An Eye for Improvement

david l. picket has put his personalized stamp on a family real estate enterprise started four generations ago. his great-grandfather, nathan picket, founded the gotham organization, inc. in 1913. today, the company develops, builds, owns and operates properties throughout the city. nathan's grandson, joel i. picket, currently serves as chairman and ceo. great-grandson david picket practiced law after college and finally joined gotham in 1991. he became president in 1999 and now oversees development.

picket focuses on luxury rentals, but he still deals with aspects of the division where he first began working: affordable housing.

"even with the market-side work i do, there is an affordable housing element," he said.

in recent years, picket has developed six 80/20 buildings. the 80/20 rule, he explained, allows developers to receive a tax abatement by making 20 percent of a development affordable. these projects are now sprinkled throughout the west side: the new gotham (520 w. 43rd st.), the foundry (505 w. 54th st.), the nicole (400 w. 55th st.) and the atlas (66 w. 38th st.), which overlooks bryant park and housed the cast of project runway for a season.

picket is perhaps proudest, though, of the work he has done in harlem. harlem usa is one of the country's pioneering urban entertainment and retail complexes, a 285,000-square-foot commercial development with the nine-screen magic johnson theater, modell's sporting goods, chase manhattan bank, new york sports club and old navy.

"harlem usa was the largest investment in real, updated dollars in harlem," he said. "it did a lot of good for 125th street. it was a vastly underserved population; half a million people. it seemed kind of odd to us that there was no place for them to shop or go to the movies. it gave them that. today, it is at the center of harlem's new urbanism. i think that's significant."

another project nearing completion is on west 72nd street and broadway, a location with historical significance for the family. kitty corner from the site of the mercantile and theatre building that gotham built circa 1938-an art deco charmer that now only exists in black and white photos-is 200 west, a mixed-use luxury rental. the curved top corner of 200 west is slightly reminiscent of the hopper-esque sheffield milk bar of 1938, but that is where similarities end. the new 20-story glass tower glints imposingly in the sun. it is the first "green"-certified building that gotham has developed. all apartments will be equipped with fixtures, appliances and heating systems designed to save electricity and water. yet there will be no scrimping on amenities, including a large stone fireplace, a gym and a rooftop garden with mist wall to cool sunbathers.

ten years ago, picket started ten o'clock classics, a program to help young adults appreciate classical music. the program "brings music to strange venues" to entice new audiences and provides mentors and instruments for underserved kids. in his free time he plays guitar and golf. he has three teenage children, one of whom attends his alma mater, cornell university.