Beachcomber, August 31

It’s been a while since I’ve attended a Southampton Village Board meeting, but with all the chatter about the potential park and closing of Pond Lane, I just couldn’t resist. I can’t believe how many people have called, texted or emailed me about this project.

Last Tuesday, the Lake Agawam Conservancy group presented a plan that includes a beautiful park on two pieces of property from the old Wyman estate. There are multiple facets to the plan, including the Community Preservation Fund purchasing one of the two pieces of property.

However, one of the trustees did inform everyone before the presentation was over that using those funds requires that Pond Lane be closed. Herein lies the controversy. There was also talk about a bio-swale and how dangerous Pond Lane is for both pedestrians and vehicles.

There are many in the community who think the park would be lovely but do not feel the need to close the road, especially given our current traffic issues in the village. The chance to voice your opinion is coming up soon. There will be a trustees meeting where the public will be allowed to respond to this plan on September 14. The meeting will be held at the Cultural Center on Pond Lane to accommodate the anticipated crowds. Make sure you attend the meeting so you can be heard.

Thursday night, I went over to Sebonack Golf Club for the annual Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End cocktail party. This is a wonderful event and has one of the best silent auctions I have ever seen. As always, the club put out a delicious array of nibbles for the guests.

This is an amazing organization — they work with children and adults with various issues and teach them how to ride and care for the horses. From a physical perspective, the horses’ movement has a dynamic effect on the riders’ bodies, stimulating the riders in a positive way. It also allows for a sensory environment between rider and horse, as well as the sounds encountered during a ride.

We were all touched by Jean Weinberg’s speech about the benefits that her son is receiving from riding. Through riding, he has activated his core and has improved his muscles.

Seen enjoying the night: Katy and Greg Carey, Oscar Molina, Nancy Stone, Kevin Maple, Nancy Grady, Tami Maines, Becky Gaynor, Cameron Gaynor and Abigail Donahue, Stacey and Kevin Kotler, Chris Ritchey, Cynthia Sulzberger, Barbara Borg, Diana, Blair and Denis Shiel, Diane Segreti, Amalie Bandelier, Kyle Czepiel, Danielle Gingerich, and program director Karen Bocksel and husband Robert.

The next stop of the night was the lovely home of Amy and Gary Green in Bridgehampton for the inaugural Footprint of Life Gala. The jungle-themed soiree was to benefit the work to preserve and protect the natural world and to support conservation programs across Africa.

It was unfortunate that while the live auction was going on, the crowd really did not quiet down, making it almost impossible for the auctioneer to garner bids from the crowd. But he did persevere and managed to raise some serious money. I really like the work that this organization does and was glad that they held their event out east this year.

Seen: Lydia and Rudy Touzet, Jean Shafiroff, Erin Lichy, Ramona Singer, Oli and Sasha Benz, Lynn Scotti, Clayton Thomas, Dr. Christina Rham, Jan Blomqvist, Andre Berto, Julia Haart, Elton Ilirjani, Sydney Sadick, Grace Vanderwaal, and Rebecca Seawright.

The first stop of the day on Saturday was the Peter Marino Art Foundation for the Bob Colacello talk and book signing. The book, “New York Memories,” is fashioned on the idea of things Bob has forgotten about New York. Elena Ochoa Foster, founder of Ivorypress, the publishing house that specializes in artists’ books, joined Bob.

Elena interviewed Bob, who told of his time in New York City and working at Interview magazine, which was founded by Andy Warhol in 1969. Bob also read several excerpts from the book and told the audience of some of the interesting people of the day that he had the pleasure of meeting. The talk went by far too quickly, as we could have listened to his stories for hours.

Seen enjoying the day: Lord Norman Foster, Judy Hadlock, Lally Weymouth, R. Couri Hay, Patrick Cassidy, Vito Schnabel, Francesco Clemente, Zak Posen, Nancy Robertson, Pepe and Emilia Fanjul, Jo Carole Lauder, Mary Slattery, Judy and Larry Sullivan, Ellen Welsh, Simone and David Levinson, Isabelle Marino, Siamak Samii, Danielle Ganek, Carol Saper, Cricket and Richard Burns, Priscilla Rattazzi, and Cornelia Guest.

I was so happy to see the rain stop and the sun come out just in time for the Southampton Fresh Air Home’s Concours d’Elegance. Rome Arnold has worked tirelessly over the summer pulling together an incredible collection of antique cars to be on display for the viewing public.

I really enjoyed all the beautiful cars, especially the old Jaguar collection, which showed the evolution of the car over several years. My favorite car, though, was a racing green antique MG — it reminded me of the one my grandmother used to drive us around in.

In several of the buildings there were bars set up with refreshments and shopping for those who were in the mood. Delaney from Thyme and Again did an excellent job on the passed hors d’oeuvres.

Seen admiring the cars: Ann Grimm, Isolde O’Hanlon, Jennifer and Eileen Powers, Cathy and Malcolm Price, Lisa Arnold, Michele and Toni Sacconaghi, Tom Naro, Fire Chief Manny Escobar, Eric Halsey, Liza Pulitzer, Mary Mattingly and Steve Reese, Tom Samet, Raya and Clif Knight, Barbara and Alan Glatt, Carol and Jim Cavaluzzi, Angie and Siamak Samii, Mary Lou Swift, Christl and Kenny Meszkat, Carole and David Taunt, and Sandra and Tom Dombkowski.

That evening, it was off to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons for the annual Blue Dream Summer Gala. Guests were greeted by Father Alex as they gathered at The Muses for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before making their way into the stunningly decorated Sperry tent, which was designed by Studio3. The dinner was catered by Creative Edge Parties and was outstanding.

Father Constantine was the emcee for the night and presented a short film to introduce the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, as well as one for Project Purple, which works to defeat pancreatic cancer. This night, the church donated to these two organizations, as well as several other local charities, to the tune of $500,000 — well done. It was truly inspiring.

The band played Greek music, followed by a performance by Kalomira, who represented Greece in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. She had the guests out on the dance floor enjoying the rest of the evening. What a fun-filled night! Hats off to co-chairs Olga Karloutsos, Karen Mehiel and Angela Giannopoulos for creating this amazing party.

Seen enjoying the night: Susan Bordeaux and Howard Lorber, Bruce Mosler, Margo and John Catsimatidis, Cathy and George Buxton, Vicky and George Poulos, Coleen and John Poulos, Melanie and John Wambold, Marianne and Mark Epley, Anne, John, Eugenia and Effie Doscas, Ann and Edward Siems, Sue and Ray Larkin, Carol and Brian Genson, Joe Markovich, Laura Flug, Alma Demetropolis, and Maria Athanasiou and George Axiotis.

This Sunday, the place to be is under the main tents at the Hampton Classic for the Grand Prix. Hope to see you there!