News
AROUND TOWN WITH SPITZER & RUFRANO
September 28, 2010
| Politics is not a pretty world right now, former governor-turned-CNN prime-timer Eliot Spitzer told a packed Club 101 yesterday during The Appraisal Institute Metro NY chapter's annual conference. When Obama was running for president, there was a tsunami of emotion and everyone was looking for an answer, he says, and 19 months later, results are not what we expected. |
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| Call it pinball politics, says Eliot, center, whom we snapped with Regional Appraisal Associates' Kenneth Wong (chapter prez) and Cushman & Wakefield's John Busi. Everyone's looking for a savior, but there's no allegiance to a long-term horizon—the country's dependant on immediate gratification. The government isn't addressing middle-class anxiety about lowering median incomes, and we've turned into a barbell-shaped society instead of a bell curve. The Tea Party's still not a major presence, he notes, but is an increasing voice for the middle class. But don't throw the towel in just yet, he warns—in politics, 12 hours is a lifetime. Obama's 42% approval rating in September of his second year is similar to the approval ratings of both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton during the same time period. |
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| In the real estate world, value creators like NYC will survive no matter what, he says, as long as we have the intellectual capital. People want to be here, unlike many other US cities, which are despondent. One concern he has is how we're competing in a global economy—how do we get the government to change the structure of our economy? China could overtake us in GDP growth in 15 years, and political power follows money. We need to address longer-term structures and think 30-50 years out, he says—and that will bring us where we should be. Locally, he says Albany is a horror show, but no worse than other state capitals—we need to rise up and vote out incumbents who are making it hard to get things done. |
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| Also speaking were Corcoran Group CEO Pamela Liebman and Cushman & Wakefield CEO Glenn Rufrano. We snapped Glenn, left, with Mortgage Bankers Association of NY president Michael Fletcher of JPMorgan Chase during MBA of NY's annual dinner at the Central Park Boathouse Thursday, which Glenn also keynoted. (Remember when the market was so unpredictable you'd have rewrite speeches that were more than two days apart?) He told the MBA that the mismatch of risk related to market timing greatly contributed to the economic earthquake beginning summer '07. When he was CEO of New Plan Excel Realty Trust from ‘00-‘07, you could've thrown a dart at a REIT chart and no matter what you hit, if you had bought that REIT, you would have made money at that time, he continued at the Appraisal Institute. However, “the risk relative to timing is not favorable today,†with mismatch of risk relative to pricing. Joining C&W gave him the opportunity to broker deals rather that compete for assets at today's values. |
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| MBA of NY's board members gather in front of Central Park's lake to kick off the fall lending season: (back) KTR Real Estate Advisors'Terry Tener, Joshua Stein PLLC's Joshua Stein, NYU Schack Institute's Larry Longua, Loeb & Loeb's Rich Nardi, and MidFirst Bank's Doug Rutley, (front) Eleford & Co.'s Marilyn Brown, Michael Fletcher, JPMorgan Chase's Brian Scesney, and Palisades Financial's Mark Zurlini. Michael tells us that members are feeling cautiously optimistic this time around—we may not see a substantial upswing, but the worst is over for their industry. This year, the association will be making a big push for its 60-year-old scholarship program, supporting students at NYU, Baruch, and Columbia. |
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| One group feeling the optimism is the local lenders—M&T Bank regional president Gino Martocci (second from left), with M&T's Shannon Patterson, Paul Ciancimino, and George Doerre, says the past four months have been excellent for the bank, with business increasing across the board for its services. Plenty of people were abuzz about CMBS at the event, with newly originated commercial mortgage loans once again being securitized—the MBA will be holding an event on Oct. 12 with Latham & Watkins partner Kevin Blauch and Park Bridge Financial principal David Rodgers to discuss the structural differences of CMBS from the last cycle, why people should care about CMBS, special servicing, and more. |
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| And despite UN General Assembly traffic difficulties, spirits were also high at AREW's annual fall reception at the Inside Park at St. Bart's afterwards, where we took this of Marketing For Designers' Iva Kravitz, ACC Construction's Michele Medaglia, Newmark Knight Frank's Robin Fisher, Perkins+Will's (and newly minted AREW prez)Debra Cole, Nortronics Corp.'s Maria Gonzalez, and Milrose Consultants' Jaclyn DiRenzo. Jaclyn's been busy on both ends, chasing after her seven and a half-month-old daughter and at Milrose, which recently won bids for major interior build-out work—a few of them three floors or more. Michele just finished some pre-builts at 100 Park Ave. for SL Green, and is working on the lobby at Tower 45. |
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| JLL's Bonnie Kirschenbaum, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture's Kathy Kleiver, JFK&M Consulting's Pat Hildebrandt, HDR's Mary Williamson, and KTR Real Estate Advisors' Theresa Nygard. Mary and Theresa, who chair the AREW Charitable Fund, tell us that they'll be focusing on Women In Need's Champions for Children this year, a charity that helps children affected by homelessness, live as normal lives as possible during hard economic times, with events, trips, and activities. |
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| JLC Environmental Consultants' Jennifer Carey, ERM Architecture's Ed McGinnis, Troutman Sanders' Sonia Kaur Bain, Prudential Douglas Elliman's Faith Hope Consolo, WB Wood's Laurie Hutner, and Debra Cole. Why's Ed so tickled? Not because he's surrounded by women—he'd just won a gift bag of Kusmi Tea, rumored to be a favorite of Lady Gaga (but don't expect him to start wearing Alexander McQueen lobster shoes). Kusmi opened its NY flagship store at 1037 Third Ave. over the summer, which was brokered by Faith and partner Joe Aquino. Other raffles included a Peninsula Spa membership and a spa day at Susan Ciminelli. |
