The Annual Meeting of the Downtown Alliance
On April 21st, I attended the annual meeting of the Downtown Alliance, the Business Improvement District for Lower Manhattan. This semi-governmental agency provides a host of wonderful support and services for the Lower Manhattan community with a budget of over $18.3 million.
At the meeting, we listened to our guest speaker, Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation who spoke eloquently about the many projects and responsibilities that her department is tasked with undertaking including safety, keeping all of the transportation elements in a state of good repair, and of mobility for pedestrians, bikers, cars, and subways and trains. It is indeed a big job which includes over 6,000 miles of train track, 13,000 traffic signals, and over 1 million street signs!
Since its inception in 1995, The Downtown Alliance has been brilliantly led by Robert (Bob) Douglas who I am so privileged and honored to have as a friend. So, this meeting was indeed bitter/sweet for me as it was Bob’s last meeting a Chairman of this organization. After more than 25 years, Bob is stepping down as our Chairman and a new one will be elected.
I congratulate Bob on all of his thousands upon thousands of accomplishments and wish him continued success and happiness with all of his future endeavors.
Kent Swig with Bob Douglas, Chairman of the Downtown Alliance.
Bob Douglas conducting the annual meeting of the Downtown Alliance.
Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner of the Department of Transportation addressing the members of the Downtown Alliance at its annual meeting.
The passing of Ambassador Meir Rosenne
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Ambassador Meir Rosenne. Ambassador Rosenne, shown in the attached photo at an Israel Bonds Holocaust Remembrance Award Dinner with Henry Kissinger, Elie Wiesel and Sigmund Strochlitz, was widely recognized as an accomplished diplomat who represented Israel with distinction in Paris and Washington.
Ambassador Rosenne was also appreciated for his role in forging peace between Israel and Egypt. As the Foreign Ministry’s legal advisor, he played an essential part in drafting the Camp David Accords.
And, I remember Ambassador Rosenne’s dedicated leadership with Israel Bonds, for which he served as president & CEO from 1989-1994. His time at Bonds coincided with historic and crucial events for Israel, including Operation Desert Storm and the influx of hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews. He responded to these events by helping to lead the organization to significant sales.
I applaud Ambassador Rosenne’s achievements on behalf of Israel and the Israel Bonds organization, and I send my condolences and prayers to his family.
Israel Bonds Holocaust Remembrance Award Dinner.
From left to right: Meir Rosenne, Henry Kissinger, Elie Wiesel and Sigmund Strochlitz.
Halstead Property Annual Meeting
Kent Swig against the Halstead Property “step and go” backdrop”.
A New 180,000 Square Foot Lease
Recently, my family’s company, The Swig Company, in conjunction with our partner Himmel + Meringoff Properties, signed a new 180,000 square foot lease at one of our New York City properties at 1460 Broadway with the tenant WeWork. This lease spans for 19 years and the tenant will occupy the entire building except for 35,000 square feet which includes the ground, second and third floors which will be occupied by a major retail tenant. I wish my heartfelt congratulations to Leslie Himmel and Steve Meringoff for their incredible efforts and hard work to make this wonderful deal happen!
1460 Broadway Corner
Dia Beacon
This Saturday April 4th, I visited Dia Beacon, a contemporary art museum that opened in May 2003 that occupies 300,000 square feet within a former industrial building situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York. Dia presents a vast range of artworks by an array of some of the most significant artists from the last half century in an incredible venue comprised uniquely and largely of all natural and indirect lighting. Dia’s space allows the works of art to be curated within a large and open setting and affords the museum the opportunity to show a depth of works from each artist that is rarely seen in other museums; the result is spectacular!
Self-reflection within the art work by the artist Joseph Beuys.
Richard Sera sculpture.
Works by John Chamberlain.
A work by Dan Flavin against the back drop of the former industrial building in Beacon.
Monuments by the artist Dan Flavin.
Brown Harris Stevens Annual Meeting
On March 16th, Brown Harris Stevens held its annual meeting for our Palm Beach office. The meeting was held in the Gold Room in the Breaker’s Hotel and was attended by all of our agents in the Palm Beach area led by Ava Van de Water (Executive Vice President) along with our New York executives Will Zeckendorf (Co-Chairman), Bess Freedman (EVP/Managing Director of Sales & Business Development), and Gerry Makowski (Executive Director of Marketing). Also in attendance was Dan Conn (CEO of Christie’s Great Estates) who spoke about the wonderful relationship that Brown Harris Stevens has with Christie’s and congratulated us on being the number one affiliate in terms of gross revenue production in the entire network of over 1300 affiliated companies and 33 000 agents. As we celebrated our 17th year of operation in the Palm Beach market, we acknowledged the great year that we had in 2014 which was partly made possible by the four-fold expansion of our Worth Avenue offices. We look forward to another great year in 2015!
Brown Harris Stevens Meeting. From left to right: Kent Swig, Brown Harris Stevens; Will Zeckendorf, Brown Harris Steven; Ben Stein, Brown Harris Stevens; Rick Moeser, Christie’s Great Estates; Ava Van de Water, Brown Harris Stevens; Dan Conn, Christie’s Great Estates.
The 20th Anniversary of the Creation of the Alliance for Downtown New York
On January 28th, I attended the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Alliance for Downtown New York, one of the first Building Improvements Districts (BIDs) in New York City and on whose board of directors I participate. I cannot believe that this BID is now 20 years old and looking back over these 20 years, it is amazing how many wonderful achievements have been accomplished! The evening was a great success and I was so thrilled to participate in the gala and see my good friend, Robert Douglas, be honored as he has been the Chairman of the Downtown Alliance since its founding. Congratulations to the Downtown Alliance and a special congratulations and thank you to Bob Douglas for his insights, efforts, strong leadership, and immense caring!!
Kent Swig with Robert Douglas and Charles Urstadt in the background.
The transformation of the Lower Manhattan and Financial District
The recent article in the February 2015 issue of Vogue magazine follows on the heels of the recent move of Conde Naste into One World Trade Center, all of which high lights the incredible transformation of the Lower Manhattan and FiDi, the acronym that I coined for the Financial District. I have been actively working in this area since 1998 when I first purchased 48 Wall Street and have eagerly been waiting for over a decade for an article like this to be written! It is such wonderful news for FiDi, Lower Manhattan and all of New York City!
The Role of the NYPD in the safety of New York City
We certainly live in a dangerous world and fortunately, New York City ranks among the safest large cities in the United States, if not the world. This is because of the public and political support that has been given to the NYPD combined with the dedication and diligence of the NYPD officers who put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our city and its citizens. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the middle of a great deal of tension between Mayor de Blassio and the NYPD, which is causing significant problems for NYC and the safety and protection of our citizens. It is certainly time to put aside these tensions and for the Mayor to fully and openly recognize the heroic efforts of the NYPD and say so publically. This does not mean that mistakes have been and will be made by the NYPD, but these mistake need to be put into perspective in terms of the overall performance of the entire NYPD and of all of their good work and efforts on the whole.
So, I share with you the lined article written by former Police Commissioner Howard Safir who, once again, has a wonderful viewpoint on this subject.
http://time.com/3662529/howard-safir-the-war-on-police-hurts-the-war-on-terror-paris/
Sunset in the Hamptons
Recently I witnessed a spectacular hour long sunset in the Hamptons which literally comprised a 360 degree sunset with magnificent coloration in all directions.
Sunset 1
Sunset 2
Sunset 3
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Sunset 9
