I did not ask Dermot Shea about the city. I already know about it. I was here before George Washington. So I asked how much sleep he gets. Answer? “Not enough. You catch it when you can. Maybe a couple of hours. The phone’s 10 inches away.”
What would he be if not a cop?
“Growing up I wasn’t sure what I’d do. If I was left-handed and a really great athlete, maybe I’d have been a hockey player. But I’m blessed. Nothing’s as terrific as working with the NYPD. Today’s timing isn’t perfect and we just have to get through this. But there’s no hesitation — not a second — about my having this job. Better still, I haven’t screwed up in the last 10 minutes.”
He remember his first day on the force?
“Yeah. 46th Precinct. I was scared. Nervous. I wanted to be out on the beat but I was assigned to paperwork indoors. I was especially disappointed when other rookies returned the end of the day and told me all that they’d done and their exciting experiences — and here I was sitting writing reports.”
How’s his wife feel about his job?
“We’re married since ’92. Three kids. A grandchild on the way. She works from home and maybe we didn’t think it would be what it is now but she’s been a rock in our relationship. Listen, we can still both laugh. But looking back at my career, it’s been a wild ride.”
OK, we spoke 10 minutes, which is more than he talks to anyone unless they’re in handcuffs. Just one more question —
Ray Kelly, Bill Bratton, why so many top cops Irish?
“The Irish run strong. I absolutely do not know one thing that’s not great about the Irish.”
Decked out
Sotheby’s peddling designer Tommy Hilfiger’s tri-level 13,344-square-foot 22-acre Greenwich, Conn., home.
Gated. Ivy-clad granite and brick turreted French Normandy-style. Turkish tile roof. Great hall. Oversize fireplace, carved oak staircase, library, leaded-glass bay window, formal dining room, terrace, kitchen with marble island seating plus Wolf, Sub-Zero, Miele appliances. Billiards room without which no home should be without, full-service bar and home theater without which no other home should be without.
The owner’s suite, six bedrooms, sitting area, cashmere walls, Juliet balcony, steam shower, dressing room, study.
Also, wine cellar, gym and sauna. If unwelcome cousins stay over, a guest apartment. Plus koi pond, tennis court, pool, greenhouse and — if tired of your Hamptons share — a four-car garage.
Netflix gives a rebel yell
Now comes Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” about 1968’s Dem National Convention protests and the seven charged with conspiracy, in theaters maybe now, Netflix for sure Oct. 16.
Eddie Redmayne: “I play rebellious Tom Hayden who joined Students for a Democratic Society” … Sacha Baron Cohen: “I’m activist Abbie Hoffman who grew his hair to look like the hippies protesting” … Frank Langella as 5-foot-6 Jewish Judge Julius Hoffman: “They got a 6-foot-3 Italian to play this unqualified, corrupt, feelingless man with no interest in abiding by the law.”
Sorkin: “The ’60s resonates today. Protesting is not anti-American. It’s the opposite.”
OK?
Checking inn
Hotels in Europe: Porter swabs your luggage. Check-in pen is wet-wrapped. Astringent gel’s on stands, walls, at the elevator, in the elevator, by the desk. Lausanne’s Beau-Rivage Palace staff smiles (we guess) behind medical masks. Airports have decals for distance sitting and standing in line.
No room directories, menus, informative cards or stationery. A Made in China tablet’s in English, French, German for room service, information, spa menu, places in town, concierge, boutique menu, Internet, newsletter, media access, weather, airlines. No newspapers. The tablet delivers Abu Dhabi to Atlanta media.
And your breakfast bagel’s Saran-wrapped.
The Alfred E. Smith Dinner with its usual 2,000 Waldorf Grand Ballroom guests? Trump and Barfden got e-vites. It’s whispered — just whispered — Biden pulled out. DJT will speak virtually.
Oy, only in New York, kids, only in New York.