Mazel tov to Barry Gosin, CEO of Newmark Knight Frank, and Jeffrey Gural, chairman of Newmark, both of whom took home the coveted Jack D. Weiler Award today at an annual UJA Federation of New York luncheon at the Pierre.

The UJA Federation's Real Estate Division Executive Committee, which held the luncheon, reads like a who's who of New York City real estate: Joseph Moinian, Douglas Durst, Larry Silverstein, Daniel Tishman and Mary Ann Tighe, among others.

According to the release, here's why the two real estate honchos were chosen:  read more »

There’s really no need to travel to other First World countries at all anymore—unless, of course, you’re interested in architecture and landscape and other such trifles.

Hakkasan, the restaurant Time Out London called “a hidden Narnia of Oriental other-worldliness,” is scouting Manhattan locations for its first New World eatery.  read more »

Newmark Knight Frank C.E.O. Barry Gosin in this morning's Wall Street Journal:

"There is a slowdown... Any major financial institution is not in a hurry to rent space right at the moment."

Other old pros in New York commercial real estate have been saying the same thing recently about the office market. Rents have likely reached their peaks; and the credit market crises and uncertainty over the national economy aren't helping matters.

Look for more pros to sound similarly disconsolate themes in the coming weeks.

One of the industry's hot young talents, Paul Milunec, is leaving GVA Williams for Cushman & Wakefield.

The 28-year-old Mr. Milunec is joining Tara Stacom's high-profile team, where he'll be a director. Ms. Stacom has spent the better balance of the year rebuilding her team, after a devastating hit last year when Paul Amrich left for CB Richard Ellis. Earlier this year, Ms. Stacom added ex-Vornado broker David Green and now she brings in Mr. Milunec, who actually got his start at C&W in the emerging brokers program.

In an email today, Mr. Milunec made the announcement:

I am delighted to announce that after six wonderful years at GVA Williams I have decided to join Tara Stacom's team at Cushman & Wakefield. I look forward to working with Tara, David Green and the rest of her team.

All year, brokers have been whispering about Mr. Milunec, knowing that his increasing profile and popularity in the industry would eventually be too big for GVA to hold onto him. It's Cushman that had the foresight to claim him first.

Mr. Milunec is currently the treasurer for the Young Men's and Women's Real Estate Assocation, where David Green is a governor. Let this be a lesson to all those aspiring brokers: network!  read more »