REBNY Awards Are Legit

To the Editor:

Re “Scandal! Bigwigs Not Nominated for ‘Residential Deal of the Year’” [posted to observer.com on Oct. 5]:

The Observer ignored a key part of the story in order to unfairly and unnecessarily sensationalize what has become a worthy charity event and prestigious award ceremony.

First, the Real Estate Board of New York’s awards honor those brokers who have shown amazing ingenuity and creativity in a deal, not a broker who sold a property to a well-known celebrity.

In fact, all seller and buyer information is omitted from the submissions, including sale price, to protect the identity of those involved in the deal as well as to allow the judges to fully focus on the particulars of the deal and not who was involved. Whether it be a $50 million sale or a $1,000 sale, the details are what win the prize.

Second, all transactions must have taken place between Sept. 1, 2006, and Sept. 3, 2007, to be considered.

And finally, while it is either the broker or managing broker who can determine whether the particulars of the deal showed true ingenuity, it is false to say these deals are self-nominated.

The broker’s organization must meticulously review all details of the submission, endorse it and formally submit it—the broker cannot do this on behalf of him or herself.

The Observer’s conspiracy theory that somehow the city’s more prominent brokers (or at least those specifically named) have been excluded is utterly ridiculous. They have been nominated in the past, they are certain to be nominated in the future; but any deals they have worked in this time period, sadly, did not meet the contest’s criteria, plain and simple.

Steven Spinola
President
Real Estate Board of New York
Manhattan