Newmark’s Succession Question is Bigger Than Barry Gosin

Barry Gosin’s decision to leave Newmark’s CEO post at the end of the year is less a routine succession than a test of whether the brokerage can move beyond a leadership model built around one person.

Gosin has been at Newmark for roughly five decades, making his influence difficult to separate from the company itself. He will stick around as chairman through 2029, giving Newmark some continuity, but the CEO transition still creates an unusual problem: the company has to find someone capable of managing a sprawling brokerage while also navigating the personalities that come with it.

One internal solution is Lou Alvarado, Newmark’s chief operating officer. His appeal is not necessarily that he looks like the next great rainmaker. It’s that he appears well suited to the less glamorous — and potentially more consequential — job of keeping Newmark’s brokers aligned.

That distinction matters. Newmark’s decentralized, personality-driven brokerage culture can be an advantage when producers are winning business but a headache when competing teams collide. An executive who can referee those disputes without alienating the people generating revenue could be more valuable than another star broker at the top.

Jack Fuchs presents a different case. His rise from running Spring11 to overseeing global asset services gives him a track record of building an operation rather than simply managing one. If Newmark wants its next CEO to push the company into new businesses and markets, that experience could make Fuchs the more strategic choice.

But the most consequential piece of the succession puzzle may not be either executive. It’s the Lutnick family.

Cantor Fitzgerald holds a minority economic stake in Newmark but controls a majority of its voting power. Kyle Lutnick, 30, was recently installed as chief strategy officer, creating a position that could become increasingly important even if he isn’t ready to run the company today.

The lack of a ready-made successor may ultimately be less a weakness than a sign of the transition’s scale. Newmark isn’t simply replacing Gosin. It is figuring out what the company looks like when Gosin is no longer the person around whom everything revolves.

Working 9 to 5 (RIP Dolly Parton) and need a recap of what happened in New York real estate this week? We’re here for you:

DOJ accuses camp king Michael Shabsels of $13M in PPP fraud

The Department of Justice filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Michael Shabsels and his companies, alleging they improperly secured over $13 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds.

Prosecutors claim Shabsels concealed the interrelationships between his 30 U.S. summer camps from the Small Business Administration to bypass loan caps, obtaining $17 million in total loans when only $4 million was permitted.

The lawsuit, filed in White Plains federal court, follows a whistleblower complaint and coincides with a broader grand jury investigation into Shabsels and the collapse of Simad Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy in June after failing to return $34 million in diverted bondholder funds.

“About to give the keys”: Chetrit, Moinian and Minskoff’s Midtown tower sent to foreclosure auction

A New York judge ordered the 500-512 Seventh Avenue office towers to be sent to a foreclosure auction.

The ownership partnership, which includes the Chetrits, Moinian and Minskoff, defaulted on a $375 million loan.

This foreclosure follows allegations of financial mismanagement and self-dealing by the borrower, amid wider financial troubles for the Chetrit Group.

After lawsuit, Spitzer’s demolition of 985 Fifth Ave OK’d by state

A month after Eliot Spitzer sued the state’s Division of Homes and Community Renewal, alleging unjustified delays in approving the non-renewal of rent-stabilized leases to demolish 985 Fifth Avenue, his application was granted.

Although Spitzer received Landmarks Preservation Commission approval three years ago for a luxury condominium project, he waited more than two years for DHCR’s permission to end rent-stabilized leases at the current building.

Spitzer has $110 million in project financing lined up, but might still buy out four holdout tenants rather than evict them.

How NYC’s pied-à-terre tax is already changing the high-end rental market

New York City’s upcoming pied-à-terre tax is complicating the high-end rental market, as landlords are increasingly prioritizing full-time tenants to avoid paying the tax on their properties.

Lease agreements are becoming more rigorous, often requiring tenants to prove full-time residency, provide tax documentation and indemnify landlords against potential tax costs or related legal fees.

This dynamic is creating new challenges for prospective renters who cannot claim full-time residency, with some brokers anticipating higher prices or more limited options for non-local tenants in an already scarce market.