Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘It’s great seeing something tangible come up from the ground to help put people into homes and growing communities.’

Andres Baena, Wantagh

“I never had a focus in high school or college. There was never something I wanted to do. I knew I needed money and wanted some sort of stability for myself before I pursued my passions. I ended up becoming a real estate agent in Queens. That got me familiar with learning and understanding the industry.

“My broker pushed me to go to law school. He saw that I had the hustle and ambition and got creative when needed. I ended up going to Touro and worked as hard as I could. I interned for the Town of Islip. From there, I ended up working for a village judge in Old Brookville. She then put me in touch with Beechwood, one of the largest residential developers on Long Island. That’s where it all really came together for me. I saw the realty process from soup to nuts.

“After three years, I said I needed to take the reins and do it on my own. That was in 2018, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I have a law practice and do mostly residential closings. I’m also a commercial broker.

“Eventually, I want to get into the development space and grow out the practice. It’s stressful but absolutely worth it. It’s great seeing something tangible come up from the ground to help put people into homes and growing communities I’m a part of creating Long Island and that’s super rewarding.

My dream would be to have a project that I put up, and there might be a club on the first floor of that project where I’m playing and my friends, family and anyone else who wants to come can come enjoy the music. It will all come together.

“For fun, I DJ. That’s been my therapy. I go live on Facebook and Instagram every other weekend to have fun and play music to spread joy and love. I don’t pursue it professionally because of everything else going on, but for me, it’s a serious hobby. My go-to styles are funk, soul, disco, house and Latin. They’re genres meant to make you enjoy life and disconnect from all the problems of the world and have fun in the moment.

“I definitely plan on bringing my two worlds together. I enjoy the closings, the development, and also the music. My dream would be to have a project that I put up, and there might be a club on the first floor of that project where I’m playing and my friends, family and anyone else who wants to come can come enjoy the music. It will all come together.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano

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