Andrew Duffy.
Andrew Duffy, 25
Associate on the Lower Manhattan team at Newmark Knight Frank
Andrew Duffy had everything planned for the big night.
The security team was in on it, a photographer was hiding in the closet, and his girlfriend, as far as he knew, suspected nothing. Duffy took her up to a vacant unit on the 70th floor of One World Trade Center, and with sweeping views of Manhattan as his backdrop, got down on one knee.
It was one of the perks of being a broker on the team representing the famed Financial District tower. Duffy is an office leasing associate on Newmark (NMRK) Knight Frank’s Lower Manhattan team, led by Hal Stein and Andrew Peretz, and it’s right where he wants to be.
One of the biggest properties Duffy has worked on is 101 Greenwich Street, where he, along with the team, leased nearly 100,000 square feet at the repositioned asset. He’s also been involved with leasing at 61 Broadway, 2 Wall Street and 185 Broadway.
Duffy got his first exposure to commercial real estate through an internship program at the Durst Organization during college, and later interviewed with Stein and Peretz when he was looking for a position in brokerage. Duffy liked their team mindset, liked the focus on a specific submarket, and liked that he’d be busy from day one — so he took the job.
And, if you’re wondering, she said yes.
Duffy and his fiancee, Sofia, were married in early October in her backyard in Westchester, among friends and family in keeping with COVID precautions. The more elaborate event, an upstate wedding with more than 200 guests, has been pushed off until next year.
The last six months have been a difficult time for everyone, and an especially difficult time for Duffy, who recently lost his mother.
“My mom always said resilience is key,” he said, a message that resonates for a lot of people right now. “Resilience is always a big driver in my life. I think resilience is a big thing for everyone going through everything that they’re going through due to COVID. So, I think that›s the big message.”
