Viewpoints

Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: Putnam County Shares Taxes

May 18, 2022

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell recently advocated for the adoption of a new sales-tax sharing model. For years, villages and towns have asked Putnam County to share their revenue from taxes on goods sold within our borders. The county will only share tax revenue for years in which Putnam County’s sales-tax revenue increases over the…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Advocacy is the Foundation of HGAR

May 16, 2022

For those of you who regularly read my monthly columns in Real Estate In-Depth (and I know it’s a massive number—I say tongue-in-cheek), you will note that I often return to common themes. This is one of those times when I revisit a topic that I have written about often—advocacy. The reason is simple: Advocacy…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Practicing Fair Housing Every Day of the Year

April 20, 2022

This April marks the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the landmark civil rights law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, that made discrimination in housing transactions unlawful. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability and…

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Brian Levine

What You Need to Know About the New Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

April 11, 2022

There are a lot of questions and concerns from our members relating to the newly instituted Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This month’s article can serve as a “cheat sheet” on the basics and, hopefully, will answer many of your questions. NYSAR’s SOPs template can be found here. • The new SOPs requirement is effective April…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Renewed Focus on Commercial and Global Opportunities

March 21, 2022

Residential real estate is the primary focus of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. That is the focus of most of the members of HGAR, and residential real estate makes up the large majority of inventory in OneKey MLS. Having said that, HGAR must always actively support and engage with the commercial real estate brokerage…

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Anthony Domathoti

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: Celebrating Women in Business and Life

March 21, 2022

I challenge you to learn about women in various fields who you may not have heard of before. My goal in offering this challenge is to inspire and/or infuriate, and I’m including men in this. Most of us know March is National Women’s History Month, but sometimes it is not well recognized. National Women’s History…

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Ed Day

GUEST VIEWPOINT: County Executive’s Corner: ‘Office of Buildings and Codes’

February 23, 2022

My administration and Rockland County government achieved the impossible; in only three months, Rockland launched a brand-new County Office of Buildings and Codes. I want everyone to know that this has been an incredibly difficult, detailed, and time-consuming process to create an entirely new office within county government. It was only 90 days ago that…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Embracing Diversity

February 23, 2022

When HGAR conducted our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion survey last year we had close to a 9% response rate. While we would have liked a higher response rate, 9% was a terrific start. Overall, the feedback to the survey was very positive, though we did receive some comments questioning why we were conducting the survey.…

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Freddimir Garcia

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Celebrating Black History Month

February 1, 2022

After New Year celebrations wind down, organizations begin their annual discussions on what and how to celebrate Black History Month. Many begin by recognizing the lives and contributions of Black Americans throughout history, while others post messages of recognition on social media. I believe it all has a role to play but it is also…

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Jennifer Maher

PUTNAM POSTING: Diversity Hits Putnam County Post Pandemic

January 18, 2022

When I first moved “upstate” to Putnam County 26 years ago from New York City, I experienced culture shock on many levels. Among the many differences, trees, grass, subdivisions, and the shocking relative quiet among them, one change stood out. I was startled by the lack of diversity. In many respects the adjustment to Putnam…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Focus on the Positive

January 18, 2022

As we begin 2022, I have to admit it does seem a bit like “Groundhog Day.” After having high hopes for the new year as 2021 was winding down, we were confronted with yet another COVID variant, Omicron, and everyone is saying, here we go again. We also have the drum beat of negative news,…

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Crystal Hawkins Syska

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together’

December 14, 2021

"Carol Burnett and Friends" was one of my favorite shows as a kid growing up. I wasn’t born when the original series aired, but I saw reruns when they ran it in syndication in the 1980s. The sketches were down right hilarious. If you have never seen the show, the powers of the Internet can…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: Staying Engaged

December 13, 2021

Sometimes I think I sound like a broken record with some of my columns for HGAR’s monthly publication, Real Estate In-Depth. Since I’ve been CEO of HGAR I have already penned some 120 articles, and my predecessor, Gil Mercurio, penned more than 360! That’s a lot of fresh material which must be cooked up, basically…

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Robert Withers

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Repurposing CRE Assets in the Current Market: What’s Hot and What’s Not?

November 30, 2021

COVID-19’s impact on the local and national CRE market has decreased the relevance of CRE assets. Many assets simply don’t “work” in today’s post-pandemic environment. That doesn’t mean however that there isn’t a “life after death” for these locations. Indeed, they can hold much purpose, if you’re an owner or developer who’s thinking outside the…

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Crystal Hawkins Syska

PRESIDENT'S CORNER: Are You Thankful?

November 18, 2021

Turkey Day, as I like to call it, is upon us. This is the time of year when many Americans sit down with friends and family to think about what they are thankful for and gorge themselves on tasty vittles. It also can be a very, very stressful time and can trigger deep sorrowful episodes…

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Richard Haggerty

GATEWAY PERSPECTIVES: The Best Defense is a Strong Offense

November 15, 2021

I don’t think it would surprise anyone when I say that organized real estate is always subject to scrutiny and, sometimes, outright attack, and recently it seems that our industry is constantly under siege. During these periods it’s easy to sit on the sidelines and complain. However, if we are going to continue to effectively…

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