The Observer hosted an event tonight at the 21 Club to commemorate this year’s Power 100 list, which recognizes the city’s most influential players in the real estate industry. The few hundred people in attendance included No. 1 Stephen Ross of the Related Companies and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We are thrilled that all of you are here,” Kyle Pope, editor of the Observer, told the crowd. “We know what a difficult year it’s been in commercial real estate.”
Mayor Bloomberg said he didn’t mind dropping from No. 4 in 2009 to No. 9, but joked to Observer publisher Jared Kushner to be wary of building inspectors at the paper’s office tomorrow.
On a more serious note, Mayor Bloomberg was bullish on the city’s economic state, and said it was in better shape than the rest of the country. Tourism, for example, was so strong that one of his acquaintances couldn’t find a single hotel room the other night. He also cited the 7 train extension to the new Hudson Yards development and Atlantic Yards as positive industry signs, and a herald of more big things to come.
“We’re going to continue with the big developments. We’ve rezoned something like 25 percent of the entire city,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “If I was a developer, I’d put a shovel in the ground right now.”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, No. 17 on the list, recognized that he and Mayor Bloomberg have had differences in the past, but affirmed their partnership to make New York a center of finance and development, particularly in Lower Manhattan.
“I’m thrilled that the arguing has subsided and progress has replaced the stop-and-go that defined the construction of the World Trade Center,” said Mr. Silver.
Perhaps the most lauded man of the night was public relations maestro Howard Rubenstein, No. 21, who was credited with bringing the entire event together.
