By Julie Ahn

On Tuesday, The Hudson County Jewish Business Alliance (http://www.hcjba.com/) presented the Gold Coast Real Estate Conference in Jersey City, which featured prominent government officials and business executives.
The HCJBA, founded and directed by David Rosenberg in 2015, is a unique and influential networking tool that provides its members with opportunities to forge relationships not only with other business executives, but also with top NJ officials and legislative leaders. Moreover, it is HCJBA’s goal to highlight North Jersey as an illustrious, flourishing place to live.

The conference started with a bustling networking session, and continued with two informative panel discussions. Miles Berger, Chairman and CEO of the Berger Organization, the event’s emcee, introduced and welcomed all panelists. The event began with passionate opening remarks by event Chair Kevin Cummings, president and CEO of Investors Bank, who spoke of the county he grew up in: “There is clearly a great resurgence and a re-awakening here all along the Hudson County waterfront. As someone who was born up here, I can’t help but remember that this area was once mostly a landscape of deserted factories, abandoned piers, and neglected brownstones. I can say with a lot of pride today the Gold Coast has shed that second-fiddled status. Hudson County is now the most magnetic county in the Golden State.”

Moderated by Bruce Rosenthal, KPMG Founding Dean of Saint Peter’s School of Business, the first panel included distinguished government officials who discussed “Development and Transportation” along the Gold Coast. The theme of this panel can be summed up in one word: Expansion.

John C. Leon, the Senior Director of Government and Community Relations at NJ Transit commented that they are in the process of expanding the Hudson County light-rail to Bergen County, and Jack Buchsbaum, the Deputy Chief Engineer of NY and NJ’s Port Authority, also commented that the PATH, too, would be expanding its service. Their new capital program includes more frequent service and purchasing another 15 cars. Marcos Vigil, Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, discussed ways to incentivize developers to expand to areas outside of Jersey City. Joseph Demarco, Business administrator of Bayonne, offered his vision of real estate in Bayonne: “Bayonne will stay and maintain one and two family homes… where people know their neighbors. We will also keep our sky.” However, Bayonne wants also to balance the development of the empty warehouses in the city with maintaining a steadfast hold on the identity of their city.

The second panel featured esteemed real estate developers in the region, and was moderated by Joseph Javits, chief lending officer of BCB Bank. Perry Lee, Principal and Director of Acquisitions of Margules Properties, Michael Goldstein, the Managing Director of the KABR Group, were part of this conversation, as well as John Fio Rito, Founder of Point Capital Development, discussed the challenges of transforming neighborhoods in Hudson County, as well as successful and unique ways of incentivizing millennials to move from Manhattan to New Jersey – from amenities to interior design; however, the panelists collectively agreed that New Jersey’s greatest incentive is price: Price is King.

With the immense success of the first Gold Coast Real Estate Conference, it is clear that the HCJBA will continue to grow in its influence and continue to improve the life of New Jersey’s residents. For more information, contact [email protected].