Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
If there had been a pool, it would have felt just like Los Angeles, with sprawling lawns and gardens, water views, and brightly colored picnic tables. Indeed, the party Monday night on the grounds of Gracie Mansion proved that the good life associated with the entertainment industry is thriving in New York City.
The mayor’s official residence was the setting for the “Made in NY” awards, a program of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, headed by commissioner Katherine Oliver. The honorees were actors Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tamara Tunie; filmmakers Noah Baumbach and Kamaria Alvy Johnson; the president of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, Matthew Miller, and the executive director of the Actors’ Fund of America, Joe Benincasa.
Among all the entertainment movers and shakers, Mayor Bloomberg found himself coveting the spotlight – or at least a cameo – in one of the eight primetime shows to be filmed in New York next season. “So far nobody has contacted my agent to see if I’m available. Really. I’m a member of SAG,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “If you want your show to be successful, I’m telling you, I’m your man.”
And with that plea from the city’s richest unemployed actor, the parallels to Hollywood ended. Unlike the Academy Awards, the ceremony was mercifully brief. And the food was 100% New York: french fries, hamburgers, pigs in a blanket, and cookies with black-and-white “Made in NY” icing.
