Who Is Svitlana Flom? Meet the Art de Fete Socialite Turned New York Karen

Just days after George Floyd’s death and Amy Cooper’s tirade against a black man, another “New York Karen” incident has come to light. The Karen in question is Svitlana Flom, a regular on the Big Apple social scene. An African-American woman, Janae Garcia, shared a series of videos of Flom calling the cops on her because she was “uncomfortable” with Garcia’s presence on the Upper West Side. Her alleged racist behavior that has gone viral on social media is not a very good look on her right now. This Svitlana Flom wiki elaborates more on the socialite and her response to the incident.

Svitlana Flom Is Married to Auto Mogul Gary Flom

Born Svitlana Chumakova on December 8, 1985, she hails from Ukraine. She came to the U.S. in 2007 as a graduate student pursuing her masters in political science.

Chumakova began dating Gary Flom in 2008. Russian-born Flom had served in the United States Marine Corps before switching to a corporate career.

Chumakova and Flom married on October 26, 2010. The couple has one daughter, named Vivienne, and another child (name and gender not confirmed). They’re currently expecting their third child.

Also Read: Facts About the “Barstool Sports” CEO, Erika Nardini

Gary Flom served as the president of BNF Automotive Group, an automotive retailer that counted Nissan and Jaguar among its brand partners. While his work was based in Manhattan, Svitlana Flom and their children lived in Southampton.

Gary was covered by news outlets in 2016 for BNF’s tremendous sales; he was projected to sell over $600.0 million worth of vehicles that year. However, he lost his dealerships owing to some issues in 2017 and went bankrupt.

Jaguar distanced itself from the recent incident involving the Floms in a statement clarifying that their dealership has been under new management for two years.

Also Read: Leslie Blodgett Wiki – Facts about the Bare Escentuals Icon

Svitlana Flom Is a Food Blogger and Restaurateur

When she first came to the U.S., Svitlana had no relationship with the kitchen. Together with Gary, she tried out the various eateries in New York and developed a passion for cooking.

That led to her founding Art de Fete, her blog where she shared recipes and home décor ideas. It led to Svitlana contributing to other publications as well.

She soon expanded into the restaurant business, opening Maison Vivienne, named after her daughter, in Southampton. The restaurant, in collaboration with Allan Basaran, is inspired by the cuisine and aesthetic of Southern France.

Svitlana Flom’s blog and hosting ideas made her a well-known personality within the New York social scene. Her restaurant is frequented by some famous and high-society people, including Rudy Giuliani’s ex-wife, Judith.

However, since the recent altercation, most sites have either taken down her pieces or added a disclaimer distancing themselves from Flom. Also, it appears that she hasn’t been active on those sites since 2018.

Flom’s social media sites have either been deleted or switched to private. Her Art de Fete Instagram is still in existence, but is now private.

Don’t Miss: Tabitha Simmons – High-End Shoe Designer and Topper Mortimer’s Wife

Flom Claims That Facts Were Twisted

A black woman named Janae Garcia posted a series of videos on her Instagram account of her encounter with Svitlana Flom on May 29. In the video, a very pregnant Flom is heard calling the cops on Garcia.

According to Garcia’s post, Flom felt “uncomfortable” because of Garcia’s presence in the Upper West Side. She is heard talking on the phone telling a dispatcher that Garcia was “playing the black card.”

Police did reportedly arrive on the scene, but didn’t take any action. Garcia also said in her post that no one took Flom seriously and they were more concerned about Garcia’s safety.

Gary Flom is also seen in the video, quietly sneaking away and not taking part in the altercation even as his wife continues to confront Garcia.

Garcia’s post has gone viral already and Svitlana Flom is facing a lot of flak. However, Flom has accused Garcia of editing the video to make her “look like a racist.”

She alleges that she initially approached Garcia and her friend and told them “they’re not supposed to be smoking [weed] and [Garcia], jumped off [her seat], ran in my face. She didn’t care I was pregnant, or that I had two little kids.”

Flom claims she made the first call to report Garcia for smoking in public. She called 911 again alleging Garcia was threatening her and her kids.

The socialite claims that Garcia recorded about 45 minutes of the altercation, but only showed short clips of it to suit her narrative. She demanded that Garcia post the whole video.

“She put her narrative on it to make me look like a racist,” Flom said. “She twisted the entire thing like she’s some poor girl sitting alone on a bench and I’m white trash, harassing her for no reason.”

Flom said that she has been received death threats since the incident.

Garcia hasn’t responded to Flom’s allegations so far.