Joseph Aquino has been pounding the pavement in New York City for decades.
A lifelong native of the city who was born in the shadow of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Aquino ultimately built a career brokering multimillion-dollar commercial real estate deals for luxury brands. His partner for more than a quarter century was Faith Hope Consolo, nicknamed the Queen of Retail for her skills in finding flagship locations along Fifth and Madison avenues, in SoHo and elsewhere for everyone from Paul Smith, Alain Mikli and Cartier to Buccellati.
Related Articles
Aquino’s story starts innocently enough, as evidenced by the book’s title: “Memoirs of a Watch Salesman: A NYC Real Estate Story.” He got his start in business, living at the gritty George Washington Hotel on Lexington Avenue and 24th Street in Manhattan, selling kitchenware and bottles of perfume on the street.
You May Also Like
That eventually transitioned into selling Kronotron skin diver watches door-to-door to store owners, not for resale but as personal gifts. His boss was a methadone addict.
After peddling his merch for two years, he went into the health club business, working at Jack LaLanne and ultimately managing its clubs and then New York’s high-end Vertical Club. It was there that he acquired the skills he later applied to the cut-throat and complicated real estate business.
He started out selling apartment buildings in Harlem and other investment properties, but soon found himself in debt and filing for bankruptcy. But his fortunes changed in 1989 when he joined Garrick Aug Associates — and Consolo — and started leasing stores. Aquino became part of Consolo’s international team and together they secured stores for brands ranging from Gold Pfeil to Maud Frizon.
The book traces the evolution of Madison and Fifth avenues, the redevelopment of Times Square, the emergence of NoLIta, the Meatpacking District and Hudson Yards. And it details many of the trials and tribulations he encountered over the course of his career — including lawsuits against his employers over commissions — and the lessons learned.
As he writes in the intro: “This isn’t just a memoir about real estate or business. It’s about resilience and refusing to give in to failure. About finding joy in the grind. About learning to navigate, to adapt, to find new ways of doing things. About how to forgive — but never forget — and how to keep swinging.”
The self-published book is available for $34.99 and distributed by IngramSpark. It is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other bookstores in the U.S. as well as internationally.