Harvest Moon Benefit
The Harvest Moon Happening was held at Lamont Doherty on September 29th to benefit Nyack Hospital and the event was a resounding success. As the first major community fund-raising event to be held in Palisades in years, the benefit inspired scores of local residents along with hundreds of other guests from around Rockland County to show how much they care about supporting our local hospital. It seems that the invitations were so alluring that few who received them were able to resist; having torn open their envelopes, everyone immediately realized that they had to go out dancing under the full September moon.
The unique occasion was far in spirit from the usual “rubber chicken” fundraising circuit because a special magic was in the air. The lawn of the old Thomas Lamont mansion provided a perfect backdrop for the luminous tent, filled with guests in long dresses and tuxedos and surrounded by copper beeches and ancient box hedges fading into the darkness. Cicadas in the grass blended with soft Brazilian rhythms provided by Philip Galinsky’s Samba New York. The scene evoked moments of long-ago glamour when the mansion, built by J.P. Morgan’s personal banker, must have often been filled as it was this fall, with live dance music and waiters circling with trays crowded with bites of caviar on crackers and tiny pastries filled with delicious surprises.
Dramatic Life and Death Stories
During the sit-down part of the evening, as the guests enjoyed the main course and dessert elegantly prepared and presented by chef Peter X. Kelly, the party organizers made it abundantly clear how important our local support is to Nyack Hospital. Long-time Palisades resident Roger Hooker, who was the driving force behind the entire event, spoke about how the hospital’s emergency room saved his life when he had a heart attack several years ago. During the emergency, his doctor in the city warned his wife, “Don’t try to cross the bridge.” He had to be taken to Nyack or it would be too late. When seconds counted, that barrier of traffic congestion was the absolute margin of life and death. In another dramatic story, Nyack’s emergency room staff saved the lives of both Sarah McNitt, a fundraiser for the CARON Foundation, and her unborn child, when she began to hemorrhage uncontrollably during her pregnancy.
The family of Joe Hyde, represented by his daughter, Anne Hyde Dunsmore, spoke movingly about how much the quiet compassion provided by the staff at Nyack Hospital meant to them in easing their sadness when Joe died last spring. One after another, county residents stepped to the microphone to recount in clear terms what might have happened had they not had access to a good, local hospital. The highlight of the evening was the announcement of a gift of $250,000 by Jerome and Simona Chasen, residents of Nyack, to the cause. The Peter Anderson Orchestra then took up their instruments and the dancing continued on well after the moon had fallen below the horizon.
Local Hospitals Struggling to Survive
Because we live close to New York City with all its world-class medical institutions, most hospitals in the outlying regions near Manhattan are struggling for economic survival. Even Westchester-Valhalla, a massive medical resource filled with world-famous specialists, has recently gone through bankruptcy. Smaller community hospitals such as Pascack Valley in Bergen County, and Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry are in immediate danger of closing or have already closed. This is a dismaying situation, since the need for their services is unchanged, and will go unmet if nothing is done. Our hospital in Nyack must not be allowed to slip under either.
Roger Hooker took a long look at this situation and in view of his gratitude to Nyack Hospital for saving his life, he decided to personally take action to address this situation. Together with Ann and Joe Tonetti, and with Joe Hyde’s family, he spearheaded the idea of holding a benefit to strengthen Nyack Hospital financially and to raise local awareness of the hospital’s importance to the community. A goal was set after consultation with David Freed, the hospital’s chief administrator, and Eve Borzon, its chief fundraiser, to raise capital to purchase state-of-the-art digital mammography equipment to use in Nyack’s new breast health treatment center, headed by Dr. Michele Blackwood, MD., who also spoke at the benefit.
The team of indispensable Palisadians who helped with the event grew rapidly to include Mat & Lindsey Lonberg who worked with Eve Borzon to organize all the seating, Ned Kelly and Lynne Aubrey, who together designed and created all the decorations; Mary Ann Brueckner, who worked for months to prepare Lamont’s gardens for the event; Bill Murray, who contributed three tables and a fun, short film; Marjorie Galen and Leslie Hayes who were responsible for the music; Tyler Schmetterer, who was the event treasurer; Mary Tiegreen, who designed the invitations; and many contributors of items to be auctioned, including painter John Beerman, who donated a moonlit Hudson River landscape to the cause. Lynne Sandhaus, Marlene Kleiner and Sarah McNitt were responsible for soliciting the articles to be auctioned. G. Michael Purdy, Lamont Doherty director, contributed the venue and his staff really put out tremendous effort to help make the event successful.
Anyone wishing to make an additional contribution to this cause should contact Nellie Rodriquez at the Nyack Hospital Foundation at 845-348-2772.