The deadly shooting in a Midtown skyscraper in New York City has deeply affected the real estate sector, with two of the four victims working in the industry. Wesley Lepatner, the CEO of a large Blackstone real estate fund, and Julia Hyman, a young associate at Rudin Management, a commercial landlord, were among the victims. The setting of the attack has raised unsettling questions among real estate professionals about how to better protect tenants. Paul Schmick, the chief security and technology officer at Alliance Building Services, said that about two dozen landlords have reached out to discuss the security implications of the shooting. Some large landlords are now planning to accelerate the installation of security centers in their office buildings, which are secure rooms manned by security staff who can monitor a building’s public spaces using surveillance cameras and control elevator systems and turnstiles. Schmick suggested that the attack could also accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in building operations, which can be coupled with closed-circuit surveillance systems to recognize weapons instantly or even threatening behavior.
Real estate executives described Monday’s tragedy as the industry’s biggest blow in decades, possibly since the September 11 attacks that brought down the Twin Towers. The Real Estate Board of New York, the industry’s main lobbying group and professional association, issued a statement on the event, extending its full support to the real estate community, building owners, managers, staff, and tenants.
