Jeff’s Stable
Photo: Viraj Hankare
Jeff is a co-founder of ‘The Bridge’ along with partners Bob Rubin and Shamin Abas. Considered by some to be the Hamptons most exclusive lawn party, their opening event in 2016 rallied close to 60 post-war sports and racing vehicles onto the fairways (and bunkers) of Bridgehampton’s most singular golf club and former race circuit, The Bridge. The novel pairing of these exceptional machines with automobile inspired art rightly became a cause célèbre among motoring aficionados and continues to be a standout event on the social calendar. Following this success, and recognizing an unmet need in the New York metro area, Jeff and his team launched CarPark in 2018. Early events were hosted in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, and later Industry City. For 2020 the team rose to the challenge, meeting the need for more intimate events, and recognizing the desire of fans and followers to connect in a socially distanced way with the ‘CarPark Drives In’ nights. A constant innovator, Jeff has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with driving, restoring, and racing vintage cars and in the process has acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of post-war sporting vehicles. Over the years he has bought and sold over 40 cars, and the likelihood that his stable will have changed by the time we publish this is rather high. More on that another time…
You’ve come a long way since your 1967 Volvo wagon. What are you driving these days?
Right now I have a Royal Red 2001 E39 Dinan S2-M5. Not flashy, but one of 80 worldwide in this color. It’s a beast. When we picked it up my first thought was ‘I’m driving the world's fastest couch’. It’s very planted with the Dinan suspension, and it’s my go-to if I’m driving over 100 miles. Definitely not a canyon carver. I have other cars for that. I always loved M5’s and wanted something a little more reliable and safe. The E39 is the last of the ‘analog’ M5’s.
I actually had three E34 M5’s at the same time, almost immediately before the Dinan. My dad had one back in the day. Virtually no one knew what they were at the time. It was rare and hand-built. He eventually put 240,000 miles and only replaced the clutch and the flywheel.
I also have the 2014 911 50th Anniversary. Geyser grey, sports seats with pepita inserts. That’s my ‘work car’. If I go anywhere as a lawyer, that’s the car I take. Makes a statement. Does it look grey? Not under any light that I’ve seen.
Then there’s the 2012 McLaren MP4C. 616HP. Over 18 months I’ve added 4000 miles on that one. Greg (@gbs_78) and I actually drove that back from Chicago when I got it. And finally, the 1965 Austin Healey that I grew up with. (Apparently we will need to revisit this list in the coming weeks. Stay tuned - Ed.)
What does a car mean to you?
For every kid growing up, hitting the age of 16 is a milestone where you believe you are ready to jump from your BMX to your first car. Unfortunately, our parents often have other ideas. I was into cars long before I could drive them. From the age of 4 or 5, I’d been wrenching on Austin Healeys, climbing under cars, doing oil changes, etc. But by the time I got to the ‘freedom’ aspect of driving, I’d gone through so many other phases of ‘cardom’. More than anything else though, I liked the design elements. I had subscriptions to every motoring magazine available and would read them cover to cover. I’d read every Car & Driver, Road & Track, and Motor Trend, memorizing stats. I couldn’t tell you what the Red Sock's pitcher’s RBI was, but 0-60 for a base 964 vs a Turbo was a different matter.
So by the time the ‘freedom’ thing came along, it wasn’t what I was really interested in. For me, it was more about the design, the stats, top speed, and the concept of going fast. I was like all the other kids on the block, measuring everything in top speed, which is funny now because I’m the slowest driver of McLaren’s. I don’t drive fast off the track. I will zoom up to 65mph and turn on the cruise control. But growing up it was all about the top speed, the quarter-mile, the horsepower, and the 0-60’s.
To the extent that cars are therapy, I’ve had all the cars that my dad had, and now I’m working my way past it. I bought my own things, and got faster things, and then re-bought his things (that’d be the Healey).
So, did you have a pin-up poster car growing up?
My father, who is also a Federal criminal defense lawyer, had clients who had Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s. You would always see a Pantera, because, the Cocaine 80’s. But I never got to drive them. There was a poster when I was growing up that had this image of a mansion with a helicopter, a yacht, and a five-car garage. There was a Ferrari, a Countach, a 911 and an XJ220, all 80’s goodness, with ‘Justification For Higher Education’ at the top. And I came from a family that was really focused on education, so my dad actually took a photo with our cars in the ’90s. But we had normal cars. So it was a Volvo 122S wagon with a wooden roof rack, the ‘91 E34 M5, the ’65 Autin Healey 3000, my ’69 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV, and my sister’s Turbo Saab. And then he had it printed with the same words and we still have it in our backyard.
But what did I want as a kid? I wanted a white G-body 911 coupe. That was my thing.
Growing up I had a friend in High School who would always host keg parties. Her parents were cool. They owned vineyards and there was always tons of beer at their house. Everyone would be outside, hanging out and drinking, and I would go hang out in the garage with the lime green Lamborghini Espada. Espada’s always had these crazy colors, because, the ‘70’s. I would see my friends, and I was happy to see them, but I came for the Espada, I would just sit in it. Her dad didn’t seem to mind.
Photo: Viraj Hankare
I had another friend whose dad collected vintage Aston Martins. I’d hang out with him in his garage too, smoking Romeo y Julieta cigars in his man cave while fifty teenagers were partying in the house. I never forgot that, and years later, when I decided to get back into the car world, I reached out to her through Facebook. By this time she had become the head of marketing for a giant watch company. We ended up meeting out at Pebble Beach where she invited me to a Ferrari event. It was there, at Ferrari Casa, that I met Shamin Abas. One thing led to another and we arranged to reconnect once back in New York, where she later introduced me to Bob Rubin.
And the rest is history…
Bob and Shamin had this great idea, but there was a piece missing to their puzzle: Someone who knew all the cars and could help them put a very special event together.
In the end, it worked, and we made the Bridge. It grew from 52 cars to close to 300, and 1000s of guests on the largest single owner plot in the Hamptons, with over 3 miles of undulating fairways to walk and see all the cars. I'm pleased as punch that worked out. It was an opportunity that allowed me to branch out when I needed it, and in the process, I’ve learned a great deal from Bob. He’s a true renaissance man.
So, we can safely say that The Bridge and CarPark are among your favorite events, but do you have any other destinations you like to frequent?
Funny that, but for a guy who runs car shows, frankly, I just like driving. You know, I just like getting out and doing. I think it’s because I’m one of the antsiest people that exist. I spend most of my week thinking about where I’m going next. It depends on who I’m with and what I’m driving. We might plan a long drive up to the Catskills, or maybe somewhere closer like Hayfields where we know the roads are great. Around Minnewaska is amazing too.
Any motoring heroes?
Paul Newman. He considered himself a driver first, and an actor second. I actually got to meet him at Watkins Glen when my dad was racing one weekend.
That reminds me, let’s go back to the Healey, shall we?
Well, my father bought an Austin Healey 3000 back in ’81. He actually had around five of them, but this particular one was a Phase I car, and much more rare than the Phase II. But it was a basket case. White and blue, ’65 Phase I, BJ8 3000 Mk III. It had no second gear and no fourth. It was a disaster, and it took ten years or more of my childhood to rebuild it. I took it on first dates and to my prom. One summer I put 2500 miles on it, so plenty of memories. Then one day he just sold it, without a word, never mentioning it to me or my brother.
Photo: Viraj Hankare
A few years later I was home alone one night with a nice bottle of rum and ran a very general search on Hemmings: manual, under $100k, and on page 8 or 9, or maybe 13 my car popped up. And I knew it was mine, so I called the number and left a voicemail. And then I sweated for the next 24hrs until the owner returned my call.
I bought it back, and then I hid it here in Brooklyn for about three months before our first CarPark event of that year, where we surprised my dad. He knew straight away it was his car, but it took a good 15 minutes for it all to make sense to him. I might be the owner, but it’s really his car.
It’s funny because, I’m so into driving, but I don’t need to own things. Having a collection of cars doesn’t add to my satisfaction, but with this one, it’s the memories. So many memories. It’s a part of me.
So where do we find you?
@carparknyc or @jeffrey_einhorn, maybe Hayfields on a weekend, and CarPark events over the summer. I don’t want to go to the same place every weekend. I want to see different people and different cars.
