REBNY Picks a Redone Waldorf Astoria for What It Now Calls the Annual
The yearly gathering will have all the usual bells and whistles, just with a more Gilded Age backdrop
By Mark Hallum August 19, 2025 9:00 am
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While the earliest recorded history of the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual gathering — previously known as the REBNY Gala — has been essentially lost to time, the trade group’s leaders are certain there has never been a more prestigious venue for the event than the one on tap.
Entering its 130th year of existence, REBNY will celebrate the success of its members on Jan. 22, 2026 in a setting worthy of its Gilded Age origins: the newly-reopened Waldorf Astoria at 301 Park Avenue, Commercial Observer has learned.
The highly anticipated schmoozefest had been held at the Glasshouse on the West Side of Manhattan in recent years and was at the New York Hilton Midtown before that. But, with the Waldorf Astoria reopening in a grander fashion since closing for renovations in 2017, the organization will be able to accommodate 200 more guests, an increase from 1,000 to 1,200, according to REBNY Chief Operating Officer Sandhya Espitia.
The gala also has a new name to go along with the new venue: the REBNY Annual.
REBNY will stick to tradition for the most part with a red carpet, a VIP reception on one side of the venue, and a general reception on the other before the ballroom opens for the night. There will be about 70 people on the dais.
“It’s an iconic place that has hosted incredible moments for New York City and incredible people, and it has gone through a transformation the way our city has,” Espitia said in an interview. “Seeing as the Waldorf has been under construction for so many years and now is fully open and better than ever, it’s a reminder that our city is so resilient and that no matter what we go through we’re able to rebuild and reimagine.”
REBNY will honor seven of its members for their accomplishments, with specifics coming in September.
While REBNY has in the past held smaller events at the Waldorf, located between 49th and 50th streets, this will be its first major event for the organization in the building that has undergone $2 billion in upgrades. But, since REBNY’s records have either been lost or have not been digitized, it is hard to pin down how gilded the organization’s early days were.
“The way REBNY was founded about 129 years ago was with a small group of industry friends,” Espitia said. “It was like four or five people who got together and created this board. They had common interests, but most importantly, they cared about New York City… At some point, there was an annual gathering. We don’t know when it became the REBNY Gala, and we don’t know when the actual awards were put in place.”
Either way, REBNY was ahead of the curve when it began tracking data on buildings and ownership as far back as the 1920s. Much of that material has been in use by the New York City Department of Buildings, and hard copies of that body of work were donated to the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives in 2018, including a “Diary and Manual” that dates to 1898.
“The Waldorf Astoria’s reopening — blending Art Deco grandeur with modern luxury — is a powerful symbol of New York City’s rebirth in the post-COVID era,” Mary Ann Tighe, CBRE’s tri-state CEO and a former REBNY chair, said in a statement. “This makes it the perfect setting to celebrate REBNY, whose members have done so much for 130 years to help New York prosper.”
The Waldorf Astoria’s restoration has been deemed one of the biggest in American history following the $1.95 billion acquisition of the property by Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group in 2014.
More was not necessarily better in the re-envisioning of the hotel, with the operators reducing the room count from 1,400 to 375 — an effort to enlarge accommodations and newly converted condos — and adding new restaurant concepts such as Japanese eatery Yoshoku as well as Lex Yard by Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony, according to Travel + Leisure.
“The REBNY Annual, which I have been attending since I joined in 1973, celebrates those who focus on making New York a better place,” Barry Gosin, chief executive officer of Newmark, said in a statement. “The Waldorf, with its unmatched legacy and a magnificent renovation, is the perfect setting to celebrate both the city’s past and its future, and is consistent with REBNY’s values.”
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
