Big Changes Along The Hudson River
About twelve years ago, the Hudson Riverfront was lined with abandoned and decaying buildings. Today, where collapsing docks and industrial structures once stood, there are now more than 100 acres of lawns, trees, playgrounds, piers, and paths for the public to enjoy. Hats off to Friends of Hudson River Park for this amazing transformation, thus far. Three years ago, we at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, hosted a gala for this organization and I was actually presented with an honor. Again, we were more than happy to host this year’s gala, which was held last week and began with a cocktail reception in the park. Cocktails were served in the Lynden Miller Garden at Chelsea Cove, which opens to the public in June. It’s been so exciting to watch these great changes taking place and we continue to work hard on raising funds to complete the construction of the fabulous Hudson River Park.
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- Another view
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- And another
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- Vanessa Holden – Editor and Chief of MSL with Kevin Sharkey – SVP, Executive editorial director, decorating and creative director merchandising
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- Elizabeth Graves – VP, Editor in Chief, Weddings
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- Alanna Stang – Executive editor for MSL and Alex Perruzzi – VP of Licensing
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- The lovely and colorful flower arrangements were created by Robert Downs Clark Floral Design and the coral-colored linen is from Party Rental Ltd.
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- Glorious Foods catering captain briefs the wait staff on the evening’s details to ensure seamless service.
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- A great lawn on the river.
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- Guests were serenaded by Vince Giordano’s Nightwalks Orchestra.
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- Beautiful crudite
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- Setting up the outdoor bar in The Hudson River Park
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- Who doesn’t love pigs in blankets?
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- Buckley Hall Events staff greeted guests as they arrived at the sunny cocktail reception.
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- This is the carousel at Pier 62.
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- Crispy and flavorful crabcakes
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- What a great spot for a cocktail party!
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- Carousel Works, the manufacturer, did a beautiful job creating these animals.
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- The animals of the carousel include 33 wooden figures, many native to the Hudson River Valley.
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- The attractive gardens of Hudson River Park were designed by Lynden B. Miller, a renowned public garden designer in New York City.
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- T. Fleisher, Lynden B. Miller, and Andrea Mason
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- Serving the first course of a vegetable timbale
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- The timbale consisted of grilled eggplant, zucchini, portobello mushroom and baked chevre with pesto along with baby arugula with aged balsamic.
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- My place setting – and at my table were…
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- Prepping baby arugula with aged balsamic
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- Friends of the Hudson River Park’s logo greeted guests as they arrived for the dinner and program.
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- The clerestory was set up to accommodate the 500 guests.
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- Following the reception, guests headed across the West Side Highway to continue the event at our offices in the Starrett Lehigh building.
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- The beautiful transformation of the Hudson Riverfront has made it much greener and very user-friendly.
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- A very attentive waitstaff
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- Here I am with Sean Driscoll founder of Glorious Foods, the caterers behind so many of New York City’s events.
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- The cell phone/blackberry paparazzi
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- Here I am sitting with the the host of the evening, ABC’s Deborah Roberts.
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- At the podium welcoming everyone to the event
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- Deborah is married to famous TV personality Al Roker.
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- AJ Pietrantone – Executive Director of Friends of Hudson River Park – speaking about its transformation
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- We were shown photos of some dramatic changes made to the Hudson Riverfront – here is the before…
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- And the after
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- The before
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- The after
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- The before
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- The after
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- The before
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- The after
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- The before
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- The after
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- Connie Fishman – President of Hudson River Park Trust – presenting the Public Service Award
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- Lynden Miller accepting the award
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- Roasted halibut provencale with capers, lemon, and fennel served with grilled asparagus and pommes gaufrettes
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- Sweet and delicious fresh fruit to be served with dessert
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- A bustling makeshift kitchen area at Starrett
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- Here I am with Lynden Miller
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- Douglas Durst – of The Durst Organization – presenting the Friend of the Park award
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- James Robinson accepted – project manager for Skanska
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- The Honorable Gale A. Brewer District 6 – Council Member – presenting the Leadership Award
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- Ross Graham – one of Friends of Hudson River Park’s founding Directors – accepted the Leadership Award.
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