Real Estate

The winners at this year’s REBNY banquet

The Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker award

Kenneth Fisher, Chairman, Fisher House Foundation, Inc.

Kenneth Fisher

Kenneth Fisher is a senior partner at Fisher Brothers and third-generation member of the family firm. He oversees the leasing, management and marketing of over 6 million square feet of Class A commercial space in Midtown’s Park, Sixth and Third Avenue corridors.

Continuing in the family tradition, Fisher is an active philanthropist, and as Chairman of the Fisher House Foundation, he is dedicated to improving the lives of our military, veterans and their families. Founded in 1990 by his late great uncle Zachary Fisher, the program hosts over 22,000 families each year in 62 houses developed at US military bases and VA Medical Centers in Germany and in Britain, with more on the way.

This selfless work has led to Fisher receiving numerous top military and government honors, including an appointment by George W. Bush to the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors, which reviewed the care given soldiers coming home from the battlefield.

Fisher is a member of the executive committee of the $770 million City Investment Fund, co-sponsored by Fisher Brothers and Morgan Stanley, and targeted to strategic city real estate investments.

He has been a member of the executive committee of REBNY’s Board of Governors since 1995. “I would encourage everybody to join REBNY,” Fisher said. “It helps you keep abreast of the issues while networking and meeting other people in the industry.”

He also succeeded his great uncle Zachary as Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum, which hosts the Space Shuttle Enterprise and is fundraising for its permanent home. “If there’s one thing with the museum that I’ve learned is that you are in a constant fundraising mode,” Fisher said. “The real estate industry is also amazingly philanthropic.”

The Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award

Robin Abrams, Chairman, The Lansco Corporation

Robin Abrams

In an industry where executives often change firms, Robin Abrams is an anomaly. Along with being a woman in the male-dominated field of commercial real estate, and a leader in the nuanced niche practice of retail brokerage, Abrams has remained steadfastly with the Lansco Corp.

She began with Lansco in 1979 after coming to New York with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently an executive vice president and a member of the company’s international retail network board of directors.

Abrams is also an active member of REBNY, where she has been chairperson of the Retail Leasing Committee, served on the board of directors of the commercial division and taught the retail segment for continuing education classes. A four-time nominee, she also won the prestigious 2010 Deal of the Year award.

“It was a blessing, and I was very fortunate early on in my career to become involved in REBNY,” Abrams said.

She represents both companies seeking city locations as well as building owners. Clients include a range of fashion designers along with home/design tenants, various entertainment related users and numerous restaurants.

Abrams is also on the Board of the NYU Schack Real Estate Institute, a member of WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

She lives on the Upper East Side with her husband and has two children.

The Young Real Estate Man of the Year

Robert C. Fink, Director of Leasing, The Winter Organization

Robert Fink

Rob Fink is currently responsible for overseeing all aspects of leasing and marketing for the Winter Organization’s commercial properties. These include the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Ave. and a four-building complex in trendy Midtown South that encompasses 111-115 Fifth Ave., 881 Broadway and 9 E. 18th St.

The agent has worked on the ownership side for most of his 20-year career. Fink was previously responsible for the 3 million-square-foot portfolio of Capital Properties, and prior to that worked for eight years at Equity Office Properties and Reckson Associates Realty Corp., both public real estate investment trusts.

He began his real estate career as a tenant leasing broker with Insigna/ESG (now CBRE) after a short stint in marketing and sales for the computer software industry.

The Rockland County native has a Masters of Business Administration from NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Vassar College. He currently resides on the Upper West Side with his wife and two children.

This award is bestowed by the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association, which was originally formed in 1948 by REBNY to promote interactions amongst the younger male brokers.

It didn’t take long for women to be included and now members of all ages continue to be active throughout their careers, attending luncheons with industry leaders as speakers, relaxing at the annual summer outing and participating in numerous charitable events including an annual kayaking excursion to view real estate from another vantage point.

Fink has served as the YM/WREA’s 2009 chairman, 2008 vice chairman and 2007 membership chairman, which is a post appointed by the board.

Fink says he was encouraged to join both REBNY and the YM/WREA while a leasing agent with Reckson. “I would advise others to seek these organizations out as early in their career as possible,” added Fink who explained that the cost for a young broker often seems prohibitive. “I would not look at it as an expense but as an investment in your career.”

The Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award

Joel I. Picket, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gotham Organization, Inc. and Gotham Construction Company, LLC

Joel Picket

Joel I. Picket is the leader of the 83-year-old fourth-generation family-owned development and construction firm that has long shaped the city skyline.

The company is the construction manager for the Fordham University Lincoln Center Campus law school and an undergraduate residence hall. Gotham is also developing the 1,240-unit, multi-family Gotham West in Manhattan and another in Brooklyn. Both include affordable housing.

“We build for other people and for ourselves,” said Picket, who joined REBNY after suggestions from clients. “I realized it was a great organization.” He is a member of REBNY’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

Leading the company since 1965, Picket has overseen its growth into one of the country’s largest privately held construction firms, having built 30,000 residential units as well as large-scale hospital and educational projects.

The Humanitarian Award is given for “meritorious service to the community” and Picket’s service on many non-profit boards is indicative of his commitment.

He currently serves as a board member of the New York Philharmonic, the Park Avenue Armory and the Foundation for the National Archives. He is a Trustee Fellow of Fordham University, a member of the University Council of Cornell University, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Hospital Group. He is also a member of the Lincoln Center Real Estate & Construction Council and a board member of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation.

“I enjoy serving on these boards, and I think a lot of people in the industry feel that way — you almost have an obligation to give back,” Picket said.

The George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year

Thomas L. Hill, Boston Properties

Thomas Hill

Thomas L. Hill, RPA, now a senior vice president in Boston Properties property management department, has spent over 40 years serving the industry and maintaining its lifeblood office buildings.

He was previously in the property management arms of Uris Buildings Corporation and later with Paramount Group.

He joined Boston Properties, Inc. in 1985, prior to its transformation into a real estate investment trust. He began as the mechanical and electrical construction manager for the development of 599 Lexington Ave. and transitioned to its property manager in 1987. Hill was promoted to vice president of property management in 1991 and to his current position in February 2000.

Hill now oversees property management and tenant relations at 601 Lexington and 599 Lexington, 399 Park, 5 and 7 Times Square, 767 Fifth, 510 and 540 Madison, 90 Church Street, and at the company’s newest development at 250 W. 55th St.

Since becoming a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) in 1986, he has served as an interim director and had three more terms on its board.

This month, he takes the helm as president of BOMA NY.

He is a member of REBNY’s management division board of directors, the Board of Directors of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations and the RAB/IUOE Local 94 Joint Board of Trustees for the Engineers Welfare, Annuity and Training programs. He has also worked with the city’s fire department on several initiatives.

Hill is active in civic organizations including Outreach, Hamilton Madison House, and Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, where he helped launch its music program to provide affordable music and piano instruction to local children.

The Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award

Stephen L. Green, Chairman of the Board, SL Green Realty Corp.

Stephen Green

Stephen L. Green, who founded his company in 1980, became known as the King of the Bs for his ownership of Class B buildings, including 641 Sixth Ave. By injecting fresh capital, he added value to older buildings with architectural integrity while offering tenants a well-managed, cheaper alternative to higher priced Class A towers.

Over time, that building and others in Midtown South were sold as the portfolio was refocused on Class A properties. In 1997, the publically traded real estate investment trust SL Green Realty Corp. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange with 1.2 million square feet in six buildings.

Today, SLG is Manhattan’s largest owner with stakes in over 80 buildings encompassing over 42 million square feet. It has interests in 27 million square feet of commercial properties and debt and preferred equity investments secured by 15 million square feet.

“I have been able to build something dynamic,” Green said of his career.

Green received his BA from Hartwick College in 1959, earning his JD from Boston College Law School in 1962. He later attended New York University Law School’s Graduate Tax Program, and practiced trial law for five years before embarking on buying real estate.

REBNY is “a must” to join, he said, “to learn about operating issues and shape new regulations, local laws and zoning.”

He is a member of REBNY’s Board of Governors and its executive committee, is on the board of directors of Street Squash, and is a member of the US Squash 1904 Legacy Society.

Ironically, a year ago, SLG bought back 641 Sixth along with No. 645.

“It made a round trip and we are taking these two “B” buildings and will renovate them for high-end tech companies,” Green laughed, reflecting today’s “new” desired office type.