CRE execs nervous about de Blasio administration: survey

The city’s commercial real estate players are feeling jittery about the new administration, with most saying that Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will be bad for business, according to a new survey by accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron.

Only seven percent of New York City commercial real estate executives said they were “very confident” in de Blasio’s support of the commercial real estate industry, according to the survey, released Tuesday. Only 28 percent responded that they were “somewhat confident” in de Blasio, while 21 percent said they were “not at all confident” and 35 percent said they are “not too confident.”

In contrast, 76 percent of executives surveyed last year expressed confidence in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s support of the industry, according to a report from Law360.

“The city’s commercial property industry, based on the survey results, is clearly bracing for a mayoral administration far less friendly to real estate interests than the current one,” William Jennings, who leads the real estate group at Marks Paneth & Shron, said in a statement to Law360.

Many major developers have said, however, that de Blasio’s track record in City Council suggests that he is more pro-development than he seems at first blush, as The Real Deal reported. [Law360] —  Hiten Samtani