The Brooklyn Black Tie Ball hosted perhaps its starriest year yet as Hollywood types keep migrating to the borough.
Locals Matt Damon, John Krasinski and “Physical” star Rose Byrne sat with fashion insiders Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone and Maisonette’s Sylvana Durrett as “The Americans” star Matthew Rhys played auctioneer.
The gala raised $1 million.
Also at the Brooklyn Bridge Park benefit were Damon’s wife Luciana Barroso, Olympic swimmer Lia Neal, NBA great JJ Redick, and actress Alison Wright — plus numerous pols, including Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin, State Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblywoman Joanne Simon.
Mayoral candidate Eric Adams was honored along with River Café founder Buzzy O’Keeffe.
Adams, the former cop and Brooklyn Borough President, shared with the crowd of his time in Brooklyn Bridge Park, “I was here during the first days of COVID, when five of my close friends transitioned from the physical to the spiritual, I walked through this park.”
He also told the crowd that he came to the park for solace after his mother died in April, and, “You may look at your moments here, and your contributions, as just an insignificant donation to a place in our city — no, it is not. It’s the great equalizer.
“You come here as a billionaire or a person looking for a job, you experience the same thing. The same grass, the same trees, the same waterfront. This is what makes us great … I’m excited about what we’re going to become.”
He assured the gathering that, “We will celebrate again,” after the pandemic, and that, “New York is being watched by the globe — how we respond will determine how the globe responds… This is a significant moment for us.”
He closed by quoting an unlikely source: “If I can borrow from a Brooklynite, the owner of Snapple,” he said, “we are going to be successful because we are made up of the best stuff on earth. We are New Yorkers.”
Also at the outdoor bash on Brooklyn’s Pier 3 were DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman, Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation president Eric Landau, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy executive director Nancy Webster, as well as Chris Coffey, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy board chairman.
