News
BISACQUINO, STURNER KEYNOTE
June 4, 2009
 |
| NAIOP New York City is fresh off of a trip to Albany, speaking to 18 legislators on real estate concerns. But we got a wider perspective yesterday when the association invited national prez Tom Bisacquino to keynote a luncheon at Haworth's 125 Park showroom. Tom (who joked he felt like the ShamWow guy) tells us that NAIOP is making sure that it responds to the market crisis, but members need to understand what's going on around the U.S., including budget shortfalls, property rights, and green mandates―all Trojan horses to growth: "Getting involved is where the rubber hits the road." |
 |
| For the local perspective, we turned to Murray Hill Properties'Norman Sturner (4th from right, with Tom and NAIOP NYC's board). Pushing his inner Pollyanna aside, he notes that the lack of refinancing is the elephant in the room, with billions of securitized loans due within four years. If we ignore it, General Motors will look like “a walk in the park.” We don't want to deal with the government as a landlord, he adds, so go to legislators and ask what we're going to do. However, he's still an optimist, he notes, as New York remains the center of many industries. |
 |
| Good news! Murray Hill's David Sturner, center, with Royal Abstract's Paul Fishman and Morgan Consulting Group's Katonia Morgan, says he's seen a lot more action recently, with leases being talked about and signed. He says we were at a point where tenants were signing month-to-month renewals since owners were not kicking them out, but now they're showing a willingness to go long term again. (See, David, we didn't condense you to a sentence). |
