HGAR Broker/Owner Event, July 22

HGAR, HGMLS Want You!

WHITE PLAINS—To all members interested in elective office in either HGAR or HGMLS for 2016: the Nominating Committees for both HGAR and HGMLS will be meeting this month to start the process of selecting Realtor members to put forward as nominees for Director and Officer positions for 2016. If you would like to be considered…

People: July 2015

Keller Williams Realty Group recently announced the addition of five new agents to its Scarsdale office. Stephen Klein is a top producer formerly with Coldwell Banker in Valhalla and has been a Realtor for 15 years, and a life-long Westchester resident. He has a degree in Civil Engineering, served honorably as an officer in the United States…

People: June 2015

Melissa A. Fogarty has joined R2M Realty, Inc. of Nyack. Fogarty, a licensed real estate salesperson, grew up in Rockland and started her career in real estate sales in 2001 shortly after building the Fogarty family home. She joins the Nyack-based firm after being affiliated with Keller Williams Hudson Valley Realty. The partners of McClellan…

OBITUARY: Former County Executive Alfred B. DelBello

Alfred B. DelBello, a native of Yonkers, who led a successful career in the public sector as Lt. Governor of New York State, County Executive of Westchester County, Mayor of Yonkers, as well as in the private sector as a prominent and powerful real estate attorney in a Westchester County-based law firm, passed away on…

Boardroom Report: May 2015

Communications and Member Services Debra Budetti, Chair of the Communications and Member Services Committee and Mary Prenon, Director of Communications and staff liaison to the Communications and Member Services Committee provided the Communications update, noting that (i) the Awards Committee would be meeting on May 7, 2015 to start the process for NYSAR, Realtor of…

People: May 2015

Rand Commercial Services is expanding its team with the addition of hybrid agents Kerri Stretch and Ellen Barrett in Orange County and Margaret Connolly in Rockland County. Stretch is a leading residential real estate agent with Rand Realty and is one of the highest-producing agents in the Hudson Valley and was the top listing agent…

MBIA Sells HQ ‘Airport Campus’ in Armonk

ARMONK–Cushman & Wakefield announced the sale of the former headquarters of MBIA Inc. at 113 King St. here on May 6th. The two-building Class-A office campus that totals more than 300,000 square feet on 38 acres reportedly sold for $23 million. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, MBIA, in the sale to a joint venture…

HGAR Brokerages to Hold Garage Sales To Benefit Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley

Last year, 22 member offices of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors raised almost $8,000 for Make-A-Wish Hudson Valley by holding Garage Sales throughout Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties.  The event was so successful that HGAR’s Make-A-Wish Committee decided to run the event again this year. On Saturday, June 6, brokerages throughout the four-county…

NYSCAR Conference to be Held on June 8-10

VERONA, NY–The 14th annual “New York State Commercial Real Estate Conference” is to be held June 8th through 10th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino here. This year’s event is presented by The Realtors Commercial Alliance consisting of The New York State Commercial Association of Realtors (NYSCAR) along with The Society of Exchange Counselors…

A Savvy Affair’s Recent Event Benefited Autism Speaks Charity

WHITE PLAINS—A Savvy Affair, an event planning firm that specializes in charity events, hosted 400 guests at the Coliseum Night Club in White Plains on April 23rd. The event, which featured two live freestyle performers, dancers, and DJ music, included many guests from the real estate industry. The event marked the sixth year the firm…

Green Team Marks 10th Anniversary

WARWICK— Geoff Green, principal broker and founder of the Green Team Home Selling System, reported that his firm is celebrating 10 years in business. The Green Team Home Selling System, a full service real estate brokerage firm is headquartered at 7 Main St. in the Village of Warwick, which has grown to now have a…

The Women’s Council of Realtors Concert To Benefit The Wounded Warrior Project

People April 2015

Realtor Jen DiCostanzo recently joined the Green Team Home Selling System, a full service real estate brokerage in the Village of Warwick. DiCostanzo lives in Warwick with her husband, Richard, a 25-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, and their two children. After graduating from high school, DiCostanzo attended Drake Business School and…

Rockland’s Wright Bros. Firm Joins Leading R.E. Companies of the World

NYACK—Wright Bros. Real Estate Inc., a locally-based real estate brokerage firm serving Rockland County and the lower Hudson Valley, has been selected for membership in the Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. It was announced on May 1 that Wright Bros. had joined Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, a global network…

Tech Visionary Andy Rapattoni Dies at 75

THOUSAND OAKS, CA— Rapattoni Corporation announced that its CEO and Chairman of the Board Andy Rapattoni died April 8, 2015, at the age of 75 at Los Robles Hospital here after complications following lower back surgery. Rapattoni headed Rapattoni Corp., a national software firm located in Simi Valley, CA, and was an industry icon in…

Weiden Named HGAR Government Affairs Director

WHITE PLAINS—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors announced earlier this month the appointment of Phil Weiden of Brooklyn as its new Government Affairs Director. Weiden will help to develop HGAR’s policies and objectives involving local, state, and federal government issues, as well as analyze proposed legislative actions and their potential impact on the industry. In…

BOARDROOM Report: April 2015

Communications and Member Services Director of Communications Mary Prenon provided the report from the Communications Council, advising that a new HGAR Member Perks Program has been launched. Enrollment is free and the program provides access to exclusive offers and discounts from popular merchants. Approximately 400 people have already signed up. Prenon further advised that the…

HGAR’s Houlihan Served as Parade Grand Marshal

EASTCHESTER—Veteran Realtor Joseph Houlihan, who along with this brother Dan, have owned boutique real estate brokerage firm Houlihan & O’Malley in Bronxville for more than 30 years, had the honor of serving as Grand Marshal for Eastchester’s 11th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 15. Houlihan, 60, whose great grandparents emigrated from county Kerry…

A Conversation With: Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino

WHITE PLAINS—Since taking office in 2010, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino has waged a campaign to revitalize the Westchester economy by taking advantage of the county’s “Intellectual Capital,” as well as its emerging biotechnology and healthcare sectors that continued to fuel job creation and economic growth in Westchester in 2014. Armed with the results of…