Who Are NYC's Female Power Players?
While growing up, the dinner table conversation in Laurie Zucker's house was often about real estate and in 1977, she followed her father Donald's footsteps into development and management. As the two grew their portfolio, Laurie says she was often the only woman at the table during meetings, but she was encouraged by her father to speak up. Laurie says she was lucky that her father never had issue with her gender. In fact, one of her most personally rewarding moments came when she repurposed a property's amenities floor and her father thanked her for her vision and persistence. That's why she recommends all industry players build that intuition, proactive attitude, flexibility and open-mindedness that she's been able to use over her career. Still involved in the design, construction and marketing processes, Laurie says she gets a satisfying thrill out of her completed projects, as they're testaments to how hard she, and her whole company, works. Hearing praise for employees is particularly important to her, as managing properties in NYC can be difficult when many have low opinions of landlords, when the political atmosphere presents more hurdles than incentives and when development economics are becoming shakier without the 421-A.
