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THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER | DECEMBER 11, 2012 | 31

MaryAnne Gilmartin’s road to real estate was indirect. “I won an urban fellowship and chose a position that let me dabble in real estate, something I had no knowledge of or interest in,” Ms. Gilmartin said. “Once I had it in my veins, I never looked back.”

Mayor Ed Koch set up the pro-gram that launched her career as a means of stanching the flow of bright, ambitious young New Yorkers into the private sector. “In the ’80s, real estate brokers were one step above used car salesmen,” Ms. Gilmartin said. Shortly after that summer gig, the industry’s status and the face of New York were trans-formed—thanks in no small part to the seismic developments Ms.

Gilmartin oversaw after joining Forest City in 1994.

New York by Gehry—Frank Gehry’s skyline-morphing res-idential tower at 8 Spruce Street—and the New York Times Building are among Ms. Gilmartin’s bolder accomplish-ments. But the unfolding Atlantic Yards project might be the signa-ture piece of her career so far.

“You know I’m partial to Brooklyn,” Ms. Gilmartin, a Queens native, said when asked what she considered New York’s most tantalizing real estate cor-ridor. “Forest City and I have been slogging away there since the ’80s, when the money men would cross the Brooklyn Bridge to look at MetroTech in limousines with

bulletproof windows.” Now, Brooklyn is “the center

of gravity,” Ms. Gilmartin said. Jay-Z christened the renewed Downtown Brooklyn this fall with eight sold-out shows at Atlantic Yards’ centerpiece, the Barclays Center. “We’re extremely satis-fied with the Barclays Center,” Ms. Gilmartin said. “But we won’t stop at satisfaction.” —Billy Gray

Ariel BallCBRE

Financial AnalystYear joined: 2008

Recently completed CBRE’s Wheel Program.

Molly BealCushman & Wakefield

Senior Associate, RetailYear joined: 2007

Clients include Salvatore Ferragamo, H&M, Furla, Milly,

Bang & Olufsen, Taschen, DNA2050 and Burton Snowboard.

Elyse BandelRKF, Executive Vice President,

Marketing and Corporate CommunicationsYear joined: 2003

More than 20 years of experience in the marketing of commercial real estate projects and organizations.

Julie Beirman SolomonAREA Property PartnersPartner; Head of Business

Development and MarketingYear joined: 2006

Founding member of NYPEN Real Estate.

Luise BarrackRosenberg & Estis PC

Managing PartnerYear joined: 1984

Ligitation work includes rep-resenting owners, developers,

hoteliers, nonprofits and educa-tional institutions.

Meredith BellCBRE

Specialist, TransactionYear joined: 2010

A member of the Planning Committee for Tomorrow’s

Business Leaders.

Susan BellionCBRE,

Senior Contract AdministratorYear joined: 2006

Responsible for drafting, review-ing and negotiating brokerage and

confidentiality agreements with retail and office space clients.

Diana BiasottiJones Lang LaSalle

Senior Vice President; NY Tri-State Agency Leasing Director

Year joined: 2011Represented SL Green Realty

Corp., SJP Properties and Eastgate Realty Corp.

Amanda BokmanCBRE

Senior Vice PresidentYear joined: 2006

Recognized as a member of CBRE’s Colbert Coldwell Circle.

Melissa BazarCushman & Wakefield

Executive Director, BrokerageYear joined: 2005

Fifteen years of experience in tenant representation.

Karen BellantoniRKF

Executive Vice PresidentYear joined: 1999

Won the REBNY 2005 Retail Deal of the Year Award for arranging

the Apple lease on Fifth Avenue at the GM Building.

Elysa BerlinMassey Knakal Realty Services

Director of SalesYear joined: 2008

Honored twice in the Annual Women in Real Estate Spotlight.

Alexandra BogenEmerge212

Managing DirectorYear joined: 2005

Currently expanding the firm into new state-of-the-art facili-

ties at 3 Columbus Circle and 125 Park Avenue.

Kathryn Bonner WelchForest City Ratner Companies

Senior Vice President; Director of Retail Development

Year joined: 1985Oversees 18 properties and all new retail development in the

New York metro region.

MaryAnne Gilmartin, Forest City Ratner Companies Executive Vice President, Commercial and Residential Development