Big Apple Buzz

By Flo Anthony

While in town filming "Annie" with Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis, actress Cameron Diaz went apartment hunting and purchased a $9 million condominium in the Walker Tower in Manhattan. The swanky new 3,022 square foot pad boasts three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Her neighbors include Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise's former wives Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman. Who would have ever thought those two would end up in the same building?………..

Broadway legends Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters shared in a special Perrier-Jouet toast to Paul Simon and Stephen Sondheim recently at a rare panel discussion the two lyricist lions participated in at the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Simon and Sondheim dished about their respective creative process- from procrastinating with copious cups of tea and naps to using soft lead pencils to write legendary songs including "Sound of Silence" and "Maria" from "West Side Story." Actress Bebe Neuwirth was also in attendance ………….

After flying to the Big Apple to spend the weekend with One Direction's Harry Styles, 18 year-old Kendall Jenner returned to Tinseltown. However, while in NYC, the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star and the crooner heart throb were spotted together at the Gansevoort Hotel downtown. One Direction was in town to perform on "Saturday Night Live," which tapes at 30 Rockefeller Center. When asked about their relationship, Jenner told reporters: "We're just friends." ………

At a special event at UNICEF Headquarters, pop superstar Katy Perry was appointed UNICEF's newest Goodwill Ambassador, with a special focus on engaging young people in the agency's work to inspire the lives of the world's most vulnerable children and adolescents. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Katy will work to engage young people in speaking out about the issues they believe are most important in their own lives and enlisting them more directly in coming up with solutions to these challenges. "I believe young people have the power to change their own lives, with our help," said Katy. "I am honored to join UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador, and committed to doing everything I can to help children and adolescents who come from such different backgrounds but want the same thing: a brighter future."……….

With the tough times "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kandi Burruss is going through with  her mom Joyce calling her fiance "Gold Diggin" and fighting with her BFF while they were shopping for wedding gowns, it's no surprise the singer/songwriter wants a break from Atlanta. She is headed to NYC. The Grammy Award winner joins the cast of Off Broadway's smash comedy "NEWsical The Musical" for two weeks, beginning Monday, January 13. "NEWsical The Musical" is the forever changing, completely un-sanitized musical mockery of all the news that's fit to spoof. The show plays daily except Wednesdays at Theatre Row on 42nd Street. Kandi's final performance will be Sunday, January 26. "I am thrilled to join the cast of "NEWSical The Musical," said Kandi. "Being a part of an illustrious list of stars that have previously joined the show is an honor."