Crains New York - August 27, 2012 - (Page 11)

THE YOUNG JEWISH PROFESSIONALS ROBERT S. ALTMAN N Council oversteps bounds on wage bills o one likes being told they do not have the authority to do something, especially if they are elected officials. But in his lawsuit challenging the City Council’s living-wage and prevailingwage bills, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken a stand to prevent the council members from treading onto political turf where they have no authority. The council’s two bills are designed to increase the wages of employees who either work for companies that receive economic development assistance through negotiations with the city or who work in apartment buildings that receive subsidies so they can be used as affordable housing. The mayor’s lawsuit argues that both bills infringe upon a system of long-established laws to promote affordable housing and the city and state economy. The mayor is right. The legal authority for the mayor’s argument goes back to the fundamentals of Local Government 101. New York’s towns, villages and cities do not exist merely because they want to exist; instead, they exist because the state has granted them the authority to exist. But in granting that authority, the state gives the municipalities only limited powers, holding back certain powers for itself. For example, if the city wishes to raise a tax, except for the property tax, the state must approve it. The mayor’s lawsuit understands these limits. It focuses on areas such as the state’s Municipal Home Rule Law, the Industrial Development Agency Act and the Private Housing Finance Law and correctly argues that the state has already set up a system to promote affordable housing and economic development, often through the use of public benefit corporations established under state law.And the state,in setting up this system, did not intend for it to be amended by local legislative bodies, where such bodies could negate the intent of the state. Local officials may cry that this is tyranny. But in fact, the state was sensitive to local concerns. Many of these public benefit corporations contain the appointees of local elected officials other than the mayor on their boards of directors. However, to allow for efficiency in purpose and strategy, the mayor usually appoints the majority of board members. This is important for the city’s housing and business community. Predictability is important for any business. If a business starts a negotiation with a mayoral administration,it wants to know that such deals will not be subject to political trade winds. Moreover, in most deals, a business wants to know that it can speak with one person who can strike a bargain. In some instances, such as with land-use decisions, the council has a clearly defined and allowable role. But if the players in negotiations proliferate in every instance,then no entity will want to do business with New York City. The mayor’s lawsuit seeks to provide the security that businesses need in negotiating with the city. Robert S. Altman is an attorney and a lobbyist for the Building Industry Association of NYC and the Queens & Bronx Building Association. REAL ESTATE SUMMIT www.yjprealestate.com THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 th David Kramer Principal Hudson Companies, Inc. Emanuel Stern President & COO Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc. Ken Bernstein President & CEO Acadia Realty Trust Michael Cohen President Tri-State Region Colliers International NY LLC Marty Miner Partner Holland & Knight A 1981 1985 1990 1997 2001 2003 2005 2012 For New Yorkers, no place like home New York Times poll revealed last week that city residents regret their decision to give Mayor Michael Bloomberg a third term as mayor and would decisively reject him if he harbored any thoughts of a fourth term. But they do love the city Mayor Mike has done so much to shape. The Times has been asking a crucial question in these local polls since 1981: “Looking ahead about four years, if it were entirely up to you, would you want to be living elsewhere?” The numbers tell the story: In NYC 48% 54% 38% 49% 67% 51% 60% 65% Elsewhere 48% 42% 59% 47% 31% 47% 38% 33% GREG DAVID astated its manufacturing sector.The 1980 census had just revealed that the city’s population had declined by almost 1 million in the 1970s.Ed Koch had entered City Hall on Jan.1,1978, but his efforts to restore confidence were just beginning to take hold. No wonder half of New Yorkers said they would leave if they could. Source: The New York Times Back in 1981, New York City was mired in despair. The fiscal crisis had sent the city perilously close to bankruptcy. The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression had cost Gotham 620,000 jobs and dev- The situation seemed more perilous in 1990.The economy was cratering, and Mayor David Dinkins was widely regarded as indecisive. Fear was everywhere. That year, there were more than 2,000 murders; 75 children under the age of 16 were killed, 10 of them by stray bullets. Twenty-one police officers were wounded, and the cops shot 106 people, 41 of whom died. The Times poll found that six in 10 New Yorkers were ready to flee. Today, 65% of New Yorkers say they want to be here four years from now. (The only higher number was recorded in 2001, before Sept. 11, with the economy seemingly doing well and the city safe.) Despite some publicized shootings this summer and the stop-and-frisk controversy, New Yorkers believe they are safe— and they are right. Murders in recent years have numbered around 500, and other crimes have shown large drops as well.The Times poll tracked a sharp uptick in optimism about the economy, a reflection of the fact that the city has added an impressive 200,000 jobs in the past three years, a pace that’s about double the jobgrowth rate elsewhere in the country. Personally, I have some doubts about the “done with Mike sentiment.” I’ve been speaking to a lot of groups in the past few months, and more and more I am being asked if the city will prosper without him. My audiences have their doubts. I wonder what those polled will say in early 2014, when there is a new mayor. Crain’s Arts & Culture Breakfast: How To Stand Out In A Crowd DATE: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Join Crain’s New York Business at our Arts & Culture Breakfast as we will explore a critically important issue facing arts groups across the city: How To Stand Out In The Crowd—A candid discussion on how small and mid-size arts institutions can compete for audiences and donors. New York’s major arts institutions typically have vast resources to survive a downturn. The small to mid-sized organizations are hardest hit. Crain’s will bring in the experts on both sides—the fundraisers and the funders—to discuss the challenges institutions face while trying to grab the public’s and donor’s attention and the techniques that have brought them success. PLACE: Con Edison Conference Center 4 Irving Place at 14th Street TIME: Networking Breakfast: 8:30AM - 9:00AM Program*: 9:00AM - 10:30AM *Program extended. Patricia Cruz Tom Finkelpearl Kate D. Levin John Tomlinson Luis A. Ubiñas PANELISTS: Patricia Cruz Executive Director, Harlem Stage / Aaron Davis Hall, Inc. COST TO ATTEND: $80 for individual ticket(s). $800 for table(s) of ten. Tom Finkelpearl Executive Director, Queens Museum of Art PRE-REGISTER HERE: www.crainsnewyork.com/ events-fallarts For more information, call the Events Hotline at 212-2100739. Kate D. Levin Commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs John Tomlinson Executive Director, Paul Taylor Dance Company Luis A. Ubiñas President, Ford Foundation MODERATOR: Alair Townsend Crain's Columnist and Chair of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center SPONSORED BY: August 27, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 11 http://www.yjprealestate.com http://www.yjprealestate.com http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-fallarts

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 27, 2012

Crains New York - August 27, 2012
Contents
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Real Estate Deals
Business People
Corporate Ladder
Opinion
Greg David
Small Business
From Around the City
Stats and the City
Classifieds
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - August 27, 2012