Dan's Papers - June 15, 2007

I went to a party last Saturday night on the ocean beach in Southampton at a house owned by Janna Bullock, a Russian born businesswoman. Bullock had recently purchased the house and had spent quite a bit of money fixing it up. Apparently, her plan was to put it back on the market all shined up, and get, well, maybe not eight figures, but a seven-figure number higher than the one she paid for it.

As the house didn't sell right away and summer was coming up, she did the next best thing, which was to put it up for rent through Labor Day. In late April, she got a renter for $1 million from July 4 to Labor Day. And then she figured -- this was the businesswoman part -- that perhaps she could hold a big party on the property sometime in June, which could be a party for friends of hers and friends of friends of hers and, who knows, maybe she would come up with a buyer for the place to close on it after Labor Day.

This house is the beautiful Norman Jaffe beach house to the east of Cooper's Beach, next to a house under construction on the site where, until recently, there stood the old summerhome of Marvin and Patty Raynes. If the idea of this party was a good one, when Bullock got through with it, it was even better. A friend of hers is Peter Beard, the Montauk photographer who takes pictures of wild animals in Africa. Another friend is Thomas Krens, the Director of the Guggenheim Foundation, which owns numerous photos taken by Beard. Bullock asked Krens if he could show some of Beard's work, and she would invite Beard and honor him at the opening night of the exhibit, which would be this party. Beard would give a brief talk, she'd have anyone and everyone important that she knew and, well, even a prominent charity, perhaps Planned Parenthood, the one championed by her friend, Tatiana Platt, to be the recipient of money raised at the event. And who knows? Somebody might like the house.

Bullock then proceeded to get a permit for her event, hired Elegant Affairs to cater it and had all sorts of beautiful models and young people on the premises, many of whom wound up draped over the shoulder of Peter Beard as he gave interview after interview to TV reporters and newspapermen. It was a wonderful time, with a stroll through the house to look at not only Beard's photographs, but artwork by Robert Indiana, Roy Lictenstein and David Salle among others, and then cocktails before sunset on the lawn followed by a buffet dinner, consisting largely of lobster rolls and salads. Among those in attendance was designer Mary McFadden, billionaires Steve Tanger and Leonard Stern, Michele Gerger Klein, Michelle Marie, Andrew Borrokk, Michael Sineknsky, Salvatore Strazullo, Jodie Fanelli, Steven Klein, Tara Subkoff, Jackie Rogers, Campion Platt, Alison Chace, Frances Hayward, Mike Latham and so on.

Now this in some ways pushes the envelope out of the arena of what you are allowed to do at a private residence -- not the party or the fundraiser or the book signing -- but maybe the art gallery and real estate open house. I'd say it squeaked through what you could properly do on a property without getting too commercial. It really was great fun.

On the other hand, we have just received word of another property in Southampton that is pushing the envelope in another direction. It is or isn't, depending upon how you look at it, a hotel, or perhaps the most upscale illegal sharehouse in history.

Here are excerpts from a flyer that is making its way around town.

"The Hamptons experience, best known for its luxury, high-end homes and summer soirees, will be elevated with the debut of THE ESTATE, a private five-million-dollar property in Southampton, NY. Situated on eight acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, THE ESTATE features seven elegant bedrooms, eight and a half baths, six fireplaces, and over 10,000 square feet of living and entertaining space for the most exclusive events, cocktail parties, private art exhibits, fashion shows and intimate concerts for the 'who's who' of the Hampton community. In addition, well known pro-athletes will play on the estate's oversized tennis courts, while the Olympic-sized pool will be a most exclusive destination filled with tastemakers, celebrities and the most striking women in the Hamptons."

The oversized tennis courts made me kind of curious. And so did the exclusive destination of the Olympic-sized pool for the most striking women. But read on.

"Dedicated to providing the best weekend experience on the East End, EM GROUP, with partners TENJUNE owners Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum, will captivate guests with celebrity barbecues, spectacular rooms, VIP hotel-like services and outdoor decor by Pottery Barn."

As you continue to read, you learn that all sorts of companies are contributing stuff to this house for the summer. Besides Pottery Barn's Outdoor Entertainment Set, there will be goods and services provided by Vitaminenergy drinks, there will be chauffer service provided by Cadillac Escalade to pick you up at the heliport on Meadow Lane, the airport, or maybe just to take you, driven by the chauffeurs, to celebrity and VIP events in the Hamptons. The bathrooms will be stocked with products proided by Rembrandt Luxury Grooming and the John Allan Company. And Piaggio Vespas will be on display at the Estate grounds, signed by celebrities to be auctioned off at the end of summer.

There will also be an outdoor showing of blockbuster films every Friday night by the pool, with guests indulging in Dale & Thomas gourmet popcorn, which was selected by Oprah Magazine as one of Oprah's favorite things, according to the press release.

"Dale & Thomas manufactures America's first line of chef-crafted gourmet popcorn products," the leaflet trills. "Chef Ed will create popcorn-inspired specialty dishes. Available in over ten different flavors, Dale & Thomas covers every taste bud, everywhere.

"EM GROUP will leave no stone unturned," it concludes. "Doing what they do best, (owners) Remm and Birnbaum have created a recreational oasis at THE ESTATE, complete with high-end programming and celebrity events and guests who will spend the weekend in the luxury suites as they would at a resort that their friends own. Unlike other Hampton getaways that cater to the masses, THE ESTATE has steered clear of the "party house" mentality, choosing instead to focus on hospitality and luxury for a select group of influencers."

Some years ago, I stayed in Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate known as Mar-a-Lago. This was one of the great old millionaire's estates from the 1920s, originally built for Marjorie Merriweather Post and Edward F. Hutton, which, sometime in the 1960s, became licensed as a hotel. The description of THE ESTATE reminds me off the bat of Mar-a-Lago, except I don't know if they have a hotel license. There is a picture of THE ESTATE in the leaflet going around. What it looks like is a big Southampton McMansion, recently built as a spec house, now unsold, with a great plan for the summer until the thing finally finds a buyer. I wonder what the neighbors think.

How many unrelated people are allowed to live in a private home in Southampton at any one time? Hmmmm.