REBNY Celebrates Outstanding Commercial Property Management Professionals at 16th Annual Leadership Breakfast

Back row (L-R): Paimaan Lodhi, REBNY Senior Vice President; Luis Lopez, The Paramount Group, Inc., Porter of the Year; Anthony R. Migliore, Jr., Empire State Realty Trust, John M. Griffin Community Service Award Winner; Drew O’Connor, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Portfolio Manager of the Year; Alex Riveira, Silverstein Properties, Inc., On-Site Manager of the Year; Gaston Silva, Vornado Realty Trust, REBNY Management Division Board of Directors Co-Chair; Jeffrey Dietz and George Leary, Rudin Management Company’s 3 Times Square, Best Engine Room Award Winners. | Front row (L-R): Louis Trimboli, CBRE, Inc., Edward A. Riguardi Commercial Management Executive of the Year; Patrick Duffy, The Rockefeller Group, Security Professional of the Year; Lela Doherty, Vornado Realty Trust, Rising Star of the Year; Joseph Brigante, The Durst Organization, Small Building Engineer of the Year; Nicholas Ricigliano, SL Green Realty Corp., Large Building Engineer of the Year; John H. Banks, REBNY President. | Photo by Ed Lederman.

Among the 10 awards presented to exceptional commercial property management professionals at the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) 16th Annual Commercial Management Leadership Breakfast, Louis Trimboli was honored with The Edward A. Riguardi Commercial Management Executive of the Year Award.As a Senior Real Estate Manager for CBRE in New York City, Mr. Trimboli has implemented energy efficiency programs achieving more than one million dollars in energy savings, completed over two million square feet of tenant construction, and managed multi-million dollar-capital projects.“Today we highlight the heart and soul of our industry by celebrating New York’s best and brightest commercial management teams. The men and women we honor today run their buildings with precision. This work requires leadership, management, knowledge, and team work,” said John H. Banks, REBNY President. “We thank all of the honorees for their dedication to our industry.”The additional 2019 honorees recognized at the breakfast, organized by the REBNY Commercial Management Breakfast Planning Committee, were:

– Best Engine Room Award winners Jeffrey Dietz, Chief Engineer, and George Leary, Building Manager, of Rudin Management’s 3 Times Square

– John M. Griffin Community Service Award winner Anthony R. Migliore, Jr. of Empire State Realty Trust

– On-Site Manager of the Year Alex Riveira of Silverstein Properties, Inc.

– Portfolio Manager of the Year Drew O’Connor of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.

– Small Building Engineer of the Year Joseph Brigante of The Durst Organization

– Large Building Engineer of the Year Nicholas Ricigliano of SL Green Realty Corp.

– Security Professional of the Year Patrick Duffy of The Rockefeller Group

– Porter of the Year Luis Lopez of The Paramount Group, Inc.

– Rising Star of the Year Lela Doherty of Vornado Realty Trust

Marisa Lago, Director of the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) and Chair of the City Planning Commission (CPC)

The event, held in the Grand Ballroom at the New York Hilton Midtown, included a keynote speech by Marisa Lago, Director of the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) and Chair of the City Planning Commission (CPC).

In her remarks, Lago outlined the industry’s economic impact stating, “As-of-right development is the workhorse of housing and space for jobs. Since 2010, over 80% of new housing has been built as of right. Without this development, about 300,000 New Yorkers–an entire Pittsburgh–wouldn’t have the homes they live in today. Without it, we’d produce far less housing, be able to support fewer jobs and New York would also be increasingly unaffordable.”

Top tier sponsors for REBNY’s 16th Annual Commercial Management Leadership Breakfast included: 32BJ SEIU, ABM Industries, Atlas Acon Electric Service Corp., Benjamin Maintenance, Boston Properties LP, Brookfield Brooklyn, Brookfield Properties, Collins Building Services, Inc., Fisher Brothers, IUOE Local Union 94, Jones Lang LaSalle, L&L Holding Company LLC, Platinum, Quality Building Services Corp, Rockefeller Group, Rudin Management Company, Inc., Schindler Elevator Corporation, SL Green Realty Corp., The Durst Organization, Vornado Realty Trust, and Waterman Properties, LLC.

The awards presentation was hosted by Gaston Silva of Vornado Realty Trust, co-chair of REBNY’s Management Division Board of Directors, and Paimaan Lodhi, Senior Vice President of Policy and Planning at REBNY. The award presenters included: Michael Griffin, representing the Griffin family; Anthony Malkin, Empire State Realty Trust; Howard Styles, IUOE Local Union 94; Héctor Figueroa, 32BJ SEIU; Ed (Eddie) Riguardi, representing the Riguardi Family; and Thomas L. Hill of Boston Properties LP, co-chair of REBNY’s Management Division Board of Directors.

ABOUT THE HONOREES

Louis J. Trimboli, Senior Real Estate Manager at CBRE, Inc. and recipient of the Edward A. Riguardi Commercial Management Executive of the Year Award, was honored for his outstanding leadership and professional achievements. Throughout his career he has implemented award winning energy management and curtailment programs achieving over $1 million in energy savings for commercial properties, completed over 2 million square feet of tenant construction, and managed multi-million-dollar capital projects, among many other achievements over the last three decades.

Mr. Trimboli serves as Co-Chair of the Real Estate Board of New York’s Commercial Management Council, the Building Owners and Managers Association of New York’s Preparedness Committee, and IUOE Local Union 94’s Operating Engineers Training Curriculum Committee. In 2006, he was awarded by George W. Bush the "Presidents Call to Service Award" for his work in Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety. A graduate of St. Francis College, Louis Trimboli is a LEED accredited professional, licensed real estate salesperson, operating engineer, and high-rise fire safety director with professional designations as a real estate property administrator and facilities management administrator in addition to advance studies certificates from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York University, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Home Land Security, and Texas A&M University.

Anthony Migliore, Jr., Assistant Director of Operations at the Empire State Building owned by Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT), was presented with the John M. Griffin Community Service Award. As a member of the ESRT Volunteer Committee, Anthony has coordinated civic-minded community events, led projects to prepare and serve meals to those in need during holidays, and volunteers regularly at the Ronald McDonald House of New York, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, and St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, Queens. While working full-time at the Empire State Building, he is also a full-time student with a 3.7 GPA and is towards achieving his Real Property Administrator (RPA®) Designation with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

Alex Riveira, Vice President of World Trade Center operations at Silverstein Properties, Inc., took home the On-Site Manager of the Year Award. Mr. Riveira played an integral role in the commissioning and opening of 3 World Trade Center. He was directly responsible for the move-in and occupancy of over 700,000 square feet over the past year, while opening the property management office, managing staff, establishing service contracts, and effectuating a functioning building. He was also responsible for the opening of the now fully-occupied 4 World Trade Center, which includes life safety features that exceed the New York City Building code and is LEED-Gold certified. Mr. Riviera is highly respected among his colleagues for his accomplishments and dedication to putting "customer service first" throughout his 25-year career in property management.

Drew O’Connor, Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., was named Portfolio Manager of the Year. The 25-year industry veteran currently oversees a mixed-use portfolio totaling over 12 million square feet in the New York City area. His clients range from major global institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Nuveen Real Estate, to investment advisors including Invesco and DivCo West, and local operators Savanna and Westbrook Partners. Over the past year, Mr. O’Connor has been directly involved in the planning and coordination of countless capital improvement projects, totaling in-excess of $100 million.  He has also been instrumental in procuring and on-boarding over 1 million square feet of new assignments for Cushman & Wakefield.

Joseph Brigante, Chief Engineer for The Durst Organization’s 655 Third Avenue, was honored with the Small Building Engineer of the Year Award. The IUOE Local Union 94 member started his 30-year property management career in 1988 as a Local 94 helper. Within two years he obtained his Machine Operating Engineers License and was relocated to 655 Third Avenue, a 450,000 square foot, 24-story commercial office tower. After ten years of dedicated service, he was appointed to Chief Engineer for the building in 1998. Mr. Brigante and his team of five engineers have maintained all the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems including two, 500-ton Murry steam turbines; implemented system operational strategies that have reduced steam and electric consumption by 20 percent, while increasing tenant satisfaction; and installed new cooling towers and a duplex domestic water system, among other upgrades. The building was an Energy Star Award winner in 2017.

Nicholas Ricigliano, the Large Building Engineer of the Year Award winner, has served as Chief Engineer of SL Green Realty Corp.’s 100 Park Avenue since 2007. With over 30 years of experience in property management, his work has been pivotal in the building achieving both Silver and Gold LEED Certification, winning the Energy Star Award annually since 2010, and being named the Renovated Office Building of the Year by BOMA International in 2009, having already won the award at the local and regional level.  Under Mr. Ricigliano’s leadership, the 100 Park avenue engineering team has generated an in-house labor savings average of $80,000 annually.  Among many capital projects managed at SL Green, he has been responsible for the installation of a full building management system, coil replacements, variable frequency drives, green roofs, and LED lighting, among others. The IUOE Local Union 94 member started his career in HVAC service, taught at TCI College, worked at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and served in leading engineer positions at the New York Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Chrysler Building before commencing a $72 million redevelopment project at 100 Park Avenue. Mr. Ricigliano’s colleagues speak highly of his authentic desire to teach new engineers building operations.

Patrick Duffy, Patrol Officer at Rockefeller Group’s 1221 Avenue of the Americas, was presented with the Security Professional of the Year Award. The 32BJ SEIU member has over 20 years of experience in property management, oversees the 1221 Avenue of Americas’ security access system, and assists in life safety training. He works closely with the building’s tenants, vendors, and property management team to provide best-in-class customer service and assists the EAP Emergency Action Plan Director in all fire safety and emergency action plan drills and training. Mr. Duffy maintains Fire Safety Director and Emergency Action Plan Director certificates of Fitness.

Luis Lopez, Porter at the Paramount Group, Inc., received the Porter of the Year Award. After 48 years of exceptional service at 745 Fifth Avenue, he announced that he will be retiring this year. Mr. Lopez is highly respected by his colleagues who applaud his immense knowledge of the building and excellent rapport with every tenant in the building. In addition to his duties as porter, he has helped to perform the building’s fire and emergency action plan drills. When a fire started in the sub-basement of the building in December 2018 and all occupants were required to evacuate the building, Mr. Lopez immediately responded to a tenant in need and made special arrangements to ensure their safe evacuation of the building. Prior to becoming head porter and since joining Paramount Group in 1971, the local 32BJ SEIU member served as a 32BJ Engineer and Assistant Chief Engineer.

Lela Doherty, Assistant Property Manager at Vornado Realty Trust’s 650 Madison Avenue, was named the Rising Star of the Year. She is highly regarded for her intelligence, character, and integrity. Since joining Vornado in 2013, Ms. Doherty has excelled in the industry with her colleagues praising her outstanding communication skills, detail-oriented nature, and ability to effectively multi-task. After serving for three-and-a-half years as a Tenant Service Coordinator for over 200 tenants at the 2.5 million-square-foot 1 Penn Plaza, she was promoted to Assistant Property Manager at 650 Madison Avenue in early 2018 where she attends to and addresses partner inquiries, both operational and financial. The office building, co-owned by Vornado, is home to Ralph Lauren's headquarters and many successful financial services tenants. The self-motivated Rising Star is currently pursuing the BOMA RPA and FMA designations.