Power at Ground Zero

When: Wednesday, February 15, 2017, 6:30pm

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Join author Lynne Sagalyn for a conversation about her latest book, Power at Ground Zero: Politics, Money, and the Remaking of Lower Manhattan, the definitive account of the complicated, expensive, and emotionally supercharged reconstruction of the 16 acres in Lower Manhattan where the Twin Towers collapsed. In this culmination of over a decade of research and writing, Sagalyn analyzes the full scope of the rebuilding effort and places the emphasis on its true drivers: real estate money and political power. Few people are as well qualified as Seth Pinsky, former President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation under Mayor Bloomberg, to discuss the politics and economics of that project with her.

1.5 LU AIA CES credits will be offered for attending this event.

Reception and book signing to follow.

Lynne Sagalyn is Professor Emerita of Real Estate at the Columbia Business School, where she was also the director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate and the MBA Real Estate Program. Sagalyn is widely known as an expert in real estate equity securities, public/private development and finance, economic development, and urban policy, and has published widely in these areas. She is the author of Times Square Roulette: Remaking the City Icon (MIT Press, 2001), Cases in Real Estate Finance and Investment Strategy (ULI, 2000), and co-author of Downtown, Inc.: How America Rebuilds Cities (MIT Press, 1989), as well as numerous articles for academic and professional publications.

Seth Pinsky is the Executive Vice President of RXR Realty LLC, a multi-billion dollar private real estate company, where he is also Investment Manager of Metropolitan Emerging Market Strategy. From 2008 to 2013, Pinsky served as president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation under Mayor Bloomberg; he was first hired as vice president of the NYCEDC in 2003. During his tenure, he was the lead negotiator on behalf of the city for projects including the Atlantic and Hudson Yards, the Cornell tech campus on Roosevelt Island, and the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Pinsky played a key role in the 2006 and 2010 negotiations over the commercial program for rebuilding Ground Zero.

Off the Page spotlights the best new books about the five boroughs. Each event features a brief reading and a conversation between the author and an expert commentator. Join us afterwards for a meet & greet with the author and enjoy a signature drink inspired by the evening’s book.

Co-Sponsors

Power at Ground Zero is co-sponsored by the AIA New York Chapter: Center for Architecture, the Downtown Alliance, the Columbia University The Herbert H. Lehman Center for American History, the New York City Department of City Planning, NYU Urban Design and Architecture Studies, the Project for Public Spaces, and the Urban Policy Program, SIPA Columbia University.