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President Dan Wurtzel featured in The New York Times’ “Ask Real Estate” Column
Mar 11, 2023Around New York City, there are buildings that continue to limit or restrict a delivery worker’s access to resident front doors. Dan Wurtzel, president of FirstService Residential New York, offers his insights on persistent door-to-door delivery restrictions in The New York Times.Read more
"Most buildings revoked the service during the pandemic to limit outside visitors. But by now, the majority have restored it. The ones that haven’t often cite security concerns or staffing issues. Some residents balk at the idea that delivery people could wander the halls unattended."
— Dan Wurtzel | President, FirstService Residential New York
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Michael Wolfe Discusses Window Maintenance & Replacement in The Cooperator New York Newspaper
Mar 02, 2023Windows are often the most expensive facade component to repair or replace in a multifamily building. Michael Wolfe, president of property management, discusses the expected lifespan of typical window systems, project costs, and navigating shareholder/owner expectations.Read more
"Many buildings keep their windows for 30 to 50 years. It’s a massive undertaking to replace all of a building’s windows – not like Local Law 11, which you must do every five years."
— Michael Wolfe | President, Property Management, FirstService Residential New York
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FirstService Energy President Kelly Dougherty Discusses Valuable Energy Programs & Resources
Mar 01, 2023In 2023, FirstService Energy delivered roughly $600,000 in annual energy cost savings to buildings managed by FirstService Residential through a local Community Distributed Energy Program. Kelly Dougherty, FirstService Energy president, discussed how the program works and what interested boards and owners can do to yield similar savings.Read more
"Anyone with an eclectic or utility bill can subscribe to the project. Those individual subscribers get a discount on their utility bill for being a part of the project."
— Kelly Dougherty | President, FirstService Energy
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Spring 2023 Leasing Trends: National Apartment Association Interviews Calynne Oyolokor
Feb 28, 2023While inflation and rent growth have cooled slightly, the demand for quality rentals is still near its peak. Calynne Oyolokor, Senior Vice President of FirstService Residential’s Multifamily Rental Division, shares persistent and emerging tenant trends in an article by the National Apartment Association.Read more
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REBNY Selects Athenes Bauza, Business Development Director, to Join Leadership Fellows Program
Jan 24, 2023We are pleased to share that Athenes Bauza, Business Development Director for the Multifamily Rental division, has been selected to participate in the Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) 2023 Fellowship Program. The elite program taps 20 rising leaders for a high-impact, project-based curriculum aimed at developing the skills needed to solve complex challenges in New York’s real estate and development sector.Read more
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Multifamily Amenity Trends: Multifamily Dive Interviews Marc Kotler, New Development Group President
Jan 20, 2023As Gen Z renters enter the market, multifamily owners and developers are adapting to their preferences – particularly the provision of amenities and social spaces. Marc Kotler, president of FirstService Residential’s New Development Group, discussed these emerging trends in a recent article by Multifamily Dive.Read more
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Michael Wolfe, President of Property Management, Discusses New York City’s Updated Trash Policy
Jan 19, 2023New York City’s “Rat Reduction Act” aims to curb the presence of vermin by amending when multifamily buildings are permitted to place garbage bags on city streets, required containers, and pick-up schedules. This has forced some building to consider overtime compensation for building staff.Read more
"Let’s talk about a 100-unit building in Manhattan or the boroughs. They have a super, or maybe a door person and a porter or two. In that case, the porter and super work normal business hours. Who is putting the trash out at 6 or 8 PM? One option will be to pay overtime to a porter to extend his or her day. Another option is to have the doorman (if you have one) lock up the front door while they put out the trash. They won’t be happy about it."
— Michael Wolfe | President, Property Management, FirstService Residential New York
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FirstService Residential Announces Two Division Presidents - Marc Koter and Christina Forbes
Dec 01, 2022FirstService 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.Read more
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.
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Jaime Sanmiguel is Featured in Multifamily Executive's Holiday 2022 Newsletter
Nov 30, 2022Jaime 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.Read more“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
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The Property Management Paradigm Shift: From Facility Caretaker to Strategic Building Partner
Nov 07, 2022“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.Read more
"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