Bedbugs descend on Elliman’s 575 Madison Avenue headquarters (building photo credit: PropertyShark)

Prudential Douglas Elliman’s headquarters at 575 Madison
Avenue were evacuated yesterday after bedbugs were spotted on
the building’s fourth floor, The Real Deal has learned.

The bedbugs were initially spotted yesterday morning in the office
of a senior broker at the firm, according to sources who asked
not to be identified, and Elliman, the largest residential broker in
New York, later asked workers to leave the offices and treated the
affected three floors of the property.

“They said it was pretty bad,” said an industry executive familiar
with the firm. “It seems to be in one wing of the fourth floor,
which is the executive floor.” It is not immediately known why the bedbugs suddenly appeared,
but sources said that Elliman’s offices at 575 Madison, near 56th
Street, recently went through a renovation, which could account
for the bedbug sightings.

Elliman officials initially issued a “no comment,” but an official
who asked not to be identified, later said that “one small office of
one agent” was affected by the bedbugs.

Barry Beck, COO of Assured Environments, issued an emailed
statement through Elliman’s spokesperson, confirming that the
offices were treated for bedbugs. [more]

New York City’s own Prudential Douglas Elliman was named the number one brokerage in the nationwide Prudential Real Estate Affiliates network this week, Elliman CEO Dottie Herman announced following a ceremony in San Diego, Calif. The company’s Manhattan offices and agents took home a litany of awards and honors, including, for the eighth year in a row, the top office by gross commission income. Elliman’s 575 Madison Avenue office held onto that title (it was also fifth by number of units), besting some 1,940 other Prudential network offices nationwide. It was followed by Elliman’s 26 West 17th Street office at No. 2 and 1995 Broadway at No. 3. And, among individual agents, no surprise here: “stratospheric” superbroker Dolly Lenz was the top producer by gross commission income out of some 62,000 agents in the Prudential network. TRD [more]

Marcus & Millichap’s Adelaide Polsinelli is out working today in the snow

“Snowicane” or not, New York City real estate brokers are hard at work. Unlike teachers or other professionals who can stay home when the weather gets bad, brokers must be prepared to show properties to eager home-seeking clients, rain or shine. “Real estate is like the post office: neither sleet nor rain nor dark of night will keep us indoors,” said Paul Purcell, co-founder of Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty, who made sure the firm’s office on East 56th Street was open today. (To see a list of today’s real estate office openings and closings, click here.) “We work seven days a week and 24 hours a day,” said Leonard Steinberg, an executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman, who was on his way to show a $14 million listing and had competed two showings this morning. On snow days, “the only difference is that I wear very different shoes,” said Steinberg, who donned heavy-duty waterproof boots to help navigate piles of slush. On days like this, he sometimes hires a four-wheel drive vehicle from a car service to ferry clients from one listing to another. [more]

Marc Lewis, president of Century 21 NY Metro and MQ Realty head Cesar Guevara

In a continuing bid for aggressive expansion, Century 21 NY Metro told The Real Deal today that it has acquired Queens-based sales and rental firm MQ Realty. MQ Realty, a nine-agent firm that previously specialized in Long Island City and Astoria, is headed by longtime agent Cesar Guevara. The six-year-old company has already vacated its office at 31-87 Steinway Street and moved into Century 21 NY Metro’s headquarters at 575 Madison Avenue, according to Marc Lewis, the president of Century 21 NY Metro. The move brings Century 21′s total agent count to roughly 150, Lewis said. That’s up from 95 in May of 2008. Century 21 NY Metro, which does both rentals and sales, was created by a 2006 merger of Dwelling Quest and Century 21 Kevin B. Brown. Lewis, who took the company’s reins in October of 2008, said he is looking to expand the company’s market share in Manhattan and hopes to double the its agents within the next 12 months. [more]