Q Last book you read. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Describe in one sentence.
A Other People’s Money. Thumbs Up. Greed and Ego during the last real estate bubble combine to make and kill the largest real estate deal ever consumed in the tale of the sale of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village
Q Best movie you have seen in last year.
A Got two. Darkest Hour and Yesterday. The question “What if?” is posed at two very different levels.
Q When you are around town during the week is there a place that would cause you to walk ten blocks out of your way?
A I always walk out of my way to dip into Eataly, the Italian food smorgasbord at 5th Avenue and 23rd Street. Everything is delicious.
Q Favorite thing about your job.
A I love creating and evolving, whether it’s a software idea, a marketing campaign or just a simple change to our core product. My goal each and every day is to create a better product and an improved customer experience.
Q Best/favorite tech gadget you own.
A Don’t know if this qualifies, but I love playing music on my Sonos system either in the office or at home.
Q Favorite web site you consistently visit/use.
A That’s too easy. Linecity of course. My second favorite website is Smugmug where I post and share my photographs on the web.
Q Define your job at OLR.
A As president, I am pretty much involved in everything at the company.
Q Accomplishment that you are most proud of at OLR.
A That day in and day we provide a data platform that most of our users say they can’t live without.
Q If you had one day in the city to spend by yourself, how would you spend it.
A I would probably rollerblade the Hudson River Esplanade from BPC up to the Intrepid. I would stop at the “Beach” at Pier 25, enjoy a city barbeque for lunch and watch the people pass.
Q Best chance encounter with a celebrity.
A When I was a kid I was working at my dad’s store at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue. In order to go to the men’s room you had to take the building elevator to another floor. And it was on one of those trips that I met Jacqueline Onassis. She autographed the piece of paper in hand and I still have it to this day.
Q First job. Describe it. How did you get it?
A Aside from working for my father, my first job was refereeing junior-high school floor hockey games for the town rec department. I did this while I was in high school.
Q Advice you might give a college graduate about finding a first job.
A Ask your parents and any other relative to name everyone that they might know and what they do for a living. See if there is anything on the list that might be of interest and offer to intern. You just need a start. Then it’s work as hard as you can. Differentiate yourself. Be a sponge for knowledge and advice.
Q Favorite thing you have heard someone say about your product or company in the near past.
A When we recently launched Linecity, one broker actually said “God Bless You.” But on many occasions, I have heard brokers state that they “could not live without OLR.” What’s better than that!
Q How long have you been at OLR?
A Well, since I founded the company, I guess that I have been here the longest, since 1995. In September we hit our 25th Anniversary. I vividly remember brokers looking me in the eye and saying, “How will I know that you will be around,” when we made our first sales calls.
Q When did you realize that OLR was going to be a viable product for the residential community?
A Actually before I even launched the product I knew that the idea would work. When I formulated the idea, firms were still mailing listing information to cooperating firms. Some firms had flat file DOS databases, basically lists; others had nothing but an archaic filing system to store/manage listing information. We knew that a Windows based relational data platform would work. Sure enough, our initial presentation delivered out first client.
Q Greatest change that you have seen in the city since you have lived here?
A Let’s say “changes.”. The evolution of the Financial District as a viable residential destination. The development of Long Island City and the Brooklyn waterfront.
Q Six words to describe OLR.
A Trusted. Committed. Innovative. Data. Knowledge. Source.
Q Favorite vacation/trip that you have taken.
A Family vacation several summers ago to Iceland. Exhilarating. Never close your eyes because you might miss something magical.
Q Last book you read. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Describe in one sentence.
A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire. Book five of George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy novel was tough to get through. If it wasn’t because I was so committed to the underlying story I would never have finished reading the book.
Q Best movie you have seen in last year.
A Gravity
Q When you are around town during the week is there a place that would cause you to walk ten blocks out of your way?
A Lula's Sweet Apothecary 516 East 6th Street
Q Favorite thing about your job.
A In our high tech world I really enjoy the interaction with our clients. Trying to understand their issues and concerns to better improve our services.
Q Best/favorite tech gadget you own.
A My phablet: Galaxy’s Note II
Q Favorite web site you consistently visit/use.
A Pinterest
Q Define your job at OLR.
A I assist in every facet of the day-to-day. Whether its helping the data team address issues with listing information or the helping the development team push out a new product I am available.
Q Accomplishment that you are most proud of at OLR.
A I am proud of my contribution to the overall growth of the company.
Q If you had one day in the city to spend by yourself, how would you spend it.
A Bike riding.
Q Best chance encounter with a celebrity.
A Doing shots of wheatgrass with Harvey Keitel at Yorganic in Tribeca.
Q First job. Describe it. How did you get it?
A Jerry’s Pizza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I was 13 years old and I wanted to learn how to make pizza, so I asked one of the owners of the local pizzeria. Jerry offered me an entry level job scooping Italian ices.
Q Advice you might give a college graduate about finding a first job.
A Be persistent.
Q Favorite thing you have heard someone say about your product or company in the near past.
A Could not operate without OLR.
Q How long have you been at OLR?
A 14 Years
Q What did you realize that OLR was going to be a viable product for the residential community?
A When I started training agents. The more I visited and saw how much people depended on OLR.
Q Greatest change that you have seen in the city since you have lived here?
A Citi Bike program. How often does a city institute a new means of transportation.
Q Six words to describe OLR.
A Respectable. Uncompromising. Resourceful. Prudent. Exemplary. Industrious.
Q Favorite vacation/trip that you have taken.
A Rincon, Puerto Rico. My beach chair, some tunes and a cooler.
Q Last book you read. Thumbs up or thumbs down. Describe in one sentence.
A Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio.
Q Best movie you have seen in the last year.
A From Here to Eternity.
Q Walk 10 blocks out of the way.
A Katz Deli.
Q Favorite thing about your job.
A To be instrumental in a great company's growth and expansion.
Q Best/favorite tech gadget I own.
A Laptop.
Q Favorite website I constantly visit.
A You Tube.
Q Define job at OLR.
A Creatively introducing and expanding our products and services into the NYC Real Estate community while spotlighting the abundant benefits of OLR's advanced technology in data, apartment listings and our new and prodigious consumer resource, Linecity.
Q Accomplishment that you are most proud of at OLR.
A Roll out of Linecity.
Q If you had one day in the city to spend by myself, how would you spend it.
A Walk the entire length of Central Park.
Q Best chance encounter with a celebrity.
A Allan Holdsworth-late, great electric guitarist.
Q First job describe it. How did I get it?
A Delivering Newspapers. Youthful ambition.
Q Advice I might give a college graduate about finding a job.
A Work intensely on these three things, 1. Be persistent 2. Your "Attitude" is more important then facts 3. Smile.
Q Favorite thing you have heard someone say about your product or company in the past.
A Love OLR.
Q How long have you been at OLR?
A Two years, (25 years as a client!!!).
Q When did you realize that OLR was going to be a viable product for the residential community?
A 25 years ago when I engaged OLR for my residential real estate firm which I was the owner and principal broker.
Q Greatest change that you have seen in the city since you have lived here.
A New Yankee Stadium.
Q Six words to describe OLR.
A Inspiring, creative, community, resourceful, expanding, deep-tech.
Q Favorite vacation/trip that you have taken.
A Rome, Italy-"my kind of town".
