South O' the Highway (and the North too)

Artist and Hamptons resident Ivan Jenson was on hand at the National Arts Club last Friday for an auction preview for www.MansionArt.com. The artist spontaneously drew portraits for guests including Michelle Marie Heinemann, Sandra Navidi, Sharon Bush, Aldon James, Elaine Sargent, Michele Gerber Klein and Roger Webster.

* * *

On Sunday, November 25, the semi-annual auction at the Vered Gallery in East Hampton will benefit the trauma victims of the conflict in Sderot, Israel. Supporters expected to bid include Billy Joel, legal eagle Barry Slotnick, real estate Mogul Howard Lorber and Alan and Riva Slifka.

* * *

In The Humane Society of the US new public service announcement to stop dog fighting, East Hampton's Russell Simmons takes a stand, stating "There is nothing slick, cool, or glamorous about dog fighting. It hurts the human spirit as much as it hurts the animals."

* * *

Artist Jonathan Adler has closed his long-running East Hampton operation indefinitely. Signs on the door of his East Hampton gallery thank friends for their patronage and invite them to visit his new store in Greenwich Village. Buzz on the closing is that buildings in East Hampton's rents have gone so high that independent artists aren't able to keep up.

* * *

Shelter Island's Andre Balazs, hotelier extraordinaire, is courting investors to buy half of his hotel portfolio. He has retained brokerage firm Eastdil Secured to sell Hotel QT of New York and the three Standard Hotels in Los Angeles, Hollywood and Miami. Andre claims to be close to concluding a deal with a buyer, but he wouldn't say whom. As a condition of the sale, Andre Balazs Properties would continue to manage and operate the hotels, as there is now more money in running hotels than in owning them. Balazs, a globetrotting entrepreneur, is also currently developing another Standard Hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

* * *

On Sunday, November 24, Hunt Slonem will be signing his newly released book, Pleasure Palaces, at the Vered Gallery in East Hampton from 6 to 8 p.m. The artist, who has several pleasure pads of his own including a home in the Hudson Valley, a loft overlooking the Hudson River and a plantation in Louisiana, paints the extraordinary creatures that he finds fascinating.

* * *

The 18th Annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards, a celebration of women who have changed the world, brought together an impressive array of living legends in New York last week at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Award recipients ran the gamut from author Toni Morrison, who won the award for lifetime achievement, to 11-year-old actress Abigail Breslin, Glamour's first-ever Girl of the Year. Hamptonite Donna Karan was among the many impressive women in attendance, including Mariah Carey, Elizabeth Edwards, Jennifer Garner, Alice Waters, and Mariane Pearl.

* * *

Martin Scorsese is one of many parents pushing the real estate bubble to the outer boroughs. The director, who purchased his own $12.5 million townhouse on the Upper East Side last week, has also now purchased a condo in the hip hood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for his eldest daughter, Catherine, who is co-listed with her dad on the title of a one-bedroom, 11/2-bath loft-style duplex measuring almost 1,300 square feet. It features a 600-square-foot private garden and a dramatic living room with a 17-foot ceiling, and $799,000 asking price.

* * *

Music man Scott Frankel and Tony winner Christine Ebersole have jumped across the pond to put East Hampton's famous homebodies on the stage of the West End for the London production of Grey Gardens, the musical. The quirky cousin of the late Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her East Hampton house saga have been in the London limelight lately due to the release of the original Maysles documentary on the Beales. British fashion magazines have been picking up on the style of the story, and putting the Beales back on the map overseas.

* * *

Dr. Alexander Covey, director of East End Laser Care, has received congratulations from friends and colleagues for having been selected by the Castle Connolly Guide 2007 as one of the Top Doctors in New York, based on an extensive survey of over 12,000 doctors and hospital leaders. This is the fifth consecutive year he has received this prestigious award. Dr. Covey specializes in cosmetic and laser surgery with offices located in Southampton, Center Moriches, and Manhattan.

* * *

East Hampton boutique Blue & Cream has opened its doors at its now location on the Bowery in New York. Nestled next to the Lower East Side, the high-end street style store kicked off its opening with a packed house of guests at its party last Friday.

Back to Contents