NYC Council Land Use Chairman David G. Greenfield was honored at the largest economic development conference in Israel last week for his work in bringing together the Israeli and New York real estate communities to share viewpoints and explore mutually beneficial opportunities with respect to development and affordable housing.

Greenfield spent 48 hours in Israel at the Nadlan in the City Conference, an annual gathering of real estate and development professionals where Greenfield was the recipient of the Israeli Building Center’s 2016 Leadership Award for promoting economic development between Israel and America.

“In his tireless advocacy on behalf of the Jewish community around the world, Councilman David Greenfield truly personifies leadership,” said Nadlan founder and president Eran Rolls. “New York and Israel are truly blessed to have such an outstanding leader promoting economic development between us.”

In his keynote remarks at the conference, Greenfield emphasized the importance of connecting the thriving communities in Israel and New York so that both will continue to see robust, healthy, environmentally sound development that is responsive to the needs of the people who live there. “Billions of dollars come into New York’s real estate and development community from Israel every year,” Greenfield said. “It’s good for America and Israel that these funds are invested successfully. I am committed to working with you to make sure that you have continued success in your real estate ventures,” Greenfield told that gathering of top Israeli real estate executives.

The conference, which was attended by 2,700 experts, leaders and investors from all aspects of the real estate and development community featured a number of panels on dealing with the many complex facets of development and real estate in urban environments.

The Israeli Building Center’s mission is to promote and educate the real estate construction market in Israel. The organization enjoys an excellent reputation with top-ranked professionals in the fields of construction, design, and real estate.

Greenfield also led a separate panel with Israeli professionals on how to build affordable housing. Greenfield went through the intricacies of the city, state and federal affordable housing programs and shared lessons learned from New York’s robust affordable housing program with the key decision makers in Israel.

Finally, Greenfield met with Israel’s Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon to discuss Israel’s housing programs, including Kahlon’s initiative to lower the cost of housing for Israelis in Israel.

“I was impressed at how seriously Israel is taking its housing crisis and honored to be able to share the lessons from New York with my Israeli counterparts,” said Greenfield. “It’s important that we not just say that we support Israel, but that we put our support into practice. By traveling to Israel to build relationships and work on mutually beneficial projects, we are helping Israel build for its future.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)