City of Yes Seminar: Everything You Wanted to Know (But Were Afraid to Ask)
In what is one of the most positively impactful piece of legislation that has been passed in NYC in many years, City of Yes was approved and it will have profound impacts on the investment sales market. Given the gravity of this legislation, BKREA will be holding a seminar on the implications of COY for property owners only.
Join us for an informational session in The Knakal Map Room to fill you in on how this new legislation will impact your property’s value. What does it mean for the broader market, for your neighborhoods and your particular block. Some of the changes have profound implications. And it is very likely your property is worth more today than it was before COY passed.
Event Details:
Agenda
8:00AM - 9:00AM: Registration & Breakfast
9:00AM: Opening Remarks - Bob Knakal
9:05AM: City of Yes overview presentation - Dan Garodnick, Chairman, City Planning Commission
9:45AM: Fireside Chat - Bob Knakal & Melissa Román Burch, COO, NYC EDC
10:30AM: Panel Discussion with the BKREA Zoning SWAT Team - Ian Rasmussen, Charles Alwakeel, and Wilson Parry
11:15AM: Q&A
11:55AM: Concluding remarks
Guest Speakers:
Dan Garodnick, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, began serving as Director of the New York City Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission in February 2022.
Dan represented the East Side of Manhattan in the New York City Council for 12 years, and was known as one of New York's most independent voices and effective legislators. Garodnick is best known for his skill in negotiating complicated land use matters, such as the rezoning of East Midtown and the Vanderbilt Corridor.
Garodnick also negotiated the largest affordable housing preservation deal in New York City's history – 5,000 middle-class homes in Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. His book on that subject, Saving Stuyvesant Town, was released in 2021.
Immediately before joining City Planning, Garodnick was President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy.
Prior to his public service, Garodnick was a litigator at the law firm of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP. He has a B.A. from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He lives with his wife and two sons in Manhattan.
Melissa Román Burch is NYCEDC’s Chief Operating Officer and leads the Real Estate Transaction Services and Asset Management divisions. As COO, she oversees public/private developments involving City-owned property, and manages NYCEDC’s portfolio of 200+ unique and iconic assets spanning 64 million square feet and composed of commercial and industrial real estate, critical infrastructure, and energy assets. Melissa also leads the Strategic Investments Group, which structures impact investments through discretionary tax benefits and tax-exempt financing, and initiates catalytic investments that mobilize private capital and support the growth of strategic sectors.
Melissa joined NYCEDC in April 2022 after two decades as a leading property executive and developer of large-scale, mixed-use projects distinguished by investments in transportation infrastructure, environmental leadership, and innovative partnerships. Prior to NYCEDC, Melissa served as Executive General Manager for Lendlease, where she initiated and led all acquisition and development activities for the NY region. Melissa was previously Executive Vice President for Forest City Ratner, where she oversaw the development of Pacific Park Brooklyn, anchored by the Barclays Center Arena and composed of new market-rate and affordable housing, office space, transportation improvements, and parks.
A committed civic leader, Melissa proudly serves as a Trustee of the Henry Street Settlement and Coro New York Leadership Center. She was previously a Trustee and on the Executive Committee of the Citizen’s Budget Commission. Melissa is an active member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and W/X New York Women Executives in Real Estate. Melissa graduated magna cum laude in government from Harvard College and received her MBA from the Harvard Business School. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children.
Ian Rasmussen, founder of Urban Cartographics, heads a planning and zoning consultancy that specializes in navigating New York City's complex development approval process. Ian and his multidisciplinary team combine their extensive experience in urban planning, zoning law, and graphic design to guide clients efficiently through NYC's intricate zoning and entitlement landscape.
Charles Alwakeel, owner of Brooklyn-based Red Flux, has led his architecture and planning firm through over 500 zoning and feasibility analyses across New York City. Charles and his team specialize in understanding their client’s needs, site constraints, context, and culture and creating creative solutions that fit those needs.
Wilson Parry is the Co-Founder of PropertyScout, the premiere zoning and development software platform for NYC. Combining zoning expertise with proprietary data technologies, PropertyScout specializes in maximizing the development potential of any property.