A thousand feet above the grit and glamour of Manhattan’s west side, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) hosted its 2025 Annual Gala, Giant Steps—and make no mistake, it was no ordinary evening of polite toasts and lacquered lamb chops.
This was an uprising in pearls and purpose, an incandescent celebration of what it means to believe in the raw, unfiltered potential of every child across the five boroughs.
The city came dressed in diamonds and declarations, raising a jaw-dropping $5 million in honor of Laurie M. Tisch, the woman who, over four decades ago, looked at a modest storefront and saw a citadel for childhood wonder.
Laurie is no stranger to legacy. Her name carries weight in every corner of this city—from the Whitney to Juilliard, from Lincoln Center to Gotham FC—but her work with CMOM is where her heart beats loudest. She is the grand matriarch of Manhattan’s most vital mission: to ensure that joy, access, and early learning are not luxuries, but birthrights.
“This event was not just a celebration—it was a declaration,” said CMOM’s fearless CEO and Museum Director, Dava Schub, with the kind of clarity that slices through Manhattan fog like a stiletto through silk. “CMOM matters deeply to the future of New York City and its one million children under 10 who call it home.”
The ballroom glittered with boldface names and blinding conviction: Mike Bezos. Michael Bloomberg. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Darren Walker. Alice Walton. Dr. Ruth Gottesman. Leonard Lauder. Giants, yes—but they came to honor a woman who has spent her life building ladders for children to climb up beside them.
And oh, the spectacle. Lady Gaga concert suites, Super Bowl 2026 tickets, Rao’s golden reservation—auction items whispered like sirens, but it was the voices of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City that stole the night, delivering a performance so pure it could baptize even the most cynical hedge fund manager in hope.
The evening was swathed in dreamscape decor by Bronson van Wyck, every corner humming with magic and mission. Guests clinked glasses, signed checks, and perhaps for a moment, imagined a city where the brilliance of a child’s mind mattered more than the bottom line.
Rich Buery, CEO of Robin Hood, captured it best: “Laurie’s belief in this work and CMOM’s investment in children will make our city stronger now and for generations to come.”
This was not philanthropy for show. This was architecture—the kind that builds futures.
With its audacious new 80,000-square-foot home rising at 96th Street and Central Park West, set to open in 2028, CMOM is expanding its sanctuary of imagination, doubling down on its founding principle: that art, education, and radical access are not extras, they are essentials.
Of course, Laurie M. Tisch is leading this campaign, with the same velvet force and visionary fire that turned a fledgling museum into a national model.
As Laurie’s legacy echoed throughout the night, we were reminded that institutions are only as strong as the women who dare to dream them into existence. Her commitment has touched children in shelters, in Head Start programs, and yes—even in the visitation rooms on Rikers Island. She is the patron saint of the overlooked. She doesn’t build walls; she paints doors.
And if you want to know the kind of city she believes in, just look around CMOM. It is kinetic, compassionate, and filled with light.
Laurie M. Tisch is not just a woman. She is a movement wrapped in couture. A civic oracle with the grace of Grace Kelly and the grit of Gloria Steinem. She is a co-owner of the New York Giants and Gotham FC, yes—but make no mistake, her greatest team will always be the children of New York.
She has earned keys to the city, honorary doctorates, and more power lists than she can count. But her most enduring accolade? A museum full of laughter, color, and the unapologetic chaos of young minds set free.
So here’s to Giant Steps—a night where philanthropy found its fiercest heels, where Laurie M. Tisch reigned not as a hostess, but as a high priestess of possibility. And where the future of New York, against all odds and all systems, felt infinitely bright.
