Young Real Estate Woman of the Year Award
● Lindsay Ornstein, Partner, Transwestern
Lindsay Ornstein co-leads the New York office of Transwestern, where she’s a member of its Board of Directors.
She oversees Tenant Advisory Services with a focus on branding and space design, as well as the agency’s leasing and marketing strategies.
As a transactional broker, Ornstein has represented clients in many sectors and has a particular expertise in the financial services, technology and non-profit sectors.
Clients include firms such as JPMorgan Chase, Advent International, Mic.com and the Robin Hood Foundation.
Prior to joining Transwestern in 2011, Ornstein served as a principal and founding member of Centric Real Estate Advisors.
She began her career in real estate at The Staubach Company in 2003, initially as the director of marketing and subsequently as a broker.
Other positions included founder of Ads on Tags, an innovative advertising medium and she’s held a Nike Communications associate.
Ornstein served two terms on the Board of Governors for The Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association, which selected her for this award.
“YM/WREA is one of the oldest and most well-respected real estate groups in New York, and a steady partner to REBNY,” Ornstein says. “The two provide unparalleled access to information and key players in the industry.”
Her charitable work includes serving on the Cabinet for Israel Bonds; mentoring with Trailblazers and co-chairing the Junior Board for Green Chimneys, a pioneer in animal-assisted therapy for children; and the Community Outreach group at The Mandell School.
Ornstein graduated summa cum laude in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania, where she founded the Penn women’s varsity golf team.
Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award
● Marc Holliday, Chief Executive Officer, SL Green Realty Corp.
Marc Holliday joined SL Green in 1998 as chief investment officer. Under his leadership, SLG has become the largest commercial property owner in Manhattan with 46.6 million square feet and another 4.8 million feet in the tri-state area.
Holliday has focused on developing and supporting an outstanding management team delivering top-tier returns to shareholders.
Holliday previously held management positions at the former Victor Capital Group, then the external manager of Capital Trust.
He received a B.S. in business and finance from Lehigh University and an M.S. in real estate development from Columbia University where he serves on its Board of Trustees. A supporter of the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, he established the Holliday Professorship of real estate development in 2008. He serves as chair of its Taskforce for the Future and its development program’s Industry Advisory Board and endowment campaign.
In 2011, he was honored by National Jewish Health. Holliday is a member of REBNY’s Executive Committee. He was appointed by Governor Cuomo to the Board of Directors of the New York Racing Association in 2014.
Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award
● Peter Riguardi, President, New York Tri-State Region, Jones Lang Lasalle
Peter Riguardi, who has been a REBNY governor since 2003, oversees more than 2,000 JLL professionals in the tri-state area while leading major projects, developing and maintaining senior industry and political relationships, and recruiting new talent.
“My family has always been around REBNY,” says Riguardi. “It represents professionalism and a commitment to the industry, and helps you understand how it all works.”
Since joining JLL in September 2002, he has expanded leasing, agency assignments, retail brokerage, investment sales teams and corporate solutions.
In 2016, Riguardi represented BlackRock in its 800,000-square-foot deal to move to 50 Hudson Yards, and has similar assignments for large users including Deutsche Bank and HSBC. He represents Fosun’s 1-million-square-foot 28 Liberty and Related’s 1 Columbus with 1.8 million square feet that will be available to lease.
Past transactions include representing the MTA in its net lease of 2 Broadway, Bank of America’s lease at 1 Bryant Park, and Morgan Stanley in its lease and development of 745 Seventh Ave.
Although Riguardi once considered a career as a commodities broker, after graduating from Iona College and starting in real estate brokerage at GVA Williams in 1983, he never looked back. Prior to joining JLL, Riguardi served as vice chairman and principal of Colliers ABR, a company that he helped form in 1994.
His father, Edward Riguardi, is a highly regarded management professional and, while retired, is an honorary lifetime REBNY governor. Its Commercial Management Leadership Award was named in his honor in 2010.
Peter Riguardi has also been an honoree for the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Special Olympics, and more.
His advice for young people? “Make the real estate business part of your life,” he says.
George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award
● Bill Dacunto, Executive Vice President of Operations, Silverstein Properties
Bill Dacunto, who serves as a member of REBNY’s Management Board of Directors, is responsible for managing Silverstein Properties’ portfolio of both residential and office buildings.
Networking through REBNY, says Dacunto, is “hugely important. It’s a place for us to exchange ideas, especially on the Management Board of Directors, and we can try to move [city] policy in certain directions. We get to throw our two cents in, whether they listen to us or not.”
Dacunto joined Silverstein in 1987 after being responsible for military fuel transportation that necessitated the vast environmental paperwork also required of buildings.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Dacunto left his offices on the 88th floor of One World Trade Center for a breakfast meeting at the Marriott Vista hotel below, saying goodbye to coworkers, including John M. Griffin, who was among the four Silverstein employees killed in the attacks.
In 2015, in an emotional ceremony, Dacunto received the John M. Griffin Community Service Award, named after his coworker. He was also REBNY’s Corporate Management Executive of the Year.
“After you survive something like this, you figure you stuck around for a reason,” he says. He became a founding board member of Donate Eight, which works through the LiveOnNY Foundation — where he’s also a board member — to increase organ donation registration. In 2016, he was Covenant House New York’s Lifeline Honoree.
Dacunto also established Silverstein Properties’ portfolio-wide blood drive and food collections with the New York Blood Center and City Harvest.
A graduate of The College at Brockport, State University of New York with a B.S. in business, he also holds a Real Property Administrator designation from the Building Owners and Managers Association.
Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award
● Jed Walentas, Chief Executive Officer, Two Trees Management Co.
Jed Walentas, a member of REBNY’s Executive Board of Directors, oversees all aspects of acquisition, planning, development, construction, marketing and leasing at Two Trees Management. He’s also a member of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Urban Assembly and Creative Time.
“When you look around the table at REBNY, you’re sitting with the people in New York City who have a long-term interest in public safety and stability, in thriving civic institutions and in economic opportunity,” Walentas says. “It demonstrates the responsibility we have as owners and developers to leave the city a better place.”
Under his family’s leadership, Dumbo was not only given its moniker (for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), but evolved from a gritty, forgotten industrial district into a vibrant, creative community.
And with 5 million square feet of mixed-use projects already under its belt, Two Trees is now transforming the 3-million-square-foot Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg into a mix of commercial, residential and retail with affordable housing and a public park.
Other noteworthy projects include Mercedes House in Manhattan and, in Brooklyn, the boutique Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, 300 Ashland in Fort Greene, 60 Water in Dumbo, and 110 Livingston St. and 125 Court St. in downtown Brooklyn.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Walentas worked at the Trump Organization prior to joining his family’s firm. His father, David Walentas, founded Two Trees. Jed Walentas recalls that his father would advise that those starting in real estate should borrow as much money as they possibly could and buy the biggest asset they could afford.
“We’re at a different stage now,” he says. “But it’s important to listen to every idea or concern with an open mind and realize that a creative, problem-solving mindset is required for success.”
Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award
● MaryAnne Gilmartin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Forest City Ratner Companies
MaryAnne Gilmartin has been the point person for the development of some of the city’s highest-profile projects, including Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and the $4.9 billion, 22-acre mixed-use Pacific Park.
Gilmartin, who’s on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors of REBNY, has been an association member for 20 years. She says REBNY has become increasingly relevant to her business and career along the way.
Gilmartin oversaw the development of The New York Times Building and New York by Gehry and managed MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.
Gilmartin is currently overseeing the innovative office building on Roosevelt Island known as the Bridge at Cornell Tech.
Co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Gilmartin is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Jefferies Group, the Board of Trustees of New York Public Radio, a board trustee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development program at Columbia University. She previously served on the New York City Ballet Advisory Board.
In 2007, Gilmartin was the WX Woman of the Year. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University, where she also earned a Master’s Degree. She began her career as a New York City Urban Fellow in 1986 at the city’s Public Development Corporation.
For those starting out, Gilmartin says to find a mentor — and to also be a mentor. “Mentoring is one of the most important things you can do to help the industry, others in the industry and yourself,” she says.
“Remember, it’s never about one person.”
Additionally she says, “Be who you are. Authenticity matters — even in real estate!”
John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award
● Carl Weisbrod, Chairman, New York City Planning Commission and Director, New York City Department of Planning
Carl Weisbrod has been the appointee of five City mayors, first working in the administration of Mayor John Lindsay, some 40 years ago. He was appointed director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chairman of the New York City Planning Commission by Mayor Bill de Blasio in March 2014.
Says Rob Speyer, REBNY chairman, “He truly captures the spirit of civic leadership personified by our late, great former chairman, John Zuccotti, a legend of our industry.”
As the founding president of the City’s Economic Development Corporation, Weisbrod — under Gov. Mario Cuomo, and mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins — spearheaded the creation of Times Square into a hub of entertainment and tourism.
Appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, he aided downtown’s post-9/11 recovery as a director of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the founding president of the Alliance for Downtown New York.
Weisbrod later worked for Trinity Church on its Hudson Square portfolio before being tapped by de Blasio to oversee land-use policies. He has been a key player in the creation of Housing New York and its Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability.
In January, the East Midtown rezoning plan was certified by Planning as the first step towards its implementation.
Weisbrod will soon leave municipal government to head the Trust for Governors Island.
“I’ve spent my career fighting for New York City, and it’s fitting that my next chapter will take me to the new frontier on Governor’s Island,” he saYS. “I’m excited to shape it into an iconic space of which all New Yorkers can be proud.”
Weisbrod has served as a trustee of the Ford Foundation, chairman of NYC Outward Bound Schools, and chairman of the New York State Health Foundation.
A Cornell University graduate, he has also served as a professor at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.
