Trailblazers
The 2025 Trailblazers in Building & Real Estate
The key leaders reshaping and redeveloping New York.
City & State presents the 2025 Trailblazers in Building & Real Estate. Stephen Cardone, NY Headshots; Jamey Barbas; Keston Duke
Real estate and construction are among New York’s most influential industries. The leaders of these sectors are often responsible for envisioning and implementing changes to the built environment, whether it’s major projects like the new World Trade Center and One Vanderbilt or smaller investments into badly needed affordable housing. They are key drivers of rezoning projects and advocates for pro-development policy changes, such as the Adams administration’s City of Yes initiative. Several of the biggest players are in the mix to secure a downstate casino license later this year. And many of them are active political donors, spending their funds to back like-minded politicians.
City & State’s Trailblazers in Building & Real Estate – researched and written in partnership with journalist Lon Cohen – puts the spotlight on some of the most notable figures in these industries. The list features prominent developers and heads of trade associations as well as public officials, community leaders, consultants, advisers, advocates and others who have a voice in the future of New York’s built environment.
Jonathan Adelsberg
From luxury storefronts to real estate dynasties, Jonathan Adelsberg’s legal guidance has shaped some of New York City’s most intricate property deals. As co-chair of Herrick Feinstein’s Real Estate Department and chair of leasing, he advises prominent global retailers, two of the nation’s largest banks and multigenerational families on succession, development and dispute resolution. Adelsberg has said he sees the biggest growth in mixed-use development, as consumers seek out experiences.
Jamey Barbas
Jamey Barbas’ reputation for innovation has won her national acclaim, building a 35-year legacy on complexity as she guided some of New York’s most pivotal infrastructure projects. She led the construction of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, served as a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member and co-founded an international committee on cable-supported bridges. At the Gateway Development Commission, she is helping steer one of the nation’s most urgent rail infrastructure efforts and is overseeing plans to modernize the busiest stretch of the Northeast Corridor and deliver the long-delayed Hudson River rail tunnel project.
Sarah Berman
Sarah Berman has rebranded office towers, including Tishman Speyer’s 6 Grand Central, supported global expansion for major brokerages and run civic campaigns for New York City agencies from lower Manhattan to the Brooklyn waterfront. She blends urban planning savvy with communications strategy, leading one of real estate’s most enduring public relations firms, The Berman Group, through two decades of reinvention. Her firm has been selected twice by the state to produce New York’s largest minority- and women-owned business enterprises event, and now represents Kushner Companies’ Pier Village and other New Jersey projects. Berman champions Midtown revitalization as executive director of the Avenue of the Americas Association.
Lee Brathwaite
A former Air Force bioenvironmental engineer, Lee Brathwaite later led global property portfolios for Citigroup, Verizon and Prudential before taking the helm at Apex Building Group, a Harlem-based developer. Under his leadership, Apex has completed over $1.3 billion in construction and is advancing two major projects: Bergen Green in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and Phase 2 of Alafia, one of the city’s largest passive house developments being built to rigorous energy efficiency standards, in East New York, Brooklyn. Both projects reflect a political push to deliver affordable, sustainable housing while strengthening underserved communities across New York City.
Kenny Burgos
At just 31, Kenny Burgos is updating landlord advocacy for a new generation with a TikTok strategy, having posted more than 100 walk-and-talk explainers. The former Bronx Assembly member now leads the country’s largest private multifamily housing group, representing nearly a million affordable units. He successfully integrated the Rent Stabilization Association and Community Housing Improvement Program into the NYAA. A vocal critic of rent freeze proposals, Burgos warns they risk deepening disinvestment – especially in the Bronx – and instead champions other overlooked relief programs. His digital-first messaging offers a counterweight to Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Adolfo Carrión Jr. stepped into one of City Hall’s highest-profile vacancies in March following a wave of resignations in protest of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration, as the Department of Justice pushed for his federal corruption charges to be dropped. As a housing leader, Carrión played a role in the City of Yes zoning overhaul and advanced the mayor’s 500,000-unit housing target, including efforts to convert New York City Police Department parking lots into affordable homes. He previously served as Bronx borough president and as White House urban affairs director during the Obama administration and as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administrator for New York and New Jersey.
Mark Caruso
Mark Caruso brings more than four decades of courtroom and transactional experience to New York’s real estate industry. After launching his career at his family’s Dyker Heights firm, Caruso, Caruso & Branda, he joined Abrams Fensterman in 2016, where he leads the firm’s Real Estate Practice. He advises on everything from 1031 exchanges to contract and lease reviews and has successfully argued before the state Appellate Division, Second Department. He previously chaired the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Real Property Section and lectures regularly on real estate law.
Alfred C. Cerullo III
For more than 20 years, Alfred C. Cerullo III has steered one of the world’s largest business improvement districts. Under his leadership, the Grand Central Partnership has transformed Midtown East through landmark rezonings, the creation of car-free plazas and around-the-clock services. A former City Council minority leader, Cerullo serves on the City Planning Commission. In an op-ed for Crain’s New York Business earlier this year, he called the changes to Midtown like the Pershing Square East plaza expansion “important turning points.” He is working with stakeholders on the reimagining of Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue.
Rafael Cestero
Rafael Cestero has shaped New York’s affordable housing landscape across public, private and nonprofit sectors for decades. Previously, as commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, he expanded the city’s housing pipeline and launched a program to stabilize distressed buildings. At the helm of the Community Preservation Corp., he is guiding the company in creating new housing statewide. In July, CPC announced funds to electrify multifamily housing in Cohoes and a CPC-financed project opened in Seneca Falls. This spring, CPC closed on a nearly $11 million multifamily project in Rochester.
Joseph Chan
Joseph Chan has had a pivotal role in shaping public-private development in New York City for nearly 20 years. As the founding president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, he guided the development group’s efforts in the neighborhood, which is the city’s third-largest business improvement district. In his time at City Hall during the Bloomberg administration, he led high-profile initiatives, including the city’s bid for the 2012 Olympics. He chaired the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and directed statewide real estate strategies at Empire State Development. Now at the YMCA, he steers real estate planning across all five boroughs.
Christina Chiu
Christina Chiu helms the firm that owns the Empire State Building, possibly the most iconic real estate asset in the world. She joined Empire State Realty Trust in 2020 and quickly reached the pinnacle of the organization’s leadership, spending time as chief financial officer and as chief operating officer before becoming president. A former investment banking analyst, she worked at Morgan Stanley, shaping capital strategy and overseeing global real assets investing. Chiu serves on the American Red Cross’ national board of governors. She is also active in industry groups, including ULI’s Technology and Real Estate Council.
Edwin Christian
Edwin Christian has spent more than 40 years powering New York City’s skyline from the operator’s seat and the union hall. As business manager of IUOE Local 14-14B, he represents the crane and heavy-equipment operators behind many of the city’s largest construction projects. A trustee of both the local and international IUOE funds, he also helps shape national training standards and state-level policy for operating engineers. Christian previously served on the New York City Workforce Development Board and has led the New York City Coalition of Operating Engineers.
Josh Cohen
Josh Cohen leads one of the Northeast’s most active affordable housing development teams, focusing on preservation, adaptive reuse and carbon-neutral construction. Beacon Communities has developed projects like Rome’s Colonial II – New York’s first carbon-neutral public housing – the $71 million rehabilitation of Buffalo’s Ellicott Town Center and The Woods in Ithaca, part of a 915-unit, mixed-income redevelopment. Under his leadership, Beacon became one of the first to join NYSERDA’s Carbon Neutral Portfolio Support Program.
Kenneth Crystal
Kenneth Crystal’s legal reach spans Fortune 100 clients and companies new to New York City, advising on leasing, financing, construction and environmental compliance across a wide range of asset types. He’s known for resolving complex infrastructure issues in commercial towers – from specialty HVAC and fire suppression systems to insurance disputes – and for navigating ground leases on environmentally distressed sites. He assisted Empire State Development in the decadelong redevelopment of the historic Victoria Theater in Harlem and worked with an international bank in acquiring a Manhattan tower.
Vijay Dandapani
Vijay Dandapani is one of the most vocal defenders of New York City hotels against rising taxes, labor mandates and regulatory overreach. At the helm of the country’s oldest hotel association, he has led efforts that reshaped legislation impacting small hotels and real estate investment trust-backed owners. He also launched StayNYC to help with the industry’s recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also positioned hotel investment as part of the solution to New York’s affordability crisis, arguing that hotels are a path to the middle class and urging lawmakers to cut the city’s hotel room occupancy tax.
Michele de Milly
Michele de Milly has helped steer some of New York’s most high-profile developments, including the Gowanus rezoning, the city’s largest indoor tennis center on Randalls Island and the forthcoming 2,500-unit housing and stadium plan for New York City Football Club in Queens. She also played a key role in bringing the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to New York. A former senior state urban development official, she co-founded lobbying powerhouse Geto & de Milly.
Frederick Elghanayan
Frederick Elghanayan is doubling down on conversions, leading TF Cornerstone’s transformation of Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Building into 600 loft-style apartments, with restored community spaces and more than 660 parking spots acquired through a distressed debt purchase. As co-founder and construction head, he helps oversee nearly 12,000 residential units and over 4 million square feet of commercial space across multiple states. Recent projects include Long Island City’s Malt Drive and the residential conversion of the former FBI headquarters on the Upper East Side, both examples of large-scale adaptive reuse.
Eric Engelhardt
Eric Engelhardt has helped reshape lower Manhattan’s leasing landscape, leading deals for more than 2 million square feet at One World Trade Center, including Condé Nast’s 1.1-million-square-foot anchor lease and bringing Celonis’ U.S. headquarters to the building. He’s now positioning the tower as a draw for finance and legal firms. As Midtown tightens, he has become a voice in the downtown rebound, calling it “top-down, bottom-up absorption.” A former director at what is now CBRE, Engelhardt also helped secure major tenants at 5 Times Square, Times Square Tower and the Seagram Building.
John Evers
John Evers, whose background spans state and local government, has become a leading advocate for infrastructure reinvestment in New York, helping to advance congestion pricing, expand design-build services and increase capital funding to modernize aging transportation systems. Under his leadership, ACEC New York, which represents nearly 300 engineering firms, helped secure an $800 million boost in the state budget to the state Department of Transportation’s highway and bridge construction projects, and honored landmark projects like the Brooklyn Bridge restoration at its 2025 gala.
Michael Fazio
Michael Fazio has become one of the state’s most vocal critics of housing policy gridlock, warning that prevailing wage mandates and wetland regulations could stall construction. Representing 3,500 members across 18 local affiliates, the New York State Builders Association advocates for pro-housing policies statewide. Fazio recently led a successful campaign to block a mandate for sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes, saying it would drive up costs. He has also warned that excessive zoning and permitting delays are driving builders out of state.
Joseph Fernandez
Joseph Fernandez plays a central role in some of the Northeast’s most high-profile projects, including the $125 million commercial redevelopment of JFK Terminal 8. The overhaul will deliver more than 60 new dining and retail offerings, along with a curated public art program and a business accelerator for local firms. Holt also exceeded minority- and women-owned business enterprise participation goals. Fernandez’s background spans adaptive reuse, retail and office development. That includes the $36 million Holt-led transformation of the Newburgh Mall into Resorts World Hudson Valley.
Rella Fogliano
Since childhood, Rella Fogliano has been immersed in construction sites, first tagging along with her father at 6 years old. After taking over his contracting firm, she launched MacQuesten Development LLC over 20 years ago, now the largest woman-owned development company in the state. Her portfolio spans the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester, including The Modern, an 81-unit affordable complex in Mount Vernon, and 22 South West, a $95 million, 189-unit project built on a remediated brownfield site, also in Mount Vernon.
Timothy Foley
Timothy Foley is one of the region’s leading voices on Westchester’s housing crisis, warning that restrictive zoning and sluggish permitting are driving away young families. At the Building & Realty Institute, he helped launch the Welcome Home Westchester campaign to champion zoning reform, promote transit-oriented development and expand housing. In Albany, he was part of coalitions looking to pass the Housing Access Voucher Program and legislation to remove restrictive covenants. He also led BRI’s second class for newly elected officials on housing and zoning policy.
Michael Gerazounis
Michael Gerazounis founded MG Engineering over 30 years ago and has grown it into a 150-person engineering powerhouse with offices in New York City and on Long Island. The firm has delivered major upgrades to civic and commercial landmarks like the Bronx Zoo’s Lion House, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library and Silverstein Properties’ Equitable Building. Known for hands-on leadership and client-focused solutions, Gerazounis also helped shape a workplace culture that recently earned the company recognition by Crain’s New York Business as one of the city’s best places to work.
Ethan Geto
Ethan Geto’s firm is advising on the $176 million Ridge Street Apartments, a fully affordable and fully electric senior housing project on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that will reserve 30% of its units for formerly homeless seniors. Behind the scenes, he also worked to advance the Gowanus rezoning on behalf of major developers. A Bronx native shaped by early activism, he has spent his career building coalitions and navigating government to push ambitious, equity-driven plans across the finish line.
Yuri Geylik
As New York’s affordability rules shift from subsidies to income-based thresholds, Yuri Geylik is helping developers recalibrate their business models and expectations. He built MGNY Consulting’s system for navigating property tax breaks tied to affordable housing. A trained attorney and former mediator, he also led the development of MGNY’s proprietary tax assessment software and personally mentors every manager. Geylik has criticized policies that place the burden for housing homeless people on developers without support, advocating for programs backed by real services and long-term community stability.
David Goldstein
David Goldstein is helping steer the next chapter of the Chrysler Building, leading Savills’ effort to reposition the iconic tower for a new era. A 30-year veteran of the firm, he has executed more than $4 billion in tenant-focused transactions while shaping strategy across the tristate area. He helped position Savills as New York’s leading occupier-only firm in a city long shaped by landlord priorities and has been a driving force behind its Building Inclusion and Diversity board.
Lisa Gomez
Lisa Gomez began her housing career at a small Brooklyn nonprofit and now oversees a portfolio of 18,000 managed apartments and one of the region’s most active construction firms. She has partnered with other firms to scale L+M Development Partners nationally while advancing local projects like Bronx Point and Sendero Verde, the largest multifamily passive house development in the U.S. Gomez previously served as a senior manager at the New York City Housing Development Corp.
Jori Goodman
Jori Goodman is at the center of housing policy, technology and real estate, leading Airbnb’s go-to-market strategy for its real estate division. She joined through the company’s acquisition of HotelTonight, bringing hospitality sector insight and a track record of operational strategy from a previous position at Accenture. Her role has been pivotal as Airbnb responds to new regulatory issues, including New York City’s enforcement of Local Law 18, which removed thousands of listings. In cities worldwide, Airbnb has had to recalibrate amid new scrutiny over short-term rentals.
Eldad Gothelf
Eldad Gothelf has spent nearly two decades navigating New York City real estate, with a focus on zoning and land use. At lobbying powerhouse Kasirer, he helps steer high-stakes development efforts – including projects like One Vanderbilt and Innovation QNS – through the city’s complex regulatory and community landscape. His approach emphasizes not just advocacy but aligning with broader civic goals. Gothelf’s early work in South Williamsburg has come full-circle with active projects along the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront.
Jeffrey Gural
Jeffrey Gural has managed a portfolio of over 50 properties mostly in New York City, including landmarks like the Flatiron Building and 1560 Broadway. After decades atop Newmark Knight Frank, he moved to focus on GFP, his family real estate business formerly known as Newmark Holdings, where he recently completed the county’s largest office-to-residential conversions at 25 Water St. Gural also has projects at 222 Broadway and 40 Exchange Place under development. Invested in horse racing as a breeder, he also owns and operates Tioga Downs, Vernon Downs and is managing partner of New Meadowlands Racetrack LLC.
Ken Haron
Ken Haron has reshaped Artimus from a modest player into a major force on the New York City development scene, with more than $500 million in projects. Haron is known for prioritizing both neighborhood partnerships and equity for subcontractors. He spent decades watching the Corn Exchange Building deteriorate before leading its meticulous, independently financed restoration. Last year, Artimus added 20,000 square feet of air rights and secured $90 million to construct a 188-unit residential building in Gowanus, Brooklyn, one of the few to clear the 421-a tax abatement deadline.
Tom Harris
A former New York City Police Department inspector, Tom Harris has brought his public safety focus to his leadership at the Times Square Alliance, where he oversees a 120-person staff. He has championed both civic partnerships and aggressive quality-of-life enforcement, cracking down on unlicensed cannabis shops, pedicabs and counterfeit vendors. Harris has also backed efforts to reposition Times Square as a neighborhood for residents, workers and tourists alike, and he has supported office-to-residential conversions like at 5 Times Square. Harris is working with other economic leaders to address street-level mental health issues in midtown Manhattan.
Marc Herbst
Marc Herbst is challenging the state’s transit funding formulas, arguing that Long Island’s crumbling infrastructure and tax contributions demand a more equitable return. He has pushed for the creation of a dedicated Nassau-Suffolk Metropolitan Planning Organization to get direct access to federal dollars. Recently appointed to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, Herbst brings decades of experience, including overseeing planning for the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
Marc Holliday
Since 2004, Marc Holliday has guided SL Green Realty Corp.’s rise into the largest commercial property owner in New York City, overseeing a 50 million-square-foot portfolio across more than 110 assets. SL Green is vying for one of up to three downstate licenses set to be awarded at the end of the year, partnering with Roc Nation and Caesars Palace to build a casino in Times Square. His firm is spearheading the $805 million office-to-residential conversion of 750 Third Ave. in Manhattan into 680 apartments, with retail on the ground floor, a health club and coworking space.
Robert Ivanhoe
The record-breaking sales of the Waldorf Astoria, the Baccarat Hotel and the Crown Building – each setting new pricing benchmarks – are among the landmark transactions Robert Ivanhoe has helped get done in New York City. With over 30 years representing international and U.S. clients across all asset classes, he helped transform Greenberg Traurig’s real estate group into a global force, advising developers, investors and real estate investment trusts on complex, cross-border deals. As demand surges for data centers, he is helping lead the firm’s strategic move to integrate tech sector deals into its Global Real Estate Practice.
Patrick B. Jenkins
Patrick B. Jenkins has emerged as a key player in one of the biggest issues in New York: the race for downstate casino licenses. A longtime adviser to Resorts World New York City, the powerful lobbyist helped lay the groundwork for racino legalization and now plays a behind-the-scenes role in efforts to bring a full-scale casino to Aqueduct Racetrack’s existing racino, complete with a hotel, conference center and live music venue. His firm represents marquee clients like the Real Estate Board of New York and Google, and he has been instrumental in lobbying for tax incentives to revive commercial office space citywide.
Bryan Kelly
Bryan Kelly has helped grow the Gotham Organization into a powerhouse, overseeing more than $2 billion in mixed-use development. He led the transformation of 550 10th Ave. into The Maybury, a blend of luxury and affordable housing as well as nonprofit headquarters. He also directed the 1,150-unit Monitor Point project on the Greenpoint, Brooklyn, waterfront and is advancing the 2,000-unit Innovative Urban Village in East New York, Brooklyn. Backing the City of Yes initiative, he secured major rezonings like Broome and St. Felix streets and serves on advisory boards for Urban Land Institute New York and the New York Housing Conference.
Chris Lee
A parent of two and an avid art collector alongside his wife, Chris Lee oversees $65 billion in assets and guides KKR’s integration with the firm’s $157 billion infrastructure division. Over the past year alone, he helped direct $8 billion in acquisitions, including a $1.64 billion student housing portfolio from the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and a $2.1 billion multifamily deal with Quarterra. He chairs KKR’s Real Estate Valuation Committee, co-leads its Americas Inclusion and Diversity Council and serves as vice chair of the New York Stock Exchange-listed KKR Real Estate Finance Trust.
David Lombino
A former New York City Economic Development Corp. executive vice president, David Lombino has played a key role in Brooklyn’s waterfront revival at Two Trees, helping guide the transformation of the Domino Sugar Refinery into the centerpiece of a $3 billion mixed-use campus. He also helped reposition the landmark as a net-zero carbon emissions, all-electric office space, part of a $100 million investment. Lombino was critical of the state’s 485-x tax program, saying it “moved the goal posts” on his firm’s River Ring project, and will have a “chilling effect” on development.
Maria Martinson
From high-rises in Sweden to civic landmarks in New York, Maria Martinson has spent over 20 years leading major construction efforts. AECOM Tishman’s $9.5 billion overhaul of Terminal One at JFK Airport is the largest public-private aviation project in U.S. history. Previously at Skanska, Martinson led modular construction at Brooklyn’s B2 tower and oversaw renovations at New York University and the United Nations. She recently spoke at Commercial Observer’s National Infrastructure and Public Projects Forum on local impact and workforce equity. A board member of Nontraditional Employment for Women, Martinson advocates for minority- and women-owned business enterprises across major infrastructure projects.
Aislinn McGuire
A labor attorney with roots in unionized construction, Aislinn McGuire now leads the Contractors’ Association of Greater New York during a pivotal moment for the industry. After more than a decade as general counsel, she became the group’s first woman managing director in 2024. She has helped counter narratives around union pricing, calling for stronger enforcement and data to drive change. McGuire also oversees the John A. Cavanagh Scholarship and serves on the boards of Nontraditional Employment for Women, Pathways to Apprenticeship and Helmets to Hardhats.
Jonathan Mechanic
A New York real estate attorney for decades, Jonathan Mechanic is now remaking Park Avenue one tower at a time. He’s the legal mind behind many of the city’s most ambitious deals, from Citadel’s under-development 350 Park Ave. headquarters tower to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s 2.5 million-square-foot new world headquarters at 270 Park Ave. Mechanic has described both as “once-in-a-lifetime projects.” He helped with the transformation of 25 Water St. into the country’s largest office-to-residential conversions.
Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy brings years of development experience at Murphy Brothers Contracting to his new role as president of The Building & Realty Institute of Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region, a 1,500-member organization. A longtime trustee, he previously chaired the organization’s Remodelers Advisory Council and served as secretary before being elected president. He helped launch BRI’s Hudson Valley Women in Construction. At Murphy Brothers Contracting, he oversees a firm working on residential and commercial projects in the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Charles John O’Byrne
From top adviser to a governor to one of New York’s most powerful real estate firms, Charles John O’Byrne has long worked across politics, policy and development. As Related Companies’ executive vice president for policy, he guides government strategy on the federal, state and local levels. He helped shape the Willets Point redevelopment project, which will include a 25,000-seat soccer stadium. He previously served as secretary to the governor in the Paterson administration and has been a trusted confidant of New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
John O’Hare
John O’Hare, who has spent decades in the world of unionized construction labor relations, now leads the Building Contractors Association, representing more than 180 firms in the trade group that serves the New York City metropolitan area. A former laborer himself, he heads collective bargaining efforts and helps contractors navigate complex workforce and safety policies. As co-chair of the New York City Building and Construction Industry Safety Fund, he helped launch the HOPE/LIVES campaign, which places naloxone kits and overdose response training directly on job sites to address the growing opioid crisis in construction.
Lester Petracca
Lester Petracca has transformed Triangle Equities from its days as a family construction business into a force in New York City development. Under his leadership, the firm has delivered complex, high-impact projects, including the long-awaited Lighthouse Point on Staten Island, which overcame years of delays to adapt historic maritime buildings into mixed-income housing and commercial space. He also helped advance the Terminal Logistics Center on a remediated former parking lot near Kennedy Airport into the East Coast’s first vertical air cargo facility.
Jordan Press
From Capitol Hill to City Hall, Jordan Press has helped shape housing policy across all levels of government. Constantinople & Vallone Consulting played a key role in advancing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2023 housing package that created 71,000 new homes. Press’ portfolio spans rezonings, tax exemptions and nonprofit advocacy, building on his prior roles at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corp. From work on the 421-a reauthorization to navigating complex land use approvals, he brings his policy acumen to New York housing development projects.
David Quart
A former senior vice president at the New York City Economic Development Corp. and former deputy New York City housing commissioner, David Quart previously oversaw the East River Esplanade to expand waterfront access along lower Manhattan. He now leads VHB’s real estate strategy across the Northeast, advising clients on complex, multiphase developments. Quart continues to have a hand in the biggest housing initiatives in New York; his team provided support for the passage of City of Yes. He is working to grow commercial districts in East Midtown and is overseeing The LINC, a project to convert a busy, six-lane road in New Rochelle into a local street and add public space.
Frank Ricci
With almost four decades of influence behind the scenes, Frank Ricci is one of New York’s most seasoned real estate tacticians. As a longtime executive vice president of the Rent Stabilization Association, he led policy and political strategy through huge shifts in housing law and then became senior vice president of the newly formed New York Apartment Association after its 2024 merger. A longtime building owner, he also co-founded Small Property Owners of New York. This year, he brought his institutional knowledge to Fontas Advisors, joining as senior adviser to expand the firm’s real estate advocacy.
Jeffrey Rios
Just months into his new role at WSP, Jeffrey Rios brings more than two decades of experience advancing sustainable building systems. A specialist in energy modeling, electrification and performance retrofits, he helped guide New York University’s historic Rubin Hall through a Passive House Institute-certified renovation and oversaw the HVAC integration at Columbia University’s fully electric Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, a first-of-its-kind research facility. He’s a fixture on local energy code advisory committees and a frequent speaker on decarbonization and resilient HVAC design.
Peter Ripka
For decades, Peter Ripka has shaped the region’s retail real estate landscape, co-founding RIPCO in 1991 and growing it to eight offices and 150 employees across the Northeast, with an increasing footprint in Florida. He has brokered deals for Apple, Sephora and Legoland Discovery Center, and recently represented ownership in Burlington’s nearly 80,000-square-foot lease at the historic 620 Sixth Ave. in Manhattan. He also helped finance a luxury condo tower in Manhattan’s NoMad district, redeveloped 5 E. 59th St. and continues to guide site strategy for tenants like Target and TD Bank.
Brenda Rosen
A childhood experience of displacement sparked Brenda Rosen’s lifelong focus on housing justice. Now she’s leading one of New York City’s most ambitious adaptive reuse efforts: converting a former migrant shelter in East Harlem into 435 units of supportive and affordable housing, including apartments for youth aging out of foster care. She has grown the organization’s permanent housing pipeline to 2,000 units citywide. She is also in the beginning stages of a new Brooklyn project and looking at hotel conversions in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Natalie Sachmechi
After years covering the market as a real estate reporter at Crain’s New York Business, Natalie Sachmechi flipped the script, joining the brokerage side in 2023 and landing at JLL’s Nonprofit, Education and Government Practice just a year later. Her reporting career spanned the industry’s COVID-19 pandemic upheaval, giving her insight into how policy, investment and community needs intersect. Now advising mission-driven clients, she blends her expertise in data and policy to align real estate strategy with social purpose. Sachmechi is often called upon to be a speaker and emcee for industry events.
Raymond Sanseverino
Raymond Sanseverino is the go-to legal strategist for complex commercial real estate deals in Manhattan and beyond. He recently led SL Green’s 925,000-square-foot lease renewal with Bloomberg and represented BNY Mellon in a major sublease at One World Trade Center. His work spans the iconic and the unexpected, including a 15-year lease for a live “Magic Mike” venue in Times Square. Known for closing deals at landmarks like One Vanderbilt and the Seagram Building, he also serves as a trustee of Franklin & Marshall College, where he funds scholarships for underserved students.
John Santora
John Santora stepped in as WeWork’s CEO in 2024, helping steer the once-embattled firm out of bankruptcy and into financial stability. A 47-year veteran of Cushman & Wakefield, he brought operational rigor and real estate savvy to a brand once mostly driven by hype. Known for replacing flash with structure, WeWork launched a global refresh campaign and repositioned itself as a more disciplined flexible office provider. Santora led WeWork to positive financial returns, which is leading to reinvesting funds into capital improvements.
Yesenia Scheker-Izquierdo
A KPMG market outlook showed that 68% of New York business leaders are planning to expand their real estate footprint this year and Yesenia Scheker-Izquierdo is helping shape the strategy behind the numbers, saying that the city is “the undisputed epicenter of business opportunity.” As the firm’s first woman to lead its New York office, she also oversees its Building, Construction and Real Estate Practice. A longtime adviser to funds and developers, she co-founded the Women’s Executive Circle of New York and sits on the boards of United Way and the Partnership for New York City.
Gregg Schenker
Fresh off winning the Real Estate Board of New York’s top dealmaker award for orchestrating New York City’s first partial demolition of an occupied building, Gregg Schenker doubled down on inventive dealmaking. He and his team spent seven years relocating tenants and rerouting infrastructure, at one point even moving in to build trust. Under his leadership, ABS Partners Real Estate has grown to over 250 employees and is advancing projects in Brooklyn and New Jersey, including a planned life sciences facility at the Princeton Forrestal Center. Schenker has called for federal tax credits to spur affordable housing investment.
Lauren Schmidt
Lauren Schmidt brings a rigorous technical lens to some of her firm’s most ambitious adaptive reuse projects. At 660 Fifth Ave., she led the overhaul of a midcentury office tower, replacing its outdated facade with oversized glazing panels that tripled daylight and halved carbon emissions. She also oversaw Hudson Commons, where a new 17-story tower rises above the original warehouse base. The youngest woman ever to be named a principal at KPF, she guides companywide operations, staffing and mentorship.
Dennis Schuh
Dennis Schuh has helped steer one of the most active origination platforms in the country, overseeing billions in structured financings at Starwood Property Trust. In 2024, the firm closed $7.5 billion in originations, including a $500 million mezzanine loan for an Oracle-leased data center, secured in part by a prior $100 million deal Schuh’s team closed in just three weeks. A former commercial mortgage-backed security banking head at JPMorgan Chase & Co., he began his career rating commercial mortgage-backed securities and real estate investment trusts at Fitch, giving him a rare, 360-degree view of real estate capital markets.
David Schwartz
David Schwartz helped his firm become one of New York’s most prolific multifamily developers, with more 17,000 units built throughout the East Coast since its 2013 founding. He’s overseeing the adaptive reuse of the JFK Hilton into apartments for formerly homeless New Yorkers, partnering with the Mets and Hard Rock International on a proposed 50-acre Queens redevelopment tied to their casino bid, and integrating supermarkets into housing projects to meet community needs. A new project in Brownsville, Brooklyn, includes 216 units of permanently affordable housing and is all-electric.
Jennifer Steinberg
With expertise in housing, finance and city planning, Jennifer Steinberg leads Beacon’s New York City pipeline, overseeing more than 3,500 units in active development. She is steering the firm’s first New York City Housing Authority project – a major rehabilitation of nearly 1,000 apartments across three Bronx housing developments – while coordinating a cross-sector team. Previously, she helped lead real estate development at the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, a pioneering nonprofit that combines affordable housing with on-site services for vulnerable populations.
Michelle Stoddart
Michelle Stoddart has spent over a decade shaping Resorts World New York City’s community footprint, helping connect with nonprofits across the state. A founding executive, she helped launch the casino in 2011 and now leads community development as the brand seeks a full casino license at Aqueduct Racetrack. The bid includes an arena, expanded hotel and 3,000 units of workforce housing. The company is backing a separate investment of 50,000 middle-class housing units across all five boroughs. Previously, Stoddart led marketing and tourism at the Queens Economic Development Corp.
Tom Traynor
Tom Traynor co-founded CBRE’s U.S. large loan team in 2016, building it from scratch into a national powerhouse that has arranged over $57 billion in financing. A former Deutsche Bank managing director, with more than $100 billion in originations over his career, Traynor brings a disciplined “rifle approach” to billion-dollar deals across asset types. His portfolio spans a $1.75 billion debt package for 245 Park Ave., a $1.7 billion equity recapitalization for eight hospitals in Massachusetts and financings for the CBS Building and 919 Third Ave. in recent years.
Elizabeth Velez
Amid delays in private construction starts, Elizabeth Velez is sounding the alarm on how labor shortages and immigration policy are disrupting the industry, especially for smaller jobs. As president of her family’s firm, she has led hundreds of public builds, including 600 units of affordable housing in Harlem and the Bronx, and opened a satellite office in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is a board member of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and the New York City Economic Development Corp. and a former Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member.
RuthAnne Visnauskas
Since 2017, RuthAnne Visnauskas has overseen an ambitious statewide housing agenda, leading the state’s first five-year 100,000-home plan to completion. She has launched a new plan to create or preserve 100,000 homes backed by $25 billion. Her approach blends affordability with climate goals, from electrifying 50,000 units to funding LEED-certified senior housing at a redeveloped mall in Henrietta, where demand quickly outpaced supply. She has also advanced transformative projects in Utica and Troy, where new mixed-use housing has replaced long-vacant sites.
Cea Weaver
Cea Weaver has emerged as one of New York’s most effective organizers against housing displacement, co-leading the force behind key 2019 rent reforms that closed loopholes fueling deregulation and tenant harassment. As campaign coordinator for Housing Justice for All, she has helped unify over 80 groups statewide, pushing to expand rent stabilization, advocating for “good cause” eviction and investing in social housing. She now also leads the newly created New York State Tenant Bloc, aiming to mobilize 250,000 renters into a voting bloc, a move she said will awaken “a sleeping giant.”
Jaime Williams
As chair of the Assembly Real Property Taxation Committee, Assembly Member Jaime Williams shapes statewide on the main local government taxation tool. Her leadership was forged during Superstorm Sandy, when she directed outreach efforts as a project lead at Catholic Charities. A social worker and longtime advocate, she blends neighborhood care with legislative reach. Her Brooklyn district includes some of the city’s most at-risk coastal neighborhoods.
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