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destination...St. Barth. Once a year, nestled among the charming villages and

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ST. BARTH HAMPTONS

3RD ANNUAL EVENT

SATURDAY JULY 19, 2014

StBarthHamptons.com

S O C I E T Y — P A R T Y B E S T O F — E V E N T S

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D e s i g n e r n i c o l e M i l l e r a n D P a t r i c i a D u f f , f o u n D e r o f t h e c o M M o n g o o D a t t h e h a r va r D c l u b i n n e w Y o r k c i t Y f o r t h e a M e r i c a n s P i r i t a wa r D s

Come with me, my loveto the sea, the sea of loveI want to tell you just how much I love you.~ John Phillip Baptiste (aka Phil Phillips) and George Khoury.

On this Fourth of July weekend, consider the many things that as New Yorkers we get to enjoy whether

born and raised in New York, on the East End of Long Island, or elsewhere. Whether you own a home on, vacation on, or merely visit the East End, there is much to be grate-ful for. I’m grateful for the opportunity to take in nature’s bounty, partake of the many glorious beaches, visit wine country on the North Fork and South Fork, dine in farm-to-table restaurants, spend quiet and recreational time with family and loved ones, and dare I say it, yes, even enjoy the

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Steve Buffone, Patricia Duff, New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton

bY christoPher lonDon, with Photos bY gregorY Partanio & ManhattansocietY.coM

SUMMER BY THE SEA OF LOVE

nightlife. This community is diverse because for decades all sorts of New Yorkers have continued to venture out East. We share in common the longing for a summer by the sea.

CITYMEALS-ON-WHEELSSpeaking of summer by the sea, some of the most leg-

endary chefs gathered on June 9 for a sumptuous seasonal tasting at Summer by the Sea, the 29th annual chefs’ tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels, at Rockefeller Center. This spec-tacular evening raised $820,000 — enough to prepare and deliver 127,725 meals to disabled older New Yorkers. Rock-efeller Center Plaza was transformed into a seaside getaway by renowned the architect and Citymeals board member David Rockwell. Nearly 50 chefs prepared a tasting menu for more than 1,100 business leaders, gourmet enthusiasts, food industry trendsetters, socialites, and young profes-sionals. The event featured extraordinary cuisine, signature

cocktails from top spirit sponsors, stellar wines from no-table wineries, and dancing to live music.

This year's participating chefs included Michael An-thony, Jarett Appell, Eric Basulto, Jonathan Benno, Richard Capizzi, Matteo Bergamini, Daniel Boulud, Travis Swikard, Justin Cogley, Leah Cohen, Scott Conant, Ben Conniff, Franck Deletrain, Richard Diamonte, Matthew Dillon, Jose Enrique, Bobby Flay, Larry Forgione, Marc Forgione, Jason Fox, Yuhi Fujinaga, Michael Gabriel, Mark Gaier, Clark Fra-sier, Stephanie Izard, Matthew Jennings, Elizabeth Karmel, Craig Koketsu, Nobu Matsuhisa, Laurie Jon Moran, Char-lie Palmer, Marcus Gleadow-Ware, Francois Payard, Alfred Portale, Antonio Prontelli, Alexandro Reyes, Ted Rozzi, Dan Silverman, Joachim Splichal, Ari Taymor, Bill Telepan, Silvana Vivoli, Michael Voltaggio, Jean-Georges Vongeri-chten, Jonathan Waxman, Jennifer Yee, Damon Wise, and Sang Yoon.

Nick Valenti, the CEO of Patina Restaurant Group, was the evening’s grand host. The event was chaired by Ninah and Michael Lynne, Laura and John Pomerantz, Randi and Dennis Riese, and Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch. With the help of the beverage chairs, Audrey Saunders (the owner of The Pegu Club), and Daniel Johnnes (the wine director at Dan-iel Boulud’s Dinex Group).

Notables in attendance included Alison Lohrfink Blood, Julie Daum, Randy and Jay Fishman, Drew Nieporent, Samantha Boardman and Aby Rosen, Bruce Bozzi, Mar-go MacNabb Nederlander and Jimmy Nederlander, Eliot Spitzer and Lis Smith, and Suri Kasirer.

Among the many standout dishes at the event were this half paisan’s favorite ravioli, uovo in raviolo, – raviolo filled with soft egg and topped with truffle butter. The dish was prepared by the chef Matteo Bergamini and graciously served to me by a co-owner of SD 26, Marisa May, the daughter of the legendary Tony May. For those who do not know, SD26 is the legacy of Central Park South’s San Do-menico New York now conveniently located near Madison Square Park at 19 East 26th Street.

Citymeals executive director, Beth Shapiro, explained, "Last night’s event raised critical funds that will help us de-liver thousands of meals to our most vulnerable neighbors. Thank you to all of the chefs who made Summer by the Sea a remarkable success. Shapiro also gave a special thanks to the evening’s grand host, Nick Valenti, the CEO of Patina Restaurant Group; to the event chairs, Ninah and Michael Lynne, Laura and John Pomerantz, Randi and Dennis Ri-

ese, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch; and to the beverage chairs, Audrey Saunders and Daniel Johnnes.

Official sponsors of Citymeals-on-Wheels are American Airlines and FIJI Water.

Major sponsors included The M.O. and M.E. Hoffman Foundation, Patina Restaurant Group, and The Riese Or-ganization.

Other sponsors included ARC, Bedell, Belvedere Vodka, Bernardaud, Citadelle Gin, Duane Reade Charitable Foun-dation, Lexus, Loews Regency, Luxury Worldwide Trans-portation, NBC 4 New York, Rockwell Group, Saks Fifth Avenue, Specialty Food Association, Travelers, UNIMAC Graphics, Wild Turkey, Bourbon, and Zacapa Rum.

NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENThe Hearst Tower, the first green high-rise office building

completed in New York City, was appropriately the scene of The Founders Award Dinner, in May. On this radiant evening, one of New York City’s most venerable cultural

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Darren Aronofsky, Arnon Milchan

Kim Taiple, Nicole Miller

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organizations, the New York Botanical Garden, honored its longtime board member Gil Maurer, the director of the Hearst Corporation. Participating in the evening program was NYBG Board member Sigourney Weaver. Also in at-tendance were Richard Chilton, the chairman, CEO, and in-vestment officer for Chilton Investment Co.; Steve Swartz, the CEO of the Hearst Corporation; Yasuyuki Sugiura, the president and CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas); and William C. Steere, Jr., the chairman of the board emeri-tus of Pfizer.

THE COMMON GOODThe Common Good, led by Patricia Duff, is a non-profit,

non-partisan organization that strives to inspire broad par-ticipation in our democracy through the free exchange of ideas and civil dialogue and seeks to find ways to bridge the growing divisions that threaten our nation. The organiza-tion is dedicated to finding common ground and, through forums and initiatives, encourage the civic engagement so essential for a thriving democracy.

TCG 2014 AMERICAN SPIRIT AWARDS The Common Good hosted the American Spirit Awards

on June 2, at the Harvard Club. This elegant evening hon-ored several deserving individuals who have made a nota-ble contribution to our great country in the past year. This year’s honorees were Arnon Milchan and Jose Antonio Var-gas.

Arnon Milchan was born in Israel, educated at the Uni-versity of Geneva, and is an executive producer widely re-nowned as one of the most prolific and successful inde-pendent film producers of the past 25 years, with over 100 feature films to his credit.

Milchan, honored for his part in bringing the critically acclaimed 12 Years a Slave to the screen, received the Ac-tivism in the Arts award. The film provides an honest and unflinching portrayal of the ugly truth about slavery in America and has helped reinvigorate discussion of human dignity and equality in our country. Milchan, the chairman of New Regency Productions, has made many films that have garnered both critical and commercial success, includ-ing Noah, Pretty Woman, Once Upon a Time in America, JFK, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Natural Born Killers, Fight Club, War of the Roses, A Time to Kill, Under Siege, Love & Other Drugs.

S O C I E T Y

Lilly Ledbetter, Felicia Taylor

Jonathan Capehart, Soledad O'Brien, Jose Antonio Vargas

Heidi Banks, Joel Schnell, Lynn White

Alfred Portale (Gotham), Charlie Palmer (Aureole), Larry Forgione (An American Place) Nick Valienti (Patina Restaurant Group)

Shiba Russell, NBC Anchor

Daniel Boulud, Bobbie Flay

Suri Kasirer, Marisa May, Beth Shapiro

Milchan is a world citizen deeply entrenched in the Amer-ican experience. Presenting the award to Mr. Milchan was Brooklyn-born American film director, screenwriter,and film producer Darren Aronofsky.

The Citizen Activism award was presented by Soledad O’Brien to Jose Antonio Vargas, a leading activist for immi-gration reform and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, for his efforts to show the face of immigrants as hard-working, responsible, and very American — even without the proper paperwork. Vargas won a Pulitzer for his reporting on the Virginia Tech shootings, but soon after he bravely chose to reveal his own status as an undocumented immigrant, risking deportation to help put a human face on immigra-tion reform. Vargas has since established his non-profit, Define American, and has been featured on the cover of Time magazine.

Felicia Taylor presented the Civil Rights award to the author and women’s equality activist, Lilly Ledbetter (for-merly Lilly McDaniel), after whom the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was named. The activist was born prior to WW II in the small town of Possum Trot, Alabama, to J.C. McDaniel, a mechanic at Anniston Army Depot, and Edna Smith McDaniel, a homemaker. Growing up with a family that lived with no running water or electricity, Lilly worked on her grandfather’s nearby cotton farm. From 1979 to 1998, Ledbetter worked in management at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, which she sued, after leaving, for back wages equal to the wages of males in comparable management positions at Goodyear. Ultimately, the Su-preme Court ruled in her favor after Congress passed legis-lation to relax the 180 day statute of limitations rule then in effect. Today, she is a tireless advocate for change, traveling the country to urge women and minorities to claim their civil rights.

TGC LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON: BILL BRATTONA few weeks earlier, The Common Good held a leadership

series luncheon with New York City police commissioner, Bill Bratton, at the Four Seasons. Bratton was appointed the 42nd police commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio. (Bratton has also been police commissioner under May-or Rudy Guiliani.) Few were as excited by this appointment as this writer. Given the breadth of his experience in law enforce-

S O C I E T Y

Eliot Spitzer, Lis Smith

Jonathan TischMarisa May, Co-Owner SD26

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ment from Boston to New York to California, few have attained as sophisticated a perspective on how best to maintain security while protecting civil rights and communities as Bratton has.

Bratton has impeccable credentials. An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Bratton began his career in 1970 as a beat cop in the Boston Police Department (BPD), where he was cited with the department’s top award for valor in 1976 for facing down a bank robber and rescuing a hostage. By 1980 he had risen to superintendent of police, the BPD’s highest sworn position. He went on to lead progressive change as chief or commissioner of five other police departments. A noted author, commentator, and consultant, Bratton holds a Bachelor’s degree from Boston State College and is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Govern-ment. He was a senior executive fellow in criminal justice and a member of the school’s national executive session on policing. For his collaborative efforts with American and British police forces, he was recognized by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the honorary title Commander of the Most Excellent Or-der of the British Empire (CBE).

Bratton is still, however, a direct, earnest and plainspoken man who speaks in Hemingway’s English to outline his ap-proach and perspective on policing as the basis for uniting communities in safety and in preserving the common good. Bratton has long been a fighter for the common good. It is in his blood. He has been a longtime supporter of Citymeals-on-Wheels along with his wife, Rikki Klieman.

So here we are on this Fourth of July weekend. If you are reading this, I can see that you have come with me to the sea, the sea of love, and I want to tell you, I want to tell you, how much I love you. May we have that in common. And even if we are common, it’s all good. Peace.

~ CL

S O C I E T Y

Gregory Long, Maureen K Chilton

Frank A Bennack Jr, Mary Lake Bennack

Sigourney Weaver, Gil Maurer

Rich Malloch, Steve Swartz

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