Inside R&E

In this episode of Inside R&E, Adam R. Sanders, Member in R&E’s Transactional Department, discusses the ins and outs of property management with Michael P. Feldman, Co-Founder and CEO of Choice New York Management. Together they share ways in which building management across New York has changed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps most notably the transition of board meetings to virtual platforms like Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams. One of today’s leading challenges, Michael says, is the conflict between technological development - like the implementation of AI - against customer service. As property managers continue to strive for efficiency with an increased use of tech, there remains the struggle to meet consumer expectation (like more building amenities, etc.), which, since the pandemic, has grown in the face higher-than-ever rent rates.

Choice New York Companies, Choice NY Property Management, LLC, Goldin Choice Property Management, Staffing By Choice and Home By Choice Real Estate Brokerage companies provide an array of 3rd Party Real Estate Services such as Property Management, Building Staffing and Residential Brokerage on medium and large-scale buildings in New York City. Michael focuses on large business prospective client procurement, business acquisitions, providing leadership and directly training the organizations ~300 full time professionals and is the chief liaison with Choice New York Managements’ Parent Company, Associa Corp. out of Dallas, TX.

Adam’s practice focuses on representing clients in a wide variety of commercial real estate and business transactions and matters, including acquisitions and sales, financing, leasing, construction, portfolio structuring, cooperative and condominium boards representation, Local Law 97 compliance, 1031 transactions and general corporate representation in the real estate, entertainment and web/technology industries. Adam is the firm’s go-to expert for all matters concerning Opportunity Zones. Investors and real estate developers exclusively rely on him for program updates and comprehensive legal analyses, keeping them on the cutting edge of the program even before regulations are released.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Adam R. Sanders at [email protected] or (212) 551- 1275. Michael P. Feldman can be reached at [email protected] (https://choicenewyork.com/).

In this episode of Inside R&E, Adam R. Sanders, Member in R&E’s Transactional Department, welcomes two of his clients, Lindsay Weiss and Alyssa Golub, who share the history and inspiration behind Pine & Polk, Hudson Square’s premier destination for artisanal provisions and hand-crafted cocktails. Lindsay and Alyssa co-founded Pine & Polk in 2020, shortly after relocating from San Francisco to New York City. The two became best friends over 10 years ago while living on intersecting streets in SF (one lived on Pine and the other on Polk). Located at 300 Spring Street, Pine & Polk boasts two concepts: a food-focused retail shop with products made by female and minority-owned brands, along with a secret speakeasy bar that has been dubbed “PS” for “Pacific Standard.” Throughout this episode, Adam, Lindsay and Alyssa discuss current trends in the hospitality industry, ways to engage target communities with social media and event pop-ups, as well as the steps needed to bring business concepts to life amid uncertain post-pandemic market conditions.

During her 20-plus years in event marketing, Lindsay has managed experiential programming, marketing strategy, and a wide range of events for both large corporate clients and smaller niche brands. She spent much of her career planning culinary events and programming for American Express, followed by time as a consultant for clients such as The James Beard Foundation, The New York Times, Auberge Resorts, CookUnity, lululemon, and more.

For the past 7 years, Alyssa’s career has been focused in the areas of business development, sales and customer experience, working directly with owners and operators of restaurant groups and hotels. With a passion for wine starting during her time as an F&B Manager for the Four Seasons Wailea in Maui, Alyssa soon began to manage within the Michael Mina restaurant group in San Francisco, where she ultimately became a Certified Sommelier. Her interests in technology and its impact on the hospitality industry led her into the startup space (specifically SaaS/B2B).

Adam’s practice focuses on representing clients in a wide variety of commercial real estate and business transactions and matters, including acquisitions and sales, financing, leasing, construction, portfolio structuring, cooperative and condominium boards representation, Local Law 97 compliance, New Markets Tax Credits, 1031 transactions and general corporate representation in the real estate, entertainment and web/technology industries. Adam is the firm’s go-to expert for all matters concerning Opportunity Zones. Investors and real estate developers exclusively rely on him for program updates and comprehensive legal analyses, keeping them on the cutting edge of the program even before regulations are released.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Adam R. Sanders at [email protected] or (212) 551- 1275. Inside R&E listeners are invited to visit Pine & Polk with a 10% discount on cocktails and products.

In this episode of Inside R&E, Adam R. Sanders, Member in R&E’s Transactional Department, invites Nicole Hay, Co-Founder and Leader of Compass’s Hay and Holt Team, for a discussion on the residential brokerage process across prominent and emerging Manhattan neighborhoods including Hudson Square and Carnegie Hill. With a seasoned background in sales - starting with cold calls at Crain’s New York Business - Nicole explains how her early sales experience combined with her passion for New York real estate ultimately led her to become the successful broker she is today. Throughout this episode, she shares high-level insights of the brokerage process, including current market trends as well as changes within the industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, like the increased use of Facetime to conduct virtual apartment tours and the digitization of closings. Over the last three years, the NYC residential market, Nicole says, has also seen more cash purchases and a growing number of apartments purchased by parents for their recently-graduated children.

The Hay and Holt Team is a global, New York City real estate group at Compass, which specializes in residential sales, rentals and investments. Nicole Hay, Co-Founder and Leader of the team, has been referred to as a “deal doctor” and is known for her ability to think outside-the-box to facilitate deals for her clients. She was awarded REBNY's esteemed Deal of the Year Award as well as the Rising Star Award. Nicole’s Instagram page (@NYPowerbroker), boasting some of New York’s most luxurious residential listings, is regularly featured on ABC7 and the New York Daily News.

Adam’s practice focuses on representing clients in a wide variety of commercial real estate and business transactions and matters, including acquisitions and sales, financing, leasing, construction, portfolio structuring, cooperative and condominium boards representation, Local Law 97 compliance, New Markets Tax Credits, 1031 transactions and general corporate representation in the real estate, entertainment and web/technology industries. Adam is the firm’s go-to expert for all matters concerning Opportunity Zones. Investors and real estate developers exclusively rely on him for program updates and comprehensive legal analyses, keeping them on the cutting edge of the program even before regulations are released.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Adam R. Sanders at [email protected] or (212) 551- 1275. Nicole Hay can be reached at [email protected] or (516) 322 - 0139.

In this episode of Inside R&E, Theodore (Ted) Metzger, Member & Head of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Department, provides a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which trust & estate planning goes hand-in-hand with real estate representation. With 30-plus years of experience guiding clients of all sizes through wealth transfers, Ted has a demonstrated expertise mitigating tax exposure from a generational wealth perspective, and ensuring that assets continue to be managed and pass seamlessly in the event of death or disability. Over the course of this discussion, Ted explains how owning real estate in New York - and outside of New York - can impact estate and inheritance taxes, while suggesting tips on how to ensure that real estate holdings are efficiently transferred upon death. 

For the last three decades, Ted has built a substantial trusts and estates practice representing both high net worth individuals and families as well as clients of more modest means. Ted is also sensitive to the planning needs of non-traditional families including LGBTQ partners and those creating families through assisted reproduction and surrogacy. Much of the estate planning includes efforts to maximize inter-generational wealth transfers, taking advantage of minority and illiquidity discounts in closely held entities, installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts and similar techniques.

Many of Ted’s clients have large real estate interests and/or businesses, and we have used creative ways to shift appreciating assets and future appreciation to trusts and other entities benefitting younger generations of beneficiaries. His practice also includes estate administration and post-mortem tax planning. Ted is also conversant in business transactions, commercial and residential real estate transactions (including co-ops and condos), leasing, joint ventures and other business matters.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Ted Metzger at [email protected] or (212) 551-2046. 

In this episode of Inside R&E, Zachary J. Rothken, Member and Head of the firm’s Administrative Law Department, invites Ann Korchak, Board President of the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), for a discussion on the leading challenges for property owners in New York today. As regulations in the real estate landscape continue to shift and tighten, Ann explains the difficulties of owning, operating and managing small properties across the state as anti-landlord bills, such as Good Cause Eviction and the recently-announced “Regina-repealer” bills, develop in Albany.

Together, Zachary and Ann show how non-profit housing groups like SPONY are working within the real estate industry to address the City’s increasing housing crisis by denouncing short-sighted policies such as rent stabilization. With growing concerns over the affordability of housing for tenants in NYC along with the struggle for landlords to make much-needed improvements to units in the face of overregulation and out-of-date rent rates, Zachary and Ann urge policymakers and politicians to balance the needs of both property owners and tenants, chiefly by stepping away from rent stabilization and bringing units to market value.

Ann Korchak has spent the last 20-plus years operating two small rental buildings that have been in her husband's family for decades. Previously, she worked in corporate real estate and retail leasing before raising her children full-time. As Board President of SPONY, Ann speaks to lawmakers, industry stakeholders and journalists about the challenges housing providers face when operating their small businesses in New York.

Zachary’s practice focuses on complex rent regulatory issues concerning rent stabilization and rent control. He represents property owners in administrative proceedings before DHCR and other administrative agencies, including claims alleging rent overcharge, TPU audits, petitions for administrative review and reduction of services. Zachary counsels prospective purchasers, sellers and lenders in performing due diligence on properties subject to rent regulation. His practice also includes representing property owners in a wide variety of litigation matters, including: Article 78 proceedings, Supreme Court actions and landlord-tenant summary proceedings. Zachary is frequently invited to speak on webinars, podcasts and in-person panels addressing rent stabilization and related legislative developments.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Zachary J. Rothken at [email protected] or (212) 551-8453. To contact Ann or connect with the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), visit www.spony.org or email at [email protected].

In this episode of Inside R&E, Daniel M. Bernstein, Head of the firm's Tax Incentives & Affordable Housing Department, and Nicholas DiLorenzo, Of Counsel with the firm, discuss Governor Hochul’s recently-announced Executive Order to replace the 421-a(16) Program for Gowanus residential projects. The Executive Order, signed July 18 of this year, will allow residential projects currently under construction and located in the Gowanus rezoning area to apply to participate in an equivalent program to be run by the NYS Empire State Development (“ESD”) (the “ESD Gowanus Program”). The application deadline is September 29, 2023.   

In their discussion, Daniel and Nick differentiate between the ESD Gowanus Program and Affordable New York, explaining what the new program means for projects which commenced in time to vest for Affordable New York but might not be able to meet the June 15, 2026 Completion Date deadline. While detailing the requirements of the ESD Gowanus Program and what lenders and developers should expect, Daniel and Nick provide a forecast of what this program might mean for Gov. Hochul’s Housing Plan and for future legislative movement in Albany. 

If you have any questions about the ESD Gowanus Program’s applicability to your Gowanus project or possible expansion to other areas of NYC, please contact Daniel at [email protected], (212) 551-1257 and Nick at [email protected], (212) 551-1215.  

In this episode of Inside R&E, Member Adam Lindenbaum continues his Happy Buildings segment with Ryan Goldstein, Managing Principal at Invel Capital, LLC. Together Adam and Ryan share the origins of their business relationship, starting as early as 2009 at Safeguard Realty Management, Inc., where Adam provided in-house counsel to investors, property managers and dealmakers. Throughout this episode, Adam and Ryan demonstrate the powerful synergies and working dynamic in the attorney-principal partnership when sourcing new properties, navigating transactions and negotiating contracts. In the New York City Metropolitan area’s increasingly challenging legal landscape, confidence and trust in your attorney proves to be a key asset to mitigating risks and maximizing investment opportunities.  

Adam represents real estate firms, developers and tenants in connection with their use, management and operation of commercial real estate. He focuses his practice on handling disputes involving complex landlord-tenant matters, real estate ownership and commercial litigation. Adam also has extensive experience involving residential real estate and landlord-tenant matters including those involving cooperative and condominium boards, rent control, rent stabilization and the loft law. 

For any questions related to this episode, contact Adam Lindenbaum at [email protected],(212) 551-8405 or Ryan Goldstein at [email protected], (646) 389-5705. 

In this episode of Inside R&E, Zachary J. Rothken, Member and Head of R&E’s Administrative Law Department, welcomes Michael Mintz, CEO and Founder at MD Squared Property Group, for a discussion on commercial and residential property management in New York City. As a long-time NYC resident and established real estate advisor, Michael’s approach to property management prioritizes the needs of tenants while also providing landlords and owners with strategic operational guidance to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment. Over the course of their conversation, Zachary and Michael share best practices to ensure a smooth handling of tenant-related issues, ways in which owners and landlords can optimize lease terms and conditions, the most common management mistakes made by NYC landlords, and much more.

Michael has a decade of experience in property management and has established himself as a leading manager and key investment advisor in the real estate industry. He has a proven track record in successfully managing buildings through major capital projects and maximizing real estate values. Under his leadership, MD Squared Property Group is recognized as one of New York City’s leading property management and real estate investment firms.

Zachary’s practice focuses on complex rent regulatory issues concerning rent stabilization and rent control. He represents property owners in administrative proceedings before DHCR and other administrative agencies, including claims alleging rent overcharge, TPU audits, petitions for administrative review and reduction of services. Zachary counsels prospective purchasers, sellers and lenders in performing due diligence on properties subject to rent regulation. His practice also includes representing property owners in a wide variety of litigation matters, including: Article 78 proceedings, Supreme Court actions and landlord-tenant summary proceedings. Zachary is frequently invited to speak on webinars, podcasts and in-person panels addressing rent stabilization and related legislative developments.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Zachary J. Rothken at [email protected] or (212) 551-8453.

Michael Mintz can be reached at [email protected] or (212) 518-2690.

In this episode of Inside R&E, Member Adam Lindenbaum continues his Happy Buildings segment with Dan Fasulo, real estate commentator and data consultant. With over 20 years of experience as a leader in real estate data, market research and proptech in New York City and other major cities around the world, Dan explains how data collection and research have evolved during the past two decades and identifies key challenges that businesses continue to face due to lingering remote work policies. Adam and Dan discuss a host of topics ranging from their respective origins in real estate, when they first met as undergraduates at Cornell University, to the importance of in-office training and experience for professionals looking to pave successful careers in the New York real estate world. 

Adam represents real estate firms, developers and tenants in connection with their use, management and operation of commercial real estate. He focuses his practice on handling disputes involving complex landlord-tenant matters, real estate ownership and commercial litigation. Adam also has extensive experience involving residential real estate and landlord-tenant matters including those involving cooperative and condominium boards, rent control, rent stabilization and the loft law. 

For any questions related to this episode, contact Adam Lindenbaum at [email protected] or (212) 551-8405. 

In this episode of Inside R&E, Zachary J. Rothken, Member and Head of the firm’s Administrative Law Department, invites Jay Martin, Executive Director of the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), for a fascinating discussion on New York’s “housing crisis” as a timely response to the recent passage of two bills (“Regina repealer bills”) by the New York State Legislature which may significantly impact rent stabilized properties and reverse the property rights and protections provided by the Court of Appeals in Regina and Casey.

As a long-time advocate for the Vacancy Reset Bill, Jay explains many of the ways in which the housing crisis is effectively caused by “the law that is there to fix it” - namely, rent stabilization. In this last legislative session, Jay says, the NYS Legislature acknowledged, for the first time since the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019, that there is a major problem with vacancies in rent stabilized housing and that the law had gone too far with the IAI decrease to a cap of $15,000.

Jay is at the forefront of CHIP’s lawsuit, with a petition for certiorari currently at the United States Supreme Court, arguing that landlords have consistently been asked to provide a housing product without adequate compensation, and that rent stabilization is a “self-fulfilling prophecy in that it diminishes the supply of housing.” Over the course of their discussion, both Zachary and Jay show how pro-business and pro-housing policies together will create a more realistic and sustainable housing situation for all New York residents, while also helping to control the divisive political narrative surrounding the housing crisis.

CHIP Executive Director Jay Martin is an expert in rent-stabilized housing policy, representing more than 4,000 CHIP members who provide nearly 400,000 units of rent-stabilized housing in New York City. Jay is the voice for hard-working property owners who have built strong communities throughout New York City. He is a leading advocate for finding compromise on housing solutions, rejecting traditional narratives that pit tenants against property owners. Prior to joining CHIP, he was the Chief of Staff to New York State Senator David Carlucci and the Director of Operations for the Senate Independent Democratic Conference. City & State named him a 40 Under 40 Rising Star in 2017 and has continually named him one of the most powerful members of the New York Real Estate industry since 2019.

Zachary’s practice focuses on complex rent regulatory issues concerning rent stabilization and rent control. He represents property owners in administrative proceedings before DHCR and other administrative agencies, including claims alleging rent overcharge, TPU audits, petitions for administrative review and reduction of services. Zachary counsels prospective purchasers, sellers and lenders in performing due diligence on properties subject to rent regulation. His practice also includes representing property owners in a wide variety of litigation matters, including: Article 78 proceedings, Supreme Court actions and landlord-tenant summary proceedings. Zachary is frequently invited to speak on webinars, podcasts and in-person panels addressing rent stabilization and related legislative developments.

For any questions related to this episode, please contact Zachary J. Rothken at [email protected] or (212) 551-8453.

About Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

Founded in 1975, Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. is widely recognized as one of New York City’s pre-eminent real estate law firms. R&E provides full-service representation and advice in every aspect of real estate, from performing due diligence and evaluating financing, to handling joint ventures, acquisitions and leasing, construction and design team agreements, property tax exemptions and abatements, land use and zoning matters, Real Property Income & Expense (RPIE) filings, co-op and condo offering plan filings, distressed situations and bankruptcies, trust and estate planning, as well as the litigations and negotiations which sometimes ensue when deal-making. R&E’s wealth of experience in New York real estate makes it the ideal thought partner for owners, developers, not-for-profit corporations, educational institutions, sponsors, equity investors and lenders in both real estate transactions and in all court venues.

This is published by the law firm Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion. Such advice may only be given when related to specific fact situations that Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. has accepted an engagement as counsel to address. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. ©2023 Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. | ATTORNEY ADVERTISING