Steven Spinola

Steven Spinola, President of The Real Estate Board, is chief executive officer of the real estate industry's leading trade association in New York City. The Real Estate Board’s membership includes over 6,000 ranking building owners, developers, brokers, managers, banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses, architects, attorneys and other individuals and institutions professionally involved in New York City real property. The Board is a vigorous advocate of policies to promote local economic growth and residential construction and rehabilitation. REBNY represents industry positions before various legislative, regulatory and executive government bodies; conducts extensive research programs and publishes studies of its findings on a host of policy issues and market trends; gives qualifying courses to satisfy professional licensing requirements as well as master seminars in certain real estate specialties; and pursues such civic endeavors as providing pro bono technical and other assistance to social agencies creating housing resources for New York City’s homeless population. Crain’s New York Business has included Mr. Spinola in its list of the 100 Most Influential New Yorkers, describing him as the “authoritative public voice, lobbyist and conscience” of the industry he represents. In 1996, Governor Pataki appointed Mr. Spinola to serve on the New York State Real Estate Board, a panel with advisory responsibilities in regulating the profession. Prior to becoming REBNY’s President on June 2, 1986, Mr. Spinola served as President of the New York City Public Development Corporation, the municipal government’s principal instrument for spurring large-scale commercial and industrial development and rehabilitation programs in New York. Mayor Koch also assigned the lead responsibility for developing the city’s waterfront to the Corporation. During Mr. Spinola’s tenure the dollar value of PDC’s total inventory of development projects and programs exceeded $10 billion, its annual capital budget program was more than $100 million and its annual capital budget program was more than $8 million. Among the projects in which the Public Development Corporation was involved while Mr. Spinola was at its helm included the South Street Seaport, the 42nd Street Redevelopment Program, the Morgan Stanley Computer Center scheduled for downtown Brooklyn, the College Point Corporate Park in Queens and Fordham Plaza in the Bronx. Previously, Mr. Spinola held a number of senior positions with the New York City Office of Economic Development where he eventually became Deputy Director/Chief of Staff for Development. Before joining the municipal government, he served as a legislative assistant on the staff of the New York State Assembly Education Committee. Mr. Spinola has also served as Executive Director of World Hunger, the organization which provided public information regarding world hunger issues. He was also active in the effort to enact federal legislation intended to address this problem. He entered public life as Director of Community Relations for the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. Mr. Spinola holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the City College of New York with a concentration in political science and government. He attended the Harvard Business School/Kennedy School of Government Summer Program for Senior Managers in Government. Mr. Spinola is married to the former Eileen Shea. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Ellen.