For many of New York's real estate professionals, attendance at the International Council of Shopping Centers' RECon meeting, held annually in May in Las Vegas, is a given. Now, NYCREW Network, the New York Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women Network, is joining the fray, exhibiting for the first time at one of the largest gatherings of retail real estate professionals in the world to promote membership, advance women in the industry and celebrate the chapter's 10th anniversary.
RECon will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from May 22 to 25, with the NYcrew booth located at C2126 in the Central Hall in the Leasing Mall from May 23 to 25. The Leasing Mall includes hundreds of real estate development companies, brokerage firms, design firms and financing companies building often-elaborate displays to conduct meetings. Some 25% of all shopping center leases result to some degree from this meeting, ICSC says.
NYcrew is sharing its space at C2126 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center with the International Council of Shopping Centers' Women's Special Interest Group initiative, a program the organization has supported from its founding, according to Karen Dome, a senior associate at Marcus & Millichap and NYcrew 2011 president.
"Our director of communications, Faith Hope Consolo, has chaired the Women's SIG program from the beginning, a number of our members have spoken at some of the sessions, and most of the leadership attended the SIG in New York City in December," Dome said. "It really came home there that NYcrew's goals - to empower women in real estate and help them to do business together - and those of the Women's SIG were completely aligned. Sharing this space to explain that is a perfect partnership."
The partnership extends beyond sharing a booth. NYcrew members can receive the $600 on-site ICSC member rate to register in advance for the conference, even if they are not ICSC members, a significant savings.
"Our industry is increasingly interconnected, with developments adding more uses, and retailers looking to city locations, often in office buildings," says Consolo, Chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group and the chairman of the Women's Special Interest Group initiative since its launch at RECon 2010. "Just as the Women's SIG has helped women form new contacts through our informal meetings, we're looking forward to seeing more ICSC members join NYcrew to learn about the opportunities available in New York and how all of real estate is interdependent. This is a relationship business, and there is no such thing as having too many friends!"
Many of NYCREW's 2011 officers and directors will staff the conveniently located booth, providing information about the many benefits of NYCREW membership and their experiences at the Women's SIG, and also to conduct their own business at the conference. The NYCREW/ICSC booth will be located at 21st Ave. and K St. in the Leasing Mall, and will be open during Leasing Mall hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, May 23; 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25.
For some of NYcrew's officers, including Dome, it will be their first visit to the retail conference.
"After hearing so much about this conference from Faith and other long-time ICSC members, I'm very excited to be attending this show," Dome said. "In addition, I just joined Marcus & Millichap late last year, so I'm looking forward to meeting some of my colleagues at that booth, as well."
For more information about RECon, visit www.icsc.org. Those interested in NYcrew events and programs should visit www.nycrew.org.


Shown (from left) are: Deborah Falcone, The Wall Street Journal; Shari Linnick, Trepp LLC; NYCREW president Karen Dome, Marcus & Millichap; Faith Hope Consolo, Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group; Christine Chipurnoi, Wells Fargo Insurance Services; Tracey Daniels, Hartman & Craven LLP; and Wendy Berger, Cole Schotz Meisel Forman & Leonard PA.

Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, NYCREW Network, the original New York area chapter of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women, a national organization of over 8,000 commercial real estate professionals), was founded in 2001 to advance the success of women in commercial real estate through opportunity, influence and power. During the past ten years, NYCREW has provided its members with the skills and opportunities to achieve success in commercial real estate, encouraging doing business together in collaboration rather than competition. Comprised of senior and rising professionals from a broad range of disciplines within the commercial real estate industry, such as: financial services; asset and property management; developers; owners and operators; investment and property brokerage firms; and appraisers, accountants, architects, attorneys and other consultants, NYCREW members are also active in a wide range of industry segments, such as hospitality, industrial, office, retail, mixed use, transportation, etc. Tags: