NEW YORK CITY—Commercial real estate executives are optimistic about Mayor Bill De Blasio's evolving plans to revitalize Midtown East, according to the results of the Fall 2014 Gotham Commercial Real Estate Monitor survey, conducted by accounting firm Marks Paneth.

After revising Mayor Bloomberg's initial plan—which called for air rights sales—the de Blasio administration has begun negotiations with developers. Most commercial professionals (72%) say these talks have a good chance of re-establishing Midtown East as one of the city's most vibrant commercial areas. In fact, more than half (54%) think the talks will "probably" be enough to boost Midtown East, and 20 % are even more confident—they say the talks will "definitely" do the job.

That's certainly the hope of the industry. As the Real Estate Board of New York noted in its 2014 annual report, “Councilmember Dan Garodnick and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, with the support of the administration and the Department of City Planning, have established a Steering Committee comprised of stakeholders, such as REBNY, preservation and civic groups, and the local community boards, to develop a set of principles and guidelines that would inform City Planning's development of a new East Midtown rezoning plan.” It's scheduled to appear in late summer or early fall.