sag Harbor Archives - Page 9 of 11

4th Annual Diversity Affluence Brunch and Awards in Sag Harbor

Sag Harbor, NY: Hamptons Happenings: I had the pleasure to attend the 4th annual Diversity Affluence Brunch & Awards on Sunday, July 28th, 2013 to a packed room at B. Smith’s Restaurant in Sag Harbor, NY. The by invitation only Brunch & Awards recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of people from diverse backgrounds who have achieved success within their respective industries and yet take their success to the next level by progressing and influencing diversity and multicultural business agendas and positive social impact in the world.

The Hamptons event was a hit as Marriott International, Barclays, Baume & Mercier and Estée Lauder celebrated the 4th annual Diversity Affluence Brunch & awards honoring supermodel Alek Wek and other leaders, achievers and pioneers for their social impact work.

Over 125 hand selected affluent African American guests including Valentino Carlotti, John Utendahl, Anthony Spikes, Erana Stennett, actress Tichina Arnold, Booz Allen VP Reginald Van Lee, Jocelyn Allen, Michael Robinson, Susan Akkad, Emil Wilbekin, Earl Graves and other venture capitalists, investment bankers, entertainment, media and tech industry executives attended the brunch to honor four prominent leaders, achievers and pioneers of diversity including Robert F. Smith, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners, Alek Wek, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Author & Supermodel, and Aaron P. Dworkin, Founder & President of the Sphinx Organization.

This year a corporate honoree, M• A• C Cosmetics was added. “M•A•C Cosmetics is richly deserving of this award for their unwavering commitment in celebrating “the beauty of everyone.” Their philanthropic & social impact passions influence positive change & positive outcomes. They make the world take notice”, says Andrea Hoffman, Founder and CEO of Diversity Affluence. John Demsey, Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc attended on behalf of M•A•C Cosmetics, “diversity is very important to MAC and our motto is all ages, all races all sexes“…

This year’s event began with an intimate Moet & Chandon Champagne toast given by Andrea Hoffman aboard the 42 ft Wider Yacht moored alongside B. Smith’s for the honorees and sponsors Marriott International, Barclays, The Estée Lauder Companies, Baume & Mercier, Belvedere Vodka, Black Gives Back and Collective.

The cocktail hour featured passed assorted hors d’oeurve and specialty libations by Belvedere Vodka. Each guest was gifted with a stunning signature black M•A•C Cosmetics box filled with goodies. After the opening welcome by Diversity Affluence partner Noel Hankin, award- winning actor Malik Yoba hosted the afternoon with both humor & serious introductions of the sponsors & honorees. Tom Lee, Head of Global Banking for Barclays spoke to the Barclays commitment in support of Diversity Affluence & delight in celebrating the honorees. Kristine Friend, Senior Director, Segment Marketing for Marriott International spoke of their pride of partnership with Diversity Affluence & presented each guest with a gift of Platinum Elite Status in their award winning Marriott Rewards program, for one year.

As the honorees were introduced by the Host of the afternoon actor Malik Yoba, they were given a special Baume & Mercier watch presented by Rudy Chavez, North American President of the luxury watch brand

Each honoree addressed the crowd giving thanks in their own voices to Andrea Hoffman & Diversity Affluence for the recognition and honors and speaking of their true & personal commitments to diversity & social impact. Two incredible surprise highlights of the Brunch were personal & warm notes sent by Mrs. Ethel Kennedy on behalf of the Robert F Kennedy Center to Robert F. Smith and by iconic fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to Alek Wek.

DSC_1684 (1) — Mitchell Proux, Andrea Hoffman & Dr. Ancy Verdier

Diversity Affluence Founder & CEO Andrea Hoffman thanked the honorees, sponsors & guests with heartfelt words, which included “Affluence provides the means for influence and influence provides the means for impact. She continued that “Progress in multicultural initiatives and social impact” is everyone’s business.” She then closed the afternoon by wowing the crowd with a video from President William J. Clinton who acknowledged the honorees for their philanthropic endeavors & non wavering commitment to social change, culminating in thunderous applause from the crowd.

Andrea Hoffman founded Diversity Affluence in 2006. It is a boutique marketing and management consultancy specializing in connecting brands and businesses to affluent, aspirational and influential ethnic consumers a group that they have coined as RoyaltonsTM. Andrea says “Diversity Affluence is committed to raising awareness of affluent and influential ethnic consumers and related executives and brands that acknowledge them”. Andrea says the brunch celebrates the far-reaching contributions of the incredible honorees and gives guests the opportunity to engage with affluent ethnic influencers, business and community leaders, upscale sponsors and multicultural taste makers.”4th Annual Diversity Affluence Brunch and Awards in Sag Harbor ended with Tichina Arnold’s beautiful rendition of “The Impossible Dream” .……her message to young people is: In Life we have obstacles, we have hurdles, you need to get over them, go around them, knock them down…Life is simple, we make it more complicated…. How true these words are…

Memorial Day Celebration in Sag Harbor 2013

(Sag Harbor, NY 2013) ..Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece, on this cold and rainy Saturday before Memorial Day, two non-profit organizations, Jordan’s Initiative, and Hope For The Warriors hosted The 3rd Battalion Memorial Day Run, 35 members of the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines.

Marines from the 3rd Battalion made a stop in Sag Harbor before continuing their run from Montauk to Ground Zero to pay tribute to their fallen comrades and to honor the sacrifices local heroes Jordan Haerter and Joey Theinert. They will also be running in honor of the brave first responders lost on 9/11. Their route will take them from Montauk, through Sag Harbor, over the LCpl Jordan Haerter Veterans’ Memorial Bridge, down Main Street and on to Ground Zero. The run began in Montauk at 7:00 AM this morning and will end 26 hours later at Ground Zero.

Both Veterans and the local community lined the LCpl Jordan Haerter Veterans’ Memorial Bridge in Sag Harbor today to bear witness run commemorating this Memorial Day. 48 military veterans were holding flags along the bridge while the Marines ran by. The 48 flags represented the 48 souls that were lost by the members of 3/25. The battalion suffered 48 casualties in Iraq, 46 Marines and two Navy Corpsmen, giving them the unwanted distinction of the battalion having one of the highest casualty rates of the war.

We thank them for their service. Please visit these websites for further information on how you can aid their noble efforts. www.jordansinitiative.com and www.hopeforthewarriors.org

photo’s by Photographybykurt.net

What is new in Sag Harbor 2013

What is new in Sag Harbor 2013? Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece readers…wow it is hard to believe that in 24 more days the start of the 2013 summer season will officially begin and the energy will become electrifying here in the Hamptons. Did you know that Sag Harbor village was home to over 20 places to eat? I do believe Sag Harbor has the most restaurants on Main Street than any other town in the Hamptons.

Sag Harbor lost two favorite restaurants at the end of 2012 PHAO and Paradise, but they gained 2 NEW Restaurants this year…Madison & Main and The Cuddy both are located on Main Street.

MADISON & MAIN is owned by Chef Eric Miller and Michael Gluckman…Madison and Main Restaurant is located on Sag Harbor’s Main St, formerly the Paradise Cafe. Madison and Main’s co-owners, Michael Gluckman, notorious Hamptons restauranteur and Eric Miller of Food & Co. are a fantastic dynamic duo for this Hamptons hotspot- a classic American Style Cuisine Restaurant and Bar Service with on and off-premise catering. One of my friends who had a wedding in Sag Harbor, availed the off-premise catering services of Madison and Main. She was all smiles when she described the catering services and the food quality. While describing the event she mentioned how the restaurant used refrigerated vehicles to transport food supplies (that looked very fresh) to the event venue. Chilled vehicle hire seem to have become necessary for catering supply industries in the US and around the world, which is especially good for these guys, as they can keep their food looking and tasting as good.

Let us now talk about the on-premise catering. I love the look and vibe to this restaurant, the doors in the front open up and the bar scene reminds me of the Bobby Vans look in Bridgehampton. On those warm summer nights, if you get there early you can sit outside and enjoy a cool summer breeze. The signature drink for the summer is the Watermelon Martini and I really loved the crab cakes, so delicious.

Lunch is served starting at 1130am Monday-Sunday, try the Shrimp BLT, it’s delicious. M-F 5-7pm is Happy Hour with $5 beer, wine, Watermelon Martini’s and appetizers. I really like the Watermelon Martini’s, a perfect choice for a warm summer evening.

THE CUDDY.…Formally known as PHAO…same executive staff Jeffrey Resnick, Tora & Jesse Matsuoka..I had an opportunity to sit and talk with Jesse the day before they opened in Early April to chat with him about why they decided to close Phao and re-open with an American Cuisine. I asked Jesse what will make Cuddy different than restaurants in Sag Harbor and he indicated Quality*Value* and Consistency. Many restaurants in the Hamptons focus only on the summer season but Cuddy is interested in focusing on the year-round customer.

The restaurant will be open year-round serving a Rustic American cuisine. Phao was a product that people enjoyed but did not necessarily love it. The Cuddy has a Rustic American theme which is home-cooked food you would not necessarily cook at home, not because you can’t but it might be to timing consuming to prepare. Gil Chico is the executive Chef who is also the executive chef at Sen and has been with the company for 3 years. The Beverage Director is Derrick Neilsen who has been with the company for 5-6 years. I am excited that Cuddy will be bringing some exciting new food events to Sag Harbor, like wine pairing dinners.

Cuddy has indicated that they are handing over their entertainment hat to others in the area and are looking to only focus on the food, starting with dinner first then gradually introducing Lunch and during the summer season Breakfast. There will be late night Bar Scene…I have not eaten at The Cuddy yet but I am looking forward to having the burger and the Lobster Roll I hear they are amazing. Lets see if they will make my list for best burger and Lobster roll in the Hamptons this year.

These two restaurants have been very busy since they both opened with a full house each night, so make sure you make your reservations early. Madison & Main is bringing the fun back to Sag Harbor with they’re Happening Bar scene, so do not be surprised if it is hard to get a seat at the bar.

If you find you cannot get a seat for dinner at these two places, there are so many really good restaurants in town, Page, American Hotel, Muse, LT Burger, Dockside, The Beacon, Sen, The Corner Bar, B’ Smith’s, Il Capuccino, Tutto Il Giorno

Looking forward to seeing you in the Harbor this summer…There are some new store openings in town, so take a walk down Main Street and check them out. Through hearing stories from passers-by and by browsing through any information that we could find, these stores sound like they have the potential to be a success. I even heard that some of them are thinking about including a self-service retail kiosk to help enhance the customer experience. Not only does it allow you to return any items that you have purchased, but it allows you to skip the queues and to get your returns done sooner. Now that sounds great, and I personally think that all stores should start doing this. But for now, we just can’t wait to see what these stores are like, they may not even need them for all we know. Also, Black Swan Antiques has just opened a new location in Sag Harbor…

Where is the sand at Long Beach

Where is the sand at Long Beach? Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece readers..today, April 10th, 2013 while walking on long Beach in Sag Harbor I noticed that there seemed to be more shells on the beach than usual. I decided to really take a closer look and to my surprise there is limited sand for the entire stretch of the beach. Where is the Sand at Long Beach in Sag Harbor? When Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island in October 2012, I remember driving down Long Beach Road and the entire parking lot was filled with salt water, the beach was gone. The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is quite noticeable at this beach in some areas.

Hamptons Mouthpiece, Long Beach, Sag Harbor, NY

Long Beach is known to many locals as a rocky beach with limited sand, but what struck me today was that in many areas there is absolutely no sand, it is as if all the sea shells and sea rocks in the world washed up on one beach and that is Long Beach. I am not sure what plans are being made to take care of the mounds of shells that are dominating this beach in many areas, it is my hope that it will all be taken care of before the season kicks off, since this is the beach where many families with small children spend their time.

The area near the bathrooms are ok..This area is less rocky and more sandy. This beach is especially popular because the water is shallow and it is relatively safe for families with smaller children.

There are many rocky areas so bring those sand shoes when taking a stroll on the beach because there are cluster areas where there is no sand only rocks and shells.

New sidewalk on Sag Harbor BridgeHampton Turnpike

New sidewalk on Sag Harbor BridgeHampton Turnpike…Greetings Hamptons Mouthpiece Readers…has anyone noticed the new sidewalk on Sag/bridge Turnpike? It starts at Scuttle hole Road and continues all the way to Montauk Highway. This is fantastic for pedestrians. Now lets see if there will be plans to extend into Sag Harbor. But this is a nice start.