Michael P. Feldman
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
CHoice New York
Michael is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Choice New York Companies, Choice New York Property Management, LLC (2010), Staffing By Choice (2013), Goldin Choice Property Management (2018) and Home By Choice Real Estate Brokerage (2019). Together, these companies provide a broad suite of 3rd Party Real Estate Services such as Property Management, Building Staffing and Residential Brokerage to all-scale residential buildings in New York City.
Starting with no revenue, Michael built the business first organically, then organically and inorganically to 29MM of revenue and 5.1MM of EBIDTA before successfully selling the business to Associa Corp. (backed by Blue Owl) in 2021. Under Michael’s leadership, Choice New York acquired and integrated three businesses to expand its suite of services and add new clients. Several business elements contributed to the success of Choice New York Companies, such as providing unmatched tech-enabled client service to drive retention, attracting and retaining the best staff and being the first property management company in NYC to provide building staffing services with a recurring revenue model.
Moreover, Michael achieved a performance based earn-out last year. Further, after 4 successful acquisitions of Property Management competitors culminating with the sale of Choice New York and related companies, since transacting with Associa, Michael has successfully purchased (on behalf of Associa) one or more sizable add-on Property Management Companies each of the 4 calendar years since the initial transaction. Founded 49 years ago, in 5 years Michael has directly (Choice New York) or indirectly (add-ons) accounted for ~11.5% of Associa’s revenue; culminating in originating the Douglas Elliman acquisition.
Michael takes special pride in being:
An active member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO).
A Board Member of the Simon School of Business AIN Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Rochester where he also serves as a mentor for a group of MBA candidates and is a recurring “shark-tank” style judge for various Business School Competitions.
An active member of Tiger21.
A Board Member of the University of Rochester Hillel Board.
A Part-time Vail International Resorts Ski Instructor. He was also a parent volunteer on his sons’ downhill ski racing team.
Michael graduated from the University of Rochester where he earned a B.A. in Political Science.
Adam Lichtenstein
President
Choice New York
Adam Lichtenstein is an accomplished real estate professional with experience in property management, asset management, finance, operations, and acquisitions. Adam is very active in the real estate investment and management industry and is respected for his ability to identify and capitalize upon relationships.
Currently at Choice NY Management, Adam is a Principal directly involved in all aspects of the operations of the business. From managing properties, overseeing staff, recruiting new staff, pursuing investments, implementing new technology and new efficiencies, and procuring business development opportunities.
Earlier in his career, Adam worked for 9 years at publicly traded REIT, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT; formerly known as Malkin Properties). While at ESRT, Adam was responsible for managing and maintaining a commercial portfolio of over 1M SF of prime retail space in Manhattan and Connecticut. He dealt directly with tenants and landlord through underwriting, leasing, construction and project management, site surveys, project scheduling, and contract negotiations. Adam’s involvement included strategic capital planning for ESRT, including mezzanine debt/preferred equity financing, budgeting, workouts/restructures, partner buy-out agreements, and loan purchases.
Additionally, Adam owns several multi-family and mixed-use properties throughout the metropolitan New York City area. These investments have generated substantial returns to his investors.
Adam graduated from the University of Michigan. He is a Co-Founder of Voices Against Brain Cancer, and an Executive Board Member of Head For The Cure, both non-profit 501C3 organizations funding brain cancer research and support programs.
He resides in New York City with his wife and two daughters.
Damien Stein, Esq.
Chief Strategy Officer &
General Counsel
Choice New York
Mr. Stein joined Choice at the start of 2018 to continue his responsibilities to his existing client base and deliver luxury management and advisory services while leveraging the economies of scale and technology offered by Choice.
Prior to merging with Choice, from 2012 through March 2018, Mr. Stein founded and ran a full-service property management firm operating as the NY office of KW Property Management & Consulting where he also served as an Executive Director.
Mr. Stein developed technical skills as well as analytical skills relating to real estate, structured finance and portfolio management. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University majoring in Finance and Marketing and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Drew Donovan, CPA
Chief Operating Officer
Choice New York
Drew Donovan joined Choice New York Management at the start of 2016 as Director of Accounting.
He is an accomplished accountant skilled in construction accounting and overall financial management. His responsibilities include developing the monthly financials, budgeting, billing review, debt service oversight, payroll, and overall financial analysis.
Prior to joining Choice New York Management, Mr. Donovan was the Senior Finance Manager at Intellect-Tec Security Services, a security integration company serving the New York metro area, where he focused on financial analysis including: job costing, work in progress, inventory reports, payables, and receivables.
Thomas Sussewell
President
Goldin Choice Management
Thomas Sussewell joined Goldin Management in 1995 as a Property Manager. Since June 2009, Mr. Sussewell has been COO at the firm. Mr. Sussewell possesses expertise in real estate management, business operations, commercial mortgage brokerage, project management, and customer service. Mr. Sussewell obtained his BS degree at NYU, Stern where he double majored in Finance and International Business. Mr. Sussewell obtained his MBA at Baruch where he concentrated in Accounting. Mr. Sussewell is also licensed as an Associate Broker. In 2017, Mr. Sussewell was the project manager and loan broker for a team which won the Lucy G. Moses Award, an award given by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the most outstanding restorations of important historical buildings.
Kevin Kurland
President &
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Home by Choice
In partnership with the principals of Choice New York Companies, Kevin Kurland co-founded Home by Choice to capitalize on the respective relationships and areas of expertise asserted by each firm.
As President, Kurland guides the vision of Home by securing exclusive brokerage opportunities, attracting the most talented agents in the industry, developing immersive marketing campaigns, and fostering strategic alliances.
Having successfully built, operated, and exited two NYC real estate brokerages over the past 26 years, Kurland is a seasoned and highly respected real estate entrepreneur and industry leader. He has been a featured speaker on numerous real estate panels, and quoted in several publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Real Deal, and Crain’s New York Business.
Shaun Lue
Senior VP of Accounting &
Portfolio Controller
choice New York
Shaun Lue joined Choice New York Management in 2016 as Portfolio Controller and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Accounting. He is primarily responsible for overseeing the company's accounting operations, including financial reporting across the real estate portfolio. Through the leadership of the accounting department, he ensures the enforcement of best practices, internal policies and procedures that promote financial transparency, data integrity, regulatory compliance and care.
Mr. Lue has a B.A in Accounting and Economics. Prior to joining Choice New York Management, he spent five years in public accounting with one of the top 10 national accounting firms. He then held various management roles over an eight-year tenure within the accounting department at The Related Companies, where he gained extensive experience in real estate accounting and departmental oversight. Mr. Lue also spent several years in construction and development, where he gained valuable insight into building operations while serving in key accounting and finance roles. This experience broadened his understanding of the full real estate lifecycle, from development through operations, further enhancing his strategic financial reporting oversight capabilities.
Stephanie Knight
Director of Leasing &
Senior VP of Compliance
Choice New York
Stephanie Knight joined Choice as Leasing Manager in 2018. She has several years of experience managing commercial and residential properties throughout New York City.
Her experience, combined with her extensive network of brokers and landlords has given her the ability to thoroughly evaluate and assess many layers of the leasing process to effectively manage relationships. She has an intimate working knowledge of the local market and has extensive experience working with legal compliance.
Before joining Choice, Stephanie was the Residential and Commercial Leasing Manager for a Brooklyn-based firm, the Multi-Property Manager for a Manhattan firm. She obtained a degree from CUNY New York City College of Technology.
Dawn Dickstein, CPA
Senior Account Executive
Choice New York
Dawn has been in the property management business for almost 25 years including 10 years as a principal in her own firm. Originally from San Diego, Dawn has a BS in Accounting from USC.
Following a 6 year accounting career, Dawn moved to New York and earned her MBA in Finance at Columbia University. Upon graduation, Dawn took a position at American Express. It is during this time that she became an involved board member (President and Treasurer). She ultimately parlayed this experience into a career in property management.
Dawn is a CPA and a licensed real estate salesperson. She brings strong accounting and finance skills to Choice and the buildings she manages. She is particularly interested in staff development that contributes to high performing, happy, loyal and tenured employees.
Chimudi Egbuna, CPA
VP – Corporate Accounting & Finance
Choice New York
Chimudi Egbuna joined Choice New York Property Management in February 2020 as Corporate Controller. As part of his duties, Chimudi is responsible for financial accuracy and reporting as well as budgeting, review of accounts receivables & payables, payroll, and overall financial analysis.
Coming from a Public Accounting background, Chimudi brings his accounting, financial reporting & analysis, and partnership tax knowledge to his role.
Chimudi holds an MBA in Accounting and Accounting Information Systems from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. Chimudi is also a CPA and is a member of the NYSSCPA and AICPA.
Robyn Telepun
HR Manager
Choice New York
For more than 20 years, Robyn has been a key Human Resource professional assisting the leaders of organizations navigate through HR as it relates to compliance, compensation, training, engagement, strategy and much more. Her extensive experience includes legal compliance, employee relations, conflict resolution, training, benefits administration, payroll, recruiting and business operations. Robyn recognizes that the most important company asset is its people, and she strives to encourage that everyone reach their full potential with positive reinforcement.