The Real Estate Board of New York has chosen attorney Jonathan Mechanic, a partner at Fried Frank who runs the firm’s real estate department, as its next chair.
At the start of 2027 Mechanic will succeed current Chair Jed Walentas, CEO of Two Trees Management, REBNY announced Tuesday.
“To be the first practicing attorney elected Chairman of REBNY in its storied history is one of the greatest honors of my career. I am humbled to follow in the footsteps of icons like Burt Resnick and Lew Rudin, and current giants like Jerry and Rob Speyer, Douglas Durst, and my immediate predecessor Jed Walentas,” Mechanic said in an emailed statement. He added that he will continue working his day job at Fried Frank.
Mechanic already serves on the REBNY’s executive committee and board of governors, and also chairs the advisory board of the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy.
REBNY President James Whelan thanked Walentas for his three years of leadership, highlighting the housing and economic development priorities he advanced during his tenure.
Walentas lauded Mechanic’s leadership and depth of experience in the REBNY announcement, describing him as “one of the most respected voices in New York real estate.”
One of the city’s most powerful lobbying organizations, REBNY is at an inflection point. While it’s championed major changes to build more housing in New York, it’s faced increased headwinds from an increasingly powerful progressive bloc of lawmakers. The outgoing chair’s hallmark initiatives included pushing for the City of Yes agenda adopted by the City Council in 2024, State Environmental Quality Review Act reform and a tax incentive for office conversions.
Walentas also oversaw advocacy against the FARE Act after the City Council approved the law last year requiring landlords to pay rental broker commissions, a legal battle the industry group ultimately lost in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
REBNY has also butted heads with Compass, which accounts for 80 percent of the market share of Manhattan’s residential broker listings, suspending and fining the brokerage giant in 2021 before Walentas became chair. The trade group has strived to preserve its oversight of exclusive listings on its Residential Listing Service, facing friction from brokerages that prioritize private listings and utilize aggressive recruiting tactics.
The plight of rent-stabilized landlords has also been a prolonged battle REBNY has waged. The New York state legislature’s 2019 passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act drew sharp criticism from REBNY, which released a report in 2024 highlighting its “disastrous” impact on owners of rent-stabilized portfolios and has vocally opposed Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s promised freeze on rent increases for stabilized units before the Rent Guidelines Board.
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