There was plenty to celebrate for the more than 1,000 power players who braved the cold Thursday night to attend the New York Real Estate Board's annual gala. Not only did 2024 end with a solid surge in rentals, REBNY's office visitor tally hit a new post-pandemic record last month.
Visits to office buildings in December reached 72% of 2019 levels, the highest recorded in June 2024, as compiled by Placer.ai using mobile location data from 350 locations in Manhattan It was 5 percentage points higher than the previous record high. The number of visitors in December should reach 82. % excluding year-end holiday weeks.
I received the Bernard H. Mendick Lifetime Leadership Award at last week's REBNY Gala. Jill Rotenberg/REBNY
The meet-and-greet party moved from the formal Hilton Ballroom to the airy, skyline-hued Glasshouse event space at 12th Avenue and West 47th Street in 2022.
Mayor Eric Adams came for cocktails and Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke before the sit-down dinner.
On stage were CBRE Editor-in-Chief Thomas Lloyd, Durst Organization Chairman Douglas Durst, Rudin Co-Executive Chairman Bill Rudin, Vornado Realty Trust President Michael Franco, and U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres. Mr. and others took the stage.
Honorees include RXR Chairman Scott Rechler, who received the Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award. Jonathan L. Mechanic, Chairman of Fried Frank Real Estate, receives the Bernard H. Mendick Lifetime Leadership Award. Tishman Speyer and Michelle A. Adams, senior managing director of global external relations, received the Kenneth R. Gerety Humanitarian Award.
“The event was great,” said the mechanic. “I've been coming here for 40 years and this was one of the best. The mood was very upbeat. The speeches were recorded on a video screen and you could actually hear them.”
