Real Estate Forum Real Estate New York

"Happy Days are here again," said Jerry Speyer, president and CEO of Tishman Speyer Properties. "We're in an improving business climate."

Lazard & Co. chairman Bruce Wasserstein noted the need for the city to institute a strategic plan that would place emphasis on attracting businesses such as the medical industry to Manhattan. "New York creates new industries. We need to have a multi-lateral attack on focus."

And Rubenstein Associates president Howard Rubenstein noted the changes in the city's residential side, commenting that there "isn't a bad neighborhood in Manhattan." He also said that having the Republican Convention here was positive because it put the city "on the worldwide stage." Other members of the panel were Steve Roth of Vornado Realty Trust and Pamela Liebman of the Corcoran Group.