New year, new mayor. And, in a surprise twist, 2021 saw a new governor when Kathy Hochul took the reins of New York state from Andrew Cuomo after he resigned in disgrace. The dual transitions of power led to a shift in some of the appointed officials charged with leading New York City’s committees, commissions and public corporations — with many of them coming from real estate backgrounds.
Real estate and politics have always been intertwined in the Big Apple, but debates over affordable housing, rent stabilization and the city’s built environment reached a fever pitch during the pandemic. Those debates have yet to be settled, but with Hochul and Adams’ new appointments, the real estate industry might get even more of a say.
At the state level, Hochul appointed Kevin Law, a partner and executive vice president at Tritec Real Estate Development, to be director of the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), one of the two economic development financing vehicles under the Empire State Development Corporation.
Law, who chairs Tritec Real Estate’s affordable housing team, co-chaired the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council for nearly a decade, where he focused on increasing workforce housing. He will be responsible for the public benefit corporation’s mission promoting a growing economy and creating new jobs for residents.
Read the full article in the Commercial Observer.