'Queen' of Queens commercial real estate joins Insignia/ESG

Real Estate Weekly, June 18, 1997

Seaman, sometimes dubbed the "Queen" of Queens commercial real estate, has close to 15 years of industry-related experience, most of it focused on large, complex industrial and office transactions throughout the commercial neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn. She has represented many of the most important corporations and industrial manufacturers in New York, including Mobil Oil Corporation, Toyota Corporation, Parsons Brinckerhaff, Interflo Technologies, Western Beef, Taystee Bread, Borden Food, The Pace Collection, Feldman Lumber, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Board of Education, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Home Depot, USA Waste and the City of New York.

"We are honored and delighted to have Marjorie Seaman join our team and spearhead our expansion of services and coverage throughout the outer boroughs," said Insignia/ESG's President Stephen B. Siegel. "She brings a wealth of experience, relationships, and enthusiasm to the firm and her appointment underscores our commitment to deliver the best and most geographically extensive service in the metro region."

Adds Richard Karson, Insignia/ESG's Senior Managing Director, "When we decided to enter the Long Island market, we were determined to provide truly comprehensive coverage - all the way from Queens and Brooklyn out to Eastern Suffolk County. With Marjorie Seaman on our team, now we have the resources to fulfill that goal."

Insignia/ESG-LI already boasts the largest office leasing agency portfolio in the Queens market, totaling in excess of 2 million square feet and including such prestigious properties as The Queens Atrium Corporate Center (the former IDCNY buildings) and the three-building Rego Park office portfolio owned by the LeFrak Organization. Seaman has been charged with the direction of the Long Island City-based Queens and Brooklyn operations and the further expansion of Insignia/ESG-LI's presence in the market.

"Insignia/ESG is the first national real estate company to recognize the importance of the outer boroughs as they relate to the entire New York metropolitan region," says Seaman. "I am delighted to join this powerhouse firm and be able to bring their tremendous resources to bear for my clients throughout Brooklyn and Queens."

Prior to joining Insignia/ESG-LI, Seaman was founder and president of Seaman Realty & Management Co., Inc., the only female-owned and operated industrial and commercial real estate brokerage firm in the outer boroughs. A tireless champion for her clients, Seaman has been fondly nicknamed the "Greenpoint Goddess of Real Estate" for her unflagging ability to close large, unwieldy, and difficult transactions. Among her more notable transactions, Seaman successfully leased and sold separate parcels within an 11-acre site valued at nearly $23 million on behalf of the Mobil Oil Corporation.

One of the widest known and most highly regarded professionals in the industrial real estate business, Seaman is an active member of many of the City's most prestigious professional and civic organizations. A former governor of the Young Men's/Women's Real Estate Association, she is also a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Long Island City Business Development Corporation, the Queens, Brooklyn and JFK Chambers of Commerce and the Mayor's Initiative Brownfields Taskforce. In addition, Seaman teaches a popular course which she created for the Real Estate Board of New York titled "The Advantages and Disadvantages of Relocating in the Greater Boroughs."

Prior to entering the commercial real estate brokerage profession, Seaman worked in City government, first as Chief of Staff for former Upper East Side Councilman Robert J. Dryfoos and later as a member of the Mayors Office under Mayor Ed Koch. Seaman is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Michigan and holds a Master's Degree from New York University's Robert Wagner School of Public Administration.

When she's not running around the outer boroughs with her clients, Marjorie can be found running around the island of Manhattan - literally. Seaman runs six to eight miles during the week and 24 miles over the weekend to train for the New York City Marathon.

"Running gives me peace of mind and focus," she says. We real estate brokers spend a lot of time running from building to building, meeting to meeting. My fitness running gives me the time and frame of mind to link the value of these many meetings to a bigger picture. After a good run, I'm set to tackle the challenges of the day and the strength training doesn't hurt when it comes to business either."

Insignia/Edward S. Gordon Co., Inc., a subsidiary of insignia Commercial Group, Inc., is one of the largest full-service commercial real estate brokerage firms in the United States and the leading commercial real estate brokerage firm in Manhattan. It has offices in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan, Saddle Brook, NJ, Syosset, NY, Long Island City, NY, and Stamford, CT.

Insignia Commercial Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Insignia Financial Group, Inc. With corporate headquarters in Greenville, SC, Insignia Financial Group, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate services company. Insignia is the largest manager of multifamily residential properties in the United States and is among the largest managers of commercial properties. Insignia Financial Group, Inc. commenced operations in December 1990 and now provides services for approximately 275,000 residential units (including cooperative and condominium units) and more than 149 million square feet of retail, commercial and industrial space.