New York's former police commissioner and ex-LAPD chief Bill Bratton and his TV-personality wife, Rikki Klieman, celebrated his new book, Collaborate or Perish!, at Bruce and Janice Ellig's river-view Gracie Square apartment. Toasting them was a mixture of media, entertainment, and literary luminaries who included CBS's John Miller, Linda Fiorentino, Gael Greene, author Tony Schwartz, Cathie Black, top attorney Gerry Lefcourt, and author Laura Day. Bill told the crowd, "There were so few cops in L.A. that whenever we saw a police car, Rikki called it a 'sighting.' The difference in crime in the two cities is all about gangs-and with all due respect to Martin Scorsese, the gangs of New York are nothing compared to the gangs of L.A."

Bratton explained his ideas on collaboration that he explores in his book. ?There are eight steps to collaborate, and you must have all eight to be successful. If I had not failed at one of them when I was police commissioner in New York, I wouldn't have been out the door,? he said, referring to his falling-out with then Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "I needed to mind my political headlights. The mayor gets to stay?the commissioner had to go. I didn't make that mistake twice, so I got to stay with two mayors in L.A."

Asked why they moved back to New York, Rikki said, "New York is our home. We love cities, and there is no city like New York. Besides, we missed walking."