9.25.07: A beautiful late September day

A beautiful late September day

Empire State Building at dawn. Photo: JH.

A beautiful late September day; the 101st anniversary of the birth of chronicler of the now ancient Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

New York on the East Side of town was in a dither and a gridlock thanks to the many visitors here for United Nations week. For some reason, no doubt having to do with security, many of the side streets were closed off to regular traffic. This UN-induced gridlock is not new obviously, but it wasn’t always. It went on well into the evening. I went down to Bryant Park – ordinarily a 12 minute ride and a $12 fare. Last night it was an hour and the fare was $20. Despite the fare it’s worse for the cabbies who don’t make any money stuck in traffic.

Whoever organizes the traffic in the City of New York HAS FAILED. Not just this week, but every day every week. There are so many rules for when you can and/or cannot turn right, turn left that everyone is stuck. There are also more cars then ever. Between that fact, and the double parking of limousines and trucks everywhere, and the real estate construction which is allowed to close off parts of lanes of these very busy streets, we seem to be helpless victims of ourselves.

Director’s Council of the Museum of the City of New York's annual Fall gala, “New York After Dark,” at the Bryant Park Grill (l. to r.): Lara Meiland, Mark Gilbertson, and Zani Gugelmann; Jane Dymchenco, Christine Curvin, and Sarah Brindle.

Over at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera was holding its opening night with a new production of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” starring Marcello Giordani and Natalie Dessay conducted by Maestro James Levine, for a 6:30 curtain. Photographers were advised to be at the red carpet by 4:30 or 5 in order to catch the arrivals at 5:30 or 6. The reason for the very early curtain was to accommodate the large crowd who would be attending the black tie dinner afterwards. The opera with intermission ran three and a half hours which meant no one would be at table to eat until ten-thirty. It sounds very civilized but these days in New York with the long work hours that people put in, it is challenging for the organizers as well as the guests.

Down at the Bryant Park Grill behind the New York Public Library, where I was headed in my hour-long journey, the Director’s Council of the Museum of the City of New York was holding its annual Fall gala, “New York After Dark,” a cocktail reception, buffet dinner and dancing.

This gala is usually held at the Museum, sixty blocks up the avenue at 104th Street but this year the museum is undergoing some kind of construction. It’s always a big blast of what for years was known as the “junior group” of New York society. Junior no-more perhaps, for many of the founding forces but still a big vigorous group. There were 500 guests. Mary Hilliard was there shooting for Vogue. They raised $304,000. The party was called for 7 to 10 (dress: “after dark; no ties”).

This years’ co-chairs were Sara Ayres, Jennifer Creel, Lauren Duff, Valesca Guerrand-Hermes, Celerie Kemble, Heather Mnuchin, Jill Roosevelt, Kathy Thomas, Kristina Stewart-Ward, Tara Rockefeller, Eleanor Ylvisaker, and Marisa Brown. The evening was sponsored by Leviev Jewelry (who are opening their first big New York store on Madison Avenue in the 60s) and Milly by the popular fashion designer Michelle Smith who dressed the lovely Celerie Kemble, Cristina Cuomo, Heather Mnuchin, Cynthia Lufkin, Sara Ayres, Caroline Dean, Debbie Bancroft, Allison Rockefeller, Rachel Hovnanian, and Allison Aston, amongst others.