NYSCAR October 2025 president’s message: Annual meeting wrap-up - by Robert Strell

NYSCAR’s annual meeting and Board of Governors meeting was held at Turning Stone Resort and Casino on September 15. 2026 officers and directors were elected as follows:

• President - Mercedes Brien, (RAC);

• First vice president - Carolyn Vinci, (WNY);

• Second vice president - Andrew Mangini, (Greater Capital);

• Treasurer - Hilary Ryan Goldman, (HV).

Governors

2026 - 2028 term - William Heussler (WNY), Valerie Port, (HV); Jessica Richer (Gtr. Capital); and Gunner Tronolone (WNY)

2026 term - Dawn Carpenter, CPM, (SI); and Teresa Belmore, (HV)

2027 term - Tom Lischak, CCIM (Syracuse)

Congratulations to all!

Reports were heard from all the committees and chapters.

The board approved the 2026 budget and free education for members for 2026.

Please visit nyscar.org/resources and tools/professional development for upcoming courses.

Professional Development Schedule

Please go to nyscar.org for full information

Introduction To Commercial Real Estate Leases – The Engines that Drive Commercial Real Estate 

Date: October 9, 2025

Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am via Zoom

Instructor: Joseph Larkin, CCIM, SIOR, MCR, SLCR of Joe Larkin CRE Advisor

Two-hour elective course

What you will learn:

• An overview of the various benefits of lease abstracts.

• The key lease terms that influence a company’s objectives.

• The repercussions of inaccurately measuring a space’s square footage.

• Methods for accurately calculating the size of a space.

• The different types of leases and their impact on real estate decisions.

• How to calculate the total cost of occupying a space from the perspective of the tenant.

• How to assess the value of a tenant from the landlord’s viewpoint.

• Identifying the different lease types and their effect on real estate decisions.

This is a course with a continuation next month on Nov. 10 (9:00 am-11:00 am).

Safety and Security for Real Estate Professionals 
Date: October 14, 2025

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. via Zoom

Instructor: NYS trooper Steven Rothwein

1.5-hours elective course

In this course we will discuss safety and security at your office, ways to react to an emergency situation and safety tips when showing properties to clients.  We will finish by discussing real life scenarios and how best to respond to them. 

Introduction to Cost Segregation

Date: October 24, 2025

Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am via Zoom

Instructor: Frank Giudici, director with Source Advisors

Two-hour elective course

Benefits of embracing cost segregation:

• Solidify client relationships…this is a tremendous tax savings value-add to offer clients who may not know any better;

• A legitimate reason to reconnect with clients (past/present/future). cost segregation is retroactive, which means anyone who owns commercial real estate (yes, both residential- and commercial-uses) dating back to the early-2000s can still take advantage as part of their 2024 taxes without having to amend previous years’ tax filings;

• Generate more brokerage business…understanding how cost segregation works will allow brokers representing both buyers and sellers to close more business, and at a minimum, generate property interest;

• Personal gain…as licensed brokers you are considered real estate professionals (REP), a special designation on one’s taxes that allows for depreciation deductions from the ownership of CRE to be used to offset any/all types of income, including your spouse…REPs are able to take full advantage of cost segregation.

Discrimination Issues in Commercial Real Estate 

Date: November 20, 2025

Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon   via Zoom

Instructor: Edward Smith, Jr.

This course fulfills three-hours of “fair housing/discrimination” needed for license renewal.
 

Robert Strell is president of NYSCAR, Albany, N.Y.