The author of yesterday's article in the NY Times about Madoff's impact on the NYC real estate market made a guest appearance on the Brian Lehrer Show to flush out the article. Bottom line: Madoff scandal=big problem for development. One issue: a bunch of developers and real estate folks suddenly have a whole lot less cash. Another: ain't gonna be so easy to get cash. "Many of the developers...have lines of credit with commercial banks, and these lines of credit are secured by their personal net worth," said Michael Stoller, who joined the discussion. "Now their financial statement is inaccurate." Another: glut of office space, since many businesses lost their shirts in the last few days. And another: stalled or abandoned projects, oy vey. One developer apparently not affected by the Ponzi scheme is Bruce Ratner; not sure if you guys will think that's good news or bad.
Reality Check [WNYC]
Photo by broken aperture.
