Hampton's House Prices Fall Bloomberg The Hamptons housing market is feeling the heat of Wall Street's meltdown. Second-quarter sales volume dropped 29 percent and the median price fell 11 percent to $735,000 from a year earlier in the resort communities on the East End of New York's Long Island.
A Beach Town Run by Wet Blankets NY Daily News Retailers in the posh East End community are reeling over regulations that seem to be stricter this summer than ever. The clampdown started on Memorial Day, with the arrest of Ruth Vered at her gallery simply for serving wine at an opening.
Adam Alpert, Party Maestro BlackBook “I started off just promoting events with my friends, and after I decided I didn’t want to be a doctor, and I wanted to be in the nightlife/restaurant business, I sought out who everyone thought of as the king of NYC night life, Steve Lewis (Studio 54, Danceteria).
Where the candidates like to eat says a lot about what kind of President they'll be.
 by Jonathan Isles |
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 by nachista |
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 by JPeterman |
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I've gone to my farm in Kentucky for the weekend. It's a great place to relax, do a little hard physical labor, and forget about the rest of the world. If you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.
In the meantime, here's a little something that I found for you to read with your morning coffee.
See you on Monday.
J. Peterman
From The New York Times:
Trustees of the Children's Museum of the East End rejected a dinner dance at a rented farm in favor of a cocktail party on the museum grounds here, replaced a five-piece rock ‘n' roll cover band with a teenage jazz combo and slashed ticket prices to $150 from $450, but still only drew about 150 guests, half the number that turned out for the benefit last year.
At the Watermill Center, an artists' enclave nearby, planners of the annual summer benefit scheduled for Saturday night (dress code: wild chic) have ratcheted back fund-raising expectations - and expenses, trying to spend a few thousand dollars less on the elaborate tents and other trappings that are used at such events.
And there are still hundreds of tickets left for the annual Art for Life gala, also scheduled for Saturday night, at the East Hampton estate of Russell Simmons, the rap impresario.
All along the East End of Long Island, a string of beach towns that represent a sort of New York version of the French Riviera, fund-raisers and their topiarists are suffering through a limp summer, with the rising price of oil and falling value of the Dow combining to cast a pall over the party-hopping set.
Some fund-raisers say that it may not help either that the number of charity galas seems to keep increasing each year. "In the past we've sold out pretty quickly, but this year we're scrambling," said Tangie Murray, director of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, which was founded by Mr. Simmons and his brothers to expose children to the arts and is putting on the Art for Life event. While 850 or 900 people have typically paid the $1,500 minimum to attend in recent years, Ms. Murray said that this year, "we're hoping we can reach 700; it's a different economic climate."
Share the Eye:
Flipping for Summer Footwear Hamptons.com Flip-flops (also known as Japanese sandals, jandals, or zori) were believed to have originated in Japan and New Zealand in the 1950s. However, some researchers claim that in ancient Egyptian times people wore similar footwear.
In Season: Beets Hamptons.com To roast them, just cut the greens off, wrap each in foil (or a bunch if you're working with baby beets) with a little olive oil, and roast in the oven until tender. I usually roast them at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or so.
July Sips and Slurps Hamptons.com Perhaps a bit less fun for the average wine lover - but certainly more important in the world of local wine - is “The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context,†the first major wine symposium on Long Island since 1988. Organized by the Long Island Wine Council, and partly sponsored by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the symposium will take place Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 at Stony Brook's Southampton campus.
To: PeterLake,
I too, donate what I can to my favorite charities...without seeking any reco...
Jul. 27, 2008 5:06 PM
Lovey said...
That's one of the worst things about a horrible economy, the arts get pushed aside so people can focus more on costs of living.
Pssh, I'd die without art.
So it seems that people attend these functions because of the party aspect rather than because they want to contribute to a good cause? You're telling me that the semi-well-heeled can't fork over $1500 to rub shoulders with people just like themselves?
And here I thought it was all about the love.
I donate what I can in both effort and dollars to those charities and causes that are the most meaningful to me. I don't need, want, nor do I accept any "rewards" or recognition. If I had more money I would hope that I would donate more. Why, because I have to live with myself.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the large donations to charitable causes regardless of their true intent. As long as those who need it the most benefit, well I've got to say I think it's a beautiful thing.
What does stop me in my tracks and loosen a giant "WHAT!" thought bubble from my head is when I see advertised or read about "Luncheons for Hunger" or "Gourmet Meals to benefit the Food Pantry". I'm not sure it qualifies as an oxymoron, but it must come close. Geez, don't eat in honor of the hungry, just feed them. I'm certain the hungry benefit from these swanky events, but wouldn't it be better to just give them the food too.
But like I said, it's all good if it helps and if the charity organizations have found that if by providing incentives and recognition that they get more to those who need it the most, then more power to them.
To: PeterLake,
I too, donate what I can to my favorite charities...without seeking any recognition or reward. I have found that it is harder (and more meaningful) to donate "time" rather than "money". I've donated "time" to a "kitchen" that prepares hot meals for those who are close to death suffering from AIDS. These people are usually at home unable to care for themselves.
I've had two friends die of AIDS, one an "average" everyday businessman, the other a well-known (gold and platininum records) person in the music business. I'm a very straight mostly conservative businessman. The fact that I stand in a hot kitchen for half a day with mostly gay and lesbian strangers cooking is out of memory for my friends and the chance to do something for those who now suffer.
I think some people in the kitchen know who I am......but it's not about me, it's about the ones who suffer. They're the heroes, not me.
more on the honor rollWe had a weekend home in Amagansett for 13 years, and sold it in 2003 for 9 times the price we paid for it. The in-season weekends became one gala after another, and it was common to have 4 or 5 events to attend in a 3-day weekend. Can't say we miss it.