
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. announced that Ryan Kass will become senior vice president and director of leasing and Marketing, joining ESRT’s Fred Posniak, Senior Vice President of Leasing and Marketing, to build the trust’s in-house leasing and marketing team.
Kass will be joining the company from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, where he was involved in the leasing of the Empire State Building, One Grand Central Place and other agency leasing assignments for the Company.
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With the foundation nearing completion at The Moinian Group’s luxury mixed-use building at 605 West 42nd Street, the company announced that William (Bill) Wallerstein has been appointed as VP of Development at the 60-story, 1.16 million-square-foot glass tower.
Currently, Wallerstein is the owner of Onegreenworld Solar, LLC, where he oversees the design and installation of PV solar projects.
Prior to this, he served as vice president of Construction and Development at The Jack Parker Corp., overseeing the construction of projects such as Truffles Tribeca and The Biltmore. He served in the same capacity at the Gotham Construction Co. on several projects.
Prior to these positions, he was the project manager on several projects for Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Inc. and The Lefrak Organization.
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Muss Development LLC has expanded its operations with the addition of 16-year industry veteran William S. Bergman as vice president of leasing.
Bergman will assist in overseeing leasing efforts for the developer’s retail and office properties.
Prior to joining Muss, Bergman spent nine years as commercial leasing manager for Rose Associates, Inc., handling leasing efforts throughout the entire retail portfolio. Before that, he served as an associate director for Murray Hill Properties.
Earlier in his career, Bergman was an associate at Helmsley-Spear, where he served as a leasing broker for office, loft, and retail transactions.
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Winick Realty Group welcomed the respected broker team of Alison Cohen and Susan Preisler to its growing New Jersey branch, located in Cranford, NJ.
Cohen and Preisler have been partners for more than a decade, starting up a retail division at Hirschman Realty before moving to Vanguard Realty.
Cohen and Preisler have been responsible for many high-profile leasing transactions, including Williams Sonoma’s West Elm Retail Store on Route 17 in Paramus, NJ and the Western hemisphere sales and service headquarters for EKATO Corporation in Oakland, NJ.
As a team, Cohen and Preisler specialize in leasing regional shopping centers with a high success rate that they plan to continue as part of Winick Realty Group NJ.
The brokers will work with both landlords and tenants, creating strategies and developing environments to making deals happen.
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Zelnik & Company LLC has promoted Adam Langer to the position of director.
Since joining the company six years ago, Langer has completed numerous lease transactions on behalf of both landlords and tenants.
Some of his more notable accomplishments include deals completed with JP Morgan Chase, Dairy Queen, Drybar, Glaze Teriyaki Grill, Wells Fargo and Naya Express.
Most recently, Langer, along with colleague Sean Philipps, was named exclusive leasing agent for Fabco Shoes in the five boroughs.
The assignment includes a multi-store expansion as well as Landlord representation work on behalf of Fabco Shoes.
Adam is a member of the ICSC and in his spare time has participated in multiple triathlons raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
He is a graduate of the University of Albany-SUNY.
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CBRE has hired Jeffrey Gageas a senior vice president in its Stamford office.

Gage specializes in the development and execution of strategic plans to manage real estate and occupancy costs for corporations throughout the northern suburbs of New York City and the State of Connecticut.
Since 1985, he has advised clients in the negotiation of lease and sales transactions involving over eight million square feet.
Before making the move to CBRE, Gage funded the start up of the local office of Cresa. During his career, he also served as an executive managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle and as senior vice president of Albert B. Ashforth, Inc.
Among the most noteworthy transactions Gage has spearheaded are the 1.2 million-square-foot space disposition on behalf of The Perkin-Elmer Corporation; 150,000 s/f in multiple lease transactions for Deloitte & Touche; and the 100,000 s/f headquarters acquisition for Graham Capital Management.
Gage earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Union College.
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The Kislak Company, Inc. announced the hiring of Avi Oren as vice president – sales manager.
In this newly created position, Oren will lead the company’s growing sales team, with special focus on recruitment and training.
Oren’s more than 16 years of multifamily sales and training experience includes positions with Gebroe-Hammer Associates and New Market Realty Group, where he was also a partner.
Prior to embarking on a career in real estate, Oren held positions as a senior accountant and chief financial officer, and established a successful travel company.
Oren is also involved in several charitable organizations. He co-founded an event in Israel in support of Lone Soldiers from around the world, and is the co-founder and an active member of the New Jersey Chapter of the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces.
A graduate of Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey, Oren earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting.
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Arbor Commercial Mortgage, LLC announced the appointment of Kevin Hern as vice president.
Hern is responsible for originating multifamily and healthcare loans nationwide utilizing Arbor’s entire product line, including FHA, Fannie Mae, CMBS, Bridge, Mezzanine and Preferred Equity.
Hern brings more than 26 years of commercial real estate finance and asset management and disposition experience to Arbor.
Most recently, he was a managing director/principal at Boston Capital Funding/FAC in Boston and New York.
Before that, Hern held the position of vice president, Commercial Real Estate, at Southern New Hampshire Bank & Trust/Bank of New England.
Hern has originated more than $468 million in commercial loans in his career. He also has experience as a workout manager and within capital markets.
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Vantage Properties LLC, has announced two key new hires: Peter Stevens, who will serve as vice president, New York Acquisitions, and David Cosentino, who will serve as director of marketing & communications.

Prior to joining Vantage, Peter Stevens was a director at Tishman Speyer in the New York Acquisitions and Development group, where he pursued complex and creative investment opportunities.
David Cosentino was previously involved in marketing and business development efforts at Cushman & Wakefield.
Prior to that, he spent a number of years at Sun & Moon Marketing, spearheading multi-million dollar campaigns for both commercial and residential properties.
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Massey Knakal Realty Services announced that Megan Gruber has joined the firm as a research associate .
Previously, Gruber was a research associate II at CoStar Group in Washington, DC.
In this role, she was chosen to start a new research team for the Manhattan commercial real estate market. Earlier, she worked as a summer intern at Malkin Holdings in New York.
Gruber earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business with a Major in Finance-Real Estate from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
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Massey Knakal Realty Services announced that Patrick Frame has joined the Capital Services division as a director. His focus will be on Washington Heights and Inwood.
Prior to Massey Knakal,Frame was a portfolio manager at E1 Asset Management in Manhattan.
Earlier, he was a field marketing representative at Jetro Holdings Inc. in College Point, NY, where he brought in 200+ new clients during his first quarter of employment and increased Mid-Atlantic sales volume and regional customer base by 30% in the foodservice sector.
He also spent time at Bruno Scheidt, Inc. in Manhattan, an import/export and distribution company, as a sales associate, Summer Credit Analyst, and Summer Accounting Analyst.
Frame studied Political Science at LaSalle University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with a minor in Business Administration from Fordham University.