"I grew up around real estate, but studied and worked in advertising for more than eight years," he recalls.

An award-winning ad executive, Schor had worked on some top accounts, including Absolute Vodka, Revlon cosmetics and Olympus Cameras, but when he received job offers to put his advertising talents to good use on both the east and west coasts, Schor instead took advantage of an opportunity to better utilize his managerial skills, joining the family-owned Treeline Companies.

Today, he is vice president of operations for the Long Island-based owner, manager and developer of more than 1.5 million square feet of office space throughout Nassau County and Brooklyn.

"I find my work now, both in managing buildings and working in conjunction with my family, more rewarding than ever," he says.

Schor's mother, Frances started the firm in 1985 and is currently the president. Her husband C. Glenn Schor is the COO and general counsel and brother, Michael Schor, is executive vice president.

Howard is responsible for meeting the demands of Treeline's continued expansion efforts in the tri-state area and oversees approximately half a million square feet of office space in Brooklyn.

Having jump-started the planning and design stages of the 10,000 s/f, $20 million exterior restoration and interior renovation of 177 Livingston Street in Brooklyn, as well as heading up the $400,000 lobby expansion and elevator cab replacement program at the firm's fully-leased 205 Montague Street, Schor doesn't wait for an invitation to make Treeline's assets top-notch.

"Improving and managing our buildings remains one of my favorite aspects of working in this business. Interaction with tenants on a day-today basis allows us to understand their needs firsthand. Being able to make the tenants' lives easier is really the heart of this business," said Schor.

"It's the little things, small improvements that matter because they are part of a greater picture. Improving the lobby of 205 Montague Street might seem like a small thing now, but it's making this building better, it's making this neighborhood better. Knowing that is extremely exciting for me."

As the resurgence of downtown Brooklyn's commercial core continues the area has seen a plethora of commercial, residential, academic and cultural developments and infrastructure improvements have facilitated rezoning initiatives for commercial space, making Treeline's assets located among the most desirable commercial areas in Brooklyn.

"Treeline develops buildings not necessarily through construction, but through repositioning," Schor explained. "As these neighborhoods experience an influx of even small improvements, our tenants and team notice, and it makes them want to come here every day."

After completely revamping management operations in 2004, Schor has revitalized Treeline's portfolio through the hiring of new staff and institution of new tenant relations initiatives, formalizing tenant interaction procedures, complaint resolution processes, and implementing new software programs to make management response faster and more efficient.

By enhancing tenant relations through a policy of increased visibility and accessibility to tenants at all times, Schor knows that the ideal way to solve a problem is to prevent it.

"Customer satisfaction is extremely important to us and we care greatly about our tenants. When they walk in and see the lobby and improvements we've made, that is the best feeling for us as owners and managers," he said "When something is wrong, we want to know about it right away."

In the same vein, Schor has set new purchasing standards and hiring criteria for all building engineering and maintenance staff and is overseeing Local Law 11 compliance--a set of standards enacted in recent years to maintain New York City's building facades.

In addition to his duties as a vice president, Schor is responsible for all of Treeline's communications programs--a diverse array of public relations, advertising, customer relationship management and marketing initiatives. "I have a design sensibility and know how to market, as well as present a space," Schor said. "There's a little bit of art in every single building." He also serves as manager of Treeline's information technology department, supervising the upgrade of all computer systems, servers and other internal systems to accommodate increased capacity for the growing company. Together with Treeline's CEO, he also focuses on risk management programs, internal staffing, reformulating business plans, long-term strategies and mission statements in coordination with Treeline's other principals.

A native of Long Island, New York, Schor grew up with three brothers and they all remain close. He holds a BBA in marketing from Hofstra University where he is active on the Alumni Association. He's currently attending night school at New York University's prestigious Stern School of Business to obtain his Master's in business administration specializing in both management and finance in 2007.

"At the end of the day, if Treeline Companies made that block better by making neighborhoods better, then we're happy," Schor said. "As a person it's fulfilling to see those tangible things happening in front of you. As a team, we aim to take a less-than-perfect building, an underutilized building, a poorly managed building and do things with it that others can't see.

"That's what makes Treeline special. We see potential value in a certain facet and make our properties the best they can be. That's why we love what we do."