Whether you are working to change laws and regulations, trying to get a construction project approved, running a college, managing a hospital or dealing with any number of issues affecting the community, government regulations and politics will be a part of the project.
GAC has decades of experience in successfully navigating the ins and outs of state and municipal government, the concerns of communities, zoning regulations, construction and funding of projects and programs.
Simply put, lobbying is an attempt to influence government decision-making. This can include a range of actions, from introducing, passing or changing legislation, to determining how big a building can be on a specific property, to what organizations or programs receive city or state funding, just to name a few.
Our GAC team relies on well-established broad range of relationships in the Executive Branch, City Council, legislature, and city and state agencies, which allow us to cut through the red tape for our clients, speeding up processes and helping our clients make their cases directly to key decisionmakers.
We work with our clients to map out and implement a winning strategy by helping shape the narrative and identify key elected officials in the City Council, State Senate and Assembly, Offices of the Mayor and the Governor, as well as key people in various City and State agencies.
Whether facilitating one of a myriad of permits for construction, use and occupancy, convincing local elected officials and community boards that a project will benefit the neighborhood or won’t be terribly noisy during construction, negotiating tax benefits for including affordable units, or an infinite number of other aspects of real estate development in New York, GAC has the contacts and know-how to get the best outcomes for our clients and to pave the way for a smooth process.
We help our clients prepare and practice testimony for community board and land use hearings, anticipating questions and drafting responses. We also accompany our clients to the hearings and meetings, and help them turn the dialogue to their advantage.
We take the temperature of the community and its representatives’ views by reaching out to key players, asking the right questions and helping our clients negotiate compromises beneficial to their goals, while maintaining a civil dialogue among all players.
New York real estate and construction are competitive and can get complicated. We guide our clients every step of the way, helping them achieve their goals.
Every year New York City and State pass their budgets for the coming year, where they determine spending priorities and allocate funds for causes, organizations and programs. Every year, thousands of groups apply for a piece of the budget pie to finance their worthy and often essential work, including foster care programs, health initiatives, programs for various underserved and underrepresented groups all over the city, to name just a few. The city’s 2024 budget is $107 billion.
The competition for money is great and many asking for funds come away with less than what they requested or nothing at all. Members and staff of the City Council and the legislature work diligently to allocate these funds to best serve their communities. So how would a group set itself apart from many others, once all the applications are in, when all the causes are deserving?
This is where GAC can help.
Our executives know the process, the city communities and the key players in city government. We bring our budget clients in front of the right members and staff of the Council at the right time throughout the process, to cut through the multitude of requests and put our clients’ applications front and center, making sure their pitch is heard by the right people at the right time, resulting in many successful budget cycles for our clients’ incredible programs.
Whether our clients want to have a law introduced, passed or changed, GAC can help design a roadmap tailored to their goals.
Our executives rely on their extensive expertise and connections at all levels of government to identify major factors surrounding relevant issues, as well as key decision makers to engage in the process.
We then help our clients plan and implement a comprehensive strategy, including identifying critical players, such as heads of committees and other crucial committee members, bill sponsors and opponents, crafting a compelling narrative designed to appeal specifically to the key players, conducting outreach and negotiating details.
We hold our clients’ hands every step of the lobbying process, including advising on compliance. We schedule and attend meetings, draft communications, conduct prep sessions when needed, and help our clients achieve the best possible results.
