Brooklyn (and legacy of political one-liners) well-represented at Alfred E. Smith Dinner
U.S. Senator Schumer, Rep. Dan Donovan Among Brooklyn Leadership In Attendance at Waldorf
Along with 1,500 guests packing the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom, anticipation hung heavy in the air at the Seventy-First Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. This ‘white tie’ event allows people from all political parties to let their hair down and enjoy a light-hearted evening with all proceeds benefiting Catholic Charities. But with this year’s keynote speakers being Secretary Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the traditional humor and civility of the evening was expected to be tested. An audience thousands time larger than the assembled 1,500 in person was eagerly awaiting cable news coverage, live tweets and stand-up fallout from the event.
The evening was hosted by Alfred E. Smith, IV, the great-grandson of the four-term New York governor, and the first Catholic to be nominated for President of the United States in 1928. Smith, IV offered witty and well-received opening remarks, before introducing Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan.
Brooklyn dignitaries in attendance included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, former Republican Party Chairman Craig Eaton, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Brooklyn Diocese and Monsignor Jamie J. Gigantiello.
The evening proved to be a night of many firsts, including the first time Clinton and Trump have recently sat near each other ( albeit on either side of Cardinal Dolan) the first time the two candidates shook hands in recent memory and the first time someone was booed at an Al Smith dinner. The Donald created that ‘first’ by some direct non-humorous barbs that were considered inappropriate at this august event.