Lieber Takes on Life After Doctoroff
February 11th, 2008
Dan Doctoroff unquestionably left his mark on the city from his six years as Michael Bloomberg’s deputy mayor for economic development. After Doctoroff announced his departure last December, Bloomberg did not go far to find a replacement: Robert Lieber, a Doctoroff deputy who had spent a year as president of the Economic Development Corporation.
Days after starting his new job, Lieber was the guest at the Jan. 16 On/Off the Record Breakfast at the Commerce Bank flagship location on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, discussing the interview process which got him the job, how he plans to continue what Doctoroff already started, what new priorities the city might want to focus on during the last two years of the Bloomberg administration and what the future holds for major projects in places like Lower Manhattan and the Far West Side.
What follows is an edited transcript.
Q: What was the interview process like to get the job to succeed Dan Doctoroff?
A: I don’t know how many people were being considered. I don’t know who they were. Lots of speculation, stuff from the press, some people always had so-and-so on the inside. You know, I think from my perspective, I read some of these periodicals, and I didn’t see my name in anything. And I think part of it is that the mayor wants to make the decision about the right balance between somebody who can come in and hit the ground running and move these things along. You know, we have the infamous clock that sits in the bullpen and counts down every second in the administration, the admonition above it to make something happen. So I think that was an important part of it. But I think the other part of it, too, is that on the inside someone leaves a hole potentially in the entity, organization or agency from which they come, so I think that was part of the balance. It was a relatively short interview, I walked out of there and I said, “Hmm, that didn’t go very well.”
Q: Was it just Mike Bloomberg sitting on the other side of a desk, going over your résumé?
A: It’s not quite that way. There were a few folks in the room and he was there. He asked a few questions and we talked. “What do you think you want to do? How would you do it? Okay.”
Q: Before you came to this job, you were the president of the EDC, and before that you were at Lehman Brothers, working in investment, in real estate investment. How do you see the private investment sensibility matching up with a sensibility from the public perspective?
A: Well, I think, not surprisingly, there’s a very nice fit from the private sector perspective. You know, initially I would look at projects from the perspective of “Can this be financed?” And if it can be financed, what’s the best way to try to finance it? The character, the experience, the background of the developer or the development team you’re working with -- I think having these perspectives is useful because coming in on this side, the projects I’m involved in now, or some of the projects I’m involved in now are much earlier stage projects than the ones that we would look at necessarily from the private sector.
Q: Dan Doctoroff was the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. The mayor named you Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and left off the Rebuilding part. In the press conference announcing your appointment, the mayor said the time for rebuilding is past us. Do you think that’s right? Are we past the rebuilding phase?
A: Well, I think you’re constantly rebuilding. You know, it’s like, if you’re not moving, you’re standing still and falling behind. And I think the rebuilding was in recognition of the environment in 2002. When the mayor took over after 9/11, all that was downtown and lower Manhattan was certainly a rebuilding effort, there was a crisis of confidence. Rebuilding is not just construction, but it’s also kind of rebuilding the environment and getting the momentum going, and I think if you look at what’s taken place in Lower Manhattan in the last six years, it’s remarkable.
Q: At the Trade Center site, what exactly do you see happening there and when?
A: Well, you know, I don’t know. We’re not really in charge of what’s taking place there. I’ve talked to the state and I’ve talked to my colleagues at the Port Authority. It took a little while, again, and I think to get interest aligned in the proper way. I think that the Port Authority’s expectations are today that’s largely going to be done, with the memorial and the rest of it, and I think their projection is somewhere around 2011.
Q: Do you think we will actually see a Freedom Tower there?
A: Oh, absolutely. It’s being done below ground, on the foundation and all, but it’s, as I understand it from speaking with my colleagues, actually on schedule.
Q: Another area that Dan Doctorff was very involved in was the Far West Side and the development there. Do you think there are things that should be changed in the way that the planning there has been done so far?
A: Sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it? No, I think the plan has got enough flexibility built in to it. I think what’s important from previous initiatives is that you have to have the right kind of sequencing and balance in what you’re trying to do. Trying to draw big office users or tenants to areas that aren’t well served by transportation is going to be extraordinarily difficult.
Q: Do you think there will be new projects that you lead the charge on over the next two years, or do you see over the next few years your job being more about making sure that what’s already been planned gets done?
A: I think the answer to your question is yes. I think it’s both… But I think it’s also important, we can’t keep our head down and not look up at and look at what our other opportunities are. Clearly there are more things to do. We continue to look at transportation and ways we can reduce the carbon footprint. If we see things that make sense, we’re absolutely going to pursue them, even if they’re things that will largely take place post-two years from now.
Q: There are hundreds of projects underway and you said you want to add more. The mayor’s term has two years left, so that time is ticking down. Is it feasible to think about getting all of them done, or will there be a shift to make sure that certain ones for sure get done?
A: We have 289 projects on the list that we’re trying to get done. We will likely redirect our resources to focus on those that can get done. So in the planning stage, you have a big list of projects that you want to do and when I started working with Dan I asked him how he prioritized them and he said, “It’s really simple. They’re all priorities.” So that’s the way we’ve approached it, and I think as we go forward from here, we really want to make sure we make as meaningful an impact as we possibly can. And you can’t just have ideas on all of these because subsequent administrations may not share the same point of view and may not push it the same way. So we’ll be a little more circumspect on how we prioritize.
Q: So what are the ones that for certain need to get done?
A: The important thing that I’d like to communicate is, you see the press talk about all the big deals. Whether it be Javits or Moynihan or Willets Point or Coney Island and the others—those are all important projects. But frankly, the streetscape improvements that we’re trying to do on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City are as important as those projects, particularly when you think about what it is the city can do to lead the private sector to some of these areas where we have done the rezoning. To me, Long Island City is a great opportunity. We’ve seen a significant amount of investment already and leadership from the private sector, and it’s really the public improvements that are going to lead to make it a more vibrant type of neighborhood, and those are the impacts that are going to be long term and sustaining. So, again, there are lots of improvements taking place in downtown Brooklyn, at BAM, in progress that we’re doing in Staten Island as well. So it’s not just the big projects. It’s asking what are the things that can make the biggest impact longer term.
Days after starting his new job, Lieber was the guest at the Jan. 16 On/Off the Record Breakfast at the Commerce Bank flagship location on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, discussing the interview process which got him the job, how he plans to continue what Doctoroff already started, what new priorities the city might want to focus on during the last two years of the Bloomberg administration and what the future holds for major projects in places like Lower Manhattan and the Far West Side. What follows is an edited transcript.
Q: What was the interview process like to get the job to succeed Dan Doctoroff?
A: I don’t know how many people were being considered. I don’t know who they were. Lots of speculation, stuff from the press, some people always had so-and-so on the inside. You know, I think from my perspective, I read some of these periodicals, and I didn’t see my name in anything. And I think part of it is that the mayor wants to make the decision about the right balance between somebody who can come in and hit the ground running and move these things along. You know, we have the infamous clock that sits in the bullpen and counts down every second in the administration, the admonition above it to make something happen. So I think that was an important part of it. But I think the other part of it, too, is that on the inside someone leaves a hole potentially in the entity, organization or agency from which they come, so I think that was part of the balance. It was a relatively short interview, I walked out of there and I said, “Hmm, that didn’t go very well.”
Q: Was it just Mike Bloomberg sitting on the other side of a desk, going over your résumé?
A: It’s not quite that way. There were a few folks in the room and he was there. He asked a few questions and we talked. “What do you think you want to do? How would you do it? Okay.”
Q: Before you came to this job, you were the president of the EDC, and before that you were at Lehman Brothers, working in investment, in real estate investment. How do you see the private investment sensibility matching up with a sensibility from the public perspective?
A: Well, I think, not surprisingly, there’s a very nice fit from the private sector perspective. You know, initially I would look at projects from the perspective of “Can this be financed?” And if it can be financed, what’s the best way to try to finance it? The character, the experience, the background of the developer or the development team you’re working with -- I think having these perspectives is useful because coming in on this side, the projects I’m involved in now, or some of the projects I’m involved in now are much earlier stage projects than the ones that we would look at necessarily from the private sector.
Q: Dan Doctoroff was the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. The mayor named you Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and left off the Rebuilding part. In the press conference announcing your appointment, the mayor said the time for rebuilding is past us. Do you think that’s right? Are we past the rebuilding phase?
A: Well, I think you’re constantly rebuilding. You know, it’s like, if you’re not moving, you’re standing still and falling behind. And I think the rebuilding was in recognition of the environment in 2002. When the mayor took over after 9/11, all that was downtown and lower Manhattan was certainly a rebuilding effort, there was a crisis of confidence. Rebuilding is not just construction, but it’s also kind of rebuilding the environment and getting the momentum going, and I think if you look at what’s taken place in Lower Manhattan in the last six years, it’s remarkable.
Q: At the Trade Center site, what exactly do you see happening there and when?
A: Well, you know, I don’t know. We’re not really in charge of what’s taking place there. I’ve talked to the state and I’ve talked to my colleagues at the Port Authority. It took a little while, again, and I think to get interest aligned in the proper way. I think that the Port Authority’s expectations are today that’s largely going to be done, with the memorial and the rest of it, and I think their projection is somewhere around 2011.
Q: Do you think we will actually see a Freedom Tower there?
A: Oh, absolutely. It’s being done below ground, on the foundation and all, but it’s, as I understand it from speaking with my colleagues, actually on schedule.
Q: Another area that Dan Doctorff was very involved in was the Far West Side and the development there. Do you think there are things that should be changed in the way that the planning there has been done so far?
A: Sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it? No, I think the plan has got enough flexibility built in to it. I think what’s important from previous initiatives is that you have to have the right kind of sequencing and balance in what you’re trying to do. Trying to draw big office users or tenants to areas that aren’t well served by transportation is going to be extraordinarily difficult.
Q: Do you think there will be new projects that you lead the charge on over the next two years, or do you see over the next few years your job being more about making sure that what’s already been planned gets done?
A: I think the answer to your question is yes. I think it’s both… But I think it’s also important, we can’t keep our head down and not look up at and look at what our other opportunities are. Clearly there are more things to do. We continue to look at transportation and ways we can reduce the carbon footprint. If we see things that make sense, we’re absolutely going to pursue them, even if they’re things that will largely take place post-two years from now.
Q: There are hundreds of projects underway and you said you want to add more. The mayor’s term has two years left, so that time is ticking down. Is it feasible to think about getting all of them done, or will there be a shift to make sure that certain ones for sure get done?
A: We have 289 projects on the list that we’re trying to get done. We will likely redirect our resources to focus on those that can get done. So in the planning stage, you have a big list of projects that you want to do and when I started working with Dan I asked him how he prioritized them and he said, “It’s really simple. They’re all priorities.” So that’s the way we’ve approached it, and I think as we go forward from here, we really want to make sure we make as meaningful an impact as we possibly can. And you can’t just have ideas on all of these because subsequent administrations may not share the same point of view and may not push it the same way. So we’ll be a little more circumspect on how we prioritize.
Q: So what are the ones that for certain need to get done?
A: The important thing that I’d like to communicate is, you see the press talk about all the big deals. Whether it be Javits or Moynihan or Willets Point or Coney Island and the others—those are all important projects. But frankly, the streetscape improvements that we’re trying to do on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City are as important as those projects, particularly when you think about what it is the city can do to lead the private sector to some of these areas where we have done the rezoning. To me, Long Island City is a great opportunity. We’ve seen a significant amount of investment already and leadership from the private sector, and it’s really the public improvements that are going to lead to make it a more vibrant type of neighborhood, and those are the impacts that are going to be long term and sustaining. So, again, there are lots of improvements taking place in downtown Brooklyn, at BAM, in progress that we’re doing in Staten Island as well. So it’s not just the big projects. It’s asking what are the things that can make the biggest impact longer term.
