On Wednesday, September 18th, NYLIB will host a panel discussion on Multifamily Commercial Real Estate Lending: Economic Challenges & Societal Benefits. The panel discussion will be moderated by Robert Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Real Estate Advisor at Apple Bank.

A distinguished panel will discuss the interface of laws and regulations, subsidies, rent controls, rental rates, and cost structures affecting multifamily lending, as well as tensions between the societal goal of affordable rental rates and the economic stresses on these properties (and on owners and lenders) given the current legal framework. How do we reconcile public policy goals and the need to provide investors with appropriate rates of return on their properties? Are we at a tipping point on the ability to finance these properties?

Panelists include Nate Bliss, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce; Jake Blumencranz, New York State Assemblymen for the 15th District; Joseph Condon, General Counsel at the New York Apartment Association (NYAA); James Nelson, Principal and Head of Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales Group; and Robert Porto, an Executive Director at Cushman & Wakefield specializing in the appraisal of multifamily properties. Please register below.

Moderator

Robert Smith joined Apple Bank in July 1992 and is currently an Executive Vice President, Chief Real Estate Advisor. He is responsible for all activities within the Real Estate Valuation and Advisory Division (REVAD) as well as various related commercial real estate activities throughout the Bank.

With a career spanning over four decades, he has been involved in commercial real estate since 1980, working with leading real estate companies and financial institutions. He has experience as a real estate advisor and as a real estate reviewer and appraiser.

Mr. Smith has taught graduate-level commercial real estate courses as an adjunct at New York University's NYU-Schack Institute of Real Estate for the past 17 years. He currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Fordham University - Real Estate Institute (REI) Graduate School Degree program. He continues to serve as an Instructor for the Appraisal Institute (AI) and is a Certified USPAP instructor for the Appraisal Foundation (AF).

Panelists

Nate Bliss is Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce, where he supports an interdisciplinary team leading City Hall’s efforts to promote recovery and to build a stronger and more inclusive economy. Nate has 20 years of experience in public-private partnerships, including time in both the private sector and in government. His work has included the development of laboratory and life sciences space in his role as Vice President for Development and Construction at Taconic Partners, and neighborhood revitalization efforts in areas including Coney Island, Long Island City, Downtown Far Rockaway, and Staten Island's North Shore in his role as Senior Vice President at New York City Economic Development Corporation. Nate is a graduate of Columbia University and New York University, and has also taught at NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate. He resides in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons, and is proud to live and work in the greatest city on earth.

Jake Blumencranz was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 8, 2022. The 15th Assembly District includes portions of the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay.

Prior to being elected to the Assembly, Jake worked in the private sector as a business executive. He also previously worked for the Nassau County District Court and understands the intricacies of the criminal justice system.

Jake is committed to working with all legislators to create a more affordable and safe New York. His plans include tax breaks for homeowners, cutting income taxes for middle-class families, and eliminating waste within the state budget. In addition to fiscal responsibility and safety, Jake pledges to promote academic opportunities for all students, such as BOCES programs and trade schools, alongside a traditional academic pathway. In March 2024, he sponsored a bill intended to protect the property rights of New York homeowners by adding squatting to the definition of criminal trespass in the third degree and by extending the time period for tenancy rights from 30 days to 45 days of possession.

Jake earned his Master of Science in Regional Urban Planning and Economic Development at the London School of Economics and holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy and Religious Studies from Rice University. He currently resides in Oyster Bay.

Joseph Condon is General Counsel at the New York Apartment Association (NYAA). NYAA was recently formed via a merger between the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) and the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, Inc. (RSA). It is a 501(c)(6) that represents a coalition of property owners and managers who provide the majority of affordable multi-family housing in the state of New York. 

Prior to serving as General Counsel of NYAA, Joe served as General Counsel of CHIP. Founded in 1966, CHIP was a trade association for owners of over 400,000 rent-stabilized rental properties across New York City’s five boroughs. CHIP provided educational programming, compliance assistance, and legislative advocacy to its more than 4,000 members. CHIP supported its members in their mission to provide excellent and affordable housing, build a sense of community in their properties, and employ thousands of New Yorkers with their small businesses.

James Nelson is Principal and Head of Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales group, where he leads a group of three dozen professionals in the sale of multi-family, office, development, and retail properties. Avison Young is a full-service global real estate firm with 5,000 real estate professionals located in 120 offices in 20 countries.

Throughout his close to 25-year career, James has been involved in the sale of approximately 500 properties and loan sales for an aggregate value of over $5 billion dollars. Prior to joining Avison Young, James served as Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, where his team was ranked the number one Investment Sales broker nationwide in 2016. Previously, James was a partner and top producer for Massey Knakal for six of their last eight years and was named the company’s youngest partner in 2004.

James enjoys guest lecturing at Columbia, Fordham, NYU, Wharton, and his alma mater Colgate. He is a regular source for the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and the NY Post, among others. He serves on the boards of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Counselors of Real Estate, SparkYouth NYC, and Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association of New York (YM/WREA). He is also a co-founder of the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA) and the Colgate Real Estate Council. You can learn about James’ book, The Insider's Edge to Real Estate Investing: Game-Changing Strategies to Outperform the Market, and James’ videos and podcast on his website.

Robert (“Bobby”) Porto, MAI, is an Executive Director with Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Valuation & Advisory.

Bobby joined Cushman & Wakefield Valuation & Advisory as an intern in May 2003. He was subsequently hired as a full-time appraiser and real estate analyst in June 2004. Since joining the division, Bobby has worked on various appraisals of income-producing properties, including office buildings, industrial properties, retail and shopping centers, and special-use properties such as auto dealerships, golf courses, restaurants, and parking garages. His work scope includes feasibility studies, market surveys, and investment analyses. Bobby has been a member of the Gas Station/ Convenience Store, Auto Dealership, Multifamily, Industrial, and Restaurant and Residential Development specialty practice groups. Bobby was promoted to Associate Director in July 2008, to Director in July 2010, Senior Director in April 2014, and Executive Director in June 2022.

In 2012, Bobby joined New York’s multifamily specialty practice group as a colleague of John T. Feeney, regional head of the Multifamily Practice Group. The group focuses on valuation and consulting assignments located within all five boroughs of New York City and Long Island. Assignments include cooperatives, existing and proposed condominium developments, proposed and existing rental developments, 80/20 and 70/30 mixed-use developments, Section 8 housing developments, Mitchell Lama developments, development sites, air rights, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Inclusionary Housing and benefits related to sub-market financing. Bobby prepared the Hudson Yards Financing District Development and Revenue Report in support of the 2021 $452 million bond financing for the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation. Bobby is qualified as an expert witness.

On Thursday, January 11th, NYLIB will hold a commercial real estate panel discussion. NYLIB President Edward T. Lutz will serve as the moderator for the panel discussion, which will feature Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Finance and Real Estate at Columbia Business School; Jade Rahmani, Managing Director at KBW; and Scott Singer, Principal and Co-Lead of Avison Young’s Tri-State Debt & Equity Finance team. Please register below.

Moderator

NYLIB President Edward T. Lutz will moderate the panel discussion. Ed’s distinguished career in banking has spanned over five decades. He is a former Regional Director for the FDIC’s New York Region, as well as a former community bank President and CEO. Ed has also served as a Director for several community banks. He currently serves as Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee for First Central Savings Bank.

Panelists