James Stuckey, the divisional dean of the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate resigned abruptly this past Friday, the school told The Real Deal, in a situation reminiscent of how he departed four years ago from a top job at the development firm Forest City Ratner Companies. At NYU, Stuckey left behind a mixed legacy in his two-year tenure, forcing through what some described as necessary changes to improve the school, but was criticized with operating with what they saw as an arrogant and biased management style.

Stuckey resigned last Friday “effective immediately,” said Paola Curcio-Kleinman, executive director of strategic marketing and communications for the School of Continuing and Professional studies, of which the Schack Institute is a part.

She said the school would likely make an announcement in the next few days about who would lead the division, but beyond that she would not comment. [more]

Carl Weisbrod

The former president of Trinity Real Estate, Carl Weisbrod, has joined the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate as a professor and academic chair. Weisbrod will head the Global Real Estate concentration, a newly formed academic discipline, according to an announcement made by the school today. Before joining Trinity, Weisbrod served as the founding president of the Alliance for Downtown New York. He announced his resignation from the church-led real estate group in May. He will formally assume his new academic post in January. TRD

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Emily Youssouf

A former president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation is heading over to academia. Emily Youssouf — who was at the HDC from 2003 and 2007 — has been hired as a clinical associate professor with the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate, the school announced today. James Stuckey, dean of the Schack Institute, cited Youssouf’s background in commercial real estate, as well as her “deep knowledge of finance,” as instrumental in her hiring. “Her arrival at NYU Schack is fantastic news for our students,” Stuckey said. TRD

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Seeing the forest for the trees: that was the topic of conversation at the recent NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate reporter roundtable, “Fair Deals? Fair Coverage?” which was moderated by the New York Times’ Charles Bagli, and included The Real Deal’s David Jones, the New York Observer’s Elliot Brown, Crain’s Amanda Fung, and the New York Post’s Tom Topousis. According to Jones, the infamous Starrett City and Stuyvesant Town deals were a reflection of trends in New York City’s financial milieu. But, unfortunately, those trends were at times overlooked by the mainstream media, Jones contended. While these stories were well-covered, both Bagli and Jones said the press overlooked the larger implications that these deals had. “They just didn’t get it,” Jones said. “Back during the middle part of the decade… there was a frenzy of institutional owners basically realizing they could maximize the value of these assets.” (To view the panel in its entirely, please visit NYU-SCPS.)
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James Stuckey, the divisional dean at the NYU Schack Institute

NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate has unveiled a new academic center focusing on sustainable real estate development. The Center for the Sustainable Built Environment will allow students to pursue studies in green building, according to a press release sent from the university. James Stuckey, the divisional dean at the NYU Schack Institute, said that the program addresses key issues currently facing real estate professionals today. “Developing energy-efficient, environmentally friendly buildings and infrastructure, and supporting technologies and regulations which allow that development to happen, are chief among the challenges facing the real estate industry today,” Stuckey said in a written statement. This news comes on the heels of an announcement last month that the program would be launching a new academic journal. TRD [more]

 Left to right: Robert Knakal, Patrick Hanlon, Barry Hersh

Brokerage and financial advisory firms are studying the recently
released federal Public-Private Investment Plan to see how they can
profit from the complex program. The two-part plan provides loan
guarantees for the purchase of troubled loans under the Legacy Loan
Program and securities under the Legacy Securities Program, including
those written on commercial real estate. The Legacy Securities Program
would tap into funds created through the Term Asset-Backed Securities
Loan Facility, known as TALF. The government hopes that credit will
free up as bad debt is removed from bank balance sheets. Experts say
that because the plan is still under development it is difficult to provide
specific examples to New York City, but The Real Deal spoke to three real estate pros to get their take on the local commercial real estate implications. [This is the first in a two-part series on how the federal loan guarantee plan affects New York City real estate. The second part will be on the residential market.] [more]