Long Island City State of the Market

David Brause is a member of the Brause family of real estate investors and the president of New York City-based family-run firm Brause Realty. He joined the family firm established by his grandfather, Jack Brause, of which his father Louis is president, in 1995. Since 2005, Brause has served as chairman of the Long Island City Business Improvement District. From 1992 to 1994, he worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, the investment bank. The Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association of New York honored him as its 2010 Young Man of the Year. In 1992, Brause received a BS from The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he concentrated in finance. He married Cheryl Vigder in 1996. -MK

Seth Pinsky serves as Executive Vice President and Investment Manager of the RXR Metropolitan Emerging Market Strategy . In this role, Pinsky is leading RXR’s efforts to invest in “emerging opportunities” in New York City and the surrounding Tri-State region, focusing on asset classes and geographic regions that have historically been characterized by underinvestment, but that have significant growth potential due to planned or in-place infrastructure and other relevant characteristics. Prior to joining RXR, Pinsky served as Director of Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, which developed a $20 billion plan to help neighborhoods stricken by Hurricane Sandy to rebuild smarter and stronger and to protect critical citywide systems and infrastructure from the likely impacts of climate change in coming decades. Pinsky also served as President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2008, after joining the agency in 2003 as a vice president. During his tenure, NYCEDC became an international leader in the field of economic development, focusing both on transforming the city’s underlying economy and investing in its critical infrastructure. While at NYCEDC, Pinsky served as a lead negotiator on behalf of New York City for projects ranging from Yankee Stadium and Citifield, to the World Trade Center, to the acquisition of Hunters Point South in Queens, the largest middle-income housing development in the City since Starrett City. Among the initiatives advanced by NYCEDC under Pinsky’s leadership were the redevelopment of Willets Point in Queens, Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Homeport in Staten Island, and the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, as well as the creation of a major new bioscience research park on City-owned land, north of Bellevue Hospital. Under Pinsky, NYCEDC also managed the construction of the first two phases of the High Line in Manhattan, launched a new East River Ferry service connecting Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan and announced and advanced plans for the world’s largest observation wheel in St. George in Staten Island. In the area of economic modernization, under Pinsky, NYCEDC created the Center for Economic Transformation (CET), which, in addition to launching a network of business incubators across the City that, at the time of Pinsky’s departure, housed more than 600 companies, developed and oversaw the Bloomberg Administration’s international Applied Sciences NYC competition. The Applied Sciences competition will result in a significant expansion of Columbia University’s engineering school, as well as the creation of a new engineering institute in Downtown Brooklyn led by NYU that will include CUNY, Carnegie Mellon University and others. It will also result in the creation of a $2 billion engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, being developed by Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the NYCEDC, Pinsky was an associate at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in the Real Estate practice and a financial analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. He is a graduate of Columbia College, where he majored in Ancient History, and of Harvard Law School, and is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Pinsky lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Angela and their children, Theo and Amelia.

Elizabeth Lusskin is the President of the LIC Partnership and Executive Director of the LIC Business Improvement District. In this role, she promotes economic development across the vibrant Long Island City industrial, commercial, residential and cultural arts mixed-use community. She is the Co-Chair of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan Steering Committee, was Co-Chair of the Amazon Community Advisory Committee Project Plan Committee and is a Member of the Western Queens Tech Task Force, among other roles. Prior to LIC, she served as the Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. Through her former consulting practice, Elizabeth Lusskin Consulting LLC, she advised public, private for-profit and non-profit clients on economic and community development, organizational management and strategic planning. Elizabeth has served as Deputy Commissioner of NYC SBS, General Counsel to the Downtown Alliance and Legislative Counsel at NYS Office of Federal Affairs. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU School of Law.

A sought after voice in Queens real estate, Eric Benaim’s entry into real estate began in 2001, after a successful career as owner of a live event production and marketing firm. Initially concentrating on Manhattan luxury sales, Eric later recognized the untapped opportunity in his own beloved borough, and turned his focus exclusively to Long Island City. The result was the sale of 50 residences in 2006 alone. In the midst of 2008’s severe economic crisis, Eric instinctively decided the time was right to launch Modern Spaces, permanently changing the perception and value of real estate in LIC. In just 10 years, Eric’s insightful and personal approach resulted in the swift expansion of Modern Spaces, including opening additional offices in Astoria where 100 agents work, capturing a 70% market share in Long Island City. In 2019, Modern Spaces crossed the river to capture 10% of the burgeoning market share over the next three years, in Jersey City. He is responsible for successfully completing over $7B in sales and is currently responsible for overseeing over $4B in real estate, which translates to over 8000 units. Eric was the first person to be recognized as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star in both Queens and Brooklyn by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, respectively. Eric has been the recipient of the 2018 Community Impact Award by the LIC Partnership, as well as the Community Hero award by the Long Island City YMCA. Eric is a member of REBNY, and serves on the Advisory Board of Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as the Board of Directors for the Long Island City Partnership. In 2016 the City and State Award honored him for Corporate Social Responsibility. Eric is consistently called upon to speak at a diverse array of events and is frequently featured, quoted, interviewed and profiled in prominent outlets including CNN, Fox Business, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CRAIN’S, The Real Deal, CNBC, and NY1. Eric is an art collector and avid supporter of the arts. As the informal ‘Mayor of LIC,’ it is his passion for building a prosperous community that informs Modern Spaces ‘unparalleled perspective. He currently resides in Long Island City with his wife Stephanie and son Greyson.

Joe Farkas is CEO and Founder of MRA, a privately held institutional value investor and development company focused on office, retail and industrial properties in the NY Metropolitan area.

Brian S. Waterman joined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in 1985 at the firm's Manhattan headquarters, became a principal in 2000 and currently serves as a vice chairman. He has negotiated leasing transactions in excess of $1.0 billion dollars, cementing his reputation as a leader in landlord and tenant representation. Among the numerous high-profile building owners he has represented are Malkin Holdings; AmTrust Realty Corp.; SL Green Realty Corp.; Emmes & Company; Apollo Partners; Equity Office Properties; Sterling Equities; Stellar Management; Edward J. Minskoff; The Moinian Group; The Chetrit Group; Vornado Realty Trust, TIAA-CREF, Orda Management Corp., The Wolfson Group; and Taconic Investment Partners. In addition, he has successfully led leasing campaigns at such properties as 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, 731 Lexington Avenue, 100 Church Street, 125 Park Avenue, 3 Columbus Circle, One Grand Central Place, 535, 545, 575 and 590 Fifth Avenue, Metropolitan Tower, 80-02 Kew Gardens Road, 1333 Broadway, 1359 Broadway, 1501 and 1560 Broadway, the former McGraw Hill Building, Penncom Plaza, the A & D Building (150 East 58th Street), 250 Broadway, 59 Maiden Lane, 500 and 512 Seventh Avenue, 5 Bryant Park, 1065 Avenue of the Americas, 229 West 43rd Street, Milk Studios and 450 West 14th Street. Recently, Mr. Waterman represented Morgan Stanley in a lease for 1.2 million square feet at One New York Plaza, one of the largest single-asset office leases in New York City, for which he received the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year award from The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). In addition to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Waterman has represented such prominent tenants as J.P. Morgan Chase; North Shore-LIJ Health Systems; Hain Celestial; Glenview Capital Management; ITOCHU International, Inc.; Golub Capital; Sony Corp.; Mizuho Capital; MetLife; Goldman Sachs; Theory; Alice+Olivia; Bad Boy Records; Keryx Pharmaceuticals; American Stock Transfer and Trust Co.; SAIC; UJA Federation; The FBI; The Queens District Attorney; The New York State Tax and Finance Office; and The New York State Office of Management and Budget. In 2012, Mr. Waterman earned Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Broker of the Year award, a prestigious honor that was recognized in January 8, 2013, edition of The Commercial Observer, in part for closing 3.2 million square feet in transactions. That same year, Real Estate Forum recognized Mr. Waterman as the top leasing broker in New York City in terms of total square feet of deals, total number of deals and total value of deals. A popular subject with The Observer, Mr. Waterman was profiled as a Power Broker in its exclusive feature on January 22, 2013, for his exceptional success as a commercial real estate broker. He has won REBNY's Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award for The Most Ingenious Deal of the Year twice: in 2013, for the Morgan Stanley transaction at One New York Plaza; and in 1998, for the Federation Employment and Guidance Service transaction at 315 Hudson Street. He was also awarded the Association for a Better Long Island and the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society's Most Ingenious Deal of the Year for the Hain Celestial Group, Inc., international headquarters relocation transaction in 2012. Mr. Waterman has consistently won CoStar's Power Broker of the Year Award for the past 10 years. A REBNY member, he is also involved in fundraising for numerous not-for-profits. Mr. Waterman actively supports the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and The New Renaissance Basketball Association (The Rens). He is a past chairman, vice chairman and membership chairman of the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association and received its award in conjunction with REBNY's Young Real Estate Man of the Year award in 2001. He is also a former chairman and vice chairman of the New Leadership Division of Israel Bonds. He currently serves on the board of trustees for the New York City Police Museum as well as the Henry Kaufman Campgrounds. Mr. Waterman also guest lectures at the NYU Real Estate Institute, Columbia University, Fordham Law School and REBNY.

Mr. Fehskens joined Atlas in 2014, he is responsible for commercial property operations including market analysis, leasing, tenant matters, expense management, budgeting and reporting. Prior to joining Atlas, he was an Asset Manager at Time Equities, Inc. where he was primarily responsible for managing the Manhattan office portfolio, serving as project manager and investment analyst. Mr. Fehskens graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, received a graduate certificate from Maryland Bankers School and earned a Master’s in Real Estate Finance from New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate. Mr. Fehskens holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and LEED AP designations.

Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Mr. Sinsheimer has a successful history as an options market maker and brings his Wall Street expertise to the position and is adept at valuation and large complex financial transactions. Most recently, Mr. Sinsheimer was an Equity Options Trader at the Cutler Group LP where his self-funded portfolio primarily focused on illiquid names, binary events, Regulation Sho securities and biotechnology. He generated an average return on equity of 75 percent per annum. Prior to that he was a Senior Equity Options Trader at Group One Trading where he was a leader of the trading team that made markets in a portfolio of over 400 NYSE Equity Options, NASDAQ Equity Options and Exchange Index Options. Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Mr. Sinsheimer has a successful history as an options market maker and brings his Wall Street expertise to the position and is adept at valuation and large complex financial transactions. Most recently, Mr. Sinsheimer was an Equity Options Trader at the Cutler Group LP where his self-funded portfolio primarily focused on illiquid names, binary events, Regulation Sho securities and biotechnology. He generated an average return on equity of 75 percent per annum. Prior to that he was a Senior Equity Options Trader at Group One Trading where he was a leader of the trading team that made markets in a portfolio of over 400 NYSE Equity Options, NASDAQ Equity Options and Exchange Index Options. Mr. Sinsheimer holds his Series 7, 55, 56 and 63 securities licenses. He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communication. He is also a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).