Mitchell Pally takes over as LIBI's new chief

The Long Island Builder's Institute has chosen a familiar face to be its new public face. Mitchell Pally, a former vice president of the Long Island Association, a board member of the MTA, and a Melville-based lawyer, has been named LIBI's new chief executive.

Pally takes over at a time when real estate is in one of the biggest slumps in decades. Part of his job, Pally said, will be to reinvigorate the residential real-estate industry and convince the public that it is an important engine of the Island's economy.

"The perception, for some reason, is that building, or growth, is bad," Pally said. "That has to be changed. At one point, [residential building] was the focus of Long Island. It will never be again nor should it be, but it has to be nurtured."

Islandia-based LIBI has been without a paid leader since May, when Michael Watt stepped down.

Pally said some municipalities hold the belief the residential real-estate market is "saturated" and that there's no room for growth. The notion is wrong, Pally said. Growth in downtown areas, and near transportation hubs, is necessary.

Ira Tane, LIBI's president, said in a statement that, "We have been through some very difficult years and we are confident that with Mitch's guidance we are looking forward to a brighter future." Alan J. Wax, president of Melville-based WaxWords Inc., public-relations consultants to real-estate developers, said Pally and the LIBI were a good fit.

"They wanted a strong voice," Wax said, "and Mitch, with his years of experience at the LIA and MTA, will give them that."