Douglas Manditch: Where are we now, where are we headed and where are the opportunities?

The Long Island commercial real estate market appears to be stuck in the middle of a recession that officially ended two years ago. Obviously, the definition of recession has technical and market interpretations. The market tells me very little expansion and construction is being undertaken, for the most part, on owner-occupied projects. It's evident office space is plentiful, and landlords are still granting concessions to keep tenants in buildings. In my opinion, a turnaround is several years away. I certainly believe we will continue to struggle on Long Island, but to a lesser degree than other areas of the country. Obviously, this is a positive for the region's economy. The banking industry is currently embattled with its regulators. We now face new regulatory challenges which include higher capital ratios and stronger reserve requirements. All of us in the industry strive to achieve safe and sound growth. As you can imagine, this presents a challenge in the current economic climate. Because of these conditions banks will only consider strong non-speculative projects. Douglas Manditch is Empire National Bank's chairman and CEO, Islandia, N.Y.