Talking to NYC Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen

Sharing inside perspective gained as deputy mayor for Housing and Economic Development, and as managing director of Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group, Alicia Glen offered Greater NY partners an intimate reflection on the accomplishments of the de Blasio administration – and a strong picture of her personal commitment to NYC as a lifelong New Yorker.

Glen framed her remarks as “Balancing Growth and Equity” and observed that in the recovery from 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis, jobs were increasing, as were tourism and development, yet 20% of the city’s residents were at or below the poverty line, more were rent-burdened, (spending over one-third of their pre-tax income on housing) and wages were stagnant. “There was an unprecedented affordability crisis and too many people were not participating in the prosperity of New York City,” she said.

“How can we be pro-growth and more equitable? How can we grow NYC for everybody?”

Glen walked the group though the implementation of the de Blasio administration’s plan, which includes the goal of preserving 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026, the addition of 34,000 affordable units in 2019 and a continued emphasis on development. “To be a city that is more affordable, we have to be denser, we have to keep building,” Glen said. 

Hand-in-hand with housing development, Glen described the administration’s work on economic development. She pointed to: the re-zoning of Midtown East – a section of New York City that generates 10% of the city’s revenues – the $8-10 million City Hall is investing in the Brooklyn waterfront, and the development of the ferry system. “The ferries have been reuniting the city in a way we didn’t expect. For the first time since 1898, all five boroughs are connected.”

Government, Glen said, plays a unique role in bringing together jobs and housing opportunities for all of New York City. It must continue to play this role to make sure all residents participate in the city’s prosperity. “It’s a long game,” she said. “We need to do a lot, all the time.”

“It’s a long game. We need
to do a lot, all the time.”

Greater NY partners posed questions on growth, rent regulation and homelessness. Glen offered her perspective on Amazon in New York City and how to create a coalition around growth that cuts across sectors. This coalition is at the heart of Greater NY’s mission. Both corporate and nonprofit partners in the room shared their experience of a New York City that has not yet found all the answers, but continues to push on the right questions.

Alicia Glen is a nationally recognized expert in urban development, infrastructure finance, job creation and housing policy. Glen was NYC’s deputy mayor for Housing and Economic Development from 2014 to 2019, and before that was managing director of the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs. She currently serves as chair of The Trust for Governor’s Island and for women.nyc. Glen is a graduate of Amherst College and Columbia Law School.

Greater NY holds quarterly breakfasts for its partners with speakers
from the public, private and nonprofit sectors