John E. Zuccotti to succeed Burton P. Resnick as chairman of Real Estate Board of New York

Real Estate Weekly, July 9, 2003

Burton P. Resnick, chairman of The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and chairman & CEO of Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., announced on june 30, that John E. Zuccotti, chairman of Brookfield Financial Properties and Senior Counsel in the real estate department of the international law firm of Well, Gotshal & Manges LLP, will succeed him as chairman of REBNY. Zuccotti's two-year term will begin in January 2004.

Zuccotti will replace Resnick, an accomplished real estate executive who stepped in as chairman following the death of Bernard Mendik in 2001, who served for 10 years. Resnick also served a term as REBNY chairman for three years, prior to Mendik's appointment in 1992.

"John Zuccotti has an extraordinary background and long history working in our industry and in this city," said Resnick. "His distinguished career and the experience he brings will serve the board well."

"I'm deeply honored to have been asked to head the Real Estate Board," Zuccotti said. "This industry has played a pivotal role in making New York City the world capital and world class city that it is. I look forward to working with all the members of the board."

"John is well known as a business and civic leader and is one of the champions of the lower Manhattan renewal effort," said Steven Spinola, president of REBNY. "We are looking forward to the direction and guidance he can provide for the real estate community. He has a diverse tapestry of experience that will serve as a valuable resource."

Prior to joining Brookfield Financial Properties, Zuccotti served as president and chief executive officer of Olympia & York Companies (U.S.A.) from January 1990. From 1986 to 1990, Zuccotti was a Partner in the law firm of Brown & Wood, and from 1978 to 1986 he was a partner in the law firm of Tufo & Zuccotti.

Zuccotti spent a significant period of his career in government, serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of New York under Mayor Abraham D. Beame from 1975 through 1977. He began his tenure in municipal government under Mayor John V. Lindsay who appointed him to the New York City Planning Commission in 1971. Lindsay made him the chairman of the Commission in 1973, a position he held until 1975. Zuccotti also served as chairman of Mayor Edward I. Koch's Advisory Committee on Police Management and Personnel Policy, as a member of Mayor Koch's Advisory Task Force on the Homeless, and as chairman of Governor Hugh L. Carey's Task Force on the World Trade Center.

Prior to his work with the New York City government, Zuccotti spent time in Washington as Assistant to Robert C. Wood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, as Special Counsel to the Housing Subcommittee of the House Banking and Currency Committee and as Secretary and Counsel to the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships. He was also a member of HUD's Task Force on Improving Operations of Federal Housing Programs and a consultant to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Zuccotti also served as assistant to Senator Jacob K. Javits.

During his career, Zuccotti has specialized in planning, housing, real estate and municipal law. He has played a leading role in the development of major residential and commercial projects in the New York metropolitan area. He has also had the opportunity to use his expertise to help develop planned communities in such diverse places as Reston, VA and a Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.

While working for the Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard University, he served on a team planning a new town in Venezuela. He has lectured on planning and development at numerous institutions including the New School for Social Research, Harvard, Columbia and Yale, and was appointed to the faculty of both Yale and Columbia law schools as an Adjunct Professor. Zuccotti has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners since 1974 and has been an honorary member of The American Institute of Architects since 1975.

Zuccotti has also been involved in a range of labor relations activities and served for nine years as impartial Arbitrator between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York and locals of the Transport Workers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union.

Zuccotti has been a director or trustee of many boards, both corporate and not-for-profit. He has recently been named vice-chairman of Brookfield Properties Corporation, (parent company of Brookfield Financial Properties) headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Zuccotti is currently serving as a director of Empire BlueCross BlueShield, Applied Graphics Technologies, Inc. and on eight of the Dreyfus funds of the Dreyfus Investment Corporation. He also served on the boards of Olympia & York Companies (U.S.A.). He was chairman of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University and serves as the Chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee. In addition, Zuccotti served as member on the Advisory Committee to the Harvard University-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies. He is on the Board of Overseers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Visting Nurse Service of New York.