Closed! NYC's Real Estate Podcast

On this episode of Closed!, Mike sat down with Tina Larsson, co-founder of The Folson Group and author of “Living the High Life,” to discuss what really happens behind the scenes inside New York City co-op and condo buildings. Tina explained why co-op and condo boards are not just managing apartments, but effectively running complex businesses with aging infrastructure, regulations, budgets, build...

On this episode of Closed!, Lee sits down with Michael Cohen, Managing Partner of Brighton Capital Advisors, to unpack what is happening behind the scenes in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market, and why the next several years could present serious challenges for commercial real estate borrowers. Michael explains how CMBS loans are structured, why their leverage and nonrecourse feature...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee and Emily sit down with Brave Ronquillo-Ascalon, a business development leader at Stage One, to talk about the role of staging and furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) in transforming how real estate is wholly experienced and ultimately sold to buyers. Brave breaks down why FF&E is the 5% that makes up 100% of a buy...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Mike and Emily sit down with Samir Mezrahi, founder of Zillow Gone Wild, the viral real estate platform highlighting the most unusual and unexpected listings across the country. Samir talks about the origins of Zillow Gone Wild as a pandemic-era side project that grew into a multi-platform media brand with more than 4 million follow...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee and Mike sit down with Stephen Siegel, Chairman of Global Brokerage at CBRE and one of the most recognizable names in New York City brokerage, to talk about what the data is really saying about the recovery of the New York City office market. Stephen breaks down why the return-to-office conversation has shifted so dramatically s...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee and Mike sit down with Justin Pelsinger, partner and COO of Charney Companies, to talk about how one of New York's most active developers is building at scale across Brooklyn and Queens. Justin breaks down how Charney got into Gowanus before the rezoning, how they closed a $450 million construction loan for a 55-story tower in L...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee sits down with YuhTyng Patka, partner at Adler & Stachenfeld LLP, and one of the leading real estate tax attorneys in the country, to pull back the curtain on one of the most important and least understood forces shaping New York City real estate: property taxes and tax incentives. Tyng chairs her firm's New York City Real E...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee and Mike sit down with Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, one of the most prominent privately held real estate firms in the country, to discuss one of the most contested debates in residential real estate right now: private listing networks. Bess brings decades of perspective to the conversation, from her early days as...

On this episode of Closed!, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum, Lee sits down with Erin Hosler, Director of Residential Hospitality at First Service Residential New York, to discuss what it looks like when world-class hospitality meets residential property management. Erin brings over three decades of experience training service teams at some of the most recognized names in luxury hospitality, i...

On this episode of Closed!, Lee Bergstein and Emily Ashe are joined by Peter Zaitzeff, Director of New Development Sales at SERHANT. With over $4.8 billion in career sales, Peter is a powerhouse in the New York City luxury market, recently co-brokering the record-breaking $60 million sale of a duplex at 150 Charles Street. Together, they explore the high-stakes world of elite real estate...

On this episode of Closed! , Lee Bergstein is joined by Mark Levine, Principal at EBMG LLC, Accredited Property Management LLC, and Apex Management Group—one of New York City’s most active property managers, overseeing hundreds of co-op and condominium buildings across the city. Together, they break down one of the most frustrating and opaque parts of NYC real estate: the co-op board application p...

On this episode of Closed!, Mike Flynn and Lee Bergstein are joined by Ian Slater, co-founder of Trove Partners at Compass and one of New York City’s top luxury residential brokers, to unpack what’s really happening at the highest end of the market. With over $2 billion in career sales and a team ranked among the best in the city, Ian brings a front-row perspective on how wealth, demand, and discr...

On this episode of Closed! , Mike Flynn and Lee Bergstein are joined by Keith Powers, New York State Assemblymember and former NYC Council Member, to break down the realities behind New York City’s housing affordability crisis. They discuss how decades of underbuilding, rising demand, and complex policy decisions have shaped today’s market—and why solving it is far more complicated than it seems....

Ross Wallenstein, founder and CEO of Wall2Wall Communications, joins us to discuss crisis management, public affairs strategy, and how the collapse of local journalism is reshaping politics and business. With more than 25 years of experience spanning federal and New York State government, political campaigns, and corporate communications, Ross explains why government service is “training like no o...

On this episode of Closed, Brad was joined by Louis Adler and Robert Rahmanian, co-founders and co-CEOs of REAL New York. Since launching REAL NY in 2013, Robert and Louis have grown REAL from a two-person startup into a 150-agent powerhouse known for its work across residential, commercial, and especially New York’s fast-evolving conversion market. Louis and Robert shared the latest on the market...

This week, Lee and Mike were joined by Jonathan Iger, the CEO and President of Sage, one of the premier commercial real estate firms in New York. Jonathan is the fourth-generation leader of Sage, with a unique vision and insight into the New York Commercial Real Estate market. Jonathan talks about what 1A commercial real estate can learn from the hotel industry, how Sage has adapted post-COVID, an...

On this episode of Closed! , Mike Flynn is joined by Gavin Steinberg, co-founder and CEO of The Everset, a New York City–based furniture rental and home staging company redefining how urban spaces are presented and lived in. Gavin breaks down Everset’s full-service approach to furniture rental and staging, explaining how the company fills a major market gap for stylish, affordable solutions tailor...

On this episode of Closed! w e were delighted to have the premier business coach in the country, Rod Santomassimo! Lee and Mike spoke with Rod about his specialty — commercial real estate brokers. Rod broke down how he got into coaching, why he chose brokers are his target client, and how he grew his brand into the juggernaut it is today. There may also be a few free tidbits of advice sprinkled in...

On this episode of Closed! Lee is joined by Council Member Julie Won to talk about OneLIC and her win in the months-long battle over Long Island City Rezoning. Council Member Won explains the plan for Long Island City and why previous iterations failed. The Council Member explain that OneLIC is the largest increase of affordable housing units ever produced by a rezoning, with 14,700 new housing un...

On this episode, Lee is joined by Greg David, an accomplished journalist for The City magazine to talk about the implications of a potential rent freeze, charter reforms, and more. Before becoming a journalist, Greg spent 35 years as an editor, editorial director, and columnist at Crain’s New York Business. He is also the director of the business and economics reporting program at the Craig Newmar...

On this week's episode of Closed!, Michael Flynn is joined by a former, beloved guest, Layla Law-Gisikio, to talk about NYC, politics, and real estate. Layla has spent over two decades in public service, from her eighteen years on the Community Board to her roles as Democratic district leader for Assembly District 75, and we are so fortunate to have her perspective on the many changes in NYC right...

On this episode of Closed! , Lee Bergstein is joined by Howard Raber, Investment Sales Professional at Ariel Property Advisors. Lee and Howard join in conversation about the implications of the Midtown South rezoning plan. They explore the urgent need for housing in New York City, the incentives for developers, and the challenges of converting office spaces to residential units. Listen to this epi...

This week on  Closed! , we’re joined by Eric Anton–commercial real estate broker at Marcus & Millichap and treasurer of Defend NYC– to discuss the intersection of New York City’s mayoral election and the real estate market. With crime, safety, and affordability dominating the campaign, the outcome of this election will have a profound impact on the city’s future. Eric walks us through how...

This week, we are joined by Rebecca Tushnet, Faculty Co-Director and Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Law School, to discuss one of the biggest cases in real estate — CoStar Group v. Zillow. CoStar is alleging that Zillow used nearly 47,000 of CoStar's copyrighted real estate images without license, so we asked Rebecca to help us break down the facts of the case, given her immense exper...

On this episode of Closed!, we take an analytical look at how the first days of the FARE Act are going, and how the New York City rental market has adjusted to the new law. To help us examine the early effects, Lee is joined by the Co-Founder of UrbanDigs, John Walkup! John goes through the data he is seeing(or not seeing, in some cases) in New York City apartment listings following the transferra...