Time Inc.’s West Bank Bash

From the full issue: New York – September 19, 1997 (Full Issue)

Earlier in the night, as the sun was setting over our beautiful Hudson River, Pathfinder hosted a party for advertisers and clients. Time Inc. New Media’s Nancy Maloney explained how she found the Upper West Side’s recently opened Boat Basin Cafe at 79th Street this summer. While nice for mariners and upper west siders, this was not the choicest spot for a new media event … Abigail Hornik, an account rep, breezed by Valerie Martinez (Brand Dialogue) and Bob Liu (CNNfn), who was slicing some cheese with his www.NYTimes.com Swiss army knife. Amanda Hanes, who is the postmaster and does chats, RealAudio and Video on Pathfinder, was enjoying the night with Michael Coble who spoke cryptically of his role at Pathfinder: he manages reporting and analysis and sees what things are getting traffic from the web surfer’s pov. I ran into Olivia Gushin (Kokonet), who is my partner-in-crime for forever trying to plan the next WWWAC party (soon).

Unlit dirt paths, and sidewalks on main onramps to the highway made this trek inconvenient to get to. Not as high as wide, the flagstoned space was cavernous going from an outer courtyard entrance with dry fountain to patio (under the West Side Drive) with blue cloth-covered tables and a bar at the North end, and steps leading down to a narrow balcony overlooking a marina and the river. The aroma of grilled hamburgers out in the open for the restaurant whet our appetite, and like Pathfinder’s website, the spread was impressive: endive with crab dip, spicy grilled chicken on skewers, crudite, fine cheeses and crackers, chips and salsa, and big drinks in plastic cups. Classy, no?