CATSIMATIDIS TALKS BIZ, POLITICS

Fresh off of starting an exploratory committee to get the pulse on a NYC mayoral run, Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods chairman John Catsimatidis last week visited B’nai B’rith’s real estate unit lunch. We snapped the Clinton Democrat-turned-Republican, who said, “You can’t beat up companies to create jobs and beat up banks to hope they’ll extend money.” He was particularly concerned that New York is No. 50 in the US for economic development. Offer incentives to build and spend money here, he says. “Don’t scare them away with taxes.” What's critical: getting more people in the right positions, he says, and more biz people in politics.
Giuliani took care of the crime and Bloomberg provided leadership, so we never felt the recession. A bad leader, he says, will impact the dollars coming into NY; in that case, you might as well “short your real estate.” Among ideas he’d push: a 2014’s World’s Fair, 50 years after the city’s famed event and one that wouldn’t be a “flashbulb” like the Olympics. He’s joined above by Hofheimer Gartlir & Gross’ Gerald Morganstern, Zlokower Co’s Harry Zlokower, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Robert Shapiro, Sklar Realty Group’s Lydia Sklar, First American’s Jeff Mitzner, BDO’s Stuart Eisenberg, and Sholom & Zuckerbrot’s Frank Zuckerbrot.

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