Clintons honored at Wildlife Conservation Society gala

David Giambusso

Amid barking sea lions and the calls of a cockatoo, members of Manhattan's charity circuit gathered in tuxedos and ball gowns last night at the Central Park Zoo to donate money to the Wildlife Conservation Society and honor Chelsea and Hillary Clinton for their efforts in stopping the global ivory trade.

"I had the unique honor of working with Hillary Rodham Clinton," Mayor Bill de Blasio told the crowd as Hillary, Chelsea and Bill Clinton sat feet from the podium. De Blasio was Clinton's campaign manager during her 2000 Senate run in New York.

"If you think you know what laser-like focus is, it would not be the truth until you've spent time with Hillary Rodham Clinton," the mayor said. "When she sees a problem she gives it her all."

The problem of poaching elephants, said W.C.S. president Cristiáne Samper, is not merely an ecological threat. The illegal ivory trade fuels terrorist and criminal syndicates throughout Africa that wreak havoc on local populations and threaten security abroad.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/06/8547144/clintons-honored-wildlife-conservation-society-gala