LENOX HILL NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE
Brooke Astor Undaunted
By A Little Winter Storm Story by Roger Webster
Photos by Patrick McMullan  TAFF and volunteers of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House holiday bazaar gave a sigh of relief as Brooke Astor, in a mink coat and brightly colored silk scarf, and Annette de la Renta, in a chic leather Cossack sort of look, arrived at Sotheby's through a snow storm.
Joan Tyner, Gloria Rand and Janet Brown, honorary co-chairs John Rosselli and Nancy Wekselbaum, chair Nancy Baker, junior co-chairs Eva Dillon and Andrea Donahue, and big supporters Julia Wallace, wearing two jeweled flower brooches on her black Valentino suit, Audrey Gruss and Martha McLanahan, board chair Sydney Shuman, and board president Diana Quasha had been slightly apprehensive when a blizzard hit on the day of their 15th annual benefit preview party. But the event was a smashing success. The sponsors were Vertu, the new luxury mobile phone company, John Rosselli International, and Scalamandré, the fabric house that had thrown a champagne Veuve Clicquot kick-off party a few weeks earlier. The vendors on the famous “Boulevard of Shops,” included Perfect Day in Paradise, DOY Jewelry, Christian L. Andrews Ltd., Quadrille, Baroni, Papo d’Anjo, Stubbs & Wootton, Shirlee Steelman and Barbaree Meaney’s Designer Handbags, Barbara and James Bennett’s Chic Boutique, Gail Partridge and Betsy Stuart’s ELMS Puzzles, Zuzka, Audrey International, and Susan Gubelmann. The Alex Donner trio played delightful music and Glorious Foods provided a delicious buffet for the almost five hundred guests including Dr. Roger Grief, Natan Wekselbaum, Joan Masket, Jimmy Steinmayer, Sean Driscoll, Grace Hightower, Albert Hadley, Renee and Carl Landegger, Col. Julian Riskin, Lynette Davis, Joyce Moss, and Stephen Lovekin. The holiday bazaar committee members included Janet Schlesinger, Bunny Williams, Pamela Davis Van Ingen, Susan Zises Green, Victoria Greenleaf Kempner, Betsy Pitts, Todd Romano, Tobie Roosevelt, Mrs. John H. Sargent, Margot Morris Slater, Judith Zabar, Jenny Brown, Walter Deane, Nadine Dub, Mary Elliott, Judith Flynn, and Jonathan Gargiulo. The silent auction featured exclusive pillows, fashioned from luxurious Scalamandré fabrics by designers, such as Joanne de Guardiola, Diana de Brousse, Albert Capraro, Jamie Drake, Jackson/Aaron Ltd., Nicole Miller, Betsy Boggs, Harry Heissmann and Stephanie Odegaard. The flea market was a big hit. Best of all over $530,000 was raised during the three-day sale to help the children who receive benefits daily at the 108-year-old benevolent East Side institution. Overheard & Seen
 Col. Julian Riskin commented that the weather reminded him of his time in World War II fighting the Battle of the Bulge. Brooke Astor advised twins Shirlee and Babraee at Designer Handbags: “Evening bags should never have handles; they should always be clutches.” Brooke won two doggie beds, in the silent auction, for her dachshunds Girlsie and Boysie. Joanne de Guardiola told how she had brought her twins sledding earlier in the day in Central Park and was wiped out by a kid on a sled when she wasn't looking. Julia Wallace is planning a “thank you” soiree for the Bazaar Committee in 2003. Joyce Moss phoned home to tell husband George that she just bought a $19,000 platinum Vertu phone. One donor cleaned out her closet and brought in 75 Adolfo suits for the Flea Market. |
