REBNY elect Nelson of Massey Knakal as chair and Podell of Cushman & Wakefield as vice chair of commercial board of directors

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has elected its commercial board of directors, which oversees the commercial brokerage division for REBNY. James Nelson, partner at Massey Knakal Realty Services, has been elected as the new chairman, succeeding William Montana of Savills Studley who served for five years as chairperson. Joanne Podell, vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, has been elected vice chairman. "It is an honor and privilege to be of continued service to REBNY," said Nelson. "The Commercial Board of Directors will continue to do their part to promote the best interests of the New York City real estate industry and the people who live and work here." "It's an honor to be sharing a leadership role on REBNY's commercial board of directors," said Podell. "I look forward to contributing in ways that build upon the ongoing success of this outstanding organization." "Serving as chairman for the last five years has been my privilege and a pleasure. We've grown the commercial brokerage division tremendously and accomplished so much through our many new initiatives. The creation of the NYCP commercial education program was particularly gratifying," said Montana. "I am pleased to pass the baton on to James Nelson and Joanne Podell, and know that REBNY will be well served by such capable professionals." "We thank Bill Montana for his seven years of outstanding leadership and service as chairman and welcome James Nelson and Joanne Podell as the new chair and vice chair," said Steven Spinola REBNY president. "These top industry experts have brought invaluable experience and knowledge to our commercial board of directors and we congratulate them on being elected for these much-deserved leadership roles." REBNY's commercial board of directors also elected the following as directors: * Robin Abrams of The Lansco Corporation * Shimon Shkury of Ariel Property Advisors * Matthew Van Buren of CBRE * Mark Weiss of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank