Prominent Developer, Public Official Named New Head of Schack Institute

In September, James P. Stuckey joined the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate as its new divisional dean and the Klara and Larry Silverstein Chair of Real Estate Development. He succeeds Ken Patton who stepped down at summer’s end after 11 years at the helm of the Institute.

Stuckey comes to NYU after a 30-year career in real estate development and government service. In 1986, he was appointed president of New York City’s Public Development Corporation (today, the Economic Development Corporation) at just age 32. He oversaw $15 billion of development, including such projects as the Times Square Redevelopment, South Street Seaport, MetroTech, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal, among many others.

Thereafter, Stuckey worked 14 years as executive vice president at Forest City Ratner Companies. Among myriad projects, his tenure is noted for his leadership of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards development—a planned basketball arena, 6,500 housing units, and 600,000 square feet of commercial space—in central Brooklyn. Stuckey is currently president of the NYC Public Design Commission, to which he was first appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2004.

Stuckey has taught at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and other schools, such as Harvard and Columbia Universities. Further, his many philanthropic and community service endeavors over the years include service as a trustee at his alma mater, St. John’s University, and as past chairman of the board for the Center Against Domestic Violence.

“I guess you could say I’ve been preparing for this type of position all my life,” Stuckey says of his diverse, multifaceted career—a career he came to more by chance than design.

Born and raised in a working-class family from Brooklyn, Stuckey originally planned to work in social services and earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and business and a graduate degree in psychology from St. John’s University. During a stint doing human resources work at a city government agency, however, he caught the attention of deputy mayor Peter Solomon who tapped Stuckey to work on the South Street Development in the late 1970s.

“What I learned in 15 months on that project was worth 15 years of experience,” he says. Stuckey credits mentors such as Solomon and Steven Spinola (a predecessor at PDC and now head of the Real Estate Board) with teaching him not only about “the business” but, more importantly, about leadership.

“The role of the Institute as I see it is to educate leaders who know how to take risks, to discover and develop a new idea, and then run with it,” he says. “Leaders know how to empower their people to perform at their highest levels. Good leaders also learn that when an idea is not working, to recognize a mistake and move on.” As important, Stuckey wants the Institute to continue its role in opening leadership opportunities for female and minority professionals in the field.

Beyond leadership, Stuckey also wants to focus on educating both Institute students and the public about the real estate industry’s powerful, positive role in society. “The real estate developer, and all related professions for that matter, should be a pillar of any community,” he says. “He or she isn’t there just to make profit, but also to create growth and better the community. They are there to identify trends and build for the current and future needs of people.”

This idealistic notion, which makes Stuckey proud of his profession, was solidified during his time working with Bruce Ratner, another mentor. “Forest City was a company that developed as well as owned its properties, so it was invested in an area for the long run,” explains Stuckey. “Thus, you learned that development happens in a community—with people, small businesses, cultural organizations, and others—and how to work with all stakeholders’ interests.”

Asked to list some of his favorite projects, Stuckey starts with the Atlantic Yards. “I guess most people will remember me for that,” he says. He then talks about 15 MetroTech in downtown Brooklyn—a “nice building” he notes, but neither the most complex nor biggest project Stuckey has worked on. “It was not about brick and mortar. This was the first building in New York City and in the country to begin construction after the 9/11 attacks,” he explains. “A lot of heart and soul went into that project, and it speaks to the role that we at Forest City, as developers, could play in helping to restore some normalcy to people’s lives and elevate their spirits.”

Imbued with obvious passion for development and urban design, Stuckey is clear-eyed about the challenges facing the sector. “Nationally, we have huge physical infrastructure issues that can only be tackled through smart working partnerships between public entities and private developers,” he says. “Also, we need to study and update our regulatory systems on the national, state, and local levels so that more technologically advanced, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly projects can be built; right now, that’s not happening. These are not just real estate issues, they are critical to growing our economy in the long run.”

Stuckey is confident that the Schack Institute’s particular role as the industry’s educational and applied research hub can be brought to bear on these issues in new and greater ways. Additionally, he wants to capitalize on the Institute’s unique place within NYU-SCPS, and seek opportunities for joint programming and synergies with the School’s other programs, such as hospitality, global affairs, business, communications, and design. He cites the Institute’s ongoing global initiatives as another key area of focus.

“Educators are obliged to help others realize their dreams and aspirations,” says Stuckey. “At the Schack Institute, I hope to help our students realize their dreams as individuals. As importantly, I hope to educate them how they, as real estate and construction professionals, can help their communities and others realize their aspirations.”