In City & State's 2022 Real Estate Power 100, Greenland USA's (low-profile) Hu now off the list. Would 2022 progress get him back?

City & State on 2/14/22 released The 2022 Real Estate Power 100: The forces shaping the next phase of development in New York. 

It's a somewhat arbitrary and arguable tally, but notably missing is Hu Gang, President and CEO, Greenland USA, who last year was 68, and before that was 64 and--unrealistically--27. 

Hu has virtually no public presence, as I've written, so we don't know what his plans are for the project, since announcements are mediated via the public relations firm BerlinRosen, and the public face at government meetings, like the one tonight, tends to be Executive VP of Development Scott Solish.

The latter has more local political experience and--I suspect--is less likely to trigger recognition that the company is owned, in large part, by the government of Shanghai.

That said, it's not out of the question that Greenland this year will 1) launch a process to build a huge project at Site 5, across Flatbush Avenue from the Barclays Center, and/or 2) launch a process leading to construction of the first phase of the platform and the first tower (of six) over the railyard. And get some kind of public assistance to do so.

So concrete progress might merit a return to the list, while signs of a default would make a return tougher.

Important figures

At the top of the list, not surprisingly, are Jessica Katz, New York City Chief Housing Officer, and Adolfo Carrión Jr., Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner.

At 11 is Jed Walentas, CEO of Two Trees. At 15 are Hope Knight President of Empire State Development, and Kevin Law, ESD's CEO. 

Some Atlantic Yards connections

Yes there are some Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park connections, inclusing uber-lobbyist Suri Kasirer, at 61; Fried Frank real estate partners Jonathan Mechanic, Melanie Meyers & David Karnovsky, at 67;. K. Thomas Elghanayan & Frederick Elghanayan of TF Cornerstone (building B12/B13), at 77.

Former Forest City CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, now CEO of her firm MAG Partners, is at 83.

Of note

Various housing advocates make the list. At 38 is Barika Williams, Executive Director, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development. At 74 is Aaron Carr, Founder and Executive Director, Housing Rights Initiative. At 79 is Esteban Girón, Tenant Advocate, Crown Heights Tenant Union.

There are two slots for YIMBYs. At 92 is Will Thomas, Executive Director, Open New York, and at 93 are Ben Carlos Thypin & Stephen Smith, CEO; Director of Research at the analytics brokerage Quantierra, who both helped launch Open New York.

While p.r. people and lobbyists make the list, there are no slots for journalists, which is perhaps a sign that real-estate journalism has receded. Then again, if they're going to salute YIMBYs, perhaps the founder of New York YIMBY, the daily clarion of construction, deserves inclusion.