BOMA New York honors NYC real estate professionals at 2019 Pinnacle Awards

New York, NY The Building Owners & Managers Association of Greater New York (BOMA New York) hosted the 2019 Pinnacle Awards Ceremony on Thursday, February 28th, 2019 at Pier Sixty. This sold-out event was attended by more than 850 guests and celebrated outstanding achievements in the property sector by recognizing premiere buildings and people in the city.

The Pinnacle Awards are one of real estate’s biggest nights of the year, honoring top commercial real estate professionals. This event recognizes those who achieve the BOMA New York vision of excellence, furthering its mission and symbolizing its commitment to tenants, building owners and the city at large. This year, 22 nominees competed for 11 award categories, celebrating achievement in leadership, outstanding contributors and overall excellence, including the new award, Engineer of the Year. 

“Exceeding expectations is what the Pinnacle Awards are all about,” said Hani Salama, P.E., LEED AP, president of BOMA New York. “These awards have come to recognize the hard work of tenants, building owners and managers in the city of New York.”

Local Pinnacle Award winners qualify to compete at the Regional, Mid-Atlantic TOBY (The Outstanding Building of the Year) awards. Regional winners are then automatically entered in the BOMA International TOBY competition. 

This year’s 2019 Pinnacle Award winners from the 11 categories are: 

• Outstanding Local Member of the Year: Laura Belt Ponomarev, RPA, FMA, The 58-64 40th Street Corp.;
• Historical Building of the Year: 420 Lexington Ave.;
• Owner & Management Firm: SL Green Realty Corp.;
• Property Manager: Paul Palagian; 
• New Construction: 3 World Trade Center;
• Owner & Management Firm: Silverstein Properties;
• Property Manager: Alex Riveira
• Corporate Facility of the Year: 51 Madison Ave.;
• Owner: New York Life Insurance
• Management Firm: Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.;
• Property Manager: Sharon Hart, RPA, CPM;
• Operating Engineer of the Year: Francis Noonan, SMT, Met Life – 200 Park Ave.;
• Chief Operating Engineer of the Year: Steve Nathan, SMT, Silverstein Properties;
• Manager of the Year (3-10 years of experience): Endrit Kukaj, RPA, SL Green Realty Corp.; 
• Manager of the Year (10+ years of experience): Lawrence Spahn, RPA, FMA, SMA, SMT, LEED AP, H&R Reit (U.S.) Management Services Inc.;  
• Renovated Building of the Year: 90 Park Ave.;
• Owner: Vornado Realty Trust;
• Management Firm: Vornado Office Management, LLC;
• Property Manager: Adrian Sierra;
• Operating Office Building of the Year (500,000-1 million s/f): 757 Third Ave.;
• Owner: Bentall Kennedy (US);
• Management Firm: JLL;
• Property Manager: Richard Molfese, RPA, FMA;
• Operating Office Building of the Year (over 1 million s/f): 11 Madison Ave.;
• Owner & Management Firm: SL Green Realty Corp.;
• Property Manager: Raymond Reilly;
• The Grand Pinnacle Award: 11 Madison Ave.;
• Owner & Management Firm: SL Green Realty Corp.; and
• Property Manager: Raymond Reilly.

BOMA New York is the largest local association in the BOMA International federation, which represents commercial real estate responsible for the ownership and management of some of the world’s most prestigious properties. BOMA New York serves as the first line of defense for New York’s working public, accountable for the safety, physical well-being and security of the city’s three million office tenants.