Benjamin Birnbaum joined Newmark’s Retail Services division in 2007 at the firm’s New York headquarters, where he was subsequently named the youngest Vice Chairman in the company’s history. He specializes in landlord and tenant representation across both national and local markets. Since joining Newmark, Mr. Birnbaum has completed hundreds of transactions totaling more than $4 billion in value.
On the landlord side, Mr. Birnbaum has represented many of the industry’s most prominent owners, including Abington Holdings, Columbia Property Trust, GFP Real Estate, Global Holdings, Hines, Hubb NYC, Invesco, JVP Management, Nuveen, The Olnick Organization, Related, The Rockefeller Group, RFR Realty, Ruben Companies, SL Green Realty, and Stonehenge Management LLC. His notable agency assignments include 1501 Broadway in Times Square, where he completed transactions for Taco Bell’s flagship restaurant and Raising Cane’s first New York City location, as well as representing Nuveen in a 6,500-square-foot lease to Lululemon at 1529 Third Avenue. He also represented GFP Real Estate at 560 Broadway in Soho in a transaction with Aritzia, replacing Dean & DeLuca on one of the neighborhood’s most prominent corners.
Mr. Birnbaum also possesses extensive tenant representation experience and is highly regarded for developing and executing rollout strategies across North America. He currently represents On Running and Neko Health in their strategic entry into the U.S. market and subsequent national expansion. His additional clients include Alo, American Vintage, Blue Bottle Coffee, Coach, Din Tai Fung, Ernesta, GANNI, Grand Seiko, JD Sports, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, PureGym, The RealReal, The Swatch Group, Thuma, and Watches of Switzerland.
Mr. Birnbaum has also played an instrumental role in the food and beverage sector. He now represents Din Tai Fung nationally and recently secured more than 25,000 square feet at 1633 Broadway for its first East Coast restaurant, as well as its second location at 589 Fulton Street in Brooklyn.
Among Mr. Birnbaum’s recent achievements are representing Moncler in its flagship relocation to 767 Fifth Avenue; representing both Neko Health and Global Holdings at 1880 Broadway in a 43,000-square-foot multi-level flagship transaction; representing Alo Yoga for its 8,000-square-foot flagship at 600 Fifth Avenue and its Boston flagship in the Prudential Center; representing Canali at 600 Madison Avenue; Manolo Blahnik for its first North American store and offices at 717 Madison Avenue; JD Sports for its 35,000-square-foot Times Square store at 1466 Broadway; Watches of Switzerland for its first New York City location at 60 Greene Street; and Shake Shack for its Test Kitchen and headquarters at 225 Varick Street. He also represented the iconic Rizzoli Bookstore in its relocation to 1123 Broadway and Equinox in its 40,000-square-foot lease at 315 Park Avenue South.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Mr. Birnbaum was named Newmark’s Top Producing National Retail Broker in 2017, 2019, and 2020, and Top New York Retail Broker in 2018 and 2021. In 2017, he received the Most Ingenious Deal of the Year Award from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) for his work with Peloton at 5 Manhattan West.
Mr. Birnbaum is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Young Men’s/Young Women’s Real Estate Association (YMRWEA). He also serves on the board of Café Joyeux USA and is an active supporter of Autism Speaks.