Ray Kelly, Massey Knakal among honorees at ABO dinner

The Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York held its 101st annual dinner dance to honor achievements and contributions from notable members of New York City’s real estate community last night. About 200 members filled the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Battery Park City to take part in the celebration.

This year’s honorees were: Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly as Public Servant of the Year; George McDonald, founder of the DOE Fund, as Jerome Belson Humanitarian of the Year; Fred Harris, senior vice president of AvalonBay Communities, as Development Company of the Year; and Massey Knakal Realty Services Chairman Robert Knakal for leading the Brokerage Company of the Year.

A short awards program was held during the dinner to celebrate the honorees. Kelly was hailed for his long history of public service, while McDonald was lauded for the program he launched that gives the once-homeless jobs cleaning streets and maintaining buildings.

Massey Knakal was praised for closing “three times as many commercial property sales” as any competing brokerage. “We couldn’t decide whether to name them ‘Brokerage Company of the Year’ or just ‘Most Likely to Sell Your Building,'” joked Dan Marguiles, executive director of the ABO.

Finally, AvalonBay was honored for initiating the construction of thousands of “high-quality” rental units in the city in the last decade. — Marc Becker