Closed! NYC's Real Estate Podcast

On this week's episode of Closed! Mike is joined by the Managing Director of Gensler, Amanda Carroll. Amanda has led the charge in designing some of the most innovative and human-centric designs in New York City commercial real estate, from Google's new Hudson Square headquarters to Etsy's Brooklyn office. Amanda shares how she and her team captures a company's wants and culture in their design wh...

In this episode of Closed! , Lee Bergstein sits down with Brian Steinwurtzel, co-CEO of GFP Real Estate, to discuss one of New York City’s most ambitious office-to-residential conversions to date: 25 Water Street.  They unpack the challenges of converting a commercial tower into housing—from financing and zoning to adding modern amenities that meet today’s tenant demands. Brian shares how GFP...

As the Democratic primary approaches and early voting has begun, we thought it would be a great time to do a deep dive into the candidates for New York City Mayor and their respective policies around housing. We asked Holly Pretsky to join us as we break down what these candidates have promised and what their track record is in their previous positions. Holly Pretsky is a journalist and editor, cu...

To close out two incredible weeks of episodes live from The Real Deal Forum on Closed!, we’re ending on a high note with one of New York City’s real estate titans—Bob Knakal. Lee Bergstein and Bradley Pollina sit down with legendary broker Bob Knakal to discuss the lessons he’s learned from over 40 years in New York City real estate. Bob reflects on how mentorship, mistakes, and meaningful relatio...

Next up in our special Closed! series from The Real Deal Forum: Bradley Pollina and Michael Flynn sit down with Ben Friedland, a leading real estate advisor in New York’s alternative investments sector at CBRE, to explore how hedge funds, private equity firms, and other major players are shaping the future of office leasing. Ben shares how specialization has become essential in a competitive marke...

Next up in our special Closed! series from The Real Deal Forum: Bradley Pollina and Emily Ashe sit down with Paul Krug, founder of Glazed, a teriyaki restaurant franchise, to explore how his fast-casual Asian concept became a standout in New York’s competitive dining scene. From co-tenancy strategies to location choices, Paul shares the behind-the-scenes decisions that shape expansion in a post-pa...

Next up in our special Closed! series from The Real Deal Forum: Lee Bergstein sits down with Allia Mohamed , CEO and co-founder of OpenIgloo, the platform reshaping the way renters navigate the New York City housing market. Born out of her own frustrations as a tenant, OpenIgloo has grown into a powerful tool for transparency—connecting renters and helping New Yorkers make informed decisions. In t...

Next up in our Real Deal Forum podcast series is Dan Marks, CEO of TerraCRG and one of the most insightful voices on Brooklyn’s real estate scene. Dan joins Closed! to break down the latest investment trends shaping Brooklyn’s multifamily and commercial markets. From the impact of the 2019 rent stabilization laws to how upcoming elections may influence development, this conversation dives deep int...

Next up in our Real Deal Forum podcast series is Danny Pearlstein, Policy and Communications Director at Riders Alliance—and a lawyer himself. Danny returns to Closed! to help us unpack the latest developments in NYC’s Congestion Pricing. Now that the policy is officially active across Manhattan, how is it shaping New York City? Danny breaks the early effects to commutes, certain neighborhoods, an...

We’re kicking off our special Closed! Podcast series with returning guest Erik Engquist, recorded live at The Real Deal Forum!  Erik is the Senior Managing Editor at The Real Deal and joined us at our booth to talk about the upcoming NYC mayoral race and what it could mean for housing and real estate policy across the city. Lee and Erik break down the policies of all the top dogs in the race...

We invited Associate Professor of Economics at Georgetown University Ferdinando Monte to join us on this episode of Closed! to discuss the hot button topic of tariffs. Lee and Ferdinando discuss the myriad of ways tariffs could influence the real estate market in New York.   Ferdinando Monte breaks down how tariffs can cause material shortages for developers, supply chain issues for comm...

On this episode of Closed! Lee speaks with New York City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa. The Councilwoman currently represents District 10, which includes Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill. Before she was a Councilwoman, Ms. De La Rosa was a member of the State Assembly. Carmen in a fierce advocate for criminal justice reform, workers’ rights, affordable housing, LGBTIA rights and a numbe...

This week on Closed!, we are honored to be joined by two real estate titans, Bob Knakal and Gabe Marans. Bob is the Chairman and CEO of BKREA and Gabe is the Vice Chairman of Savills. Bob has brokered the sale of over $22 Billion in real estate. Gabe has negotiated lease transactions for 6 Million square feet of commercial space. Lee and Mike spoke with these two about their techniques to marketin...

On today’s episode of Closed! , Lee is joined by Danny Pearlstein, longtime transit advocate and Policy & Communications Director at the Riders Alliance, to talk about one of the most controversial—and effective—urban policies in New York City: congestion pricing. Danny breaks down how this decades-in-the-making plan is finally working: reducing gridlock, speeding up buses, and bringing in muc...

On today’s episode of Closed! , Lee sits down with Arpit Gupta, Associate Professor of Finance at NYU Stern, to explore how remote work is reshaping New York City’s office market, and where the opportunities might lie amid all the disruption. Arpit walks us through his research paper, Work from Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse (don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom), breaking down why...

On today’s episode of Closed! , we’re diving into the future of cities with one of the leading voices in urban design. Lee sits down with Vishaan Chakrabarti, architect, urban planner, and founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) to discuss his his vision for sustainable, equitable, and vibrant cities. Listen in to get a glimpse into Vishaan's career in both the public and private s...

It's 2025, where spring has sprung, and we’re kicking off a new season of Closed! with a conversation you won’t want to miss. Lee sits down with Joe Tirone, a seasoned real estate broker, community organizer, and the founder of The Joe Tirone Team at Compass Staten Island. In this episode, we dive into Joe’s decades of experience in NYC real estate and his pivotal role in organizing the Oakwood Be...

On this week's pre-election special of Closed! we talk to The Real Deal Senior Editor Erik Engquist to learn about what both presidential candidates are likely to do in terms of Housing Policy. We hear about incentives for development, what affordable housing can do for a local economy, and how important these policies are to voters. Erik's publication The Real Deal is the industry standard public...

This week on Closed! we're joined by NYC Council Member Keith Powers for a very special episode! Council Member Powers asked his constituents what he could do to improve their quality of lives, and the result is our most requested, long-awaited episode on Sidewalk Sheds! We talk about the plethora of sheds on the streets of our city, covering everything from their obvious benefits and drawbacks to...

On today's episode of Closed! Mike and Emily have the opportunity to speak with Gerard "Jerry" Nocera of Resolution Real Estate. In our wide-ranging discussion we learn about a lifetime of efforts in the real estate industry, hearing how Jerry has leveraged his experience in all aspects of the field to forge Resolution Real Estate into a full-service company. Jerry tells of his time being mentored...

BFKP is proud to present the Closed! podcast's interview with the cast of Owning Manhattan, Netflix's peek behind the curtain into the fast paced world of Serhant Real Estate, just in time for the announcement of Season 2! Lee and Mike headed down to the Serhant office in Soho for a roundtable conversation with Jordan March, Tricia Lee, Jade Shenker, Jeffrey St. Arromand, and Genesis Suero. In our...

On today's episode of "Closed!" we talk to NY State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Chairman of the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. Sen. Addabbo has a 20+ year career as an elected official representing New Yorkers as both a city council member and a state senator for Queens' 15th State Senate District, and we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to speak about his service and his expertise. It se...

On today's episode of Closed! Lee sits down with Dan Marks, CEO of premier Brooklyn real estate brokerage TerraCRG, to talk about Lee's favorite borough. We learn about the strengths of the Brooklyn market over the last decade and the opportunities for growth in the next, as well as the changing development incentive landscape following the demise of 421a and the birth of the new 485x tax abatemen...

On this episode of Closed! Lee speaks with Sarah Pizer of The Hudson Companies about her exciting Hell's Kitchen development "The Lirio." We learn about the difference between affordable housing and supportive housing, how The Hudson Companies worked with the MTA to secure the development, and the importance of addressing community issues and needs when planning new developments. We also touch bas...

On today's episode of Closed! we speak to Jared White of Quadrum Global to discuss the NYC hotel market, the process of evaluating and purchasing a major hotel like Quadrum's Arlo Williamsburg, and the value of services that hotels offer which non-traditional alternatives cannot. You can learn more about Jared and Quadrum Global at https://www.quadrumglobal.com/ And as always you can check out bfk...