David Kramer

What was your biggest deal of the past 12 months?

We’ve had a bunch of them, but the deal that gets the biggest reaction in cocktail conversation is when I mention that we’re building the first Mamdani supermarket. It’ll open in the Bronx next year. We’ve been calling it both Trader Zo’s and Z Town. 

How would you describe your investor base?

Very cautious on New York, the deal has to make a lot of sense, and those are hard to find. 

How deeply have higher interest rates affected your investment or development plans?  

Hard to emphasize how much they’ve sucked. They’ve hurt our closings and refis with equal precision. And the fact that the interest rate environment is purely of our own government’s doing with voluntary tariffs and wars is beyond frustrating. 

If you could change one area of global or local tumult, what would it be?

A critical mass of state and local elected officials, while approaching housing with good intentions of affordability and tenant protections, have actually made the housing ecosystem so much worse. We have a supply crisis and can only produce 99-unit buildings. Tenants are in an uproar that landlords can’t control their buildings since it can take two years to evict violent residents. Rent-stabilized buildings are in severe distress. Market-rate rents have never been higher. 

And it’s all due to self-inflicted legislation and policy choices. At a minimum, fix 485-x! 

What has it been like working with the Mamdani administration, especially as opposed to working with previous mayoral administrations?

So far, so good. Besides Trader Zo’s, we’ve been very impressed by the housing plan, the SPEED program, and the focus on the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s capacity. 

We all think the rent freeze is a disaster for regulated housing stock, but I understand this was a high-profile campaign promise he couldn’t dodge. But, in future years, the city’s housing stock will be in a lot of trouble if the rent freeze continues. When lenders underwrite 0 percent rent growth and 5 percent opex escalations, it ain’t pretty. 

From a residential housing perspective, are there any neighborhoods in or around NYC that you think have potential to become the next LIC?

We’re bullish on Port Chester in Westchester in that it is transit-oriented development, and has ample new rental construction and great restaurants. 

Give us an optimistic take on the future of affordable housing in NYC.

I’m very optimistic about affordable housing production, and the city is very bullish on creating a lot of affordable housing. I’m a little less cheery about the asset management/ownership once it’s built. 

Lightning Round:

Your AI platform of choice? Lotus 123.

Who would play you in a movie? Stanley Tucci or Danny DeVito. 

One prompt you’d never give AI. How can I get around the Commercial Observer paywall?

Jalen Brunson or Aaron Judge? OG Anunoby.

“Oppenheimer” or “Odyssey”? “Memento.”

Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire? I don’t like supporting big-budget superhero movies. Give me a movie like “Rental Family” instead.

Have you ever eaten pizza with a knife and fork? C’mon, the city was in good shape under Bill de Blasio. Jobs were up, crime was down, universal pre-K, and he was a real grown-up about COVID. If you’re going to pick on a former mayor, it should be Rudy or Eric. 

The most money you’ve ever spent on a hamburger? $26?

Bank or non-bank? If you can get a bank, they’re much more affordable!

Last book you read? London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe.

Borrowing costs — up or down in 2027? Please, Lord, down.

What was your nickname when you grew up/started out? Back in the `70s, every other boy was David, so we all called each other by our last name, and I was Krames.

How long do we have before AI kills us all? A while.

Where’s your secret escape compound? (Think Peter Thiel’s New Zealand Plan B.) Actually, I can attest that New Zealand is amazing.