JLL Hires Scott Zinovoy and Joshua Strauss to Strengthen New York Retail Platform

JLL has hired retail real estate veterans Scott Zinovoy and Joshua Strauss to its New York Retail team, the firm announced July 20, 2026. Zinovoy joins as Senior Vice President and Strauss joins as Executive Managing Director, and both will work alongside Vice Chairman Patrick A. Smith to expand JLL's retail leasing capabilities across New York and nationally.

The Hires and Their Backgrounds

Scott Zinovoy brings more than a decade of retail real estate experience focused on New York and national tenant expansion, landlord representation, and entertainment and experiential concepts. His client work spans retailers, institutional owners, entertainment operators and consumer brands, with a focus on identifying growth opportunities and executing strategic leasing initiatives in major U.S. markets.

Joshua Strauss brings nearly three decades of retail real estate experience representing both landlords and tenants throughout New York City and major markets across the United States. Prior to joining JLL, he served as President and Co-Founder of Dreamscape Retail & Entertainment. Before Dreamscape, Strauss spent five years as an Executive Managing Director at Newmark and 22 years as a Principal and Executive Vice President at RKF.

Strauss's tenant representation experience includes assignments for Netflix, FedEx Office, NBCUniversal, Sony, Theory, Vera Wang, Zadig & Voltaire, IRO and Pret A Manger. On the landlord side, he has represented owners including CIM Group, Howard Hughes, Pan Am Equities, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, Related Companies, RXR and United American Land.

Strauss and Zinovoy previously worked together at RKF and Newmark before co-founding Dreamscape Retail & Entertainment. Over the past decade, they have advised on mixed-use, entertainment and retail destinations including The Seaport in New York City, The Arcade in Nashville, Rio Las Vegas, Bayside Marketplace in Miami and BKX in Brooklyn.

Strategic Context at JLL

The additions continue a visible pattern of JLL assembling retail talent in New York. The firm's New York retail leadership already includes Patrick A. Smith and Executive Managing Director Matt Ogle, and the team received REBNY's Most Impactful Retail Deal of the Year award for the Shaver Hall lease at the former Lord & Taylor flagship at 424 Fifth Avenue. JLL had previously added Richard B. Hodos, ranked the No. 1 retail broker in the Americas for two consecutive years, and Michael Remer to its New York retail brokerage team, both from CBRE.

By bringing in the co-founders of Dreamscape Retail & Entertainment, JLL adds an established book of entertainment and experiential operator relationships alongside a national advisory practice spanning major U.S. markets. That reach is increasingly relevant as institutional landlords seek advisory support for entertainment-led redevelopment across multiple cities simultaneously.

"Retail continues to evolve as consumers place a greater value on experiences and destinations that offer something beyond a transaction," said Naveen Jaggi, President, Retail Advisory Services, JLL. "As owners rethink how they activate space and differentiate their properties, the demand for expertise spanning traditional retail, experiential concepts and placemaking has never been greater. Josh and Scott bring exactly that perspective, and their addition reinforces JLL's commitment to staying ahead of where the market is heading."

Patrick A. Smith, Vice Chairman at JLL, added: "Their relationships, creativity and deep understanding of the retail landscape will be a tremendous asset to our clients and further enhance the capabilities of both our New York and National Project Leasing platform."

Experiential Retail Driving Demand

The hires arrive as New York's retail market shows renewed activity concentrated in prime, mixed-use corridors and destination-oriented properties. Recent top retail leases across the five boroughs have skewed toward fitness, fashion and experience-driven uses that generate repeat visits rather than commoditized transactional retail. Institutional investors have also demonstrated continued confidence in high-street, experience-oriented corridors, as illustrated by Empire State Realty Trust's $46 million acquisition of a newly constructed 22,000-square-foot prime retail asset at 41–55 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, part of a 102,000-square-foot portfolio of prime Williamsburg retail.

JLL's own capital markets activity reflects the same trend toward curated retail within mixed-use assets. The firm recently arranged the $50.5 million sale of 76 Eighth Ave., a boutique office-and-retail building in Manhattan, along with $27.775 million in acquisition financing. Separately, JLL brokered the sale of Riverhead Centre, a 395,000-square-foot, ShopRite-anchored retail center in Suffolk County that is 99% leased, underscoring continued investor appetite for stable, well-leased retail alongside the experiential segment.

Strauss framed the opportunity in the firm's announcement: "Scott and I are excited to join JLL at a time when retail continues to evolve across both urban and suburban markets. While experiential retail has become an increasingly important driver of consumer demand, we remain deeply focused on helping landlords and tenants navigate every aspect of the retail landscape. We believe we're still in the early innings of the experiential evolution and look forward to helping shape the future of the sector while continuing to deliver exceptional results for our clients."

Zinovoy cited JLL's platform as a key factor in the decision: "We were drawn to JLL because of its industry-leading platform, global reach, outstanding reputation and, most importantly, its people and collaborative culture. JLL provides the ideal environment to continue growing our business while helping clients bring transformative visions to life."

About JLL's New York Presence

JLL describes itself as a leader in the New York tri-state commercial real estate market, with more than 2,600 industry professionals offering brokerage, capital markets, property and facilities management, consulting, and project and development services. Globally, JLL reported annual revenue of $26.1 billion and operates in over 80 countries with a workforce of more than 113,000 as of March 31, 2026.