Police have charged a Manhattan luxury real estate agent — who has sold a number of the city’s most desirable homes, some for tens of millions of dollars — with biting a 7-year-old girl in a tussle over a free t-shirt at a Hamptons concert.
But the suspect, 75-year-old New York City resident Gail Bomze, tells Page Six she didn’t do it.
According to an arrest report seen by Page Six, Bomze — who sold the $4 million apartment of talk show legend Geraldo Rivera, and once listed a Park Avenue townhouse for $22 million — was at the free, family-friendly Tuesdays on Main beach concert in chic East Hampton last week.
Bomze has been something of a figure on the Upper East Side social scene. She’s donated to society staple Central Park Conservancy — host of the famed Hat Lunch — and appeared in the New York Social Diary at a soiree honoring art darling Julian Schnabel.
The report says that an event staffer tossed a t-shirt from a balcony and that a woman was seen “kicking and punching kids” while trying to get her hands on the freebie.
One little girl told cops that the woman “grabbed her right arm and bit [it].” According to the report, the bite broke the skin, leaving the youngster’s arm bloody and swollen.
The kid’s parents called the police, and cops searched the venue for the biter, but didn’t find her.
East Hampton cops arrested Bomze on Tuesday and charged her with third-degree assault and endangering a child. She was given an appearance ticket and released.
But on Wednesday her attorney, Christopher McGuire of McGuire, Palaez, Bennett and Belcastro told us, “Ms. Bonze is a 75-year-old grandmother who categorically denies these allegations.”
“She was knocked to the ground in the chaos by a group of teenagers during the t-shirt toss, leaving her sore and injured, and reported her concerns in writing to the event organizers the very next day,” he added, “The organizers promptly called her, apologized, and assured her that changes would be made to improve safety. She has also met with police to raise her own concerns and asked that the incident be investigated. This unfortunate episode could have been avoided with better event management and appropriate crowd control measures in place.”
The sunset concert series, which has run for the past four summers, is put together by the East Hampton Village Foundation. Its CEO, Bradford Billet, told us: “Tuesdays at Main has been a beloved, safe, and family-friendly concert series for more than five seasons, bringing together people of all ages without a single prior incident. We strongly condemn this alleged, isolated incident.
He added, “The safety, security, and enjoyment of our residents and visitors are our highest priority, and we remain committed to ensuring these concerts continue as a safe, welcoming community tradition for all.”
Bomze listed Rivera’s 89th Street apartment for $4.1 million in 2016, and in 2015 she was one of three agents behind the sale of the townhouse at 591 Park Avenue, which listed for $21.8 million. Her real estate agency web site listed dozens of other multi-million dollar luxury homes that she and her team have sold.
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