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Health & Fitness

Million Dollar Listing New York Season Finale

Bravo TV's Million Dollar Listing New York

Last night Bravo aired the season finale of MDL-NY, and our regular contributor Jeff Crisalli attended the Finale Party in New York City with the stars of the show as well as a few other celebrities. He has all the excitement for us!

I want to first thank our gracious host for allowing me the privilege of sharing my thoughts and views of MDL-NY.  Lynn, this has been a fun and interesting 9 weeks.  Having never written a blog before I didn’t know what to expect but you made this short journey one I will treasure for as long time, thank you.

What a night!! And I am not talking about the show. I am talking about the season finale party hosted by Prudential Douglas Elliman and Hundred Stories PR. I arrived with the “two” and only Love Brokers, Lori and Jenn as well as a colleague of theirs, Jenna and her husband Randy.  What a great group.  People I would definitely consider friends. 

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As soon as we entered the invitation only event, our beloved Michael Lorber was being accosted by photographers. The flashes were going off like the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks!  We walked to the photography line and all said our hellos. There was some picture taking and some smiles and just a festive atmosphere to start the night. 

At this point in the season, I had not met Fredrik. We had only communicated by e-mail. I was anticipating meeting him this evening and didn’t know what to expect.  I wrote some things during the year that did not illustrate Mr. Eklund in the best of lights. Let’s remember, I wrote about what the editors and stagers at Bravo wanted us to see. That being said, as I turned around to walk into the main room, Fredrik is walking up the hall. It was like the showdown in the old western movies, facing off to see who flinches first! Well Fredrik happens to be friends with Lori & Jenn and came right up to us, greeted everyone, gave kisses and then turned to me.  We literally were face to face..  Well my face to his chin, but you get the picture.  I stuck out my hand, looked into his dreamy eyes and said, “Jeff Crisalli."  The two seconds that elapsed seemed like an eternity.  As he reached down to grab my hand, a big smile emerged from his handsomely tanned face and said, “wow, you do exist, you are a real person.” He then took his hand away and we man-hugged.  If my wife were able to attend she may have been jealous, it was a nice moment..  He then told me that I was much more handsome in person than I was in my picture. No need for that comment, he had won me over already. We chatted for a few minutes and had a great conversation. He was being pulled in 50 directions last night and had to meet and greet and pose for photos. Michael, Fredrik and I took some pictures together and the night was started!!

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We were some of the first guests to arrive but the room filled quickly. It was fun to watch Fredrik and Michael work the room similar to what we see on the show.  Everyone seemed to have a true and genuine appreciation for the success of Michael and Fredrik and the mood around the room was like happy hour. I mingled around, spoke to some brokers and networked a little. I got a chance to spend some time with Mr. & Mrs. Lorber. It is no mystery why Michael is such a nice guy.. He is truly a reflection of his parents who were so cordial and engaging.  I had a chance to speak with Mr. Lorber about some business opportunities and I am confident we will meet again soon.

If anyone was thinking that my interactions with Fredrik were over, don’t be disappointed…  I spent a considerable amount of time with him, chatting about the show, my business, his business, how we are going to some business together, life and a little about “Ryan.” Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

They say “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, “things aren’t always what they appear” and “what you see is what you get”..  I say, you absolutely cannot judge Fredrik for what we saw on the show, his demeanor is NOT what it appears to be and you don’t get what you see, you get a lot more. He is for sure a shark in business and a great competitor. He is not at all the pompous, condescending “actor” we see. There is a real friendship that exists between him and Michael and is not at all what is depicted.  Fredrik is a really nice guy and as he worked the room and greeted people, you could see he is definitely liked by the masses.  I am glad we did not get to meet until last night because I would not have been able to write what I saw with a clear conscience.  The universe has a funny way of guiding our lives and I was surely guided well on this journey.

The night continued with some cocktails, some great music and a good time was had by all. Mid-way through the night, Real Housewives of NY, Sonja Morgan arrived.  Looking stunning and gracious, she strode into the room, was greeted with some ooh’s and ahh’s and mingled with everyone.  Sonja and I had been discussing some business opportunities during the past week and it was a perfect time to finally meet in person and chat.  That we did.  We spent a little time planning our next discussion and we are going to meet in the coming weeks to continue.  She is the epitome of grace and class!

Right behind Sonja was Real Housewife of Orange County, Tamra Barney.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to chat with Tamra but I will tell you all that she looked great and blended in with the crowd.  Also in attendance was the Bachelorette Ashely with her man, JP.

I hope no one is disappointed by all the news about the party as opposed to the final episode..  I must say a few things about the show so here goes…..

Fredrik needs to fire Justin, never do business with Ryan, never eat schnitzel again and if there is a season two, show the softer side of his personality as we saw at the end when we got to see him with his boyfriend.

Michael needs to continue to be the great guy he is, continue to do deals his own way andbuy a pair of high-heeled slippers.  There were times last night as he posed for pictures he was the lowest object in the photos!  I do have to point out the his negotiations last night with Yuval was the funniest business interaction I have even seen. And I would pay $20 to see him perform his comedy routine.  I may be alone in the audience but it will worth the price of admission.  As he flew off into the sunset, I am sure he was flying higher than his plane after receiving the approval of his Dad.  I will tell you that Michael doesn’t have to do much for that approval except be the great guy he is.

Ryan…  I wonder who and what he wants to be when he grows up?

I will end, as usual with a personal thought… The following is a blurb from the first blog I ever wrote.  It is about success:

“Success comes at a price.  It can be measured in many forms.  It has several identities.  Success appears, disappears and may re-appear again.  It begins as an idea and grows through hard work, determination, compromise, luck and guts.  It ends where we decide it ends, not where someone, something or some event determines its fate.  Measure it with your own ruler and at no point in time, measure it by someone else’s definition or calculation.  Take a minute to reflect on your achievements and acknowledge them, to yourself, no one else and silently applaud.  You earned it!!  Plan for success in steps not leaps.  Unfortunately, we sometimes lose sight of our successes because we seek to “measure” them.  Try feeling your successes.  Dress in that favorite suit or your best pair of shoes and “feel” successful.  If you dress for success, think about your goals, imagine them happening and capture that feeling, you will have “felt” success.  You will not forget that feeling because as you continue to grow as a person and in your profession, that feeling will follow. 

Once again, sincere thanks to Lynn for allowing me to share my thoughts and thank you everyone for sharing this journey with me.

Thanks to you Jeff for the fantastic recaps all season!  Great news, Andy Cohen announced last night on Watch What Happens Live that the show has been picked up for another season so we’ll see these guys again soon!  They were all very excited and it was clear they had been waiting for the news!  Now let’s see if we can talk Jeff into recapping again next season!  hehe *crossing fingers*  Thanks again Jeff!  You did an amazing job and I’m so excited that you got to meet so many amazing people!  Lynn~

Jeff Crisalli is the founder and sole-owner of Blue Diamond Realty in New Jersey.  

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