Wednesday evening at Pier 60, the dedication of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly known as the Triborough!) attracted a long list of high-profile guests—Sarah Jessica Parker, Carl Bernstein, Matt Dillon, not to mention gaggles of politicians and Kennedys. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu! The Daily Transom wondered what kinds of Manhattan landmarks this sort of crowd would like to be named after them.
"A dog park!" replied actress Glenn Close, who during the dinner would be reading alongside Matthew Broderick and Harry Belafonte from Ariel Dorfman‘s play Speak Truth to Power: Voices From Beyond the Dark. "Or maybe a theater, that would be nice. Or the Empire State Building! But I guess that should actually be named after a guy."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrived in an elegant lavender suit, holding a Chanel clutch, on the arm of her husband, Paul Pelosi. She said she had missed the official ceremony earlier that day in Astoria, attended by former President Bill Clinton.
"I was sorry to have missed it. We had to swear in a new member today—Congress was in session so I was down in Washington, D.C.," she explained.
We told Ms. Pelosi that that sounded pretty important and was therefore a valid excuse. This made her laugh.
"It’s important for me and my husband to be here personally because we had the pleasure of meeting Senator Kennedy when he was ‘Brother Bobby’ during the campaign, and then attorney general, and then our senator," Ms. Pelosi told the Daily Transom. "We lived in New York—four of our five babies were born in New York in the ’60s—so from a personal standpoint it’s pretty thrilling. Officially, as speaker of the House, I’ve known the Kennedy family for a long time and am honored to be invited tonight."
Ms. Pelosi was unfortunately too shy to play along with our "what would you like to be named after you" game.
"Oh, God! No, I’m not interested in that," she replied.
Correspondent Christiane Amanpour also pulled out the humble card. "Oh, please! I don’t think so. Not after me. I have achieved a lot, but let’s not put us in the same category," she said, referring to Mr. Kennedy.
Martha Stewart had missed the official ceremony that morning because she was taping a show with Snoop Dogg. "Isn’t he fun?" she said. (Video available here.)
"Anything named after me. Hmm … let’s see," Ms. Stewart pondered aloud. "Fifth Avenue!" (Don’t be shy, Ms. Stewart!)
Law & Order‘s Sam Waterston also seemed to enjoy the question. "Ha ha! A fire hydrant maybe!"
