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OU had to be from Brooklyn to
be honored at the 46th annual Spirit of Achievement
luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria by the New York chapter of the
national women’s division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
of Yeshiva University. At least, it appeared that way.
As emcee Maria Bartiromo,
the CNBC business anchor, presented the first of six Spirit of
Achievement Awards to Barbara Boxer, the California senator
announced, “I was born and raised in Brooklyn.”
As the cheering subsided, the
diehard Brooklynite added: “I rode the buses and subways!”
Upon receiving her plaque,
philanthropist Iris Cantor, president of Cantor Fitzgerald
financial holding company, proudly proclaimed, “I’m
from Brooklyn too!”
Not to be outdone, investment
strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, managing director of the
investment policy committee of Goldman, Sachs & Co., accepted
her tribute with the revelation: “I was conceived in Brooklyn.”
Judging by the applause, that was good enough to be considered a
Brooklynite.
After an expansive
introduction by Bartiromo, Judge Judy Sheindlin remarked, “I
hope someone taped that for my eulogy.”
Judge Judy claimed to
be a Brooklyn girl too. “If you’ve been conceived there, you’re
a Brooklynite,” she affirmed.
She told about a juvenile
delinquent who definitely needed an attitude adjustment. To that end,
she sent him to the clink for a weekend. Nobody had sent him there
before. On Monday she informed him that the only way he could go home
is if he agrees to three rules: home by 9 p.m., school every day, and
when the parole officer says jump, he says, “How high.”
At that point the court clerk
slipped her a note: “Judge, your blouse is open.”
From all her huffing and
puffing, Judge Judy burst her buttons. She saw by the kid’s eyes
that he was aware of the opening.
“Judge,” the boy said
with a sly smile, “I want to go home with you.”
When it came time for Cindy
Crawford to receive her award, she admitted that she’s actually
from Illinois, not Brooklyn. “But I make a good brisket.”
That was good enough for the
ladies who lunch. They hailed the supermodel-turned-supermom who said
furthermore that she’s a feminist.
Crawford said that she
studied chemical engineering at Northwestern University. She was the
only Caucasian woman in a class of 300. That first day her professor
peered down at her and said, “Honey, I think you’re in the wrong
class.”
“I never had to prove
myself as good as the boys,” he said. “I just assumed I was. Here
I am at 34 and never happier. I’ve been able to put female
empowerment in my work.”
Special recognition was given
to Emily Fisher Landau, founder of Einstein’s Fisher Landau
Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities.
The
event raised $300,000 to support cancer vaccine development at
Einstein. 
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