NEW YORK CITY—Riding high after REBNY announced it will honor its president, Steven Spinola, at its 119th annual banquet, the organization's chief executive—who's held the top spot at the industry's lobbying arm for three decades—addressed a room filled of CRE executives at a NAIOP NYC chapter meeting last week.

Held at CBRE's offices in Midtown, Spinola was joined by NAIOP CEO Tom Bisacquino and NAIOP VP of governmental affairs Aquiles Suarez.

Spinola started his presentation with a provocative industry endorsement. "This is not a Wall Street town, it's a real estate town." The industry is responsible for $15.4 billion in taxes and 38% of the city's total taxes.

The morning included a great deal of positive data about the health of the CRE industry and its impact on the economy. Bisacquino notes that the commercial real estate industry is 16.5% of the GDP. He highlights NAIOP's national presence and its important advocacy work for tax, environment and TRIA. Acquiles briefed the crowed on the eye opening results from the recent elections and reminded the crowd that whether Republican or Democrat, the issues for our industry have not changed.

However, he noted, REBNY is involved politically not to raise taxes but to stimulate new development that will add to the tax base. For example, SL Green's midtown east development of One Vanderbilt calls for a commitment of $210 million to mass transit and Grand Central Terminal improvements.

He praised Gary Barnett for being the only New Yorker for breaking ground in June 2009. The developer's One 57 project will generate $998 million of taxes over 10 years. Spinola noted.

He also spoke of landmarking, reiterating his concerns about the practice. Of the city's building stock, 28% of buildings are landmarked. Don't landmark away the city's future.”

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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.