Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2007

BANKING/FINANCE
Washington Mutual: Michael V. Fina has been named Senior Commercial Mortgage Consultant for Washington Mutual, the number one originator in commercial mortgage lending in New York and the number one multi-family lender nationally. Over the past five years, Mr. Fina has worked in various positions at WaMu, most recently as regional business banking manager. In his new role, Mr. Fina will assist clients with mortgages for commercial properties from $500,000 to $10 million, including mixed use, retail, office, industrial and warehouses. He will also assist with multi-family 5-unit apartment loans and underlining mortgages for co-op buildings for loan sizes between $100,000 and $25 million. Mr. Fina may be reached at 718 439-0485, or via email at michael.fina@wamu.net.

HEALTHCARE  
Long Island College Hospital: Richard Rosenfeld, MD, MPH, was announced as the Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Rosenfeld previously directed LICH's Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, and will continue to oversee the department's resident education. As Chairman, he will work to fulfill the ENT (ear, nose and throat) needs of the Brooklyn community, as well as maintain the standard of excellence that makes LICH the clinical hub of the otolaryngology residency program at the State University of New York (SUNY) - Downstate Medical Center.  Dr. Rosenfeld is recognized as one of America's best physicians by the Consumers' Research Council of America and appears annually in the "Top Docs" lists of New York Magazine and other physician ranking guides. 

Lutheran Hospital Center: Thomas J. Edwards has been elected as the new chair of the Lutheran Hospital Center’s Board Trustees. Mr. Edwards, a board member for 30 years, previously served as vice chair and is a well-known and highly regarded Brooklyn community leader. He succeeds outgoing chair, Kathryn S. Wylde, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, who will continue to serve on the board’s Executive Committee.

Lutheran HealthCare has also selected Barbara Katz Arky, Esq., as executive vice president and general counsel. Prior to joining LMC, Ms. Arky was a partner in the health care industry practice group of the national law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She has more than 25 years experience in private practice, representing hospitals and other health care providers in a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters. In both 2006 and 2005, Ms. Arky was listed as one of the nation’s most respected lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America.

PUBLIC/ NON-PROFIT
Bridge Street Development Corporation: Gus Schmidt has been appointed director of economic development at Bridge Street Development Corporation (BSDC), a leading faith-based community development corporation in NYC serving Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. BSDC’s economic development group implements neighborhood retail initiatives, especially in the shopping districts of Tompkins Avenue, Lewis Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard, to create, attract, and expand businesses and jobs. Prior to joining BSDC, Mr. Schmidt launched a successful Internet-based group transportation business, as well as held several positions with economic development organizations, including Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Washington Avenue Merchants Association Inc., and the NYC Department of Small Business Services. Mr. Schmidt received his B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and his M.B.A. in Finance from St. John’s University.  He may be contacted via email at gschmidt@bsdcorp.org.

New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council: Russell Unger has been named the Executive Director of the USGBC-NY. Prior to joining USGBC-NY, he worked in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services as Assistant Director and Special Counsel for Environmental Procurement, responsible for implementing a new environmentally preferable purchasing program. 

Previously, Mr. Unger served as Special Advisor on Sustainable Development to then-Speaker Miller of the New York City Council and as Legislative Counsel for three City Council committees. During his four years at the City Council, Mr. Unger drafted and led negotiations on many environmental laws, including the City’s green building law (Local Law 86) and the environmental purchasing laws he later implemented. Before working at the City Council, he was as an Associate at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman. 

New York City Department of Transportation: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Janette Sadik-Khan as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT). Ms. Sadik-Khan will oversee an agency with more than 4,400 employees and a budget of over $600 million per year. Most recently, Ms. Sadik-Khan served as Senior Vice President at Parsons Brinckerhoff, as their transit industry director. She has also served as an Associate Administrator of Budget and Policy for the FTA, was a senior advisor to Mayor David Dinkins on mass transit issues, and served as special counsel to the Commissioner of New York City DOT.