Two Trees Management appoints Conoscenti as director of commercial leasing

Two Trees Management Co. has appointed Thomas Conoscenti, an expert on the Downtown Brooklyn real estate market, to serve as director of commercial leasing. He is the former executive director of planning and administration for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP), where he oversaw urban planning, real estate and commercial attraction initiatives. He served in various capacities with the organization for seven years. In his new position, he will focus on Two Trees' office and retail properties, including 50 West 23rd St. in Manhattan; and 20 Jay St., 45 Main St. and 55 Washington St. in DUMBO. "Tom has first-hand experience working with the types of industries that are growing in New York City, and will be a tremendous asset for the long-term growth of the company," said Jed Walentas of Two Trees Management Co. During Conoscenti's tenure at DBP, he helped to attract many creative office tenants and restaurateurs to Downtown Brooklyn, including Makerbot, Homer, Ganso and Shake Shack. In addition, he worked on several major initiatives for the organization, including the conversion of the lower floors of the Brooklyn Municipal Building to retail and the conversion of 370 Jay St., a long-vacant MTA building, into an applied sciences campus for NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress. Conoscenti, 32, began his career at the N.Y.C. Department of City Planning, where he worked as a city planning technician. In 2008, he was named one of New York Real Estate Magazine's "30 Under 30 Rising Stars." A Long Island native, Conoscenti now lives in downtown Brooklyn and serves on Brooklyn Community Board 2, chairing its economic development committee. He earned a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.A. degree in geography and political science from Vassar College. Thomas Conoscenti, Two Trees Management Co.