“Have a good night. Read a book!” – Bruce Springsteen
The New York Public Library’s “Library Lions” gala is buzzing with big names like Shonda Rhimes, Spike Lee, Annette de la Renta, Sarah Hyland and Lauren Santo Domingo. “I came to the library with my father when I was 12 years old to do genealogy research,” Martha Stewart tells me. “It was fascinating every time I came. In those days you could still go into the stacks.”
An orchestra plays as over 500 black tie guests step upstairs for dinner. “I have so many memories as a kid walking into this building,” says my seat-mate Sai De Silva. “Imagining I was the belle of the ball, trapped in this beautiful castle, reading all these books and Prince Charming was going to rescue me.” NYPL president Tony Marx addresses the crowd. “As we navigate this ever changing, ever challenging world as the nation’s largest, most used public library on the planet,” Marx says. “We are guided by the unwavering conviction that everyone has the right to read, learn, to advance their lives.” Then boom: a surprise performance by Bruce Springsteen who belts out “Thunder Road,” rocking the room. Before he exits the stage, Springsteen tells the tony crowd: “Have a good night. Read a book!” – ALEXANDER HANKIN
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BFA
