Helmsley Spear announced the appointment of Brett J. Zelner as a Vice President and Associate Broker focusing on commercial office and retail real estate leasing in the New York Metropolitan region market place.
Zelner previously served as Executive Managing Director at Lee & Associate in New York City and prior to that was an executive at Lansco Corporation for many years.
He is an alumnus of Boston University, where he received his BA degree, and he is a long time member of the Real Estate Board of New York.
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Hunton has promoted the following real estate attorneys to partner:
Matthew R. Halal advises lenders and investors in all aspects of secured financings, with an emphasis on representing institutional lenders in the origination of commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans.
Halal is a graduate of Binghamton University, State University of New York, and received his law degree from New York Law School.
Robert A. Rich primarily represents corporate debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, indenture and securitization trustees, lessors, and other parties in interest in Chapter 11 bankruptcies.
Rich received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his master’s degree from Fordham University Graduate School of Business. He earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law.

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Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) announced that Aimee Totaro has joined the firm as Director of Human Resources.
Prior to joining JB&B, Totaro served as Vice President of Human Resources for New York City commercial real estate and data analytics firm REIS.
Over the course of her career, Totaro has been involved in the design and scale management of human resource programs, as well as in the creation of tactical and strategic business partnerships across corporate sectors.
As Director of Human Resources for JB&B, Totaro’s mission is to transform the firm’s Human Resources Department by enhancing company culture, recruiting industry talent and expanding training programs in addition to her focus on diversity and inclusion.

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Adelaide Polsinelli and Ronda Rogovin, Vice Chairs of Compass, have hired Albert Sitt to complement their Investment Sales Division.
Sitt began his real estate career at Ackman-Ziff Capital Advisors establishing relationships with buyers and investors.
Earlier, her interned with the Real Estate Finance and Lending Group at law firm Kriss & Feuerstein LLP, Morgan Stanley and at the private real estate investment firm, Status Capital.
He studied at Baruch College and is fluent in Hebrew and Spanish.
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Jarrett M. Behar has joined the Litigation Practice Group of Certilman Balin as a Partner.
Based in the Hauppauge office, Behar has experience in the areas of real estate, commercial lending, construction, general contractual disputes, land use, bankruptcy, intellectual property, professional liability defense matters and appellate practice in both federal and state courts.
Previously, he was a Partner at a Sinnreich Kosakoff & Mesina LLP where he focused on commercial real estate and development matters. He also practiced as an associate at a prominent New York City law firm and was counsel and project manager at Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear.
Behar earned his Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida.
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Jack Resnick & Sons has appointed Keith Macchiaverna as Managing Director of Design and Construction.
Macchiaverna will oversee and manage all major construction and infrastructure projects for Resnick, which currently owns and operates a Manhattan commercial portfolio of approximately six million square feet of commercial and retail space, as well as 900 luxury rental apartments.
Macchiaverna brings more than 17 years of experience in the real estate, construction and engineering industries to the company.
Prior to Resnick, he worked as Director of Project Management for LeFrak Commercial, where he oversaw more than 80 projects across New York, New Jersey and California, including major office developments such as 40 West 57th Street in Manhattan and 300 California Avenue in San Francisco.
Before that, he worked as Senior Project Manager for OMNIBUILD and Project Manager/Design Engineer for Power Concepts.
Macchiaverna received a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in mathematics from Fairfield University, a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an Advanced Certificate in Construction Management from New York University.
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NAI Mertz announced Scott Mertz, SIOR, president and Fred Meyer, SIOR, executive vice president, director of brokerage & corporate services have been recognized as Top Producers by NAI Global.
Mertz ranked number one in the world, and Meyer is among agroup of brokers with gross commissions over $1 million closed for the calendar year.
It is the first time Mertz hashad two people from the company realize this distinction .
Scott Mertz has been recognized as the global top producer in three of the last four years and claimed second position in one.
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Jaros, Baum & Bolles announced that Nune Dzhunelova has joined their team as Chief Financial Officer.
Dzhunelova brings over 10 years of experience in the design and advertising industries.
Prior to joining JB&B, she worked at several design firms, including Group Goetz Architects, SK&I Architectural Design Group and Peter Pennoyer Architects.
Over the course of her career, she has served as a contributing manager and a strategic thought partner who is integrally involved with developing and spearheading internal strategies in areas of business planning, budgeting, finance and operations, among numerous other day-to-day responsibilities.
Dzhunelova received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Finance and minor in Marketing from Howard Payne University in Texas, and a master’s degree in Finance and Management from Kent State University.
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Cushman & Wakefield announced that Steven Langton has joined the firm as an Associate in Global Brokerage.
Langton a be based at the firm’s Midtown Manhattan office, and will join the office leasing team led by Executive Vice Chairman Josh Kuriloff.
In addition to his experience in sales and marketing with Kohler Co., Langton represented the United States at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games in the sport of bobsled. During his 11-year career, he took home two Olympic silver medals, two World Championship titles, four World Championship medals, two World Cup titles and twenty-one World Cup medals.
Langton graduated from Northeastern University in 2006 with a degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship.
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Vinson & Elkins has expanded its Real Estate Practice with the addition of a team that includes three partners, three counsel, nine associates and three paralegals.
Partners Wallace Schwartz, Adam Endick and Julia Sanabria were previously a partner with Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.
Wallace Schwartz is recognized as one of the nation’s leading real estate transaction lawyers.
As head of Kasowitz’s Real Estate Transactions Group, Schwartz’s clients included The Related Companies, Boston Properties, JDS Development, Oxford Properties and Rockpoint Group.
Adam Endick represents clients in the leasing and subleasing of office space throughout the United States, including WeWork, Oxford Property Group, Extell Development and Deerfield Management Company.
Julia Sanabria represents clients in the leasing and subleasing of office and retail space throughout the United States, including Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, The Related Companies, Extell Development and Joy Construction.
Prior to joining Kasowitz, all three previously practiced together at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.