I spent 22 years in the trenches of New York City's boroughs, doing strictly commercial projects. Seven years were spent working in Downtown Brooklyn for Forest City Ratner Companies. Then 12 years with the Mattone Group in Queens. With Forest City I helped on an Eminent Domain project named MetroTech. With the Mattone Group in Queens, I learned all phases of commercial development, from site location and analysis to pre-construction planning to marketing and leasing Mr. Mattone's projects.