In this series, Make Yourself At Home, we are hearing from members of the commercial real estate industry about how they are managing this new reality and gaining insight into their day-to-day approaches. You can subscribe on iTunes and Spotify. 

In this episode, we are joined by Alicia Glen, the former New York City deputy mayor of housing and economic development who has just launched her own real estate development and investment firm, MSquared.

Glen, also previously a managing director at Goldman Sachs, will aim to invest and develop housing for a variety of income levels. She is targeting midsized cities outside New York, with the view of helping kick-start economies and building up the middle class.

She speaks about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to getting housing built, the future of New York City after the crisis, and the type of leadership that might be needed to get it there (including a critique of her old boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio). She said she will be using her experience in the city to forge her way into new communities.

“I’ve done a lot of deals over the last 25 years, and you do learn some tricks,” she said. ”I hope I can use those tricks in a really authentic way. We’re not coming in to run away with all the cash and go back to New York. It’s about building sustainable developments and projects that will do well over time.”