New York City is home to millions. It is home to residents who live in the properties that L+M Development Partners develops, builds, and manages. It is home to many of our staff members. It is home to my family and my business.

I was born and raised in New Rochelle, and, with my business partner, founded L+M more than 35 years ago here in New York City. Since then, our company has weathered storms such as the financial crises of 1987, 1999, and 2008 and the devastating impacts of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. During each of those crises, things seemed really grim and people questioned the future of New York City. While this pandemic is unprecedented, having worked through these crises in the past gives me confidence that New York City will bounce back. New York is a city that overcomes, rebuilds, and adapts.

Over the past few months, I have seen our teams go above and beyond to support our residents by organizing hundreds of thousands of meal deliveries, connecting people to social services, and conducting wellness checks, to name just a few initiatives. Their commitment to our communities has been nothing short of impressive and demonstrates New York City grit, a reputation that New Yorkers wholeheartedly deserve.

We know from our work on the ground that our most vulnerable communities are the ones that have been the hardest hit and are going to need extra support as we come out of this storm, which is why we are #AllInNYC.

At L+M, our baseline belief is that affordable housing goes hand in hand with social responsibility. With that principle underscoring our business, the L+M and C+C teams will continue to deliver innovative and affordable properties across the City, which in turn creates an opportunity for economic and job stimulus, and strengthen the neighborhoods where we work through our community partnerships.

Things might not be the same as before, but, as a team and as a community, we are prepared to dig in and are equipped with the experiences of the past to face the road ahead. Together, we will keep moving forward and adapting in response to the needs of this city so many of us call home. It is my expectation that New Yorkers will confront the daunting challenges we currently face and come out on the other side of this crisis as a stronger, more resilient, and, hopefully, more equitable city.