DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 1 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION FALK AUDITORIUM “GREATER THAN EVER: NEW YORK’S BIG COMEBACK” A CONVERSATION WITH DAN DOCTOROFF Washington, D.C. Tuesday, October 31, 2017 PARTICIPANTS: Welcoming Remarks: ANTOINE VAN AGTMAEL Senior Advisor, Garten Rothkopf Trustee, The Brookings Institution Discussants: BRUCE KATZ Centennial Scholar, Centennial Scholar Initiative The Brookings Institution DAN DOCTOROFF Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sidewalk Labs Author, “Greater Than Ever: New York’s Big Comeback” * * * * * ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 2 P R O C E E D I N G S MR. VAN AGTMAEL: Well good morning ladies and gentleman. My name is Antoine Van Agtmael. I'm one of the trustees of Brookings and it's my great honor and privilege to introduce Daniel Doctoroff, former deputy Mayor for economic development. The man who made it all happen in New York, and also former CEO of Bloomberg. He will have a conversation with our own Bruce Katz later. So, it's easy to forget that New York in the early '70's was really a very different place from today. Now, I know, because I lived, worked and got married there at that time. Many areas of New York, did not feel safe. The once thriving waterfront where millions of immigrants were brought on passenger ships was in shambles. It had become an ugly wasteland. You wouldn't get caught dead in Brooklyn. Tenement houses on the lower East Sides were outdated and in disrepair. No longer needed after the garment manufacturing industry basically left. New York then, was a city on the way down. There was little construction, it was somewhat disheveled, bleak, losing population, and without a compelling vision of its future. Pessimism, particularly after 9/11 was widespread then. Although a number of steps, certainly in the area of safety were taken by earlier administration, that changed dramatically, by the Mayor Mike Bloomberg. And the many appointed in charge of this reshaping, reimagining and rebuilding was deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff, Harvard grad, trained as a lawyer, investment banker, and private equity manager. Him, and a team of savvy politicals and young whiskets. The rest is history, and it's told brilliantly in Doctoroff's new book, with the telling title, and we'd like to work great these days, "Greater Than Ever: New York's Big Comeback." So, last week I was in New York and on the train back I read his book. No one is going to deny that New York is a totally different city today. What's most amazing is that what seemed to be the nadir, September, 11, really turned out to be not a dead-end, but actually the ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 3 beginning of something really big. It's actually hard to fathom, what the Bloomberg Doctoroff team did. The scope and the scale of it, are just simply mind boggling. Not just to celebrate a timeline, the new bicycle routes, the parks, the cultural institutions, but the total renaissance of Brooklyn. I was there recently, and my son lives in Brooklyn, and my wife and I came on Saturday night, in Brooklyn where I would never go. We left Brooklyn on a Saturday night and we saw the train, the subway train in the other direction was packed with people. That's the change. The first smoke-free bars and restaurants. The first new subway line, and low- income housing developments. New York is now growing, and growth is important, vibrant, safe and exciting again. In the research for my own book, "The Smartest Places on Earth," I already knew that the key to making cities grow again is to focus on collaboration, systemic approach, strengthening the economy and diversifying the economic base. And, last but not least, vibrancy. It sounds like a simple recipe, but to implement and execute it, is not easy and makes all the difference. New York has become a great example of how to transform a city. What I like about Dan Doctoroff, is that he is both a doer and a thinker, both by the way, on a vast scale. Only with someone who accomplished as much as he did, can you add as an afterthought that he is also a terrific writer. I loved this book. It could have easily been a very boring book, party memoir, part city planning guide, but instead it's an exciting timely and most upbeat story. And God knows we need upbeat these days. I literally found myself sitting at the edge of my seat, racing through the chapters, absorbing the stories he tells. It's also very personal, very moving document. I mean, this was not a cakewalk. Both of Dan's parents, and good friends died at crucial moments and you could ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 4 feel the suffering. He also discovered quickly that New York politics were rough. At times Albany and the city were at each other throats, jocking for position. One of its allies was literally murdered on the floor of the city council. Invested interest fallback in wiley, that's a nice word of saying it ways, and there was lots of political sniping. No wonder, that as he describes in his book, he never came home before dark, and bicycled in his office at 5:30 in the morning. I think only the strict observers of the sabot, probably helped him avoid a nervous breakdown. And how his wife and children coped with that, I sometimes wondered about. It must not be easy. But then his resilience. His biggest asset probably that he has, as you can read in the book, talking infectious, even boyish enthusiasm. That must have done wonders to disarm his opponents and bureaucrats. A great book has wonderful details. Two, I just want to share with you. One, is Hillary Clinton coaching him before the fateful speech in Singapore on the Olympics, to make is more emotional. I thought that was interesting. And, I really remember the visual image of the flowing robes of the fellow judges at his father's funeral. What I also admire about him, is how he managed to transform disaster into success time after time. It began with turning 9/11 from a reason to be despondent to an urgent capitalist and motivating force, but it's best illustrated, by what must have been the biggest disappointment of his life, by not getting the Olympics to New York, after he had put his heart into these efforts. But it was changing to the key impetus deadline and focus for redevelopment. So, let me end with picking out just a few quick lessons from this captivating book, particularly for those who are trying to revive cities. And by the way, I forgot, and I always follow Ellen's orders to welcome the webcast audience here, as well as you in the room. So, some quick lessons. First, always aim at maximum collaboration. But know, that you're going to get epic political battles, and vicious attacks by powerful vested interests. ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 5 As Doctoroff puts in his mild style, generally we learned and adapted. I like that. Two, use a clear conceptual framework, because otherwise, it is impossible to make sense out of complicated and conflicting issues. That starts with asking two essential questions. Is it good for long-term competitiveness, and will it make the city or the neighborhood more vibrant? Three, start with a big bold ambitious vision, based on out of the box thinking. Often, starting with a crazy intuitive fully sought of idea, but then follow it, by penetrating unbureaucratic analysis and honest listening to vocal communities. Next, pick smart people who think analytical, but also have emotional intelligence, who can build relationships and know how to listen, not easy. Next, fess up when you're wrong. Show a willingness to change your mind and course if needed. Dan did that with manufacturing for example. I was glad to see that. Sixth, don’t be a whiner or a quitter. Only a consistent pattern of never giving up makes it possible to make lemonade out of lemons. You inevitably have opponents and make enemies, but you should never hold grudges. I thought that was a very important lesson. And finally, it helps to have dance and usual talents to visualize the vision, and as he puts it, spot stories in numbers. So, with that, I'm dying her hear Bruce Katz, the man who knows more about the revival of cities and what it takes, than anyone in the world, interview Dan Doctoroff, today's Robert Moses, the man who actually made it happen in New York, thank you. MR. KATZ: That was wonderful. So, thank you Antoine. It's pretty much downhill from here (laughter). We need to post those lessons actually after the fact. I also want to welcome everyone on the webcast, as we proceed, send your questions to us, via Twitter #newlocalism. And I just want to start easy. Why did you write the book? ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 DOCTOROFFF-2017/10/31 6 MR.