Power Players in Residential Real Estate

Risa is the CEO of Risa Heller Communications, a full-service communications consultancy based in New York City. Ms. Heller builds on her background in politics and crisis communications to help clients navigate the highest levels of national top-tier media, as well as complex issues management environments where permission to operate is on the line. Her work centers on the intersection of public affairs, issues management, and front-page news.

Edith Hsu-Chen was named executive director of the New York City Department of City Planning in February 2022. She’s held several positions at the agency, including Manhattan Director. Hsu-Chen’s work has focused on modernizing New York’s central business districts and improving neighborhoods as great places to live. Like so many of her fellow New Yorkers, Hsu-Chen is a first generation immigrant. She started her career as an intern at the agency in 1997.

What led you to get involved in the real estate industry?
I’ve spent my career at DCP – where extraordinary professionals work with public and private partners to help build New York’s brightest future. Whether through new housing, jobs, green energy, resilient infrastructure, transit, or open space, my focus is always on how to improve the lives of those who call this city home. It’s an honor and thrill to work with New Yorkers from all corners of the city to take on our biggest challenges.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in NYC?
I love them all the same!

Describe a recent project you’ve enjoyed working on.
I’m proud to have helped establish the Community Planning and Engagement division at City Planning. This new team will focus on centering New Yorkers’ voices in our planning work. From our youth engagement curriculum to get kids involved in advocating for their communities, to new webtools to share useful info with New Yorkers, such as our Equitable Development Data Explorer, this dynamic division will help foster conversations on our city’s future.

Gary Jacob is the executive vice president of Glenwood Management Corporation, one of the premier luxury real estate companies in New York. Mr. Jacob is in charge of Glenwood’s site acquisitions and financing. 

Steven James is the president and CEO of BHHSNYP’s City brokerage. In addition to fronting a myriad of the area’s most substantial listings/sales, his oversight includes mentoring and supporting agents to reach the next level in their careers. Along with supervising the NYC offices, his reach extends to strategic growth and acquisition opportunities. Prior to BHHSNYP, James served as executive director of Brokerage Development for HomeServices of America, and president and CEO of Douglas Elliman’s NYC brokerage and director of sales.

What led you to get involved in the real estate industry?
I first moved to New York to pursue acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Years later, I changed career paths to work at a Scarsdale Real Estate company. With my acting background, I utilized techniques from class to find what my clients really wanted and needed in their homes; I immediately found success in the field and soon began working on the Upper West Side, as at that time, you needed to live where you sell.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in NYC?
Each part of the Upper West Side is unique, and the housing stock is just terrific. It is a neighborhood where its residents really care about the wellbeing of their neighbors, retail spaces, and parks. When you find a place like that, you don’t want to lose it. When I first started working in real estate, I barely needed to sell the neighborhood as I was already intrinsically connected to it.

Describe a recent project you’ve enjoyed working on.
Coming from 3,000 agents at Elliman, working hands-on with 100 agents and growing the firm at Berkshire Hathaway has been extremely rewarding. My favorite part of what I do is working with our agents on the nitty-gritty of their deals. Before my focus was on more corporate activities, but at Berkshire Hathaway I have a great team to always be there for the agents. It’s been so meaningful to experience the deals again.

Ninve James leads REBNY’s work to support residential brokerage members across New York City, including oversight of REBNY’s Residential Listing Service, Residential Brokerage Events and Program, and Residential Professional Development. She led REBNY’s work with CoStar Group to launch and operate Citysnap, the first-ever consumer-facing search website and mobile app for REBNY’s RLS. Previously, Ninve served as vice president of Realtor.com and was a member of the New York City founding team at Trulia.

What led you to get involved in the real estate industry?
Out of college, while Ninve was looking to apply to law school, she took a job at Realtor.com in online advertising sales. She learned a lot about the industry and quickly realized this was her passion. 20 years later, she continues to find satisfaction each day knowing that she’s making a difference in her work at REBNY by driving the industry forward through her current initiatives.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in NYC?
Living in New York City, the most incredible city in the entire world, makes it difficult for Ninve to name just one favorite neighborhood. Depending on what Ninve is looking for at a given time, she may say Long Island City, where she loves to come home to and spend time with her family at Gantry Plaza State Park; or West Village where she often goes to dine out and window shop.

Describe a recent project you’ve enjoyed working on.
Ninve led REBNY’s work with CoStar Group to launch Citysnap, the first-ever consumer-facing search website and mobile app for REBNY’s Residential Listing Service, ending decades of brokers having to use third party platforms with minimal oversight and regulation to promote their listings. For consumers, Citysnap is the first platform to feature all data from the RLS, giving New Yorkers better, more accurate, and more comprehensive content.

Sabrina Kanner is executive vice president of Development, Design & Construction for Development at Brookfield Properties. In her 40 year tenure with the company, Sabrina has played a key role in the construction, design and development of over 40 MSF of signature Brookfield projects such as Brookfield Place, 300 Madison Avenue, Greenpoint Landing, Bankside, The Yards, Halley Rise, the restoration/renovation of the Winter Garden at World Financial Center after 9/11, Bay Adelaide, and Manhattan West.

Suri Kasirer is a born New Yorker and advocate. She founded Kasirer in 1997 out of a studio apartment on the UWS – and a lifelong commitment to championing people, progress, and policy in the city. Suri grew her business into the #1 lobbying firm in NYC, assembling and leading a team with decades of experience and an unrivaled fluency in government on local and state levels, in languages, and in the inner workings of New York.

What led you to get involved in the real estate industry?
Kasirer began doing land use for our nonprofit clients, starting with a competitive RFP to develop a parcel of Columbus Circle for a museum we represented. After winning the RFP, the city said we had to go through ULURP where we were met with resistance from the community and preservationists. This excited me about land use, the possibilities of development, and the intricacies of dealing with government and the community in a complex political environment.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in NYC?
The Upper West Side.

Senator Brian Kavanagh represents more than 330,000 residents in New York’s Senate District 27, covering lower Manhattan from the Battery to 14th Street. As chair of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development, Brian has built on his decades of advocating for access to high quality, safe, affordable housing for all New Yorkers.

What’s your favorite neighborhood in NYC?
I’m partial to the neighborhoods in my district, which includes Battery Park City, Chinatown, the East and South Villages, the Financial District, Little Italy, the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo and Tribeca.

Describe a recent project you’ve enjoyed working on.
I am currently advocating to include $250 million in the adopted budget for FY 2023-2024 for the Housing Access Voucher Program to provide rental support for homeless families and those at risk of imminent loss of their housing. Over 90,000 New Yorkers are currently homeless and many more experience homelessness during the course of a year. Providing rental vouchers will be cheaper, safer, healthier, than continuing to rely on our existing shelter systems.

Gary Keller is co-founder and chairman of Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate franchise in the world. He is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, and The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. A noted philanthropist and supporter of the arts, Keller and his wife, Mary Pfluger, live in Austin. 

Paula Kirby is managing director of Plaxall, a third-generation family business, which owns and manages nearly a million square feet of property in LIC. Prior to joining Plaxall in 2013, Paula worked in the fashion & luxury goods industry in Europe for over 20 years. A Queens native who grew up in Forest Hills, Paula serves on the boards of several Queens-based organizations including the Queens Public Library, the Queens Museum, and Mount Sinai Queens.

What led you to get involved in the real estate industry?
My grandfather, Louis Pfohl, was an architect, so I was exposed to architecture at a young age. For most of my life, I was more interested in the art and culture of cities than in real estate. It was only after I joined Plaxall and I began to read some of the great books about cities (Triumph of the City and The Power Broker) that I developed a passion for urban planning and development.