I met Jennifer while eating brunch at Fada in Brooklyn.
AskaNewYorker: Hi Jennifer. Your last name sounds pretty Italian.
Jennifer: You’re right, it’s Italian. My father was born and raised in Mount Vernon.
AskaNewYorker: Where did you grow up?
Jennifer: I grew up on the Upper East Side until I was about 6 and later moved to Scarsdale.
AskaNewYorker: What do you do professionally?
Jennifer: I work in IT Consulting. I run the operations for about 200 people, trying to figure out who’s going to go where, when. Keep everyone busy and keeping my company making the most money possible.
AskaNewYorker: Do you travel much?
Jennifer: I travel a lot, actually. Sometimes just for a couple days, sometimes for two and a half weeks. Washington DC to Hong Kong to Singapore to Munich.
AskaNewYorker: Where do you live now?
Jennifer: I live in Hollywood, California.
AskaNewYorker: How does a New York girl acclimate to Hollywood?
Jennifer: It was pretty damn tough. It’s hard going from a New York environment to a Hollywood environment, I think. There’s such a focus on manicures, pedicures, hair highlighting, sun tanning, and juicy juice couture, sweat pants. It’s pretty crazy, actually. People in Hollywood are much more outward-appearance focused and inwardly self focused. It feels a little more natural for me to be in New York than it is to be there in Hollywood.
AskaNewYorker: What do you miss most about New York?
Jennifer: Good pizza. There’s a special place below Madison Square Garden in the train station, a place I used to love to go to. So pizza, pastries, and my Hungarian friend who’s in his 80s and lives in Yonkers now, and all my friends. I have more friends here than I do in L.A.
AskaNewYorker: But now you’re all good with Hollywood and like living there?
Jennifer: I love Hollywood. When I moved to L.A. I didn’t love it. I think it took me awhile. After three different neighborhoods I moved to Hollywood, which was the one I could actually get out and walk around in. There’s a sense of community and the homes are interesting architecturally and people know each other. You can go to bars and you know the local patrons and you know the bartenders. I like that environment.
AskaNewYorker: What are your hobbies?
Jennifer: Gardening, scuba diving, throwing dinner parties and getting my friends to do all the cooking, traveling, trying to learn to play tennis. That never goes very well, though.
AskaNewYorker: What a creative pedicure you have!
Jennifer: I go to this place called the Shinwa Siri Salon. It’s the place where Jennifer Lopez used to get her nails done until one of them fell off! The Vietnamese women there will ask you if you want to have flowers on your toes. I always say yes, but I’m never specific so when I walk out I’ll have like a whole bouquet of flowers on my toes with glitter and rhinestones. I figure it’s fun for the summer!
AskaNewYorker: Last question. What’s your trademark?
Jennifer: A giant bottle of water. That’s what everybody knows me for when I go to bars in L.A. , I’ll come with a giant bottle of Evian. The local bodega here didn’t have Evian, so this Dasani will have to do for now.
AskaNewYorker: Stay cool and enjoy the rest of your summer!
