Northern New Jersey Waterfront Event

Mr. Wolfe is the Managing Partner in the Property Tax Department at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC, where he focuses his practice on representing taxpayers in significant real estate tax appeals and property tax related matters. He has extensive experience in all types of property tax appeals, including hotel, multi-family, retail, office, and industrial properties. Mr. Wolfe frequently counsels clients on the property tax implications of the development, acquisition, and disposition of significant assets. He also counsels clients with respect to property tax exemptions and PILOT agreements. Mr. Wolfe serves on the Board of the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA) and as the Co-Chair of the Real Property Tax Practice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Wolfe has been featured or quoted in a wide variety of local and national publications, including Forbes.com, GlobeSt.com, Marketwatch.com, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Law.com, Law360.com, The New York Law Journal, and Commerce Magazine. Mr. Wolfe has a track record of obtaining significant assessment reductions on behalf of his clients. Examples of those assessment reductions include: • Reduced hotel assessment from $188 million to $131million; • Reduced multi-family assessment from $116 million to $67 million; • Reduced office assessment from $115.5 million to $90million; • Reduced supermarket anchored center from $66.9 million to $46 million; • Reduced nursing home assessment from $36 million to $10.1million; • Reduced big box retail assessment from $21.3 million to $13.4 million; • Reduced office assessment from $27.8 million to $6.5million. Mr. Wolfe began his career as an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York. While at Davis Polk, he focused his practice on regulatory investigations, securities litigation and banking disputes. Mr. Wolfe is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is the Co-Chair of the ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion 360 Presidential Commission. As a young lawyer, Mr. Wolfe served as the Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the ABA’s largest entity with more than 130,000 members. Mr. Wolfe received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and graduated from Cornell University with distinction in all subjects.

Drew Fletcher is head of Greystone Capital Advisors where he oversees a team of professionals responsible for arranging creative debt and equity solutions for institutional and private commercial property owners and developers, and provides strategic advisory services for institutions, investors and borrowers. GCA also focuses on large loan mortgage origination across Greystone’s Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, CMBS, Bridge, balance-sheet and special situation lending platforms. Drew has over 20 years of commercial real estate experience, having directly originated and executed on more than $10 billion of financing transactions. Prior to joining Greystone in 2013, Drew was the Chief Financial Officer of Edison Properties LLC, one of the largest private real estate owners in New York City, with a $5 billion diversified portfolio of self-storage, office, multifamily and substantial land holdings throughout the NY Metro Region. Drew received a B.A. in Economics and Communications from Wake Forest University; an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University; and a Master of Accountancy in Taxation from Rutgers University. He volunteers his time as a guest lecturer at the NYU Real Estate Institute and also is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York and the Urban Land Institute. Drew also was named to the Commercial Observer’s 50 Most Powerful People in Commercial Real Estate Finance in 2018.

Ryan is a Director in the New Jersey office of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He joins JLL as part of the HFF acquisitions and has more than four years of experience in commercial real estate. He specializes in investment advisory in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Over the course of his career, Ryan has been involved in more than $1.3 billion in commercial real estate transactions. Prior to joining HFF in September 2017, in a full-time role, he interned at the Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, while attending James Madison University Business School for graduation.

Kevin Welsh joined Newmark Capital Markets team in 2017 as an Executive Managing Director and has led the expansion of the company’s Tri-State capital markets platform and its transformation into a market leader. Since joining Newmark, Mr. Welsh has executed a number of record setting transactions including the sale of the Washington Street Portfolio in Hoboken, NJ and the Center of Excellence in Bridgewater, NJ, building upon the other record setting deals in his career. His proven track record in maximizing value driven through superior execution has been integral in driving business development. Mr. Welsh has successfully represented some of the nation’s top institutions in acquisitions and dispositions valued in excess of $6.5 billion over the last five years. Prior to joining Newmark, Mr. Welsh was as an Executive Vice President in the New York Institutional Group at CBRE where he was responsible for leading the New Jersey capital markets platform. At CBRE, Mr. Welsh was consistently recognized as one of the firm’s top producers nationally.

Whether she is finding innovative ways to enhance our public safety efforts, working to better help our new officers learn about their communities, or empowering women through local programs, Councilwoman Joyce Watterman has worked everyday to prove her dedication to the residents of Jersey City, and I am proud to have her on our team. Joyce E. Watterman was born, raised and educated in Jersey City. She graduated from William L. Dickinson High School and worked at the former Family Health Center for over 13 years.Joyce is married over 40 years and the mother of three and a loving grandmother. Joyce attended Somerset Christian College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies. She then went on to obtain her Master of Arts Degree in Ministry Leadership from Pillar College. Joyce is the founder of the H.O.P.E Summer program for children which presented a safe, caring and educational environment. She is the founder of Women Working Together for change; a program which empowers women, physically, emotionally, economically and politically. Joyce has been a volunteer Chaplin for over 30 years at Eastern State Prison and 8 years at Clinton State Prison. Joyce and her husband are the founders and Pastors of Continuous Flow Christian Center, where they bring life changing words of strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Joyce currently serves as the first African-American woman Council President for the City of Jersey City. She serves as a Planning Commissioner, Chairs the Disable Parking committee, serves as a member of the Affordable Housing Trust Funds, the Budget Committee, Dissolution of Parking Authority, the Exchange Place SID, Chairs the Street Naming and Re-naming committee, Chaplin for the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department, member of NAACP, Co-Chairperson of the Inclusionary Zoning Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board, she is the former President of the Women Political Caucus of Hudson County, and oversees the Ad Hoc Committee to review the Jersey City Police Department’s policies and procedures on enforcement and discrimination.

Maurice Hornblass is a co-founding partner of Hornrock Properties. Hornrock Properties is a vertically integrated development company, which builds and owns residential and commercial Real Estate assets with a primary focus on multifamily development. With a value added approach, Hornrock specializes in acquiring trophy locations in the tri-state area and determines how to optimize or create Real Estate assets in those locales. In addition to owning the former Sony USA headquarters, located on 37 acres in Bergen County, Hornrock currently has over 2000+ luxury apartments in various stages of the pipeline, anticipating over three quarters of a billion in asset value. Maurice oversees Hornrock’ s acquisitions, approvals, development, and asset management. He has a diverse background in both real estate and entrepreneurship. Prior to co- founding Hornrock in 2010, Maurice formed Avichai Properties, which focused on distress real estate assets. Concurrent with his time at Avichai, Maurice teamed up with Treetop Development, where he structured and raised capital for substantial real estate deals. Prior to his time in the real estate sector, Maurice started his career in the elite analyst program at Salomon Smith Barney. He received his B.A. from Hofstra University in 1998 and was a candidate in the NYU Masters in real estate program.

Since 2016 Nicholas has served in the dual capacity as Director of Development and Director of Construction Procurement for Terminal Construction. As the Director of Real Estate Development, Mr. Dinallo oversees all day to day real estate operations including land acquisition, entitlements, financing, pre-construction activities, procurement of subcontractors and construction of projects. During his time in this role Mr. Dinallo has helped strengthen the Development Division of Terminal Construction through expanding into new property types and joint venture partnerships with Russo Development and Onyx Equities, with over $150 million in development projects planned for 2022-2023.

A sought after voice in Queens real estate, Eric Benaim’s entry into real estate began in 2001, after a successful career as owner of a live event production and marketing firm. Initially concentrating on Manhattan luxury sales, Eric later recognized the untapped opportunity in his own beloved borough, and turned his focus exclusively to Long Island City. The result was the sale of 50 residences in 2006 alone. In the midst of 2008’s severe economic crisis, Eric instinctively decided the time was right to launch Modern Spaces, permanently changing the perception and value of real estate in LIC. In just 10 years, Eric’s insightful and personal approach resulted in the swift expansion of Modern Spaces, including opening additional offices in Astoria where 100 agents work, capturing a 70% market share in Long Island City. In 2019, Modern Spaces crossed the river to capture 10% of the burgeoning market share over the next three years, in Jersey City. He is responsible for successfully completing over $7B in sales and is currently responsible for overseeing over $4B in real estate, which translates to over 8000 units. Eric was the first person to be recognized as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star in both Queens and Brooklyn by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, respectively. Eric has been the recipient of the 2018 Community Impact Award by the LIC Partnership, as well as the Community Hero award by the Long Island City YMCA. Eric is a member of REBNY, and serves on the Advisory Board of Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as the Board of Directors for the Long Island City Partnership. In 2016 the City and State Award honored him for Corporate Social Responsibility. Eric is consistently called upon to speak at a diverse array of events and is frequently featured, quoted, interviewed and profiled in prominent outlets including CNN, Fox Business, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CRAIN’S, The Real Deal, CNBC, and NY1. Eric is an art collector and avid supporter of the arts. As the informal ‘Mayor of LIC,’ it is his passion for building a prosperous community that informs Modern Spaces ‘unparalleled perspective. He currently resides in Long Island City with his wife Stephanie and son Greyson.

Kevin has more than 35 years of experience in real estate law, with a particular focus on land use, redevelopment and related litigation, solar projects and commercial contracts and transactions. Clients rely on him for various matters relating to complex single and multifamily residential, warehouse/distribution, retail, office and mixed-use properties, among others. Kevin has notable experience appearing before municipal governing bodies, planning boards, zoning boards and land use boards, as well as county planning boards. He has also led successful actions and challenges before the Superior Court of New Jersey Law and Appellate Divisions and the New Jersey Supreme Court. In the area of renewable energy, Kevin is skilled in negotiating site leases, power purchase, EPC and O & M agreements and has obtained municipal and county approvals for solar projects suited to various properties. Additionally, with significant experience in redevelopment law, he structures redevelopment agreements and financial agreements to maximize long term tax exemptions.

Abe Naparstek is a Senior Vice President, managing new development activities on the east coast for Forest City Realty Trust. Abe is currently managing a team of developers that are responsible for a pipeline of over $1.2 billion of mixed use development. These projects are principally in Jersey City, Philadelphia, and the Washington D.C. metro area. Prior to this position, Abe worked in the Commercial Group of Forest City Enterprises, where he started in 2004. Prior to his work at Forest City, Abe was the Assistant County Manager of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania. In that capacity, he worked on a number of policy initiatives for the County with a primary focus and responsibility in economic development and government relations. Abe was the primary interface with the County’s eight regional government entities and helped implement Tax Increment Funding packages for development projects that totaled over $250 million. Abe also represented the County Executive at County Council and with the state and federal legislative delegations. Abe is a member of the Coro National Board of Governors, a national leadership training organization with offices throughout the country. He is also on the board of directors of Neighbors Together, a social service non-profit in central Brooklyn. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester and received a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a proud Clevelander who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Anne and two children.

Baye Adofo-Wilson, Esq. is a real estate developer, lawyer and consultant with an expertise in arts and cultural districts, sustainability, affordable and mixed-income housing development. He has a real estate development and consulting firm, BAW Development LLC, where he focuses on developing transformative, residential and mixed-use projects in urban communities. He is Of Counsel to Post Polak, PA focusing New Jersey Redevelopment Law and Opportunity Zones. Currently, BAW Development, LLC, in partnership with RPM Development, are the designated developers of the Hinchliffe Stadium Community Restoration Project, a $76 million-dollar project which includes 75 senior housing units, a restaurant/exhibition space dedicated to the Negro League, a 314 parking structure and the restoration of Hinchliffe Stadium, a 7,800-seat stadium which was once the home of the New York Black Yankees. Baye Adofo-Wilson was Deputy Mayor/Director of Economic and Housing Development (EHD) for Newark, NJ. While Baye was at EHD’s helm, Newark had unprecedent development, including over $2 billion dollars of development, annually, with 2000 units of housing built, three million square feet of commercial and industrial development, respectively. Mr. Adofo-Wilson was an 2014-2015 Urban Design Critic at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a member of the 2013-2014 Loeb Fellows class at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Before Harvard, Mr. Adofo-Wilson co-founded of the Lincoln Park/Coast Cultural District, a non-profit organization redeveloping the Lincoln Park neighborhood in the City of Newark. He led a comprehensive effort to transform a low-income Newark neighborhood into a sustainable cultural district that included the development of 10 USGBC LEED Certified Gold and Silver affordable housing and mixed-use buildings, urban agriculture, music festivals, historic restoration and workforce development projects. Mr. Baye Adofo-Wilson is on the Boards of Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Foundation, the Campaign for America’s Future and the Black Voters Matter Fund. He is also a US Army Veteran, has a BA from Rutgers University-Newark, an MRP from Cornell University and he is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.