Executive suite: Builder sets sights above, and below, ground
Photo credit: Newsday / Alejandra Villa | Vincent Polimeni, chief executive of Polimeni International, in his Garden City office.
Developer Vincent Polimeni doesn't have to go far to check up on the malls he has been building in Poland.
Though he visits monthly, he also scans a live feed to the security cameras there on the computer in his Garden City office. "You're looking at the inside of one of my malls in real time," he says.
Polimeni, who founded Polimeni International Llc 26 years ago, also has been busy closer to home. He is planning a nine-story, 285-unit condominium project in Mineola. He lost a bid to renovate Nassau Coliseum but has since supported the winning plan by Lighthouse Project developer Charles Wang.
Polimeni also is behind the proposal for the Cross Sound Link, a tunnel under Long Island Sound, which is wending through the approval process.
Polimeni, 66, has three children and three grandchildren.
How has the recession impacted the company?
"This year has been horrendous. I got tenants crying for reductions and reducing their space -- I get that here and in Poland."
He said he has a gut feeling that next year will improve. "I'm seeing it already. I'm seeing increased sales from our tenants. I'll know in the first quarter whether banks are back to the lending business in a large level. I think they will be."
What are some differences between doing business here and in Poland?
"There's a lot more bureaucracy there, believe it or not, than there is here. They're fanatics about paperwork. Tremendous amount of paperwork. Takes as long as it does here, but it's different - very, very Russian, if you know what that means. Everybody checks every little minutiae."
What's one thing you would change about Long Island?
"I'd do a tunnel. We definitely need to have another way off the Island, and that would make the most sense. No one would ever see it. It's 150 feet below the surface of the bottom of the Sound, so nothing is disturbed."
What do you look for when hiring?
"I like street-smart people, not necessarily all book-learned."
What's your strategy for taking on your competition?
"I'm not being cute, but there isn't any competition. When you build something, you're building in a place that needs to have it. I don't have merchandise. What I have is real estate, I have brick and mortar. When you do something that's attractive and well-located, they'll come to you."
What are your plans to grow?
"My plan is to have my son take over - Michael. He's president of Skyline Management [Corp.], manages the properties."
Are you planning to retire soon?
"No," he says, laughing, pointing toward the desk in his corner office with windows facing north and east. "They're going to bury me right there."
