Last night saw London take the crown as the global city for business in front of over three hundred of the most influential members of the property industry, in the final show down between London and New York at the 2012 LandAid Debate sponsored by Cushman & Wakefield.
The invite only event saw Howard Wolfson and Robert Steel, Deputy Mayors of New York, take on Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London and Tim Campbell, the Mayor’s Ambassador for Training and Enterprise and winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice, fight it out for the title of ‘Global City for Business’.
Each city was given three minutes to put forward its case in the presidential style debate. London’s victory cannot be attributed to Boris’ time keeping however despite the efforts of Sarah Montague from BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, when he insisted “this isn’t the Today programme, no one told me I had three minutes. This is City Hall I can speak for as long as I like.”
Boris Johnson’s bombastic nature stole the show and during his opening gambit he revealed that he was, in actual fact, a New York native, having been born in the ‘Big Apple’. Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York City was fast to counteract, stating that he had lived in London for seven years, further adding that the multi-cultural make-up of New York (35 per cent of the population are first generation New Yorkers) is what gives New York its edge.
Both teams were then subjected to questions from an impressive panel of experts including Giles Barrie (Editor of Property Week), Tony Travers (Director of Greater London Group, LSE) and Todd Benjamin (former - CNN journalist) covering issues such as their city as a financial centre, transport and development.
One thing on which both cities agreed, was the need to support young and disadvantaged people, something that Sarah Montague was very keen to point out. Both sides congratulated each other in their work in this area, which is ever more relevant in the context of the work LandAid does up and down the country. However in the final vote London came up trumps, despite the superb efforts of the New York Mayors.
Joanna Averley, Chief Executive, LandAid stated:
“As the newly appointed Chief Executive of LandAid, the property industry, I am delighted that the debate has raised £50,000. I would like to warmly thank everyone who was involved in the event and all those who continue to support LandAid in all the work we do to help young people achieve their potential.”
A selection of top line arguments from the evening
Finance
• Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York City argued that the value of companies listed on the New York stock exchange was three to four times the size of the London Market. New York is working on the capitalisation and diversification of the economy, focussing on high tech initiatives.
• Tim Campbell, Mayor’s Adviser of Apprenticeships argued that with London’s focus on start up support initiatives, we are able to encourage the next generation of enterprises.
• Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London jovially claimed London exports chocolate HobNobs worldwide and gave Piers Morgan to America. Something which he stated “I am sure you are delighted about.”
Transport
• Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London pointed out that New York has a $9bn deficit in its transport system where as London is going through a “neo-Victorian revolution” with Crossrail increasing its capacity by ten per cent and the tube system being extended by 30 per cent. London has 8,500 buses compared to just 4000 in New York.
• The New York team responded stating that although the tube system has a better back story, the New York Subway has air conditioning. New York is easy to get around, and with its comprehensive grid system, it is easy to navigate.
• New York taxis are cheaper than their black London counterparts with GPS and credit card payment facilities.
• Although the ‘Mikes Bikes’ scheme is borrowed from London, New York argued that theirs provide a better service.
Property
• The New York team stated that at the moment New York is developing eight acres of property and is investing $1 billion in the hope of producing $25bn worth of income. They are in the process of making refurbishments and redevelopments better and quicker, to transform the city.
• New York has largest real estate market in the world and it is cheaper than London, with a value of $66 per square foot rather than $86 per sq ft in London.
• It was pointed out that Google have recently taken 10 m sq ft block demonstrating how the biggest and best companies in the world want to be in New York.
• The ten million square foot development at the World Trade Centre site has seen an $18bn investment in property, a statement to which Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London replied ‘that’s peanuts’. Instead Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London argued that in London we have the Olympics, the Royal Docklands, Canary Wharf and we are the greenest city in Europe, further stating to New York that “any metric you use we can exceed.”
A selection of top quotes from the evening:
• “Mayor Bloomberg is arguably the most successful mayor in New York history. He has been able to build success out of 9/11 and has improved quality of life, improved human capital, improved our infrastructure and modernised our regulations. I am proud to live in a city of immigrants, New York is a place to realise your dreams.” – Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “You never know what’s going to happen in New York. Every day in New York is an adventure and everything is possible. It is a place of endless possibilities.” – Howard Wolfson, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “We talk about the land of the free, let’s talk about the land of London. London is a city of opportunities for all.” – Tim Campbell, Mayor’s Ambassador for Training and Enterprise
• “I love New York, we all work together and we are all in contact, tolerance is the pride of New York City.” – Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “I love New York, but the best thing about London, our natural bogus self depreciation.” – Mayor Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London
• “We have to be pro business and support the private sector as this will support the creation of more jobs. New York has always been an island, and we are different to other parts of America. New York is a place where people can get real help, and we are currently targeting young men with schemes to get them into the work place. New York very generous in its social care. Bloomberg has fought to get control of education system and that is what has made the difference.” ¬– Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “London has history and beauty.”- Tim Campbell, Mayor’s Ambassador for Training and Enterprise
• “New York city is the largest commercial real estate market in the world; 400m sq ft vs London’s 270m sq ft. Secondly, the space in New York is more affordable, based on the averages of $66 per sq ft against $86 per sq ft in London.” - Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “Google came to New York and took a whole block, because when they look to the future they think ‘where does this company want to be?’, it has to be in New York and that’s the biggest real estate investment they’re ever made. We see this happening everywhere.” – Robert Steel, Deputy Mayor of New York
• “If you look at what has happened in Canary Wharf over the last 20 or 30 years, and then look across the city at sites like Battersea you can see the fantastic potential for development.” - Mayor Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London
• “There is space in London. London is the most geographically extensive city in the whole of Europe at 650 square miles. It’s the greenest city in Europe and the most agreeable city in Europe; we have a very high quality of life.” - Mayor Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London
• “Look at how many firms are coming to locate in London. Since 2003, 189 international companies came to locate their headquarters in London. How many in New York? 33. I rest my case.”- Mayor Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London
