Kimberly Guilfoyle and Deborah Norvillee.

“It's the charity with longest, most difficult name to say” host Deborah Norville justified as she failed to get the name right at the first, second and third time of asking. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children hosted its annual gala in the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza on Tuesday testing all invitees' verbal dexterity and generosity. “But it also does the most difficult work.” Good save Ms. Norville.

Founded in 1875, a time when there laws protecting animals but not children from cruelty, the NYSPCC is the oldest children’s charity in the world. It is perhaps surprising that this was honorees John and Margo Catsimatidis first appearance at the gala as they are prolific benefactors of children’s charities across New York. Sitting with them at a well positioned table from which they rarely left, we asked how they got involved.

“We have always been supporters of children’s charities and when we saw the great work that this charity was doing and we wanted to be a part of it.”

Why children’s charities we asked?

“They are our future and need to be nurtured.” Margo was, near verbatim, repeating the brief speech she made earlier in the evening.

Are you having fun tonight?

“Yes.”

Anything in particular?

“The company.”

Brilliant.

Mr. Catsimatidis continued to confirm himself as a potential GOP candidate for mayor.“I’m setting up a exploratory committee in the coming weeks to decide on that.” We queried if the hurricane had crystallized his intentions but he feels that his motives and the needs remain the same.

“He was young,” we overhear Mrs. Catsimatidis say to her husband as we moved to the over-sized dance floor. "It’s a baby face, but we are accepting donations."

Fox News’ Kimberley Guilfoyle was attending and it was clear that this was a cause close to her heart. “I was prosecutor for the district attorney’s office and my specialty was child abuse cases. Investigating, prosecuting but also helping to rehabilitate.” She was delighted to be able to bring her own son Ronan. “I thought it would be good for him to see how a big group like this can come together to help children. We need to keep this group going. He also loves dancing.” As we moved to leave we glimpsed tux wearing toddler Ronan dancing ferociously. The grin plastered to his face was a poignant image of what the charity and the night set out achieve.

Swizz Beatz and DMC. (Shaun Mader/Patrick McMullan)

We were exhausted—it was our third night in a row at The Plaza, and, quite frankly, we were becoming a little too familiar with the hotel’s ornate ballrooms at fund-raiser after frilly fund-raiser. The Observer loves schmoozing, but of late our calendar has left us rather harried—perhaps even unappreciative. As we arrived at the bedazzled edifice for the seventh annual Children’s Rights Benefit this past Wednesday, we quickly took notice of rapper Nick Cannon, slipping coolly out of a large black SUV with an entourage and bodyguards. At last, something seemed fresh, and unpredictable. While hip-hop stars and R&B producers are certainly no strangers to this old-school bastion of New York excess, it’s always exciting to see a touch of, er, young blood among traditional notions of prestige and privilege. With producer Kasseem David Dean a k a “Swizz Beatz” up for top honors that night, we anticipated that the hotel would be getting a much-needed dose of swagger. 

Cocktail time was a hurried blur. An eclectic mix of hip-hop notables such as Bow Wow and Shorty Da Prince, lawyers and their arm candy, and charitable old-money types buzzed about, slurping top-shelf cocktails at an alarming pace—you’d think that despite all the lavish pretense on display, not a soul there had previously experienced an open bar. But the pre-emptive binge was soon brought to a halt as dinner bells beckoned guests to their tables.

“It’s fun being one of the greatest rappers of all time, but I’m here because I am an adopted foster child,” Rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels began the ceremonies, ever so modest, as he beamed to the crowd from the ballroom’s podium, dressed in his signature all-black baggy denim jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket. Why wear a stuffy three-piece suit, when your profession gives you the license to dress like you’re taking a motorcycle up to the Cloisters?

The pioneer spoke to the crowd about the importance of Children’s Rights, a national watchdog organization that advocates for abused, abandoned and neglected children.

We scanned our table brimming with mature, genteel professionals and nonprofit champions.

“I can’t understand a word he is saying,” cooed the lady to our left.

“Who is that?” whispered a grande dame to our right.

“No clue! Ask The Observer, he seems hip,” another suggested, turning toward us.

We informed them that DMC hailed from one of hip-hop’s original acts, Run–D.M.C.

“He reeks of rap,” one patron snapped.

We suggested that she better learn to quickly enjoy the scent, because next up was rapper Nick Cannon, who empathized with the trappings of the nation’s foster care system.

“My grandmother raised me because my parents were teenagers. She went on to raise over 100 foster kids and help with emergency care. I know why we’re here tonight firsthand.”

Rather than wait for our table to ask the proverbial question, we jumped right in.

“Nick Cannon is a big rapper and married to Mariah Carey,” we yelled across the table.

“And this Beatz guy? Who is he?”

The honoree of the evening?

“His wife is Alicia Keys,” we elaborated in unison with Anne Strickland Squadron, board of directors secretary.

Everyone nodded with better familiarity.

The now-recognized Mr. Cannon and Alan C. Myers, the chairman of Children’s Rights’ board of directors, then welcomed the man of the hour, Swizz Beatz, to the stage to receive the Children’s Rights’ Champion Award.

“There is no better place to be than right here,” said the star, after detailing his jet-lagged adventure to make it to The Plaza.

“When you’re a family man, you understand how important it is for every child to have an equal chance.”

“He’s deejaying the after party!” announced Ms. Squadron to her enduringly clueless but enthusiastic coterie after Swizz Beatz had taken his seat.

“Ohhh!” they chimed.

But before they could ask what an after party was, the night took a somber turn with an “If I Could Get My Childhood My Back” video montage, in which former victims of abusive and downtrodden upbringings shared their harrowing stories.

Then a one-time foster youth, Emalee Wooton, delivered a tear-jerker with her firsthand account of a tragic childhood, which she has triumphantly risen above to construct a new life for her children.

At a nearby table, stylish do-gooder and doll-about-town Arden Wohl and her business partner, cupcake king Massimo LoBuglio, sat uncharacteristically enthralled. Ms. Wohl said that she has taken some time off from the Manhattan party scene, choosing to focus on philanthropic projects such as the Girls Education and Mentoring Service with A-list gal pal Demi Moore.

“The only events I go to these days are for foster care and children’s rights—and this is an amazing organization,” she told us, in between dodging questions about the fledgling bakery business she is starting up with Mr. LoBuglio. The partnership of a philanthropist and a pastry mogul can surely only mean one thing: free cake.

Indeed, as the wine flowed, so did the contents of people’s wallets at the charity’s bash, with the event raising triple the funds forked over the previous year. Hugh Hildesley, executive vice president and senior auctioneer at Sotheby’s, used his tipsy charm to great success during the annual reverse auction, which cashed out at $200,000. Two elusive high rollers also offered up $50,000 apiece for the foundation, with others contributing sums up to $25,000. In total, the soirée bleed the philanthropic crowd of about half a million. Meals at The Plaza can be so pricey these days!

“Tonight is better than the Grammys,” Swizz Beatz proclaimed—a tad hyperbolic. By the time the after party rolled around, the mostly mature crowd had all but scampered off, as a new wave of 30-somethings trickled into a downstairs ballroom for the Young Leadership Committee members’ late-night merriment and silent auction.

Enticing as a spin on the dance floor to David Guetta and Avicii may have seemed, we found our supposed young, hip selves rather exhausted and decided to pass on the gyrating, youthful bacchanalia scuttling out the back door before midnight, our dignity intact.

editorial@observer.com

Not a lot of visual noise going on here.

Greenwich can be lovely: it's quiet. The houses are huge. The lawns come in lush expanses rather than pots or postage stamps. But it's too quiet for some, or at least Dinesh Paliwal wanted a richer soundscape than what the tony suburb had to offer.

Mr. Paliwal, the president and CEO of audio systems giant Harman International, has purchased a two-bedroom, 2.5-bath apartment at the Plaza, according to city records. He and wife Ila are either picking up a new pied-a-terre or getting the hell out of the suburbs altogether.

Mr. Paliwal is, after all, at the helm of a company that specializes in noise.

The couple picked up their 14-floor condo for $8.5 million, a pretty nice price reduction considering that it was most recently listed at $9.5 million with Prudential Douglas Elliman brokers Jason Walker and Harry DiOrio. It was originally asking $9.9 million when it hit the market in December. We suppose that not even "sumptuously appointed tiled baths" or "amazing direct views of Central Park South" were enough to persuade the Paliwals to pay a little more? And we guess they were unswayed by the fact that the apartment came fully wired with high-tech lighting, sound and video.

Seller Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff took a significant loss on the apartment—she paid $9.7 for it back in 2007. But Ms. Linsenhoff, an Olympic champion who won the gold medal in team dressage for Germany in 1988, apparently thought it was the right time to ride away. If a lifetime spent on the competitive horseback riding circuit doesn't teach a person to accept defeat with grace (and to have enviable posture), we're not sure what could.

Besides, Ms. Linsenhoff is undoubtedly off to greener pastures. You know, Central Park's bridle path is not what it once was.

kvelsey@observer.com

It was, apparently, time to move on. And Mr. Levy, no stranger to the winds of change, did not cling to his one-bedroom, 1.5-bath condo with its original marble mosaic patterned floors. That would be like clutching a case of CDs—or worse yet, cassette tapes—to one's chest and pretending that the future was not here.

The man who once ruled the music business bought the apartment in 2008, shorty after he left EMI when things, well, mostly profits, were going downhill for the music industry. Fortunately, his severance package of some 7 million pounds more than financed the $6.2 million purchase.

The views from the apartment are pretty spectacular, but the price seems a little steep for a one-bedroom. It's the Plaza, so there are, of course, amenities and perks galore, but still... Perhaps that's why the listing, held by Corcoran's Deborah Grubman and David Dubin, didn't sell for the full $6.7 million ask?

Why did Mr. Levy want to leave? We haven't heard him making any startling pronouncements about the Plaza (he once said “The CD as it is right now is dead”—and that was when he was still CEO of EMI), so maybe he was just looking to spend more time back on the Continent?

The apartment's buyer, listed as Core Estates LLC, shall remain anonymous for now. Perhaps it's one of the artists who worked under Mr. Levy? More likely, a press shy banker.

kvelsey@observer.com

According to the Post, Mr. Wynn has put in a winning $70 million bid for Millenium Partners' founding partner Christopher M. Jeffries' $77.5 million pad.

Mr. Wynn was rumored to be looking at the 50 Central Park South penthouse some time ago, but representatives for Mr. Wynn would not confirm reports that the Las Vegas honcho was considering the 10,882-square-foot spread in the building. The unit is listed with Brown Harris Stevens broker Kyle Blackmon, who grabbed the listing after his stellar $88 million performance at another dizzyingly, high-end condo: 15 Central Park West.

And Mr. Wynn has been touring a lot of listings these days, making no secret of his search for apartment love, and reportedly becoming very very interested in Teddy Forstmann's co-op at 2 East 70th Street. But then, the co-op board of 2 East 70th is said to be highly selective, unlike a full-service condo/hotel where anyone with the cash can snap up a unit. Much like the democratic spirit of a casino?

The unit is certainly fit for a king, casino or otherwise. It spans the 30th and 31st floors and includes a living room fashioned from what was once a grand ballroom (it's 900 square feet). Twenty-six windows gaze out at Central Park, the master bedroom has American Walnut doors and there's an 800-square-foot closet (can a closet still be called a closet when it's 800-square-feet?). Naturally, there are terraces and 15-foot ceilings and a museum-quality display room.

With this contract coming on the heels of yesterday's 740 Park sale to Oaktree Capital's Howard Marks, we're left wondering what's left on the market for real estate trophy seekers. Gary Barnett must be licking his chops.

kvelsey@observer.com

It looks so peaceful! (Condominium Central)

The Plaza is undergoing another tectonic shift in ownership.

The Israeli company, El-Ad, purchased the Plaza back in 2004 for $674 million and poured in several hundreds of millions to turn the decaying hotel rooms into fancy and luxurious condos. They might have appeared to be luxurious, but shoddy construction cut corners and installed low-density marble from China instead of authentic Italian stone, along with fiberglass crown moldings. Yikes!

The Plaza then tangled with a Russian billionaire over the penthouse, leading a ferocious court battle and a Briton snatching the penthouse for half of the Russian's deal.

Perhaps the New York market wasn't El-ad's speciality, but the renovations did bring in $1.3 billion in condo sales, which is a solid profit above the $1.1 billion project's price tag.

The best news for the building arrived today when the Sahara Group, an Indian firm, reportedly put down a ten percent deposit for the beauty, according to India's Economic Times:

Little over a year after he snapped up London's iconic Grosvenor House hotel, Subroto Roy is about to do a similar deal across the Atlantic.

[...]

A deal with The Plaza will confirm the Indian conglomerate's continuing fascination with overseas expansion, which has left many Sahara watchers in India curious and bemused given that the group's mainstay businesses have been finance, real estate and media.

Last year, Sahara tried - and failed - to acquire a bunch of properties in London that were put up for sale by the Marriott hotels.

According to the Post, Sahara has already made a 10 percent deposit on the property.

Their policies are strict with clauses that will terminate the Plaza's managing firm, Canada's Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, immediately. It's a tight rope to walk, but someone needs to take the reigns to turn the Plaza around.

mewing@observer.com

When the dust settled, Mr. Vavilov agreed to buy the smaller duplex, but not the triplex, which was put back on the market last April with a $37.5 million asking price. The most recent asking price was $33 million, but it remains to be seen what the buyer ultimately paid.

According to a listing from Stribling brokers Alexa Lambert and Elizabeth Lorenzo, the four-bedroom, 5.5-bath home spans 6,319 square feet inside, and has an additional 229 square feet of outdoor space. There is no master suite, rather an entire "master retreat" which occupies an entire floor of the home.

Despite some problems, the Plaza did quite well last year, notching one of the second biggest sale last year and the most expensive post-Lehman, when compose Igor Krutoy paid $48 million for a five-unit spread. It was eclipsed in December when The Observer revealed that Sandy Weil had found a buyer for his penthouse at 15 Central Park West.

We'll hazard a guess that the buyer paid cash converted from yuan or rubles.

eknutsen@observer.com

Bob and Catherine Beyer

Yet another California-based multi-millionaire has sold an eight-figure New York pied-a-terre. Unlike the classics-loving viticulturists of wine country who recently sold their townhouse, the latest sellers hail from the sunny shores of Los Angeles. Robert Beyer, a finance muckety-muck of Southern Californian extraction, has sold his apartment at The Plaza, city records show.

Mr. Beyer, an avowed supporter of Mitt Romney and the former CEO of the TCW group, purchased the three-bedroom, three-bath apartment with his wife for $9.69 million in April 2008, according to StreetEasy, and put it back on the market this past spring, almost exactly three years later. Mr. Beyer didn't meet his initial asking price of $13.9 million, but didn't do too poorly either: the 2,448-square-foot property sold for $13.05 million. Not a shabby profit, but also not 15 CPW numbers.

Although the buyers, who purchased anonymously through the entity "Free Experience, Inc," forked over considerable dough for the condo, they will surely be pleased with the new set-up. With visions of Eloise scampering down the hallways, the new buyers (whose authorized signatory on the deed is a Florida-based accountant) will enjoy triple prime features of their new place, from the gold-leaf domed ceiling a la Versailles, to the iPad controlled electronic system.

The home was listed by Stribling agents Alexa Lambert and Elizabeth Lorenzo.

eknutson@observer.com

Currently owned by the founder of Esprit—Really?! When was the last time you knew anyone who purchased something from Esprit?—the 5,087-square-foot pad was previously on the market for $55 million. When it didn't sell, the clotheshorse decided to rent it, fully furnished for the aforementioned exorbitant price.

According to a listing from Douglas Elliman brokers Melanie Lazenby and Dina Lewis, the apartment "is one of the most historic homes ever to become available in the United States." Doubtful, but we read on.

"Noted interior architect, S.R. Gambrel Inc. employed the artisans who rebuilt Windsor Castle to completely transform the home into an absolute masterpiece with numerous old world details such as hand drawn plaster ceilings; English oak paneling; and hand-hammered leather walls from France." Hand-hammered leather walls, eh? Bet the neighbors were thrilled when those went up.

The hide-covered walls are complemented by canopy beds, various antiquities scattered throughout, and dimpled leather couches that would impress even Ralph Lauren, the reigning king of distinguished Americana.

But is it really worth more than the annual salary of a starting associate every month? Just think of how much caviar you could buy instead with that $2 million.

eknutsen@observer.com

Herb Albert (left) and Mr. Moss.

Jerome “Jerry” Moss left Brooklyn behind for L.A., where he made it big in the record industry, but it looks like life in the boroughs wasn’t going to work for Mr. Moss and his wife, Ann. The Beverely Hills-based couple just nabbed a deal on a new apartment at the Plaza.

Mr. Moss, who founded A&M Records and had a string of hits in the 1950s and '60s, now owns a one-bedroom, 1.5-bath condo that spans 1,155 square feet. The massive living room offers access to the hotel’s private landscaped gardens. Hopefully the Mosses enjoy cooking, because their new kitchen is top of the line, featuring stone Viking and Miele appliances, and stone countertops with “mosaic Calacatta marble tile backsplash.”

Although the apartment may be the perfect size for the Mosses, there probably won’t be room for the couple’s prized racehorses. Who knows, however, with 24 hour concierge service perhaps The Plaza can manage to find some spare space for Giacamo, the couple’s stallion who won the Derby in 2005.

The Observer asked Corcoran broker Charlie Attias, who represented the seller on the deal, what made the property special. “Well it’s the Plaza, it’s pretty special,” he said. “It has a nice sized bedroom, nice sized closets, a very large bathroom." It’s also the Plaza, as in the hotel, he said, which means all those Eloise-caliber amenities.

Ah, life at the Plaza! If Mr. and Mrs. Moss so choose, they have access to a maid service, room service, the building’s gym, the spa and the hotel’s private car service. Although their new apartment comes with its very own washer dryer, they can easily have their clothes laundered to perfection

The Moss family scored on the home. Originally listed for $3.5 million in 2010, the couple paid just $2.7 million for the property at what may be New York’s most prized pied a terre address. The home was sold by an unnamed owner, operating through an LLC.

eknutsen@observer.com