Larry Haber is the Chief Executive Officer, General Counsel and founder of Colgate Real Estate Advisors LLC. 
In addition to maintaining a law practice for over 20 years—concentrating primarily in real estate with an ancillary estate planning practice—Larry was a founding partner of Cogswell Realty Group, a full service commercial real estate firm specializing in the development, ownership, management and leasing of commercial and high-rise residential properties.  As General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, Larry’s primary responsibilities were the review, preparation, negotiation and analysis of commercial leases, construction, purchase, sale, operating, acquisition, AIA and employment agreements as well as loan documents and other related commercial agreements. Ancillary to the aforesaid legal responsibilities, Larry was intimately involved, on the business side, in the acquisition, renovation, leasing and management of the firm’s portfolio, including the upgrading and repositioning of the properties in the then emerging markets of Newark and Harlem (including the building where Former President Bill Clinton maintains his offices).  Additional responsibilities included advising landlords, tenants and clients, as applicable, concerning purchases, dispositions, leasing, property management and value enhancement strategies.  Other areas of expertise consist of commercial and residential real estate closings, including the representation of lenders in loan transactions and the representation of various national entities in leasing and sale transactions.

In the 1990’s, Larry played an integral part in representing institutional purchasers of distressed real estate loan portfolios.  Responsibilities included oversight of the receiverships pertaining to the underlying real estate, restructuring and workouts of the office and retail leases and, from a legal perspective, supervision of due diligence and property management ancillary thereto. 

Larry attended the evening program of St. John’s Law School while simultaneously working full time as an accountant and successfully passing the NYS Certified Public Account examination.  Furthermore, he received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from State University of New York at Buffalo and is a New York State Licensed Real Estate Broker.

Larry lives on Long Island with his wife and their four sons.  In addition to his passion for them, his work and music, Larry devotes a significant portion of his energy co-chairing and actively participating in charities focused on raising awareness, tolerance, acceptance and sorely needed funds for children with disabilities.   Please refer to the Community Link for further detail on some of the worthy causes Larry is involved with.

Prominent Transactions in which Larry Haber actively participated include:
●Third party management, leasing and subsequent acquisition (1997) of 270 Lafayette Street in Soho.  Negotiated lease restructurings with tenants in a building 50% occupied, repositioning the building for successful re-tenanting and rebirth.  Invested in building upgrades and resold the building at double its initial sales price in 1999.
●In partnership with an institutional investor, acquired 55 West 125th Street (1998) and 215 West 125th Street  (2000) in Harlem (then the two largest, privately-owned buildings in Harlem).  Commenced lease up and capital improvement programs, each building subsequently winning the prestigious Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) award.  Among the tenants are the Offices of Former President William J. Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, Social Security, Internal Revenue Service and the NYS Housing Authority. 
●Acquisition of one million square foot 60 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan (2000), when it was 100% leased but only 45% occupied.  A purchase contract was finalized containing no construction risk with the closing delayed until the building was 100% occupied, creating significant additional value for the investors. Tenant roster includes NYS and NYC.
●Acquisition of 744 Broad Street in Newark, which at the time had been neglected and was only 19% occupied.    With $60 million of capital provided by institutional and high net worth individuals, the building was transformed into a Class A building that is now approximately 85% occupied.
●Primary national leasing attorney for Kaplan Education for over a decade.

 

 

Law Offices of Larry H. Haber

 

Matthew Lehrer has substantial experience in complex commercial/business litigation and transactions, real estate litigation, personal injury/negligence, insurance law and intellectual property. He honed his legal acumen while working for prominent New York law firms where he was expected to assume responsibility for large caseloads from the outset. Upon admission to the New York State Bar, he was immediately presenting arguments before various New York State Courts. Prior to starting his own law practice, Matthew clerked for the Honorable John Kase and the former New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo. As the Managing Attorney at the Law Office of Matthew B. Lehrer, he had the opportunity to represent clients on a broad array of legal issues; including, employment issues, commercial collection issues, intellectual property licensing and personal injury matters.

In his role at Colgate Real Estate Advisors, Matthew has worked with prospective commercial tenants to secure favorable lease terms and has assisted tenants already in possession of commercial space to restructure existing leases and negotiate lease renewals. Additionally, he has been integrally involved in advising individuals and companies with respect to the purchase and sale of commercial and mixed-use buildings. As Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Matthew brings a wealth of legal knowledge and insight to the team at Colgate Real Estate Advisors.

Matthew is licensed to practice law in the New York State and Federal Courts and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association the New York County Lawyers Association and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Matthew received his B.A. from Indiana University, where he studied economic and political science, and his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law.

 

Anna Porczak has been a Licensed Real Estate Broker for the better part of a decade. She specializes in buying, selling and leasing commercial and investment property. She has developed a strong reputation in the marketplace for her ability to produce results for her clients and her knowledge of the New York City real estate market makes her an invaluable real estate investment business partner.

Anna's ability to listen and deliver based on the needs of her clients has resulted in exceptional long term relationships. She is an expert at identifying commercial and investment properties in the right neighborhoods and makes the purchase and leasing process seamless for her clients. As testament to a job well done, much of her business is repeat business from satisfied clients and referrals.

Anna was born in Poland and later moved to New York City. Fluent in English and Polish, she has always been fascinated with New York's culture and diversity. Her growing entrepreneurial success has evolved out of a strong work ethic and commitment to learning, caring, creative and insightful approach, and a sincere desire to provide the best possible customer service.

Anna graduated from Hunter College and continuously strives for higher education. Currently, she is pursuing a law degree at Hofstra University School of Law preparing to enter into her fourth and final year of the part time night JD program. In addition to being a law student and an associate at Colgate Real Estate Advisors, Anna presently owns and operates Bastek Deli, an authentic Polish and European grocery in Brooklyn. Outside of work she enjoys traveling, the theater and volunteering for various causes that help our youth, the hungry and the homeless.

 

As Director of Business Development, Lisa is responsible for increasing recognition of the Colgate brand, new business development, identifying, developing and implementing marketing strategies and most importantly, building and maintaining client relationships.

Prior to joining Colgate, Lisa worked in real estate development, where she held the position of Project Manager on several residential multi-family development projects throughout Long Island. In addition to project and construction management, Lisa took on the role of property manager for all company acquired properties prior to development. Lisa later went on to work in property management as Assistant Property Manager of a company that owned and managed several co-op and apartment buildings as well as shopping centers on Long Island.

 

The late Merv Griffin was quoted as calling Larry Cohen “an incredible leader” whose “character is beyond reproach”. For over 18 years, Mr. Cohen was an executive with Mr. Griffin’s investment and management company, The Griffin Group (“TGG”). Upon joining TGG as CFO in 1988, Mr. Cohen was quickly put in charge of many of Mr. Griffin’s holdings in the Broadcasting, Leasing, and Entertainment industries as well as all family office functions. Upon his promotion to CEO in 1997, Mr. Cohen also assumed full responsibility for TGG’s holdings in the Hotel, Real Estate and Casino Gaming areas.

During his time at TGG, Mr. Cohen expanded the company’s holdings in Radio Stations from 4 to 17, grew Hotel holdings from 1 to 12, established Casinos in 6 jurisdictions and quadrupled the EBITDA of the Company’s leasing subsidiary. Many of the acquisitions were turn-around situations that were successfully sold in only a few years. TGG’s Merv Griffin Entertainment (“MGE”) subsidiary was a start-up formed after Mr. Griffin’s contractual non-compete with Sony Pictures ended. MGE produced programming for many of the major broadcast and cable networks and syndicators and also produced TV and Theatrical motion pictures. Mr. Cohen also served as Executive Producer of MGE’s launch of the original Merv Griffin Shows in DVD and represented Mr. Griffin on the boards and audit committees of both private and public entities.

Prior to joining TGG, Mr. Cohen was originally a CPA with the firm now known as Marks, Paneth and Shron. Mr. Cohen later joined The Coca-Cola Company as a financial executive in its Entertainment Division and was intimately involved in its spin out as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.

Happily married with five children, Mr. Cohen is today an independent entrepreneur and consultant. He has co-founded a poker tournament company, advised companies in the entertainment and media industries, pursued distressed real estate ventures, and is in the process of helping to form an agency on Long Island for the care and treatment of autistic
children and young adults.

 

Paul, a 2009 cum laude graduate of Sacred Heart University with a degree in Finance and Economics, is an Associate Director at Colgate Real Estate Advisors.  Shortly after graduation, Paul became a New York State Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, and in the Fall of 2010 he will be attending law school at night.

During 2008, Paul interned at The Disability Opportunity Fund (TDOF), a not-for- profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).  TDOF addresses the gap in housing solutions for those with disabilities throughout the United States by (a) providing innovative capital through products such as co-lending with existing CDFI’s, creating new financial products and distributing existing products and (b) acting as a communication conduit for banks, insurance companies, CDFI's and service providers.
Prior thereto, Paul was an Assistant Operations Manager at Absolute Electrical Contracting.

Given his father was the co-founder, from the time he was in elementary school Paul has been actively involved as a member of The Torch Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable organization comprised of a volunteer base of vendors, property managers and other professionals from within the Real Estate, Design and Construction industry. The Torch Foundation supports a wide variety of children's charities, partnering with these charities to forward its mission of "Building a Foundation for a Better Tomorrow". Through his work with “The Torch”, Paul’s efforts have played a part in making a difference for the After School Arts Center-Middle Collegiate Church, the Ascent School, Association for Technology Dependant Children, Camp Ramapo, Children of Bellevue, Cleary School for the Deaf, Hope with Heart, The Matthew Blend Fund, New York Child Learning Center, Ronald McDonald House and Tomorrow's Children.  Paul is also actively involved with the Ascent Youth Alliance to Battle Autism (AYABA) and 4boyzautographs.com, which both help battle the fight against Autism.

Paul was also a sports writer for the Sacred Heart University newsletter “The Pioneer”.

 

 

David has worked in the real estate industry since 2001, focusing primarily on commercial real estate brokerage and property management in Manhattan.

As a property manager, David has independently supervised and coordinated all facets of operation, administration, management and maintenance associated with full-service residential properties.

Prior to entering the field of property management, David worked as a salesperson for Weichert Commercial Brokerage, specializing in commercial/industrial real estate in the northern New Jersey market, handling lease, sublease, acquisition and disposition assignments in the warehouse and distribution, manufacturing, assembly, research and development sectors.

David also has first-hand experience in ownership of properties including a 215,000 square foot industrial center with multiple tenants and a 103-acre commercial real estate investment property.

David graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University in 1994 with a degree in Politics and American Studies.  He holds a juris doctorate degree from The George Washington University as well as a master’s degree in public administration.  He has worked for a variety of agencies and organizations in the public sector including the General Services Administration, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Commerce and the Assassination Records Review Board.

David is a New York State certified Real Estate Instructor and licensed Real Estate Salesperson.  He lives in Manhattan and is a proud member of the Colgate Real Estate Advisors team.