39 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 25, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@schnepsmedia.com
As I leave my “pink paradise”
of Palm Beach and the
Colony Hotel where I resided
for three months, my heart is
heavy. Happy to come home, but
sad to leave!
When I arrived in Palm
Beach in early January,
I knew no one. But that
changed over time thanks
to some special people that
I met. Th e people I leave
behind until next year will
forever have my gratitude
and be in my heart.
My last weekend was
fi lled with sweet farewells.
What better place to meet
friends Donna Schneier and
Stacey Baron than at the Colony
Club, in a corner table, surrounded
by palm trees and greenery.
Donna, an art dealer specializing
in artists who design jewelry,
has become like a sister to me and
opened doors to people in her art
world. It’s extraordinary — as soon
as we met, Donna and I bonded as if
we knew each other our whole lives.
What a treat it was joining her for
lunch and meeting with Ghislain
d’Humieres, the director of the
Norton Museum of Art, Palm
Beach’s version of MoMA.
Th en, we went south to Boca
Raton to have lunch with Irvin
Lippman, the director of the Boca
Raton Museum of Art.
Sadly I will miss Donna’s Bijoux
featuring jewelry artists from
around the world in an exhibit and
sale at the Boca Raton Museum of
Art this week.
Transitioning home
I remember how an old friend,
Stacey Baron, living in New York,
had lunch with me and mentioned
she was going to Palm Beach. I
jumped and told her I was thinking
of opening Dan’s Papers in Palm
Beach! She instantly invited me to
stay at her apartment and show me
the area.
Th at gave me courage to go down,
explore and fi nd a “home”
for my monthslong stay.
I decided against fi nding
an apartment and
instead chose to look at a
few hotels.
The Breakers Palm
Beach felt too much like
a convention hotel, with
waves of people in every
corner. Not a place to call
home.
Th e Chesterfi eld Palm
Beach was sold out. I then
looked into Th e Brazilian Court
Hotel, a small, quiet, intimate place.
But the very dark “woods” in all the
hallways felt depressing.
My next stop was to the Colony
Hotel, which I instantly
called the “Pink Palace” since
the building is painted pink!
I walked into the lobby and it
instantly put a smile on my face.
Th e beautiful wallpapers and sitting
areas made for an intimate feeling
and I knew this was the place for me!
Th rough Dan Rattiner, I met
his neighbor and friend Adele
Fuschsberg and through her, I met
Irene Fisher. Both became great
friends.
On Saturday, I had lunch with
Jane Hanson, who I knew from the
Hamptons and also has a home in
Palm Beach. Together, we created
our new TV show, “Dan’s Papers
Palm Beach Roundtable” featuring
many people from the
Palm Beach world and fi lmed
at the Colony Hotel.
What fun to add a TV show
that will be streaming over our
many media websites that have
over 9 million page views every
month!
Jane, an Emmy Award-winning
broadcaster who had been with
NBC for over 25 years, is joining
our PoliticsNY team. Lucky us!
My “spider web” of meeting people
at the Colony Hotel had an
unexpected addition.
While swimming in the pool one
morning, I was joined by a Ford
model being photographed poolside.
She was using a “prop” of a
heart-shaped, pink and baby blue
patterned fl oat. I asked where I
could buy it and it turns out that
LoveShackFancy, one of my favorite
stores here and in the Hamptons,
is creating a new home line, and that
will be part of it!
The model shared that
Rebecca Cohen, the owner of
LoveShackFancy, was doing
a pop-up shop for the people
training with celebrity
trainer to the stars Isaac
Boots. Th ere, he and his
husband Jeff rey O’Brecht
were all dressed in pretty
pink.
Meeting Rebecca enabled
me to suggest many symbiotic
ways we can work together this
summer in the Hamptons. Aft er all,
she won best designed table at the
Welcoming the ‘Gray Lady’
With the closing of the New York Daily News presses that
printed dozens of our newspapers, we transitioned to a
new home for printing at the New York Times plant in
Whitestone, Queens. At 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, my family and I
watched with amazement and heard the buzz of the multiple presses
spinning out our amNewYork Metro and Metro Philadelphia papers.
Hampton Classic, and hopefully
she can design ours, too!
In tribute and gratitude for
their friendship, on Saturday
night I invited art dealer and
sponsor of our Dan’s Papers
Palm Beach edition’s front
cover artist Ted Vassilev and
his brilliant wife Simona
Petrova to dinner with my
dear friends from New York,
now transplanted to Florida.
Peter Meyer, the Market
President of TD Bank’s central
Florida commercial division,
and Senior Vice President of
Citibank Denise Arbesu of
Citibank. Both were former
chairmen of the renowned
Brooklyn Chamber of
Commerce now living in West
Palm Beach and joined us at
Sant Ambroeus for dinner.
I picked it because the
famed restaurant fi ts my “Golden
Triangle,” meaning it reaches people
in Palm Beach, the Hamptons
and New York City, where our newspapers
are distributed.
Th e food, paired with Ted’s excellent
wine selection, made for a
memorable evening.
As a bonus, Jean Shafi roff , another
“Golden Triangle” friend, was at
the next table! Ironically, she sponsored
the back page of the February
edition of Dan’s Papers Palm Beach
and Ted sponsored the front page! A
happy coincidence!
What a way to end a glorious stay
in sunny south Florida. I can’t wait
to return!
The unique lobby at The
Colony Hotel
Adele Fuschsberg, Irene
Fisher and I celebrated Purim
at the Manalapan Chabad!
Rebecca Cohen with Isaac
Boots and Jeffff rey O’Brecht
With Camille D’amico (l.), Michelle
Mendez and Clarissa Chueire (r.)
Donna Schneier at
our farewell dinner
at La Goulue
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