Wednesday, March 16th, at 9:30 am on Zoom, we held the 2022 Top Producers Awards. Robbie Pittman from Prime Lending was our host again this year, and he started the meeting by thanking those in attendance for the top producers’ awards. Afterward, he began the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance. Robbie then gave his insights into the Silicon Valley, and Signature Bank collapses, as many were worried this would affect the mortgage industry. Robbie stated that he believes more banks will be in trouble but will not impact the mortgage industry since the banks were investing in Federal Reserves or Cryptocurrency.
After Robbie gave his insights, the meeting was handed over to Jen Mitzger, an Ulster County Executive. Jen first thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and the Ulster County Board of REALTORS® for inviting her. Jen shared her story about the struggles of growing up in a middle-class family to her father being laid off, leaving them struggling to find an affordable place to live in Ulster County. She is a long-time resident of Rosendale with her husband, John Schwartz, and their three sons: Gideon, Jasper, and Silas. Her past and strong ties to the area helped fuel Jen’s fight for affordable housing in Ulster County, where she now fights to help local families survive as an Ulster County Executive.
Jen spoke about supply being the most prominent issue in the fight for housing affordability. She discussed the recent State of the County Address, where Ulster County is planning on capitalizing on affordable housing development and creating a housing trust with $15 million in excess fund balance to help pay the costs of clean energy, predevelopment costs, and other needs. They are also attempting to move forward on the Ulster County Land Bank to develop and repurpose abandoned properties. However, the City of Kingston already has one, and the state will only allow one Land Bank per county. Jen stated that the local governments would best assist with affordable housing by amending zoning and streamlining approval notices; the UCBR members can also help by finding properties to be re-developed and encouraging local towns to do their part.
Jen then moved on to a quick Q&A with the attending REALTOR® members. The first question was regarding the Central Hudson billing issue that everyone has been experiencing. Jen voiced her frustration with the Central Hudson billing and that she and other representatives have been very vocal about involving the Public Service Committee. Jen also stated that she spoke with the new Central Hudson CEO, who is claiming to have fixed the billing issue; Jen also voiced that she believes the bills are incomprehensible to customers and Central Hudson needs to do a better job showing the estimated billing, what the customer paid, and what the customer will get back.
The next question to Jen regarded rent control and the counting protecting rental buildings. Jen reiterated that Kingston does already have rent control, but Ulster County doesn’t, and there are no efforts on the county level. In the spring, Kingston will be voting on Access Development Units that will help those on a fixed income, especially the elderly, to allow them to stay in their homes. They will receive supplemental income to help them pay their rent with cities like Kingston and a number of other cities already implementing ADUs. The county received funding for a program to support the construction of ADUs for those municipalities that have already voted to pass zoning laws for ADUs.
Another member asked about the Land Bank and how that will affect local contractors that flip houses. Jen stated that the Board of Directors would decide any Land Bank objectives or issues. The question was followed by asking if there was any discussion on rebox regarding abandoned big box malls. Jen stated that the county would like these properties to be redeveloped. The housing trust can be a big help with this. Zoning with the local municipalities would also benefit from rebuilding these abandoned malls with new housing or other projects. It was then asked if the Old Inn on Broadway would be redeveloped. There was no information on that building being remodeled; however, Golden Hill is being converted into 164 units of affordable housing for workforce and senior citizens.
The final question was on Kingston’s Community Choice Aggregation. Jen responded that she was not the best to ask; however, if any of the REALTOR® members had any questions, they should reach out and speak with Susan Golesky.
Jen said she enjoyed being at the meeting and thanked everyone again for including her with a final congratulations to all 2022 winners!
Next up, Pieta Williams and Marianne Miller, our two new chairs for the UCBR Community Service Committee, thanked Sheena Lopez for her hard work running the committee for the past four years. Pieta stated that the committee would have all the usual drives, such as the Thanksgiving Baskets and coat drive. They also plan on creating more hands-on projects than fundraisers, and the first meeting for the UCBR Community Service Committee will be Thursday, March 23rd, at 9:30 am, with all members being welcome to join.
Dino Alexander from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee asked all members to look out for upcoming news on the Fair Housing event in the last week of April, similar to last year’s.
Our 2023 President, Randy Speisman, began by thanking our wonderful sponsors and saying that all members should be supporting them in return. Randy stated that our current membership continues to go strong, with us not losing any members. He also urged our members to take advantage of our partnership with Empire learning; if any member would like to take advantage, it is free and online; call the Board, and you will receive the promo code. He also urged everyone to utilize the NYSAR and NAR, part of the UCBR membership, for information and other resources to help their business. Randy also stated that he is working with Allison Organtini on an initiative with each member office having a liaison to bring NYSAR and NAR information to meetings and show more of what the Ulster County Board of REALTORS® does.
The meeting then listed the winners for the top producers of the number of units sold. Congratulations to the following winners:
20-29 Units
20- Rodney Batista- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
20- Andy Cariello- Weichert- The Spiesman Group
20- Zachary Jarvis- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
20- Dawn Passante- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
20- Sharon Breslau- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
20- Angela Paul- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
21.5- Irvin Newmark- Lucille Hand Real Estate
22.5- Lawrence O’Toole- Corcoran Country Living
23- Mary Sheeley- Stoeckeler Real Estate Service
23.5- Kristen Zigouras- EXP Realty
24- Catherine Lenz- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
25- Richard Greenspan- Ruth Gale Realty
25- Jennifer Mangione- Grist Mill Real Estate
26- Elizabeth Alfeld- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
26- Scott Helsmoortel- Helsmoortel Realty
26- Amy Lonas- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
28.5- Ronnie Rebis- Grist Mill Real Estate
29- Laurel Sweeney- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
30-39 Units
30- Peter Cantine- Halter Associates Realty
31.5- Richard Vizzini- Corcoran Country Living
32.5- Jeff Serouya- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
33.5- Jeanne Boice- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
34- Gabrielle Edwards- Berardi Realty
34- Leigh Quintana- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
35- Dylan Taft- Taft Street Realty
35.5- Donna Brooks- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
37.5-Kyla Thomas– Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
39.5-Mary Orapello- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
40-49 Units
41- Megan Rios- Berardi Realty
50-59 Units
58- Ron Knowles- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
After Randy finished reading the units sold winners and congratulating them again, Candida Ellis took the floor. Candida thanked Jen for taking the time to come to the meeting and answer questions, and she also thanked the staff at the UCBR. Candida briefly spoke about the MLS assistant, which will explore the functionality and success of data and support members on the ever-changing data. She then went on to list the Top Producers of 2022 in the millions:
1-2 Million
Jeoffrey Devor- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Brenda Lepez-Mercado- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Barry Creagan-Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Andi Turco-Levin- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Siobhan Scanlan-Win Morrison Realty
Joan Roberts-Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties
George Denise- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Benjamin Gildersleeve- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Karen Grothkopp-Grist Mill Real Estate
William Frank Jones- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Karen Gilbane- Halter Associates Realty
Leighton Ashley- Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties
2-3 Million
Irvin Newmark- Lucille Hand Real Estate
Troy Mekulik- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Daniel Winn- Halter Associates Realty
Patricia Kowatch- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Erica Valencia- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Sara Nelson- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Cheryl Nekos- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Heidi Stock- Grist Mill Real Estate
Sara Gorman-Maliha- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Dylan Donofrio- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Fawn Denue- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Yvonne Winnie- Grist Mill Real Estate
Dominick Martorana- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
Andrew Centrone- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
Sangi Nouweland- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
MaryAnn Miller- MaryAnn Miller Real Estate
Jing Zheng- Win Morrison Realty
Colleen Bicknese- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Alexandra Taylor- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Amie Durham- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Anna Barcone- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Charissa Mikesh-Taft Street Realty
Marilyn Heir- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Ann Levine- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Sarah Finch- Halter Associates Realty
Jamie Corts- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Dennis Bressack- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Heather Rieker- Grist Mill Real Estate
Philip Kelly- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
3-4 Million
Michael Lawlor- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Emily Daniels- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Dominique Musialkiewicz- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Sheila Wise- Halter Associates Realty
Kimberly Kulp- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Mario Geissler- Corcoran Country Living
Gianfranco Pellegri- Grist Mill Real Estate
Yvonne Wilder- Halter Associates Realty
Sabrina Puppolo- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Andrew Jansen- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Barbara Ellman- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Karen Sullivan- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Joel Craig- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Toni Petfield- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
Christina Sellers- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Ryan Basten- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Erica Schupp- Corcoran Country Living
Amy Rosen- Ruth Gale Realty
Sally Sprogis- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Brian Cafferty- Halter Associates Realty
Hilary Kolos- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Carol Graham- Corcoran Country Living
Jill Zarcone- Grist Mill Real Estate
Nicholas Carelli- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Julie Mazur- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Deborah Medenbach- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Valerie Cashen- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Dorothea Marcus- Halter Associates Realty
Vincenza Seche- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Shannon O’Connell- Grist Mill Real Estate
Petra Heist- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
4-5 Million
John Kralik- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Briana Cermak- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
LeAnna Click- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Laura Warren- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Pamela Jean Orr- Keller Williams Upstate NY
Erin Flaherty- Halter Associates Realty
Shana Altstaetter- Halter Associates Realty
Maria Gianas- The Machree Group
Eric Amaral- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Nicholas Cimato- Taft Street Realty
Alexander James- Fresh Air Realty
Bruce Stalnaker- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Faye Storms- Ruth Gale Realty
Pieta Williams- Halter Associates Realty
Veronica Newton- Compass Greater NY
Laurie Osmond- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Linda Majetich-Hansen- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Edwin Maldonado- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Carolyn Peters-Baker- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Kathleen Maxwell- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Celeste Lukaszewski- Weichert-The Spiesman Group
Tecia Poulas- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Steven Asher Cohen- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Melissa Zoe Hirsch- Melissa Hirsch
Kathy-Ann Shumway- Win Morrison Realty
Marguerite Ehmann- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
5-6 Million
George Stephenson- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Michelle Chinnery- Taft Street Realty
Cathy Pulichene- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Diane Silverberg- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Christina Ahouse- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Eliana Amodio- Amodio Real Estate
Gail Vesely- Lucille Hand Real Estate
Mercedes Ross- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Mary Sheeley- Stoeckeler Real Estate Service
Rodney Batista- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Victoria Stent- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Savannah Miceli- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
Elizabeth Decker-Hello Dolly Real Estate
Kim Cantine- Halter Associates Realty
Nicola Friedman- Windsor Realty
Michelle Bergkamp- Corcoran Country Living
Kyle Needham- Fresh Air Realty
Baris Demirel- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Elizabeth Suib- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Andy Cariello – Weichert-The Spiesman Group
Zachary Jarvis- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
Thomasine Helsmoortel- Helsmoortel Realty
Rose Noone- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
6-7 Million
Jeanne Rakowski- Corcoran Country Living
Ronnie Rebis- Grist Mill Real Estate
Aaron Perer- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Hayes Clement- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Amy Crossfield- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Keith Woodburn- Church Street Realty
Nadina Truini- Jordan Chris Properties
Ita McAteer- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Jesse Chason- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Margaret Thorne- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Nicole Polito- Berardi Realty
7-8 Million
Andrew Condon- Halter Associates Realty
Mark Kanter- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Dawn Passante- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Anne Hilton Purvis- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Angela Paul- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
Laurie Ylvisaker- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Catherine Lenz- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Richard Greenspan- Ruth Gale Realty
William Golan- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Christine Nielson- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
8-9 Million
Melissa Mayes- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Stefan Bolz-Hello Dolly Real Estate
Jasmine Jordaan-Hudson Valley Real Estate Genies
Elizabeth Alfeld- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Amy Levine- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Kristen Zigouras- EXP Realty
Scott Helsmoortel- Helsmoortel Realty
Dara Barr- Keller Williams Upstate NY
9-10 Million
Jennifer Mangione- Grist Mill Realty
Antonio Parrotta- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
10-11 Million
Sheena Lepez- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Fredericka Taylor- Taylored Real Estate
11-12 Million
Megan Collum- Country House Realty
Gary Heckelman- Halter Associates Realty
Jeanne Boice- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Ron Knowles- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
12-13 Million
Joseph Satto- Fresh Air Realty
Harris Safier- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Kyla Thomas- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Leslie Foti- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Johanna Trimboli- Halter Associates Realty
Terry Jacobus- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Gabrielle Edwards- Berardi Realty
14-15 Million
Peter Cantine- Halter Associates Realty
Anne Rajs- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
15-16 Million
Megan Rios- Berardi Realty
16-17 Million
Leigh Quintana- Keller Williams Hudson Valley North
Sharon Breslau- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
Lawrence O’Toole- Corcoran Country Living
Mary Orapello- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
18-19 Million
Dylan Taft- Taft Street Realty
Donna Brooks- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
19-20 Million
Amy Lonas- Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty
Richard Vizzini- Corcoran Country Living
2022 Top Producers
20-21 Million
Laurel Sweeney- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
22-23 Million
Jeff Serouya- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
2022 Top 3 Producers
1-Jeff Serouya- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley
2-Laurel Sweeney- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell
3-Richard Vizzini-Corcoran Country Living
2022 Top 3 Units
1-Ron Knowles- Century 21 Alliance Realty Group
2-Megan Rios- Berardi Realty
3-Mary Orapello- Howard Hanna Rand/Murphy Realty
Robbie took back over the meeting to close it out. He once again congratulated all of the Top Producers of 2022. He also thanked the REALTOR® members for their hard work and dedication to real estate. Robbie also reminded all members about the event from FEUL and RAIN on April 6th at 5:30 pm at the Hudson House and Distillery in West Park, NY. It is free to all members. Please make sure to RSVP with Kim by email at kim@ucrealtors.com or 845-338-5299.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors!
