✰PREMIUM
Brooklyn Board of Realtors install 2025 directors, including new president

DYKER HEIGHTS — The Brooklyn Board of Realtors (BBOR), an organization that advocates for realtors and their consumers to elevate professional competence, held their annual Installation of Directors ceremony the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Knights of Columbus on 86th Street. 

2025 directors included President Annette Fisher, Vice President Deborah Iemma, Treasurer Anne Marie Stanislaus, Secretary Judy Baldwin, Past President Barrington Richards, Eric Chan, Thomas D’Alcamo, Max Gurvitch, Frank Micali, Giulia Prestia and Harriet Robertson. 

Al Fazio, counsel for the BBOR, administered the oath of office before an audience of approximately 70 people.  

Strength in numbers 

Newly-installed Fisher told the Brooklyn Eagle that the purpose of the organization is “to teach people to operate ethically in the real estate business, as well as to help them build their businesses.” 

“Today we have members from not only the Brooklyn board here, but also from the Long Island Board of Realtors, the Staten Island Board of Realtors and the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors,” Fisher said, adding that her mission is to see that they all collaborate.

Fisher added, “Together we can accomplish a lot more.” 

The BBOR has been in existence for more than 100 years and has north of 1,300 members, including affiliates, salespeople, brokers, associate brokers and managers, Fisher explained.  

According to Fisher, the most pressing issue for Brooklyn real estate is “a shortage of real estate in the borough — which is why we are seeing a lot of rezoning happening so more units can be put in, whether they be co-ops, rentals or condos.”  

But Fisher added that the future of the Brooklyn real estate market is on the upswing.  

“While prices are high here, they certainly can go higher,” Fisher said. “As inflation goes up, real estate is one of those great investments where it may not go up after one or two years, then all of a sudden you’ll see it going up.”  

Brooklyn: the ‘garden spot of the universe’ 

Iemma, vice president for the BBOR, added that Brooklyn is the “garden spot of the universe.”

“People all over the world know Brooklyn,” Iemma said, “We want it to shine. We demand excellence from our members. With this group, you have access to certification and designation classes that put you many steps above agents that don’t have that level of education.” 

One of the BBOR’s goals, according to Iemma, is to foster good relationships between the brokers and salespeople, in addition to the real estate industry and surrounding communities.  

Dina Rabiner, vice president of Economic Development and Strategic Partnerships for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, also spoke to the crowd, pointing out some new developments happening in Brooklyn, specifically the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, which is currently under construction and will be the staging facility for a new offshore wind project, Empire Wind One.

“Also in Coney Island, 1515 Surf Avenue just came online as the first geothermal residential building in Brooklyn,” Rabiner said.  “We expect to see more of those looking forward.”  

The BBOR, founded in 1905, aims to elevate the real estate profession, through establishing and enforcing rigid standards of conduct and adherence to a national code of ethics. It is also part of the Board’s work to provide real estate brokers and their agents with information necessary for their business, which include educational programs for the membership and the public throughout the year.

Over the years the Board has consistently fought and lobbied locally and in the state capitol to make necessary changes in the laws to benefit the real estate profession, as well as to prevent passage of measure, which might prove detrimental to the best interest of the borough.