www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY April 28, 2019 8
Two-alarm fi re engulfs Edison Avenue apartments, deli
It is not easy to shatter
ceilings in the New York
real estate market, but
Scope Realty has done just
that, building in two years,
what Real Deal Magazine
says is now the 15th largest
real estate firm in New
York.
Just who are the leaders
who managed to accomplish
this feat?
Meet Paul Reisner, President
and Christopher Fenelus,
CEO of Scope Realty.
They met while involved
in a sales transaction,
working together as
cooperating brokers. It
could have been a difficult
situation, but instead, “Instantly,
respect and admiration
was earned,” says
Reisner.
They conversed about
the direction in which they
were headed, and realized
they shared a vision
— to create a real estate
company that would offer
FDNY escort an elderly woman away from the building on a stretcher. Edwin Soto
agents all the tools needed
to succeed. The company
would invest in agents’ educations,
offer leads, and
have cars at their disposals
so they could head out to
show homes. In short, they
wanted to avoid the pitfalls
that they knew, from firsthand
experience, hindered
an agent’s ability to sell.
This novel idea worked.
At last count, there were
more than 260 agents working
at Scope.
Fenelus engages with
new hires to make sure
they have the support and
training to be successful —
and that ultimately means
the company’s success.
“We invest in each
person from Day One,”
adds Reisner, a graduate
of SUNY Oneonta, whose
background includes management
consulting. Reisner
says he learned early
on that motivation drives
people to succeed, as it did
in his own life. He credits
his success on his ability
to remain focused on
achieving the goals he set
for himself, and wants to
assure his agents can do
the same.
Fenelus earned an M.S.
in International Human
Resources, from Southern
New Hampshire University,
the state in which he
grew up. He become interested
in the real estate industry
because it provided
the opportunity to earn a
good income. He started
working in the business
of lending. Then, in 2008,
the economy crashed, so he
moved into the real estate
market, and never looked
back. New York is the place
to be because of all the opportunities
it offers.
Keeping morale high at
Scope is key, they say, and
why training includes factors
such as time management,
organizational tools,
diversity, and the social dynamics
of a sale.
“I show agents how to
greet a person, and what
room they should use to
close a sale,” says Fenelus.
“We make sure new agents
learn all parts of the business.”
Both leaders agree that
the real estate business
comes with its challenges
— but they are committed
to helping clients and their
agents overcome them.
They see endless possibilities
for the industry in all
five boroughs, despite market
trends, economic slowdowns,
and any government
regulations.
“Life is about adapting,”
says Fenelus. “Real
estate allows you to face
new problems and craft
solutions to help bring people’s
dreams of homeownership
— or investment —
come true.”
They encourage staff to
donate time and money to
charities, and this is something
Scope leads by example,
with generous donations
to organizations such
as St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital, Covenant House,
and the ASPCA. To foster
collaboration and learning,
it is the agents who
help decide the charities on
which Scope focuses.
Scope is comprised of a
diverse group of realtors,
assuring that the company
speaks the same language
as the very people who live
and thrive in New York,
providing all with a competitive
edge.
Scope Realty 68 W. 39th
St. in Manhattan, (212) 408–
1620, www.ScopeRealty.
nyc. Open seven days, from
9 am to 9 pm.
S P O T L IGHT ON R E A L E S TAT E
Meet the titans Behind NYC’s fastest growing real estate firm
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A brutal two-alarm fi re ravaged
1580 Edison Avenue in Pelham
Bay in the very early hours
of Easter Sunday.
The four-story property was
engulfed in fl ame at 3:46 a.m. according
to FDNY reports. New
York’s Bravest responded with
25 units comprised of 106 rescue
workers that fi nally brought the
blaze under control at 5:28 a.m.
Firefi ghters broke all the windows
on the property’s Middletown
Road corner as neighbors
from all over watched the rescue
operation unfurl.
A 25-year-old probationary
fi refi ghter was the fi rst on the
line and given credit for dousing
the fl ames for good.
One civilian suffered lifethreatening
injuries, while three
others suffered minor ones as result
of the fi re.
Three FDNY members also
suffered minor injuries. Each
was transported to Jacobi Medical
Center, according to the
FDNY.
One child was rescued from
the building’s top fl oor, according
to neighbors, as they watched
helplessly from the street below.
Residents of the building
said that some of their pets were
trapped inside their apartments
during the fi re and perished.
Part of the ground fl oor was
occupied by a corner grocery
store where early reports indicate
the fi re started. The store,
which normally operated behind
a boarded up storefront, was completely
destroyed of the blaze.
Shawn Moshun has owned
the deli since 1999.
He was standing outside his
store in the rain on Monday,
April 22, trying to collect whatever
was salvageable from his
wrecked business.
“The whole place is completely
gone,” Moshun said. “The
FDNY entered through the deli
to get into the building and much
of the store was damaged,” he
continued.
Although Moshun didn’t live
in the walk-up, he lived near
enough to rush over when he got
word of the fi re.
“Right now I don’t know about
reopening, there’s so much to fi gure
out and I’d have to start over
essentially,” Moshun said. “I am
happy the fi re wasn’t any worse
than it was,” he said.
Other residents were entering
and exiting the building in an attempt
to gather what intact possessions
they could from their
homes on Monday afternoon as
well.
Two FDNY trucks visited the
property on Tuesday, April 23 to
survey the damages.
The FDNY is investigating
the cause of the fi re.
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