Cynthia Cathcart. I mean, you really have to love the glasses and the whole ensemble. I grabbed a cocktail,surveyed the room and was introduced to Committee Co-Chairs Elizabeth Fallon and Michela F. King. While making my way around the venue I greeted some familiar faces and was graciously introduced by NYJL Winter Ball Committee Members, including the especially helpful Alexandra Wilkis, a Harvard MBA Career woman who just also happened to design her own dress that she was wearing that evening, and the always gracious Noel Bettencourt Momsen. The best photos of the evening were taken by my brother and Manhattan Society.com photographer Gregory Partanio. You can see all the photos from the NYJL Winter Ball 2005 by clicking here

Presiding over the Winter Ball was NYJL President Cynthia Cathcart, while the Master of Ceremonies was one of the cities most revered and respected public figures, in my lifetime at least, the honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani while his wife Judith S. Giuliani, Managing Director of Changing our World Inc., a national fundraising and philanthropic services company headquartered in New York was given a Community Honoree Award for a lifetime of public service. Awards were given to Outstanding Sustainers, Barbara Willmarth Callahan and Margaret S. Scott and to Outstanding Volunteers, Sarah Hewitt, Susan G. Munn, Elizabeth Knight Sweeney, Jeptha Tausig Edwards and Derval M. Whelan.

Beyond the elegance, this annual event pays homage to what Judith S. Giuliani referred to in her remarks as the "they" of New York City. As Mrs. Giuliani stated, often she would see an urban problem and would say to herself that "they should really do something about that." It turns out that the "they" is often consists of a silent, capable and well trained team of Junior Leaguer’s who have devoted themselves to some of the most pressing urban problems in our city.

In post 9/11 New York City these are the real New York stories; young, beautiful, intelligent, well educated, well dressed people who one would presumably think would have far better things to do. But, instead, while they occasionally celebrate, network and partake of a nice party, they devote themselves to the cultural and spiritual enrichment of New York City.  These folks are my kind of socialites, truly rock stars in my estimation. So if part of "the show" so to speak is to document the historical significance of their gracious speeches, their artistic presentations and their elegant dresses and great smiles or to otherwise engage in spirited banter while I capture their photos to preserve a great moment in a glorious evening then…guess what? Consider me a foil, a complicitor or conspirator to celebrate the age of charity in New York City. Thank god I am a New Yorker, yes lord, thank god this is my city, my home and that people like these socialites live in my town. I consider it an honor, especially if it results in perhaps a few more of you buying a ticket to one of their next events, joining a committee or making a donation. Then and only then is the exposure and my verbose pontification all the more worthwhile.

Apres dinner and the presentation, dancing commenced with the Alex Donner Orchestra and the elegance of the space came even more to life, spirits ran high, the bar was full, smiles and good cheer abounded. My brother and I were able to get a few more pictures of some of the NY Junior League Winter Ball League Committee Members who really knocked themselves out with the level of detail that went into making this a banner event for 2005 and one that will be hard for any event planner to top. I am glad I was there…in my town no less.