The city’s real estate royalty will once again have to bundle up for the year’s most prestigious annual gala – and they’re glad about it.
The Real Estate Board of New York will host its 128th awards event at the Glasshouse Event space on the Hudson River waterfront, where it’s been held for the past two years.
But this time, the honors-and-schmooze fest is returning to a traditional, pre–pandemic, mid-winter date — Jan. 18. After a Zoom-only “gala” in 2021, REBNY moved the vaunted gathering to June in 2022 and held it in April this year.
Why the return to January?
“People wanted it,” an insider said. “There was a sense of excitement and purpose to gathering in the dead of winter at the start of a new year. It was bracing. There was a sense that the spring dates, when people’s minds were on the Hamptons, took something away from it.”
Or, as REBNY chairman Douglas Durst put it, “With the event returning to its traditional January date, we will begin the new year with fresh energy and the historic spirit that has guided our industry forward for generations.”
The gala has evolved since prehistoric-seeming 2019. In 2022, REBNY dumped the stuffy, speech-filled black-tie format at the New York Hilton for a freewheeling cocktail gathering at Glasshouse with nibbles from prominent chefs.
When some attendees griped that it felt more like an ordinary brokers’ party, the sit-down dinner format was restored last April. More than 1,000 guests took in the river and skyline views and enjoyed a contemporary soundtrack that even included rap.
This year’s honorees included Newmark CEO Barry Gosin, CBRE tristate CEO Mary Ann Tighe and Cushman & Wakefield tristate chairman John C. Santora. The winners for 2024 will be announced in the coming weeks.
Participating chefs are to include Daniel Boulud and Ci Siamo’s Hillary Sterling with more to be named later.
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