'This Could Be A Reset': CRE Hopeful That Hochul Is Improvement Over Cuomo

When Kathy Hochul, who will soon become the first female governor of New York, served on the Town Board of Hamburg, New York, she was known as a competent local politician who surrounded herself with smart people and took a thoughtful approach to commercial and economic development.

“She supported everything that made sense and I'm sure she would do that as well as the incoming governor,” said Richard Schechter, an attorney and broker who knew Hochul when she was a Hamburg board member. “She supported development but smart development, not sprawl … She had a rational, reasonable position on economic development.”

Schechter donated to Hochul’s run for Congress in 2011 and 2012, and said he is confident that she will take the same tack when she moves into the Governor’s Mansion in two weeks, taking over for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced his resignation Tuesday.

“I am very much a supporter of hers and I think that she will continue the support for real estate development,” Schechter said. “Anything that would bring new jobs to Western New York, upstate New York and throughout New York State would be welcome additions.” 

Hochul, who has served as Cuomo’s second-in-command since 2015, will take the helm of the Empire State during one of the biggest moments of crisis in its 233-year history. As the former congresswoman ascends to the highest office in the state, she must reckon with an ongoing pandemic as well as the recovery from the health crisis’s economic fallout.

In an address Wednesday, Hochul said that while she wasn't expecting to take office, she has been prepared for the role since she became lieutenant governor. 

“I know New Yorkers, they are hardwired to persevere and to prevail,” she said. “And the promise I make to all New Yorkers, right here and right now, I will fight like hell for you every single day. Like I've always done and always will.” 

In interviews with Bisnow Wednesday, New York real estate players said they hope Hochul will press the reset button for the industry, work quickly to address some of the challenges the state is facing and rethink some of the state policies the industry considers harmful to its interests. 

“[She isn’t] some shrinking violet from upstate New York, who doesn't know anyone Downstate or Upstate. She's been all over the place in the last six, seven years, forming very strong relationships,” said Jay Martin, the executive director of the Community Housing Improvement Program, a landlord lobby group. “She didn't, I think, have the opportunity because of this governor's many egos to show who she really was. But she was extremely active.” 

Hochul has spent most of her life in Western New York. She was born in Buffalo in 1958 to a blue-collar family, and she graduated from Syracuse University in 1980. After getting her law degree from the Catholic University of America in 1984, she worked for New York lawmakers in Washington, D.C., but eventually moved back to Erie County, where she served as the county clerk before representing the area in Congress. 

Assembly Member Karen McMahon told Politico Hochul is “warm” and “down-to-earth.” She is reportedly well-liked by lawmakers and many who know them both say she is in many ways the opposite of Cuomo. 

When she was running for Congress a decade ago, she was able to rake in thousands in campaign contributions from many in the real estate industry.

Glenwood Management founder Leonard Litwin donated $500K combined to the Democratic Party and Hochul’s lieutenant governor campaign, Crain’s New York reported in 2014. Hudson Cos. founder William Fowler donated $1K to her congressional campaign, and Burton Resnick, who led Jack Resnick & Sons for 30 years and died in 2019, donated $500. 

Time Equities Inc. founder Francis Greenburger was among one of the top individual real estate contributors, donating $2,250 to her congressional campaign between 2011 and 2012. Greenburger said he can’t remember exactly how he met Hochul, but he was struck by her competence and character.

Greenburger, who also runs The Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, said he spoke with Hochul specifically about criminal justice reform in the context of mental health. 

“She's always been thoughtful and informed,” he said. “I think she comes across as sort of a friendly, steady hand. Somebody who I could see in a leadership position who would handle things appropriately and well.” 

Greenburger believes like any transition to a new leader, her ascension is a chance to reflect and start new. 

“I, and people in the state, are looking forward to her bringing new leadership and new thinking to the governor's office,” he said. “It’s a particular set of circumstances where she came in, but it was no different an opportunity than anybody who comes into the new administration. It could be an opportunity to take a fresh look at things that are working and things that aren't working.” 

At the top of the list of commercial real estate’s concerns are the expiration of the eviction moratorium at the end of the month and the state’s rent relief program — of which just a fraction of the $2.7B has been paid out. 

But beyond the policy issues, industry players are hoping the end of Cuomo's reign will mark the start of a new approach to governing and open the door to a new way for real estate to push its interests in Albany. 

“Everybody was afraid of [Cuomo], and I don’t think that’s the way you should govern,” GFP Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural said. “Real estate should be in the position to make their argument without having to worry about repercussions … He was very vindictive, and he was a bully.

“[Hochul] is a pragmatic person, she’ll listen,” Gural continued. “It will be a lot easier for us to have legislation based on merits and not on relationships.” 

Gural said he speaks regularly with the New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy — he owns the Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment — and describes it as a completely different experience to that of trying to work alongside Cuomo. 

“You are not worried if you say the wrong thing, he’ll make your life miserable,” Gural said. “Truthfully, [Cuomo] did a lot of good things, a lot of capital projects got done: Tappan Zee Bridge, LaGuardia, Penn Station. He did a great job in the pandemic, but he had a screw loose and he just treated everyone as if he was a dictator.”

Beyond the immediate crisis, the rent regulations Cuomo signed into law in 2019 — despite the real estate community begging him not to — remain a huge thorn in the side of landlords. Anxieties are also rising over the expiration of Affordable New York, a treasured developer tax break that is up for renewal next year. A push to repeal the policy — which lapsed on Cuomo’s watch in 2017 — is already afoot.

But some real estate players are optimistic Hochul may take a measured view on these kinds of issues, potentially paving an easier road for the industry down the track.

“Every fresh start is filled with opportunity,” said B6 Real Estate Advisors CEO Paul Massey, who ran for mayor of New York City as a Republican in 2017. “Potentially, this could be a reset for us with rent regulations and likely to be a positive reboot for the real estate industry.” 

Others are skeptical that Hochul’s promotion will lead to an overnight fix. Martin pointed to what he describes as a strong socialist presence in the state legislature that he believes will continue to threaten real estate interests.  

“I'm optimistic that there's an opportunity, but I think everyone is getting way ahead of themselves,” he said. “We should give her the opportunity to lead on issues, we should provide her with the facts and hope that she makes the right decisions.”

Hochul said she would outline more of her agenda once she takes office in 13 days, but she provided a glimpse of a general strategy for moving forward during Wednesday’s press conference. 

“I'll do what I've always done,” she said. “I will travel the state to meet New Yorkers to listen to them, to assure them that I've got their backs. And I will take their concerns and bring them back to our state Capitol and work with our partners and every level of government to come to solutions. People will soon learn that my style is to listen first, then take decisive action.”