NY Construction & Development

David is a sales and marketing professional in the field of critical energy infrastructure and energy efficiency. In his current position with Con Edison, as Business Development Manager of Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs, he is responsible for helping customers meet energy efficiency improvements within the commercial portfolio which is supported by a network of over 700 market partners. David, who has been with Con Edison since 2008, worked in a variety of business development, sales management, marketing and external affairs positions for Johnson Controls, Public Service Enterprise Group, Pennsylvania Power & Light and the Trane Company. His major focus has been on clients with critical energy needs in the fields of commercial real estate, healthcare and data center operations. David has a BS in Marketing and an MBA in Finance, both from Montclair State University. He is a Certified Energy Manager, and an active member of the Association of Energy Engineers, the New York Building Congress, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Green Business committee, American Institute of Architects (AIANY) and Urban Green Council. David is an officer of the New York City chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Adrian Tuluca has over 25 years of experience in energy efficiency, testing and monitoring for a broad range of buildings, ranging from 5,000 sq. ft. to 5 million sq. ft. and also for academic and commercial campuses. His projects have achieved energy efficiencies that surpass the energy code significantly, some by 50% and more, including the first U.S. net zero building. Mr. Tuluca has also led the sustainability work on over 250 LEED projects that obtained ratings from Certified to Platinum including the LEED Platinum rating for Bank of America Headquarters, JP Morgan Chase Headquarters, and the Italcementi building/laboratories. He authored Energy Efficient Design and Construction of Commercial Buildings (McGraw Hill), contributed to two chapters in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, and published papers on energy efficiency issues. Mr. Tuluca serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Additionally, he has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Sustainable Design Guidelines of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Advisory Committee to Battery Park City for their Sustainable Residential Guidelines that resulted in two LEED Platinum and five LEED Gold buildings, advisor to the White House Greening Committee, advisor to GSA on energy-efficient design and their Design Excellence program; USDOE on Energy Simulation Tools, and Whole-Building Roadmapping. He was also a member of a National Academy of Sciences Committee on DoD energy efficiency. Locally, he led a team that trained the NYC DOB on Energy Code compliance; advised on the NYC Local Law 86 that required 20-30% energy cost savings vs code; and more recently was part of the advisory teams on PlaNYC2030, green zoning, and other initiatives.

Dan Hartman has over 25 years of commercial real estate experience investing throughout the capital stack. At Terra Capital Partners, Mr. Hartman is a Managing Director responsible for transaction origination focusing on mezzanine and preferred equity on virtually all property types. His most recent previous position was at Ares Management, a successor to Wrightwood Capital, a position he held for nine years investing debt, mezzanine and equity. He has also held positions at GE Capital Corp, Mercedes Benz Capital, ORIX and JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Hartman is a graduate of Cornell University, Fordham Graduate School of Business and New York University Real Estate Institute.

Eric Brody is an accomplished builder and developer in New York City with nearly two decades of experience in the mid-market multifamily sector. The son of an architect, Eric has developed approximately 800 units across NYC, totaling nearly $1 billion worth of real estate. Noticing the inefficiencies of the construction and development process, Eric launched ANAX Real Estate Partners, a privately-held, New York City-based construction and development company, as well as ANAX Ventures, an early-stage proptech investment fund focused on identifying and testing solutions that impact the urban landscape. Through ANAX, Eric invests in nascent technologies and then implements them in his own developments, forging the path for the transformation of the real estate and construction industry. Eric was previously the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at Wonder Works Construction, where he led the operations and oversaw multiple project execution, asset acquisition, debt/equity procurement, and investor relations. Complementing his experience, Eric is the host of the Real Tech Talk podcast where he interviews leading technologists, CEOs, and creators in the PropTech space about how their technology can affect change within the industry. Eric also hosts a short-form video series, The Blueprint, for The Real Deal, which breaks down different elements of the construction and development process.

Known for an unparalleled ability to navigate both sides of a transaction, Amy Pearl attributes her real estate industry success to a rare combination of curiosity, intuition, and discernment. Amy, who chose a career in real estate due to her love of travel, exploring New York City and its architecture, and discovering the next emerging neighborhoods, possesses an innate ability to identify advantageous development opportunities. Prior to joining Silverback, Amy served as acquisitions associate, where she handled both acquisitions and investments for best-in- class mixed-use residential and retail properties. A graduate of the University of Miami, she earned her MBA at New York University Stern School of Business, and received a master’s degree from Columbia University. She is a member of ULI Young Leaders, UJA-Federation and YJP.

Marc Wieder, CPA, is an accounting and audit partner at Anchin with over 25 years of experience servicing the accounting, business, and financial needs of real estate companies and their owners. He has extensive experience in the area of federal, state, local, personal and business taxes. As Co-Practice Leader of the Real Estate Industry Group at Anchin, Marc routinely helps to shed new light into the complex world of taxation, particularly as it relates to selling and acquiring real estate. Marc has written numerous articles on various real estate topics published in Real Estate Weekly, Real Estate New York,Real Estate Journal, Shopping Center Business, and other publications. He frequently lectures for large groups and currently writes a monthly column for Real Estate Weekly. He served for 10 years on the advisory board to the University of Buffalo Department of Accounting and Law. Marc was named among the 2015 Top 10 Public Accounting Professionals in New York by NAPAP. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). Marc is on the boards of The Fashion Center Business Improvement District and Variety the Children’s Charity.

Mark J. Gordon has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and real estate industry and is widely regarded as an ndustry expert. During his career, he has been actively in development, operations, asset management, acquisitions, renovations, design, construction management, capital raising, financing, sales and advisory. In 2021, Mark co-founded a travel technology platform known as Pinktada. The company has developed game changing technology that uses NFTs and the blockchain to fundamentally enhance the way hotels are marketed and reservations are procured for leisure hotel and resort travel. Mark was most recently Managing Partner of Intrinsic Hotel Capital and Tribeca Associates where he focused on over $1.5 billion of acquisitions and development in Manhattan. Notable projects include the conceptualization, development and ultimate sale of the super luxury Baccarat Hotel & Residences. In addition, he oversaw the adaptive reuse of an office building conversion into the Marriott Residence Inn World Trade Center with destination retail, the development of the 298-key Moxy Hotel Downtown, a mixed-use 30-story hotel and retail tower and the complete renovation and repositioning of two officer towers, 130 West 42 nd Street and 30 Broad Street. Prior to his focus on development and acquisitions, Mark was one of the leading advisors to the hotel industry. He was Managing Partner and Head of the Hospitality Group at Sonnenblick-Goldman, a national real estate investment banking firm. As partner, Mr. Gordon was responsible for overseeing management, sales growth and the ultimate sale of the firm to Cushman & Wakefield. Upon the sale of the company, Mr. Gordon was appointed to head Cushman & Wakefield‘s National Hospitality Practice, a position he held until 2010 when he decided to take his own advice and become a hotel developer and investor. During his advisory career, Mark oversaw many of the hotel industries’ most complex projects including the adaptive reuse and conversion of the Hotel Delmonico to the Trump Park Avenue, creating a joint venture between Loews Hotels and Universal Studios to develop five hotels at Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, recapitalizing Ian Schrager Company, restructuring Denihan Hospitality Group, and the complex sales and financings of hundreds of landmark hotels and resorts located throughout the U.S. Mark has won numerous awards for his accomplishments in the real estate industry including Crain’s “40 under 40”, Americas Lodging Investment Summits “Deal of the Year” and Commercial Property News “Stars to Watch” and is a frequent speaker at hotel and real estate industry events. Mr. Gordon holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a B.S. in Finance from Ithaca College.

As Executive Vice President and head of acquisitions at The Naftali Group, David oversees the company’s acquisitions group and is responsible for the sourcing, structuring and execution of the firm’s investments. Previously, David was Director of Acquisitions at RFR Holding, where he was instrumental in executing more than $2.5 billion of property acquisitions and credit investments encompassing over 3.5 million square feet of assets across the office, residential, retail and hotel sectors. Prior to RFR David worked at The City Investment Fund, a real estate private equity fund, where he was responsible for underwriting and executing the fund’s acquisitions. David began his career at The Lightstone Group as a financial analyst supporting the firm’s nationwide property and credit investments. David graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Philosophy, and completed an MBA at Columbia Business School and an M.S. in Real Estate from New York University.

Alex Buer is currently Director of Development at Mink Development, primarily focused on luxury residential and senior living projects in New York City and South Florida. Prior to Mink Development, Alex was a private equity Investment Analyst at Aurelian Real Estate Development and Aurelian Global Holdings. There he focused on investments made across office, industrial, and mixed-use properties as well as portfolio companies that spanned retail, media, restaurant, energy, and real estate services.

rian Gardner is chairman of the Construction Services Department and a member of the Litigation Department. Brian is a former federal prosecutor, who, while an attorney at the United States Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York, tried numerous federal cases and was honored for his work by the Justice Department and commended by District Court Judges. He has engaged in a complex civil and criminal litigation practice, including commercial, construction, regulatory, environmental and white collar criminal litigation. Brian joined the firm in 2014 and has played a prominent role in the representation of a variety of clients, including: Heavy Construction Contractors, including utility, road builders and Con Edison area contractors, as well as residential and commercial structure and high rise builders, along with entitles engaged in waste management and recycling, demolition, trucking, concrete, and numerous general contractor firms in the New York metropolitan area Represented the trucking industry in its litigation against the MTA’s imposed bridge limitations, successfully defended the first large-scale environmental prosecution brought by a District Attorney’s office Obtained relief for construction entities owed funds regarding their heroic work at the World Trade Center NYS Labor Department against a construction related entity Representation of a president of one of the largest New York labor unions Representation of a trustee of one of the largest construction labor organizations and trade associations in a federal criminal prosecution Brian also regularly acts as New York litigation counsel for a multinational public oil services company, one of the largest New York entertainment venues and numerous individuals in both federal and state court matters. He has extensive knowledge of construction litigation, government regulation, environmental law, heavy construction, waste and debris, immigration detention, fraud, RICO and general commercial law. Brian tries and argues matters in both federal and state trial and appellate courts, in addition to his representation of clients before the numerous government agencies. A significant portion of his practice is before the appellate courts. Indeed, Brian was recently featured on the front page of the New York Law Journal regarding his successful representation of an individual in overturning a 15 year-old conviction. This case was successfully argued by him before the New York State Court of Appeals. He has also received numerous accolades for obtaining the release of an individual in immigration detention, in a published and often cited opinion. Brian’s work has been the subject of numerous news stories in both the legal and general press. Brian is the attorney in countless published opinions before the Appellate Courts, and Trial courts. Brian also served as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County, where he tried many cases and handled and argued a large number of appeals. Brian is a board member of the Heavy Contractors Association of NY and also the Construction Trucking Association. He has earned his B.A. from State University of New York, Stony Brook and his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.

Eran Polack is CEO-NY and Co-Founder of HAP Investments, a New York-based real estate investment group that specializes in the development of residential and commercial properties including 500 Summit Avenue in Jersey City. He is also CEO of HAP Construction, a full-service construction management company. As CEO of HAP Investments, Mr. Polack oversees a diverse portfolio of residential and commercial real estate that is renowned for its location, proximity to mass transit, and innovative construction and design. He is an established entrepreneur with a long history of successful real estate ventures in Eastern Europe, Israel, and the United States. In the U.S., Mr. Polack has overseen the construction and development of 12 residential properties totaling over 2 million square feet. His strengths include the early identification of emerging regions, and the development of projects tailored for those markets. He also has a deep understanding of the budget, schedule, and quality necessary to achieve success for any real estate project. Mr. Polack was one of the first developers to identify East Harlem as well as the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City as areas in preliminary stages of urban revitalization. He was also an early leader in the revival of Neve Tzedek, a highly coveted neighborhood in the heart of Tel Aviv.

Eric C. Weissman is a partner in the Firm’s New York City offi ce where he provides legal advice and counsel to domestic and international clients. Mr. Weissman’s practice focuses on representing businesses of all sizes and the executives of such entities in a variety of matters including breach of contract disputes, business torts, and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Weissman also acts as general counsel for such clients, where he provides legal advice to the companies on all areas of their business affecting corporate policy and strategy. In addition, Mr. Weissman has signifi cant experience representing real estate developers, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, and condominium associations by providing advice concerning and litigating disputes with owners, architects, purchasers, and commercial tenants, including disputes regarding mechanics liens. With regard to his insurance clients, Mr. Weissman has represented domestic and international insurers in connection with claims submitted under fi nancial institution bonds, commercial crime bonds, professional and general liability policies, including directors and offi cers liability policies. Mr. Weissman also represents insurers in coverage litigation before federal and state courts throughout the United States. Mr. Weissman received his Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University in 1999 and his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School in 2002, where he was a member of the Executive Board of the Moot Court Honor Society. Mr. Weissman is admitted to practice before the Bars of the State of New York and New Jersey and various federal courts around the United States.