New York Forever:
A Celebration of Our City
WELCOME T
2022 Honorees
he immense challenges of the past two years have put all of us to the test. There are some who even doubted our city’s capacity to recover from the economic and societal impacts of the pandemic. But with every passing day, our collective efforts have proven that old refrain: “You can never bet against New York City.”
market indicators suggest even more incremental growth in our sector is ahead. Public transit ridership levels seem to hit new pandemic-era peaks every week and some commercial building owners are already seeing occupancy rates of more than 60% of pre-pandemic levels – showing that more momentum is building every day.
The real estate industry, as it always has during tough times, has been at the forefront of the City’s path to long-term recovery. Many of the world’s largest and most innovative companies have not only maintained their office presence in our central business districts, but further invested in their real estate footprint. Retail corridors are seeing renewed energy as more visitors return to the City from across the nation and world, and leading brands are again leasing space and filling out corridors next to many upstarts who jumped at the chance to enter the market over the last few years. Despite the exodus many predicted, New York remains a highly sought-after place to live as residential market has returned to prepandemic levels of demand and activity.
Of course, there is still much work to do to achieve full economic recovery for our city and its residents. Continued collaboration between the public and private sectors will play a critical role in getting us there – and we are optimistic about what the future holds.
This is good news for our industry but even better news for the broader economy, as real estate generates more than half of the City’s annual tax revenue that supports the basic government services that millions of New Yorkers rely on. Many other
Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have both brought a much-needed focus to core issues – including public safety, quality of life, economic development and better deliver of government services – that will help move the City forward. We are proud to partner with State and City officials on addressing these important issues and will continue to do so moving forward.
It is with all of this in mind that REBNY has brought a renewed spirit to our iconic annual event. This year’s event carries a new name: “New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City” and a new and exciting format that features some of the City’s most renowned chefs and mixologists. We will continue our tradition of recognizing a group of incredible honorees who have left indelible impacts on New York City and our industry. But one other new element will be our greater emphasis on highlighting the work of the REBNY Foundation, REBNY’s charitable arm that will benefit from a portion of the proceeds generated at this year’s event.
Alongside partners in the public sector, we must also remain focused on addressing the long-term challenges our city continues to confront. Our housing supply crisis will continue to impact affordability and more must be done to increase production of much-needed rental
The growth of the REBNY Foundation in recent years is a prime example of how our industry has gone above and beyond our role as the City’s key economic engine to also make greater impacts to support vulnerable and underserved populations across the five boroughs while also bringing
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housing. We must get innovative and creative about creating more live-work-play communities in our central business districts to continue attracting major employers and supporting small businesses throughout key corridors. We must ensure that our infrastructure and transit systems have the support and resources they need to carry us forward into the next generation and far beyond.
a greater focus on equity. This is exemplified through the Foundation’s focus on three key areas: housing, workforce development and diversity and inclusion. Through Project Parachute, the Foundation has brought together the non-profit community and REBNY’s members to provide rental assistance and other support for thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers impacted by the pandemic. With the City University of New York and the non-profit Project Destined, the Foundation has provided paid internship opportunities to diverse CUNY undergraduate students to empower New York’s workforce with the skills they need to support the businesses growing in their own backyard. We have also partnered with Building Skills NY to connect underemployed New Yorkers with jobs and training to create new career pathways into the construction industry. In partnership with Coro New York, we launched the REBNY Follows Leadership Program in 2020 to bring in real estate professionals from diverse backgrounds for a six-month training program to help elevate their careers and prepare them for opportunities that increase their impact on the industry. The program continued this year with 14 amazing and impressive Fellows who just graduated this Spring.
Like the City, New Yorkers are resilient and headstrong to overcome great change. REBNY is dedicated to seeing New York through the pandemic and emerging even stronger and more equitable on the other side.
Douglas Durst, Chairman, Real Estate Board of New York
Jim Whelan, President, Real Estate Board of New York
June 20, 2022 S1 6/16/22 8:34 AM