NYC Talent Pool Is Key to Recovery

NEW YORK CITY-”The mode by which the inevitable comes to pass is called effort.” With this Oliver Wendell Holmes quote, Rose Associates chairman Daniel Rose summed up his views of how stakeholders in New York City’s economy can overcome the challenges and produce a recovery. A panelist at the Urban Land Institute New York’s “Changing Face of New York City’s Economy” presentation Wednesday morning, Rose and deputy mayor Robert Lieber both made the point that the driver of the eventual rebound will be the city’s human capital.

“Our talent is our most competitive advantage,” Lieber said in his opening remarks at the well-attended ULI event. “The speed at which New York City recovers is going to be determined by the magnitude, depth and breadth of talent that we have here.”

It’s a talent pool that extends well beyond the financial services industry, Lieber said. “We have to do more to get the other sectors to make a contribution to the city.”