Extell's Big Boss is Powerful; Extell's Big Building is Risi

It's not a list of New York's most powerful people if a real estate titan doesn't make the cut, no matter which way the economy is headed. And there probably wasn't much hand-wringing in the New York magazine offices over which developer to feature in this week's issue. There's only one guy with the moxie and (foreign-invested) money to break ground on the tallest residential building in the city in today's climate: Extell's Gary Barnett. But with all that being said, Gabriel Sherman's profile of the Lower East Side-born, by-his-own-rules Barnett is still a fascinating read, from his scrapes with Bruce Ratner and Donald Trump (on Trump's lawsuit after Extell snatched the Riverside South land out from under him: 'It’s like so stupid, to be blunt.'), to his technology-free work routine ('I think the e-mail is very dangerous') to his birth name (Gershon Swiatycki). Barnett is quiet with the press but not modest—hence his plan to save the world—and of his Carnegie 57 condo/hotel megatower, he says, 'I think it’s going to be the nicest project done in the city.' But when, Gary, when??? The $1.3 billion Christian de Portzamparc-designed blue-glass tower has taken some shots for rising slower than anticipated, but it seems like things are getting back on track. Its 1,000 feet will appear a lot quicker now that a tower crane is in place. Below is the memo sent to nearby buildings regarding the crane's assembly on 57th Street. Carnegie 57 is expected to be completed in 2013.

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