James Pirot, Cresa; Peter Wright, retired captain FDNY; and Robert Mulligan, retired lieutenant, FDNY.
New York, NY More than 300 members of the commercial real estate and construction industries gathered at 48 Lounge in Midtown Manhattan for the second annual Building Better for the Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation event. Organized by Cresa managing principals James Pirot and Peter Sabesan and senior vice president Ron Zeccardi, it included a host committee made up of colleagues and friends spanning both industries. The four-and-a-half-hour fundraiser, garnered more than $150,000 in sponsorships and individual donations within the first two weeks of its announcement, plus additional silent and live auctions donations at the site.
“What an extraordinary honor to host our second annual ‘Building Better’ event,” said Pirot. “It was an overwhelming success and a true validation of the commitment of our CRE community in its support of America’s heroes.”
The host committee, which met weekly throughout the summer and up until the event, was responsible for arranging the venue, preparing invitations, designing the donation pages and other assets, and sending out invitations. The group included: Jennifer Meilan, 71 Visuals; Linda Alexander, Alexander+Segan Communications; Rob DiMarco, C&C Technology Group; Marielle Fisk, Cardio Partners; James Pirot, Peter Sabesan, and Ronald Zeccardi, Cresa: Alfonse Amore, Cushman & Wakefield; Eli Nichtberger, JLM Decorating; Desmond Burke; Firequench; Alex Constantin, Heritage Realty Services; Barry Sunshine, Janover LLC; Scott Smith, Lawrence Environmental; Tom Krol, M&S Mechanical; Brian Earley, Metropolis Group; Nancy Lara, QBS; Eric Toth, Sher Del Transfer; Marc Spector, FAIA, Spector Group; and Jack Oehm, Tunnel 2 Towers Foundation.
The evening included moving tributes from T2T board director Jack Oehm and Pirot, whose son is a lieutenant in the FDNY.
They were joined by guest speaker Robert Pennington, one of the twelve Green Beret officers sent to Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks to train local militia in the fight against Al Qaeda. Mr. Pennington, whose heroics were featured in the 2019 film, “12 Strong,” regaled the crowd with details of the mission and reminded everyone of the importance of recognizing the sacrifices of first responders and troops.
Sabesan said, “We must never forget the heroism of so many men and women who keep us safe and protected. The contributions of our CRE community will continue to grow and everyone is already rolling up their sleeves to prepare for next year’s event!”
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