By Steven Spinola

From the Opinion section: A recent Real Estate Board of New York survey indicated that that the number of individuals biking to work is minuscule, despite a sizable amount of bike parking space available in commercial buildings. The New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo requested we ask our members about bike usage. On a bright, sunny April day, we polled owners and managers and received responses representing 77 million s/f of commercial property in Midtown and Downtown.

By Liana Grey

When buyers hunt for a glass condo in the sky, most know to steer clear of Park Avenue on the Upper East Side. The block, famous for its prewar co-ops, all of varying shades of brick and nearly uniform height, is a virtual dead zone when it comes to new construction. So for those seeking Park Avenue cachet, combined with what Leonel Piraino, a broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman, calls “new world comforts,” 949 Park Avenue, a boutique condominium between 81st and 82nd Street, is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

By Roland Li

Before Vickey Barron became a real estate broker, she interviewed doctors who were considering temporary assignments in Guam. “It was identifying people, listening to their interests and needs. I really had to honestly hear who they were in a very short period of time,” said Barron, who worked at FHP, a health maintenance organization, and later at her own firm.

By Liana Grey

Earlier this year, Paul Galvin, a veteran affordable housing developer, visited a hillside town outside Rio de Janeiro. In January, a mudslide swept away dozens of homes in the area, and Galvin hopes to rebuild them with recycled shipping containers. “You can get to hard-to-reach places,” he said of the metal boxes, which are growing in popularity as an architectural tool. “There are no limitations.”

Photos by Richard Lewin

Lisa Silverstein, Andrea Olshan and Helena Durst lifted the lid on their lives at the heart of the real estate industry during a forum titled “Women Leading Real Estate Families” hosted by NYCREW at the UBS Building last week.

Liana Grey for Real Estate Weekly
On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Triple Five detailed plans for the massive Meadowlands mall formerly known as Xanadu. The stalled complex has been renamed American Dream@Meadowlands, and will be expanded to 3 million s/f by Triple Five, which owns the Mall of America in Minneapolis. The state of New Jersey is providing around $200 million in financing, while Triple Five has committed to investing over $1 billion to add features that include a skating rink, while retaining previous elements such as …

CresaPartners and Savills have become the latest real estate bigs to go for greatness in the global arena. A just announced merger will allow the two companies to provide services to international clients in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Together, Savills and CresaPartners will have a global alliance of over 250 offices and 22,350 employees.