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Weekly Updates* In a crisis, unlikely allies will pull together. Such alliances can be sustained as long as the common interest creates conditions whereby mutual effort produces results more favorable than the uncoordinated pursuit of individual self-interests.
* It is better to confront the crisis early than to retreat into denial. The region was well served to recognize early the probable depth and duration of its economic recession.
* Leadership is required. Organizational strengths are important, and the management challenges of the effort daunting. But even more critical is the vision of what constitutes an optimal solution, and the communication skills to frame that vision and make it credible.
* The lessons of the past have immense value. The experience of past crises, from the fiscal emergency of the 1970s, to the stock market crash of 1987, the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, and even the natural catastrophes of hurricanes and earthquakes in other cities offer a template for recovery. Equally important, they highlight mistakes that can be avoided in dealing with current problems.
* Faith in the future of cities is eminently reasonable. One of the great lessons of history is that it is very hard to kill big cities. New York itself has been pronounced "terminal" on more than one occasion, but always fights back. The great demographic story of the 1990s was the revitalization of the urban centers of America. In the early 2000s, history is on the side of New York.
* Bad guys almost always lose in time. Edmund Burke is often quoted as saying, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Our corollary, though, is a hopeful one, for neither Americans nor especially New Yorkers are inclined to be passive in the face of challenges. We are more likely to respond with action and, once stirred, few can resist the combination of imagination and resources we can bring to bear on our difficulties.
Thus, the laying of a new cornerstone on Independence Day 2006, on the corner of West and Liberty Streets, marks not just the erection of a new tower for the Manhattan skyline-more significantly, it epitomizes a rising region-probably the true beginning of the commercial era of the 2lst century.
REI
Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc., commissioned the writing of the article as a service to its clients. It was authored by Hugh Kelly, CRE. It has been reprinted with the permission of Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc., (c)2001. All rights reserved.
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