While Gov. Hochul vowed to provide funding to adequately finance MTA projects, at press time no firm plans have been released.
According to the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Complaint Center Report, there were more than 101,068 complaints filed by individuals over 60 years old resulting in more than $3.4 billion in losses in 2023.
A well-known business leader, Weale was perhaps best known for co-founding Country Bank in Carmel and later serving as President and CEO of the Putnam County Economic Development Corp. for 13 years.
SLEEPY HOLLOW—The Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors held its 106h Annual Member Appreciation Day and Annual Meeting on Monday, Oct. 24 at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel and Conference Center here that was highlighted by the announcement that veteran Manhattan Realtor Tony D’Anzica of DynaMax Realty, NYC, Inc. is the organization’s 2023 President.
At the event, HGAR Awards Chairperson Katheryn DeClerck reported that the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors had selected Gail Fattizzi, a former HGAR President and manager of ERA Insite Realty Services of White Plains, as its “Realtor of the Year” for 2022. Brian Tormey, President of TitleVest Agency in Manhattan, was named HGAR’s 2022 “Affiliate of the Year” winner.
2022 President-elect Tony D’Anzica addressed the HGAR members at the Annual Meeting and Members’ Day event in Tarrytown.
The session marked the second year in a row the HGAR Annual Meeting & Member’s Day was an in-person gathering. In 2020, the Annual Meeting was held virtually in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Annual Meeting was a day-long event that included educational seminars, an RPAC Luncheon featuring speaker 2021 National Association of Realtors President Charlie Oppler and a rousing keynote speaker Kaplan Mobray who kept the attendees at the edge of their seats with his presentation entitled “What Makes You Indispensable.”
The program, in addition to the award presentations, featured speeches by 2022 HGAR President HGAR President Anthony Domathoti and incoming 2023 President D’Anzica as well as the election of Directors.
The proposed slate of HGAR Officers to serve in 2023 include President D’Anzica, President-Elect Carmen A. Bauman, Treasurer Joseph Lippolis, Secretary Vlora Sejdi, Immediate Past President Domathoti and Past President Crystal Hawkins-Syska.
The following Directors were elected by the membership into office: Regional Director and Chapter Representative Bronx County Joseph Cosentino of Morris Park Realty Group; Regional Director and Chapter Representative New York County (i.e., Manhattan) Lee Presser of eXp Realty NYC; Regional Director Putnam County Aaron C. Velez of Houlihan Lawrence Inc.; Regional Director Orange County Carole M. McCann of Hudson Heritage Realty; Regional Director Rockland County Roberta F. Bangs of Howard Hanna Rand Realty; and Regional Director Westchester County Roseann Paggiotta of Houlihan Lawrence Inc.
The following Directors with Terms Expiring December 31, 2025 (“Class 1” Directors) were elected at the annual meeting: Rey Hollingsworth Falu of Hollingsworth Real Estate Group; Anthony Ruperto of J. Philip Real Estate, LLC; Darin (Nan) Palumbo of Green Grass Real Estate Corp.; Timothy J. Mullowney of Zillow Inc. and Emran H. Bhuiyan of Exit Realty Premium.
Ronald Garafalo of John J. Lease Realtors Inc, was elected to a Class 2 Director position with his term expiring on Dec 31, 2023.
In his President’s Message, 2022 President Domathoti discussed his platform, “Renew, Reenergize and Reengage and the administration’s numerous accomplishments, including the work of the DEI Committee as well as its Global Business Council’s efforts in staging the Global Real Estate Summit last month in New York City, which helped HGAR secure the Platinum Global Achievement Program Award from the National Association of Realtors at its event in Orlando, FL earlier this month.
He also urged HGAR members to join in the fight for Fair Housing. “We’ve come a long way since the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, but we still have further to go,” he said. “If we want to lead change for the better, then we must stand up and support diverse and inclusive communities where everyone is welcome.”
Domathoti asked members to complete NAR’s Fair Housing Challenge: Stand Up for Racial Equity and finish NAR’s free “Fairhaven Fair Housing Simulation and Implicit Bias Training.”
Incoming President D’Anzica discussed his journey into real estate and his initial involvement with the Manhattan Association of Realtors, where he would later serve as its president, and his efforts in growing HGAR since the merger of the two associations in January 2017.
D’Anzica acknowledged the economic uncertainties that exist in the real estate market and economy.
“It is more important than ever to invest in RPAC because our industry, our property rights and our very livelihoods are under attack as never before in this state,” he said.
HGAR 2022 Realtor of the Year upon receiving the award, said, “I feel like it is the Academy Award for real estate.”
The program also included four educational presentations starting with HGAR In-House Counsel and Director of Legal Services & Professional Standards Administrator Brian Levine who discussed “Ethical Business Practices: Better Business Benefits You and Your Clients. Amy Cherow, president of Curated Learning, offered an informative look at “Crypto, Blockchain, NFTs and Real Estate.” Her session was followed by New York Presbyterian Group’s relaxing “Stress Management and Mindfulness” seminar. The program also featured a lively panel discussion led by HGAR CEO Richard Haggerty entitled “Introduction to Commercial Real Estate and Investments.” Panelists included CID President John Barrett of RM Friedland, Mackenzie Forsberg of Genesis Realty Group LLC and Carmen Bauman of Green Grass Real Estate Corp.
The event also featured nearly 60 exhibitors ranging from real estate, banking and mortgage service firms to chimney cleaning, elevator, environmental and remediation services, healthcare and wellness, insurance, junk removal, media, moving and storage, oil and tank services, pest control, photography/videography, restoration, senior living, social media, tenant screening and title insurance. In addition, HGAR’s Political Action Committee and Realtor Foundation were available, as well as representatives of the New York State Association of Realtors and the Women’s Council of Realtors Local Westchester Chapter.
Event sponsors were: CrossCountry Mortgage, Elm Street Technology (Elevate), Judicial Title Insurance Agency LLC and Hudson Valley Credit Union. The RPAC Luncheon Sponsor was Hudson United, the sponsor of the Keynote Speaker Address was O’Donnell & Cullen Property Tax Consultants and the Celebration Cocktail Party was A.S.A.P. Mortgage Corp.
Sales were down in all counties in the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors market area, with Orange County posting the largest decline in single-family home sales at 26.9%.
“The struggle to create housing that is affordable for people across the entire spectrum of income will be the defining civic issue for this generation of leaders in the Hudson Valley,” Pattern CEO Adam Bosch said.
Data shows that from 1996-2021, the Hudson Valley region lost a net total of 146,763 people to out migration, which calculates out to 5% of the Hudson Valley’s population.
“2023 was a difficult year for Realtors due to high mortgage rates and low housing inventory, which significantly impacted home sales volume,”
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