By Gus Delaporte 2/27 2:38pm

Acquisitions

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Real Estate Principals Acquire Winoker Realty Company

Less than a year after Winoker Realty President David Winoker died in a parachuting accident, a group of four New York real estate principals has acquired the firm, it was announced today.

Business partners Ira Fishman and Dana Moskowitz, both of ID Real Estate Partners, are joining in the venture with Nathan Halegua and Josh Halegua of Jonis Realty and Citi-Urban Management.

Mr. Fishman was formerly part of the Winoker Realty team, from 1998 to 2008, and was one of Mr. Winoker’s partners for seven years of his tenure there Read More

By Al Barbarino 1/03 3:11pm

Sales Beat

25 West 31st Street

Global Export Marketing Co. Snags 5,800SF Office Cooperative at 25 West 31 Street

Global Export Marketing Co. has purchased a 5,800-square-foot office cooperative located at 25 West 31st Street for $2.775 million, sources tell The Commercial Observer.

The export and marketing organization bought the fully furnished 8th floor in the 12-story building, delivered in plug-and-play condition, with a loft-like feel, high ceilings and unobstructed southern views. Read More

By Karsten Strauss 7:45am

The Year in Review

A sketch of David Winoker.

Commercial Real Estate In Memorium: 2012

New York real estate is some of the most desirable and expensive in the world, but the ever-fluctuating price of a square foot of space in a given neighborhood is unquestionably dwarfed by the value of human life. This year, the commercial real estate world lost several notable figures and The Commercial Observer would like to take a moment to remember them. Read More

By Michael Ewing 10/26/12 5:00pm

Lease Beat

Courtesy of Honest Buildings

Fareportal Grabs 40K at 135 West 50th Street

Fareportal, one of the largest online travel groups in the United States, will be moving their headquarters to 135 West 50th Street.

The firm will be consolidating three offices of approximately 20,000 square feet total in favor of a 40,848-square-foot sublease from AllianceBernstein‘s fifth floor in the building.

“We started out looking for approximately 15,000 Read More

By Daniel Geiger 6/18/12 4:27pm

David Winoker

Corey Abdo

Winoker Realty Will Soldier On After Loss Of Chief Executive

Corey Abdo vowed to continue running Winoker Realty after a tragic skydiving accident took the life of its president and chief executive David Winoker on Friday.

“Our captain is gone but the ship is going to continue to go on,” Mr. Abdo, who is a partner in the firm and was the company’s senior most executive under Mr. Winoker. “That’s the way David would have wanted it.”

Mr. Abdo grieved the loss of his friend and colleague on Monday. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 6/18/12 2:06pm

David Winoker

David Winoker

Winoker’s Parachute: What Went Wrong?

Skydiving instructor Alexander (or “Aleksandr”) Chulsky may have been knocked out by either a pre-existing medical condition or from the sudden jerk felt after he deployed the drogue chute and the parachute during the skydiving incident that claimed real estate executive David Winoker’s life.

Mr. Chulsky, 25, an instructor at the Skydive The Ranch in Ulster County, was connected in tandem with Mr. Winoker when the two fell to their deaths following a skydiving accident last Friday. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 6/18/12 11:43am

David Winoker

A portrait of David Winoker

Winoker Realty Deals With the Aftermath of David Winoker’s Death

The staff of Winoker Realty have returned to work just days after their president David Winoker was killed in a skydiving accident.

Executive Vice President and Principal Corey Abdo addressed the Winoker team during a brief 5-minute meeting before everyone resumed their jobs.

“Everybody is doing what people would be doing on a Monday morning, which is really weird,” said Jonata Dayan, a senior vice president at Winoker Realty.  Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 12/01/11 9:30am

Lease Beat

Club Row's new lobby.

EXCLUSIVE: Nine New Leases at Recently Repositioned Club Row

Since investing $161 million to take 28 West 44th Street off SL Green’s hands last summer, landlord APF Properties has wasted little time in making upgrades to the 370,000-square-foot asset.

APF Properties re-named the property “The Club Row Building,” a nod to the blue-blooded Ivy League clubs  (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, et al) that inhabit the neighboring Club Row, and pledged $18 million in capital improvements, including the lobby and entrances designed by Moed de Armas & Shannon. Read More

By Daniel Edward Rosen 11/29/11 11:00am

Power Broker

The Mother-In-Chief at her office. (Courtesy Jackie Snow)

All In The Family

When the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts sought to sell a block of space at its Midtown building in 2009, the nonprofit turned to a straight-talking broker at the Winoker Realty Company whose talent for converting condo space into offices had long ago cultivated her a reputation for success in the real estate industry.

The Elizabeth Foundation was looking to sell three floors and a retail space at 323 West 39th Street to raise money to pay off some of its mortgage while funding its thriving arts programs. The foundation had purchased the 52,573-square-foot building in 1999 under the assumption that owning, rather than renting, has its benefits.

“Our [message] is, why should you pay your landlord’s mortgage if you can pay your own,” said Jonata Dayan, the Israeli-born, Flatbush-bred broker who represented the Elizabeth Foundation in a 2009 transaction. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 7/12/11 10:54am

The Sit-Down

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David Winoker on the Garment Center: ‘The World Has Changed, and It’s Been Changing for Years’

As the president of Winoker Realty, David Winoker has greatly expanded the firm from its relatively modest roots. Although the firm’s tenant rep, management and ownership can be seen across the city, its presence is most conspicuous in the garment center, where a majority of the company’s 32 properties stand. Mr. Winoker, 48, talks about that neighborhood’s present and what he has in mind for the firm’s future.

The Commercial Observer: Winoker has a large portfolio of assets in the garment center. Where is the neighborhood heading and where is it now, tenant-wise?

Mr. Winoker: It’s changed over the years and you have more office tenants continually signing leases in this neighborhood. It still has excellent transportation and subway access, and a lot of the buildings have undergone major renovations and redevelopment.

So it’s not purely garment anymore. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 6/24/11 9:22am

The Sit-Down

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David Winoker: Call It Whatever You Want, It’s Always the Garment Center

As president of Winoker Realty, David Winoker has greatly expanded the firm from its relatively modest roots under his father’s leadership. Its presence is most conspicuous in the Garment Center, where a majority of the firm’s 32 properties reside. Mr. Winoker, 48, spoke with to The Observer earlier this month about that neighborhood’s present and what he has in mind for its future.

The Observer: Winoker has a large portfolio of assets in the Garment Center. Where is the neighborhood heading and where is it at now, tenant-wise?

Mr. Winoker: It’s changed over the years and you have more office tenants continually signing leases in this neighborhood. It still has excellent transportation and subway access, and a lot of the buildings have undergone major renovations and redevelopment. So it’s not purely garment anymore.

Clearly, we still have buildings that will house showrooms and dress companies. They’re here and they’ll be here for a long time. But the world has changed, and it’s been changing for years. Read More

By Jotham Sederstrom 6/14/11 10:22am

Power Broker

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Winoker’s David Simon Is the Historian: ‘I’m Super Deep’

David Simon has opinions about many things, not just commercial real estate: the Industrial Revolution, Democracy, capitalism, the government, and what he calls, simply, the New Order—even the American Civil War and its impact fail to avoid the agent’s deep thoughts.

But the subject that the newly minted director at Winoker Realty returns to most Read More