NAIOP Sees New Leadership, Looks to Push Brownfield Extension and Tax Issues
By Karsten Strauss January 31, 2013 7:45 am
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The New York City Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, today announced the results of its election for 2013 chapter leadership roles. Neil Tipograph, partner at Imowitz Koenig & Co., has been elected to serve as president, having been president-elect in 2012.
The organization has 55 chapters nationwide and about 15,000 members. The New York City chapter – comprised of about 200 members, including Murray Hill Properties’ David Sturner – is its fastest growing.
The organization acts as a networking and educational hub for commercial real estate professionals, as well as a public advocate and lobbyist for the industry on issues that affect it. In 2013, NAIOP will be pushing issues on several different fronts, including some in Albany.
“We are trying to get an extension on the current New York State Brownfield credit program,” Mr. Tipograph said. “We believe that program promoted development and promotes construction jobs and all jobs related to the commercial real estate industry.”
The New York Chapter meets every other month to discuss topics relevant to the local commercial markets. An upcoming issue is the development of technological tools as a means of marketing office space to potential tenants—creating a virtual building, complete with available rooms, to introduce buyers and renters to square footage without having them step into a building. “From your computer you can take a tour of available office space,” Tipograph explained.
Another future issue the organization is watching closely is the development of any tax legislation that could have an adverse effect of the commercial market both nationally and here at home. “I go all the way back to 1986 when the internal revenue code was reformulated under tax reform and it had a very significant effect on the real estate industry from 1986 through the earl ‘90s and it was a negative effect,” Mr. Tipograph said. “We’re going to watch this very closely and make sure that is not repeated.”
Other chapter leaders vaulted to new positions were Jay Fehskens, asset manager of Time Equities, Inc., who will serve as president-elect in 2013; Brian Jauntig, property manager at Monday Properties, has been elected to serve as treasurer in 2013; and Alan Cohen, partner at Cooley LLP, has been elected to serve as secretary.
