Dan Aykroyd and LeRoy Neiman among others played host at a Fantasy Auction at the Hilton to benefit the FDNY. Outgoing Fire Commissioner Tom Von Essen and incoming Commissioner Nick Scoppetta lent support as auction goodies were put up for grabs: like a trip for two to the Super Bowl, boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali, and two tickets to the 2002 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue party! Looks like Dan Aykroyd could moonlight as an auctioneer the way he pumped up the crowd to bid on other exciting fantasies, including “A Day with a Fireman” (for $1,900!), “Lunch with the Fire Commissioner” ($2,300!), and LeRoy Neiman’s original 9/11 painting of a helmet (for $24,000!), which bidder Betsy Cornwell donated to the FDNY for display. Neiman told The Sheet: “They asked me to do a painting, and I didn’t want to do buildings and firefighters. The helmet was very simple and also non-ethnic.” It was actually worn by a fireman during his search efforts at Ground Zero. Clearly the saying holds true—a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case thousands of bucks as well!