Recap | Party Photos! BlockParty 2012

Thanks to all of the Omnibus devotees who came out to share the love, our BlockParty last week was a fun and successful evening. We started the night with a reception and silent auction at Old Saint Patrick’s Youth Center, a former school gymnasium and assembly hall that made the perfect setting for a gathering of urban enthusiasts. With the help of dedicated volunteers, League staff, and our generous donating artists, we transformed the space with art, projections and dumplings and samosas. So, thank you, to our benefit committee, our sponsors, our auction donors and auction purchasers, our volunteers, our colleagues here at the League, and the many party-goers who came out to support the League and Urban Omnibus!

After the reception, a smaller group of generous benefactors joined us for a five course meal at City Grit, a culinary salon whose co-founder and chef, Sarah Simmons, had concocted an incredible original menu, inspired by the flavors of the five boroughs, just for us. Check out some photos of the evening below.

While successful fundraisers like this will certainly help keep Urban Omnibus running, the event also presented a great opportunity to hang out with a passionate and diverse crowd who share a fascination with the city, how it works and how it might be improved. Providing opportunities for our readership to meet, explore and celebrate together is an important part of what the Omnibus is all about, so get ready for some more live events coming up later this spring.

From left: Mimi Taft, donating artist Frank Lupo and Rosalie Genevro, Executive Director of the Architectural League

Kent Barwick, Laura Hansen and Jim Stubbs

Rogan Kersh and Sara Pesek

Janet Shute, Dave Anthony and Emily Leu

Katie Stapleton, Alex Diez, Natalie Rebuck and Carolyn Hinger

Todd Kimmel and League board president Annabelle Selldorf

Paul Wolf, John Landewe, Andrew Hollweck and Paul Proulx

Cassim Shepard, Urban Omnibus Editor

The five course, five-borough-inspired menu at City Grit

Photos by Marcelo López Dinardi