How REBNY Operates

The Chairperson of the Board is REBNY's presiding officer and its principal spokesperson. The Chairperson presides at the regular and special meetings of the Board of Governors and performs other duties assigned by the Board. The Chairperson is the principal delegate at all conventions and meetings that he or she attends.

The President is the executive officer with the authority under the Chairperson of the Board and the Board of Governors to direct the Board's activities. The President presides at all annual and special meetings of the membership and is a member of all Standing Committees.

The Governors of the Real Estate Board chart the organization's policies in close and continuous consultation with REBNY's elected committees. These committees are composed of Board members who are highly knowledgeable in their respective fields. The panels focus on issues that concern the industry and formulate REBNY's positions. REBNY committees enjoy the high regard of both policy makers and real estate professionals. The Board monitors all bills of interest to the industry before the city, state and federal legislatures. Members with particular real estate specialties and Board staff analyze these measures in legal memoranda sent to the legislatures' leadership. The committees' work has both prevented the passage of countless potentially damaging bills and convinced the state's and city’s lawmakers to enact measures that have greatly benefited New York's economy and housing stock. City bills are typically handled by an elected Board committee, such as the Tax Policy panel, with pertinent expertise.
Other Board committees on which qualified REBNY members are eligible to serve deal with such subjects as housing, building management, rental conditions, insurance, city planning and zoning, and finance. From time to time ad hoc Board committees are set up to study issues of immediate importance. When indicated, Board staff makes the findings and recommendations of these committees available to the appropriate public officials. Laws and regulations governing residential conversions, zoning incentives and tax collection dates are among the public policies that have been strongly influenced by the work of REBNY committees.