★ NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
At the CRE Affiliate Network, we’re going beyond the map to introduce the people behind our growing network. Through our Affiliate Spotlight series, we’re taking a closer look at our affiliates across the country—how they built their careers, what shaped their businesses, what makes their markets unique, and why they chose to become part of the CRE Affiliate Network.
For this edition, we head to New York City to meet Cory Zelnik, Founder and CEO of Zelnik & Company.
From an unexpected start walking the streets of Manhattan for $250 a week to nearly 40 years in retail commercial real estate and 20 years leading his own firm, Cory’s career reflects a commitment to relationships, continuous learning, and an appreciation for the unpredictability of the business.
(Source: Leasing Reality Website - Podcast Episode 30)
Getting Started in Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate wasn’t Cory’s original plan.
Born and raised in New York City, Cory graduated from college expecting to pursue a career on Wall Street. Instead, a phone call introduced him to an entirely different opportunity.
A retail real estate company was looking for someone to join what was then called its listings department. They needed someone who knew Manhattan and was willing to walk the streets canvassing for opportunities.
After what Cory remembers as a five-to-seven-minute job interview, he got the job.
He started after Labor Day and was paid $250 a week to walk Manhattan.
“I got into commercial real estate 100% by accident.”
That accidental introduction became a career. Cory has been involved in retail commercial real estate ever since, approaching 40 years in the industry.
(Source: Zelnik & Company Website - Our Team Page)
Building a Brokerage of His Own
The decision to eventually build Zelnik & Company came from Cory developing a clear philosophy about the kind of real estate business he wanted to create.
After working with a former partner, differences emerged around how the company should grow.
One approach emphasized building a larger brokerage operation with more brokers generating more opportunities. Cory saw things differently.
He wanted to build around relationships.
“I was much more relationship based in terms of building something and building a real estate business, as opposed to building a brokerage house.”
That philosophy ultimately led Cory to go out on his own and establish Zelnik & Company.
Twenty years later, the longevity of his client relationships reflects the model he envisioned.
His largest landlord relationship has lasted approximately 26 years. His relationship with Panda Express is approaching 20 years, while several other client relationships have reached the decade mark.
For Cory, building a successful brokerage has never been simply about accumulating transactions. It has been about developing relationships that continue long after an individual deal is complete.
(Source: Zelnik & Company Website - About Page)
A Career Built Around Learning
Decades into his career, one of Cory’s favorite things about commercial real estate is that the industry continues to teach him something new.
Working with different clients has allowed him to learn the mechanics of businesses far beyond brokerage.
Representing Panda Express has given him insight into how a global restaurant company approaches real estate. Working with a drugstore chain—and completing approximately 250 locations over a nine-year period—taught him another industry entirely.
Even a recent Pilates transaction became an opportunity to understand how another type of business approaches its real estate.
It has led to a philosophy Cory shares with his team:
“ABL—always be learning.”
For Cory, that philosophy applies regardless of how long someone has been in the business.
“Even with all my years in the business, every day something new and you learn something new, whether it's a specific clause in a lease or it's learning how to make a grilled chicken Caesar wrap.”
That constant change is also what continues to make brokerage exciting.
Cory describes waking up “unemployed every single day”—a reflection of the entrepreneurial nature of the business and the motivation required to continually create the next opportunity.
Different tenants, landlords, businesses, and transactions mean no two days operate exactly the same way.
“Not only is it different every single day, but you have the opportunity to learn every single day. And I love that.”
(Source: The Crexi Podcast - Walking New York City's Retail Leasing Scene with Cory Zelnik)
What Makes New York City Different
When asked what makes his commercial real estate market unique, Cory’s first answer was simple:
“This is New York City, baby. I don't have to say another word.”
But there is more behind it.
As Cory’s relationships and outreach have become increasingly national, he says he has developed an even greater appreciation for just how differently New York operates.
Density is one of the defining characteristics.
In other markets, commercial activity may be concentrated around a recognizable downtown. New York operates differently.
“Everywhere about New York City is a downtown.”
The city's vertical density, high-rise buildings, extensive mass transit system, concentration of people, and sheer cost of conducting business all contribute to a commercial real estate environment with its own set of expectations and challenges.
Cory also recognizes a certain confidence that comes with doing business in New York.
(Source: Chaves Perlowitz Luftig LLP - What You Need to Know About Retail Leasing With Cory Zelnik)
“Yes, there's a certain arrogance to us being New York City and doing it our way and not everybody else's way.”
But after working increasingly with professionals outside the city, he has also seen firsthand that New York really does approach transactions differently.
That uniqueness is part of what makes local market knowledge so important.
(Source: Broker's Angle Podcast - Cory Zelnik, Founder and CEO of Zelnik & Company)
Finding the Right Network
For Cory, joining the CRE Affiliate Network offered an opportunity to extend the reach of Zelnik & Company without changing what makes the firm independent.
The company remains intentionally small, with a team of eight.
But through the network, its relationships don't have to be limited to New York City.
“Getting our brand out on a national level has been extremely opportunistic. And, from a business perspective, that really works.”
The value, however, goes beyond visibility.
Through the network, Cory has developed relationships with Joe, George, and other independent commercial real estate professionals who share a similar approach to collaboration, referrals, and creating opportunities together.
For a boutique brokerage, that creates the ability to establish relationships across the country while maintaining the independence that helped shape the company in the first place.
“These are like-minded people in terms of looking to share and refer and do business together and getting the word out, quite frankly, as far across the country as we possibly can.”
That experience has also encouraged Cory to be an active participant rather than simply a member of the network.
“I'd love to try to contribute where I can and then if opportunities arise, great. But getting the word out across the country and being involved with people like this, it's great. This is a class, class act.”
Local Expertise,
Connected Nationwide.
Cory’s career may have started unexpectedly, but nearly four decades later, the principles behind it are clear.
Keep learning. Build lasting relationships. Understand your market. And remain open to where the next opportunity might come from.
Those principles helped Cory turn an entry-level canvassing job into a decades-long career and eventually build Zelnik & Company into the independent, relationship-driven brokerage he envisioned.
Today, the CRE Affiliate Network gives that local New York expertise another avenue to connect with professionals and opportunities across the country.
That combination of local knowledge, independent entrepreneurship, and broader collaboration is also at the heart of the CRE Affiliate Network.
Your Business Doesn't Stop at State Lines. Neither Does Our Network.
Looking to buy, sell, lease, or explore commercial real estate opportunities outside of California? Through the CRE Affiliate Network, we have relationships with local professionals who understand their markets and can help you navigate what comes next.
And if you're an independent brokerage looking to expand your reach, learn more about becoming a CRE Affiliate Network member: here.
