Greg Carlson, Tireless Co-op and Condo Advocate, Dies at 72

Greg Carlson, who devoted his boundless energy to New York City's co-op and condo community in a career that spanned four decades, died on Jan. 25. He was 72.

"He was extremely affable, friends with most everybody he met," says Eric Goidel, a senior partner at the law firm Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, who began working with Carlson in the early 1980s. "Greg had a keen interest in the co-op and condo community in New York City, and he took those concerns all the way to Washington."

From his beginnings with Pickman Realty in Queens, Carlson went on the head Carlson Realty, serve as executive director of the Federation of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums, president of the National Association of Housing Cooperatives and, for the past dozen years, as a board member at the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC), where he also served as treasurer.

"He was a hard worker and a team player, very dedicated," says Mary Ann Rothman, executive director of the CNYC, noting that Carlson worked to promote fairness in property taxes and the education of property managers, and he was on top of changing technology. "Any time I heard about an innovation in energy conservation," she says, "Greg was ahead of it."

This was most evident at the 424-unit, 14-story Fairview co-op in Queens, which he managed and where he pushed for the installation of solar panels, a cogen system, LED lights and extensive air-conditioning upgrades. Michael Scorrano, managing director and founder of the energy services company En-Power Group, worked extensively with Carolson at the Fairview and came to a succinct conclusion about his motives: "He wants to help shareholders save energy and money."

Carlson's lobbying efforts on behalf of co-ops and condos extended from New York City to Washington, D.C., but he did not always have a receptive audience among politicians. "He was on the cutting edge," Goidel says. "I think his only frustration was the elected officials he met who did not realize the value of housing cooperatives and condominiums."

Rothman adds, "Greg will be sorely missed. The whole co-op and condo community is in shock."