Power 100

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The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate

mark hollidayScott rechler

Gary Barnett

douGlaS durSt

andrew cuomo

A SPECIAL SECTION BY THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER MAY 14, 2012

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BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

During the final months of his 2010 campaign for governor, Andrew Cuomo, the former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, found him-self high above Manhattan, sitting across a table from Stephen Ross.

To most political analysts and voters, Mr. Cuomo’s gubernato-rial ascendance was already a foregone conclusion, thanks, per-haps, to the precision of an inner circle jam-packed with believers plucked from HUD and the attor-ney general’s office, yes, but also to a thick core of purple-veined vet-erans tied to dad Mario’s 11-year reign. News a year earlier that President Obama secretly implored Mr. Cuomo’s predecessor, David Paterson, to withdraw from the

race—followed later by indications that his Republican opponent Carl Paladino was beginning to unrav-el—hardly hurt the frontrunner’s momentum.

And so it was with consider-able wind beneath his wings, and goodwill to burn, that Mr. Cuomo rode an elevator to the top of 60 Columbus Circle, the building Mr. Ross and his Related Companies developed against considerable odds seven years earlier, near the apex of the real estate bubble. Yet despite an approval rating of 61 percent, the all-but-certain gover-nor-in-waiting still faced one last force: the Real Estate Board of New York and 20 members of its execu-tive committee.

“These were all principals,” said one person familiar with the gathering. “And it was obvious to everybody there that he was going

to be governor. The race was over.”The meeting drew the city’s

most important names in real es-tate, not least of all Leonard Litwin, the 97-year-old billionaire who last year poured more cash into New York’s political coffers than any-one else in the state, including $76,000 to Mr. Cuomo. Others in-cluded Douglas Durst, whose Bank of America Tower had recently snagged the country’s first-ever LEED Platinum certification for an office building, and Burt Resnick, the heir to his dad’s 85-year-old, family-owned real estate empire.

Yet despite whatever combined wealth filled that room, or which accolades dizzied equilibriums, or what euphoria the soon-to-be gov-ernor provoked, it was Mr. Ross, REBNY’s chairman emeritus, who controlled the room that day. Indeed, before the committee mem-

bers could object, Messrs. Ross and Cuomo had already vanished.

“And so we’re sitting there with

no Steve Ross and no Governor Cuomo for at least a half an hour—if not more—and then finally Steve Ross ushers the governor into the room,” recalled another attendee,

who spoke on the condition of ano-nymity. “It was probably about 45 minutes—his own private meet-ing—while all of us people who had thought we were pretty important sat there and basically just held our heels.”

“And so,” added the executive committee member, after a short pause and a stiff laugh, “we contin-ued to hold Steve Ross in the high esteem that we’ve always had.”

What so impressed (or, perhaps, riled) Mr. Ross’s contemporaries that day wasn’t the length of time the Detroit native spent whisper-ing into Mr. Cuomo’s ear—though that no doubt hammered home the point—but, rather, the specter of what glorious chits such an inti-mate chat with the future governor might one day bring. (That City Council Speaker Christine Quinn eventually helped carved a portion

‘Then finally Steve Ross ushers the governor into the room. It was probably about 45 minutes—his own pri-vate meeting—while all of us people who had thought we were pretty important sat there and basically just held our heels.’

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of the Related Companies’ 26-acre, mixed-use Hudson Yards project out of the living wage plan this year probably didn’t assuage wor-ries some had of Mr. Ross’s ability to cash his chits.)

But whether speaking of Mr. Ross and his pipeline to Governor Cuomo, revelations that Senator Charles Schumer lobbied on be-half of the Durst Organization at 1 World Trade, or, more plainly, the ability to tell Arsenio Hall “You’re fired!” on national TV, the underly-ing virtues of power in New York’s real estate industry remain the same.

“Access and influence—that’s all there is to it. That’s the whole thing,” said one top real estate bro-ker when asked what formula he uses to calculate power. “Can you influence the outcome of certain things and do you have access to the people who can help you push your agenda forward—and that’s whether you’re a developer, a bro-ker, a politician or whatever. That’s what determines how powerful you are.”

Since 2008, when The New York Observer launched its annu-al Power 100 rankings, the mighty stick has shifted from Mr. Ross, who earned the coveted top posi-tion the same year as his meeting with Mr. Cuomo, to Douglas and Jody Durst, the nation’s two most thrilling arguments for sustain-able development. It has included heretofore nobodies like Sam Zell before he acquired the Tribune Company while also projecting second thoughts on icons such as Daniel Tishman, who ranked No. 62 on the list in 2010, only to fall off entirely in 2011 and then re-enter the fold this year at No. 85.

All the while, the city’s real es-tate elite has been swimming against an economic tide. Ever since 2008, in fact, the list has been more notable for who drowned than who swam ashore. In 2009, for example, President Obama ranked No. 1 while fellow public servants also rose in power, thanks to a widespread belief that the so-called Great Recession might soon be fixed. And yet, as a whole, the list has always been more notable for its clubby nature—and 2012 is hardly an exception.

Of the 168 names on the list, nearly 65 percent hail from ei-ther multigenerational real estate dynasties or, inversely, financial services firms. The remaining in-ductees consist of brokers, lawyers,

politicians and other professionals. Yet despite the imbalance, machers like Scott Rechler, Mary Ann Tighe and Howard Lutnick hold their own against the established Resnicks, Zeckendorfs and Fishers of the real estate world.

In short, cultivating the Power 100 has always been a combination of subjective reasoning, gimmickry and wishful thinking. As much as headlines influence rankings—like those behind Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev’s $88 billion condo purchase at 15 Central Park West—so too does hard work, quan-tifiable evidence, recent awards and a wealth of other indicators, promotions and anecdotes not so easily explained.

What hardly ever drives change are the people behind the people behind the city’s 8.5 billion square feet of bricks. Nonetheless, as early as March each year, the city’s most aggressive public relations agents—or flacks as they’re often

called, thanks to a collective talent to catch just that from clients—take to phones and email to generate the gospel. In some cases, they accen-tuate the net worth of their clients; in other instances, career or annu-al square footage is emphasized.

For real estate professionals whose numbers fail to impress, there are other tactics. To be sure, last month alone reporters at The Commercial Observer weath-ered a flurry of light threats and bribes, including promises of base-ball tickets, dinners, lunches and breakfasts. But to hear it from one well-respected mouthpiece at one of the city’s largest public relations firms, the desperate push for atten-tion on behalf of real estate clients is only natural.

“The month leading up to, and the weeks immediately after, are the most stressful time of the year,” said the public relations pro-fessional, who insists that, each spring, his clients harangue him daily for good placement in the issue, but ultimately denounce him when it doesn’t happen. “It’s the worst time of the year, the Power 100.”

With that thought in mind, take stock and enjoy this year’s list, a purely subjective ranking of rela-tive power and those New York City brokers, developers, attorneys, po-liticos, landlords and lenders who wield it so well.

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‘Access and influence—that’s all there is to it. That’s the whole thing,’ said one top real estate broker when asked what formula he uses to calculate power.

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BY CARL GAINES It was April 23, two days before

SL Green’s first-quarter 2012 earn-ings were announced, and chatter was reaching a fever pitch: Would Viacom, which occupies about 1.3 million square feet at SL Green’s 1515 Broadway, choose to renew its lease or opt to follow its Times Square cousin Condé Nast in taking space in Downtown Manhattan?

At the same time, the real estate investment trust was looking for a loan to place on 100 Church Street, negotiating what would be the larg-est mortgage in recent history for 1515 Broadway, and wrapping up a 361,044-square-foot lease for Random House at 1745 Broadway. In short, last month was a busy one.

Add it all up—owned inter-est in 38.7 million square feet in Manhattan, a nascent focus on resi-dential, the retail footprint—and the REIT can take on a weight and life of its own. To the uninitiated, running a company as massive as SL Green might appear as untenable as safely launching a torpedo.

Instead, in the hands of chief executive Marc Holliday and presi-dent Andrew Mathias, it’s more like watching a thoroughbred on the final stretch.

At the moment, however, Messrs. Holliday and Mathias were in a con-ference room on the 19th floor of the REIT’s headquarters at 420 Lexington Avenue. They looked a lit-tle distracted.

“I think it will come down to price at the end of the day,” Mr. Holliday said when asked about the Viacom lease. He went on to explain that, if SL Green were to get some part of the building back, it wouldn’t be a big deal. “We would be very successful in re-tenanting at pretty significant rents for that market right now, but our first effort is always on trying to retain the tenant on best terms.”

Days later, when those terms emerged, they turned out to be fairly unique—Viacom would not only stay, but it would be increasing its space in the building, eventually taking all of the 1.6 million square feet of office space. After 2015, when the current lease is up, Viacom will pay an in-crease of $5 per square foot.

Their start at SL Green began in the years leading up to the com-pany’s 1997 initial public offering. Both had been at Capital Trust, a mezzanine lender. While there, they advised Stephen Green on the IPO, with Mr. Holliday ultimately joining the newly formed public company in

1998 as chief investment officer and Mr. Mathias coming on board the following year.

“The REIT formation was really the critical moment when the cap-ital markets expertise came into play,” said one source, who request-ed anonymity. “They convinced him there were ways to leverage joint ventures, the capital markets and relationships. The ability to capital-ize and recapitalize portfolios and individual properties enabled the company to get where it is today.”

“Steve Green was a client first and foremost—now a partner and friend,” Mr. Holliday said when asked what it was about the way that Mr. Green ran the business that attracted him to take on a permanent role. “He was a great entrepreneur and he had de-veloped a great platform that we felt we could work with to convert it from what was then a smaller footprint.” In fact, the company went from two million square feet at the IPO to its current 27 million square feet.

“Usually that kind of asset accu-mulation is multigenerational,” Mr. Holliday offered. “That’s the storied land owners and building owners in the city—that’s a multigeneration-al process—this has all been pretty much amassed in 15 years.”

It’s no wonder that sources reached for comment used terms like “shrewd” and “smart” in de-scribing the two, with “smart” by far outnumbering all others.

One of the few people willing to comment on the record, real es-tate attorney Stephen Meister, related the legal case surrounding 3 Columbus Circle.

“There was a case that I handled where Steve Ross bought the mort-gage on 3 Columbus Circle,” Mr. Meister said. “SL Green partnered

with Moinian and was able to write a very large check and they fended off Ross.

“I do consider them to be power-ful people,” Mr. Meister said of the two and their ability to swoop in with the check—for $258.6 million—and keep Stephen Ross from foreclosing on the building. The Moinian Group and SL Green went on to sell the 214,372-square-foot base there to Young & Rubicam, which leased an ad-ditional 125,000 square feet above for its New York headquarters.

“They don’t throw their weight around in an ugly way,” said another source. “But those two guys, when it’s necessary, they do what they need to do to succeed but all with-in the confines of doing the right thing.”

On a call a few days after the REIT’s first-quarter 2012 earnings came out, the two explained some of the timing involved in the past days’ flurry of activity.

The $775 million Bank of China first mortgage on 1515 Broadway had closed first, since it wasn’t con-tingent on a Viacom renewal. “That was a loan that we worked hard to ar-range over the last couple of months, absent really knowing which direc-tion the Viacom conversations were going to take,” Mr. Mathias said. Once those conversations started, though, they went pretty quickly.

“The entire deal, from negotiation to lease, was actually very com-pressed and moved very rapidly,” Mr. Holliday said. “At the point when we met and you asked the question I think Andrew and I looked at each other knowing that we were very likely to end up with a signed lease in the near term.”

Another recent Times Square in-vention—this one from SL Green and its frequent retail partner Jeff Sutton—also demonstrates the savvy and creativity the REIT ap-plies to deals under Messrs. Holliday and Mathias.

Last summer the joint venture closed on 1552 Broadway for $135.6 million and leased the surrounding area in 1560 on a long-term basis. They’ll be breaking through and cre-ating one large, 40,000-square-foot swatch of pricey retail. The spot and its corresponding signage are cur-rently being marketed and drawing interest, though the two declined to name any prospective occupants.

Asked about the future and any possible headwinds the REIT might face as the office market continues to recover and tenants’ priorities vacillate between location, quality and price, the two were upbeat.

“New York is a fiercely competi-tive market,” said Mr. Mathias.

“There’s always the everyday head-winds that you face—competition for space, competition for capital,” added Mr. Holliday. “That’s not something that were facing today that we haven’t faced for the better part of 22 years.”

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Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias (3)CEO AND PRESIDENT, RESPECTIVELY, SL GREEN

1Add it all up—owned interest in 38.7 million square feet in Manhattan, a nascent focus on residential, the retail footprint— and the REIT can take on a weight and life of its own.

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BY MATT CHABANIn the world of Gary Barnett, ev-

erything is the best.The president of Extell Develop-

ment, a company he launched in the 1990s following a stint as a dia-mond trader in Belgium, made this plainly clear during a recent tour of One57, his 1,005-foot-tall tower near Carnegie Hall on West 57th Street. When completed, the building will rank not only among the city’s tall-est properties, but, with its views of Central Park, among its most luxu-rious as well.

On the One57 amenities: “This will be the best amenities pack-age in the entire city. All the oth-ers are good. But they don’t have everything.”

On the One57 finishes: “Look a this kitchen. Where will you find a kitchen anywhere like this? It’s the best, and we have two of them.”

On the One57 floor plans: “We have the best floor plans on the market.”

Increasingly, however, it isn’t just the amenities or the $115 mil-lion price tags on his penthouses that are being described as the best, but the developer himself as well. Long considered a lone wolf for his tendency to ruffle the feathers of his contemporaries—he famous-ly clashed with Bruce Ratner after

making a last-minute bid for control of the Atlantic Yards—the develop-er is beginning to be taken more se-riously by his peers.

But if Gary Barnett truly is the best, at least in the eyes of some real estate analysts, he quickly dis-pelled such a characterization earli-er this month when approached by The Commercial Observer. Indeed, the antiestablishment developer wondered aloud what such a laurel would do to his reputation.

“Two things,” Mr. Barnett said, when reached before the tour. “One, how would you like to go up in the building?” Very much so. “The other thing is, I hear these profiles are for the people at the top of the list.” How could he know? “I want to tell you, I’m not cooperating if I’m No. 1. Because I’m not. I’m not No. 1, I don’t want to be No. 1. We’re like the Avis guys. We’re No. 2, and we try harder. Got it?”

As is increasingly the case these days, Gary Barnett got just what he wanted.

“You have to be willing to take risks, to lose money and to walk away from something,” Mr. Bar-nett said by way of explaining his success, as the rickety lift made its way up the eastern flank of the concrete shell that is One57, loom-ing over Essex House. “You also have to be patient.” He pointed out that this project began in 1998. “There have been 15, 20 transac-tions to get to this point,” he said, buying everything from buildings to air rights, and bringing in new investors, among them the royal family of Abu Dhabi. At one point, Mr. Barnett was close to buying a neighboring plot that would have squared off what ended up being an unusual L-shape site. When that did not materialize, he went

ahead and built anyway. “Sometimes you have to work

with what you have,” he said.There is something to that be-

yond bluster. The first thing one sees upon entering the One57 showroom is an Oscar-worthy marketing film, projected in-side a wide black granite hallway. (“These are actual lobby finishes,” Mr. Barnett notes.) In the video, the wall, displaying the One57 logo, transforms into an iridescent moon pool, which the viewer real-izes is actually a bead of dew or a rain drop on a leaf of grass in Cen-tral Park. As the camera pulls out, the droplets are sucked skyward, we get our first glimpse inside the apartment, of a willowy woman standing before floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the park. Now a shot of the skyline, those droplets are swirling, shooting, cascading down the steeply slop-ing facade of One57.

The waterfall, oft-invoked by Christian de Portzamparc, the project’s architect, is a more than apt metaphor for this aquapomor-phic building. Indeed the unusual site and the challenging setbacks help create, rather than hinder, the artistry, and it is these unusu-al shapes that help create the per-fect layouts.

This is what Mr. Barnett said drew him to the business. “I like the creativity of the work, from assembling the site to picking the architect, the finishes, coming up with the marketing,” Mr. Barnett said. “It’s headache after headache after headache, so if anything, the design process is the enjoyable part. I like to build.”

“He’s probably the best mar-keter in the business,” said Adam Schwartz, Angelo Gordon’s head of real estate and Mr. Barnett’s partner in the Carlton House.

Mr. Barnett might deserve pride of place were it for his singular One57 alone, but he has so much more going on, it is amazing he, or anyone, can keep track. While some of his rivals and compatriots might have bought and sold more in re-cent years, no one is building more, and more different, projects. “He’s very focused on what he does, more than some of the others,” REBNY president Steven Spinola said. “Not that they don’t focus, but he seems to focus in his own way.”

The Rushmore and the Aldyn, two developments at Riverside South, finished just as the market was headed south, along with the Lucida on the Upper East Side and the mock-historical 535 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side.

Yet they have attracted the likes of David Wright, Robin Williams, Tyson Chandler and Mr. Real Es-tate himself, Alex Rodriguez, who flipped a Rushmore penthouse for a 50 percent profit after owning it for less than a year. Like One57, the neighborhood transforming Inter-national Gem Tower is finally rising on an otherwise dowdy 47th Street. A new Hyatt is headed skyward nearby, in Times Square, harkening back to Mr. Barnett’s early days in hotels. Another condo on West 43rd Street is in the works, as well as one downtown—Mr. Barnett would not say where—and the Carlton House is well underway. Certainly some-thing has been forgotten.

And Mr. Barnett has tapped an-other Pritzker firm, Herzog & de Meuron, of 40 Bond fame, to build a 1,250-foot residential tower at Broadway and 57th Street. Yes, One57 was not enough. When it stops being the best, this project, and so many others, will be ready to carry on the legacy.

Even when Mr. Barnett strug-gles, he does so spectacularly. The Rushmore may be the perfect case. Bad brokers, four lawsuits, per-haps some 40 or 50 over one proj-ect or another. He has missed his fair share, from Atlantic Yards to Hudson Yards to Brooklyn Bridge Park. A comptroller’s report from a 2007 bid for the Aqueduct casino reveals a man, who, while he may fill out his own questionnaire, was for once less exacting than usual, leaving many questions blank and giving the state a general impres-sion of untrustworthiness—not a good thing when betting on a ca-sino project.

And yet would there really be room for more work? Actually, there probably would be. “I don’t have time to think about the ones that got away, thank god, be-cause we’re busy doing what we’re doing, and there’s always more to be done,” Mr. Barnett said.

Following the tour of the One57 showroom, Mr. Barnett headed out-side and down three blocks to Lex-ington Avenue. Asked he really did not believe he was No. 1, he made it abundantly clear yet again.

“There are so many more power-ful people than us, the REITs and the families,” Mr. Barnett said. “Being No. 1, everyone’s watch-ing you, talking about you. I don’t need that, I don’t want that. My ego is still normal, I think. Let’s keep I that way.”

Maybe he meant it. Or maybe he was trying to psyche us out, get inside our heads and make us make him No. 1. Whatever Mr. Barnett was doing, it was work-ing—he is not one of the foremost marketers, as well as builders, in the city for no reason. Before we could collect ourselves and ask what the truth was, Mr. Barnett got into a cab and was gone.

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Gary Barnett (6)PRESIDENT, EXTELL DEVELOPMENT

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“I want to tell you, I’m not cooperating if I’m No. 1. Because I’m not. I’m not No. 1, I don’t want to be No. 1. We’re like the Avis guys. We’re No. 2, and we try harder. Got it?”

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BY DANIEL EDWARD ROSEN and DANIEL GEIGER

“The governor is on the line,” a top real estate executive recalled his wife telling him early one morning in his suburban home sev-eral weeks ago.

He remembered feeling a small spasm of panic as he cursed aloud—without realizing his wife was on the other side of the door holding the receiver out.

The man put the phone to his ear. “That’s what you say when I call?” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in jest.

It seems like ages since New York elected a governor who, simply by dialing a phone, provoked panic attacks in the hearts of real estate executives. For three years, during the sturm und sleaze of the Eliot Spitzer administration, followed by David Paterson’s aimless turn as a stopgap, state government seemed defined by dysfunction without even a shimmer of civic or fiscal aptitude.

“There was the growing feeling the state was ungovernable,” a real estate industry lobbyist said.

Enter Mr. Cuomo, son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo and a veritable first son of New York, who in two consecutive years has passed bud-gets (on time) that kept taxes at bay, unveiled a bold slate of infra-structure projects, and introduced a new system for how develop-mental money will be distributed throughout the state.

His accomplishments, almost unprecedented in the state’s recent political history, paint a picture of a man who doesn’t wait around to feel pressure—he applies it.

“It’s much more important to him to lead the state than to be pop-ular in the state,” said Steve Cohen, former secretary to Governor Cuomo and his chief of staff when he was the New York State attorney general.

While Mr. Spitzer, a hard char-ger himself, tried to tame Albany with a straight right to the chin, Mr. Cuomo has taken a more crafty approach, aligning stubborn in-terests through leverage and transparency.

When Mr. Cuomo first took of-fice in 2011, for instance, he quickly sided himself with the Committee to Save New York, a pro-business lobbying group that he brandished as a handy counterpunch should the health care and education unions—two of the state’s biggest spending areas—decide to pounce on his reformist agenda. In the end,

he slashed billions from the budget without nary a negative advertis-ing campaign, which those unions had used as weapons to crush Mr. Paterson’s attempt at spending cuts.

Then there was the formation of 10 Regional Economic Development

Councils, which created an effective and fair forum for coun-ties—“Mohawk Valley,” “Capital Region,” etc.—to compete openly for public funding. The method broke away from the tradition in Albany in which backroom dealings, not merit, kickstarted a project.

“The councils brought every-one to the table,” said Kathryn Wilde, president and chief exec-utive of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit business in-terest group. “In New York City, we made the priority the Hunts Point food market, and that plan has been connected to the Hudson River Valley and upstate agricul-tural industry as a way for the market to support those regions,” she added.

“It’s the reverse of the pork bar-rel approach.”

The governor has also helped resolve other funding issues, like the MTA’s deficit-ridden capital program.

In March, he reached an agree-ment with legislative leaders to bankroll the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capi-tal budget plan, committing $13.1 billion to help the city agency complete projects like the Second Avenue subway and the Fulton Street Transit Center.

The state had originally pledged $9.1 billion for the first two years of the project.

He has brought the fate of the Tappan Zee Bridge to the fore, a project too gargantuan for many of his predecessors to effective-ly push forward, insisting that a new bridge (at an estimated cost of $5.2 billion) be built. The feder-al Department of Transportation nixed a $2 billion loan request for the project last week, but Mr. Cuomo remains undaunted.

Besides, the Tappan Zee project stands for more than just link-ing the Westchester and Rockland counties.

As he put it, it’s “going to be about making the statement that government can work, and society can work and we can still do big things.”

“The thing that makes Andrew very effective is he’s very opera-tional,” said a former colleague of Mr. Cuomo’s. “He makes a list of what needs to get done to achieve a goal and he assiduously makes sure everything on his list is done in order to achieve that goal.”

One big goal on that list is the Javits Convention Center. During his State of the State speech at the start of the year, the governor made the relocation of the Javits Center to Queens his marquee eco-nomic development project in the city, a plan at once brilliant and fraught with challenges.

Under the proposal, Javits would be moved to the Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park to create a 3.8-million-square-foot convention center, the largest in the country. Proponents say the new develop-ment would allow the city to finally capture the biggest trade shows and events that the current facility is too small to host. Though he has spelled out few details, Mr. Cuomo’s idea has the potential to connect to a huge casino gaming hub that would be built at Aqueduct, probably by its operator, the international gaming consortium Genting.

Attractive in all this is the fact that the state would have to expend little if any capital to effect the plan; Genting would foot the bill.

Yet countervailing questions have surfaced too, including the wisdom of relocating a facility that is currently one of the best-performing conference facilities in the country to the nether re-gions of Queens. Such concerns are premature, said a person close to the governor.

“We are going to develop a mas-ter plan for the whole [18] acres, and really try to transform that section so that it blends in with Hudson Yards, it blends in with Times Square, and really utilize that property in an effective way,” that person added.

Few have spoken out vehement-ly against the project, but many sources say that it is sure to have its critics behind the scenes, includ-ing the powerful Hotel Association of New York City, whose members paid for the current renovations with a $1.50 surcharge per night on their room rates.

“My feeling is the ink is not dry on a Javits deal,” said George Artz, a public relations and lobbying executive. “I don’t think people expect the governor to try to be unilateral. He’ll probably offer a smaller facility in Manhattan.”

For Mr. Cuomo, development and real estate play vital roles in the economic development of New York State. Such was the lesson he learned during previous stints heading Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (HELP) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

He’s also not afraid to go after real estate, either, as he proved during his time in the attorney gen-eral’s office. He went after Extell Development’s Rushmore condo-miniums, ordering Gary Barnett’s firm to release 41 buyers from their disputed contracts. He also went after Vantage Properties, reaching a $1 million settlement with Neil Rubler’s company after accusing the firm of putting its tenants through unnecessary housing court proceedings.

This is not to say that there’s lingering resentment on the part of the real estate community. As Governor Cuomo’s campaign to legalize same sex marriage was taking steam, several prominent members in the real estate commu-nity, including Adam Rose of Rose Associates and Donald Capoccia of Great Jones Realty, lent their sup-port to the governor.

“The theory has always been to do the job properly, call things straight, exhibit leadership, and that in the end, people will respect what you did,” said Mr. Cohen. “I think that’s where we ended up with the real estate community.”

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Andrew Cuomo (2)GOVERNOR, NEW YORK STATE

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“The thing that makes Andrew very effective is he’s very operational,” said a former colleague of Mr. Cuomo’s. “He makes a list of what needs to get done to achieve a goal and he assiduously makes sure everything on his list is done in order to achieve that goal.”

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4. Scott Rechler (19)Chairman and CEO, rXr rEalty

Last year Scott Rechler jumped into Midtown South the way he has done most things in his career: full bore. After his company, RXR Realty, bought the Starrett-Lehigh Building for a whopping $900 million, it followed up with a roughly $500 million acquisition of 620 Avenue of the Americas. Now the market there is surging and like so many other deals in his career (think his sale of Reckson to SL Green at the height of the real estate boom) the purchas-es easily look like some of the more savvy real estate acquisitions in recent months. Joining the Port Authority last year, Mr. Rechler has extended his influence into gov-ernment, helping to lead an ambitious audit and reform of the sprawling agency’s man-agement and its operations.

5. Douglas and Jody Durst (1)Chairman and PrEsidEnt, rEsPECtivEly, thE durst OrganizatiOn

Still the deans of sustainable develop-ment, theirs may not be the busiest firm on this list, but whatever they touch turns to

gold—or platinum, in the case of their first-in-class One Bryant Park. They have been equally instrumental in turning things around at 1 World Trade Center (check out the cool new logo, to match the cool new tenants), and when the General Services Administration dragged its feet on signing a 300,000-square-foot lease in what is now the city’s tallest building, the Dursts sim-ply called Senator Chuck Schumer, who last week announced that he had intervened to negotiate a deal with the federal agency. Meanwhile, a groundbreaking is due any day now at 57th Street, a pyramidal apart-ment building designed by Bjarke Ingels, and perhaps the most radical new proj-ect of this young century. Will the Durst Organization repeat its magic in Midtown? Of course.

6. Steven Roth and Michael Fascitelli (4)Chairman and PrEsidEnt-CEO, rEsPECtivE-ly, vOrnadO rEalty trust

While Steve Roth has promised to shake things up at Vornado in recent weeks after always-critical analysts complained about its stagnant share price, his promise to “put everything on the table” was a reminder of just what he and Michael Fascitelli have built. The company has creatively defied conventions in the REIT industry with prof-itable interests in Toys R Us and JC Penney. Over the past year it has boosted its already-huge Manhattan portfolio with stakes in such premiere trophies as 666 Fifth Avenue and 280 Park Avenue. And with economic conditions improving, some of its marquee development projects like 15 Penn Plaza and

20 Times Square may be closer to finally coming to fruition, buildings that would ce-ment it in the rarefied ranks of Manhattan’s top owners for years to come.

7. Stephen Ross, Jeff Blau and Bruce Beal (10)Chairman-CEO, PrEsidEnt and EXECutivE viCE PrEsidEnt, rEsPECtivEly, thE rElatEd COmPaniEs

The West Side rail yards may be years from getting started in earnest, but a deal for Coach to anchor the first building at the site—and the impend-ing arrival of the No. 7 subway extension—all but guarantees that the once-iffy super-devel-opment will proceed. With the economy improving, plenty of developers would probably line

up now to take a crack at the project, but credit Stephen Ross and his colleagues for their foresight and steely nerves to invest in it while the market was down. Mr. Ross’ development firm, the Related Companies, meanwhile, is proceeding on other projects as well, including a large mixed-use build-ing on 42nd Street that was also begun during the downturn. While the market for

new space might proceed cautiously in an economy that is still find-

ing its footing, with the yards Mr. Ross will be at the fore-

front of new development in the city for the foresee-able future.

8. Mary Ann Tighe (18)rEgiOnal CEO, CBrE, and

ChairwOman, rEal EstatE BOard Of nEw yOrk

The doyenne of com-mercial real estate

brokerage attached her name to three of the biggest deals of the year—Coach, Condé Nast and Young & Rubicam—and in the process brokered deals that will allow new neighborhoods to take shape. As a result, 2011 ranked among the broker’s

top-three most suc-cessful years and kept her in the news. When

she’s not trailblazing as a broker, Mary Ann Tighe steers policy as the first woman to chair

the Real Estate Board of New York, a 116-year-old

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WHO 2010 2011 2012

mary ann tighe, CBrE 7 18 8

andrew Cuomo 15 2 3

steven spinola, rEBny President 22 43 49

harry macklowe, macklowe Properties N/A 85 50

Bruce ratner, forest City ratner 53 48 72

Jonathan mechanic, fried frank 68 88 84

robert ivanhoe, greenberg traurig 72 96 98

Chris ward, Port authority of new york-new Jersey (2010-2011) 20 70 N/A

scott rechler, rXr realty N/A 19 4

gary Barnett, Extell development 58 6 2

Movers and MachersA look at the biggest rankings shifts over the past three years

Rechler.

Roth.

Ross.

Tighe.

Jody Durst. Douglas Durst.

12 | May 14, 2012

real estate lobbying arm that regularly locks horns with the city’s most power-ful politicians.

9. Jonathan Gray (8)Global Head of Real estate, blackstone GRoup

Jon Gray has revolutionized how pri-vate equity firms look at real estate, and even how real estate firms view their own business. By using CMBS to buy up real estate companies, Mr. Gray has generated billions for Blackstone over the years, including in 2011. That feat, and the $9.4 billion takeover of the Australian Centro mall chain, helped get Mr. Gray elected to the Blackstone board last year. At 38, he’s the young-est person on the board—and rumored to be heir to the kingdom.

10. Michael Bloomberg (7) MayoR, new yoRk city

Michael Bloomberg may be near-ing the end of his time at City Hall, but the mayor is no sitting duck, especial-ly when it comes to real estate. From major efforts (crusading against apart-ment smoking) to petty ones (trying to shame New York’s next mayor out of taking up residence in Gracie Mansion),

Mr. Bloomberg has shown no intention of relinquishing the reigns. Plus, the results of the mayor’s pro-business, pro-big development advocacy (rezon-ings, incentive housing) are still in the process of materializing.

11. Mort Zuckerman (5)cHaiRMan, boston pRopeRties

When law firm Morrison & Foerster committed to becoming an anchor ten-ant late last year at Boston Properties’ 250 West 55th Street, a glassy, 40-story office building thought dead since 2009, it breathed life into not only the asset but Mort Zuckerman himself. That he leased up 510 Madison Avenue in the same 12-month period only solidified the view that the owner of the New York Daily News, outspoken supporter of Israel and antagonist to President Barack Obama was as pow-erful as ever.

12. Anthony Malkin (12) pResident, Malkin HoldinGs

Sure, there are a lot of REITs out there, but how many of them are for a single building—let alone the most fa-mous building in the world? Yet that is precisely the scheme dreamt up by Tony Malkin, the third-generation real estate big. As soon as the next few months, Malkin will hold an initial public offering for shares in the crown jewel of his family’s real estate empire, the Empire State Building. When that isn’t making headlines, his squabbles with Broadway productions and City Council speakers over the lighting of said tower are.

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13. Howard LutnickChairman and CEO, BGC PartnErs

Howard Lutnick has been progres-sively moving into real estate for years now, beefing up Cantor Fitzgerald’s loan origination capabilities during the downturn by scooping up prac-tically all of Credit Suisse’s highly regarded securitization team. More re-cently, he’s made even more audacious moves, acquiring Newmark Knight Frank and shortly afterward Grubb & Ellis to put together a formidable na-

tional real estate services platform in record time. With his meshing of bro-kerage with the infrastructure and contacts he has built on Wall Street, many experts see Mr. Lutnick as the next big thing in the business.

14. Donald Trump (14)CEO, thE trumP OrGanizatiOn

He may not be headed to the White House, but Donald Trump is still a big-ger household name than anyone on the list. From television to ties to vodka, the family name is synonymous with luxury the world over, and that goes for the luxury homes and hotels he helps to build across the globe. And right here at home. He deemed the new Tavern on the Green to be too fast-caz and took a pass, but now he is hard at work on transforming a Bronx golf course.

15. Barry Sternlicht (16)Chairman and CEO, starwOOd CaPital GrOuP

It has been a busy past few months, not to mention year, for Barry Sternlicht and his team at Starwood Capital. In February the firm an-nounced new investment activity of $564 million for Q4 2011. This strong activity spilled over into the New Year as well. Just this past April Mr. Sternlicht and his team entered into an agreement to buy majority interests in a portfolio of U.S. shopping malls from Westfield Group for a reported $1.15 billion. In doing so, Mr. Sternlicht is taking on the challenge of entering into the mall real estate space during tricky economic times, particularly for malls, a gutsy move that helped bump him up a spot.

16. Andrew Farkas (11)Chairman and CEO, island CaPital GrOuP

When C-III Capital Partners, led by Andrew Farkas, completed its purchase of NAI Global, it gave Mr. Farkas access to an additional 5,000 real estate professionals and

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brought him closer to realizing his stated goal of building a “fully diversified com-mercial real estate services company.” He also had hooks into embattled Grubb & Ellis, before BGC’s Howard Lutnick came along and closed his acquisition of the bankrupted firm. Still, Mr. Farkas is not one to sit by the sidelines. He’ll no doubt leverage the purchase of NAI Global to create even more of a presence in the New York tristate area.

17. Christine Quinn (26)Speaker, New York CitY CouNCil

A true politician, Christine Quinn has deftly managed to champion both liberal causes and big real estate develop-ments. Case in point: her neat trick of supporting the prevailing wage bill while carving out excep-tions for the Hudson Yards project. Ms. Quinn may support reforming the Rent Guidelines Board, tenants’ rights and keeping Walmart out of New York, but she is also seen as the heir to Mayor Bloomberg’s de-velopment-friendly throne (if she’s able to win it, that is).

18. Jerry and Rob Speyer (15)Co-Ceo-ChairmaN aNd Co-Ceo-preSideNt, reSpeCtivelY, tiShmaN-SpeYer

You may not be able to erase the past, but you can certainly put it in the rear-view mirror—the Speyers have been so successful with this approach that the whole Stuy Town debacle is bare-ly a speck on the horizon anymore. The Speyers have spent the last year on a buying and selling spree. Among other

things, they made a cool $100 million profit on an office tower in Long Island City, and they’re building office tow-ers everywhere from Washington, D.C., to Rio de Janiero. Could Brasilia be the next Speyers outpost? We wouldn’t be surprised if father and son could even make a killing in the awkward, inland capital—after all, consummate City Hall macher Jerry and son Rob (who once wrote for The Observer) make a formi-dable pair.

19. Leonard Litwin and Gary Jacob (44)ChairmaN, reSpeCtivelY, GleNwood maNaGemeNt

While money, as the song says, can’t buy love, it certainly can buy power, some-thing the 97-year-old luxury residential developer Leonard Litwin has a lot of these days. In 2011, the 374th-richest American gave nearly $700,000 in political contri-butions across New York, making him the biggest individual donor in the state. Those gifts, which skeptics might assume

come at a price, included $436,500 to Senate Republicans and $76,000

to the Democrat Governor Cuomo. Meanwhile, at a time when debt is expensive, Mr. Litwin is doing what few others can: paying cash for new real estate, which is probably the most remark-

able measure of the baron’s power to date.

20. Richard LeFrakChairmaN, preSideNt aNd Ceo, the leFrak orGaNizatioN

The richest developer in New York, Richard LeFrak has steered his family’s company in the lucrative direction of upscale residential and commercial of-fice properties. Now, he is also steering it back to New York. After spending the last decade expanding the group’s hold-ings to properties in London and Los Angeles, LeFrak is once again building in the borough that made the LeFraks their fortune, with plans to a convert a 13-story office tower in Rego Park, built by his fa-ther some 50 years ago, into 108 luxury rentals.

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Quinn.

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21. Charlie Garner, Justin Rimel, Shaul Kuba, Avi Shemesh and Richard ResslerPrinciPal, Vice President and Founder-PrinciPals, resPectiVely, ciM GrouP

Los Angeles-based CIM Group has had a busy year, expanding its reach into the New York area. It did so with an impressive list of deals, like its partnership with Kushner Companies in the acquisition of 200 Lafayette Street and its majority take of the residential and retail development at 303 East 51st Street. In doing so, the firm—founded in 1994 by Messrs. Kuba, Ressler and Shemesh—added to area investments that include 737 Park Avenue, 432 Park Avenue and 11 Madison Avenue.

22. Ric Clark (37) and Mitch Rudin (59)ceo and President, resPectiVely, BrookField oFFice ProPerties

Sure, Nomura and Deloitte left the World Financial Center and Bank of

America shrunk its space at the eight-million-square-foot complex by half. But Ric Clark and new North American deputy Mitch Rudin have shown poise in the face of challenge, unveiling a bold plan to remake the center’s retail into a destination eating and shop-ping location. The pair also didn’t let the same setback repeat itself at 1 New York Plaza, the large downtown skyscraper where Brookfield just re-

newed and expanded the building’s anchor tenant, Morgan Stanley, in a 1.3-million-square-foot lease, one of the year’s biggest. Mr. Clark hasn’t flinched on Brookfield’s boldest bet: its plan to break ground later this year on Manhattan West, a project that could be the first to bring a major corporate occupier from Midtown to the West Side.

23. Edward MinskoffPresident, edward J. MinskoFF equities

Unlike the typical devel-oper in the city who blabbers endlessly about the need for newly constructed of-fice buildings while standing pat, Ed Minskoff is putting his money where his mouth is. Earlier this year he began construction on 51 Astor Place—which he says will be one of the city’s most technologically ad-

vanced office buildings—completely on spec, making it the largest office project to proceed without a pre-arranged tenant in place since the recession. Mr. Minskoff also has plans to remake another office building he owns, 101 Avenue of the Americas, through a $100 million renovation of the property.

24. Robert Stuckey, Mark Schoenfeld and Andrew Chung

(25)ManaGinG directors, the carlyle GrouP

The Carlyle Group has its hands in many areas of New York real estate, a fact that’s only likely to increase in the

near future. The firm kicked off 2012 by

announcing that it had raised a whop-ping $2.34 billion for its sixth U.S. real estate fund. At the time, the fund was al-ready 20 percent deployed. With New York as one of its stat-ed target areas, the firm should leave even more of a mark here in the future.

But meanwhile, all eyes are on its

IPO—which the firm priced at $22 a

unit, slightly below expectations.

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25. Jeffrey Gural, Jimmy Kuhn and Barry Gosin (39)Chairman, President and CeO, resPeCtively, newmark Grubb kniGht Frank

The old guard of Newmark Knight Frank have become as rel-evant as ever with their recent

merger with the Wall Street firm BGC Partners and now Grubb & Ellis. The product, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, may not have a name that rolls off the tongue, but it promises to be a brokerage power. And few think that Jimmy Kuhn, one of the architects of the mergers, is done shopping for other firms to grow the new platform even more. Meanwhile, Barry Gosin continues to bolster the firm’s dealmaking creden-tials, representing some of the city’s largest tenants, including Morgan Stanley, which recently signed one of the year’s largest leases, and Chadbourne Parke, which is still in the process of shopping for a home.

26. Bill Rudin (32)viCe Chairman and CeO, rudin manaGement

Things have been fairly quiet for this real estate dynasty, with the simple exception of one of the loudest development battles in a generation. For nearly a decade now, Bill Rudin has been work-ing with St. Vincent’s Hospital to transform its West Village campus into a state-of-the-art medical fa-cility and ultra-luxury apartments across the street. After years of political fights and one very bad bankruptcy, both are getting built, though one—not Bill Rudin’s half of the bargain—in greatly re-duced form.

27. Fred WilsonFOunder, uniOn square ventures

Fred Wilson’s vis-ibility as a venture capitalist with a popular blog and a good track re-cord has made him an ambassador for the New York tech com-munity. Through his firm Union Square Ventures, his seed investments have all helped tech companies eventually turn into major tenants in the city. In the past year, Foursquare moved out of its cramped digs at 36 Cooper

Square for 28,000 square feet at 568 Broadway, Etsy

is growing inside its Dumbo of-fices at 20 Jay Street, and Tumblr has enlisted CBRE’s Matthew Bergey to find them more office space. If Mr. Wilson provides a tech company seed money, they will most certainly grow in NYC.

28. Keith Gelb and Tom GilbanemanaGinG members, rOCkPOint

This year’s list is rocky terri-tory. In the past year Rockpoint Group sold its stake in 299 Park Avenue to the Alaska Permanent Fund, acquired two Class-A of-fice buildings on Long Island and

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made $70 million when its debt on the Park Central Hotel was repaid upon the hotel’s sale. Keith Gelb, a founding member, and Tom Gilbane both over-see investment activities. It’s a lot of activity for a firm founded in 2003 as a spin-off of Westbrook Realty Partners. Mr. Gilbane was promoted to manag-ing partner just last November.

29. Christoph Kahl, Matt Bronfman and Michael Phillips (28)PrinciPal, cEO and cOO, rEsPEctivEly, JamEstOwn PrOPErtiEs

The top-dog trio of Jamestown Properties have had an active year. The firm purchased 325 Hudson Street, a 240,000-square-foot property located squarely in the emerging Hudson Square area, and joined in an ownership group that includes Rockwood Capital to snap up 530 Fifth Avenue. But Jamestown has had a devil of a time trying to win over local support for its proposed office and hotel expan-sion for The Chelsea Market. If ap-proved, Jamestown Properties will add 240,000 square feet of Class-A of-fice space and a 90,000-square-foot hotel on top of The Chelsea Market. But locals (and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, reportedly) blast the proposal, its design and the zoning im-plications it will have for the area. The proposal is currently under official review by the city Department of Planning.

30. Seth PinskyPrEsidEnt, nEw yOrk city EcOnOmic dEvElOPmEnt cOrPOratiOn

Some of New York’s darkest days have

been Seth Pinsky’s brightest. As head of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, Mr. Pinsky was charged with diversifying the city’s economy following the Lehman Brothers col-lapse. Some complain that old-line

industrial businesses have been left on the sidelines, but with suc-

cesses ranging from fashion incubators to media conferenc-es, the EDC has been a booster for a range of up-and-coming and established industries.

Speaking of start-ups: hello, Cornell tech campus and a mil-

lion little Flatiron firms. At the same time, big real estate deals

(Hudson Yards, Willets Point, Sunset Park) remain Mr. Pinsky’s bread and butter.

31. Mitch Steir and Michael Colacino (33)chairman-cEO and PrEsidEnt, rEsPEc-tivEly, studlEy

In the land of suddenly thin leas-ing activity, the big-tenant broker is king. Right now Mitch Steir is

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the leasing executive every de-veloper and landlord in the city wants to cozy up to. Mr. Steir represents Time Inc., which, with a roughly four-million-square-foot space requirement coming due, is quite simply the biggest tenant in the mar-ket in years. Though some of its space will likely go to New Jersey, Time Inc. no doubt will need at least a few mil-lion square feet in the city and could anchor just about any substantial development or va-cant building right now, including the World Trade Center, World Financial Center or the West Side rail yards. Sure, tenants have to make their own decisions, but as the huge media conglomerate’s advisor and executor of any transaction

it does, it’s hard not to see Mr. Steir playing a key role in what-ever blockbuster lease results.

32. Jeffrey Feil (30) and Jay AndersonCEO and ExECutivE viCE PrEsidEnt, rEsPECtivEly, thE FEil OrganizatiOn

Keeping Mad Men on Madison Avenue has become an increas-ing challenge, especially with Young & Rubicam set to de-camp 285 Madison Avenue for 3 Columbus Circle. But the Feil Organization has done just that, keeping TBWA Worldwide, a sub-sidiary of the Omnicom Group, at its 107,308-square-foot office space inside 488 Madison Avenue. The Feil Organization report-

edly has also been trying to sell 200 West 57th Street

for $145 million. The group has so far de-

cided to sit on the 180,000-square-foot property and wait for better offers.

33. Alan WienerManaging dirECtOr,

WElls FargO MultiFaMily CaPital

The nation’s largest co-op complex, the Bronx’s Co-op City, is in talks with Alan Wiener and his team to secure a new $600 mil-lion mortgage that would keep

its affordable housing status se-cure for the foreseeable future. Mr. Wiener leads a team of lend-ers providing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans of a size not many could match. In fact, Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital came in fourth in a recent Freddie Mac listing of its highest-producing mortgage providers for 2011, with a loan volume of $1.49 billion.

34. Larry Silverstein (31) and Martin BergerPrEsidEnt and CO-CEOs, silvErstEin PrOPErtiEs

How many times can the World Trade Center be invoked in a single Power List? (Seven, by our count.) Still, for better or worse, richer or poorer, Larry Silverstein has been the man at the site for more than

a decade now. His 4 WTC (aka, 150 Greenwich Street) is very near to topping out, and it outshines its taller cousin in terms of beauty, in our humble opinion. Still, the work is not without its warts, as 3 WTC is tenantless and my soon be stopped as one of those stumps. If anyone can pull this one out, it’s Mr. Silverstein, with an assist from new partner Mitch Berger.

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the power

10035. Jeff Sutton (58)Founder and President, Wharton ProPerties

The media-elusive king of New York retail, Jeff Sutton oversees a vast real estate king-dom: from Fifth Avenue properties like Prada, Armani, and Dolce and Gabbana to American Girl Place. He also worked out a 40,000-square-foot deal with SL Green at 1552 Broadway, which houses Times Square tourist magnet TGI Friday’s and the American Eagle flagship. Despite his enviable holdings, Mr. Sutton has shown no sign of slowing down, partnering with SL Green last fall to buy a $400 million portfolio of Upper East Side apartments and Midtown stores.

36. Tobin Cobb and Justin Kennedy (41)Co-Ceos, Lnr ProPerty

When Tobin Cobb and Justin Kennedy took over LNR, the company was just recov-ering after a massive transfusion of cash from an ownership group that included Vornado and Cerberus (and still drowning in a massive portfolio of troubled commer-cial mortgages). And while not every deal since has worked out in their favor, Mr. Cobb and Mr. Kennedy have certainly used the rebounding market, and the continued abundance of distressed commercial real estate, to their advantage (LNR bought a nice chunk of FDIC commercial loans this year). Plus, Mr. Kennedy has a nice ally in the halls of power: his dad, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

37. Adam Schwartz (34)head oF reaL estate, angeLo gordon

Real estate private equity is a quiet game, and Angelo Gordon, which does work in media and traditional buyouts as well, is one of the stealthier shops. Still, it has done deals with the likes of Extell, Jamestown Properties and others. As the economy has slunk about, the firm has upped its posi-tion in debt, though it still remains under the radar, largely to its advantage. Proving

their position in the firmament, Occupy Wall Street saw fit to march on one of the firm’s CEO’s apartments last fall during its Millionaires’ March.

38. Doug Shorenstein and Mark Portner (38)Chairman-Ceo and managing direCtor, re-sPeCtiveLy, the shorenstein ComPany

After throwing down $110 million for 1355 Market Square in San Francisco last year, The Shorenstein Company lured in Twitter and Yammer as its big tenants, all while spending $80 million to upgrade the building’s facili-ties. Back in NYC, the company (along with investor Mark Karasick) sold The Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 West 26th Street to RXR Realty for $920 million.

39. David Denison (35)President and Ceo, the Canada Pension PLan investment Board

The United States’ neighbors to the north have been busy in the New York area for some time, helping to finance some well-known Manhattan projects and deals. With $153 billion in funds at its disposal, CPP is no exception. It partnered with SL Green, buying a 45 percent interest in 1221 Avenue of the Americas, and now CPP has done it again, buying a 45 percent interest in 10 East 53rd Street. When David Denison re-tires on June 30, he’ll leave behind an active investment approach that has directly con-tributed to the fund’s growth. He’ll also leave behind his successor, Mark Wiseman, whom he hired in 2005.

40. Joe ChetritPresident, the Chetrit grouP

For a big-time developer, Joe Chetrit likes to keep his mug hidden far away from the news cameras. But when one owns the Willis Tower and, now, The Chelsea Hotel, facing the music becomes hard to avoid. So face the public is what the Moroccan native finally did in March, pleading his case to Community Board 4’s Landmarks Committee (and a group of displeased Chelsea supporters) for a proposed rooftop expansion to the historic hotel. He told the crowd that he is working to deliver “the best product,” then disappeared back into the ether, perhaps soon to reemerge with an-other high-profile purchase on his hands.

The Elephant in the Room

Power 100 Demographics

*Some listings have two or more people named.

153 White Men

10 White WoMen

1 Black or african aMerican Man

1 asian Man

1 Multi- racial Male

2 non-hispanic or latino feMales

Chetrit.

Kennedy.

Stephen Ross and Douglas Durst, who have been knocking around the Top 10 for the past few years, have more in common with the rest of the Power 100 list than you might initially think. Born years and states apart, they’re both of a certain age, male and white.

Out of a list of some 168 people, only 10 women boast spots on this year’s Power 100 list while just two people of African American descent made the cut—Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Raphael DeNiro (90) and NYCHA chairman John Rhea (56).

Barriers seem to still exist in New York City commercial real estate, despite some worthy efforts to combat them. So what gives?

“A lot of the people that I’ve run into—my peers as a broker—come from brokerage families,” Cushman & Wakefield’s Michelle Walker said. “Unless you grew up eating, sleeping, and breathing the New York City real estate market, it’s going to be a challenge no matter who you are.

But if you’re persistent and you have a really strong desire to do this then nothing is going to be a barrier.”

Ms. Walker, an African-American, was recently promoted to senior associate at the firm. After arriving at Cushman & Wakefield in 2007 from Washington, D.C., where she worked in the Office of Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis at the IRS, she said that she had resolved to “run faster, jump higher and work harder” than her counterparts.

“Sure, there are some people who may not like it, who may not feel comfortable with you at the board table working and negotiating, but you’ve got to find a way to be resilient,” Ms. Walker said.

“You have to work around it.”The 10 women on this year’s list

include CBRE regional chief executive and REBNY chairman Mary Ann Tighe (8) and City Council speaker Christine Quinn (17), both of whom cracked the top 20. —Carl Gaines

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the power

10041. Stanley and Haim Chera (55)PrinciPals, crown acquisitions

The Chera family continues to make their mark on outer-borough retail. Crown Acquisitions spent $20 million repositioning retail spaces in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. They lured fashion retailer Express to Fulton Street to open a new Downtown Brooklyn flagship store, and they will likely continue to turn Fulton Street into a chain-friendly shopping strip.

42. David SkortonPresident, cornell university

Along with Seth Pinsky (30) and Mayor Bloomberg (10), David Skorton has taken sleepy Roosevelt Island and turned it into

one of the hottest properties in New York. He and his associates played the dark horse in the competition to create a new tech campus in the city, but ultimately it outsmarted Silicon Valley darlings Stanford and local favorites NYU to capture the nerdy grand prize. And who could blame them—does anybody want to spend the winter in Ithaca anyway?

43. John Sexton and Alicia Hurley (57)President and vice President for Government affairs and community enGaGement, resPec-tively, nyu

Since 2010, NYU has been the largest landholder in the city, surpassing the Catholic church. The purple people eaters have

not always endeared them-selves to their neighbors, but in a bid to plan for the future, President Sexton created NYU 2031 with Alicia Hurley as the tip of the spear. In a matter of years, Downtown Brooklyn, First Avenue and possibly even Governor’s Island will be transformed. But nowhere will the effects be felt more strongly than in the Village, where the school is in the midst of a vicious fight to add 2.5 mil-lion square feet to the superblocks it owns there. After a weak challenge by Borough President Scott Stringer, it looks like they will be getting just what they want.

44. Doug Harmon, Adam Spies and Ben Lambert (36)senior manaGinG directors and chairman, resPectively, eastdil secured

Tally some of Doug Harmon and Adam Spies’s sales deals over the past year or so—The Starrett-Lehigh Building, 111 Eighth Avenue, 620 Avenue of the Americas and 200 Fifth

Avenue, to name only a few—and the total rises into the billions. In a city of big deals, Mr. Harmon and Mr. Spies are still at the top of the heap. As lenders and the CMBS market regain their taste for risk

and desire to allocate capital, mega deals are sure to pick

back up, keeping the pair as busy as ever.

45. Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan (40)

vice chairmen, cBreAt the height of

the real estate mar-ket, Darcy Stacom and Bill Shanahan were at the forefront of the brokerage busi-ness, managing some of the biggest trans-actions in New York City history, includ-ing the $5.4 billion sale of Stuyvesant Town to Tishman Speyer. With the

market heating back up, Ms. Stacom and Mr. Shanahan are back in action, putting their

reputation for push-ing pricing to work in a

market starved for sales deals in rela-

tion to the amount of hungry bidders prowl-

ing for product.

Haim and Stanley Chera.

Spies.

Skorton.

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the power

10046. Joseph Ficalora and Jim CarpenterCEO-PrEsidEnt and sEniOr ExECutivE viCE PrEsidEnt, rEsPECtivEly, nEw yOrk COmmunity Bank

Scan through any list of the most active New York area lenders and you’re bound to come across New York Community Bank. With the help of Jim Carpenter, who heads Real Estate Lending, Joseph Ficalora has built NYCB into the little bank that could, supplying financing for an affiliate of the Solow Organization’s purchase of 10-14 West 57th Street, among countless other projects.

47. David and Jed Walentas (47)FOundEr-PrinCiPal and PrinCiPal, rEsPECtivEly, twO trEEs dEvElOPmEnt

With Dumbo done and conquered, and the

Neighborhood David Built commanding

the highest prices in all of Brooklyn, his heir has turned the com-pany’s gaze elsewhere. Last year, Mercedes House opened on the Farthest West Side, a zigzagging zig-gurat to luxury cars and luxu-ry rentals, both

of which have been selling

well. And just last week, the über-hip

Whythe Hotel opened inside an exquisitely refurbished loft build-ing in Williamsburg, the pinnacle of all that

neighbor-hood has

come to represent. Which does not mean Dumbo has been for-gotten: 38 Water

Street, the old home of St. Ann’s Warehouse theater company, is set to break ground as a new faux-historical loft building.

48. Robert Tierney (79)Chairman, landmarks PrEsErvatiOn COmmissiOn

Robert Tierney may be one of the most frustrated people in New York—nobody loves him. Preservationists always think he is doing too little, developers and landlords that he is doing too much. The latter group are

especially incensed with recent efforts to landmark turn-of-the-century skyscrapers in Downtown Brooklyn and on West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. But what-ever side you are on, it is almost impossible to argue with the re-sults: As head of Landmarks, Mr.

Tierney has preserved more his-toric structures than any of his predecessors, a feat that saves the city for the next generation (if also entombing it in amber).

49. Steve Spinola (43) PrEsidEnt, rEal EstatE BOard OF nEw yOrk

Steve Spinola has helmed REBNY since 1986, making him the longest-serving president of one of the nation’s most power-ful—and the city’s largest—trade groups. From tax revenues to af-fordable housing, Mr. Spinola is a master of real estate facts and figures, and he has proved adept at using them to get his, and the industry’s, way. This year, ex-pect Mr. Spinola and REBNY to go

head to head with Robert Tierney over the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s aggressive stance on preserving neighborhoods and buildings. To the victor go the spoils!

50. Harry Macklowe (85)FOundEr and Chairman EmEritus, maCklOwE PrOPErtiEs

For Harry Macklowe, the sov-ereign of a real estate empire that quickly collapsed due to the recession, 2008 is so 2008. In the past year, Macklowe has replaced his son and former em-ployee, William, with a team of senior executives, nabbed a pair of apartment buildings on the Upper East Side that he plans to turn into condos and regained control of a development site on 57th Street. Not bad for a man who nearly lost it all.

Jed Walentas.

Tierney.

Macklowe.

Spinola.

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Congratulates

Diane M. Ramirezon her selection to the Power 100

for the Third Consecutive Year Once Again Joining

The Well-Respected List

Learn More at halstead.comThe largest privately owned residential real estate firm in the New York Metro Area

Now With 1000+ Agents in 21 Offices Spanning Three States

32 | May 14, 2012

51. Dottie Herman and Howard Lorber (45)President-CeO and Chairman, resPeCtively, Prudential dOuglas elliman

Dottie Herman and Howard Lorber have created such a successful brand for them-selves that they’ve considered dropping “Prudential” from their name altogether. Now that’s power! They’re the top company in the Prudential group and the city’s biggest brokerage, after all, and likely to stay that way as long as they’re snapping up smaller firms, like international brokerage firm Stratus Realty, which they acquired last month. No slouches when it comes to side projects, the pair also have hobbies—Mr. Lorber was South Florida’s high-est-paid chief executive during his time at the Vector Group this year while Ms. Herman hosts radio real estate talk show Eye on Real Estate.

52. Pam Liebman (46)CeO and President, the COrCOran grOuP

Under Pam Liebman’s direction, Corcoran continues to be the g-to brokerage for those million-dollar buyers (which may not have the same cachet as sprawling Park Avenue penthouses, but go a long way toward ac-

counting for Corcoran’s brisk sales volume). Not that Corcoran doesn’t have a horse in the high-end market race, with big deal bro-ker Leighton Candler on their team. Also, with the appetite for condos raging the way it has been, Corcoran Sunshine, the group’s development and marketing arm, is poised to have a very good year.

53. Brian Harris and Greta GuggenheimCeO and President, resPeCtively,

ladder CaPitalAt Ladder, the past 12 months

have seen a $230 million loan originated for the Durst Organization’s 1133 Avenue of the Americas, $45 million go to Lighthouse

International’s 111 East 59th Street and $75 million

allocated for the Related Companies’ 1 Union

Square South. The next 30 days alone we hear they’ll be originating about $400 million in loans, so it’s no surprise—or shouldn’t

be—to see Brian Harris and Greta Guggenheim land on this year’s list.

Next month, co-founder Ms. Guggenheim becomes

chief investment officer at the firm, making room for even more firepower, as Michael Mazzei moves into her slot as president.

54. Paul Pariser and Charles Bendit (54)CO-CeOs, taCOniC investment Partners

Charles Bendit and Paul Pariser could very well be who the city—and Midtown South in particular—have to thank for the recent wave of tech tenants, what has be-come one of real estate’s, not to mention the entire Manhattan economy’s, bright-est spots. It all started when the pair lured Google to take space at their Chelsea of-fice building, 111 Eighth Avenue, years ago, a transaction that touched off the area’s transformation into a Silicon Alley that is now beginning to rival its West Coast coun-terpart. Just as Donald Trump’s purchase of 40 Wall Street for a purported $1 million in the bleak depths of the early 1990s reces-sion has gone down in real estate lore, so too will Bendit and Pariser’s eventual sale of 111 Eighth Avenue last year to Google for an eye-popping $2 billion be remembered as one of the city’s all-time-great real estate investments.

55. Burton and Jonathan ResnickCeO and President, JaCk resniCk & sOns

One of the august New York City real estate families, the Resnicks may be quieter than some of their compatriots on this list, but they still own 6 million square feet of pristine office property and many thousands of apartments, not counting holdings nationwide. While Jack Resnick & Sons has been building less of

late, the company has done much to maintain what it already owns,

leading the way in sustainable retrofitting. Breaking new ground as it has in the past, the latest new work is in up-and-coming Hudson Square, where two big office conver-

sions are underway.

56. John Rhea and Frederick Harris

Chairman and exeCutive viCe President fOr develOPment, nyCha

New York City had the largest public hous-ing stock in the nation, and these two are the ones responsible for it. Mr. Rhea was hired by Mayor Bloomberg in 2009, having cleaned up public housing in Washington, D.C., and now he is doing the same in New York. With run-down projects in need of remaking, Mr. Rhea and Mr. Harris have been looking at dynam-ic ways to replace towers in the mark with more low- and mid-rise, community friend-ly projects. At the same time, they fight in Washington and Albany for an ever-dwin-dling share of federal housing dollars.

The Power 100

Index10 random points

of interest

Net worth of the wealthiest person on this year’s list,

Michael Bloomberg:

$22 billion

Net worth of the wealthiest real estate professional,

Richard LeFrak:

$5 Billion

Number of publications owned:

3

Age of oldest professional on list:

97

Number of professional sports teams owned:

2

Most paid for New York City condominium by person on

this year’s list:

$88 million

Estimated price paid by Larry Silverstein for

131-foot, Silver Shalis Yacht:

$40 million

Number of elected officials, current or former, on this

year’s list:

3

Number of people to have publicly flirted with public

office, only to bow out:

5

Number of father-and-son teams included:

3

the power

100

Rhea.

Bendit and Pariser .

Herman.

Liebman.

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57. Ron Kravit (53)Senior Managing Director-HeaD of real eState inveSting, cerberuS real eState capital ManageMent

As one of the largest private equity firms in the country, Cerberus owns everything from Remington rifles to the

Yellow Pages (the firm is in the process of acquiring the outmoded doorstop from AT&T). Specializing in real es-tate private equity, Ron Kravit has overseen high-profile retail acquisitions and financ-ing for commercial and residential projects around the country.

58. Peter Riguardi (60)preSiDent, JoneS lang laSalle

Jones Lang LaSalle used to be the big-gest real estate services firm no one ever heard of, at least in Manhattan, where the business was long dominated by such es-tablished names as Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE (whose predecessor was Insignia ESG). Peter Riguardi, the company’s tristate region president, has presided over remark-able change at the firm, recruiting such top talent as Mitch Konsker, Paul Glickman, Scott Panzer and Richard Baxter, to name a few, while, by all accounts, keeping the peace as the firm’s culture has inevitably shifted from its past as a somewhat sleepy consult-ing-oriented company into an environment that, like any successful brokerage company, is steeped with competition. It’s not a sur-prise given his deft management that the company is increasingly handling big deals and top-agency assignments.

59. Joel Seiden and Ofer YardeniManaging partnerS, StoneHenge partnerS

Part of good man-agement is knowing whom to hook your wagon to. Thanks to the savvy of co-founders Joel Seiden and Ofer Yardeni, Stonehenge didn’t waste time getting 2012 started on a positive note. In late January, it announced that it had acquired, with JV part-ner SL Green, five retail and two multifamily properties for just over $193 million, bringing its portfolio of properties owned and managed to 27. Soon thereafter, its Stonehenge Fund III acquired 364 West 18th Street for $34 million, reminding us that it isn’t afraid to go it alone either.

60. Paul Massey and Robert Knakal (62)ceo anD cHairMan, reSpectively, MaSSey KnaKal realty ServiceS

From a two-man operation founded in the mid-1980s, Massey Knakal grew into one of the city’s largest and most visible real estate sales brokerages by focusing on smaller deals, wildly outpacing all of its rivals in transac-tional volume and embracing a sophisticated approach that relies heavily on carefully re-corded market data and a unique system of placing brokers in set geographic boundaries to allow them to become true experts on the products they sell. The company’s success is personified by its founders. Bob Knakal, the company’s highest-producing broker, is not only its most recognizable executive but well-known industrywide for the analysis he offers on hot button issues like the economy and politics. Paul Massey, meanwhile, has made an impressive push to build its infrastructure and ser-vice lines, adding retail brokerage, mortgage financing and now an investment fund business.

61. David Levinson and Robert Lapidus (49)ceo-cHairMan anD preSiDent-cio, reSpectively, l&l HolDing coMpany

His partner, Lehman Brother’s went bank-rupt, the economy very nearly collapsed and leasing activity in the city came to a near

standstill. Yes, David Levinson faced a few hurdles in his plans to redevel-op 200 Fifth Avenue, but his firm, L&L Holding Company, pulled through and the building, after attracting huge leas-es with Eataly for its retail space and Grey Advertising and Tiffany & Co. for its office floors, is one of the most buzzed-about suc-cess stories in the city. Now Mr. Levinson is getting be-hind the next trend: a feeling that all the popularity of Midtown South will have to spill over Downtown even-tually. In recent weeks he and Beacon Capital pur-chased 222 Broadway in a bold $230 million deal. The company is also staying busy in Midtown with a plan to build a new skyscraper at 425 Park Avenue.

62. Jeff Citrin and Craig Solomon (72)principalS, Square Mile capital

In March, Square Mile told The Commercial Observer that its newly minted relationship with USAA Real Estate—which bought a sizable interest in the firm—would boost its long-term growth objectives. With $2 billion in equity already invested over several different real estate funds since opening shop in 2006, it’s already grown quite big on its own. Key seems to be thoughtfully chosen partner-ships, which have led to successes like the acquisition of an $880 million portfolio of real estate loans from Bank of America or 45 performing and non-performing hotel loans—face value $385 million. Square Mile also provided the equity that got 2 Gotham Center built and ultimately sold for $415.5 million.

the power

100

Kravit.

Seiden.

Massey and Knakal.

Riguardi.

Citrin and Solomon.

5

4

3

2

1

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The brokeragesBroker representation, by firm

Commercial Residential

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63. James Cooper (73) and Jason Pizer RectoR, tRinity chuRch, and PResident, tRinity Real estate, ResPectively

It isn’t easy being the rector of Trinity Church, New York City’s holiest of land-owners. Reverend James Cooper has been taken to task in the press for allegedly angering church board members by de-manding health and life benefits until age 72 and $1.4 million over seven years to staff his ministry. But while the board is upset, its real estate portfolio has never been better, with Trinity Real Estate and its president, Jason Pizer, racking up a slew of great deals across Hudson Square in re-cent months. Havas’s 260,000-square-foot lease at 200 and 205 Hudson Street, a New

York University-Polytech transaction that clinched occupancy at 137 Hudson Street and a 99-year lease with an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners to develop offices at 330 Hudson Street are only a few of the recent highlights for the city’s most heav-enly landlords. We expect good things to come.

64. Jay Sugarman (21)chaiRman and ceo, istaR Financial

Following a period of near con-trolled flight into terrain, real estate lender iStar found the fi-nancing that it needed to stay aloft in 2011. Still, it’s portfolio is massive—whether you think this is a good or a bad thing. Jay Sugarman also extends his personal clout as chairman of the board of LNR, the largest special servicer in the coun-try, servicing trusts with more than $175 billion in commercial mortgage loans.

65. Steve KennycommeRcial Real estate Banking Region executive, Bank oF ameRica

Since Steve Kenny was pro-moted to CREB region executive for New York and New Jersey back in 2010, he’s seen the bank act as administrative agent on One57, leading the syndication that’s providing a $700 million construc-tion loan to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development Co. There simply aren’t that many banks that could lead the syndi-cation on such a large loan. Bank of America con-tinues to provide smaller loans around New York, even as other areas of the bank remain ques-tionable and it sells of some of its real estate holdings around the city.

66. Ben Bianchi and Jonathan Pollack

sPecial situations gRouP and gloBal head oF commeRcial Real estate, ResPectively, deutsche Bank lending

Deutsche Bank is championing the return

of commercial mortgage-backed securities. The

German financial institution offered $941 million in CMBS, and the reception showed a return to investors’ appetite for risk. Its analysts, meanwhile, have predicted that there will be $6.15 bil-

lion worth of new CMBS issues offered in the second quarter of 2012. Beyond

the trading floor, Deutsche expanded its New York City footprint, taking 50,000 square feet at 4 Metrotech Center to launch its first Downtown Brooklyn office.

67. Constantine Dakolias and Chris Linkas (50)

managing diRectoRs, FoRtRess investment gRouP

The Fortress Investment Group has continued to make strides with savvy real estate investments this year. Managing direc-tors Constantine Dakolias and Chris Linkas have kept a steady hand, even in the midst of shake-ups like a rough second quar-ter and chief executive Daniel Mudd stepping down due to SEC allega-tions. The leaders have strengthened the com-pany’s footing in regards to real estate.

the power

100Kenny.

Cooper and Pizer.

Sugarman.

Linkas.

2010

20 LandLords

14 deveLopers

14 reaL estate

services, commerciaL

8 reaL estate services, residentiaL

8 pubLic servants

4 eLected officiaLs

3 financiaL services

2 Lenders

2 reaL estate investment trusts

2 entrepreneurs

2 unions

1 russian

1 construction

1 pubLic reLations

1 JournaList

1 academic

2 Lobbyists

2 attorneys

12 investors

2011

23 LandLords

14 deveLopers

14 reaL estate

services, commerciaL

7 reaL estate services, residentiaL

6 pubLic servants

6 eLected officiaLs

2 financiaL services

2 attorneys

2 reaL estate investment trusts

1 union 1 russian

1 pubLisher

1 Lender

1 appraiser

1 pubLic reLations

1 JournaList1 restaurateurs1 academic

1 Lobbyist

1 entrepreneur

13 investors

2012

24 LandLords

15 deveLopers

12 reaL estate

services, commerciaL

8 reaL estate services, residentiaL

5 Lenders

3 eLected officiaLs

3 financiaL services

3 pubLic servants

2 reaL estate investment trusts

2 academics

1 fertiLizer magnate

1 Lobbyist

1 construction

1 union

1 nonprofit

1 venture capitaList

2 attorneys

15 investors

the industryThe Power 100, by profession

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68. Albert BehlerPresident and CeO, the ParamOunt GrOuP

The German-born, New York City-based real estate investment group snapped up a 49 percent share in 900 Third Avenue in February, paying Investa Office Fund $172.7 million for its stake in the 36-story office tower. Paramount is one of a handful of companies that Mohamed Al Fayed wants to buy a leasehold from him for 75 Rockefeller Plaza, a building he is looking to unload from his portfolio. The eco-conscious group has 13 million square feet of Class A office space, and if it had its druthers, each square foot would be LEED-EB Gold-certified.

69. Robert Alexander and Stephen SiegelChairman Of tristate reGiOn and Chairman Of GlObal brOkeraGe, Cbre

In a way, Robert Alexander and Steve Siegel have had tough luck over the past year. While big tenants like Viacom and Morgan Stanley just inked conservative but nonetheless huge leases, Mr. Alexander’s marquee client in the market, the Swiss bank UBS, went from considering hun-dreds of thousands, if not over a million square feet at the World Trade Center site, in what would have undeniably been a land-mark deal, to pulling back on its real estate decision-making and staying put. As disap-pointing as that decision may have been for a broker with one of the city’s strongest rep-utations for handling mega leases, there’s

no question the man often referred to sim-ply as “Big” will be back at the forefront when large-scale deal activity revives.

70. Joe SittChairman and CeO, thOr equities

After riling the Bloomberg administration with plans for never-materializing projects like a Coney Island development with an in-door ski hill and a helicopter landing station, Mr. Sitt has more recently turned his atten-tion to buying and selling retail buildings in tony places like Fifth Avenue. It’s been a lu-crative homecoming for a man who built his fortune and company with retail develop-ments in low-income areas.

71. Aby Rosen and Michael Fuchs (68)PrinCiPals, rfr realty

It has been a turbulent few years for the fashionable gang from Germany. Even with its ample overseas money, the firm found a number of its boom-time projects underwater. The ship is finally be-ginning to right itself, as RFR has bought back its coveted plot behind the Seagram Building earlier this year. At the same time, RFR was marketing a stake in the famous black tower, with the unheard of price of $2,000 a foot, though the reason was far from simple—a lawsuit by spurned partner Peter Brandt. Another, Harry Lis, has sued for supposedly missing profits, and Aby. Rosen split from fellow bon vivant Ian Schrager at the Gramercy Hotel

72. Bruce Ratner (48)Chairman and CeO, fOrest City ratner

Mr. Ratner has taken his ball, but he can’t go home yet. The Barclays

Center will actually open on time this fall, bringing pro-fessional sports back to Brooklyn, as well as Jay-Z, but the Cleveland-born

developer has still yet to secure financing for the now-

well-behind-schedule apartment tow-

ers. Those are now planned to be built modular, which has the potential to transform the way the city builds, but most New Yorkers will believe that when they see it. He completed one of the most beau-tiful buildings on the skyline by the world’s most fa-mous architect, with sky-high rents to boot, but the brand, not to mention

the family name, has been so blackened in Brooklyn, it will be a wonder if he ever builds there again.

73. Glenn Rufrano (63)CeO and President, Cushman & Wakefield

Change is afoot in the brokerage busi-ness and in some ways Glenn Rufrano could be at the center of it. C&W hailed Mr. Rufrano’s hiring in 2010 as move to in-stall a leader with the sophistication and corporate pedigree to whip the compa-ny’s balance sheet into shape. Mr. Rufrano has insisted lately that his mission is to continue to improve C&W’s profitability, entry into other businesses like real estate fund management and overall growth. But many observers see a subcurrent: prepa-ration by the company’s Italian parent, EXOR, to position C&W for an eventual public offering or outright sale, the kind of deal that would likely usher the industry’s most profound shakeup in recent years. Though that talk is still just rumors, in the consolidating world of brokerage it’s hard not to think that Mr. Rufrano’s success could have an especially profound influ-ence on the company’s future.

74. Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris (64)Chairman-CeO and President, resPeCtively, eastern COnsOlidated

The husband-and-wife team of Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris has kept Eastern Consolidated busy. The firm has worked on such deals as the sale of the 800,000-square-foot office building at 375 Pearl Street, which netted $121 million, and the sale of 1150 Avenue of the Americas, which sold for $39 million. Meanwhile, the company maintains its internation-al flair as the Eastern Consolidated team has grown to 40 sales brokers speaking 12 languages.

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Behler.

Rosen.

Alexander.

Hauspurg and Paris.

Ratner.

Rufrano.

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75. Arnold, Kenneth, Steven and Winston Fisher (71)PrinciPals, Fisher Brothers

The family-owned company has a firm sta-ble of Manhattan office towers in its portfolio and has managed to keep several blue-chip tenants in them. Law firm Davidoff, Malito & Hutcher LLP re-upped for 17 years at 605 Third Avenue, and MacKay Shields moved in to 60,000 square feet at 1345 Broadway (a deal Fisher Brothers was not directly involved in). The firm, which started developing in the outer-boroughs in 1915 before eventual-ly working its way to Midtown Manhattan, is holding steady after consolidating some of its trophy properties in 2010.

76. John Pelusi and Mike Tepedino (61)ceo and senior Managing director, resPectively, hFF

HFF’s New York office is busy providing debt placement and arranging financing for deals like the $115 million refinancing it put together for RFR Holding Co. The firm also secured a $315 million refinancing for 340 Madison Avenue, successfully marketed mul-tifamily properties at 210 and 220 East 22nd Street and arranged $500 million in financ-ing for 919 Third Avenue. Other New York-area transactions include the representation of Storage Deluxe in its $357.31 million sale of a 16-prop-erty storage portfolio, though John Pelusi’s and Mike Tepedino’s reach far exceeds the metropolitan area.

77. Diane Ramirez (78)President, halstead ProPerties

One of the grand dames of city real estate, Ms. Ramirez has been a star in the city’s real estate firmament for going on four decades, having worked with everyone from Calvin Klein to Kirsten Gillibrand. She is friendly with Governor David Paterson, a rarity for a residential broker, and her firm is expe-riencing continued, considerable growth under leadership, expanding its foot-print in both Brooklyn in the Hamptons over the past year through strategic partnerships.

78. Howard and Edward Milstein (66)PrinciPals, Milstein ProPerties

This New York philanthropic and real es-tate dynasty hasn’t been as active as in the past, but the brothers do continue to over-see a vast real estate empire. Much of it is Downtown, as well, where its holdings in-clude 200, 377 and 380 Rector Place. The family has developed or acquired more than 50,000 apartments, 20 million square feet of office space and 8,000 hotel rooms, over the course of four generations.

79. Hall Willkie and Paula Del Nunzio (83)President and senior vice President, resPectively, Brown harris stevens

Paula Del Nunzio’s listings in-clude the Stanford White mansion

(listed at $49 million), the Rothschild mansion

(listed at $30 million, in contract) and the Woolworth mansion (list-ed at $90 million—if she can sell it, she’ll break her own $53 million Harkness Mansion re-

cord). Ms. Del Nunzio is clearly a master when it comes to sell-

ing Uptown townhouses, just as Hall Willkie is masterful

when it comes to over-seeing the more than 350 brokers at Brown Harris.

Mr. Willkie has also been working to expand the list-

ings of the white-shoe firm famous for selling white-glove

co-ops.

80. Elizabeth Stribling and Kirk Henckels (77)President, striBling & associates, and director, striBling Private Brokerage

Elizabeth Stribling (Chanel suits, per-fect coif and Southern charm) and Kirk Henckels (never without a bow-tie) seem like idealized types from the esteemed Upper East Side co-ops that the brokerage made its name selling. But don’t let the gen-teel attire and manners fool you—these two aren’t just sitting around sipping tea (well, maybe they are sipping tea), they’re major overachievers. The firm has branched out to Brooklyn, created a fresh Web site that scored a nomination for the Webby awards and become the exclusive agent for London brokerage Savills. All this while still doing what they do best (selling the Astor apart-ment for $21 million) and selling out the Plaza. And Ms. Stribling also found time to chair the French Heritage Society and win the Insignia of Officier of the Legion of Honor (must be a highly caffeinated tea they’re sipping!).

81. Bruce Mosler (87)chairMan oF gloBal Brokerage, cushMan & wakeField

When Bruce Mosler stepped down as Cushman & Wakefield’s chief executive in 2010 to get back to brokerage, most industry experts saw it as a return to his core strength. Indeed, Mr. Mosler, whose charm and entrepreneurial spirit make him a natural dealmaker, has been successful, handling a number of large leas-es, including NYU Langone Medical Center’s 420,000-square-foot deal last year at 2 Park Avenue. Lately, Mr. Mosler, who this week was appointed co-chairman of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, has moved onto even bigger assignments, including being named as agent for Manhattan West, the multimil-lion-square-foot commercial office complex that Brookfield Properties plans to begin con-struction on later this year. Murmurs have percolated for months that Mr. Mosler may switch brokerage firms, a move he has denied. But the lingering speculation shows that an executive with leasing chops and managerial experience is in hot demand.

82. Robert Hammond and Joshua Davidco-Founders, Friends oF the high line

Not since the construction of Central Park has a single project transformed a neighbor-hood as the High Line has, and these two, a freelance reporter and a Web guy, are the ones responsible. As the mayor is fond of pointing out, it took only $150 million in city funds (plus an equal amount from the private sec-tor) to generate a full $2 billion in economic development. And counting. Every day more sites are snapped up along the elevated rail line local property owners once wanted dis-mantled. The third phase, encircling Hudson Yards, is all that remains, and if the hordes on a weekend are any indication, the High Line has been almost too successful.

the power

100Ramirez.

Arnold Fisher. Kenneth Fisher.

Willkie.

Del Nunzio.

Milstein.

Stribling.

David and Hammond.

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83. Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf (80)PrinciPals, Terra Holdings and Zeckendorf realTy

The Zeckendorf family has built some of the grandest properties, both office and residen-tial, in the entire city, from Millennium Tower to 515 Park Avenue and that godhead of lime-stone luxury, 15 Central Park West. The Robert A.M. Stern-designed tower famously sold $2 billion worth of condos, more than any other development in the history of the city, and factoring in the astronomical resales in the building, it is probably worth twice that much now. To top things off, Terra Holdings controls both Brown Harris Stephens and Halstead Properties, giving the Zeckendorfs one of the largest brokerage teams in the city.

84. Jonathan Mechanic and Stephen Lefkowitz (88)cHairman of THe real esTaTe deParTmenT and ParTner, resPecTively, fried frank

You’ll be hard pressed to find a major com-mercial real estate deal that one of these two hasn’t had a hand in. Jonathan Mechanic and Stephen Lefkowitz, both partners in Fried Frank’s real estate practice, negotiate deals on behalf of some of New York’s most boldfaced names. These include Condé Nast’s 1 World Trade Center lease, SL Green’s $416 million joint venture with Jeff Sutton to acquire eight East Side properties and Forest City Ratner in its Atlantic Yards project. Their client list alone is a Who’s Who of New York’s real estate elite.

85. Dan Tishman and John LivingstoncHairman-ceo and PresidenT, resPecTively, TisHman consTrucTion/aecom

The Tishman name is synonymous with construction in New York, and for good reason. The World Trade Center—both iterations of it—the New School, 1 Bryant Park, the Plaza Hotel, even those crazy East River waterfalls a few years ago. If you want something built, and built right, you call Dan and John. And that is true nation-wide, too, from projects such as the rebuilding of the Pentagon to the starchitect-endorsed City Center in Las Vegas. Now, as a part of AECOM, the firm has a larger global reach (and more money) than ever before.

86. Norman Sturner (84) and David GreenePresidenT-ceo and PresidenT of Brokerage services, resPecTively, murray Hill ProPerTies

Since David Greene’s promotion in 2010, Murray Hill Properties has expanded its bro-kerage division and started a new fund—its fifth. Mr. Greene also told The Commercial Observer last year that the company was thinking of moving to a broker-owned setup. Mr. Sturner has seen the firm he co-founded grow to own, lease and manage more than six million square feet of commercial real estate—over $450 million in capital. There have been bumps along the way, like the near default of 1180 Sixth Avenue, but the future seems bright.

87. Ralph Herzka (91)cHairman and ceo, meridian caPiTal grouP

Under Ralph Herzka, Meridian negotiated $17.3 billion in loans in 2011—2,778 in all. He has devoted almost 30 years to providing real estate advi-sory services and somehow found time, after founding Meridian in 1991, to co-found mortgage banking firm Beech Street Capital.

Mr. Herzga also sits on the board of directors of Ladder Capital. Undoubtedly one busy guy: He’s also led Meridian to the number three slot on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2011 list of total originations by firm. Meridian and Beech Street, in fact, ranked highly on several of the MBA’s lists.

88. Michael Friedfounder and cHief execuTive officer, PHoenix realTy grouP

Michael Fried’s New York-based realty firm Phoenix has been quietly snapping up multi-unit residential buildings in greater New York. Using the recession to its advantage, Phoenix has managed to pick up a lot of well-priced properties in the last few years, amassing an impressive portfolio of highly in-demand af-fordable and middle-income housing units.

89. Stephen Meringoff and Leslie Wohlman HimmelPrinciPals, Himmel + meringoff

Stephen Meringoff committed entirely to New York City when he sold his last remain-ing Meringoff Properties asset in Los Angeles, The Taft Building on Vine Street, for $27.5 million at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, he and partner Leslie Wohlman Himmel welcomed City Harvest as its newest tenant when the nonprofit took 145,000 square feet at 6 East 32nd Street in April.

90. Raphael De Niro (81)managing direcTor, PrudenTial

douglas ellimanWhen your dad is a famous

actor, it can be hard to make a name for yourself, but Raphael De Niro has done an impressive

job of it. Long seen as a rising star in New York real estate, the

famously shy Mr. De Niro may have finally shed the “rising.” After an early

career of selling Downtown developments and lofts with lofty prices, Mr. De Niro has led Elliman’s top team in 2011 and 2012. But Mr. De Niro has not cut all his ties to the celebrity lifestyle—clients include Justin Timberlake, Naomi Campbell and Renée Zellweger.

91. Mike Fishman (93)PresidenT, seiu 32BJ

It’s not only about what gets built, but about what happens after things get built, and Mike

Fishman is the man who runs the show behind the scenes (and after clos-

ing time), overseeing not only an army of office cleaners, but also security guards. Last year, when cutting benefits was all the rage,

he won yearly increases in com-pensation and continued or

improved health care for union members. Mr.

Fishman also holds a seat on the city’s Regional Economic Development Council.

92. Greg Kraut and Arthur Mirante

PrinciPals and TrisTaTe PresidenT, resPecTively, avison young

Last year, when Greg Kraut left CBRE to start a branch office for the

Canadian firm Avison Young in Manhattan, many in the brokerage industry were left scratching their heads. Why would a suc-cessful young dealmaker at the city’s biggest and most powerful brokerage company jump ship for a lowly startup? Credit Mr. Kraut for recognizing something then that has become plainly apparent more recently: a shakeup in the business, one of the biggest in years, is afoot, the perfect time for new ven-tures to offer themselves as alternatives to those who are either alienated, aspirational or both. Mr. Kraut has found talent receptive to his pitch. In recent weeks former Cushman & Wakefield CEO Arthur Mirante joined the firm as its tristate president. Mr. Kraut also brought on highly regarded Grubb & Ellis broker Michael Gottlieb. If it keeps pace with the caliber of hires it has drawn so far, the company could be a power in the coming years.

93. Robert Verronefounder, iron Hound managemenT

Robert Verrone has reinvented himself in a way, moving, post-crash, to leverage his past experiences as a lender to provide ad-visory services at Iron Hound Management, where he’s currently active on 34 deals totaling $3.2 billion. He founded the firm in 2009 and has already completed 69 transactions at a whopping $6.3 billion. His knowledge has been put to work on a multitude of deals that will likely ring a bell: 14 Wall Street, 666 Fifth Avenue and 3 Columbus Circle.

94. Kyle BlackmonBroker, Brown Harris sTevens

Three words: Sandy Weill’s penthouse. Kyle Blackmon made his name at 15 Central Park West, getting into the building early through a family connection, and by selling its high-flying units, his name, his brand, has become synonymous with luxury apart-ments in town. This helped him bring the Citi chief into the building for an impressive $43.6 million, and when it was time to sell (for charity, no less!), Mr. Blackmon got the call. People were flabbergasted by the $88 million listing, but that was exactly what Mr. Blackmon got when a certain Russian tycoon came knocking. It has won him the current highest listing on the market, a $77 million duplex at the Ritz, also overlook-ing Central Park. It’s like it’s his personal backyard.

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100

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Tishman.

Kraut.

Verrone.

De Niro.

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95. Henry and Justin ElghanayanPrinciPals, rockrose DeveloPment corP.

When Henry Elghanayan split up the fam-ily’s real estate business to separate his holding from his brothers Tom and Fred (who started their own company, TF Cornerstone), Mr. Elghanayan, who many considered the patriarch of the family, decided unexpected-ly to hand his siblings some of Rockrose’s best-known assets, such as Carnegie Hall Tower. Mr. Elghanayan and his son Justin instead took many of the develop-ment sites in the firm’s portfolio and have steadily moved to build on them. Rockrose has begun a multi-phase project to build 1,800 units in Court Square in Long Island City, one among a number of profitable residential projects it is engaged in.

96. Andrew HeibergerFounDer-ceo, town resiDential

One of the rising stars of residential real es-tate, Andrew Heiberger founded Citi Habitats in 1994 and built it into the largest rental bro-kerage in the city, selling it a decade later to Corcoran parent NRT. With that money he launched Buttonwood Development, cre-ating a handful of high-end properties in Downtown Manhattan. Last year, he got back into the brokerage game, launching Town Residential, and in only a few months it has become one of the hottest outfits in town, opening six offices in Manhattan with near-ly 300 employees on staff, many of them top agents from the city’s other elite firms.

97. Christopher Schlank and Nicholas BienstockManaging Partners and Founders, savanna

In recent years Savanna founder Christopher Schlank and his co-managing partner, Nicholas Bienstock, have shown that through hard work, creativity and proba-bly a little luck, there are still bargain deals to be found in ultra-competitive Manhattan. Last year the firm snapped up a collection of properties that included 100 Wall Street, 31 and 21 Penn Plaza and 80 Broad Street. Not only has the company been notably prolif-ic in scooping up assets, it has shown it can turn around properties that prior owners have failed to make successful. At 100 Wall Street, for instance, the company has done about 160,000 square feet of deals since buy-ing it out of distress late last year, filling most of the building’s vacancy.

98. Robert Ivanhoechairman oF Global real estate Practice, GreenberG trauriG

The other guy you call when you need a real estate attorney in New York. The recession

obviously slowed things down, but as everyone began to try to pick up

the pieces or dig themselves out, Robert Ivanhoe helped. From bankruptcies to foreclosures to those ever-necessary (and ob-noxious) public reviews, one of

Mr. Ivanhoe’s attorneys is helping developers navigate the legal mo-

rass. They almost bought out Dewey, as the firm headed for bankruptcy it-

self, but that proved too much of a headache even for these notoriously tough guys.

99. Earle Altman (95)chairman anD FounDer, abs Partners real estate

The octogenarian alumnus of Helmsley-Spear, where he worked for 40 years, has a leas-ing and management firm with five million square feet under its stead. But the firm did lose Rothmans, the men’s department store, when it left the ABS Partners-owned 200 Park Avenue, where the store had been for 25 years. Don’t fret: Rothmans moved to 222 Park Avenue South, a property ABS Partners Real Estate has an in-terest in.

100. Dmitry RybolovlevFertilizer maGnate

No. 100 on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, Dmitry Rybolovlev is the second-richest man on this list (maybe he should run for mayor on the Republican line next year). Perhaps the only person who had ever heard of him until this past December was Donald Trump, from whom he had purchased a $100 million Palm Beach mansion. But his pur-chase for $88 million of the record-setting Weill penthouse made headlines the world over—how much for an apartment in New York?!—and cemented him, and his equestri-an daughter for whom the home is supposedly meant, into the city’s consciousness. As for-eigners still flood this tiny island off the coast of America, welcome to the new real-ity of Manhattan real estate.

the power

100Justin Elghanayan. Henry Elghanayan.

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WOULD LIKE TO THANK THIS YEAR’S POWER 100 SPONSORS:

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