Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner wasn’t the only one causing controversy at the Brooklyn Museum’s gala celebration for the Takashi Murakami retrospective last Thursday night. Some attendees say Jamie Snow, wife of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, was rather boorish in her accumulation of freebies at the event.
Each diner at the gala was entitled to one special edition technicolor fiberglass placemat designed by the trendy artist, but it seems Snow’s sense of entitlement was big enough to accommodate eight of the souvenirs, which she snatched from abandoned place settings and had autographed by Murakami after dinner. The mats have been sold for up to $1,000 on eBay by revelers who took them from previous events.
When some attendees at Thursday’s gala realized they missed out on the placemats, they went crying to Snow for one of her eight. According to Radar, she had little sympathy: "You guys really should have acted faster. This is Brooklyn!” Other placemat pleas reportedly elicited responses such as, “You snooze, you lose, buddy. Forget it.” And when her husband, the borough president, was asked to intervene, he responded with a shrug: “Just try being married to her.”
The Daily News confirmed the contretemps with Snow, who admitted it was “a little true.” So Marty Markowitz has vowed to sell the placemats to raise funds for Camp Brooklyn, a program that sends low-income kids to camp. "She didn't steal, she didn't thieve, she didn't take from anyone else," Markowitz told the News.
Photo of Jamie Snow and Marty Markowitz by Theatre for a New Audience
