Media Coverage

FirstService Residential, New York’s leading residential property management company, has promoted two executives in its Manhattan office: Marc Kotler to President of the New Development Group and Christina Forbes to President of the Manhattan Condo/Co-Op Division. The leadership promotions reflect the company’s significant expansion of business including the addition of more than 3,300 units to its management portfolio since January 2022.

Kotler joined FirstService Residential in 2004 as a senior property manager and was promoted to vice president after one year, forming the New Development Group in 2005. He has successfully built the group into the industry’s leading consultant and manager for multifamily developers and institutional investors, with a portfolio of services that includes ground-up pre-development consulting, commercial-to-residential conversions, feasibility studies, initial building opening, and sponsor-to-residential board control in condominium properties. As division president, Kotler will continue to lead his team of consultants and managers as the business diversifies.



As president of the Manhattan Condo/Co-Op Division, Christina Forbes will oversee a division comprising more than 300 condominiums, cooperatives, and condops, and a team of more than 100 property management professionals. With more than 25 years of experience managing multifamily buildings, Forbes is recognized as an industry expert, especially for boards looking to reduce operating costs, improve resident lifestyle, and replace antiquated systems with automated, web-based processes.




 

Jaime Sanmiguel, managing director of FirstService Residential's Multifamily Rental Division, is featured in this week's edition of Multifamily Executive, where he discusses how his managers help residents balance safety and holiday cheer when decorating for the winter season. 

“Residents will often want to decorate their doors or entryways leading to their apartments. Many boards and building owners are happy to accommodate this, if the decorations do not interfere with closing and opening the door, maintain hallway egress, and do not contain anything offensive or inflammatory.”

— Jaime Sanmiguel | Managing Director, Multifamily Rental Division 

“The Property Management Paradigm Shift,” this month’s Mann Report Magazine cover story, profiles FirstService Residential’s New York leadership team and tracks more than a decade of brand evolution, as market conditions and complex local laws have forced management companies to expand their services and retain in-house expert consultants. 


"In the last year, we closed more than 50 loans totaling $250 million for clients. Based on the size of FirstService Residential’s portfolio, we’ve been able to negotiate interest rates about 0.5% below the industry average, which has saved our clients more than $1.5 million in annual interest payments.”

—Drew Ahrensdorf,  Vice President  | FirstService Financial



"Before any shovels hit the ground, owners and developers begin with a feasibility study to determine if a conversion is physically possible. Modern office buildings, for example, often feature large, column-free floor spans surrounding the building’s core where elevators and bathrooms are typically locat- ed. This layout may not lend itself to a residential floor plan, because areas closest to the center of the building will receive much less natural light.”

—Marc Kotler,  President | New Development Group


 
"Since the Climate Mobilization Act was introduced, FirstService Energy has led edu- cation programs for our property managers, board members and building owners to help unpack the legislation. The more informed our clients are about their building’s environmental impact, the more empowered they are to improve it and avoid costly fines that will impact their building’s annual budget.”

—Kelly Dougherty,  President | FirstService Energy
 

Marc Kotler, president of our New Development Group, participated as featured panelist for Connect CRE's Outer Boroughs Multifamily Update, a virtual roundtable featuring leaders from Madison Realty Capital, Douglaston Development, Southwell Realty Capital, and Arch Companies.
 

Topics include: 

• Investment and development trends post-421a environment
• The impact of hybrid work culture on real estate in Manhattan and the outer boroughs
• Recession-time pressures on financing new buildings.
• Condo/co-ops vs rentals; which way is the pendulum swinging now?

 

Click below to watch a recording of the live event.

FirstService Residential announced the promotion of David Von Hollweg to Vice President in FirstService Residential’s NYC Condo/Co-op Division. In this role, Von Hollweg has executive oversight of a management portfolio comprising roughly 4,000 condos, co-ops, and condop units, and a team of dedicated property managers and assistants who specialize in the management of high-end residential buildings in New York City.

Read the full story from NYREJ.

Can New York City landlords legally charge residents for spare keys? Dan Wurtzel, president of FirstService Residential, weighs in on balancing tenant convenience with mitigating building security risks in The New York Times’ Ask Real Estate column.
 

New York City building energy codes are becoming more stringent, and will continue to do so as city agencies work to reduce carbon emissions in new and existing buildings. In an article published by The Cooperator Kelly Dougherty, president of FirstService Energy, discusses why carbon studies are the best first step for buildings looking to curb emissions and gain a better understanding of how a building uses fossil fuels and identify areas of inefficiency.

In an article published by Multifamily Dive, James Bovino, vice president of Business Development, and Kelly Dougherty, president of FirstService Energy, discuss the continued expansion of our portfolio and how our in-house energy experts make a significant difference for the buildings we manage.

Read more from Multifamily Dive.

Around the country, building owners, residents, buyers and developers are asking more questions about reducing annual utilities, conserving water and measures to improve overall energy efficiency. FirstService Energy President Kelly Dougherty discussed the value of sustainable design and renewable energy systems in a recent article by Commercial Property Executive.
 

In an op-ed published in National Apartment Association's Industry Insider, Marc Kotler, Senior Vice President of FirstService Residential's New Development Group, discusses the challenges and considerations for commercial-to-multifamily residential conversions in New York City.

Read more from the National Apartment Association.