80
dispatches
News andNotesFromAround theWorld
new york city
In the early
decades of the 20th century,
Manhattan’s Algonquin Hotel was
renowned for itsRoundTable lunches,
at whichDorothy Parker,Alexander
Woollcott, and other leading lights
wouldgathertoswapwitticisms.These
days, it’s the Algonquin’s resident
cat,Matilda, who garners the most
attention:Her annual birthdaybash is
oneof the city’smost coveted invites.
In the Oak Room tonight, the
perfectly groomed 8-year-old feline
is surrounded bymen andwomen in
uniform,members of the city’s new
AnimalCruelty InvestigationSquad.
One of these is John Passarella, a
strappingNYPD officer whomade
headlines last summer when he was
photographed rubbing noses with a
small tabby he’d extracted from a car
engine, a feat that has earnedhim an
award at tonight’s event.
Joining Passarella on the honoree
list are three other police officers,
includingAndreaDiNella,who took
care of a cat she namedFrankie after
hewalked intoherprecincthouseand
refused to leave. “He turned himself
in,”she says.
After the awards comes a fashion
show (“AFelineSalute toNYC’sFirst
Responders”), in which a variety of
cats model scaled-down uniforms.
Oneof them,Zeus,swats at the strap
ofhisFDNYhelmetbeforecurlingup
in a tiny red fire truck,eliciting agale
of appreciative
aah
s.
Later,whenall of theanimalshave
gone, an oldRoundTable yarn gets
another airing. As the story goes,
Woollcott, an eminent drama critic,
was facing the prospect of eutha-
nizing his beloved and very old cat
but wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Whenhe toldParker about it, she is
said tohave replied,“Have you tried
curiosity?”
—HILLARYRICHARD
A salute to NYC’s cat-loving first responders
New ork’s Felinist
LANDONNORDEMAN (MTA CAT); COURTESYOF THE ALGONQUINHOTEL (CATSWITH PEOPLE); © TOMMORGAN/DEMOTIX/CORBIS (AUSTEN FESTIVAL)
