2024 Power Players in Real Estate

Douglas Durst is the chairman of The Durst Organization. Under the leadership of Douglas and his cousin Jody, Durst built premier towers including 151 West 42nd Street, which was recognized as the nation’s first green skyscraper, and One Bryant Park, the first LEED Platinum high-rise office tower. Today, the company owns, manages, and operates a 13 million-square-foot office portfolio and 3,400 residential rental units.

Is there a project you are excited to work on or see completed in 2024?
I’m most excited about 825 Third Avenue. We originally built the tower in 1969. When a triple-net lease ended in 2019, we emptied the building and began a $150 million renovation which is nearing completion. We sustainably modernized the building, added a best-in-class amenity floor with indoor and outdoor spaces for meetings and events, and made major upgrades to the surrounding public plaza. We pre-leased 35% of the building before the renovation was even complete.

What is your favorite part of working in real estate?
Working in real estate allows us to help solve some of the biggest challenges facing the city. Along the Astoria waterfront, we have nearly 650 new units of mixed-income housing under construction at our Halletts Point development. The project will open next year, bringing much-needed new housing and public open space to the area. And by prioritizing sustainable practices in our developments, we are able to reduce our impact on the environment.

What qualities do you believe make up a successful real estate professional?
Work hard, ask questions, and trust the data. For example, at many of our commercial properties, we are seeing lower vacancy rates and higher net-effective rents. In 2023, we leased more than 1 million square feet of office space. Headlines may try and convince you otherwise, but the top tier of the commercial real estate market has rebounded significantly. The numbers don’t lie.

Rachel Fee has been executive director of the New York Housing Conference since 2014. Under her leadership, the organization has built coalitions around expanded housing investment, elevated the issue of affordable housing and produced impactful analyses. Before joining NYHC, Fee spent eight years at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Fee holds a B.A. in political science from Colgate University and an M.A. in economic science from University College Dublin, Ireland.

Is there a project you are excited to work on or see completed in 2024?
NYHC recently launched “Yes to Housing,” a coalition of over 100 organizations in support of the Department of City Planning’s City of Yes for Housing Opportunity agenda. As NYC’s affordability crisis intensifies, City of Yes is the most important proposal in decades to ensure housing production is distributed more evenly across the City. We’re committed to working closely with the government and community to ensure the final text amendment delivers essential housing reforms.

What is your favorite part of working in real estate?
According to the latest NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey, nearly 9 out of 10 low-income New Yorkers are rent-burdened, and it’s increasingly difficult to find affordable housing across the state. New Yorkers are forced to choose between paying rent and affording food, healthcare, and other necessities. I know that the work I do is critical to increasing affordable housing, and I’m honored to help make NY more accessible to families at every income level.

What qualities do you believe make up a successful real estate professional?
When you specialize in affordable housing, perseverance is key. Reforms and results may be many years in the making, but if you stay true to your commitment and vision, the end result makes the process worth it. Over the years, thanks to our perseverance, NYHC has succeeded in doubling capital investment at the city and state levels and achieved important changes to the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

Ken Fisher operates at the intersection of real estate, government, law, and politics. At the national law firm of Cozen O’Connor, Ken represents developers, multi-family landlords and nonprofits in land use applications, transactions with the government, and fending off investigations. He is a frequent media commentator. Ken is a fellow of the Urban Design Forum and co-chairs the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Real Estate Committee. He served in the New York City Council for 11 years.

Is there a project you are excited to work on or see completed in 2024?
I’m working on a few large zoning applications that will help address the severe housing shortage. I am also advising on an innovative plan to move Madison Square Garden and build a new Penn Station and a public park and several innovative green energy projects which are critical to a sustainable future. And there are always “break glass in case of emergency calls!”

What is your favorite part of working in real estate?
It’s satisfying when I can find a way to reconcile my clients’ private interests with the public interest, not an easy task in a city as diverse -and contentious- as New York. Even more gratifying is moving around the city and seeing developments that I helped make happen.

What qualities do you believe make up a successful real estate professional?
A successful real estate professional needs to be simultaneously an optimist and a pessimist but they can only show the former! Most of all, they recognize that the work isn’t just a numbers game. The quality of the built environment has a real impact on people.

With nearly nine million square feet of assets in New York, Washington, D.C., Florida and Las Vegas, Fisher Brothers has been growing rapidly and expanding into new sectors under Winston’s leadership, including experiential retail and entertainment, asset management, and hospitality management. Winston also serves as chief executive officer of AREA15, the world’s first purpose-built immersive entertainment district located minutes from the Las Vegas Strip.

Is there a project you are excited to work on or see completed in 2024?
I’m thrilled to be working on Wynhouse Miami, the latest multifamily development within our House brand of highly-amenitized, design-forward residential properties. Wynhouse Miami is on track to open early next year and will feature 308 rental residences, expansive retail space, two public paseos and grand displays of art throughout the property. 

As founder of Fontas Advisors, George has a reputation as an innovative leader and trusted strategist, advising clients across the corporate, real estate, technology, and nonprofit sectors as they navigate the complexity of New York City and the State. Highly skilled in the politics and policies needed to drive ambitious outcomes, he is among the region’s most respected political advisors, having been named multiple times by several newspapers as one of New York’s most influential leaders.

Bess is a real estate leader and a champion of social change, philanthropy, and building a culture-first brokerage for agents, staff, and clients. Under Bess’ leadership, Brown Harris Stevens has grown into one of the most successful privately-held real estate companies in the United States with the highest average sales price per agent in the country. Bess oversees 44 offices and nearly 3,000 agents across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Florida.

What is your favorite part of working in real estate?
My favorite part of working in real estate is helping people, whether it’s guiding buyers, sellers, and renters or my own agents in their professional growth. Every day is different and brings new opportunities. Real estate is a profession that is constantly in motion – we help people achieve their dreams.

What qualities do you believe make up a successful real estate professional?
Someone who shows up, works hard, and dresses the part will go very far in this business. In real estate, you get out what you put in. You have to be knowledgeable and humble, professional and punctual! I think as soon as agents start to feel comfortable, that’s what they need to kick things up a notch to get their business to the next level. Surprise yourself.

Dan Garodnick is the director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission. Garodnick previously served in the New York City Council for 12 years, representing the East Side of Manhattan, and was known as one of New York’s most independent voices and effective legislators. He is a lawyer who also served as president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy.

Is there a project you are excited to work on or see completed in 2024?
Our two City of Yes proposals – for Economic Opportunity and for Housing Opportunity – will be up for a vote in 2024. Together, they represent the largest overhaul of New York’s zoning since 1961, boosting small businesses and clean manufacturing, and creating a little more housing in every neighborhood. We will also advance land use changes through 5 key neighborhood plans – Bronx Metro-North, Atlantic Avenue, Jamaica, Long Island City, and Midtown South.

What is your favorite part of working in real estate?
As a lifelong New Yorker, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to help shape the future of New York City. Planning takes the long view of the city, shaping our city’s housing, economy, resilience, and more, for decades to come. I’m certain that our work will have a lasting impact on New York’s built environment and help create a more affordable, prosperous, and sustainable city for future generations.

Liz Gehringer is the president of Coldwell Banker Affiliate Business and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, consisting of a franchise network of more than 1,400 affiliated company offices in the U.S. and 628 international operating offices. She oversees the brand’s franchise operations, field services, events, international business and the Coldwell Banker and Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate networks.

Ethan and Michele are winning strategists and trusted advisors to some of NY’s best-known corporate, institutional and civic leaders. Over the decades, their expertise has successfully guided complex real estate development projects as well as nonprofit and issue advocacy campaigns. Geto & de Milly is well-known for furthering the public good through collaboration with communities to spur economic development and affordable housing, accelerate infrastructure and environmental improvements, and champion distinctive architecture and innovative urban planning.