"He has raised the reputation of the real estate industry," said REBNY's Steven Spinola. "And he's the nicest guy in real estate. He never says 'no' to offering advice."

Valerie Coleman of Insignia/ESG Inc., who oversees one and a half million sf of property, was named On-Site Manager of the Year. Jones Lang LaSalle's Brendan Connolly was named Portfolio Manager of the Year. A VP at JLL, he oversees 5.4 million sf for Goldman Sachs and another 1.4 million sf in South America.

The John M. Griffin Community Service Award, named for the director of operations for the World Trade Center who was co-founder of the Torch Foundation, went to Michael L. Norton of Tishman Speyer Properties. Norton organized a holiday toy drive for the Queens Child Guidance Center where more than 2,000 toys were collected from six or seven buildings. According to representatives from the QCGC, this went "beyond their wildest dreams." He also organized a day at the Rockefeller skating rink.