The New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show

Eric Blair-Joannou is a graduate of Cornell and Columbia Universities, and studied at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. A successful real estate and business development professional, Eric Blair-Joannou is an active philanthropist who regularly engages with organizations including the New York Botanical Garden, of which he is a part of the Young Garden Circle.

The New York Botanical Garden hosts several special and annual events, including its yearly Holiday Train Show. Every year, a number of meticulously crafted, G-scale model trains on a half-mile of track pass through an elaborate display consisting of nearly 200 distinct New York landmarks. Maintaining the natural beauty and feel of the garden, every landmark, including the Brooklyn Bridge and Rockefeller Center, has been made from bark, leaves, and other natural materials. The show, located in in the festive Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, is one of the New York Botanical Garden’s most popular and well-attended events.

The 2018 Holiday Train Show, the garden’s 27th edition of the exhibit, will conclude Jan. 21, 2019. Interested parties are advised to schedule plans ahead of time, as tickets generally sell out.

Deborah Cullen Hired as Bronx Museum of the Arts Director

The recipient of a master's degree in urban planning and an MBA from Columbia University, Eric Blair-Joannou is an experienced real estate management and business professional in New York. Away from the office, Eric Blair-Joannou is a trustee of the Bronx Museum of the Arts. 

In June 2018, the Bronx Museum of the Arts named Deborah Cullen as its new director. A resident of the Bronx herself, Cullen previously served as director of Columbia University's Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery and oversaw the opening of a gallery in West Harlem, gaining a reputation for championing art from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Cullen also founded the Uptown contemporary art show that highlighted the work of artists living in northern Manhattan.

The new director position opened up in 2017 after the passing of previous director Holly Block, who lost a battle with breast cancer. Block had served 11 years in the post, overseeing a considerable increase in museum attendance. Cullen, meanwhile, officially took over with the goal of completing its $25 million capital campaign while also balancing communal and global aims of the museum’s board.