Amid varied criticisms, destructive or not, speculations on what really is the current relationship of New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, with the NY real estate have risen up.
But reports reveal that his relationship with the real estate industry in the country, at least in his mayoral jurisdiction, isn't on the rocks but "mixed at best," as The Real Deal calls it.
It has been noted that last year, de Blasio and Jonathan Gray, head of global real estate The Blackstone Group, the largest private equity firm in the world, announced the purchase of Manhattan's biggest apartment complex by the latter at $5.3 billion. Such announcement was historic as it included a commitment to preserve 5,000 units of housing at an affordable price. In that same affair, de Blasio even expressed his gratitude to Gray's dedication and whole-hearted support in the project, glorifying The Blackstone Group's desire to do something good for the country.
Flattered about the city mayor's remarks, Gray also has his own way of glorifying the City Hall.
"It felt like working with a very skilled deal team, almost like another investment firm. The most impressive thing was the 24/7 nature of the transaction over more than a week and just how committed they were to doing this," Gray recently commented via The Real Deal.
On another note, while many critics have not been impressed about the mayor's performance to date, even have become very critical about his stance of being slow moving and inefficient and on his overall reputation in his administration since he was elected, his real estate supporters still take the big deal as a proof of de Blasio's pragmatic leadership. Of what he has done and has been doing, not only for his territorial jurisdiction but also for the whole country, his manifested dedication and commitment is what makes his supporters continue to believe that he will continue to work with real estate developers and players to get things done for the common good of New York.
