A Trip to Atlantic City for Douglas Elliman's REiNVENT Conference
My calendar is always filled with business meetings, events and speaking engagements.
Last week, I made a quick visit to Atlantic City, New Jersey for REiNVENT - Douglas Elliman's national sales and networking conference. Every year, the event gathers more than 1500 real estate professionals from all over the country to connect, and share business ideas. I was invited to attend as this year's special keynote speaker. Previous REiNVENT speakers include Kevin Spacey, Donny Deutsch, and Bette Midler. It was an honor to share my business knowledge and experiences with this large group.
On the way there, I also had a chance to take some photographs from our helicopter. Here is a selection of images overlooking the New York City area - enjoy.
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- We left from the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York – about 35 miles north of Manhattan. We rode in a Twin Star helicopter – a light, economical twin-engine aircraft that can carry up to six people including the pilot.
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- It was such a beautiful day, so I took many photos. This is the new Tappan Zee Bridge being built to replace the current Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge over New York’s Hudson River. Construction began in 2013, and it is expected to open in 2018.
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- In the foreground is the Glenwood Power Plant, on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, which has been closed for more than 50-years. It is now undergoing restoration and development to become a grand event space for exhibitions, conferences and performances.
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- Yonkers is about two miles north of the northernmost point in Manhattan. It is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York, and Westchester County, and has a population of nearly 200-thousand people.
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- This is the Henry Hudson Bridge – I go over this bridge on the way to our offices every morning. It was named to commemorate Henry Hudson’s voyage to this area in the 17th century.
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- Here is the famous George Washington Bridge – a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River between Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey. It carries more than 106-million vehicles per year.
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- The helicopter ride continued over Harlem – a major African-American residential, cultural and business center, with many great restaurants and the famous Apollo Theater.
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- Here is a view of the West Side Highway looking east over the Hudson River and parts of Riverside Drive. If you look towards the middle, you can see Central Park.
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- This is a view of the West Highway as it passes midtown Manhattan.
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- On the left of the photo is VIA 57, a residential building designed by the Copenhagen and New York based architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group. The pyramid shaped “tetrahedron” rises 467-feet and 35-stories tall.
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- In the center of this photo, the iconic Empire State Building, the 102-story skyscraper, now the fourth tallest building in the United States.
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- We also flew over our historic Starrett Lehigh Building.
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- Not far from our Headquarters is the Hudson River Park – considered the largest open space project in Manhattan since Central Park. Spanning more than four miles long, it is the longest waterfront park in the country and attracts more than 17-million visitors a year. I am very proud to be on the Board of Friends of Hudson River Park – the independent, nonprofit dedicated to the park’s care and maintenance.
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- This is New York City’s One World Trade Center, the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex. It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth-tallest in the world. We recently held our American Made cocktail party on the 102nd floor.
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- The Financial District is at the southern tip of Manhattan, and is the home to many of the city’s financial institutions including the New York Stock Exchange.
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- Governors Island is a 172-acre island in Upper New York Bay. In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, army troops fired on British ships from the island before they were taken. The island was later used as a US Army post, and a major United States Coast Guard installation.
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- This is Red Hook, Brooklyn – named for the red clay soil and the point of land extending into the Upper New York Bay. It was first settled by Dutch colonists in 1636. Red Hook is the only part of New York City that has a full frontal view of the Statue of Liberty.
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- The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn.
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- This hexagon-shaped island is Hoffman Island – one of two small artificial islands off Staten Island, New York. The other, smaller island, is called Swinburne Island, and can be seen in the distance. In the early 1900s, the islands were used as a quarantine station, housing sick immigrants, with contagious diseases, when they landed at Ellis Island.
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- And here, we can see the Atlantic City skyline in the distance – just under one hour from when we left the White Plains airport.
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- REiNVENT is Douglas Elliman’s national sales and networking conference held annually in Atlantic City.
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- As this year’s keynote speaker, I talked about the development and evolution of my company, and my career.
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- I also talked about my new show with Snoop Dogg, “Martha & Snoop Dogg’s Potluck Dinner Party” which premieres Monday, November 7th at 10pm ET on VH1. Don’t forget to tune-in. You will love it.
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- I also had the chance to pose for some photos with some of the Douglas Elliman staff. Here I am with Susan DeFranca, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, Erica Einfeldt, Director of Administration for Douglas Elliman Real Estate, and Dottie Herman, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Erica also worked as my executive administrative manager several years ago.
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- Here I am with Jay Parker, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Florida Brokerage.
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- On our way home, another beautiful ride over New York City.
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- And a stunning view of the glorious Statue of Liberty.
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