RETAINING OPTIMISM

September 17, 2009 | 8:00 am ET Staff Reporter

Afterwards, we joined the B’nai B’rith Real Estate Unit for its September luncheon at the Cornell Club (‘twas an Ivy League kind of day), keynoted by NYC Economic Development Corp. president Seth Pinsky. Despite rising unemployment, declining wages, and a drop in city revenue, NYC has managed to retain its optimism and put shovels in the ground, he notes, pointing to projects like the 3.5M-SF Gotham Center in Long Island City (able to get $200M in financing when the markets were virtually frozen); the opening of the High Line’s first section of public park space; and the $165M Sunset Park vision plan, which began in July.

Seth, with board members: Hofheimer Gartlir & Gross’ Gerald Morganstern, Sklar Realty Group’s Lydia Sklar, Chelsea Capital's Daniel Shahrabani, Zlokower Co.’s Harry Zlokower, BDO Seidman's Stuart Eisenberg, and Mc Gowan Builders' Arie Ben-Dor. Times remain difficult, but Seth says we're fortunate to have Mayor Mike, whose Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is creating new jobs, investing in tomorrow’s jobs through diversification, and building attractive, affordable neighborhoods. The city has $10B in its capital budget for economic development, and will have a further expected $4B in federal expenditures and $1B in direct capital funds, he notes.

Daniel with CREOpoint.com’s Jean-Claude Goldenstein and architect Jeffrey Simon. Danny tells us that he has many Canadian investors looking into U.S. investment, but they’re expecting lower prices and there are issues funding assets. There’s still a lot of money not being deployed because of this pricing issue. Other investors may be interested in CREOpoint’s new partnership with Real Capital Analytics, which creates a real-time meeting point on CREOpoint’s website for RCA and CREOpoint subscribers to discuss industry news and RCA’s research findings.

RETAINING OPTIMISM

Continue reading this story with a free account

Sign in