Hamptons Scene: Alec Baldwin, Nicole Miller, Marco Birch
Addressing the Group for the East End benefit Saturday night in Sagaponack, Long Island, Alec Baldwin implored Group President Robert DeLuca to expand the scope of the Hamptons environmental nonprofit to the Greenwich Village block where the actor lives and is attended by paparazzi.
“Only Bob DeLuca can come in and clean up the infestation,” joked Baldwin, who had an altercation with a Daily News photographer on a Manhattan sidewalk days earlier.
The 54-year-old then needled the Group about its elevated nesting platforms on poles for ospreys, the once-endangered fish hawks that fly above area coastlines.
“God knows I need Bob DeLuca to shut up about these osprey poles,” said Baldwin, who has a house in Amagansett, two towns east. Within seconds, Baldwin raised about $34,000 to build new osprey poles as 17 people raised their hands to contribute $1,000 each and Baldwin said he’d match every dollar.
Under flowing white tents at the Wolffer Estate, a vineyard and stable, the evening grossed about $550,000 for the 40-year- old advocacy and educational organization. Baldwin attended with his fiancée, yoga teacher Hilaria Thomas, wearing a bright coral cocktail dress; and his 16-year-old daughter, Ireland, in a Grecian floor-length strapless outfit.
Amid two auctions -- silent and live -- and dinner with roast pepper-crusted beef or lobster cake options, guests said their support was motivated by a desire to improve water quality and community planning, preserve natural habitats and open spaces, or all of the above.
Root Cause
“Overdevelopment causes all the other problems,” said fashion designer Nicole Miller, a Group patron for 16 years, with her husband, Kim Taipale, a founding partner of the technology merchant-banking firm Parkview TMB.
Between courses, auctioneer George McNeely of Christie’s offered a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, “eco-adventure,” a week in a St. Martin villa and two days on a 156-foot yacht sailing from Newport, Rhode Island.
“When they put a parking lot next to your home, don’t blame me,” he shouted to one tepid bidder.
Paul McDowell, chief executive officer of CapLease Inc., (LSE) a real estate investment trust, and his wife, Susan, a potter, paid $6,000 for “farm-to-table wine-tasting dinner for eight,” valued at $5,000.
They sat with neighbors from Shelter Island, Marco Birch, a portfolio manager at Moore Capital Management, and his wife, Katherine Leahy Birch, both of whom are on the Group’s board.
Ferry Captain
Marco Birch called Shelter Island, accessible via ferry, “New England-y.”
“When you’re at a dinner party, you’re as likely to sit next to a ferry captain as someone who works on Wall Street,” he said. “It’s a very grass-roots community.”
Birch said that DeLuca “focuses on saving us from ourselves.
“He’s trying to prevent people from poisoning their own land,” he said.
As for water, DeLuca said in an interview that while water in the Hamptons is safe to drink, it contains excessive nitrogen that “over-fertilizes” the area’s bays.
“Fish, shellfish and the marine ecosystem have much lower tolerance for nitrogen,” he said. “Boating and fishing require clean water.”
Muse highlights include John Mariani on wine and Hephzibah Anderson on books.
To contact the reporter on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net
Group for the East End
Christopher London via Bloomberg
Alec Baldwin served as chairman of the Group for the East End's 40th anniversary benefit.
Alec Baldwin served as chairman of the Group for the East End's 40th anniversary benefit. Photographer: Christopher London via Bloomberg
Group for the East End
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg.
The tents at the Wolffer Estate in Sagaponack, Long Island, for the Group for the East End benefit. Attendees included Billy Joel and Alec Baldwin and his fiancee, Hilaria Thomas.
The tents at the Wolffer Estate in Sagaponack, Long Island, for the Group for the East End benefit. Attendees included Billy Joel and Alec Baldwin and his fiancee, Hilaria Thomas. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg.
Group for the East End
Nicole Miller, her son, Palmer Taipale, and husband, Kim Taipale, at the Group for the East End benefit Saturday night in Sagaponack, Long Island. The event grossed about $550,000. Photo: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg.
Nicole Miller, her son, Palmer Taipale, and husband, Kim Taipale, at the Group for the East End benefit Saturday night in Sagaponack, Long Island. The event grossed about $550,000. Photo: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg.
Group for the East End
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
Marco Birch, a portfolio manager at Moore Capital Management, and Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End.
Marco Birch, a portfolio manager at Moore Capital Management, and Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
Group for the East End
Christopher London via Bloomberg
Alexis Roderick, Billy Joel, Group for the East End President Robert DeLuca, Hilaria Thomas, Alec Baldwin and Ireland Baldwin.
Alexis Roderick, Billy Joel, Group for the East End President Robert DeLuca, Hilaria Thomas, Alec Baldwin and Ireland Baldwin. Photographer: Christopher London via Bloomberg
Group for the East End
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
Janet Chouraki and Mathias Chouraki, a sales specialist with the Marinemax Yacht and Brokerage Group.
Janet Chouraki and Mathias Chouraki, a sales specialist with the Marinemax Yacht and Brokerage Group. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
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