The Real Estate Board of New York convened the commercial brokerage community on May 11 for the 82nd Annual Commercial Sales Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards. Held at Lever House in Midtown Manhattan, the event highlighted brokers whose work on complex transactions stood out across New York City. Geoffrey Newman of Savills received the top honor, while teams from CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield were recognized with second- and third-place awards.
REBNY President James Whelan said the winners reflect the highest standards of commercial brokerage, citing their ability to execute complicated deals with persistence and skill. He noted that the transactions honored at the event support broader business activity across New York City, underscoring the importance of brokerage expertise in keeping the market moving.
The awards, first launched in 1944, form part of an annual member competition designed to recognize brokers who show unusual creativity and resourcefulness in navigating difficult negotiations. This year, Sales Broker Committee co-chairs Woody Heller of Branton Realty Services and Michael Rudder of Rudder Property Group presented the awards for work completed during the 2025 calendar year.
The first-place Henry Hart Rice Achievement Award went to Geoffrey Newman of Savills for a transaction titled “The Keys to the Park: A Gramercy Gambit” involving properties at 252 Third Ave., 254 Third Ave., 256 Third Ave., 258 Third Ave., 37 Gramercy Park and 38 Gramercy Park. Over a 13-year period, Newman assembled a continuous stretch of frontage on Gramercy Park that many in the market had considered effectively impossible to bring under unified control. The effort included acquiring a 34-unit cooperative building central to the transaction. A key breakthrough came when Newman recognized how New York’s Sliver Law constrained what the cooperative could become on a standalone basis. Cantilever rights were then used to align stakeholders, and the deal was reconstructed even after a judge twice voided a critical agreement.
The second-place Robert T. Lawrence Memorial Award was presented to Scott Gottlieb, Brendan Herlihy and Michael Wellen of CBRE for “Music is Universal: New York City to Reclaim ‘Music Capital of the World’ Title” at 2 Penn Plaza, also known as PENN 2. The CBRE team guided Universal Music Group through a 336,000-square-foot, 20-year headquarters lease, consolidating a fragmented Manhattan presence into a single location adjacent to Madison Square Garden. The assignment centered on securing space that reflected UMG’s creative identity while providing the infrastructure and scale expected of a global headquarters.
The third-place Edward S. Gordon Memorial Award went to Mark Weiss and Jared Thal of Cushman & Wakefield for “Way Back to the Future: Rethinking How Law Firms Operate” at 200 Fifth Ave. Weiss and Thal represented law firm Goodwin in a 20-year, 300,000-square-foot lease at 200 Fifth Ave., supplemented by additional space at the neighboring 21 W. 23rd St. Their approach framed the transaction around Goodwin’s culture, employee engagement and long-term workplace strategy, illustrating how office requirements for professional services tenants continue to evolve.
Pictured at the event was Henry Hart Rice Award winner Geoffrey Newman, recognized for his role in one of the market’s most challenging long-term assemblage efforts.
