Robbins' Co-op and Condo expo expected to be largest ever

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 10, 2001

In response to a substantial increase in the number of exhibitors in this year's Co-op and Condo Expo, Feb. 8 at the New York Hilton on Sixth Avenue and 54th Street, The Cooperator has added more exhibition space, increased the length of the show by an hour, and scheduled four unique seminars on important headline topics, announces Yale Robbins, publisher of The Cooperator, which sponsors the event.

"When we received commitments from nearly 200 exhibitors by September, we knew this was going to be a big show," said Mr. Robbins. "But when industry stars such as Alan Rogers, managing director of Douglas Elliman, the city's largest brokerage, P. Leonard Jones, president of the New York Association of Realty Managers, and marketing wizard Anita Perrone of The Corcoran Group agreed to participate in our seminars -- even the potentially controversial ones -- we were really excited."

The Exhibition Hall opens at 9 a.m. and the seminars begin at 9:30 a.m. with a comprehensive look at the new Fire Code Regulations. Oft-quoted media insider Robert Grant of Midboro Management, Inc. will help clarify the issues with an expert panel that includes Julian Bazel, chief legal counsel for the New York Fire Department, Robert Mackoul, president of Mackoul & Associates, Neil Walash of Code Compliance of NYC, Inc., and John Santana of Grinnell Fire Protection.

At 11:30 a.m., New York City's celebrity brokers will be lending their expertise regarding "Buying a Coop or Condo Online: The Role of the Internet in Real Estate." Given the recent headlines about the dueling online Multiple Listing Services, this seminar offers words of wisdom from some of the biggest players in the controversy and promises to be both fascinating and informative. Alan Rogers, managing director of Douglas Elliman, Barbara Fox, founder and president of Fox Residential, Anita Perrone, marketing director of The Corcoran Group and attorney Diane Levine, who is also vice president and brokerage manager of Sotheby's International, are the panelists. Debra Beck, executive vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York, will be moderating.

Following lunch, which will be available again this year in the Expo Food Court, at 1:30 p.m., begins an important look at how co-ops and condos can protect their assets. "Preventing Fraud & Kickbacks: Keeping Your Board and Professionals Honest" is being moderated by NYARM president P. Leonard Jones, who will be joined by attorney Steven Wagner, senior partner, Wagner, Davis & Gold, accountant Marc Taub of Ellenbogen, Rubenstein & Eisdorfer, and Bob Viteretti, managing director of Kroll & Associates, an investigative firm.

The final seminar of the day at 3:30 p.m. is "Get Wired: How to Hi-Tech Your Building." Techno-wiz Michael J. Wolfe, who is also the president of Midboro Management, Inc. will be moderating a panel that includes telecommunications attorney Owen Kurtin of Salans Hertfeld Heilbronn Christy & Viener, Herb Hauser, president of technical design solutions firm Branes Wentworth, Victor Cruz of Time Warner, Mark C. Fuller of Verizon and Bill Mullady of RCN.

The Exhibition Halls will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with 200 booths. In addition to the increase in the number of booths, the popular Free Advice Booths are being brought back this year with top professionals offering valuable information. There will even be a Free Advice booth dedicated to telecommunications issues. Door prizes and complimentary copies of The Cooperator's 2001 edition of The Official Directory of Co-op & Condo Services will again be distributed throughout the day.

The day's events conclude with an industry cocktail party from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Tickets for this event are $15 and may be ordered at 212-683-5700, extension 316. As always, registration to the Expo itself is complimentary, but pre-registration is a requisite. To register for Co-op & Condo Expo 2001 at the New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas (54th Street), call 888-249-0367, or register online at www.coopexpo.com.

The Expo is sponsored by The Cooperator, a Yale Robbins, Inc. publication. Other Yale Robbins publications include Office Buildings Magazines, The Condo Sales Report and Residential Construction: A Market Survey.

In addition to publishing, Yale Robbins, Inc. hosts two well-regarded websites: mrofficespace.com and cooperator.com.