Nobody in real estate knows how to party anymore.
That’s according to one of my colleagues from The Real Deal’s sales team on Thursday night as we swilled champagne at the annual REBNY Gala. If there was any night to prove him wrong, it should be this one; the so-called Liar’s Ball is arguably the industry’s biggest night in New York, with more than a thousand real estate players showing up to hob-nob with each other and talk over the governor.
Maybe it’s because the event, once strictly black tie, has been downgraded to cocktail attire, even as the venue was upgraded to the newer, shinier Glasshouse on 12th Avenue, but it’s certainly been a chiller vibe since the pandemic. The more casual dress code meant there were a few pairs of sneakers trodding down the packed red carpet, and an awful lot of people — yours truly included — who looked like they’d come right from the office.
Nevertheless, spirits were high. At least early on. People we spoke with on the red carpet were forecasting happier days ahead for the industry with that classic real estate mentality of groundless optimism.
A few industry notables still showed out for real estate’s big night, fashion-wise; there was a spiffy velvet dinner jacket and bow tie on commercial broker Joseph Aquino and a pretty chic all-black look on Corcoran Group CEO Pam Liebman, who detoured behind TRD’s interview set-up on her way into the VIP cocktail hour.
The VIP room was buzzing — or so I’m told by Kathryn Brenzel, who snagged our golden ticket. There, industry insiders like Bess Freedman, Gary LaBarbera, Hal Fetner and Jeff Gural rubbed elbows with Mayor Eric Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, Reps. Tim Kennedy and Ritchie Torres, Council members Joseph Borelli and Rafael Salamanca, and Assembly member Jenifer Rajkumar, who was wearing her signature red. One Corcoran-sponsored lounge area was off-limits to VIP peasants, reserved (I guess) for the truly important among us.
After the elevator whizzed us all up to the sixth floor, most of the press and other riff-raff were separated from the executives and electeds. We got to enjoy the same stuff, though — small bites from Bar Boulud Executive Chef Dan Guzman, Hill Country Chef Christopher Colon, FIELDTRIP Chef JJ Johnson, kosher selections from Le Marais. More importantly, drinks.
Once cocktail hour was over — and it was over, no matter how nicely you asked — we were shepherded into the main hall, packed with white tables to which we were not assigned. Huddled together in the back corner, TRD staffers and friends from our rival publications claimed empty seats at table 98 and ate salads that were mostly cheese while we waited to hear from the governor.
Kathy Hochul spoke; Adams left for Mar-a-Lago; pictures of award-winners were taken. By 9:30, though, the industry had apparently worn itself out, and with no official after party, lights were up and we were on our way home.
All this leaves me wondering if my colleague was right — or if I’m just not getting invited to the right after parties.
Planning a splashy real estate event? Invite us; prove me wrong. hk@therealdeal.com.