Future of Long Island City

Jodi Stein is a partner in Herrick’s Land Use & Zoning Group. Jodi has significant experience representing real estate developers in obtaining discretionary land use approvals through New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and before the Board of Standards and Appeals. Jodi also advises clients on the zoning and land use aspects of Qualified Opportunity Fund investments, and in obtaining approvals or resolving issues that arise during the development and construction process. She frequently appears before the New York City Department of City Planning, Department of Buildings and Department of Housing Preservation and Development, as well as the Landmarks Preservation Commission, City Council, Department of Transportation, local community boards and other city and state agencies. Prior to joining Herrick, Jodi was vice president of acquisitions and development for one of the largest privately-held real estate companies in North America. In that role, she was responsible for growing the company’s $2 billion development platform in New York City, Miami and Los Angeles. Jodi worked on obtaining all approvals for all their new development projects — advising on acquisition and pre-development; directing and overseeing all discretionary and government approvals; forging relationships with community leaders in each city; and working with architects, general contractors, subcontractors and environmental consultants through the various development phases of each project.

Mitch Korbey is a partner, and chair of Herrick’s Land Use & Zoning Group. Mitch is an accomplished urban planner and land use attorney with more than 30 years of experience in private practice and government service. Mitch is a former Commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA), a former director of the Department of City Planning's (DCP) Brooklyn office, and a former deputy director of DCP’s Staten Island office. Mitch has been recognized by Chambers USA as one of New York City’s leading zoning lawyers for the past seven years. He advises clients on a wide range of issues, including site acquisitions and assemblages, site development options, zoning lot mergers and development rights transfers, as well as applications for zoning variances, special permits and other discretionary approvals from the BSA, DCP, Department of Buildings, Landmarks Preservation Commission, and other agencies. Mitch also regularly counsels prominent developers, owners and lenders on the management of millions of square-feet of New York City real estate. In doing so, he navigates the complexities of the City’s byzantine zoning resolution – guiding clients to the most efficient intersection of their business goals and what the rules will allow. He also keeps clients abreast of political headwinds that could impact their properties or development plans. Mitch is an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, and an adjunct with Hunter College's graduate program in urban planning.

Elizabeth Lusskin is the President of the LIC Partnership and Executive Director of the LIC Business Improvement District. In this role, she promotes economic development across the vibrant Long Island City industrial, commercial, residential and cultural arts mixed-use community. She is the Co-Chair of the Sunnyside Yard Master Plan Steering Committee, was Co-Chair of the Amazon Community Advisory Committee Project Plan Committee and is a Member of the Western Queens Tech Task Force, among other roles. Prior to LIC, she served as the Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. Through her former consulting practice, Elizabeth Lusskin Consulting LLC, she advised public, private for-profit and non-profit clients on economic and community development, organizational management and strategic planning. Elizabeth has served as Deputy Commissioner of NYC SBS, General Counsel to the Downtown Alliance and Legislative Counsel at NYS Office of Federal Affairs. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU School of Law.

Seth Pinsky serves as Executive Vice President and Investment Manager of the RXR Metropolitan Emerging Market Strategy . In this role, Pinsky is leading RXR’s efforts to invest in “emerging opportunities” in New York City and the surrounding Tri-State region, focusing on asset classes and geographic regions that have historically been characterized by underinvestment, but that have significant growth potential due to planned or in-place infrastructure and other relevant characteristics. Prior to joining RXR, Pinsky served as Director of Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, which developed a $20 billion plan to help neighborhoods stricken by Hurricane Sandy to rebuild smarter and stronger and to protect critical citywide systems and infrastructure from the likely impacts of climate change in coming decades. Pinsky also served as President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2008, after joining the agency in 2003 as a vice president. During his tenure, NYCEDC became an international leader in the field of economic development, focusing both on transforming the city’s underlying economy and investing in its critical infrastructure. While at NYCEDC, Pinsky served as a lead negotiator on behalf of New York City for projects ranging from Yankee Stadium and Citifield, to the World Trade Center, to the acquisition of Hunters Point South in Queens, the largest middle-income housing development in the City since Starrett City. Among the initiatives advanced by NYCEDC under Pinsky’s leadership were the redevelopment of Willets Point in Queens, Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Homeport in Staten Island, and the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, as well as the creation of a major new bioscience research park on City-owned land, north of Bellevue Hospital. Under Pinsky, NYCEDC also managed the construction of the first two phases of the High Line in Manhattan, launched a new East River Ferry service connecting Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan and announced and advanced plans for the world’s largest observation wheel in St. George in Staten Island. In the area of economic modernization, under Pinsky, NYCEDC created the Center for Economic Transformation (CET), which, in addition to launching a network of business incubators across the City that, at the time of Pinsky’s departure, housed more than 600 companies, developed and oversaw the Bloomberg Administration’s international Applied Sciences NYC competition. The Applied Sciences competition will result in a significant expansion of Columbia University’s engineering school, as well as the creation of a new engineering institute in Downtown Brooklyn led by NYU that will include CUNY, Carnegie Mellon University and others. It will also result in the creation of a $2 billion engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, being developed by Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the NYCEDC, Pinsky was an associate at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in the Real Estate practice and a financial analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. He is a graduate of Columbia College, where he majored in Ancient History, and of Harvard Law School, and is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Pinsky lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Angela and their children, Theo and Amelia.

Steve Klein is Chief Investment Officer and a member of the Investment Committees of Brickman Funds V, VI, and VII. Mr. Klein has extensive acquisition, capital markets and structuring experience. Prior to joining Brickman in 2013, Mr. Klein was at JOSS Realty Partners, which he co-founded in 2005. While at JOSS, he acquired 15 office properties in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Miami, totaling over 2.5 million square feet with a value in excess of $650 million. Prior to co-founding JOSS, Mr. Klein spent three years as the Chief Investment Officer at Broadway Partners, where he sourced, analyzed, negotiated and closed in excess of $650 million of office properties in New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boca Raton and Beverly Hills. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Klein was an Executive Vice President and Director of Acquisitions at SL Green Realty Corp. During this time, he acquired 10 million square feet of commercial office buildings in over 30 transactions in New York City. Mr. Klein also organized and led SL Green’s successful effort to raise $244 million in an IPO and $371 million in a secondary offering. In this capacity, he reviewed and approved all public financial and corporate information and was responsible for communication with various shareholders, analysts, and lenders. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Klein developed and asset managed a seven million square foot third-party office leasing and management business for SL Green. Mr. Klein graduated with a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Sam Charney is a real estate professional whose project planning, design skills, construction management, and development experience make him one of New York City’s most respected and dynamic young developers. Sam is currently developing over 1.5 million mixed-use square feet in Long Island City, Gowanus and Williamsburg with Charney Companies. He has been featured and interviewed by several of the industry’s leading publications and is a guest lecturer at the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University. In addition, Sam sits on the boards of both The Brooklyn Public Library and Pursuit, a 501C3 based in Long Island City focused on adult education and job training. In 2012 Sam was awarded the prestigious NYU Bart Lawson Award for Humanitarianism for his work with blind athletes, and in 2017 his first solo Development “The Jackson” at 11-51 47th Avenue won the Queens Chamber of Commerce Award for Best New Multifamily Building. His most recent project “The Dime” was recently awarded the 2020 Urban Architecture and Design Award

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.

Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Mr. Sinsheimer has a successful history as an options market maker and brings his Wall Street expertise to the position and is adept at valuation and large complex financial transactions. Most recently, Mr. Sinsheimer was an Equity Options Trader at the Cutler Group LP where his self-funded portfolio primarily focused on illiquid names, binary events, Regulation Sho securities and biotechnology. He generated an average return on equity of 75 percent per annum. Prior to that he was a Senior Equity Options Trader at Group One Trading where he was a leader of the trading team that made markets in a portfolio of over 400 NYSE Equity Options, NASDAQ Equity Options and Exchange Index Options. Chad Ian Sinsheimer is a Senior Director at Eastern Consolidated, specializing in the sales and acquisition of all commercial property types in Manhattan with a special emphasis on the Upper West Side and Harlem. Mr. Sinsheimer was awarded Eastern's coveted 2013 "Rising Star of the Year" award with seven deals, totaling over $71,000,000, transacted in his first year of commercial real estate brokerage. He has worked with a variety of property types including unsold sponsor units, multifamily buildings, townhouse conversions, commercial buildings and development sites both in Manhattan and Long Island City. Mr. Sinsheimer has a successful history as an options market maker and brings his Wall Street expertise to the position and is adept at valuation and large complex financial transactions. Most recently, Mr. Sinsheimer was an Equity Options Trader at the Cutler Group LP where his self-funded portfolio primarily focused on illiquid names, binary events, Regulation Sho securities and biotechnology. He generated an average return on equity of 75 percent per annum. Prior to that he was a Senior Equity Options Trader at Group One Trading where he was a leader of the trading team that made markets in a portfolio of over 400 NYSE Equity Options, NASDAQ Equity Options and Exchange Index Options. Mr. Sinsheimer holds his Series 7, 55, 56 and 63 securities licenses. He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communication. He is also a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).