NEW YORK CITY-In a closed-door meeting Wednesday with members of the Real Estate Board of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered words of encouragement to top industry executives.
"The only way I can achieve my goals is if we're building, and building aggressively," he said in a partial audio recording of the get together. "We've made clear already—through the people we've named and the approach we're taking—how central this industry is to where we're going."
He praised his housing team, including deputy mayor Alicia Glen, planning commissioner Carl Weisbrod and Vicki Been, commissioner, Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He said he is "deadly serious" about building and preserving 200,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years, and has a "willingness to use height and density to the maximum feasible extent. This is something I don't have a hang-up about. I think it's necessary for what I'm here to do."
The meeting lasted 90 minutes and reportedly also touched on the Midtown East rezoning plan, according to Crain's New York Business, though that topic wasn't included in the audio clip released by the administration. Also discussed was the Mayor's plan to institute universal pre-kindergarten education for every four-year-old in the city as well as after-school programs for older children.
That initiative is slated to be funded by a controversial tax hike on households that earn more than $500,000. The Mayor reiterated his commitment to education and the need for financial backing but he reportedly didn't ask for money. Following de Blasio's remarks, REBNY members reportedly broke out in applause and there was a question-and-answer period. However, it is not known what was discussed at that time.
Requests for comment from REBNY officials and members who attended the meeting were not returned by presstime. Watch for a possible update on this story, pending their remarks.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
