Key Issues for NYC: Transportation and Housing

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Transportation and housing figured prominently on the agenda of concerns that will need to be addressed if New York’s vigorous growth is to continue. That was one of the key takeaways from a wide-ranging and well-attended, invitation-only panel discussion presented by the Brown University Alumni in Real Estate Group, and held recently at the sales gallery for Lendlease’s forthcoming 277 Fifth Ave. mixed-use development.

Lendlease’s Melissa Burch did discuss that project, per the panel’s title—“A Conversation Regarding 277 Fifth, Nomad and the New York Market”—especially the experience of working with renowned architect Rafael Vinoly. “It really opened my eyes to what it means to live in a space,” she said.

However, Burch and fellow panelists and developers Kent Swig of Swig Equities and Jake Elghanayan of TF Cornerstone, held forth on subjects ranging from the outlook for New York’s key property sectors to the economy of the city and surrounding region. “What’s needed is housing, affordable housing,” said Swig.

The de Blasio administration would certainly agree about the need for affordable housing, as it has mandated inclusionary housing for new projects of 10 apartments or more in rezoned areas. However, Swig took the view that developers should be incentivized, not punished.

Elghanayan noted that the debate about the affordability of apartment rents often masks the debate over income disparity. “You can’t house your way out of that problem,” he said.

The Nomad area’s evolution in recent years made it an apt location for Lendlease’s first New York project, as Burch discussed. Similarly, Swig pointed to the post-9/11 reinvention of Lower Manhattan, comparing its gradual recognition by New Yorkers to the transformation of Times Square from a seedy, dangerous area that people avoided, into a tourist mecca.

“New Yorkers were almost the last to know that we really cleaned up Times Square,” he said. Similarly, locals were slow in recognizing how Downtown Manhattan has bloomed into a residential as well as office hub. “At this point, I think people have awakened,” he said.

Moderator Scott Walsh of Lendlease concluded the 45-minute conversation by asking the panelists what they were most hopeful about. “New Yorkers don’t quit,” said Burch. ”We have challenges to overcome, but people are very civic-minded here.”

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny