NIGHTLIGHT: The New York Landmarks Conservancy 17th Gala on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 A Resounding Success as they Raise $800,000; a 20% increase over last year!!! The New York Landmarks Conservancy is One of Whom You Know's Most Favorite Causes
This past Wednesday November 3rd, Whom You Know attended New York Landmarks Conservancy's 2010 Living Landmarks Celebration Honoring: Graydon Carter, Larry Silverstein, Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue, Jonathan M. Tisch and Bunny Williams; Howard Dodson Jr. to Receive Lew Rudin Living Landmark Award for Public Service.
Whom You Know was honored to be invited to cover this event at The Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue and the event was a resounding success: $800,000 was raised which represented a 20% increase over last year. We think this is one of the best causes around and so worthwhile in a city like New York, where preservation is so important. We loved the event last year too: http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/11/nightlight-new-york-landmarks.html
Yesterday Peachy Deegan told you about how she met Graydon Carter at cocktail hour:
You should read that if you want to see how you can make Graydon Carter, the drink, from the Savoy in London. Peachy also was thrilled to see Upcoming Mover and Shaker Liz Smith and Living Landmark, who also founded Fete de Swifty among her other amazing philanthropic endeavors. Mayor Bloomberg cannot say enough about Liz Smith:
We can't wait to review her book too!
Among the guests we were delighted to meet included:
Liz Smith (above with Peachy)
Graydon Carter
Beth Kseniak
Giosetta Capriati
Michelle Coltun
Cary Coltun
Karen Ansis
Michelle Strum
Michelle Strum
Mover and Shaker Charles Ferri with Jason Pollen, an upcoming star feature in Remarkable Real Estate (below)
This year’s honorees are Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief and restauranteur Graydon Carter; real estate developer and Silverstein Properties owner Larry Silverstein; the noted actor, author, producer, feminist and philanthropist Marlo Thomas and national talk show icon Phil Donahue; Loews Hotels Chairman and CEO Jonathan M. Tisch; acclaimed interior designer Bunny Williams; and Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Director Howard Dodson who will receive the Lew Rudin Living Landmark Award for Public Service.
Landmark Liz Smith, who co-chairs the event along with Landmark Pete Peterson, hosted the gala. Music was provided by Landmark Peter Duchin and his Orchestra. The Plaza has such gracious hosts: here are Ricardo Ramnarine and Andre Cepero:
Confirmed attendees include: Barbara Walters, Helen Gurley Brown, NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Lesley Stahl, Elizabeth Peabody, Louise Grunwald, Joan Ganz Cooney and Pete Peterson, Barbara Goldsmith, Dr. Mathilde Krim; A.E. Hotchner, Joni Evans, Bob Perkins, Aaron Latham, Alexa Hampton, Peter Rogers, John Whitehead, Rachel Hovnanian, Norris Church Mailer, Sirio Maccioni, Linda and Sandy Lindenbaum, Amy and Howard Rubenstein, Elaine Kaufman, Marian Heiskell, Philippe de Montebello, Francine du Plessix Gray, Peter Pennoyer, Jane Rosenthal, Mariana and George Kaufman, Dina Merrill and Ted Hartley.
*current Living Landmarks
About The New York Landmarks Conservancy: The New York Landmarks Conservancy is dedicated to preserving, restoring and reusing architecturally significant buildings throughout New York. Since its founding in 1973, The Landmarks Conservancy has provided more than $34 million in grants and low-interest loans, accompanied by countless hours of hands-on technical consulting to owners of historic homes, businesses, schools, houses of worship, theaters, cultural institutions, affordable housing units and community centers. The work of The Landmarks Conservancy enhances New York’s quality of life and preserves the character of our City for future generations.
Every year, The Landmarks Conservancy honors distinguished New Yorkers as “Living Landmarks” for their contributions to New York City.
2010 Living Landmarks Recipient Biographies
Graydon Carter
Graydon Carter has been editor of Vanity Fair since July 1992 producing its eleven National Magazine Awards and winning editor of the year awards fromAdvertising Age and Adweek. His publishing career spans decades including the successful 1991 redesign of The New York Observer, the 1986 launch of the influential Spy Magazine and staff writing for Time magazine and Life magazine.
Mr. Carter additionally produced documentaries including “Chicago 10,” “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,” and the critically acclaimed “The Kid Stays in the Picture” about Hollywood producer Robert Evans. He won an Emmy and received the Peabody Award as executive producer of “9/11” a film about the World Trade Center attack by Jules and Gédéon Naudet.
A successful restauranteur, Mr. Carter’s New York City restaurants the Waverly Inn, and the Monkey Bar are trendsetters and mainstays of the New York City social scene.
Mr. Carter is also the author and editor of several books. In 2004 he penned “What We’ve Lost,” an editorial on the state of U.S. democracy under the Bush administration. And he edited “Vanity Fair Portraits,” “Oscar Night,” and the best-selling “Vanity Fair’s Hollywood.”
Howard Dodson, Jr.
Howard Dodson, Jr. retires from his position as Director of The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in February 2011. He has spent over twenty-five years with the Center leading its efforts to preserve the history of African and African American culture.
During his tenure Mr. Dodson has raised over $40 million to expand and renovate the Schomburg Center and acquire the collections of notable personalities like Malcolm X, Nat King Cole, Arthur Ashe and numerous, important historical figures of African and African American heritage. He has solidified the Schomburg Center’s success as a center of educational and cultural programming that provides seminars, exhibitions, forums, film screenings, performing arts programs, readings, and special events to the community.
His civic service includes his position as Chair for the Federal Steering Committee for the African Burial Ground Project, the Board of Directors of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Vice Chairman of the Board of the Apollo Theatre, and a member of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the UNESCO Slave Route Project. He also served on the Presidential Commission to establish the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Mr. Dodson is an acclaimed author with titles: “Becoming American: The African-American Journey,” “In Motion: the African-American Migration Experience,” “Jubilee: the Emergence of African-American Culture,” and “The Black New Yorkers: The Schomburg Illustrated Chronology.”
Larry Silverstein
Larry Silverstein is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Silverstein Properties Inc., a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that owns and/or manages some of New York City’s most successful commercial properties: 120 Broadway, 120 Wall Street, 529 Fifth Avenue and 570 Seventh Avenue. In July 2001, his firm purchased the World Trade Center from the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey six weeks prior to its destruction from the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Today, he is helping to rebuild the site, having completed 7 World Trade Center, a LEED Gold certified building designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in 2006.
Mr. Silverstein’s reputation in the real estate industry is legendary and his imprint on the New York City skyline is tremendous. He is a member of the New York Bar and a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York. He is the Founder and Chairman emeritus of the New York University Real Estate Institute where he is teaches his real estate course, the "Silverstein Workshop."
Mr. Silverstein’s philanthropic passions included educational and medical research, humanitarian efforts and supporting the arts.
Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue
Marlo Thomas captured America’s heart with her role as the witty, spunky New York City “That Girl.” She is most recognizable today in her role as National Outreach Director for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that was founded by her late father, Danny Thomas.
Ms. Thomas began her career in public service in 1971 as a founding member of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Ms. Thomas’ compassion and her commitment to community have been recognized with the Helen Caldicott Award for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exceptional humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to America. Proceeds from her New York Times best sellers “The Right Words at the Right Time,” “The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn!” and her annual national public service campaign based on her 2004 book “Thanks and Giving: All Year Long” are donated to St. Jude.
Her “That Girl” role won her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmys. Subsequent acting and producing earned her a Grammy award, the George Foster Peabody Award for Television Excellence, nine Emmy nominations and the American Women in Radio and Television Satellite Award. She is also a contributor for wowOwow.com, a website for women to discuss culture, politics, and gossip.
Phil Donahue began his broadcasting career at a Cleveland radio station. He pioneered the national daytime television talk show format in 1967 aimed at "women who think." While considered both radical and scintillating at the time, Mr. Donahue's sincerity, appealing personality, and interest in feminism and humanism provided him with wide success. His program catapulted from Dayton, to Chicago and, finally, to New York in 1985. He garnered an ever-widening audience and 19 Emmy Awards along the way. These included a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1996. He is the author of several books including “Donahue: “My Own Story.” And he is also the recipient of the Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger, Peabody and Best Talk Show Awards.
Mr. Donahue featured women’s issues, politics, the AIDS crisis, revelations of the savings and loan scandals, and audience involvement. His trademark was enthusiastically bounding up and down the studio aisles to get comments. From 1991-1994, Mr. Donahue also co-hosted a political and social issues-oriented talk show with Russian broadcaster Vladimir Pozner where U.S. and Russian citizens had live exchanges on common issues. His success with this programming sparked numerous local and nationally syndicated talk shows.
Mr. Donahue's 25th anniversary was celebrated in 1992 by his fellow talk show hosts who hailed him as a mentor. Oprah Winfrey has said, "If there hadn't been a Phil, there wouldn't have been a me." While the norm today for many talk shows is more sensational and tabloid-style, Mr. Donahue leaves a legacy of grace and intelligence.
Ms. Thomas and Mr. Donahue have been married since 1980.
Jonathan M. Tisch
Jonathan M. Tisch is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Loews Hotels, Inc., the Co-Chairman and a member of the Office of the President of Loews Corporation. His creativity and business acumen have positioned Loews as a leader amongst national luxury hotel chains. The Loews Regency Hotel of New York City holds the prestigious "Condé Nast’s Gold Reserve List – Best in New York" award and the “Meetings & Conventions Gold Key Award.”
Mr. Tisch is a noted industry leader and was appointed in 2003 to the 15-member U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board. Crain’s New York Business named him one of the top ten most influential business leaders.
His civic service includes relentless efforts to revitalize the tourism industry in New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as the Chairman of the Board and Director of NYC & Company and Chairman of its "New York Rising" task force, and as a member of the Tourism Advisory Council of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.
Mr. Tisch’s additional community outreach includes membership on the boards of Tufts University, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Tribeca Film Institute and the Business Council for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also is on the board and is Treasurer of the New York Giants Football Team.
Bunny Williams
Bunny Williams opened Bunny Williams Incorporated in 1988 after more than twenty years with the renowned Parish-Hadley Associates design firm. It became an immediate success. Her stellar reputation in the interior design community is frequently recognized with awards like the "Design and Business Award" by the Edith Wharton Restoration, the “Giants of Design Award” by House Beautiful magazine, and the “Timeless Design Award" from the Royal Oak Foundation. She was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1996. Her work is regularly featured in The New York Times, Town and Country,House Beautiful, Garden Design, Veranda, House & Garden, W, New York Magazine, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, Quest, Gotham, Victoria, British House & Garden, Southern Accents and Elle Décor.
Ms. Williams co-owns Treillage Ltd., a garden furniture and ornament shop in New York, with her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli. In 2009 she created her “BeeLine Home” of unique furniture and unusual accessories. She has also written several books: “On Garden Style,” “An Affair With A House,” and “Point of View.”
Her charitable work includes The Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, The Garden Conservancy and The Institute for Classical Architecture. Her involvement with The Humane Society of New York prompted her to create her own non-profit which promotes animal welfare and advocacy, Tails In Need, Inc.
Wonderful job, Michael and Beth!!!
