REAL ESTATE BROKER of the WEEK
Dana Romita
She has Manhattan covered
BY ALAN KRAWITZ
Few Manhattan real estate brokers
know the city and cover the
market as completely as native
New Yorker Dana Romita.
The daughter of Italian immigrants,
Romita spent years working on national
commercial and residential projects
which helped her become a trusted, invaluable
resource for both buyers and
sellers alike interested in investment
properties or personal housing.
She joined Douglas Elliman’s premier
Manhattan Noble Black sales
team in 2021.
“I’ve always loved the richness and
color in NY with all the different stories.
I especially enjoyed my time involved
in sales,” explained Romita,
who got an undergraduate degree
from Duke University and earned an
MBA from the prestigious NYU Stern
School of Business.
Romita said that her formative experiences
working for family businesses,
including Castle Oil and her family’s
Ajune medical day spa, helped teach
her both the value of owning real estate
and the importance of establishing
deep relationships with clients.
“Owning real estate in general can
help safeguard people economically
against downturns, such as when covid
hit,” Romita said.
Despite the pandemic and all the
gloomy predictions about NYC, she
remained optimistic.
“I knew NY would come back; it will
never die,” she says, while talking about
getting her morning coffee from a cart
near her office on Madison Avenue
Asked about the current NY real estate
market, she says “it has exploded
now.”
Romita owes much of her success
to having worked with her family and
evaluating real estate investments for
years, and says she considers herself a
resource to her clients — with licenses
in NYC, the Hamptons and New Jersey,
to give people “more options” to
evaluate different opportunities.
“My focus is on the relationships I
build with clients,” she said, adding
that 2021 has been a robust year for
deals, even though prices are not yet
back to the market peak levels of 2016.
She predicted another market surge
will be forthcoming this spring. “I’m
very excited for spring. This is what
I’m telling people if they’re considering
buying.”
Romita prides herself on having a
diversity of listings in varied neighborhoods,
in a range of price ranges from
super luxurious upper east side condos
with high-end amenities, such as golf
simulators, to cozy studios and onebedrooms
in Kips Bay.
She adds that co-ops on the upper
east side are rising in popularity as
well as pre-war co-ops.
Among Romita’s featured listings
include a 3-bedroom condo at 565
Broome St. Soho, which is Pritzker
Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano’s
first New York City residential project,
a 30-story building that offers cinematic
views of the Manhattan skyline,
historic Soho, the Hudson River, and
beyond through a curved Façade, clad
in low-iron glass, resulting in incredible
light throughout all residences.
The condo, which lists for
$7,950,000, also offers 10ft ceilings
with floor-to-ceiling windows. “565
Broome is a very special building,” she
says.
Romita says she loves all her listings.
“I get to know the people at the
front desk and all the workers, it takes
time but it’s worth it.”
On the other end of the spectrum is
a more modest listing at 240 East 35th
St., a one-bedroom co-op in Murray
Hill with Empire State building views,
a landscaped rooftop and priced at
$600,000.
The property at 25 Sutton Place
South is a 2-bedroom co-op with East
River views, a newly renovated gym,
2 laundry rooms, discounted parking
and priced at $1,200,000.
Romita, who says she works more
with buyers than sellers, explains that
she believes the Lower East Side near
the Willamsburg Bridge will be a good
area to buy in years to come.
However, not everyone is looking
for high-priced, luxury digs.
“Right now, I’m working with three
clients who are looking for studios in
Turtle Bay and Kip’s Bay,” she says,
adding that she handles a range of different
priced properties.
“To someone buying a home for
$500,000, for them, it’s just as big a
deal as to the person buying something
for $5 million.”
Away from real estate, Dana is dedicated
to improving children’s lives as a
philanthropist. She’s involved with the
In Bergen Family Center, providing
after-school programs for teenagers,
preschoolers and more.
Romita also serves as vice president
of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Columbus
Citizens Foundation, based
out of the Columbus Citizens Club
on East 69th Street on the Upper
East Side. And she’s sponsored many
events for Table to Table in New Jersey,
which provides food to those in need.
Contact Dana Romita
phone: 201-314-9360
email: dana.romita@elliman.com
web: elliman.com (search Dana
Romita)
240 East 35th St. 360 East 89th St. 1040 Park Ave. 25 Sutton Place
Schneps Media December 9, 2021 9
link
/elliman.com
link
