| As the New York area continues to clean up after Sandy, long-term questions remain about its impact on the city and commercial real estate, says LePatner & Associates founder Barry LePatner, who will be speaking at Bisnow’s third annual Construction and Development Summit this Friday. (Register here!) |
| 1) Have we learned any lessons? |
| Will we be prepared for natural disasters that can impact our economy and have a dramatic effect on the lives of hundreds of thousands of our citizens? Real estate, in particular, needs to look at how it builds and markets. “Everybody’s been doing green, but are you building for safety?” he says. People may not want to move to a residential building with a generator in the basement.2) Will NYC address continuing problems? Think infrastructure shortfalls like needed levees to restrain surge flow, transportation, and housing in the event of disaster that displaces as many as one million citizens. An engineers’ report addressing future NYC storm surge concerns in 2009 “stunned me,” Barry says, showing the Rockaways, Brighton Beach, and Coney Island totally underwater and a surge reaching as far north as 14th Street.3) Can we secure commitments? |
| Andre Samuel |
| Will our city and state officials promise to fund tens of billions of dollars for needed water tunnel, power grid and other emergency installations for future disasters? “Since the Giuliani administration, we’ve put $5B towards the bridges, but we need to carry on that type of investment,” Barry says.4) Will leaders back investment? Will real estate and corporate leaders of the city support this investment, even if it involves higher taxes and other costs for future developments? “We all have to chip in,” Barry says. “Real estate is an important beneficiary of this. There is no free lunch.” |
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