As the second season of Bravo TV’s broker battle reality show “Million Dollar Listing New York” came to a close yesterday, the stars of the series — and of New York City’s real estate industry — gathered at the General, a club at 199 Bowery, to toast their fellow cast member Fredrik Eklund.
From left: Listing photographer Evan Joseph, guest, Ariel Cohen of Douglas Elliman
Douglas Elliman’s Eklund, wearing a summery, salmon-colored suit, was joined by a lengthy list of real estate names, including his colleagues Vickey Barron, Melanie Lazenby, Ariel Cohen and Faith Hope Consolo; his boss, Elliman Chairman Howard Lorber; Lorber’s son, Michael, also an Elliman broker and former MDLNY castmate; Massey Knakal Chairman Robert Knakal; Keller Williams NYC CEO Eric Barron; Elliman CEO Dottie Herman; and Michelle Kleier and Samantha Kleier Forbes of Kleier Residential. (The younger Lorber left relatively early, however, ducking into a taxi and telling a friend he was headed to the Metropolitan Club.)
Eklund shows off a custom suit with an embossed “Million Dollar Listing New York” logo
From left: Fredrik Eklund and Dottie Herman, both of Douglas Elliman
Custom cocktails on offer made references to the show’s final episode – the “high kick,” referring to Nest Seekers International broker Ryan Serhant’s impersonation of Eklund’s behavior, and the “fancy sock,” referring to Eklund’s flashy sartorial choices. But by the time The Real Deal made our way into the gathering — we had to muscle our way through a line of tanned women in skyscraper heels — the bar had run dry of the bespoke beverages.
From left: Eklund, Sonja Morgan and Ortiz; Melanie Lazenby and Eklund
The underground space, decorated to mimic a speakeasy, pulsed with brokers and so-called Bravolebrities. Keller Williams NYC’s Luis D. Ortiz, the pint-sized Puerto Rican broker who joined the show this season, waded through the crowd, clad in a burgundy suit and trailed by his twin brother, Daniel.
Fellow reality show celebrities Sonia Morgan and Ramona Singer, of “The Real Housewives of New York,” were also on hand.