September 10, 2014
Don’t look Brooklyn, but Long Island City may just be The Next Big Thing. On the heels of massive redevelopment, the action hasn’t stopped: Savanna has acquired the Citigroup building, Jamestown’s working on the Falchi building, and JetBlue and FreshDirect are now HQed there. That’s why we’re excited to gather top players for our Long Island City summit on Sept. 23 and hope you’ll join us.
Demand is coming for office space, Modern Spaces’ Evan Daniel told us yesterday. The problem: no incentive to build because resi-zoned sites are priced too high. And developers have opted for hotel in the M1-5-zoned district along Northern Boulevard and the M1-3 and M1-4 areas between 21st Street and the river, where resi isn’t allowed. But 26 hotels already have popped up in LIC and eight are in the pipeline, plus M1-5’s 5X FAR allows for more density than hotels need. Evan proposes the City find a way to encourage development of housing on top of office there. Everybody wins: Developers get money-making multifamily, the City gets affordable housing, tenants get office, and the community gets retail to replace the tire shops and their ilk.
The office demand will come from tech companies following the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island (accessible by car only via LIC). The establishment of a “real” office market around Court Square and resi development are revving up retail, too, Evan says. He’s got two buildings at Jackson and Davis (above, eight apartments and two stores) under contract and says the retail rents are way under market. Labor Ready, for example, was paying $37/SF, and now that it’s moved, offers are coming in for $65 to $75/SF.
Evan migrated from Massey Knakal a month ago to open a commercial division for Eric Benaim’s Modern Spaces. Previously, Eric, a force of nature in Queens residential, had no way to take advantage of commercial opportunities he knew of and his numerous local contacts beyond the resi market. Evan brought over a Massey Knakal associate, and a Modern Spaces retail leasing specialist also has transitioned to his team. They’ll conquer Queens (Evan’s area of expertise) and Brooklyn and then eventually Manhattan and the Bronx.
What You Don’t Know About
Frank Marino
Title: CEO, The Marino Organization
Photo: His Midtown South Madison Avenue office
Company: 28-employee PR and strategic communications firm founded in 1993 after Frank’s stint in the Koch Administration as SVP for public affairs and marketing at the Public Development Corp (now EDC)
Real estate clients: REBNY, Colliers, CW, Eastern Consolidated, The Durst Org (One WTC), TF Cornerstone, Jamestown, Moinian, Muss, Stellar Management, The WorldWide Group, Westbrook Partners, AIANY, BCTC of Greater NYC
How clients pay: Annual engagement, fixed monthly fee
Photo: His background (and continuing involvement) in politics.
Non-real estate clients: International Fortune 500 companies like Walmart and The Home Depot, energy service providers and utilities like ConEdison Solutions and National Grid, higher ed like NYU and Touro College, nonprofits like Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC and Derek Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, and media and entertainment like Crain’s New York Business and Silvercup Studios.
Memorable projects: Marketing One WTC, Downtown Brooklyn, and Hudson Yards rezonings; restoring Coney Island’s America’s Playground image; the approvals process for the Bronx’s Kingsbridge National Ice Center; JFK International Airport’s Terminal 4; Home Depot’s first 50 stores in the Tri-State; and delegation to Crespina, Italy, to establish a sister-city relationship with Staten Island.
Kids: Cara (36), John (33), and Rob (26). John and Cara each have three children (Cara’s third arrived two months ago) and each serve on the firm’s management committee. Rob has worked as an account exec at Marino and now is starting a master’s at NYU Schack and will pursue a real estate career.
Photo: John giving his dad pointers in Frank’s office .
Favorite vacay: Southampton, the Caribbean, and Naples, Fla.
Favorite wine: Vivino app tells him more about brands he sees, but “a good Chianti Classico goes with everything.”
Favorite music: Sirius ’60s channel, but classical on Sundays.
Fave restaurants: Alba’s in Westchester and Red Bar Brasserie in Southampton.
Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life and anything with DeNiro.
Closest Italian forebear: Maternal grandfather.
Grew up in: Throgs Neck.
Lives in: Westchester.
Startling fact: Played accordion in elementary school and, during high school, was featured on organ in the band “We’re Only in It for the Money.”
Like Father, Like Son
Brothers Benjamin and Nathan Berger founded The Berger Org in 1929, and it remains a family business via CEO Miles Berger and son Brendan, who joined six years ago. The company is finding new opportunities in the rebirth of New Jersey’s largest city. Miles acquired the company’s first Newark property in ’76. Now, more than half its portfolio is there, and Brendan is managing the local holdings, including the 250k SF Military Park Building at 60 Park Place, where the Newark Regional Business Partnership recently signed for 10k SF and the Greater Newark Convention Visitor Bureau opened a visitor’s center in April.
Are You A Secret Chef?
We bet some of you are foodies, and we want to hear from you. If you’re as comfortable in the kitchen as you are leasing restaurants, let us know. (There’s bound to be a few of you out there who know the definitions of both 1031 exchange and amuse-bouche.) Tell us your best dish, favorite recipe, or strangest chef story. And include a pic. We’ll publish our favorites. Email [email protected].
Don’t Miss Bisnow’s
Long Island City Event
Development across the East River is plowing ahead, and it’s not just residents crossing over. Bisnow is pumped to present Long Island City: The New Live/Work/Play Community Shaping the Future of the Waterfront on Sept. 23 at Water’s Edge. Grab your ticket to hear from Long Island City Partnership president Elizabeth Lusskin, JetBlue’s Richard Smyth, and tons more.
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