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| The Randall's Island Park Alliance hosted its Fielding Dreams NYC Gala on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, at the American Museum of Natural History to honor two influential community leaders and celebrate the continued success of Randall's Island Park, a world‐class destination for sports, recreation and environmental exploration dedicated to championing healthy lifestyles for New York City Children. The event
raised a record‐breaking $1 million for RIPA.
This year, the Alliance honored Stacy Bash‐Polley, Partner at Goldman Sachs, and New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz for their commitment to Randall's Island Park and bettering children's lives in New York City. Notable attendees included: Elaina Watley, Jonathan and Lizzie Tisch, Eric Rudin, Fiona Rudin, Richard and Chris Mack, Phyllis Mack, Justin and Jenny Green, Brad and Kate Peck, Dean Landis, Stephanie Wolkoff, Jill Yablon and more. |
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| The evening hosted a high‐profile crowd of nearly 600 philanthropists, City officials, and leaders in sports, health, and finance industries, all of whom are passionate about Randall's Island as the key to providing New York City's children with innovative and comprehensive opportunities for outdoor sports and recreation. The evening was co‐Chaired by RIPA Trustees Michael Boxer,
Mark Greene and Richard Mack. The dinner concluded with an auction with renowned auctioneer Sara Friedlander, of Christie's. The most coveted item sold was a Giants/Victor Cruz Experience package that includes a meet-and-greet with the wide receiver and tickets to the game. Founded in 1992, RIPA, formerly Randall's Island Sports Foundation, Inc., provides free programs to thousands of children annually, working in close partnership with more than 120 local public schools and community‐based organizations in Harlem and the South Bronx – communities with some of the nation's highest rates of obesity, asthma, and diabetes. |
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| The sports fields project on Randall's Island Park began in 2007 to address the enormous demand for outdoor athletic facilities in New York City, a need that led RIPA, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, to reconfigure and reconstruct deteriorating ball fields.
The fields were a final component of a larger island-wide plan to revitalize the park, which also has led to the construction of Icahn Stadium track & field complex in 2005, the Sportime tennis center in 2009, wetlands restoration and miles of waterfront pathways. Based on its 2012 Strategic Plan, the Alliance is now working to complete final renovations at the Park and to provide increasingly innovative and comprehensive public programming of the Island's remarkable new resources. The Randall's Island Park Alliance, Inc. (RIPA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works with the City of New York and local communities to provide an innovative and exciting destination through a wide range of sports venues, cultural events and environmental exploration. As the dedicated steward of Randall's Island Park, the Alliance sustains, maintains, develops and programs the Park to support the wellbeing of all New Yorkers. For more information, visit: www.randallsisland.org. |
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| FACES (Finding A Cure For Epilepsy and Seizures) at NYU Langone Medical Center held its annual gala on Tuesday, March 5th, at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, honoring prominent lawyer, author, broadcaster and philanthropist Leon Charney, raising over $4.5 million. Leon and his wife Tzili Charney also served as the evening's Chairs. Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live fame lent his incredible talent as emcee. Journalist, author and public speaker, Susannah Cahalan was guest speaker. Sotheby's was represented by auction chair, Roger Erickson and Jamie Ritchie, who pounded the gavel as auctioneer. |
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| Dr. Orrin Devinsky, Founder of FACES and Director of the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, welcomed Dr. Robert I. Grossman, Dean and CEO and over 750 guests such as generous and loyal supporters and members of the FACES family, including Leah and Michael Weisberg, Loretta Brennan Glucksman and Kate Cooney Picco, Katie and Todd Boehly, Angela Howard, Alice Thorpe, Amy Pollner Moritz, Ginny and Steven Spiegel, Randi and Jeff Levine, Mary Pedersen, Melissa Mathison, and her lovely daughter Georgia Ford, Carolyn and Steven Kotler, Claudia and Harry Falk, Susan and David Swinghamer, Veronica Mainetti, Warren Lammert, Anna and Jim Fantaci, an elite corps of NYU's doctors and medical professionals, among others. |
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| The evening started with cocktails and a silent auction of legendary proportion (350 items), followed by the program. Dean Grossman spoke of the medical center's triumph over the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Dr. Devinsky kept the FACES community abreast of on-going significant research work, and spoke of Leon Charney's remarkable achievements followed by a presentation of a special memento personally selected by Dr. Devinsky. Funds raised will provide for life-enhancing programs in cutting-edge research, clinical care, education and awareness programs, and community building events. |
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| UJA-Federation of New York brought together more than 400 industry executives at its Real Estate & Allied Trades Division’s Real Estate Executives (REX) Gala to honor Alfonso Kimche, founding principal at North Hill Capital Management LLC, with the Larry A. Silverstein REX Award on March 13, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City. |
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| The Real Estate & Allied Trades Division created the Larry A. Silverstein REX Award to honor Larry’s legendary professional and philanthropic achievements. Presented annually, the award recognizes an exceptional young real estate professional who emulates Larry’s commitment to the real estate community and to improving the lives of others in New York, in Israel, and around the world. The recipient of this award is seen by peers as a leader in the community who exemplifies Larry’s inspiring standards of communal leadership, carrying the torch of philanthropy for the next generation. Alfonso Kimche is a founding principal at North Hill Capital Management LLC, a private lender established in 2005 that provides commercial real estate bridge loans nationwide. During his real estate career, which began in 1990, Kimche has been involved with transactions in a wide range of asset classes, including mid-rise condominium, multifamily, industrial, office, and residential single family. A long time donor to UJA-Federation of New York, he has served on many event committees, including the REX Steering Committee, has joined several UJA-Federation missions abroad, and has recruited new members to the REX group. |
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| Lloyd Goldman of BLDG Management Co., Inc. and Larry A. Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, Inc. were part of the event’s program. Larry spoke about the importance of the next generation of philanthropists before presenting the award to Kimche. Michael Schonbraun of Square Mile Capital Management LLC opened and closed the program. In attendance at the event were Michael’s co-chair, Vladimir Shneyder of North Hill Capital Management LLC, REX Steering Committee Chair Lee Deutsch of National Granite Title Insurance Agency, Inc. and Vice Chair William Friedland of Friedland Properties. UJA-Federation’s Real Estate & Allied Trades Division is chaired by Lloyd Goldman of BLDG Management Co., Inc. and vice chaired by Richard S. Lane of The Olnick Organization, Inc. and Andrew J. Singer of The Singer & Bassuk Organization LLC. |
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| The Real Estate Executives (REX) Division offers a wide range of opportunities to interact with leading professionals from real estate, construction, and allied trades industries, including developers, owners, financiers, attorneys, and investment strategists. Through involvement with REX, professionals make an impact on the real estate social landscape, help people in need, build strong relationships with colleagues in the field, develop leadership skills, and explore issues that delve beyond the New York real estate community. This year, the REX Division raised more than $600,000 for UJA-Federation’s annual campaign to sustain a network of nearly 100 health, human-service, educational, and community-building agencies that touch the lives of more than 4 million people annually. |
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| Last week at Doubles, Peter Cotton Tail greeted each child giving them pink, yellow and lilac bunny ears. Tables were decorated with Easter baskets, coloring books and crayons, and a white picket fence 'guarded' the 1,300 candy-filled plastic eggs covering the astro turf carpeting. The Club's guiding light Wendy Carduner made sure every child was entertained with three face painters, a balloon artist, DJ, two MCs, and three dancers. Some of the mommies and daddies taking a brief 'time out' to enjoy their grilled cheese squares, chicken McDoubles and home-made potato chip swirls included: Mary Van Pelt, Mary Beth Adelson, Margo and Randy Takian, Doug Steinbrech, Emily O'Sullivan, Courtney Rae, Amanda Espy, Lisa Simonson, Nancy McCormick Vella, Jennifer Rolfe, Blair Stewart, Lisa Elson, Christina and Marisa Rose, Kemp Steib, Kara McCutcheon Fic and many, many more. |
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Photographs by Cutty McGill (Doubles); Anniewatt.com (Faces) |