FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 9, 2017 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 9
queens business
ing both ups and downs.
Investors and developers can never predict
the future of the market, he said. In
order to succeed in the real estate market,
Levine believes that investors have to
be in a position to sustain the inevitable
downturns of the market.
Th e fi rst panel was a discussion on
“Queens Mega Projects” and how these
projects will aff ect not only residents in
Queens, but businesses as well.
Some of those “mega projects” that
are taking place right here in Queens
are the developments at both LaGuardia
and John F. Kennedy International airports.
Developers and community leaders
know that one way to bring more people
into the surrounding communities is
to upgrade these facilities, and Queens
should see a huge boon once everything
is complete because areas like Long Island
City are already expanding.
Elizabeth Lusskin, president of the
Long Island City Partnership, believes
LIC has what big businesses, like Amazon
and others, are looking for.
“We are already what the companies of
today and tomorrow want,” she said of LIC.
“Which is a live-work, tech savvy, creative
community that can get you to the world
through two amazing — and only becoming
more amazing — airports without
going through a tunnel or over a bridge.”
Th e retail sector in local communities will
also see positive impacts from these largescale
airport projects, Michael X. Mattone,
CFO of Mattone Group, said. And the way
to do that, he believes is by creating places
and businesses that people want to visit.
With businesses, both big and small,
looking toward Queens as a place to open
up shop, the residential market is seeing
its own increase.
Th e condominium market is currently
on the rise, with around six condo projects
underway in Long Island City alone,
and Eric Benaim, CEO and founder of
Modern Spaces, believes it is good time
to be a renter.
According to Benaim, since the condo
market is exploding, developers are
beginning to off er more and more amenities
and are creating more luxury condominiums
to standout from the crowd.
Long Island City and the surrounding
areas aren’t the only places these experts
have their eyes on, however.
Anthony Lolli, founder and CEO of
Rapid Realty, said he and his company
are looking at investment opportunities
in areas such as Glendale.
“Brooklyn is still booming,” Lolli
explained. “I think a lot of what’s happening
in Queens is ‘spill over’ coming
from Brooklyn, especially with the proximity
between Bushwick and Glendale.
So I see opportunities in Glendale, I’m
buying heavily in the Glendale area. I
see rents going up, I even see some retail
spikes in Glendale.”
While the real estate market is growing,
Queens’ commercial market is expanding
to match it.
According to the experts on the State
of the Commercial Market panel, companies
are now looking at the borough as a
better place to come and start their business
Members of the fi rst panel (from left to right): Lysa Scully general manager at LaGuardi Airport; Jim Steve, program director of JFK Development;
Elizabeth Lusskin, president of Long Island City Partnership; Ryan Marzullo, managing director of New York Design and Construction Delta Air Lines;
and Michael X. Mattone, CFO of Mattone Group.
Keynote speaker Jeff rey Levine Queens Borough President Melinda Katz
or to expand, rather than going into
Manhattan or Brooklyn.
“We’re at a very special point in the history
of the city, in the history of Queens,
and the history of Long Island City in
particular,” said Seth Pinsky, EVP and
fund manager for RXR Realty. “Th e reason
for that is that today there is a true
value proposition for companies to want
to come to Long Island City.”
While many companies are looking at
areas like Long Island City and Astoria
to open their business, Stephen R. Preuss,
senior managing partner for Cushman &
Wakefi eld, is “bullish” on Queens, and
particularly the borough’s large industrial
areas like Maspeth.
Th ese experts see the trend of businesses
moving into the “World’s Borough”
continuing as long as the infrastructure
allows for it.
Members of the second panel (from left to right): Patrick W. Smith, licensed associate real estate broker for Stribling; Eric Benaim, CEO/founder of
Modern Spaces; Helen Keit, licensed real estate broker for Keller Williams; and Anthony Lolli, founder and CEO of Rapid Realty.
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