Tenement Museum Honors Ong, Feldshuh, & Levy At Gala 5/24

On May 24, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum will celebrate its 22nd year as a cultural institution with a gala dinner and live auction. The event will honor stage and screen actress Tovah Feldshuh; her husband, AnDrew Levy, whose roots extent to a family-run dry goods store on Rivington Street; and chef Pichet Ong, whose cuisine blends the flavors of his native Southeast Asia with traditional American foods. Entertainment will be provided by Ms. Feldshuh, who will perform, and a Christie's auctioneer, who will lead a live auction in the style of a traditional auction house. The event will raise funds to support the Tenement Museum's educational programs, which serve over 160,000 visitors every year.

Date: Monday, May 24, 2010
6:30 - 7:30 PM cocktail hour; 7:30 - 9:00 PM program & dinner

Venue: Capitale, 130 Bowery (at Grand Street), Manhattan

Honorees: Tovah Feldshuh, Actress
Andrew H. Levy, Senior Counsel, DLA Piper
Pichet Ong, Chef and Restaurateur at P*ONG, Village Tart, and Spot Dessert Bar

Gala Chairs: Paul J. Massey, Jr., Founding partner and CEO of Massey Knakal Realty Services
Stephen B. Siegel, Chairman of Global Brokerage at CB Richard Ellis

Honorary Chairs: John C. Liu, New York City Comptroller
Scott M. Stringer, Manhattan Borough President

Special Performance By: Tovah Feldshuh

About the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Anchored in a neighborhood that has long been home to thousands of poor and working class people, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is dedicated to using the history of its site as a tool for addressing issues that are still pressing today, including immigration, urban housing and public welfare. The Museum is an accredited member of the American Association of Museums and an affiliate of both the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Museum was recently honored in two White House ceremonies, with the Preserve America Presidential Award and the National Medal for Museum Service.Tovah Feldshuh

For her work on Broadway--from Yentl, Saravá, Lend Me a Tenor, and Golda's Balcony to Irena's Vow--Tovah Feldshuh has earned 4 Tony nominations for Best Actress and won 4 Drama Desk, 4 Outer Critics Circle, the Obie, the Theatre World, and the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Actress. For Irena's Vow, theatre fans across the United States voted her Best Leading Actress in a Play in BroadwayWorld.com's Theatre Fans' Choice Award.
Films include Kissing Jessica Stein (Golden Satellite Award), A Walk on the Moon, Lady in the Water, Just My Luck, and the soon-to-be-released Buddy Gilbert Comes Alive, Acts of Mercy, and Ten Stories Tall.
For her television work, she received 2 Emmy nominations: one for her portrayal of the Czech freedom fighter Helena in the mini-series Holocaust, another for her work as defense attorney Danielle Melnick on Law & Order.
In the past six months she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University and was honored by Town Hall, the Friar's Club, Carnegie Hall, and the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center for her work in the development, enrichment, and support of the Jewish community through the arts. She is the recipient of the Israel Peace Medal and the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitas Award. Visit www.tovahfeldshuh.com.

Andrew H. Levy

Andrew H. Levy is senior counsel in DLA Piper's Real Estate practice, based in New York.
In his practice, Mr. Levy serves the business and legal needs of participants in most aspects of, and product types in, the real estate industry throughout the United States and in Europe.

Mr. Levy's practice also focuses on the hospitality sector. He has been the chair and organizer of hotel and other conferences and has regularly been a moderator at annual Information Management Network conferences.

Mr. Levy is a frequent lecturer and author, and his work is published regularly in industry and trade journals. Most recently, he authored, "Real Estate Sponsors and Investors: Fiduciary Duty is Lurking," "The Complexity of Enforcing Real Estate Loans in New York," and "Lenders Face Hurdles to Recover on Debt," all of which appeared in the New York Law Journal.
Mr. Levy is a member of the prestigious American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), an invitation-only organization where membership is based on an outstanding professional reputation, demonstrated ability in the field of real estate law, at least 10 years of legal experience and substantial contributions to the improvement of real estate law and practice.
He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute and has served as Assistant Adjunct Professor at New York University's Center for Hospitality Studies.

Pitchet Ong

Eating and cooking are Pichet Ong's hobby and heartbeat. He enjoys mixing classical and modern flavors to create whimsical sweet and savory foods at his iconic restaurants (P*ONG, Village Tart), dessert bar (The Spot), and bakery (Batch). Pichet combines the fond flavors of his childhood with modern cooking techniques to create culinary offerings that are seasonal, pure and light, delightfully experimental yet nostalgic. Pichet's creations can be found worldwide, from New York to Sydney, Istanbul to Beijing, Tokyo to New Orleans.
Pichet has been named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Arts & Design and Chocolatier and was selected as a "Pastry Provocateur" by Food & Wine. In 2002, he was named Starchefs.com's "Rising Star" and featured in the prestigious "The Chef" column of The New York Times for four weeks. His desserts, including those from Spice Market, RM, and 66, have garnered numerous "Best of" awards. He is a multiple nominee for the James Beard Award in several national categories.

Pichet's cookbook, The Sweet Spot, has been hailed by The New York Times as "a standout and one of the most original dessert cookbooks in years." In the last two years, his recipes were featured in 20 different cookbooks. His work frequently appears in publications like Bon Appétit, Food Arts, The New Yorker, and I. He has been on Iron Chef America, Martha Stewart Live, and Emeril's Live.

A self-taught chef, Pichet graduating Phi Beta Kappa in English Literature and Mathematics from Brandeis University and received a Master's in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. During his career he has worked with culinary luminaries including Jean Georges Vongerichten and Max Brenner. Pichet lives in New York and consults on culinary projects worldwid

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.