An exclusive Who’s Who of Big Apple dignitaries and celebrities were invited to Tavern on the Green for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Rubenstein Associates. The first-rate PR firm, founded by Prez and CEO Howard Rubenstein, has spent the past half-century guarding the images of high-profile clients such as George Steinbrenner, Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump, Naomi Campbell, Leona Helmsley, Marv Albert, Mike Tyson, Tommy Mattola, David Letterman, Ron Perelman, Sarah Ferguson, and De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival. In fact, many of the 3,000 VIPs present were, or currently are, represented by the firm.

Not bad for a Harvard Law School drop-out who started his now-legendary PR firm from the kitchen table in his mother’s home in Brooklyn. Today he employs a staff of 170, and fees are steep. When Mayor Mike had his turn to address the crowd, he joked, “Drink a lot. It’s the only thing you’re going to get from Rubenstein Associates for nothing!”

The roster of prominent boldnames from the entertainment, political, and business arenas was so power-laden that the party was staffed with heavy-duty security—New York’s finest decked out in riot gear, accessorized with machine guns — for the occasion. In the glittering crowd: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton (with her very poised daughter, Chelsea), Governor George Pataki, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, all taking a breather from politics to help celebrate.

Also on hand were Rubenstein’s sons Richard and Steven, with daughter Ronnie (who all work in the biz with their dad), mingling with stars and local celebs like: Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld, Larry King, Michael Bolton, David Blaine, Willis Reed, Yogi Berra, Ed Skyler, Jay Cross, John Cody, Steve Eckhaus, Regis and Joy Philbin, Lally Weymouth, Mike Wallace, Tina Brown, Norman Pearlstein, Mort Zuckerman, Elinor Tatum, John and Betty Levin, Ian Schrager, Larry Silverstein, Dennis Herman, Peter Kalikow, Police Commish Raymond Kelly, Cardinal Edward Egan, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, former Mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch, Al D’Amato, and Mark Green.

Despite the elite masses, lines for food and drink were surprisingly nonexistent — thanks to buffet and bar stations set up every few feet and the efficient wait staff at the over-the-top fete. There were mounds of gravlox, pasta, carved roast beef, and chocolate-covered strawberries, along with a freely flowing bar.

In an appreciative nod toward the contribution New York has made to the firm’s success and the opportunities it has provided Rubenstein and his family, he announced charitable donations by the firm to the Association for a Better New York, NYC & Company, Partnership for New York City, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism (which will soon create the Samuel Rubenstein Memorial Scholarships, in honor of Rubenstein’s late father, a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune). “Our firm is grounded in the ethos and spirit of New York City, and we work every day to project that vitality and strength around the country and the world,” he told the guests.

Here’s to the next 50 years for an unflappable flack and his stellar firm!