Gloria Vanderbilt, the heiress, fashion innovator, and artist who began her extraordinary life as the “poor little rich girl” of the Great Depression, survived family tragedy and multiple marriages and reigned during the 1970s and `80s as a designer jeans pioneer, died on Monday at the age of 95, according to an AP report.

Gloria Laura Madeleine Sophie Vanderbilt was born in 1924, a century after her great-great-grandfather started the family fortune, first in steamships, later in railroads. He left around $100 million when he died in 1877 at age 82.

Her father, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, was 43, a gambler and boozer dying of liver disease when he married Gloria Morgan, 19, in 1923. Their daughter was 1 when Vanderbilt died in 1925, having gone through $25 million in 14 years.

Beneficiary of a $5 million trust fund, Vanderbilt became the “poor little rich girl” in 1934 at age 10 as the object of a custody fight between her globe-trotting mother and matriarchal aunt.

Vanderbilt, the great-great-granddaughter of financier Cornelius Vanderbilt and the mother of CNN news show host Anderson Cooper, who announced her death via a first-person obituary that aired on the network Monday morning, according to an AP report.

Cooper confirmed said Vanderbilt died at home with friends and family at her side. She had been suffering from advanced stomach cancer, he noted.

“Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman, who loved life, and lived it on her own terms,” Cooper said in a statement. “She was a painter, a writer, and designer but also a remarkable mother, wife, and friend. She was 95 years old, but ask anyone close to her, and they’d tell you, she was the youngest person they knew, the coolest, and most modern.”

Her life was chronicled in sensational headlines from her childhood through four marriages and three divorces, according to the AP report. She married for the first time at 17, causing her aunt to disinherit her. Her husbands included Leopold Stokowski, the celebrated conductor, and Sidney Lumet, the award-winning movie and television director. In 1988, she witnessed the suicide of one of her four sons.

Vanderbilt was a talented painter and collagist who also acted on the stage (”The Time of Your Life” on Broadway) and television (”Playhouse 90,” “Studio One,” “Kraft Theater,” “U.S. Steel Hour”). She was a fabric designer who became an early enthusiast for designer denim. The dark-haired, tall and ultra-thin Vanderbilt partnered with Mohan Murjani, who introduced a $1 million advertising campaign in 1978 that turned the Gloria Vanderbilt brand with its signature white swan label into a sensation.

At its peak in 1980, it was generating over $200 million in sales. And decades later, famous-name designer jeans – dressed up or down – remain a woman’s wardrobe staple.

Vanderbilt wrote several books, including the 2004 chronicle of her love life: “It Seemed Important at the Time: A Romance Memoir,” which drops such names as Errol Flynn, whom she dated as a teenager; Frank Sinatra, for whom she left Stokowski; Marlon Brando and Howard Hughes.

The historic Steinway piano factory in Queens has Robert De Niro in its sights for the future. The owner of Steinway & Sons has agreed to sell close to half of the piano maker’s 11-acre lot for $73 million to a group of investors including De Niro. John Paulson, the billionaire hedge-fund mogul, who purchased the factory in 2013 for $512 million, and has been looking to sell it for roughly $1 billion.

As reported by the NY Post, the 75-year-old “Goodfellas” actor and academy award winner is purchasing the Astoria lot together with his son Raphael, his longtime business partner Jane Rosenthal and his longtime friend, Adam Gordon, who leads the film investment company Wildflower. They plan to develop the grounds into a 500,000-square-foot film studio, a pre- and post-production office and a parking area on the Astoria lot.

A representative for the 160-year-old company was quick to dispel any fears that the selloff may indicate a reduction of their own business. “This land is excess property that was not being used for the production of our pianos,” said a Steinway spokesman. “Steinway has built the world’s finest pianos on this site since the early 1870s and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”

Paulson made billions before the financial crisis by shorting the housing market. When he purchased the piano company, six years ago, he said he was in “awe of the brand”. He had grown up in a family of piano players, and his sister had wept as a child when their family could not afford to buy a Steinway piano.

“My goal in owning Steinway is to first of all preserve it,” Paulson had said at the time, noting that he had no plans to make any major changes or move production out of its current factories in Astoria or Hamburg, Germany. Despite his appreciation for the company, Paulson would be willing to part with it if he could double his money. Last August, Paulson had reportedly been in talks with a Chinese buyer for the company discussing the price of $1 billion, but no deal has been made as yet.

De Niro’s investor group has plans to devote over $400 million to developing the property. The group will tap Newmark Knight Frank’s Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub to raise the necessary $150 million in equity and $275 million in debt.

In January 2018, De Niro was in the Astoria area filming scenes for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming feature film ‘The Irishman,” in which he stars as Frank Sheeran, alleged Jimmy Hoffa killer and labor union leader.

Paulson, Wildflower, Stolly and Roeschlaub did not immediately comment on the deal.

Restaurant Chefs in the Hamptons now consider a green thumb a necessity. Several of the top chefs are getting their hands dirty to grow their own vegetables with which to serve in their culinary delights. After all, isn’t that the benefit of being in the country side?

As reported by the NY Post, Drew Hiatt, executive chef at Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton does four to six hours of gardening each morning before working at the restaurant. The one-acre garden, which belongs to the restaurant and is run by Hiatt’s wife, Mary Joy, grows cucumbers, tomatoes, several types of lettuce, sugar snaps, English peas, herbs, rhubarb, string beans, radishes, peppers, gherkins, eggplants, zucchini, summer squash, and berries. Hiatt says that last summer they produced around $30,000 worth of produce. “We didn’t have to buy any tomatoes last summer,” said Hiatt. The vegetables are mostly grown in 60-foot raised beds that are three feet wide. “We can’t cover everything with what we grow, but we use it all. It’s one of the main reasons we stay here,” Hiatt says.

The garden is organic, meaning they use only natural methods to repel bug infestation. Bugs are not the only problem though. “Deer just ate half of my English peas last week,” Hiatt says. “We can’t do a lot about it.”

“Having your own garden is a dream” though, says Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef proprietor at Topping Rose House. “Young chefs used to only want to come to the city to learn about technique and different styles. Now they want to be in the country and learn how food grows. It’s very exciting to cook in the country now. It’s the way I grew up in France.”

Chef Joe Realmuto, executive chef and co-owner of the Honest Man restaurant group, similarly overseas a one-acre farm on which vegetables are grown. Realmuto runs the well-known Nick & Toni’s, as well as other East End restaurants including Rowdy Hall, Coche Comedor, Townline BBQ and La Fondita. The garden is adjacent to Nick & Toni’s and the majority of the produce grown is used there, with only the excess being sent to the other four restaurants. While he leaves the gardening work to a local farmer, Realmuto says the garden “was super important to me. It’s something you just don’t have in the city.” He has been working in the Hamptons for 26 years, and says the garden was a big factor in that. He says, the Hamptons is known for its “spectacular” corn and potatoes.

The Chefs from the following restaurants will also be cooking with produce from their own gardens: Blu Mar, Carissa, Carissa’s The Bakery, Estia’s Little Kitchen, Showfish at Gurney’s Star Island, L&W Market and Almond, and Union Cantina.

A British court has set the date for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to face a US extradition attempt early in 2020. Last week, the UK’s home secretary Sajid Javid approved an extradition request from the US for the 47-year-old Australian hacker, over his role in revealing classified U.S. government and military information. “I want to see justice done at all times and we’ve got a legitimate extradition request, so I’ve signed it, but the final decision is now with the courts,” Javid said on Thursday.

On Friday, the judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court set the date of the full extradition hearing for Feb. 25, 2020. As reported by the NY Post, the hearing is slated to last about five days and interim hearings are expected in July and again in October.

U.S. officials want to try and prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act, charging him for WikiLeaks’ publishing of a vast number of secret documents that divulged the names of people who provided confidential information to American and coalition forces. US prosecutors allege that he conspired with former US Army private Chelsea Manning to obtain the sensitive material, which comprised of State Department diplomatic cables and documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange faces 18 charges from the US, including conspiracy to hack into government computers. Ben Brandon, a British lawyer representing the American government, told a hearing, that the case “related to one of the largest compromises of confidential information in the history of the United States.”

Assange is now in Belmarsh Prison in London, serving a 50-week sentence for breaking bail in Britain. His legal team is appealing that sentence. He also faces questioning from Swedish prosecutors investigating an allegation of sexual assault.

Assange has reportedly been suffering from poor health in prison and was not well enough to appear at his last hearing in London. He appeared in court via video link. He looked tired and showed possible signs of a hand tremor. Referencing the maximum prison term he could face if he is convicted by the US on all counts, Assange said: “One hundred and seventy-five years of my life is effectively at stake.” He defended his position saying he is “nothing but a publisher.” Assange maintains that he is just a journalist, and should be protected by the free speech rights of the First Amendment. The US decision to use espionage charges would repudiate those rights. Mark Summers, Assange’s lawyer, says the case represents an “outrageous and full-frontal assault on journalistic rights.”

Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey have said no to Governor Phil Murphy’s desire for higher taxes on millionaires and increased fees on gun owners, corporations, opioid manufacturers and bear hunters.

“The Democrats who control the state Legislature have insisted they won’t support a millionaire’s tax, and their proposed $38.7 billion budget preserves just one of the Democratic governor’s proposed tax increases,” reported NJ Advance Media. “They would raise a single tax — paid by HMOs — while taking money out of the state rainy day fund, cutting spending and tweaking revenue estimates for the coming fiscal year to balance the budget.”

The lawmakers’ plan could get a vote by the full Legislature by Thursday. “The budget also calls for a number of spending cuts and takes money from the governor’s rainy day fund. Specifics on the funding cuts and other financial figures were not available at press time,” Patch.com reported. “Murphy is offering New Jersey residents more money if they agree to his proposed millionaires tax. But no amount of money may prevent what seems inevitable: A government shutdown by the end of the month, when the new fiscal budget year starts.”

The question of higher taxes in the already high-tax Garden State has troubled many, as evidenced by Bloomberg’s headline last year: “New Jersey’s New Budget Aims to Raise Taxes on Almost Everything.”

As Bloomberg noted, “New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy proposed taxing online-room booking, ride-sharing, marijuana, e-cigarettes and Internet transactions along with raising taxes on millionaires and retail sales to fund a record $37.4 billion budget that would boost spending on schools, pensions and mass transit. The proposal, 4.2 percent higher than the current fiscal year’s, relies on a tax for the wealthiest that has yet to be approved and lacks support from key Democrats in the legislature. It also reverses pledges from Murphy’s predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, to lower taxes in a state where living costs are among the nation’s highest.”

Taxes are always a political issue. Murphy has job approval ratings of 42%-32%, according to a poll released this morning by Fairleigh Dickinson University. “While Murphy struggles to be recognized as governor – a third of New Jersey adults can’t name him without being prompted – he remains popular among Democrats with 61%-16% approvals,” reported newjerseyglobe.com. “Murphy is at 39%-28% among Independents and 15%-63% among Republicans. The FDU poll numbers are consistent with a recent Johns Hopkins University survey that says one-third of Americans can’t name their governor and 80% don’t know who represents them in the state legislature.”

The Hamilton Mall in Atlantic County is not dying.

“Everybody tries to tell me the Hamilton Mall is dying,” said Ren Parikh, the VR Lab owner, in an interview with NJ.com. “I tell them it can’t be dying because I’m here. It can’t live or die without the community.”

Times have, however, proven challenging.

The Hamilton Mall, which opened in 1987, “is facing one of the most challenging periods in its history as it deals with online competition and other brick-and-mortar competitors that have sprung up,” reported pressofatlanticcity.com. “JCPenney, the second of the mall’s three anchor stores, will close July 5. Macy’s, the third anchor store, has no plans to close, but the chain will be closing eight locations this year nationwide.”

The mall had a value of $90.78 million in 2017, but it was reduced to $75 million last year, the news site added. “The mall value was reduced again to $50 million this year. There is another active tax appeal for 2019 for the mall, said William M. Johnson, the township tax assessor.”

The mall is a major shopping destination in Mays Landing, in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The two-story enclosed mall is anchored by JCPenney and Macy’s. The former Sears is currently sitting vacant. (Sears and JCPenney were at the Shore Mall (now Harbor Square) prior to 1987).

The mall is adjacent to the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Route 322) and U.S. Route 40, and is close to the Atlantic City Expressway and Atlantic City, making it a high tourist destination for vacationers there. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,028,500 sq ft. It boasts over 140 stores, making it the largest mall in southeastern New Jersey. An Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Buffalo Wild Wings are all located on pad sites on the outskirts of the parking lot. Financial services include an Executive Cash Service Center and various Bank of America ATMs.

The malaise is part of the much-ballyhooed “retail apocalypse” taking place nationwide. Dressbarn recently said it’s shutting down and closing all 650 stores, including 28 in New Jersey. “All Dressbarn stores are open and conducting business as usual, as is Dressbarn’s ecommerce site,” the company said in a recent press release. “Customers can continue to shop at Dressbarn in-store and online and use Dressbarn-branded credit cards for purchases. There are no current changes to Dressbarn’s return, refund, or gift card policies.”

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Middlesex County’s new Marion and Norman Tanzman Center for Lifelong Living is projected to be completed in the fall of 2020.

The JCC officially broke ground back on May 19, for the expansion. Dorothy Rubinstein, the JCC’s executive director, told the New Jersey Jewish News, “Our JCC has a unique spirit and an unusually cohesive staff, board of directors, volunteers, and people who were young when their families joined the JCC,” noting also that much of the professional staff has been with the JCC for many years. “The children grew up here and remained and now are passionate about ensuring its future.”

The center is expected to be completed by the fall of 2020, the NJJN continued. “It will provide an additional 10,000 square feet housing “state-of-the art, safe, accessible, and welcome new program spaces for the growing number of senior adult and baby boomer participants,” said Glinn. These include new areas for social gatherings, a kitchen, an outdoor courtyard, and program rooms.”

For nearly 35 years, the JCC of Middlesex County has served the community, providing cutting edge programs for adults of all ages, children and families and those in need. The JCC serves those in Edison, Metuchen, Woodbridge, Highland Park, Monroe Township and surrounding communities, as well as the entire Middlesex and now Monmouth County communities. Its membership has grown from 2,000 to 8,200.

The new wing will provide state-of-the-art, safe, accessible and welcoming new program spaces for the growing senior adult and Baby Boomer participants, including social spaces, a new kitchen, an outdoor courtyard and new program rooms.

The project will see existing buildings renovated with new lighting, flooring, walls, ceilings, and enhanced security features. “The JCC’s Bright Beginnings preschool for youngsters 2 to 5, which has a perpetual waiting list of 50-60 children for the 180-student school, will get new classrooms and space for special-needs programming and teacher preparation in the new wing,” reported NJJN.

The Community Campus facility features a state-of-the-art wellness center, a five lane swimming pool with locker rooms and a sauna, a gymnasium, an accredited preschool, a childcare center, meeting rooms and a multipurpose room for performances and lectures. Membership is shared between the JCC and the YMCA.

Norman Tanzman was a New Jersey state assemblyman and state senator in the 1960s and 1970s. “He was a founder of the real estate development and management firm of Jacobson, Goldfarb and Tanzman,” noted centraljersey.com. “The couple founded the Marion and Norman Tanzman Charitable Foundation and they were founding benefactors of the JCC of Middlesex.”