City & State New York 110419 by City & State

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HAS TRUMP HELPED TRUMP COUNTRY? CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

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IS NYC READY FOR SELF-DRIVING CARS? THE PUERTO RICANS STILL STRANDED IN NY AFTER MARIA

November 4, 2019

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENCOUNTER 226 WEST 44TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10036 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019 | 9:00AM-4:00PM Working with others brings in new ideas, drives innovation and creates space for better ways of working. Collaboration can act as a force multiplier, where the parties are greater than the sum of their parts. It can also help organizations tackle significant challenges. The COLLABORATIVE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE will showcase how public and private sectors working closely together can innovate at speed and bring technological and business ideas that will truly help transform the government.

FEATURED SPEAKERS JOHN PAUL FARMER, Chief Technology Officer, New York City MIKKO BAYLOSIS, Project Manager, Initatives NYCEDC MATTHEW HOMER, Executive Deputy Superintendent of Research and Innovation Division, New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) ASSEMBLYMAN RON KIM, Sponsor of Fintech legislation JESSICA TISCH, Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology, New York Police Department DEANNE CRISWELL, COMMISSIONER, New York City Emergency Management Department ASSEMBLYMAN CLYDE VANEL, Chairman, Internet and Technology Committee CORDELL SCHACHTER, Chief Technology Officer, New York City Department of Transportation RSVP at CityAndStateNY.com/Events For more information on programming and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lissa Blake at lblake@cityandstateny.com

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November 4, 2019

City & State New York

CELESTE SLOMAN; ALESSANDRO PIETRI/SHUTTERSTOCK

EDITOR’S NOTE

BEN ADLER Senior editor

IT’S A FACT well established by recent political science studies that anxiety caused by cultural, rather than economic, change was the primary factor that caused former Democrats to vote for President Donald Trump in 2016. Nonetheless, Trump campaigned heavily on promises that he would produce economic growth and revive the economies of rural and Rust Belt areas, particularly for farmers and factory workers. And Trump did indeed do significantly better than Mitt Romney had in 2012 in some areas of upstate New York that have suffered economic decline and population loss. But has Trump delivered for those voters and turned the rural upstate economy around? For this week’s cover story, we sent Buffalo-based reporter Justin Sondel to the Southern Tier to find out. According to Sondel’s reporting, the farmers are struggling, thanks in part to Trump’s trade war, the factories are still closing down and no one there has much reason to be optimistic. Trump does draw praise from some locals for his environmental deregulation, but the state has its own rules that ensure a fossil fuel-extraction boom won’t be forthcoming. So, whoever wins the presidency in 2020, Sondel concludes that the Southern Tier and areas like it still need to find a new economic strategy.

CONTENTS

PUERTO RICO POWER … 8 How New York is helping PR rebuild MARIA EVACUEES … 10 They’re still in New York, and still struggling

TRUMP COUNTRY … 12

Has the president helped the upstate economy?

SELF-DRIVING CARS … 20

Will autonomous vehicles ever arrive?

DRONES … 26

The illegal tech everybody uses

WINNERS & LOSERS … 34 Who was up and who was down last week

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

LATEST ON THIRD PARTIES

BIG DAY IN THE CITY COUNCIL

the city and aims to make the industry safer. Other bills caused a stir in the press, like the ban on foie gras – fatty duck or goose liver made by forcefeeding the animals. Another will build 250 miles of new bike lanes as part of a $1.7 billion plan to make city streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The New York City Council passed a series of high-profile bills Wednesday – some of which had been in the making for years. City Councilman Antonio Reynoso’s commercial waste zones bill will significantly change how garbage gets picked up in

It’s never a dull week with the state Public Campaign Financing Commission, the body tasked with creating a statewide system to publicly finance political campaigns. The commission held its final public hearing in Buffalo, but before that got underway, The New York Times revealed that commissioner and state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs had suggested a new approach to third parties: quintupling the number of votes they need to be a party. In a private email to his fellow commissioners and the panel’s lawyer, Jacobs floated the possibility of requiring third parties to get 2% of all registered voters to vote for governor on their line. This would increase the current 50,000-vote threshold to about 250,000, one that only the Conservative Party would have met, according to recent

WHO YOU GONNA CALL? The House passed a resolution on Halloween setting the framework for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. The Post’s cover anticipated the outcome by featuring Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler as the menacing Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Nadler’s not the first New York politician to don the puffy suit – Trump himself made a towering appearance on our cover in 2018.

CIT YANDSTATENY

.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

February 26, 2018

“I feel like we finally stepped into the 21st century in New York.” – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, on early voting, via Politico New York

election results. The suggestion is seen as the latest attempt to get rid of the Working Families Party. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appointed Jacobs, has been feuding with the WFP, although he denies having any ill will toward the party. Cuomo suggested that raising the threshold would weed out “sham” parties and save the state matching funds money. Originally, Jacobs made arguments to get rid of fusion voting, from which the WFP benefits. He argued that keeping fusion voting would also cost the state more because, according to him, it leads to more races.

KING OFFICIALLY SUSPENDED

“I find out through City & State that there’s an ethics hearing on me. Through City & State.” – New York City Councilman Andy King, arguing that the council didn’t give him a chance to defend himself

The New York City Council had another momentous day, albeit for a less positive reason. Following an investigation by the City Council Standards and Ethics Committee and an extensive report detailing its findings that demonstrated a pattern of staff harassment, retaliation and abuse of power, the City Council voted to suspend Councilman Andy King for 30 days. It’s the first time in recent history that the body has moved to suspend a sitting member. Some had called for King’s resignation, they did not take the next step of expelling him, although Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer did introduce an amendment to do just

JOHN MCCARTEN/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL; MICHAEL APPLETON/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE; DON POLLARD/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR; OLIVER FOERSTNER/SHUTTERSTOCK

November 4, 2019

that. Although nearly every member voted to suspend King – none voted against the measure except King himself – only 12 voted to expel him. The decision not to expel him was met with strong criticism from advocates for victims of sexual and other types of workplace harassment. Nearly 200 current and former City Hall employees also penned a letter expressing their dissatisfaction with the fact that King still holds his position and called for stronger protections for staffers who suffer abuse at the hands of their elected bosses. Meanwhile, on the state level, two lawmakers introduced legislation to close a loophole that would make it easier for legislative staff to file harassment complaints.

City & State New York

Commercial waste zones explained

EARLY VOTING SUCCESS

Throughout the state, New Yorkers took to the polls to vote early for the first time, and they seem to be embracing the new practice. Since the polls opened on Oct. 26, about 130,000 people have already cast their ballots. Among those who “early voted” were Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Although the rollout has seemed fairly smooth, some New York City parents took issue with the use of school property for polling sites during school hours, saying it interferes with their children’s days and brings unknown adults into the school.

The New York City private waste hauling industry has been characterized by long hours, dangerous working conditions, poor environmental records and pedestrian deaths. The New York City Council passed a package of bills on Wednesday meant to bring the industry’s “Wild West” under a regulatory regime by creating new commercial waste zones throughout the city – allowing a limited number of haulers to compete for trash collection contracts in each geographic area. Here’s how it all breaks down.

20 The minimum number of 2,600 The number of workers separate commercial waste zones in the city.

3 The maximum number of private haulers allowed to work in each zone.

90 The number of commercial

waste companies in the city, according to the City Council. Some in the industry claim it’s actually far less. Either way, companies are expected to consolidate.

7 The number of people killed by

private waste trucks in New York City in 2017, according to ProPublica. The bill package gives more safety oversight of waste haulers to the city.

18 million The reduction

in driving miles expected per year for the whole sector. With haulers confined to specific zones, supporters say it will improve safety and reduce environmental impacts.

THE

WEEK AHEAD

in the commercial waste industry citywide. The new law is expected to bring the total headcount to 2,631.

$20.76 The maximum price per ton that trash haulers are currently allowed to charge customers. The city will now be allowed to set a minimum price, too, to prevent underbidding.

$32 The average hourly wage

for drivers under Laborers Local Union 108, the biggest union in the sector. Helpers make an average of $26 per hour.

2024 The year by which the

whole program is expected to be phased in – nine years after the city commissioned the study that got the ball rolling.

WEDNESDAY 11/6

11/6 - 11/10

THURSDAY 11/7

New York City First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan talks about the numbers at the Citizens Budget Commission’s Trustee Breakfast at The Yale Club in midtown.

Electeds, Democratic insiders and lobbyists meet up at the annual Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, put on by the state Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force.

City & State hosts the Collaborative Technology Conference, featuring New York City’s chief technology officer, John Paul Farmer, at National Geographic Encounter in Times Square.

- Jeff Coltin

INSIDE DOPE

Keep an eye out for the state’s midyear financial update, expected to come out after Election Day on Nov. 5. It will give a good sense of New York’s fiscal situation ahead of state budget season.

ELECTEDATHLETES 6

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

BY ZACH WILLIAMS

THESE POLS COULD DEFINITELY THROW A FIRST PITCH.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP recently skipped an opportunity to throw out the first pitch at the World Series – and missed out on a chance to one-up his archnemesis former President Barack Obama in the process. Trump was reportedly a good baseball player in his youth, and while age has certainly diminished the old throwing arm, he only had to throw the ball with a little heat on it to beat Obama. New York state politics has had its fair share

ASSEMBLYWOMAN RODNEYSE BICHOTTE

The Brooklyn Democrat has a junior black belt in taekwondo – one of several martial arts she practices. Considering her adeptness at kicking, punching and using nunchucks, Republicans better think twice before proposing hostile amendments on her bills in 2020.

of elected officials with athletic skills to show off over the years. Former Gov. Mario Cuomo kept his throwing form in good shape long after his brief minor league baseball career. Former Buffalo Bills player and Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of Buffalo was a go-to quarterback in the GOP congressional conference for decades. Here’s today’s roster of New York’s athletically inclined elected officials.

NEW YORK CITY COUNCILMAN ROBERT CORNEGY JR. At 6 feet, 10 inches tall, the Brooklyn Democrat holds the record as the tallest elected official in the world. He played on St. John’s University’s 1984-85 Final Four basketball team and then professionally in Israel and Turkey. Making moves in City Hall may be his forte nowadays, but his height guarantees a spot on any pickup team.

STATE SEN. JAMES SKOUFIS After honing his table tennis skills by using a cassette case as a paddle, the future Hudson Valley lawmaker became a top 2003 Junior Olympic player. If you want to shark some games after hours, then you’d better get the Skouf in on the action – when he’s not too busy showing off for constituents at community events.

SUFFOLK COUNTY EXECUTIVE STEVEN BELLONE In the homestretch of his 2019 reelection campaign, the 50-year-old has kept up appearances on the running circuit by participating in the Oct. 27 Suffolk County Marathon, where he posted a 4:48:55 time in his sixth marathon since 2014. Gives a whole new meaning to political endurance.

STATE SEN. JAMES TEDISCO

The sub-6-foot-tall lawmaker was a standout basketball player at Union College, where he averaged 25 points per game and had a singlegame high of 49. He may not cut through the lane like the old days, but he’s still a perimeter threat who can shake and bake.

November 4, 2019

City & State New York

A Q&A with congressional candidate

DAVID CARLUCCI

PAGE 6: ALL PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY THE LAWMAKERS; PAGE 7: STATE SENATE

By running for Rep. Nita Lowey’s seat, you’re going to give up your state Senate seat. What made you decide to enter the race and take that risk? I have a passion for public service, and I have the energy and experience to be able to deliver for the residents of the Hudson Valley in Rockland and Westchester counties. This year in the state Legislature, I was able to pass more bills than any other lawmaker to make it to the governor’s desk. So I want to bring that energy and passion to Washington. I’ve worked in difficult environments before. Being elected in 2010, in the midst of dysfunction and real chaos that was going on in

the state Capitol at that time, I was still able to find a way forward to deliver for the residents that I serve. The issues are great. This is extremely serious. Affordability has to be a top issue. So did the newly consolidated state and federal primaries play a role in your decision? It makes it, I guess, more difficult. It would be much easier if you didn’t have to make that decision. But for me, it was very easy because I’ve worked for Congressman (Eliot) Engel. And I’ve worked with Congresswoman Lowey. I’ve always shown that I never take the safe

way forward. I’m willing to go against the grain to do what it takes to get results for the people I serve. I’m a Democrat. I’m a proud progressive Democrat. And to me being a progressive means making progress. I’ve been criticized about the Independent Democratic Conference. You say that you are a progressive, would you join with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and

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her wing of the party? I think you can see I’ll be following, just like Congresswoman Lowey has, being an avid supporter of Israel, being an avid supporter of middle-class families. Those are the people that I’m going to be working with and if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is interested in those issues and working to make sure that we repeal the SALT deduction and working toward making sure prescription drugs are affordable and those issues, absolutely, I’ll be working with her. But I

think you’ll see me more in line with the way that Lowey has governed. Do you foresee ever encountering circumstances that might lead you not to caucus with the Democrats? The times have changed. I cannot see that happening at all. I would say that now, no, I will definitely be conferencing with Democrats. I’m a proud Democrat and I think under Nancy Pelosi – I look forward to working with her – the current makeup of the Democratic conference I appreciate, have great respect for and look forward to working with each of them.

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

STILL REBUILDI

Two years after Hurricane Maria, New York is leading the effort to help Puerto Rico modernize its power grid. by Z A C H W I L L I A M S

WO YEARS AFTER Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico, New York is still helping the island territory repair its power grid. The Trump administration’s hostility to releasing aid to Puerto Rico has given New York an outsized importance in the territory’s efforts to overcome such challenges, which will be discussed at the upcoming Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Nov. 6-10. The annual gathering, organized by the state Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force, brings together lawmakers, state Democratic Party insiders and lobbyists to discuss the top issues affecting Puerto Rico. And there is arguably no bigger challenge facing the beleaguered territory – which has no voting member in Congress – than modernizing its power sector. “We all know the power grid is antiquated,” said Assemblywoman Maritza Davila, chairwoman of the task force and a native of Puerto Rico. “People can no longer live with another uncertainty or with another hurricane hitting that power grid. It’s not going to hold up.” New York state has taken a leading role in modernizing the Puerto Rican power grid to address short- and long-term challenges. Hurricane Maria caused an estimated more than $100 billion in damage to the island, in addition to causing widespread blackouts for months. As recently as mid-October, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new aid in addition to a total deployment over two years by the New York Power Authority of 1,000 utility workers, hundreds of trucks and technical experts on topics like storm resiliency and federal grant applications. As the situation stabilized in Puerto Rico, New York’s efforts began to shift toward long-term issues through a task force charged with creating a plan for a new power grid that would be more resilient to future storms and climate

change. The state intends to continue such aid as Puerto Rico moves toward implementing a $20 billion plan to transform its power sector, which was announced by Gov. Wanda Vázquez on Oct. 24, and a renewable energy plan that aims to transition its power sector to 100% renewable energy by 2050. New York was not the only state to offer aid after the hurricane, but it has stayed involved even after assistance from elsewhere has dissipated. Cuomo deserves credit for a genuine commitment to the island, according to journalist and former City & State Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero, who has covered the Somos conference for years. “He is not perfect by a long shot,” Borrero said of Cuomo. “But on this, I think he’s

been way beyond the call of duty.” This commitment is expected to continue in upcoming years. “Our governor has always said that Puerto Ricans and folks in the U.S. Virgin Islands are like family members,” said New York Power Authority President and CEO Gil Quiniones. “When a family member needs help, you go and help.” In the first few months after Hurricane Maria, damage assessment and restoring electrical power took precedence, with the power authority leading efforts in the area around San Juan, where the bulk of the population and electrical demand are located. Once the power grid began working again, the authority broadened its mission to other work and other areas of the island, accord-

November 4, 2019

STEVE HEAP/SHUTTERSTOCK; NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY

DING

ing to Quiniones. This includes assistance with applying for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There was also a task force that developed a plan, released in December 2017, to modernize the grid that involved experts from the state and federal governments, public utilities and national laboratories. This plan then served as the basis for the modernization plan adopted by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. Hurricane Maria was an unprecedented disaster for Puerto Rico, but it also presented an opportunity to realign the island’s electrical infrastructure. Much of its power is generated on the southern part of the is-

City & State New York

land, the infrastructure built decades ago at a time when economic development programs focused on building industry there. That economic sector has since diminished and now about 70% of the electrical demand is on the opposite side of the island, in the San Juan area. Hurricane Maria also exposed the dangers of having a centralized electrical grid, which causes wider electrical outages when one section is damaged, as well as the dangers of above-ground infrastructure in a place that faces increasing danger from hurricanes due to global warming. The modernization plan unveiled by Vázquez on Oct. 24 aims to invest in repairs to electrical transmission and distribution networks, according to The Associated Press. Much of that money would go toward burying power lines and other measures that aim to help the system withstand future storms – though an estimated $13 billion in federal funding still needs to be secured to implement the plan. The state is offering guidance on how to partially privatize the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority – which declared bankruptcy in 2017 – in a way similar to what happened to the Long Island Power Authority, which turned over its operations to a private company in 2013. “The Long Island Power Authority is still a public utility,” Quiniones said. “But it’s being operated by Public Service Enterprise Group. (Puerto Rico) is trying to adopt that model.” While the Cuomo administration has done much to help the island recover, there is still plenty of room for state lawmakers to step up. There are opportunities to figure out how to do that at the upcoming Somos conference, where the official agenda includes discussions on a wide range of fiscal, social and environmental issues. Some topics of discussion, such as the debt crisis, have direct links to efforts to rebuild the power grid. Others – like women’s empowerment, reforestation, housing resiliency and mental health – are more tangential. Yet they all get back to the same thing: helping Puerto Rico muster the resources it needs to once again become a place that is thriving both economically and socially. The Somos conference has acquired a reputation as an event where Democratic Party insiders swap political gossip as they get ready for the upcoming legislative session. However, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria has presented them an opportunity to reassert how the annual conference can strengthen ties between New York and Puerto Rico. “We have an obligation to rebuild Puerto Rico,” said Assemblyman Félix Ortiz, a former chairman of the state Assembly and Senate Puerto Rican and Hispanic Task Force. “That’s still in people’s minds and is the reason why I do believe that it’s going to be one of the biggest conferences in the history of Somos.”

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Repairing Puerto Rico’s power grid

GIL QUINIONES New York Power Authority President and CEO What has the New York Power Authority done to help fix Puerto Rico’s power grid?

After the devastation of Maria, there was really no choice but to focus on damage assessment and restoration by necessity. Then after that, we also needed to help them stabilize their grid. Now, it’s really more about helping them develop their applications for (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and for (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), especially for their priority projects. That’s kind of been the journey that we’ve been having over there.

So how is the authority helping the island transition to renewable energy?

In early November, (Gov. Andrew Cuomo) invited (then-)Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to New York to show him what we did after Superstorm Sandy – the rebuilding and hardening and modernization that we did here in New York. In that visit, we also announced that we were forming a task force of experts from all around the U.S. NYPA led it. Consolidated Edison, Southern California Edison, Electric Power Research Institute, Smart Electric Power Alliance and a couple of national laboratories were involved. We worked together and came up with a modernization roadmap to modernize their grid, integrate more renewables, add microgrids, etc. It’s a very strategic document.

What are the biggest challenges two years after Maria?

Now the challenge is to pick and choose the most important aspects of that roadmap and make sure we prioritize them and then develop very specific applications for FEMA and HUD funding to get them started on that roadmap. A couple of other challenges are going on in parallel. The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority is going through a bankruptcy process. There is an overall financial oversight board that they have to deal with. They are also now in the process of reviewing and selecting a private utility from the U.S. mainland to operate and maintain their power system.

So how long is NYPA planning to stay in Puerto Rico?

We’re going to be there as long as they need us – every step of the way.

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

EXILED in NEW YORK Puerto Ricans who fled to the Empire State after Maria remain in dire need of help. Will they slip through the cracks?

by A M A N D A L U Z H E N N I N G S A N T I A G O

N SEPT. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, flooding neighborhoods, tearing roofs off of homes, decimating the island’s utilities and killing an estimated 4,600 Puerto Ricans. It’s estimated that 130,000 Puerto Ricans fled the island after the storm – about 4% of the island’s population at the time. Many chose to relocate on the United States mainland. More Puerto Rican evacuees ended up in Florida and New York than any other states, presumably due to their large and established Puerto Rican populations. While many Puerto Ricans eventually returned to the island, despite its ongoing political and financial struggles, a considerable number of Puerto Ricans decided to remain in New York. And many of them are still struggling to secure affordable housing, jobs and government resources. Organizations like New York Disaster Interfaith Services and Catholic Charities Community Services received case management funding from the state to assist Puerto Rican evacuees in 2018, but come February it’s likely that at least one of the organizations that received state funds will run out of that money. As the end of the year nears, the fate of the city’s Puerto Rican evacuees is becoming increasingly uncertain.

ITHIN A WEEK or two after Maria, Puerto Rican evacuees began to arrive in New York City. By October 2017, hundreds of evacuees were arriving nearly every day, Peter B. Gudaitis, executive director of New York Disaster Interfaith Services, told City & State. And it became clear that helping those evacuees obtain housing, food security, employment and medical care were all of the utmost importance.

The evacuees were directed to the Julia de Burgos cultural center in East Harlem, where disaster relief organizations and government agencies offered to help them, from October 2017 to January 2018. Puerto Rican evacuees also found themselves in other parts of the state, like Buffalo and Rochester, but most funneled into the state through the city. Former New York City Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito – who is currently running for Congress in the 15th District in the Bronx – was still in office when evacuees started to filter into the city, and told City & State that she advocated strongly for the city to establish an intake system for the displaced Puerto Ricans. She also played a hand in establishing the Julia de Burgos center as a “centralized place where all the different city agencies were represented,” and could connect evacuees to an array of services. “Unfortunately, (the centralized location of disaster relocation services) wasn’t kept up,” Mark-Viverito said. “Once I left office, where my voice was a very strong one, a lot of things that had been established started to fall through the cracks.” Many of the Puerto Ricans who made their way to the mainland had already been struggling financially when they left the island, Charles Venator-Santiago, a political science professor at the University of Connecticut said. “The people who suffered the most damage (during Maria) were the peo-

ple who lived in the most precarious housing or neighborhood situations,” he said. “Their socioeconomic status made them vulnerable to begin with. And prior to the storm, (academics familiar with Puerto Rico’s socioeconomic landscape) knew that they were going to have hardships – and that was the case.” Venator-Santiago added that oftentimes Puerto Ricans who relocate to the mainland end up having many of the same struggles and needs as Puerto Ricans who have been here for 20 years. “A lot of Puerto Ricans that come from the island end up living in poverty or living in conditions that are close to poverty with other structural limitations that impose (poverty),” Venator-Santiago said. “A lack of transportation, a lack of access to food and so on.” Numerous evacuees relied heavily on family and friends already living on the mainland, who were of a similarly difficult socioeconomic status, which resulted in further hardships for the people taking care of them. “You have people in the United States helping, willing to help, opening their doors to people displaced from this storm, having to take care of folks coming from the island with great need; great material need, great emotional need, with limited resources themselves,” said Carlos Vargas-Ramos, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies’ director for public policy, external and media relations, and development at Hunter College.

MICHAEL APPLETON/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE

November 4, 2019

New York Disaster Interfaith Services processed and began tracking about 2,200 families through the Julia de Burgos center and distributed roughly 1.3 million items of new clothing to them. The organization also began offering case management services – pairing caseworkers with evacuees to help them gain access to federal and city benefits – after Assemblyman Marcos Crespo and Gov. Andrew Cuomo allocated $2 million to support displaced hurricane survivors in July 2018. Though, according to Gudaitis, it’s likely that the funding provided by the state to New York Disaster Interfaith Services will run out in February, even though the organization’s contract with the state extends well into 2020. “The reality is, these clients probably need another 12 to 18 months of help, which includes cash assistance,” Gudaitis said. “Case management alone is not helpful because (evacuees) have no money and they have no savings. Even when they can secure an apartment, they still have (English language) needs and they still need to find meaningful employment.” So far, New York Disaster Interfaith Services has given approximately $1 million to its Puerto Rican clients in the city, but fundraising is becoming increasingly more difficult as Maria drifts further out of the collective consciousness. Disaster case management is typically funded by the federal government, but no federal assistance

City & State New York

was made available to the state following Maria, forcing New York to help evacuees out of its own pocket. A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was unable to verify this. The agency did, however, fund a disaster case management program in Puerto Rico. “It’s almost unprecedented that a state will fund disaster case management when the federal government won’t,” Gudaitis said.

OW, MORE THAN two years after Maria, Puerto Rican evacuees are still struggling with many of the same issues: finding secure housing and well-paying jobs and overcoming the English language barrier. “People have (a) dire need for income,” Vargas-Ramos said of the current state of Puerto Rican evacuees. Nearly all of the evacuees who came to the city received CityFHEPS housing vouchers, which are intended to help low-income city residents secure affordable housing. Despite having the vouchers – which most needed to renew multiple times – evacuees faced difficulties securing housing, due to landlords being unwilling to take the vouchers or attempting to make illegal cash deals in exchange for taking the vouchers, according to Gudaitis. Now, many Puerto Ricans are stuck living in homeless shelters. “(Evacuees) are (still) saying that they’re having difficul-

ty accessing housing,” Mark-Viverito said. “Some of them are still in shelters. Some of them have vouchers and they’re not being taken by landlords.” Roughly 200 of the families currently enrolled in New York Disaster Interfaith Services’ management program have been stuck in the city’s shelter system for the past two years. “They’re not getting appropriate help from the city homeless services system, because the city’s homeless services system also helped them get housing vouchers but then doesn’t help them find an apartment,” Gudaitis said. After over two years of frustration, most Puerto Rican evacuees have grown weary of case management and have simply stopped responding to many of New York Disaster Interfaith Services’ attempts to reach out to them. About 1,000 of the 2,200 families that the organization had been tracking since 2017 practically disappeared. Gudaitis suspects that some of the unresponsive evacuees returned to Puerto Rico, while some remained in the city, but there’s really no way of knowing. About 800 families that New York Disaster Interfaith Services has been tracking haven’t indicated they need help – or, more likely, don’t trust the help being offered, Gudaitis said. “Part of the problem is (evacuees) experienced government indifference or ineptitude,” Gudaitis said. “A lot of these people have applied for FEMA help and didn’t get any, or the paperwork that they had to produce was just impossible for them. I think they’ve gotten phone calls from a lot of different organizations and they don’t necessarily know who to trust. Some of the clients are angry and they are very hostile when you call.” Mark-Viverito echoed Gudaitis’ point, explaining that the inconsistency of services and benefits offered to the evacuees became so frustrating for some families that they returned to the island, despite the lack of resources there, due to its familiarity. The circumstances facing many of the evacuees in the city have also taken a tremendous toll on their mental health. “We see a lot of the evacuees are still struggling with mental health issues, particularly children (who are traumatized by the storm and its aftermath), and we’ve had clients report suicidal ideations,” Gudaitis said. As February nears, Gudaitis is concerned about the clients New York Disaster Interfaith Services has worked with, who will no longer have access to case management. “Our biggest concern, of course, is we’re not going to be able to secure more money from the state,” Gudaitis said. “And these clients will just have to get referred to traditional social service providers who don’t understand what they’ve been through. They don’t understand that they’re traumatized, and they’ll get even less effective help.”

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HAS 12

CityAndStateNY.com

TRUMP MADE UPSTATE GREAT AGAIN?

Story and photographs by J U S T I N S O N D E L

Christine Jefferds, center, who owns a trucking business in Allegany County, with Andrew Jefferds and Kim McDowell. “I think there needs to be some attention (to rural areas),” Christine says. “I wish Gov. Cuomo would understand that. I wish Trump would even understand that.”

October 21, 2019

City & State New York

Outside its urban centers, much of New York voted heavily for Donald Trump. But the president hasn’t fulfilled his promise to fix the rural and Rust Belt economy.

N THE ROLLING HILLS of Allegany County the din of work – jackhammers striking pavement, the low drone of machines in factories, tractors scraping the soil – has been a constant for centuries. But the Southern Tier, the heavily wooded stretch of rural New York that runs along the border with Pennsylvania, has seen better days. Persistently high unemployment, poverty and depopulation have hit the region hard in recent decades, in part because of the deindustrialization that brought job losses throughout the state. It’s no wonder that Allegany County, a Republican stronghold in the middle of the Southern Tier, was so receptive to President Donald Trump’s many promises to industries that have been crucial to the region’s economy, including agriculture, manufacturing and natural resource extraction. The people there voted for Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by more than 40 percentage points in 2016 – a big increase from the 24-point margin they gave Republican Mitt Romney in 2012. Allegany County – which covers a sparsely populated area about an hour’s drive southeast of Buffalo – and similar places are where Trump enjoys his greatest support in his home state. While Staten Island may get much of the media attention as New York’s Trump Country because of its swing congressional district, voters supported Trump in many rural upstate counties by much wider margins. In Allegany County, Trump flags dot the countryside and the overwhelming majority of people interviewed for this story support the president. But has Trump delivered on the promises he made to these New Yorkers? During the campaign and throughout his time in office, he told farmers that his trade policies would make them better off in the long run. He promised to open up more opportunities for fossil fuel companies. And he promised to bring back factory jobs. “It’s going to be a vic-

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

You can buy a five-bedroom, 3,200-square-foot home for $121,000 in Wellsville. But with the loss of jobs in the area, the population of Allegany County has been declining for 40 years.

tory for the people,” Trump told a Michigan crowd during the 2016 campaign. “A victory for the wage-earner, the factory worker, a victory for the everyday citizen, and for all the people whose voice hasn’t been heard.” While manufacturing jobs were growing at a fast clip through the first years of his presidency, a continuation of an overall upward trend since 2011, the growth appears to be faltering, with factory jobs dipping in the past few months. Even a strong national economy doesn’t necessarily do much to benefit the struggling post-industrial areas that delivered votes for Trump. For decades, upstate has increasingly lagged behind downstate in economic and population growth. While upstate has seen an increase in jobs on the whole since 2010, it trails far behind New York City and its suburbs. The 12 downstate counties made up 88% of the 1.1 million jobs gained between 2010 and 2018, according to a report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Over that period, 10 of New York’s 62 counties, including Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua

counties, the bulk of the Southern Tier, actually lost private sector jobs. The slight rebound in manufacturing jobs seen in Greater Buffalo has not spread to the Southern Tier and other rural New York counties. Trump said he would reverse the decline of the Rust Belt and rural America, but the economic reality in Allegany County and other struggling upstate areas suggests that his policies haven’t helped – and sometimes even done more harm than good.

HILE TRUMP AND members of his administration assert that his aggressive trade policies, most notably the use of tariffs, will pay off in the long run, the short-term damage is undeniable. Trump’s tariffs cost U.S. businesses $3.4 billion in June alone, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Retaliatory actions imposed on U.S. exports by China and other countries have made American

products, especially crops, less competitive. Christian Yunker, a third-generation farmer whose CY Farms grows corn, soybeans and other crops throughout rural Western New York, has seen firsthand the harm caused by tariffs. Though he’s a Republican, he did not vote for Trump in 2016 and will not vote for him next year, he said. Many of his fellow farmers have bought into the idea pushed by the White House that the tariffs will be good for the U.S. economy and, ultimately, for them in the long run – but not Yunker. “I’m not sure I necessarily disagree that his intentions are to help the farmers,” he said. “I just think it’s a disaster how he’s gone about doing it.” Economists tend to agree. As Tom Pogue, a professor of economics at the University of Iowa, explained, the problem with tariffs is that they need to be in place for a long period of time to be effective at reviving a domestic industry – perhaps longer than those affected are willing to tolerate and even longer than Trump will be in office, even if he wins another term.

November 4, 2019

City & State New York

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TARIFFS NEED TO BE IN PLACE FOR A LONG TIME TO BE EFFECTIVE – LONGER THAN THOSE AFFECTED ARE WILLING TO TOLERATE AND LONGER THAN TRUMP WILL BE IN OFFICE. Businesses aren’t going to make decisions on where to build a factory or new offices based on a policy that could change within the next few years when those facilities might be used for the next 25 years, he added. “When (Trump) talks about doing these kinds of things, he’s not talking about something, in my judgment, that is very realistic,” Pogue said. Yunker said it’s frustrating to always be on the front lines of economic policy, as is so often the case for farmers. “We end up being the whipping boys of the trade war, because we’re very easy to retaliate against,” Yunker said. While the icy trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies has shown

some signs of thawing amid a new round of trade talks in recent weeks, great damage has already been inflicted on both sides. U.S. farmers are scrambling to find affordable storage as their crops rot, shut off from one of their biggest markets. China bought almost $6 billion in U.S. agriculture exports in 2018. Even if Trump loses the election next year, the implications for many farmers could be long lasting, putting some farms out of business, Yunker said. “While Trump is in office, I don’t know if there’s going to be much change in strategy,” he said. “I’m afraid he’s done long-term damage, even if the administration changes.”

Yunker is atypical politically, however. Like many people in the area, Darleen Krisher-Meehan, the president of the Allegany County Farm Bureau, labels herself as an independent. But she voted for Trump and said she likely will again. Krisher-Meehan said she knows business owners in the steel and lumber industries who have been hurt by Trump’s tariffs, but she hasn’t seen much of a difference for her own business selling seeds. In her estimation, it is the state’s policies – the rising minimum wage, the bill passed this year giving farmworkers the right to organize – that are doing real damage to the upstate economy. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2014 ban on hydraulic fracturing was a big hit to her business, she said, because energy companies used to buy huge amounts of seeds and hay to replace grass destroyed during the drilling and pipeline construction process. Trump, while making promises to the Rust Belt in general, has also laid the blame for economic stagnation in some rural upstate communities at the feet of state politicians.

CityAndStateNY.com

“If New York isn’t going to treat them better, I would recommend they go to another state where they can get a great job,” Trump said of upstate residents earlier this year. While Krisher-Meehan thinks environmental deregulation might help the area’s economy a little, she has a more jaded take on the ability of any politician to reverse the fortunes of Allegany County. She points to the long-standing issues surrounding the low price of milk and extremely thin profit margins for dairy farmers as an example. “Our farmers around here, it really boils down to they want a fair price for their milk,” Krisher-Meehan said. “And I don’t think any politician’s ever going to be able to fix that.”

N 2016, JUST TWO YEARS after being bought by General Electric Co., Lufkin-RMT, an oil and gas equipment manufacturer in Wellsville, shuttered, costing 54 people their jobs. The D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co. Inc. plant in the town of Cuba closed in 2017, costing another 51 people their jobs. It’s about to get much worse in Allegany County. Dresser-Rand Corp., a longtime mainstay in Wellsville, is closing its doors next year, a decision made after another multinational company, Siemens AG of Germany, came in and gobbled them up. Now 250 more people are trying to figure out how they’re going to get by. The county’s population has been slowly, steadily declining for 40 years, going from 51,742 in 1980 to 46,430 in 2018, according to census statistics. Almost everyone has seen a family member or good friend leave to find work. Suzanne Flierl Krull has been on the front lines of rural poverty for more than a decade. As a founding member of the Cuba Cultural Center, she has been helping to feed people in need in the town of Cuba, through many ups and downs. Now, she said, things seem as bad as they have ever been. Their food pantry program is

October 21, 2019

“THERE’S A LOT OF WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL HIDDEN POVERTY HERE – PEOPLE WHO ARE PROUD AND FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ASK FOR HELP.” – SUZANNE FLIERL KRULL, A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE CUBA CULTURAL CENTER

Dresser-Rand Corp. in Wellsville will close in 2020, leaving another 250 people without jobs. Suzanne Flierl Krull says the Cuba Cultural Center food pantry sees new faces all the time.

consistently seeing new faces. “Our numbers are growing,” Flierl Krull said. In Allegany County, the poverty rate remains at 16.3%, higher than both the state and nation as a whole. People in the area are often reluctant to utilize the food pantry program because they don’t want to be seen as needy or to have their self-reliance called into question, she said. “There’s a lot of what you might call hidden poverty or hidden struggle here – people who are proud and find it very difficult to ask for help.” Once, abundant factory jobs meant that you could walk out of high school and start a 40-year career with good pay and benefits. Today, due in large part to automation, manufacturing posi-

tions often involve operating robots rather than performing manual labor on an assembly line, so those jobs may require a college degree. And these trends are only going to continue as automation will continue to decrease the need for labor and make certain that the remaining jobs will be for high-skilled workers, a factor the president has failed to address in promising to bring factory jobs back from overseas through better trade agreements. As tech website Gizmodo noted, “His inattention to the subject moved the Harvard Business Review to specu-

October 21, 2019

late about why he never tweeted about automation. His Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, even once said automation-driven job loss ‘was not even on our radar screen.’” In farming, the number of people working has decreased from more than 4.5 million in 1970 to more than 3 million in 2000, and the structure of the industry continues to shift. Fewer family farms exist, while the number of large farms continues to grow. As a result, the share of labor done by contractors and hired hands grew from 25% in 2003 to 41% in 2016,

according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the number of farms in New York state shrunk by 6% from 2012 to 2017, twice the decline that occurred nationwide over the same period, according to the USDA. While the unemployment rate in Allegany County has gradually fallen, as it has throughout the country over the past eight years, the county still has one of the highest jobless rates in the state. At 5.2% in August, the county trails both the state and national averages, which are 4% and 3.7%, respectively.

ECLINING FARM EXPORTS and shuttering factories are not the only economic disappointments for New York’s Trump Country under this administration. In other ways, national economic policy has failed to generate growth. Consider Trump’s trademark initiative that was advertised as a surefire boost to the economy: the 2017 tax law, passed by his Republican allies in Congress. Trump swore that by

CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

“OUR FARMERS WANT A FAIR PRICE FOR THEIR MILK. AND I DON’T THINK ANY POLITICIAN’S EVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIX THAT.” – DARLEEN KRISHER-MEEHAN, PRESIDENT OF THE ALLEGANY COUNT Y FARM BUREAU

cutting rates on the rich and corporations, it would steeply accelerate economic growth. “This huge tax cut will be rocket fuel for our economy,” he told the National Association of Manufacturers shortly before the bill’s passage. The immediate benefits, accruing mostly to the wealthy, didn’t do much for lower-income upstate areas. The tax law also disproportionately affected high-wage, high-tax blue states like New York through a new $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions. And now it seems that the promises of economic growth that came with an initial surge after the passage of the bill have fizzled. Trump and his acolytes promised a growth rate of at least 3%. In 2018, the first full year of the tax breaks, the national economy grew at 2.9% and it slowed to 2.1% in the second quarter of 2019. The economy hasn’t shown

much of a boost from the tax cuts, according to many economists, and there are signs of a possible recession on the horizon. Trump also promised an economic bonanza through the deregulation of polluting industries, such as fossil fuels. New York doesn’t produce much natural gas or crude oil, however, and it does not mine any coal.

O WHAT WOULD a better economic future for rural upstate look like? Capitalizing on some of the amenities that rural communities offer, such as outdoor recreation and picturesque main streets, has already reversed population decline in some rural areas by attracting retirees, smaller companies and people who are able to work remotely. This is already happening in some parts

of rural New York. Ontario County, with its thriving tourism and agricultural scene built up around Finger Lakes wineries, has a lower unemployment rate than Manhattan. And some rural communities, such as Pottawattamie County, Iowa, are proving that formulating and executing a regional economic plan that builds off strong industries and capitalizes on new trends can succeed. Telecommuting may also enable more migration from cities. The idea of living outside of stressful urban environments could draw workers disillusioned with long commutes and outrageous real estate costs. You can buy a five-bedroom, 3,200-square-foot home for $121,000 in Wellsville. “There is a counter force, I think, that may be offsetting some of this (population decline),” Pogue said. Still, Pogue cautioned, it will be hard for most rural places to completely overcome the economies of scale and other factors that have been driving people out of the country and into metropolitan areas. That’s a belief shared by many in Allegany County, their favored presidential candidate’s sales pitch notwithstanding. Expressing the weary resignation of many, Krisher-Meehan said: “I don’t think you’re going to fix what’s going on in these rural areas as far as poverty.”

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Justin Sondel is a freelance reporter in Buffalo.

TECH & THE CITY

WHO IS DANNY/SHUTTERSTOCK

November 4, 2019

“MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS.” Facebook’s oft-repeated, now tired motto doesn’t fit the world of technology and startups today, but lingers as a reminder of a time when a tech company could waltz into a new locale without fear of regulation – or at least ignore regulations with very little consequence. Today, New York has various policies and laws regulating the tech industry – walls built up high enough to block out drones and solid enough to stop self-driving

City & State New York

cars in their tracks. And yet there seems to be an endless stream of sleek startups promising new solutions to deeply rooted issues like congestion and mobility. Lawmakers and government officials are working to determine which of these technologies will actually bring transformative change – without breaking too many things along the way. In this week’s issue, City & State looks at a few of the new ideas trying to break into New York.

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Self-driving vehicles may be the future, but New York is in no hurry to embrace the cars of tomorrow. by A N N I E MCDONOUGH

ELF-DRIVING VEHICLES have arrived in New York City. All they need are two drivers apiece. Three months ago, employees at the Brooklyn Navy Yard gained a new way to travel around the sprawling campus: Optimus Ride’s free self-driving shuttle service, which shepherds riders between a Navy Yard entrance and the New York City Ferry dock. Equipped with two safety drivers – one in the driver’s seat with their hands hovering above the steering wheel and the other monitoring a computer screen from the front passenger’s seat – the vehicles are impressive in their ability to stop for pedestrians and bicyclists. But the shuttles are also slow-moving and cautious – a far cry from KITT in “Knight Rider” or the countless other self-driving cars in pop culture. With years of Silicon Valley hype generated by founders like Elon Musk and companies like Waymo about the revolutionary future of autonomous vehicles, riders in today’s models would be forgiven for questioning why the current product is so, well, boring. Across the country, autonomous cars are progressing more slowly than once expected, and fervor over the technology has dwindled, as questions about safety, costs and timelines arise. Doubts have been punctuated by autonomous vehicle-related accidents – most notably, in 2018 when an autonomous car struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The embrace of autonomous vehicles has been slower in New York than in other states, despite the fact that testing the technology on public streets has been legal since 2017. Few companies have taken advantage of the ability to test autonomous vehicles in New York, and self-driving shuttles have been limited to small-scale deployments and tests on private campuses, such as at the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the University at Buffalo. And while those in the tech industry often complain that government regulation is slowing down innovation, in the case of self-driving cars, it seems that the technology is just not ready to hit the highways and, especially, the streets of New York City. “Nobody today will tell you that autonomous vehicles are ready to be deployed in New York City,” said Zachary Hecht, policy director at the tech

THE

SCENIC ROUTE

Optimus Ride’s Navy Yard shuttle service takes things slow.

22 CityAndStateNY.com

the New York State Police. And while smaller companies may not be able to afford that insurance policy, Hecht said the state framework for testing makes sense given where the technology is at this point. “I haven’t heard many complaints about the self-driving requirements,” he said. “I know that some have considered them burdensome, but I think we’d like to see companies take advantage of it, and they’re reasonable.” In 2017, Cruise Automation, a subsidiary of General Motors Co., announced plans to test its self-driving cars in lower Manhattan,

but that never materialized. A spokesman for Cruise Automation did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Brad Stertz, director of government affairs for Audi of America, said that one thing holding the industry back from more advanced tests is a state law that requires one hand be on a steering wheel at all times when driving a vehicle in New York. State Sen. Joseph Robach has introduced legislation that would allow for hands-free driving when an automated system is engaged, but it has yet to advance through the Legislature. “We want

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nonprofit Tech:NYC. “The technology is not necessarily there yet, and there are a whole host of other factors.” Since 2017, when the state legalized tests of autonomous vehicles, only two companies – Audi and Cadillac – tested the tech. Audi drove about 170 miles around Albany, while Cadillac tested its cars on a drive from New York City into New Jersey. To conduct a test, the law requires a company to submit an application through the state Department of Motor Vehicles, have a $5 million insurance policy and have the test supervised by

November 4, 2019

City & State New York

Waymo vehicles are tested around Phoenix, a far cry from New York City’s packed, rainslicked streets.

which passed in the Senate but didn’t advance in the Assembly. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment. Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, who chairs the Subcommittee on Internet and New Technology, has also sponsored a separate bill since 2018 for an autonomous vehicle task force, but it failed to advance both then and in this past session. While the law allowing the testing of autonomous vehicles was extended for another two years this year, Stertz advocated for a permanent extension. “There’s no certainty that once you set up a pretty costly and extensive testing regime in a state, that that’s going to be something that you can keep building on and working with and evolving over four, five, six or more years,” he said, adding that Audi has had productive conversations with Cuomo on

firmly opposed using autonomous vehicles on public city streets in the near future, mainly citing safety concerns. “The mayor has been clear – autonomous vehicles are simply not ready for use on our city streets,” Seth Stein, a spokesman for the mayor, wrote in an email. Cordell Schachter, chief technology officer at the city Department of Transportation, agreed that the city has no interest in seeing autonomous vehicles on public roads anytime soon. “We think the wrong place to test an experimental vehicle – because that’s how we view them – is on New York City streets, with lots of vulnerable road actors who could face very serious consequences if either the vehicle doesn’t behave as it should, or if other road actors don’t behave as they should around the autonomous vehicle,” he said. While self-driving cars may be years further away than some previously

“THE WRONG PLACE TO TEST AN EXPERIMENTAL VEHICLE – BECAUSE THAT’S HOW WE VIEW THEM – IS ON NEW YORK CITY STREETS.” – CORDELL SCHACHTER, NEW YORK CIT Y DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

WAYMO WAYMO

to have the legal authority to actually do fullscale and extensive testing with the handsfree system,” Stertz said.

N 2021, THE LAW allowing for the testing of autonomous vehicles in the state will expire, and a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not comment as to what the next steps will be at that time. State Sen. Tim Kennedy, the chairman of the Transportation Committee, sponsored a bill to create a task force to study autonomous vehicles,

these issues. “This technology is going to continue to evolve into the 2030s, so once you set up shop in a state or set up a pilot program, you want to make sure you can still do it and not have to worry about the Legislature renewing it every year.” In New York City, additional complicating factors include the city’s density and the diversity of other actors on the road that autonomous cars must be able to navigate, including pedestrians, bicyclists and e-scooter riders. Autonomous vehicle technology has had problems anticipating what those other players will do, and in New York City, where jaywalking and running red lights happens more often, self-driving cars would likely be among the only rule-followers on the road. “It’s a very chaotic street environment. It’s a very unpredictable, diverse set of things that you set your eyes upon,” said Bruce Schaller, a transportation policy expert and former deputy commissioner at the New York City Department of Transportation. Humans can make eye contact, read body language and in general anticipate what other people are going to do. “Having a machine do that is very, very difficult,” he said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city Department of Transportation have

thought – “I have not heard an estimate that I know to be true,” Hecht said – that’s not stopping some from imagining a future in which the technology is able to make the roads safer. “Computers don’t get drunk or send text messages,” said Sarah Kaufman, associate director of the New York University Rudin Center for Transportation. “They don’t get easily distracted in that way. They don’t get angry at cyclists, and they don’t blow through red lights. They’re forced to behave better.” In New York City, where many are advocating to reduce vehicle usage in favor of public transit, some see a future in which adding autonomous vehicles into the mix could actually help get other vehicles off the road. “The great advantage of autonomous vehicles is that they can be shared very easily, which would limit the need for parking, and that would open up more street space for more active uses and more opportunities to extend the sidewalk or just in general make it a less hostile environment to move around the city,” Kaufman said. “The benefit of autonomous vehicles won’t be realized unless they are also shared.” In reality, that shared autonomous vehicle might come in the form of shuttle buses or vans, but Schaller said that those wouldn’t necessarily replace the mass transit options like subways that transfer large amounts of

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November 4, 2019

The city’s transportation commission- driving down the New York State Thruway people across the city. Instead, they could be a first mile or last mile solution, connect- er, Polly Trottenberg, testified before Con- and see 16-wheel trucks to the left and the ing people in transit deserts to the nearest gress last year that cities shouldn’t have to right of us with no one driving them withsubway or bus stop. “A transit shuttle is not “get ready” for autonomous vehicles, but au- out there being a sophisticated and comgoing to take people long distances,” Schaller tonomous vehicles need to get ready for New prehensive statutory and regulatory regime said. “Speed is actually not that important. York City. Even still, some say there are that ensures safety, ensures data protection What’s important is to keep moving, and things New York could be doing now to pre- privacy and addresses a whole range of iswhat’s important is not to have to wait too pare, including prioritizing the deployment sues,” said Hank Greenberg, the associalong for it. Autonomy, in the form of shuttles, of 5G wireless service and connected vehi- tion’s president. There are also questions about what has the promise of being frequent and slow.” cle technology – both of which won’t only He pointed out that that slowness could even serve self-driving cars, but would benefit happens to taxi drivers, Uber drivers and be a benefit – easing the concerns of lawmak- the vehicles. The next generation of wireless bus operators if self-driving vehicles do ers who might see autonomous vehicles as communication promises faster speeds and eventually replace them. Some of that de60 mile-per-hour deathtraps. “Slow means lower latency, which means vehicles’ reflex- pends on whether autonomous vehicles retheir implementation date is earlier,” he said. es amid changing road conditions or to pe- place buses or ride-hailing cars, and even if Schaller pointed to self-driving car com- destrians jaywalking, for example, could be that answer isn’t clear, Hecht said the city pany Waymo’s testing in and around the quicker. “The cars depend on constant con- should be thinking about it now. “The fuPhoenix suburbs – the “self-driving capi- nectivity to the cloud, and although compa- ture of work is not something you can just tal of the world,” according to Wired – as nies like Verizon are building out 5G, which snap your fingers and address,” he said. a model for how testing might eventually would make it more possible, the connec- “It requires long-term planning and longhappen on public streets in New York. Ar- tivity of the vehicles just isn’t there yet here term policymaking.” Job displacement caused by the deployizona doesn’t have many regulations for au- in New York, and the amount of bandwidth tonomous vehicle testing, but nonetheless, required by these vehicles could congest the ment of autonomous vehicles is something Waymo has worked with state and local of- network for other calls,” Kaufman said. that labor leaders are thinking about now, too, even if the issue doesn’t ficials. “They haven’t tried seem as urgent as it did a few to rush anything, they’re years ago, when autonomous the leader in the technology vehicles were thought to by far, but they got there by be closer to wide-scale use. going at the pace they set for “I think the possibilities themselves,” Schaller said. of it seem dimmer through A spokesperson for Waymo, time. Certainly, about three which is owned by Google’s years ago, it was a much bigparent company Alphabet ger concern,” said Bhairavi Inc., told City & State that the Desai, executive director of company has no plans to test the New York Taxi Workers in New York at this time. Alliance. Desai advocated But Phoenix – with its for job creation plans, calling warm, predictable climate the training or retraining of and wide streets – is not a drivers a secondary concern perfect analogue to New – SARAH K AUFMAN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW to ensuring that there are York City, and deployments YORK UNIVERSIT Y RUDIN CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION new jobs into which those of autonomous vehicles there drivers can transition. Desai won’t be the same as they will be in New York – so working along- She also mentioned that GPS is already un- is also hopeful that with the recent pressure side the government may be the name of the reliable in areas like midtown Manhattan, to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft – where signals reflect off high-rise buildings. both in New York and across the coungame for self-driving cars. Self-driving cars are equipped with 3D try – the industry won’t be able to make Hecht said that the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s slow-moving shuttles are evidence of com- maps of their surroundings and use sensors massive changes without some regulatory panies prioritizing safety above all else. “I to continue to build the map as they drive. input. “There’s a growing consensus that think it demonstrates that this isn’t a tech- But most also use additional cameras and these companies need to be regulated,” she nology that some of the companies are try- GPS antennas, which means that a bad GPS said. “I think that’s given us a lot of hope ing to merely thrust upon communities or signal or a slow connection could give the ve- that they’re not going to be able to just on people. There is a concerted effort to make hicle wrong information, causing it to stop or the one hand have like half a million worksure these things are safe, that they are ac- start at the wrong time and lead to an acci- ers on city streets all competing against each tually usable, and not simply say, ‘This dent. Some autonomous vehicles, like Way- other, and then overnight take all the jobs technology is here, we’re deploying in the mo’s, however, store its crucial systems on away through automation.” One thing regulators will have on their wild.’” Sertac Karaman, co-founder and computers in the vehicle and don’t have to side is time. Because, like it or not, for the president of Optimus Ride, told City & State constantly connect to the cloud. The New York State Bar Association foreseeable future in New York, autonomous in August that the company sees its Brooklyn Navy Yard service as a steppingstone. recently convened a task force to study vehicles will look a lot like the self-driving “This deployment may look very small, but the effects that autonomous vehicles will shuttles on private roads. Despite the traI think it really puts New York City on the have on the law and society, and the group ditional tech ethos of “move fast and break map in terms of this technology being built hopes to publish its findings in April. The things,” Schaller said that most companies and these kinds of services being provided,” group will study safety in addition to what aren’t focused on putting the pedal to the he said. “Our vision is that eventually the a self-driving future would mean for ac- proverbial metal: “I think everyone looked legal processes will be there to allow us to go cident liability and other legal questions. risk in the face and said it’s against our best “You and I aren’t going to wake up one day interests to push this too fast.” into public roads.”

“COMPUTERS DON’T GET DRUNK OR SEND TEXT MESSAGES. THEY DON’T GET EASILY DISTRACTED IN THAT WAY. THEY DON’T GET ANGRY AT CYCLISTS, AND THEY DON’T BLOW THROUGH RED LIGHTS.”

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November 4, 2019

City & State New York

DIANE SAVINO CHAIRWOMAN, STATE SENATE COMMITTEE ON INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY

GIG WORKER RIGHTS Last session, you sponsored a bill to create a third category of workers to afford gig workers more labor protections, and you recently held a hearing to continue that conversation. What were your impressions from the hearing? I thought it was a very informative process that we had with people from all sides of this issue – from the AFL-CIO to other unions like 32BJ (SEIU), hearing from some of the tech operators, Tech:NYC, the Internet Association and even a restaurant owner who came in and talked about how he’s doubled the size of his business by utilizing delivery services. What I wanted to hear from people was what’s actually happening, what’s the differences between what’s happening in California and New York? I know everyone is paying attention to (California Assembly Bill 5), now is that the right answer from New York?

You’ve said in the past that you don’t think AB5, California’s new law that would classify some gig workers as employees, is right for New York. Is that still where you stand after the hearing? I don’t think it’s the right answer. I think it’s part of the right answer. California is different than New York in a bunch of ways, but mostly because California started from almost 10 years of operating after the Dynamex decision, which laid out the fact that everyone’s an employee, unless they’re not employed. That’s where the ABC test comes in. New York doesn’t have that. We have the ability to start from a fresh space and try and define what a gig worker really is, who is an employee, who is not.

Facial recognition, data privacy, gig worker rights – these are all issues on which other cities and states, like California, have taken bold legislative leaps in the past few years. But it sounds like your approach is more cautious, to study the issue and make a decision. Being first here doesn’t seem like it’s your top priority. Yes. As I say, sometimes New York leads and sometimes we follow. And generally, if we are slow to the game, it’s because we’re more thoughtful and more deliberative. Then again, I’m not disparaging what California is doing. I have a different approach. Jumping in and passing legislation to prevent or ban something doesn’t acknowledge the fact that it’s still out there in the marketplace. If anything will justify my position on this it’s what’s happening in the cannabis industry. You have X number of states that have created legal cannabis. It’s still illegal on the federal level, and then people are rushing in to try and pass legislation to control some aspect of it. And that’s not the way we should do things. We should take our time. We should analyze it. We should speak to people on both sides.

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UNDER THE RADAR 26 CityAndStateNY.com

Drones are everywhere in New York City – even though they’re illegal. Will the ban ever be lifted for businesses?

by A N N I E MCDONOUGH

by J E F F C O L T I N

ANT A BURRITO de‑ livered? A drone could do that. Need emergen‑ cy medical assistance? A drone could do that. Need to surveil a crowd, or capture live video of a fire? Drones are already doing that. The small unmanned aerial vehicles pop‑ ularly known as drones seem to be suggested as the answer to every problem these days. But despite their active use by the NYPD and FDNY, and their frequent flying by hobbyist photographers and gadget nerds, drones exist in a legal limbo within the five boroughs.

The Federal Aviation Administration will approve flights in the city by registered drone pilots within relatively strict limits. But any‑ one going to the city’s 311 online portal to find out about drones is met with a bright red message: “Call 911 to report a drone in use in New York City,” it reads. “It is illegal to fly them in New York City.” New York City Councilman Justin Bran‑ nan says it’s time to legalize and regulate drone use. At the very least, he said, it’s time to update a law that he said was writ‑ ten 70 years ago. “You’re talking about a 1948 law that prohibits drone use, which is crazy,” he told City & State. “1948, we were talking about flying saucers.”

Brannan introduced a bill, Intro. 235‑2018, that would update the compar‑ atively ancient avigation statute prohib‑ iting aircraft from taking off and landing anywhere that isn’t designated by the city Department of Transportation or the Port Authority, like airports and heliports. Of course, that doesn’t mean New York‑ ers aren’t flying in the city. There’s end‑ less drone footage on YouTube of Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and midtown’s skyscrapers. And it’s not just recreational users. There are companies providing aerial photography to real estate and architectural clients right now, like Sky Tech One, Reign Maker and SkyPan International, which agreed to pay a $200,000 fine by the Feder‑

PHOELIXDE/SHUTTERSTOCK

City & State New York

al Aviation Administration in 2017 for flying in restricted airspace. Drone supporters make arguments that sound oddly similar to the gun control debate. That is, if flying drones is against the law, only lawbreakers will fly drones. “You have a set of incentives right now where the drone operators who could do the most good with drones and could do it most safely and responsibly are scared away from doing it from this uncertain legal status,” said Adam Lisberg, corporate communication director at drone manufacturer DJI (and a former editor of City & State). “At the same time, people who say, ‘I don’t know about the law, I don’t care what the law is’ – they’re the ones going out and (flying).”

Sure enough, big business is interested in legalizing drones in New York City. Uber wants to deliver food by air. AT&T wants to use them as flying cell towers. And the Motion Picture Association of America wants to film aerial footage without helicopters. According to the city’s lobbying database, each of the companies have lobbied the City Council on Brannan’s bill. That seemed to surprise Brannan a bit – “I understand why those guys would support it, but this isn’t like a coordinated effort” – because he hasn’t done much lobbying for the bill. He introduced the bill at the very beginning of the City Council session in January 2018 and has yet to gain a single other co-sponsor in the 51-member council. A similar bill from City Councilman

Paul Vallone of Queens, Intro. 403-2018, which would limit the use of drones to certain parks, has just a single co-sponsor: Brannan. The Brooklyn Democrat did make some noise in October, publishing an op-ed in the Daily News titled, “City must bring on the drones,” but told City & State he hasn’t really “circled the wagons yet.” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s office declined to comment on the state of the bill or his support. Vallone told City & State that he’s working with Johnson and the other advocates to legalize drones. “The city has to set parameters for commercial and recreational unmanned aerial vehicle usage,” he said. “Instead we are turning a blind eye on the outdated rule of law.” If the bill takes flight, the NYPD may try and shoot it down. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the police had been seeking federal authority to take down drones it saw as a threat. The method of the proposed take-down wasn’t clear, and the threat seemed more speculative than real. The department said there hadn’t been an incident of malicious drone use in the city, and no drones in the city have caused serious harm, even by accident. The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment, but a spokeswoman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Avery Cohen, said that City Hall was open to the legalization discussion. “We’re always looking for ways to safely incorporate new technologies into the city, and look forward to working with the council on this important issue,” she said. But wherever drone legalization has supporters – like real estate developers, who have been lobbying for the ability to use drones for building inspections – it also has groups that are wary of the machines and their safety – like scaffold companies fearful of losing inspection jobs. Privacy advocates like the New York Civil Liberties Union have also raised concerns about the potential uses of drones – though fears of a sci-fi style surveillance state may be premature, at least when it comes to the NYPD. The department flew its drones just 27 times from April 1 through the end of June, according to a quarterly report, and 17 of those operations were for “training” or “testing.” The most common active uses were for “collision/crime scene documentation” and “visual assistance at hostage/barricaded suspect situations,” which were each reported three times. Other concerns about drones are a bit more trivial. After Brannan’s op-ed, reader Joe Ferra wrote in to the Daily News to complain. “Does (Brannan) not care that the beautiful scenery will be ruined by the proliferation of these flying machines,” he wrote, “or that the drones will annoyingly reflect sunlight into people’s eyes?” With such little action on the legislation, the future of drones isn’t looking so bright.

■

28 CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

CLYDE VANEL

Are there any other big plans in the works? There’s another big dreamer thing that we’re trying to do. It’s very important for us to do stuff in STEM and be able to promote jobs and innovation in New York state. We’re going to be very bold and ambitious and try to introduce a New York state space program.

CHAIRMAN, ASSEMBLY SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNET AND NEW TECHNOLOGY

A NEW YORK SPACE PROGRAM?!

Something you spoke about back in January and that is now a reality is this new task force to study artificial intelligence and robots. What are you hoping that will produce? We’re excited about that. I’m not sure when we’re going to have to name all the members, but hopefully we get that done before budget. We’re looking to figure out things as benign as trying to address discrimination when it comes to algorithms, to things as humanistic as will the robots kill us? Also, how do we deal with what work is going to look like in the future? How is robotics, automation, artificial intelligence changing work?

JOHN PAUL FARMER

meet all of the needs and the criteria that New Yorkers have for their city. That might require some material science work, some miniaturization, maybe just some innovation at the end of the day. So we’re very open to, and we continue our conversations along these lines, with all of our stakeholders out there and anyone who would like to have them.

NEW YORK CITY CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

THE HURDLES FOR 5G Do the goals of deploying 5G service in New York City while attempting to get others up to speed to bridge the digital divide conflict with each other? We are being very intentional about using this moment as an opportunity to improve for all New Yorkers. That means we can lift everybody up together, but we’re not going to leave anybody behind. That’s a choice that New York City has made and feels very strongly about. As we engage with stakeholders – which we’ve been doing and will continue to do – we’re ensuring that they understand the goals here are not simply to bring a flashy new technology to a small subset of the city, but it is to bring technologies that serve the needs of New Yorkers to everybody. What kinds of hurdles will you encounter in the 5G deployment process? The well-known quote: “The future is here,

Wow. Talk more about that. You know, going to the moon? That’s what I’m talking about. Private companies like SpaceX are sending Starship to orbit, or what have you. We have states like California, New Mexico, Florida, that have very big aerospace industries and companies. New York state used to be one of the leaders in the aerospace industry, on Long Island and upstate. We lost that business, we lost those entrepreneurs, we lost those employers. I think New York state should invest in a space program. I think that’s something that we can do. We can partner with private business, and I think that we can attract those companies, and I think that our SUNY and CUNY system has great programs to feed workers, employers and entrepreneurs in the commercial space business.

it’s just not evenly distributed” – that’s the story of 5G today. It’s in some small spots, it’s sporadic, it’s not really accessible or affordable. We want to make sure that’s not the experience of the future of 5G. What that means is it’s going to take a number of different stakeholders coming together – certainly various agencies of New York City government but also the private sector – in working on ways to deal with some of these challenges to come up with solutions that

There have been criticisms that the process of deploying 5G has been too slow in New York City. How do you respond to that? While we need to recognize the promise of new technologies, there’s also a lot of hype out there. As we move forward, we’re really focused on equity, affordability and appropriateness of the technology. The reality today is that sporadic service in limited parts of the city with phones that are unaffordable to almost everybody is not necessarily transformational. That’s not really going to change life for most New Yorkers in a positive way. We’re really thinking about how do we do this in a way that moves briskly while taking into account the various needs of New Yorkers that we’re here to serve.

ASSEMBLY; KATHLEEN CLARK

In December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law your bill creating a digital currency task force to study how to regulate blockchain and cryptocurrency. Where does that task force stand today? We’re excited to start the work on the Digital Currency Task Force in light of what’s going on with Libra, in light of what’s going on around the world when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrency and digital currencies. The governor’s office is supposed to appoint their seven members, and I’m not sure when they’re going to do it, but that’s probably going to happen before session. We identified our six (members), and they are going to really help us with the report to figure out what are the proper guidelines to try to regulate digital currency and cryptocurrency, so we’re excited about that.

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legalnotices@cityandstateny.com Notice of Formation of Lantern Class A Member, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 9/12/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 1501 Broadway, 28th Fl., NY, NY 10036. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, c/o Randi Seigel, 7 Times Square, NY, NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful activity Notice of Formation of NYP YC LLC filed with SSNY on July 11, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 888 7th ave 5th FL NY NY 10106. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of PICTURE TAKER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/13/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Coin Group, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 12/11/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The INC, Attn: United States Corporation Agents, 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of TCD Management, LLC filed with SSNY on August 12, 2019. Office: Kings County. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 488 Central Avenue Apt 1 Brooklyn, NY 11221. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Qualification of RAHF IV Harbor Hill, L.P. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 4/2/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 551 5th Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10176. LP formed in DE on 5/15/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc. (CGI), 10 E. 40th St., Fl. 10, NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LP: c/o CGI, 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Name/ addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Nikolas Trading Company, LLC filed with SSNY on June 17, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 47 Titus Road, Glen Cove, NY 11542. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of RAHF IV Sunset Gardens, L.P. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 4/2/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 551 5th Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10176. LP formed in DE on 5/15/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc. (CGI), 10 E. 40th St., Fl. 10, NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LP: c/o CGI, 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Name/ addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

BEGINNER’S EAR LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/24/2019. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, 450 North End Ave., 23A, NY, NY 10282. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of ENC Property Maintenance, LLC filed with SSNY on May 20, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 39 Tynan Street Staten Island, NY 10312. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Conca, LLC filed with SSNY on September 19, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 308 East 72nd Street, 4B, NY, NY 10021. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

November 4, 2019

Notice of formation of Realopoly, LLC. Articles of Org. filed w i t h the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/16/2019. Office located in Richmond County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to: 322 New Dorp Lane #6, Staten Island, NY 10306. Purpose: any lawful activity or purpose.” Notice of Formation of Groundworks Consulting LLC filed with SSNY on September 23, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 21 Stuyvesant Oval, Apt 4H, New York, NY 10009. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of UBSL COMPLIANCE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/18/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1333 Broadway, Ste. 500, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of UNTITLED PARTNERS, LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/22/19. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/15/19. Princ. office of LP: 412 W. 15th St., NY, NY 10011. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Untitled Holdings LLC, Attn: Neeraj Chandra, 412 W. 15th St., NY, NY 10011. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg.Ste. 4, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Red Arrow Advisors, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/14/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Richard P. Altieri, Carnelutti & Altieri Esposito Minoli PLLC, 551 Madison Ave., Ste. 450, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: any lawful activities. Notice of Qualification of KEYFRAME FUND II, L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/27/19. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/25/19. Princ. office of LP: 65 E. 55th St., 35th Fl., NY, NY 10022. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the Partnership at the princ. office of the LP. The regd. agent of the company upon whom and at which process against the company can be served is John Rapaport-c/o Rapaport Thesis Driven Capital Advisors, L.L.C., 65 E. 55th St., 35th Fl., NY, NY 10022. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of PRK JEWELRY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/23/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Jane L. Brody, Esq., c/o Sherman Wells Sylvester & Stamelman LLP, 1185 Ave. of the Americas, Fl. 3, NY, NY 10036, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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PW Service LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/25/19. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 225 Broadway, 44th Floor, New York NY 10007. Purpose: Any Lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of Watkins Worldwide, LLC filed with SSNY on June 12, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 445 E 14th St, 11E, NY, NY 10009. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Qualification of MAGIC VALET LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/25/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/23/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o DHA Capital, 154 Grand St., #45-03, NY, NY 10013. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM Notice of Formation of Ejimoo, LLC filed with SSNY on July, 9, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 100 Park Ave, New York, NY 10017. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. KAMAKAMILA LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/07/2019. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Kamakamila LLC, 154 W 14th Street, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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November 4, 2019

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF KINGS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, V. ST. CLAIR JOHN; ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated July 23, 2019, and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Kings, wherein U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION is the Plaintiff and ST. CLAIR JOHN; ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the KINGS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, ROOM 224, 360 ADAMS STREET, BROOKLYN NY 11201, on October 31, 2019 at 2:30PM, premises known as 134 EAST 92ND STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11212: Block 4610, Lot 26: ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN, COUNTY OF KINGS, CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 501789/2017. JAMES MARTIN CAFFREY, Esq. - Referee. RAS Boriskin, LLC 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff.

Notice of Qualification of LOWER MANHATTAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/24/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/13/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of The Promedex Institute, LLC filed with SSNY on June 12th, 2019. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 305 Sixth Ave. Unit 3L Pelham, NY 10803. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE OF QUAL. of VC Atlantic Partners LLC. Auth. filed Secâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;y of State (SSNY) 8/12/19. Off. Loc: NY Co. LLC org. in DE 8/8/19. SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom proc. against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 28 Liberty St, New York, NY 10005, the Reg. Agt upon whom proc. may be served. DE off. Addr.: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Bourdeau Acoustic Design LLC filed with SSNY on June 20, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 2 Pinehurst Avenue, C4, New York, NY 10033. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

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Notice of formation of CF2 GP LLC LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 8/27/19. N.Y. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: 155 E. 44th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The principal business address of the LLC is 155 E. 44th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. Notice of Qualification of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/19/2018. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 7/18/1996. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 520 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10022, principal business address. DE address of LLC: c/o The Corporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of CODE GREEN COMPLIANCE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/18/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1333 Broadway, Ste. 500, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Cee Lighting, LLC filed with SSNY on March 30, 2017. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

FRASHON COMMUNICATIONS LLC filed with SSNY 9/11/2019. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Vashon Smith 523 West 143rd street Apt 5B New York, NY 10031. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Qualification of PurePoint Energy LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/01/2019. Office location: Fairfield County, CT. LLC formed in Connecticut (CT) on 08/17/2007. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o PurePoint Energy LLC, 22 South Smith Street Norwalk, CT 06855 addr. of LLC: c/o PurePoint Energy LLC, 22 South Smith Street Norwalk, CT 06855. Cert. of Form. filed with Office of the Secretary of the State of Connecticut, 30 Trinity Street Hartford, CT. Purpose: Any lawful activity PW Service LLC. Arts. Of

Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/25/19. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 225 Broadway, 44th Floor, New York NY 10007. Purpose: Any Lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of REFTII, LLC filed with SSNY on August 1, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 7 EAST LOFTWOOD CIRCLE, SPRING TX 77382 Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Sylverlink LLC. Arts of Org. filed on 10/01/2019 w/ the Sec. of State of NY (SSNY). Office in NY. SSNY is designated agent upon whom process may be served and mail a copy to 40 Morningside Ave Apt 21, NY, NY 10026. For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of NEILALEX LLC filed with SSNY on April 12, 2017. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LEGALINC CORPORATE SERVICES INC, 1967 WEHRLE DRIVE, STE 1 #086, BUFFALO, NY 14221. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of Caroline Yi LLC filed with SSNY on 9/9/19. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: 340 E 23rd St, Apt SH1-A. NY, NY 10010. R/A: US Corp. Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave., #202, BK, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of Grounded PR, LLC filed with SSNY on August 1, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 31 W 69th 4B, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Qualification of BLOOM TREE SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES I (GP), LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/23/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/20/19. Princ. office of LLC: 101 Park Ave., 48th Fl., NY, NY 10178. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Nitin Wadke at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., Federal & Duke of York Sts., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of BLOOM TREE SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES I, LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/23/19. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/20/19. Princ. office of LP: 101 Park Ave., 48th Fl., NY, NY 10178. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., Federal & Duke of York Sts., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of KLDISCOVERY ONTRACK FRANCHISE, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/06/18. Princ. office of LLC: 46 E. 8th St., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Electronic device repair and data recovery. Notice of Formation of LJR HOMES, LLC filed with SSNY on September 25, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 1324 Forest Ave, Suite #185, Staten Isand, NY 10302. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

CityAndStateNY.com / PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES

CITATION SURROGATE’S COURT, NEW YORK COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: The Public Administrator of New York County; Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Legal Services; Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York; Colleen Sylvia O’Driscoll a/k/a Sylvia Colleen O’Driscoll; John Ellwood a/k/a John Padreigh Ellwood a/k/a John MacKinnon; TO: The heirs at law, next of kin, and distributees of ERIC N. O’DRISCOLL, deceased, if living, and if any of them be dead, to their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, legatees, executors, administrators, assignees and successors in interest whose names are unknown and cannot be ascertained after due diligence. A petition having been duly filed by Sean O’Driscoll, who is domiciled at 51 Palm Ave., Shorncliffe, QLD 4017, Australia. YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, New York County, at 31 Chambers Street, Room 503, New York, New York, on December 3, 2019, at 10:00 o’clock in the forenoon of that day, why an Order should not be made in the estate of Eric O’Driscoll, lately domiciled in the County and State of New York: 1. Determining that distributees are entitled to the funds now on deposit with the Office of State Comptroller for the benefit of unknown distributees of Eric N. O’Driscoll; 2. Determining that the Office of State Comptroller be directed to withdraw the funds identified in the Certificate of Deposit and direct payment of same, pro rata, to Sean O’Driscoll, Patrick K. O’Driscoll, Colleen Sylvia O’Driscoll a/k/a Sylvia Colleen O’Driscoll and John Ellwood a/k/a John Padreigh Ellwood a/k/a John MacKinnon, as distributees of the Estate of Eric N. O’Driscoll; and 3.

Granting such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Dated, Attested, and Sealed,

HON. RITA MELLA

OCTOBER 8, 2019

Surrogate Diana Sanabria

Seal

Chief Clerk

Littman Krooks, LLP

Rachel Johnston

Firm

Attorney Name

399 Knollwood Road, Suite 115, White Plains, New York 10603

(914) 684-2100 Telephone

NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you. Proof of Service must be filed two days prior to the return date, Court Rule 207.7(c).

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF KINGS DITECH FINANCIAL LLC, F/K/A GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST FLOZENA WEEMS AKA FLOZEMA WEEMS, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated May 01, 2019 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 224 of Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201, on November 21, 2019 at 2:30PM, premises known as 757 GEORGIA AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11207. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York, BLOCK 4321, LOT 45. Approximate amount of judgment $472,676.04 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment for Index# 500829/2017. CHARLANE ODETTA BROWN, ESQ., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 65892 65892 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT KINGS COUNTY GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, Plaintiff against NASSER KHALIL A/K/A NASSER KHALIL, et al Defendants Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Fein, Such & Crane, LLP, 28 East Main Street Suite 1800, Rochester, NY 14614 Attorney (s) for Plaintiff (s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered October 31, 2017, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 224 of Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11201 on November 21, 2019 at 2:30 PM. Premises known as 453 85th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209. Block 6026 Lot 61. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $538,550.26 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 17466/2014. Leo Salzman, Esq., Referee VERJC280

Address

Notice of Formation of Drive Better Driving LLC filed with SSNY on September 23, 2019. Office: Richmond County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC:55 Cherrywood Ct Staten Island, NY 10308. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

November 4, 2019

Notice of Formation of BRASCHI REALTY, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/02/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MARE THOURAYA, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/01/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@CITYANDSTATENY.COM

NY PIANO TECH LLC Art. OF Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 10/4/19. Off. Loc. : New York Co. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity. R&K PASEO LLC 1 filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/18/19. County: NY. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 845 United Nations Plaza, 42B, NY, NY 10017. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of NEILALEX LLC filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on April 12, 2017. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: NEILALEX LLC, c/o LEGALINC CORPORATE SERVICES INC, 1967 WEHRLE DRIVE, STE 1 #086, BUFFALO, NY 14221. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

PW Service LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/25/19. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 225 Broadway, 44th Floor, New York NY 10007. Purpose: Any Lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of MKP SUPPLY LLC. Articles of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of New York(SSNY) on 10/2/2019. Office located in Richmond County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to: 354 Castleton Ave Staten Island NY 10301. Purpose: any lawful activity or purpose. Notice of formation of LEONN LLC SSNY on 10/9/2019. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to 62 Bayard Street Brooklyn, NY, 11222. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1322499 FOR LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 41 MADISON AVE NEW YORK, NY 10010. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. MTS HOSPITALITY LLC. Notice of Formation of Monique Chauhan, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, PLLC filed with SSNY on September 30, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 99 Madison Ave Suite 514, New York, New York 10016. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

Notice of formation of Darke Hospitality, LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/12/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail a copy of process against LLC to 1115 West 8th St., New York, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful act. SF Princeton LLC, Arts of Org. filed SSNY 09/27/19. Office: NY Co. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to SF Princeton LLC, 45 Broadway, 25th Fl., NY, NY 10006. General Purpose. PUBLIC NOTICE Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to collocate wireless communications antennas at two (2) locations. Antennas will be installed at a top height of 78 feet on an 83-foot building at the approx. vicinity of 1501 Undercliff Avenue, Bronx, Bronx county, NY 11230. Antennas will be installed at a top height of 121 feet on a 118-foot building at the approx. vicinity of 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, Kings county, NY 11201. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Lauren Schramm l.schramm@ trileaf.com, 1395 South Marietta Pkwy, Building 400 Suite 209, Marietta, GA 30067, 678-653-8673 Notice of Formation of DACCAN Consulting LLC filed with SSNY on August 19, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 625 W57th St , Apt 458, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful act or activity

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1322766 FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 58 MACDOUGAL ST NEW YORK, NY 10012. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON-PREMISE CONSUMPTION. D AND A COFFEE LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1322920 FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 197 1ST AVE NEW YORK, NY 10003. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON-PREMISE CONSUMPTION. SARITAS MACARONI & CHEESE EV LLC. THE ANNUAL RETURN of The Theodore Barth Foundation Inc. for the calendar year ended December 31, 2018 is available at its principal office located at 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 2006, New York, NY 10111 for inspection during regular business hours by any citizen who requests it within 180 days hereof. Principal Manager of the Foundation is Ellen Berelson. Notice of Formation of Silver Linings - Aging in Place Organizers, LLC filed with SSNY on July 12, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 522 East 88 Street, Apt. 3C, New York, NY 10128. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. PUBLIC NOTICE

AT&T proposes to modify an existing facility (new tip heights of 87’ and 97’) on the building at 1901 Dorchester Rd, Brooklyn, NY (20191675). Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-8091202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

PUBLIC NOTICE SprintCom, Inc. (SPRINT) proposes an antenna and equipment upgrade atop three existing buildings, including: 1) a 113.8’ water tower at 135-145 Florence St in Kingston, Ulster County, NY; 2) a 103.7’ building at 146-148 Main St in Paterson, Passaic County, NJ; 3) a 123.8’ building at 134 Evergreen Pl in East Orange, Essex County, NJ. In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended and the 2005 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for Review Under the National Preservation Act; Final Rule, SPRINT is hereby notifying the public of the proposed undertaking and soliciting comments on Historic Properties which may be affected by the proposed undertaking. Accordingly, if you would like to provide specific information regarding potential effects that the proposed undertaking might have to properties that are listed on or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and located within ½ mile of the above address, please submit the property’s address and your comments to: Charles Cherundolo Consulting, Inc. at 976 Tabor Road, Suite 4B, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 or via email at tcns@cherundoloc onsul ting . c om<mail to:tcns@cherundoloconsulting.com Notice of Formation of CONVERGENT VENTURES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/28/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 850 Third Ave., Ste. 16C, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of NOMURA STRATEGIC VENTURES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/25/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/14/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. PUBLIC NOTICE AT&T Mobility Services, LLC (AT&T) proposes the modification of existing AT&T facilities installed atop the following buildings in NY: a 103’ overall building at 55 Palmer Ave in Bronxville, Westchester County (Job #45418) and a 251’overall building at 30 Vesey St in New York, Manhattan (Job #45602). In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the 2005 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, AT&T is hereby notifying the public of the proposed undertaking and soliciting comments on Historic Properties which may be affected by the proposed undertaking. If you would like to provide specific information regarding potential effects that the proposed undertaking might have to properties that are listed on or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and located within 3/4 mile of the site, please submit the comments (with project number) to: RAMAKER, Contractor for AT&T, 855 Community Dr. Sauk City, WI 53583 or via e-mail to history@ ramaker.com within 30 days of this notice.

LEGALNOTICES@CITYANDSTATENY.COM

THE ANNUAL RETURN OF THE FRANKLIN FUND FOR THE YEAR ENDED June 30, 2019 is available at its principal office located at FARKOUH, FURMAN & FACCIO LLP 460 PARK AVENUE, 12TH FL, NEW YORK, NY 10022 for inspection during regular business hours by any citizen who requests it within 180 days hereof. Principal Manager of the Foundation is SHEILA FRANKLIN LIEBER.

PUBLIC NOTICE AT&T proposes to modify an existing facility (tip heights 88’) on the building at 71-13 60th Lane Ridgewood, Queens Borough, NY 11385 (20191751). Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-8091202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties. PUBLIC NOTICE

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

AT&T proposes to collocate antennas (tip heights 134.25’) on the building at 873 Broadway, New York, NY (20191674).Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-8091202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SprintCom, Inc. (SPRINT) proposes the following developments in Buffalo, Erie County, NY: the installation of telecommunications antennas and equipment on a 78’ overall building at 240 Pine Ridge Rd (Job #45347) and the modification an existing SPRINT facility on a 199’ overall building at 726 Exchange St (Job #45229). .

AT&T proposes to modify an existing facility (new tip heights 98’) on the building at 506 6th St, Brooklyn, NY (20191672). Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856809-1202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the 2005 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, SPRINT is hereby notifying the public of the proposed undertaking and soliciting comments on Historic Properties which may be affected by the proposed undertaking. If you would like to provide specific information regarding potential effects that the proposed undertaking might have to properties that are listed on or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and located within 1/2 mile of the site, please submit the comments (with project number) to: RAMAKER, Contractor for SPRINT, 855 Community Dr, Sauk City, WI 53583 or via e-mail to history@ ramaker.com within 30 days of this notice.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

34 CityAndStateNY.com

November 4, 2019

CITY & STATE NEW YORK MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING CEO Steve Farbman, President & Publisher Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com, Comptroller David Pirozzi, Business & Operations Manager Patrea Patterson, Administrative Assistant Lauren Mauro

Who was up and who was down last week

CREATIVE Art Director Andrew Horton, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton

LOSERS

DIGITAL Digital Marketing Director Maria Cruz Lee, Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi, Social Media Editor/ Content Producer Amanda Luz Henning Santiago

DAVID CHANG The chef behind the Momofuku empire didn’t take too kindly to New York City’s foie gras ban – a move he called “idiocracy” along with words that sound like “fuku.” At least his political analysis was more straightforward than that of Tocqueville chef Marco Moreira who asked – in a flimsy argument unworthy of his restaurant’s namesake – “What’s next? No more veal? No more mushrooms?” The Council’s likely response: “Yeah, probably” and “What mushrooms are you cooking with?”

THE BEST OF THE REST

THE REST OF THE WORST

MATTHEW DRISCOLL

CHARLES KING

ALLIE FELDMAN TAYLOR

MELANIE LAROCCA

ANNA KAPLAN & KEN ZEBROWSKI

JAY JACOBS

Toll-skirting hosers have to pay up, after the Thruway made a deal with Ontario. The animal activist got foie gras banned. At least Francophiles still have escargot!

Their new law says you have to be sober enough to drive to shoot a deer. Dang!

ANTONIO REYNOSO & KATHRYN GARCIA

Their commercial waste zones hopefully mean fewer garbage truck tragedies.

His Housing Works can’t be the wokest nonprofit anymore if he’s busting unions. The NYC buildings commissioner was supposed to inspect elevators after one killed a man. Frankly, we’re floored. Cuomo’s appointee’s leaked email may have revealed the guv’s super-duper totally top-secret plan to kill the WFP.

ANDY KING

Every city councilman wants to go down in history, but not as the first to be suspended.

WINNERS & LOSERS is published every Friday morning in City & State’s First Read email. Sign up for the email, cast your vote and see who won at cityandstateny.com.

ADVERTISING Vice President of Advertising Jim Katocin jkatocin@ cityandstateny.com, Account/Business Development Executive Scott Augustine saugustine@cityandstateny.com, Event Sponsorship Strategist Danielle Koza dkoza@ cityandstateny.com, Sales Associate Cydney McQuillanGrace cydney@cityandstateny.com, Junior Sales Executive Caitlin Dorman, Legal Advertising Executive Shakirah Gittens legalnotices@cityandstateny.com, Junior Sales Associate Chris Hogan EVENTS events@cityandstateny.com Sales Director Lissa Blake, Events Manager Alexis Arsenault, Event Coordinator Amanda Cortez, Editorial Research Associate Evan Solomon

Vol. 8 Issue 42 November 4, 2019 TE TA IN U PSGA KE T A M AR EA G

HAS TRUMP HELPED TRUMP COUNTRY? CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

IS NYC READY FOR SELF-DRIVING CARS? THE PUERTO RICANS STILL STRANDED IN NY AFTER MARIA

November 4, 2019

Cover image Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock

CITY & STATE NEW YORK (ISSN 2474-4107) is published weekly, 48 times a year except for the four weeks containing New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas by City & State NY, LLC, 61 Broadway, Suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2763. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to City & State New York, 61 Broadway, Suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2763. General: (212) 268-0442, subscribe@cityandstateny.com Copyright ©2019, City & State NY, LLC

LEV RADIN; RON ADAR/SHUTTERSTOCK

COREY JOHNSON New York City is about to look a lot more like Copenhagen, ja? The New York City Council passed the speaker’s safe streets legislation, a 10-year, $1.7 billion plan to make the city a more bike- and bus-friendly place, with 250 miles of protected bike lanes, 150 miles of bus lanes, and 1 million square feet of new pedestrian plazas. All we have to do is wait until 2022 to get started – as long as we’re not getting around with flying cars and teleportation by then.

OUR PICK

WINNERS

Bald eagles are doing well in New York. So well that the state wants to take them off the endangered species list, among other now-thriving species like humpback whales, wolves and – of course – the eastern fence lizard. City & State loves a good list, but we’re not ready to make any changes around here – crooked politicians were never an endangered species in the first place.

EDITORIAL editor@cityandstateny.com Editor-in-Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com, Managing Editor Ryan Somers, Senior Editor Ben Adler badler@cityandstateny.com, Special Projects Editor Alice Popovici, Copy Editor Eric Holmberg, Staff Reporter Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Zach Williams zwilliams@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Rebecca C. Lewis rlewis@cityandstateny.com, Tech & Policy Reporter Annie McDonough amcdonough@ cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Kay Dervishi

UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, SHANKER HALL 52 BROADWAY, 2ND FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10004 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 9:00AM-4:30PM

We have all learned to accept technology at different rates. We explore the innovation and challenges of new tools, apps and gadgets in our own personal ways. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re an early tech adopter or more careful user, each of us has a role to play in advancing our organizations in a quickly changing world! This event will cater to everything from entry-level learning about the current state of technology to more advanced discussions. Nonprofit TechCon is the place to go to stay informed of tools and developments, now and looking into the future.

FEATURED SPEAKERS SHEREEN SANTALESA, Vice President, Human Resources, Riseboro Community Partnership KARIN KUNSTLER GOLDMAN, Deputy Chief, Charities Bureau, New York State Department of Law (Attorney General) BESA H. BAUTA, Chief Data Officer, MercyFirst MICHAEL BARRET JONES, Director of Development, The Tyler Clementi Foundation THOMAS DEWAR, Executive Director of Information Technology, Lutheran Social Services of New York RYAN YOUNG, Chief of Operations and Organizational Sustainability, Community Change MARCEL BRAITHWAITE, Director of Community Engagement, Police Athletic League, Inc. VESNA SELMANOVIC, VP, Program Compliance and Performance Measurement, Covenant House New York ALEX MARCUS, Assistant Director of Organizational Development and Talent Acquisition, Good Shepherd Services DARHSAN DESAI, PhD, Professor of Management, Berkeley College Larry L. Luing School of Business DUNCAN REMAGE-HEALEY, Managing Director of Operations, Parenting Journey CHARLIE PANE, Communications Manager, Cornell Cooperative Extension Rockland County MITCHELL PETIT-FRERE, Digital Content Manager, Family Promise AMY WEST, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, AHRC NYC NICK SELBY, Director of Cyber Intelligence and Investigations, NYPD NANCY D. MILLER, Executive Director/CEO, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired ALBERT J. RIZZI, Founder and CEO, My Blind Spot, Inc DAVID DePAROLESA, Chief Executive Officer, GiveLively RSVP at CityAndStateNY.com/Events For more information on programming and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lissa Blake at lblake@cityandstateny.com

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS LIGHTHOUSE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS CAPALINO + COMPANY GRF CPAS & ADVISORS JMT CONSULTING FUNRAISE FUNDRAISE UP

MAZARS USA LLP NETWORK DOCTOR YURGOSKY CONSULTING ATSG RKD GROUP SYNAPTITUDE CONSULTING

T-MOBILE GOVERNMENT WITHUM LINCOLN IT REAL HR SOLUTIONS GLOBAL CYBER ALLIANCE PARK AND K PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Thank you SL Green Realty Corp and AECOM Tishman for hiring the most diversified, most skilled and most reputable workforce in New York City at family-sustaining wages. TOGETHER we’re creating a 100% UNION-BUILT iconic landmark that will transform NYC’s skyline. We commend SL Green Realty Corp’s and AECOM Tishman’s commitment to excellence, and commitment to our city.