Charles J. Urstadt
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Charles Jordan Urstadt (October 27, 1928 – March 3, 2020) was an American real estate executive and investor. He was an important figure for the development of
Battery Park City Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the north ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and for the elimination of
rent control in New York Rent regulation in New York is a means of limiting the amount of rent charged on dwellings. Rent control and rent stabilization are two programs used in parts of New York state (and other jurisdictions). In addition to controlling rent, the system ...
. Appointed by Governor
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
, Urstadt was
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
Housing Commissioner from 1969 to 1971. He became known as the first chairman of the
Battery Park City Authority Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the nort ...
, a public benefit corporation that created a mixed use development on 92 acres of landfill on the lower west side of Manhattan. In 1973, he joined
Douglas Elliman Douglas Elliman is an American real estate company. Douglas Elliman employs more than 7,000 agents and has 113 offices in New York City and across the country. The company also has a number of subsidiaries related to real estate services such as ...
, one of New York's largest real estate companies. Urstadt later joined
Urstadt Biddle Properties Urstadt Biddle Properties, Inc. was a real estate investment trust based in Greenwich, Connecticut that primarily invested in shopping centers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. As of October 31, 2021, the company owned interests in 79 prop ...
in 1975, where he became chairman emeritus upon his retirement in 2019.


Early life

Born in 1928, Urstadt was the son of Claire (Jordan) and Charles George Urstadt. His great-grandfather was born on a farm in the
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
in 1840 and his grandfather purchased buildings in the borough in 1920s. Urstadt grew up in one of the buildings his grandfather owned and his father managed on West 195th Street in the Bronx. Urstadt graduated from the
Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Spec ...
at age sixteen. He graduated from
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
, Dartmouth's
Tuck School of Business The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded in ...
and
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
Law School.


Early career

In 1953, he joined the New York law firm of Nevius, Brett & Kellogg as an attorney. A year later, he enlisted in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
for two years. Urstadt served as vice president and counsel of Zeckendorf Property Corporation after working as assistant secretary and counsel of its parent company
Webb & Knapp Webb and Knapp was a real estate development firm. The company is most famous for developing the Roosevelt Airfield, which was the launching site of the transatlantic flights of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. It was also the firm at which ...
. In 1963, he was named as secretary and counsel of
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
Residences, a subsidiary of Alcoa Properties. In 1965, he was named vice president of Alcoa Residences.


New York State Housing Commissioner

In 1967, New York Governor
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
appointed Urstadt as deputy commissioner of the division of housing and community renewal. He was promoted to commissioner in 1969. In 1971, the state legislature approved a bill that ended rent control on New York City apartments as tenants voluntarily vacated them. The process was known as vacancy decontrol. Urstadt was instrumental in writing the bill. Also that year, the legislature passed what became known as the "Urstadt Law," which transferred power over rent control laws from city to state lawmakers. Proponents of the measures said the city's rent control program was outdated, discouraged renovation of apartment buildings and had driven new housing from the city with losses of 20,000 units a year. Critics said the laws bypassed home rule for the city. Six months after the vacancy decontrol law was passed, Urstadt said new housing starts went up 237% in three months. Urstadt credited vacancy decontrol as a major factor contributing to the increase. Urstadt resigned his position as commissioner in 1973 to avoid conflict of interest when he and four partners bought the Manhattan real estate firm of Douglas L. Elliman & Co.


Battery Park City

In 1968, in addition to his duties with the New York state division of housing, Urstadt was appointed chairman of the Battery Park City Authority by Gov. Rockefeller. The state agency was created to develop 92 acres along the southern tip of Manhattan including 88 acres of submerged land along the Hudson River from Battery Park to Chambers Streets. The development was to include 21,000 housing units as well as office space and parks. The project was soon caught in disputes between state and city officials over design and other matters. Then, the New York real estate market slowed amid concerns over the city's fiscal condition. Despite uncertain financial and real estate markets, the landfill was completed and ground was broken for the first six buildings in 1974. By 1975, foundation work was underway for the first six buildings of the project. With the city in financial turmoil, a 1975 bond offering to finance construction of the first six buildings of the project failed. In 1978, work resumed on the development after 17 months of inactivity. The work involved a new roadway and utility support for the first six apartment buildings. Site work had been halted because of conditions set by the Carter Administration for federal financial guarantees. Urstadt said the American Stock Exchange and the
New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...
were considering moving to the development. In 1979, New York Governor
Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...
replaced Urstadt as Battery Park City Authority chairman with William D. Hassett Jr. Urstadt later returned to the Battery Park City Authority from 1996 to 2010 as vice chairman and board member. He was appointed by Gov.
George E. Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...
. During a recession in 2009 in which the city was facing budget shortfalls, Urstadt proposed that the city exercise an option to purchase the Battery Park City land for $1. The option was part of the agreement that transferred title from the city to the Battery Park City Authority. He argued the city could take back the land from the authority along with the $200 million in annual rents and payments from developers. Urstadt proposed that the $1.1 billion bonds issued by the authority could be satisfied by the sale of the income from the commercial leases as revenue from the commercial sale would come to at least $2 billion leaving a surplus after the bonds were paid off. He also suggested that by dissolving the authority, an overall savings of $15 million could be achieved. The Independent Budget Office of the City of New York also recommended the city take over Battery Park City in a report published in February 2020. The report echoed Urstadt's proposal as a way to increase revenue to the city. An article published by the Broadsheet Daily described the complex shared ownership structure of Battery Park City between the city and state that was set up by Urstadt.


Real estate career

In 1973, GMU Associates, a partnership that included Urstadt and Edwin Jay Gould, bought a majority interest in Douglas L. Elliman & Co., one of New York's largest real estate companies. Urstadt later sold his interest in the company. An investment group led by Urstadt purchased Pearce, Mayer & Greer, Inc., a commercial mortgage and sales brokerage company, from W.R. Grace & Company in 1979. Urstadt served as the chief executive officer of the company. The company's name was later changed to Pearce, Urstadt, Mayer & Greer, Inc. In 1987, Urstadt sold the company to New York real estate investor Alex DiLorenzo. In 1975, Urstadt joined the board of directors of Hubbard Real Estate Investments, a
real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...
listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
. He became chief executive officer in 1989. Once he took over as CEO, Urstadt changed the company's focus from a diverse portfolio to one specializing in neighborhood shopping centers in the suburban New York region. The centers were typically anchored by grocery stores in affluent communities. The new strategy took advantage of the company's extensive market knowledge and allowed for more efficient management of the properties. An important part of Urstadt's plan was to keep the company's debt low relative to the size of its assets. The company was later renamed Urstadt Biddle Properties, Inc. The Urstadt and Biddle families owned about 25% of the company in 2013. That year, Urstadt stepped down as chief executive officer of the company but remained as chairman. Willing L. Biddle, the president of the company, then became the chief executive officer. In 2018, the company owned or had interests in 84 properties containing approximately 5.1 million square feet of space. Urstadt retired as chairman in 2019 and was named chairman emeritus. His son, Charles D. Urstadt, was named chairman of Urstadt Biddle Properties.


Personal life

In 1957, Urstadt married Elinor McClure Funk of
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, California. They had two children, Charles Deane Urstadt and Catherine Urstadt Biddle. His daughter Catherine is married to Willing L. Biddle, the president of Urstadt Biddle Properties. When Urstadt turned 72 years old in 2000, he became the world champion swimmer for the 50-meter breaststroke in the 70 to 75 age group in tournaments held by the amateur
Masters Swimming Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming (sport), swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old (Canada, United States and Australia) or 20 years old (Europe). In Canada ...
organization. He beat out 28 swimmers in the competition. Urstadt had not competed as a swimmer since his high school years when he won the New York City High School Championships three years in a row and then at Dartmouth College as captain of the swim team. Urstadt died at his home in
Bronxville Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, ...
, New York, on March 3, 2020, of
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
-related complications, aged 91.


References


Further reading

* Urstadt, Charles J.; Gene Brown (2005).
Battery Park City: The Early Years.
' Bloomington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Urstadt, Charles J. 1928 births 2020 deaths Cornell Law School alumni Dartmouth College alumni American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from New York City People from the Bronx Lawyers from New York City Military personnel from New York City People from Bronxville, New York