First, I have to say: I was very flattered when Gary asked me to contribute my “story” to this book. Gary and I worked together at Manhattan Apartments over 12 years ago. I remember it didn’t take him long to show his talents as a top producing & intelligent real estate agent. Even back then, when he was very new on the scene he showed a creativity and fearlessness that got a lot of us agents talking. We were impressed. Gary was and still is a “natural….”

My story starts in London, England where I was born over 40 years ago (girls should never discuss their age). My parents were immigrants, my mom from Cuba, and my dad from Jamaica. My mom got her nursing degree in London while my dad was starting his construction career. When I was 3 years old they packed up everything and came to New York (for “better opportunities”) on The Queen Mary. Yes, by ship!

My parents were very ambitious, hard-working people who started from very little. They instilled an enormous work ethic into my siblings and me. As a 12 year old I was running the family business, a medium-sized grocery store in Long Island. My younger sister and two brothers all worked with me… I [truly] believe this super-early work experience helped me to quickly become a successful real estate agent, because I already had a significant amount of experience dealing with the public. I also learned to handle responsibility and be respectful to everyone at a young age.

After college, I immediately flew off to Europe where I was able to really spread my wings. I worked as a model, did backing vocals, and sang with some recording artists that are well known today. I traveled extensively through Europe and my career started to take hold in the fragrance and fashion world. I moved back to New York after several years abroad, ready to sink my teeth into a career in fashion.

I landed a great job as a corporate executive with a major national women’s retailer where I traveled all over the country. I had to learn how to drive before they would officially give me the job; I literally learned how to drive on the FDR & the West Side Highway…talk about crazy!! With my new job, I had expense accounts and car allowances and lots and lots of frequent flyer miles. It was a great gig that lasted about 3 years.

One day I flew down to one of my retail locations in Miami, and I got a phone call from “corporate office” informing me that my immediate boss (a vice president in the company) had been fired and my position in the company would be eliminated. The only other option they could offer me in the company was a position that would require me to immediately relocate and live full time in Ohio…OHIO! They might as well have told me to relocate to the North Pole! I was NOT interested in the offer. At that point I realized that I had no control of my own career. I knew I did great at that job, was well liked, but still my future was out of my control. I declined the Ohio position and took a little time off to re-evaluate.

I knew I was done with corporate America. I wanted to have more control over my work-life. I really wanted to start my own fashion business, but I didn’t have the capital. A good friend of mine suggested I look into real estate because her aunt had her own office in Brooklyn and she made a lot of money. My friend really pushed me, saying I had “…the best personality for real estate” and should research it. I started to research, the more I read, the more I liked the idea of being a Manhattan real estate agent.

With my travel and fashion background, I also had a deep appreciation for interior design and architecture. I began to get the feeling that real estate was my calling. I was super excited to jump in with both feet. I studied and aced the tests (I think I got a 95 on the State test).
I interviewed with a couple of small real estate agencies and I worked for one day at a tiny, smelly, dark, depressing office around Astor Place. I also worked for a few days as an on-site agent at a new building in the East Village. Neither of those jobs was a good fit. It was late December in 1992 when I walked into the offices of Manhattan Apartments which were located at East 23rd Street in Gramercy Park at the time. The open-plan office was in the ballroom of what used to be the Saint George Hotel. The stunning grandeur of the 5000+ sq ft space with 16-foot ceilings, ornate art deco columns, herringbone floors, and 25 or 30 twelve feet-tall French windows took my breath away…..I wanted to work there and I was willing to start the same day.

I actually started working at Manhattan Apartments right after New Years January 1993, I was super excited and very ambitious. I set goals, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I want to be the best agent in this office.’ The wild ride started the same day and I have been on that ride for over 17 years. I remember I really had no idea what I was doing, but I did it.

The first deal I did was on my 3rd day on the job, the clients were a corporate couple from Chicago, she was in publishing and he was a Wall Street trader. They had a decent budget and were looking for a one- bedroom downtown in the East Village/Greenwich Village area. I remember showing them spacious, clean, renovated apartments, each one better than the last. Some were even newly constructed on prime street’s, but they just weren’t biting. They would just say “this is nice, what else have you got?” I showed them 8 apartments! I was freaking out because I thought for sure they would pull the trigger on at least 3 of the units I picked but it wasn’t happening.

The very last apartment on my list was, I’ll never forget this, on East 9th Street off of First Avenue. I had just spent the afternoon showing clean, renovated, modern apartments, and as I approached the entrance I realized that this was not going to measure up. The front door was wide open, there were open, disgusting garbage cans in the lobby, and tons of flies buzzing around our heads. There was graffiti on the walls along the stairwell as we climbed up to the 4th floor where the available unit was located. When we got to the unit, the apartment door had been painted silver, I opened the door to a decrepit, grungy, old, un- renovated room with spray-painted floors, a stove, fridge, and sink from the 1950’s; there was giant mousetraps in every corner and a makeshift lopsided loft-bed tucked into the corner. I was embarrassed and mortified (remember, this is my third day on the job). My clients looked around for a couple of minutes whispering feverishly to each other, and I thought they were going to curse me out for bringing them to a “crack den” because that’s what it looked like to me! To my astonishment the couple announced to me, in unison, “we love it, we want it”! I almost fainted…Was I having some sort of weird hallucination? Did I hear them correctly? Anyway they signed the lease and were thrilled to live in the “dump” on East 9th Street…

Do not judge your clients based on their jobs or income level, nor even by the way they look! This was a big lesson for me to learn early in my career and one of the keys to my success. I learned loud and clear that It’s not about what I like, it’s about what the client likes; also, when I prepare a list of apartments to show a client, I always include a couple of “unlikely” listings to see how they respond. More often than not the client will choose the unexpected apartment. I have seen this time and time again throughout my career. I’m glad I learned this lesson early because it has made me a lot of money over the years.

I went on to do exactly what I said I would do (back in January of 1993); by January of 1994, our CEO, Jerry Weinstein, had a company meeting and announced Fay Curtis as the top-producing agent of the previous year. I was awarded a gold trophy and a chunky cash bonus, and my colleagues clapped and cheered, while I was overcome with pride…. I love real estate…