Party Pictures 12/2/05 - From East Harlem to Kips Bay to Hollywood to Brazil

From East Harlem to Kips Bay to Hollywood to Brazil

A few weeks ago, Brazil Foundation held its 3rd Annual Gala at Cipriani 42nd St. This year’s honorees were Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM International Foundation, and Evelyn Iochpe, president of the Iochpe Foundation, and who does extensive educational work in Brazil.

Honorees Stanley Litow and Susane Worcman

Greeting the honorees were Former President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso; BrazilFoundation’s founder and president Leona Forman and Shepard Forman; emcee Patricia Poeta, of Globo TV; and the evening’s star performer, singer Daniela Mercury, who is a UNICEF Ambassador to Brazil.

Leona Forman first arrived in Brazil as a 13-year-old refugee, whose family had lived in China. After retiring from a career at the United Nations, she decided to apply her experience to improving social conditions in Brazil. Since its founding in 2001, BrazilFoundation has financed a total of 131 social projects in education, public health, human rights, citizenship and culture. A dedicated network of energetic volunteers in New York and Brazil has been central in bringing the new organization to life.

Susane Worcman established and runs BrazilFoundation's office in Rio de Janeiro. New board member Donna Hrinak, former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, will be helping advance the foundation’s reach in Florida.

The event raised $200,000.

Michael Warszawski, Flavia and Julio Cesar Gomes dos Santos, Gil Klein, Cristina Markman, and Francesca Romana

Among the 450 attending were designer Carlos Miele, models Luciana Curtis and Daniela Sarahyba; Peter Novello; Iracilda and Pedro Lichtinger, of Pfizer, a sponsor of the evening; Flavia Lana Gomes dos Santos and Ambassador Julio Cesar Gomes dos Santos; artist Marcia Grostein, Dora Rosset and Susie Finkel; Ácia Stern; Marjorie Andrade; Ana Paula Junqueira; Marcos and Bete Arbaitman; Sergio and Malu Millerman; Cipa Dichter and Armando and Ilana Strozenberg; Vanessa and David Tobin, Anthony Gibbons, Flavia Cattan-Naslausky, and Edgardo Soares; Alex Zyngier and Stacia Hachem; Aline Cohen; Helio de Souza; Patricia Poeta and Amauri Soares; Leon and Angela Magarian; Fabiana Wierson; Helga Fisch and Richard Hodosh; Stanley and Tricia Ting; Eliane and Lando Kravetz; actor Fábio Assunção and Paula Bezerra de Mello; New York restaurateur Joao de Matos; Gilberto Klein, Michael Warszawski and Cristina Markman, and jewelry designer Francesca Romana; Patricia Menezes; Donna Hrinak, Maria Claudia Amaro and Noemi Amaro; Roberta Mazzariol; Patricia and Nicholas Lobaccaro; Ricardo Martiniski, Danyela Moron, Ricardo Amorim and Cintia Zatz; Susan Epstein; Di Pinheiro, Ulysses Dezotti, and Flavia and Marcello Hallake, who helped form BrazilFoundation and is its General Counsel; Bradford Smith, of the Ford Foundation, Virginia Botelho, and Ana Cecilia and Sean Fieler; and Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro.

Iracilda and Pedro Lichtinger

Patricia Poeta, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and Daniela Sarahyba

Ivoncy and Honoree Evelyn Iochpe

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Daniela Mercury, and Shepard and Leona Forman

Nearly 250 socialites, philanthropists and business leaders attended the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club’s 5th annual ‘Holiday Wonders’ benefit. Eleven of New York’s top designers auctioned off their original holiday wreaths and other luxury items to benefit Kips Bay. The event raised $50,000, which will support after-school enrichment and youth development programs for nearly 10,000 Bronx kids age six to 18 at the Kips Bay club.

“The holidays came a little early this year for our young members, thanks to the generosity of our friends in the design world as well as all of our guests and sponsors here tonight,” said Daniel Quintero, executive director of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. “I would like to thank everyone, including Brunschwig & Fils and the designers for their support and goodwill – it goes a long way in making a difference in the lives of over 10,000 Bronx youngsters."

Charles Pavarini and friends

Additional holiday gifts by Kips Bay designers Janet Ackerly, Penny Drue Baird, Dessins; Beverly Balk, David Barrett, Samuel Botero, Jonathan Bressler, Sherrill Canet, Etienne Coffinier, Eric Cohler, Helen Fioratti, Elaine Griffin, Kenneth Hockin, Alex Papachristidis, Jennifer Post, James Rixner, Dennis Rolland, Matthew Patrick Smyth, Sandra Steele Schneider, Stingray Hornsby LLC, Gerald Tolomeo, and Barrie Vanderpoel were also sold at the event.

Richard L. Ridge, Mrs. and Mr. Thomas J. Peardon, Katherine Stephens, and Roderick R. Denault

Stephen Elrod, Charlotte Moss, and James Rixner

Mr. and Mrs. Ward Carey

Katherine Stephens, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Stone, and friend

Debralee Nelson, Daniel Quintero, and Jayne Restivo

Randall Ridless, Beth Martell, and friend with their Wreath of Wonder

Top: Andrew Tedesco and Ho Shin. Above: Andrew Tedesco and Jonathan Bressler.

Alex Papachristidis with Teddy

Elizabeth Martell, Andrew Tedesco, and Randall Ridless

Dennis Rolland (left) and friends

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The New York Center for Autism Charter School celebrated its opening as the first charter school in New York State dedicated exclusively to educating students with autism.

A cocktail reception was held in the school, housed in P.S. 50 in East Harlem, with more than 150 guests attending. The new school will be a model program for the New York City public school system, providing students with autism, their families and public school educators with access to high quality, state-of-the-art, science-based educational programming.

New York City’s School Chancellor Joel Klein made a point in letting guests know that not only was he excited about the project but could not wait to push for more charter schools that focused on autism in the New York public school system.

He said, “We need to create schools that fit the needs of the kids and stop trying to make kids fit into schools. I want these kids to get a good education ... that’s what it’s about. It’s about kids who need an education.” He stated that the New York City public school system consists of over 4,500 students with autism.

Council Woman Eva Moskowitz and Suzanne Wright

Jaime Pagliaro, Chancellor Joel Klein, and Ilene Lainer

Guests included such Council Member Eva Moskowitz, Suzanne Wright (the wife of NBC Chairman Bob Wright), WB11’s News Anchor Jim Watkins and Lauren Thierry, Pamela Gross and Jimmy Finkelstein, Jill Brooke and Gary Goldstein, Barbara and Alan Glatt, Chappy Morris and Melissa Stanley, Lisa Jackson, Michel Witmer, Manuella Nelson (the wife of the artist Prince), Executive Director Jaime Pagliaro, Ophelia and Bill Rudin, and Harry and Laura Slatkin (Laura was one of the founding members of the NYCA Charter School).

Mrs. Slatkin told the crowd, “It was a bumpy road getting started, the only way to make an impact is to create a model school and we established NYCA. The only answer is to provide these children with the finest education available.” She said that 10 out of every 166 kids are autistic.

The evening was a success in bringing the workings of this charter school first hand to the benefactors and friends.

The mission of the NYCA Charter School is to establish a model school that will provide science-based treatment and education to children with autism, offer on-going professional development opportunities for public and private educators and professionals serving the autism community and serve as a site for on-going research into effective interventions and treatment.

Jimmy Finkelstein and Pamela Gross

Laura Slatkin, Chancellor Joel Klein, and Harry Slatkin

Madeleine Rudin Johnson and Ophelia Rudin

Jill Brooke and Gary Goldstein

Mark Roithmayr and Kathryn Smerling

Michel Witmer and Alison Mazzola

Alan Glatt, Laura Slatkin, and Barbara Glatt

Karen Siff Exkorn, Caren Zucker, and Liz Diabes

Bill Rudin

Mike Maloney and Peter Gerhardt

Suzanne Wright

Chappy Morris and Melissa Stanley

Lisa Jackson and Harry Slatkin

Jim Watkins and Lauren Thierry

Manuella Nelson

Tovah Feldshuh and Dame Judi Dench

Last Monday night The Weinstein Company along with Joan Juliet Buck, Christopher Buckley, Kate Burton, Thomas Meehan, Arthur Penn, Lynn Redgrave, Will Frears, and Kathleen Turner hosted a special screening of “Mrs. Henderson Presents” starring Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins at the MGM screening room on 55th and Sixth Avenue.

This was one of those Peggy Siegal screenings full of stellar names attending including Dame Judi herself. Also in the crowd: George Butler, Joan Collins and Percy Gibson, Bob Dishy, Nora Ephron and Nick Pileggi, Tovah Feldshuh, Amy Irving, Dana Ivey, Fred Schepisi, Neil Simon, and Peter Weller.

After the screening, the group moved halfway down the block to Osteria del Circo for a delicious dinner and conversation.