Party city: NYCs third Real Estate Gala draws property power players

Before Twitter became X, neighborhood strip center owner Don Tepman thought it would be fun if his social media contacts could get together in real life.A meetup, Tepman thought, might turn his few dozen online contacts into real relationships.But after his StripMallGuy cartoon asked if anyone wanted to come, it turned out everyone did.That first meetup in San Francisco led to Tepman moving to New York and boosting his X following to 301,000.

The meetup has now morphed into a third NYC Real Estate Gala that will take place tomorrow evening at the Peak in Hudson Yards — looking out over all that glorious real estate.The gala is co-hosted by Tepman and the Big Apple’s uber-investment-sales guy, Bob Knakal of BKREA, whose online handle has 50,400 followers.In a recent X post that fits the zeitgeist of the event, Knakal wrote, “We are not in the real estate business.We are in the information and relationship business.

The better your information … the stronger your relationships … the more trust you build.And trust is what drives every great deal.”We’ll miss Tepman’s neighbor, comedian Zarna Garg, who performed a short set last year, but will enjoy Tao Group chow and a rearranged set up overlooking the East River.Sponsors like Crexi, Agora, Placer.ai and the ICSC help cover the cost of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for the nearly 200 fashionably dressed guests, most of whom live elsewhere and come from as far away as England and Australia, with big factions from Florida and Texas — and some in cowboy hats.A Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader, Madi Bremer, now also a CBRE retail associate, will be there, cheering on Detroit Lions offensive tackle Jamarco Jones, also a real estate investor, and Chris Rodriguez Jr.

— nicknamed C-Rod — a running back who just signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.Meanwhile, Tesho Akindele, a former Canadian national soccer player and MLS star, is now working for Jamestown.“This is the real estate capital of the world...