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| Looking across the haze of Central Park. 4:00 PM. Photo: JH. |
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| Thursday, December 5, 2013. Bright, cloudy, not sunny day, yesterday in New York, with temps in the high forties, low fifties. Not warm weather and not freezing. It was Wednesday, I went to Michael’s. I tell myself and others that I do this because it’s helpful in coming up with material for the Diary. This is true, It is also a habit, even a compulsive habit. It’s Dave’s chance to get out in the nabe. All my life, I’ve made a habit of going to one eating place or another, be it for lunch, for breakfast, for dinner. It started in college where we all met at the campus coffee shop, where life began. It’s a kind of a security blanket maybe, where the surroundings and the faces are family, a community. All of these places are troves of all kinds of information – about the people, about other people, about local attitudes, opinions to the eternally curious. Tales from the past pop up, and the boy’s eyes are poppin’ while he sits in the middle of it, and takes it all in.
Meanwhile, the Michael’s reservation list, jammed with busy people, out of towners, high mucky-mucks and media moguls as well as their editors, agents, designers and flacks. It was one of those busy Wednesdays where there is a lot of clatter and din. It was crowded and the holiday decorations – swags of pine boughs and big bright red ribbons – made it feel smaller, cozier. Bonnie Fuller was at Table One with eight or ten men and women for one of Fuller’s luncheon confabs where she invites people who are involved in the media industry and actively affecting changes digitally, etc. I asked her why she did this regularly. She said it was a good way to meet and introduce people in other parts of the business; and to learn about what is going on and how it all is changing. All the time. Because tech means change, and media is at the center of it. So now you know. A new kind of networking; a sharing of the wealth. Fuller’s guests were Adam Braun, William Launder of the WSJ; Ed Daman; Valerie Salembier, Asst. Comm. NYPD; Leslie Hall of IcedMedia; Caroline Waxler festival director of Internet Week New York; Jenny McIntosh; Jodi Applegate; Norman Pearlstine who came by and took a seat; and Penske Media Vice Chair, Gerry Byrne. |
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| Around the room: producer Beverly Camhe and her son, filmmaker Todd Camhe; Diane Clehane with public relations executive Dan Sheffey, and Donald Albrecht, curator of the current “Gilded New York” exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. (See NYSD). Moving on: Cornelia Guest with Donnie Deutsch; Joe Armstrong, the Mayah with George Farias; Leonard Lauder with Ron Frasch; Herb Siegel with son Bill; Gloria Steinem with Alan Patricof and Bob Tobin; Wednesday Martin with Chris Pavone; Charles Stevenson; Connie Anne Phillips, publisher of Glamour; Peter Price with Joanne Lipman; Mickey Ateyeh with Deborah Buck who for years had an art, antiques and collectibles gallery “Buck House” on Madison and 92nd; Joanie Jakobson with Mary Murphy; Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel; Barry Diller; James Cohen former CEO of Hudson News; nearby George Green, former president and CEO of Hearst Magazines; Andrew Stein with Greg Kelly of Good Day New York; Robert Zimmerman; Lauren Zalznick, president of Bravo, with her sis; John Needham of Clinton Global Initiative; Paul Manfort; Phillip McTaggart; and Joel A. Rosenthal and guest. Mr. R, known to the world’s rich and bejeweled as JAR, is the boy from the Bronx who conquered the French chic where his precious baubles are on display to the lucky ones to whom Mr. JAR deigns to sell. Mr. JAR’s work is on exhibition right now at the Met, an exhibition sponsored by some of the Lucky Ones. Leaving Michael's, I walked up Fifth Avenue in the very heart of the high end emporiums. The sidewalks were very crowded. There was a lot of window shopping. Harry Winston is all aglow with the massive diamond displays wrapped around its marble townhouse on 56th Street. They’re not real diamonds of course but you get the idea of what’s inside that IS real. Then diagonally across the avenue is Tiffany & Company wearing this season’s faux façade, with pine boughs surrounding the door. And on the opposite corner, Bulgari has a gigantic diamond snake bracelet adorning its corner. Again, you get the picture. |
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| A New Yorker walks by a lot of this barely noticing, maybe something catching his or her eye. But a visitor, what we now call tourists -- something many of us have been formerly or long long ago -- sees the glorious illusions of glamour, and grandeur, and treasures that are universal yet uniquely New York to the entire world outside. I still remember the first time I saw Fifth Avenue as a kid of six or eight. It was beyond words, all thrills. Much of it remains in my memory’s eye, and I coveted it the way a kid wants a special toy. And a lifetime later, it remains as awesome. |
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| Then, back in the nabe of East End Avenue and thereabouts, the Christmas decorations are coming out as have the Menorahs placed prominently in lobbies and windows. No matter the weather, no matter the vibe, there is something else being introduced: light, bright, maybe joy. Good for all of us who partake. The lights have just gone up in the past few days. |
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| The social calendar continues as the holidays approach. This past Tuesday night was a two-fer for our former Secretary of State and former Senator and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Women for Women International (WfWI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of women in conflict-affected countries, celebrated its 20th anniversary at a gala event at the American Museum of Natural History’s Milstein Hall of Ocean Life and honored Mrs. Clinton. The gala raised $2.1 million to support the organization’s ongoing work around the world. Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and Gala Honorary Chair, presented her with the Champion of Peace Award. |
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| The evening’s theme was: Stronger Women, Stronger Nations. Clinton spoke to the importance and impact of advancing the rights of women and girls around the world. “You cannot have real peace and security if you marginalize and exclude women,” she told the guests. “You cannot have decent, just societies if you abuse women. You cannot move on a path to democracy and open economies if you isolate and marginalize half the population. For some that was self-evident, others have had their eyes opened over the past 20 years.” |
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| Since 1993, dedicated to helping women affected by war and conflict rebuild their lives, WfWI annually enrolls more than 30,000 women in a yearlong education and training program. Its program is tailored to address the unique challenges women in each country face. These investments in marginalized and often-overlooked women have the potential to truly transform families, communities, and nations. |
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| And then the same night, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation hosted its Global Impact Award Dinner Gala at the Best Buy Theater, celebrating EGPAF’s 25th Anniversary and honored Hillary Clinton -- this time for her leadership and courage in the fight against HIV/AIDS. EGPAF President and CEO Charles Lyons addressed the crowd of more than 300 philanthropists, corporate leaders, and advocates dedicated to creating an AIDS-free generation. “To date, more than 1 million babies have been born HIV-free through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief,” Lyons told the audience. “One quarter of those healthy births occurred because of the support of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.”
During her speech at this event, Clinton recalled her friendship with Elizabeth and her tenacity in the fight to end pediatric HIV/AIDS. “Elizabeth was a loving mother, a devoted friend, and an eloquent, passionate, unstoppable woman who turned her personal loss into a public campaign on behalf of children with HIV/AIDS, founding this Foundation and inspiring so many of us to join the fight. In the past ten years, a quarter million babies have been born without HIV because of your work. So there is a lot to celebrate.” Julianna Margulies, Gloria Reuben, and Mary Steenburgen delivered readings from Elizabeth Glaser’s book, “In the Absence of Angels: A Hollywood Family's Courageous Story.” Following Clinton’s remarks, Michael Feinstein and his 17-piece band performed songs such as “Luck Be a Lady,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.” The cast members and band from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! also performed earlier in the evening. |
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| Elizabeth Glaser cofounded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation in 1988 with her friends Susie Zeegen and Susan DeLaurentis, shortly after losing her daughter Ariel to AIDS. Elizabeth unknowingly contracted the disease from a blood transfusion during her pregnancy and also passed the disease to her son, Jake in utero. Cofounder Susan DeLaurentis spoke and introduced a video of Sec. Clinton with Elizabeth titled Two Women Two Mothers Two Leaders. Elizabeth’s surviving son Jake also spoke on stage about his mother and the incredible legacy of her foundation, which has reached more than 17 million women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. |
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| Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is a global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV/AIDS, and has reached more than 17 million women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. It currently supports more than 6,800 sites in 15 countries to implement prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute global advocacy activities that bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org. |
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Contact DPC here. |