By Linda O’Flanagan
Temperatures are hitting the 100s, New York rain is pouring from high rise air conditioners and buyers have blazed a trail to the Hamptons.
It’s enough to make even the most seasoned broker pack up their iPad and bid adieu to the sweltering mean streets for the season.
But then Misha Chiporukha and Louis Esposito at Prudential Douglas Elliman in Brooklyn aren’t your run-of-the-mill salesmen.
As the heat wave raged, the pair donned their aprons and went on the road delivering ice-cream to their neighbors in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
With a rented a hand-pushed ices cart, equipped with PDE signage and an umbrella, Chiporukha and Esposito cruised the neighborhood every afternoon serving free ices to kids and their parents at Brooklyn playgrounds and streets. The word of a simple scoop of cold relief spread with lighting speed and Brooklynites both young and old flocked to the brokers’ cart.
“On the very first day, we handed out hundreds of ices and more than 500 business cards to parents,” said Chiporukha.
“Over the next few days, we started getting cheers and pats on the back within minutes of appearing near parks, bus stops and subway stations.”
But the good deed did more than earn them the thanks of the locals.
“Within days, we had numerous leads from new contacts, both property owners considering selling and renters looking for new apartments.”
Chiporukha and Esposito — two real estate veterans who recently launched their own team at the PDE office at 664 Fulton Street — followed up the ice-cream delivery with a postcard campaign featuring a photo of them next to their cart and a slogan “Get the Scoop,” inviting Brooklyn residents to inquire about their property values, the rental market, and new listings.
Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, was full of praise for the pair. “Our agents are bright, innovative and get involved with the community,” said Herman.
“This ‘out-of the-box’ use of an ice-cream truck is an example of something smart that helps them lick the competition.”
