Corcoran’s Jessica Cloonan stopped a scammer — and took home a trophy for her efforts.
The broker and member of the firm’s Lawrence Shier Team was named The Real Estate Board of New York’s rental broker of the year at the trade group’s annual Residential Deal of the Year Awards ceremony on Wednesday.
She won the title for her handling of a prospective tenant using a stolen identity in an attempt to rent an apartment. Cloonan worked with the New York Police Department to collect evidence and stop the fraudster, which ended with the scammer barricading themself in the apartment.
“Her quick thinking and courage prevented a crime, protected the landlord and upheld the integrity of the profession,” according to a press release announcing the night’s winners.
Roughly 350 agents, executives and other industry players gathered at Gustavino’s for the 36th edition of the event, which celebrates the work of residential brokers in 2024 and raises funds for agents in need.
Among the attendees were Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman, Douglas Elliman CEO Michael Liebowitz and celebrity broker Ryan Serhant of his eponymous firm.
The evening’s top prize, the Residential Sales Deal of the Year, went to BHS’ Paul Devlin for a deal that was more than a year in the making. The seller was a retired nurse with a fixed income looking to trade her co-op in Kips Bay after 45 years. Devlin found a buyer before securing a renovated studio more aligned with her budget.
The organization named Douglas Elliman’s Brian Phillips as its Residential Agent of the Year and Coldwell Banker Warburg’s Josue Gonzalez as its Residential Rookie of the Year.
Other honorees include Doug Williford, BHS’ managing director of sales on the West Side, who won the Henry Forster Memorial Award for his dozen years in the business and mentorship of newer agents.
Sarah Saltzberg of Bohemia Realty Group took home the Eileen Spinola Award for Distinguished Service for her work advocating for fair housing and professional development.
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