What’s Doing in NYC
Brad Pitt & Yoshiki, Chloë Sevigny & Bentley Meeker, Megyn Kelly & Arthur Aidala, Marcus Samuelsson & Herb Karlitz, Chad King & Nancy Davis
Couri’s Birthday
Last year, Mayor Eric Adams helped me celebrate my birthday in NYC. I decided to leave politics out of it this year. I didn’t think Mayor Mamdani was going to jump on a private plane with the Mrs to Miami to help me blow out my candles. That didn’t stop a stellar group, including composer Karen LeFrak, who sits on the board of the New York Philharmonic, and philanthropists Kimberly Paige Bluhm, who serves on the board of the Norton Museum, and Steve Simon and Blaine Trump, Vice Chair on the God’s Love We Deliver board, who was talking up the organization’s Midsummer Night Drinks party that will be held at the whimsical Hamptons estate of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka on July 11th. Also on hand were Peter Thomas Roth and his 103-year-old mother Carole Roth, Body by Julia designer Julia Haart, who has moved to Miami full-time, author Jean Shafiroff, and Joseph Hernandez, who’s running for State Comptroller in New York under the Republican banner. The dress code of the party, held on Fisher Island, Florida, at the oceanfront home of developer Janna Bullock, was Blue & Bijoux, and the hostess did not disappoint in a blue and bejeweled knockout sheath by Dolce & Gabbana that clung and clanged in all the right places. Her daughter Eugenia Bullock’s company, Savoring Spaces, catered the party that featured double baked potatoes with a mound of caviar from Caviar Kaspia, piles of Joe’s Stone Crab, and two kinds of pasta and salad, washed down with Dom Ruinart Champagne. I blew out the candles on a cake from Cipriani, and wished, “With Carole (Roth) as my inspiration, I hope to make it to 107!”
Yoshiki & Brad Pitt
F1 starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Best Sound. The Miami Grand Prix, which recently brought more than 275,000 spectators to the Miami International Autodrome, has drawn fans from Timothée Chalamet, Gordon Ramsay, and DJ Khaled to boxer Evander Holyfield, and Baltimore Ravens’ running back Derrick Henry. Across the ocean, this year’s TIME100 honoree and rock star, Yoshiki, who has shared the stage with The Jonas Brothers, Josh Groban, Ellie Goulding, Bono and will.i.am, performed his country’s National Anthem at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. Next up for Yoshiki is Walt Disney’s Concert Hall for two nights on July 16 and 17. yoshiki.net
Bentley Meeker & Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny, a movie star for three decades, is starting to regret her lack of privacy. “The more annoying aspect is the way we’re photographed now: phones, in public, the lighting on the red carpet, and the runways,” she said. “Nobody’s doing anybody any favors; there’s no more glamour or nuance to it. As an aging woman, it sounds less enjoyable to be a part of all that, because it just feels really vulnerable and exposed, and then you’re just being picked apart on the internet.” Lighting guru and artist Bentley Meeker, who has lit hundreds of events and galas, said there are better ways to do it. “We have warm lighting, so it isn’t just bright white light. When we do our red carpets, we use amber to make complexions pop and skin tones blush,” Meeker said. “Shadow really does have a way of accentuating the beauty of somebody’s features. More angular light, more color, and more saturation flatters everyone.” bentleymeekerart.com
SOMOS & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has always been a favorite cause for the A-list, with stars including Jennifer Aniston, Sofia Vergara, Luis Fonsi, and Drew Barrymore backing the organization’s mission to treat the toughest childhood cancers and pediatric diseases. stjude.org The energy headed to Cipriani Wall Street for this year’s tenth annual St. Jude Hope and Heritage Gala, presented by Dr. Ramon Tallaj of SOMOS Community Care and his wife, Ines Hernandez. The night was an important tribute to the hospital’s roots and held a special connection for Dr. Tallaj, who shares the same Lebanese heritage as the organization’s founder, comedian Danny Thomas. somoscommunitycare.org
Harriet Newman Cohen’s Book Talk
Celebrity divorce attorney and Barnard College alumnae Harriet Newman Cohen joined the college’s President Laura Rosenbury for a fireside chat as part of the school’s Authors’ Shelf series. Cohen, a legendary figure in family law, discussed her new memoir, Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds. The 93-year-old legal icon chronicles a sweeping narrative that mirrors the evolution of women’s rights in America. Cohen also reflected on navigating today’s landscape of shifting social mores and the ongoing fight for gender equality. Known for representing VIPs such as Tom Brady, Laurence Fishburne, and Andrew Cuomo, Cohen’s memoir is a candid and humorous account of her most pivotal cases. csklawny.com
Chad King & Nancy Davis
Singer Chad King just released “The Road Ahead,” a four-song collection inspired by his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. King, who created the band A Great Big World with his NYU classmate Ian Axel, told me, “I just want to share more music with people.” He called Axel his “best friend, like a brother.” Half his earnings from the song “All in Time” will be donated to Nancy Davis’ non-profit Race to Erase MS, which funds top MS research centers. erasems.org “They’ve been a big champion for me,” said King, who was diagnosed with MS in 2007, and now uses a cane. “I sometimes think of my life in two chapters, before my MS symptoms began affecting how I move through the world, and after. This EP was written in the ‘after’ chapter,” King said. @itsmechadking
Arthur Aidala’s Power Hour
Arthur Aidala celebrated 1,000 episodes of his radio show, Power Hour, with a live broadcast from Times Square. The lawyer started on AM970 The Answer/WNYM four years ago, broadcasting five nights a week. “Sometimes it’s a little exhausting after a day in court, but it’s a lot of fun,” Aidala said. “It’s as New York as New York can get. I’m trying to make it different from other media.” Among his guests on the 1000th episode were Megyn Kelly, Geraldo Rivera, Rosanna Scotto, Lawrence Taylor and Carol Alt. The two-hour event broadcasted live at USA Brooklyn Delicatessen on West 43rd Street. aidalalaw.com
Herb Karlitz’s Elevated Dining
Fancy restaurants are about more than food. “Elevated dining is about intention and orchestration: the seamless integration of food, service, atmosphere, narrative, and exclusivity, coming together to create a cohesive experience that feels purposeful rather than transactional,” said Herb Karlitz, the veteran event marketer. Karlitz, who produced Harlem EatUp!, hosted a panel at the NY Restaurant Show at the Javits Center with chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Simon Kim, Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef at Shuka and Shukette, and Eugene Remm, the restaurateur behind Catch Hospitality Group. karlitz.com
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