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December 3, 2018

City & State New York

EDITOR’S NOTE

JON LENTZ Editor-in-chief

WHEN STATE SENATE Majority Leader John Flanagan lost his hold on power last month, he did so in dramatic fashion. Republicans had maintained control of the chamber for decades with only brief interruptions. But on Election Day, voters turned a narrow one-seat GOP majority into a huge 39-to-23 seat advantage for the Democrats (leaving out state Sen. Simcha Felder). But say this about Flanagan – unlike a number of recent legislative leaders, he was never tainted by corruption. His immediate predecessor, Dean Skelos, was convicted of bribery and extortion for a second time earlier this year. Skelos’ longtime No. 2, Tom Libous, was found guilty of lying to the FBI. George Maziarz, another longtime GOP state senator, left office under a cloud of scandal. In true bipartisan fashion, former Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was also unseated due to a federal corruption case that resulted in his conviction. Other Democratic leaders in the state Senate – Pedro Espada Jr., Malcolm Smith, John Sampson – ran into legal troubles of their own. As a new era gets underway in Albany, here’s hoping that this crop of legislative leaders can finally clean things up – and avoid sinking into the swamp.

CONTENTS

CELESTE SLOMAN; EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT

PUBLIC ADVOCATE … 6

Could a Republican take over for Tish James?

CORRUPTION … 8

How not to get sucked into Albany’s swamp

AIRPORTS, PORTS AND TERMINALS … 10

Will New York’s shiny new upgrades actually help commuters?

TECH IN NY … 25

Experts talk cybersecurity, energy innovations and more

WINNERS & LOSERS … 30 Who was up and who was down last week

CityAndStateNY.com

The

December 3, 2018

Latest TWO QUEENS BOYS GET LUNCH President Donald Trump and Gov. Andrew Cuomo met for lunch on Wednesday to discuss funding for the long-stalled Gateway Program and its largest component, a $13 billion new rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. Although the two did not reach a deal, Cuomo emerged from the talk saying that it had been “productive” and that he feels confident that he and the president can reach an agreement. Trump also told the New York Post that he and Cuomo get along very well and that they like each other.

“THREE MEN” NO MORE The 39-member state Senate Democratic conference officially and unanimously elected state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins as the next majority leader of the chamber, making her the first female leader in the state Legislature. And that means that no longer will key negotiations be left to “three men in a room.” Although Democrats have said they plan to pass a series of progressive bills that have languished under Republican leadership, Stewart-Cousins said it is too soon to say which bills will be taken up first in January. However, she did indicate she supports renewing the state’s millionaires tax, which is set to expire next year.

Back & Forth

A Q&A with congresswoman

Nita Lowey

The

In a narrow victory, Democrats in the House of Representatives elected Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as their caucus chair, besting Rep. Barbara Lee by just 10 votes. Jeffries will take over the No. 5 Democratic position from fellow New York Rep. Joseph Crowley, who was ousted by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over the summer. Jeffries is seen as a rising star in the party, and his new role could position him to one day become speaker, a post some had already projected for him.

What are your priorities heading into the next term? Well, if I have the honor of serving as Appropriations chairwoman, I intend to work across the aisle, fund our government and meet America’s priorities. The federal government must do more to help the people we represent. We have to make sure that we boost the funding for safety net programs; rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure, which is a priority shared with (President Donald) Trump; make higher education more affordable; fund Head Start, child care; and invest in job creating programs like transformational energy research. It’s important that we protect Social Security, Medicare, lower health care costs, clean up corruption and, of course, protect the Mueller investigation.

Kicker

“I have a good relationship with him. I like him. He likes me.” — President DONALD TRUMP, on his relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, via the New York Post Get the kicker every morning in CITY & STATE’S FIRST READ email. Sign up at cityandstateny.com.

How will the Appropriations Committee affect your New York constituents specifically? All of these issues affect us here in New York – what we do on infrastructure. If I travel around my district, and I know the other districts are similar, the roads, the bridges, the highways are all crumbling. We really need investments. If you look at some of our bridges, if you look underneath, they’re really in bad shape. There’s a lot of support, for example, for Gateway, so I hope we can get bipartisan support for it. I’d have the authority as the chairwoman of the committee to recommend numbers and build support for those investments. And as I said, I hope that we can get a bipartisan spending deal.

A KATZ, ANDREA IZZOTTI, CRUSH RUSH/SHUTTERSTOCK; ANDREW KIST; U.S. HOUSE

The

JEFFRIES TAKES NO. 5 SPOT

NEW YORK’S December 3, 2018

City & State New York

PRESIDENTIAL

BY ANNIE MCDONOUGH

With the midterms behind them, presidential hopefuls across the country are gearing up for 2020 – including a contingent of potential contenders from New York. With one New Yorker in the White House, who is planning to run for re-election, and nearly every other New Yorker with a hint of national name recognition lining up to run against him, it looks like the next presidential election could be another Empire State brawl.

PAUL HAKIMATA PHOTOGRAPHY, KRISTA KENNELL, LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK; PAT ARNOW; U.S. SENATE

DONALD TRUMP

President Donald Trump is the first native New Yorker to take the White House in more than 70 years (the last one was Franklin Delano Roosevelt). He’s almost certain to run again in 2020, having already raised more than $100 million since January 2017 and laid groundwork in key swing states while stumping for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

Chance of running: 95%

CONTENDERS

BILL DE BLASIO

No one doubts that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to be president one day. He has spent an extraordinary amount of time, energy and money – the city’s as well his own – promoting liberal causes and candidates all over the country and trying to raise his national profile. But even if de Blasio does want to run, his prospects may not be great.

Chance of running: 20%

ANDREW CUOMO

Gov. Andrew Cuomo won a third term by a wide margin, and there’s the widely held opinion that he has always had his eye on the White House, and that his commitment to restraining taxes and spending was a product of his belief in Bill Clinton’s model of how a Democrat can win the presidency. Reports of Cuomo reaching out to Iowa Democrats reignited rumors about a run, but he’s publicly denied wanting to run in 2020.

HILLARY CLINTON

Despite the fact that many accepted that 2016 would be the end of the road for Hillary Clinton, the possibility of her running again in 2020 frequently makes headlines. She did, after all, win the national popular vote in 2016 and at least one poll has shown that if the election were held again she would win in a landslide.

Chance of running: 30%

Chance of running: 55%

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

Chance of running: 80%

Chance of running: 50%

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is a frequently mentioned potential challenger. Gillibrand stands out for the fact that her positions on issues like gun control and sanctuary cities have evolved – some might say “flipflopped” – since she went from representing a conservative district in upstate New York to taking over Hillary Clinton’s former Senate seat.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the perpetual almost-candidate – rumors of his candidacy have been floated in the past three presidential elections. And since re-registering as a Democrat in October, it’s seems more and more likely that Bloomberg is fashioning himself as the candidate that both moderates on the right and the left have been waiting for.

CityAndStateNY.com

COULD A REPUBLICAN BE PUBLIC ADVOCATE? A crowded Democratic field could be a godsend for GOP New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich. By Jeff Coltin

ANY EULOGIES HAVE been written for the Republican Party in New York. The once-prominent party lost its grip on the state Senate last month, and has for years found itself consistently unable to win any statewide office, or nearly any office at any level in the state’s largest city. But hope springs eternal for some rosy-eyed Republicans – GOPtimists, if you will. The latest sprig of hope to sprout: a Republican with a chance of being elected New York City public advocate. With New York City Public Advocate Letitia James vacating the office to become state attorney general on Jan. 1, voters will have the chance to fill the position in a nonpartisan, citywide special election, expected sometime in late February. At least 10 candidates have already declared they’re running, and all of the major contenders so far are Democrats. With the Democratic vote so fractured, however, Republicans see an opening to unite behind one candidate and push him or her to victory with a relatively small share of the vote. “Assuming that there are 10 or 12 or 15 other very prominent Democrats who are running for this position, then yeah, maybe I win with a plurality of the vote!” New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich told City & State. Ulrich, a Republican from Queens, hasn’t officially declared his candidacy, but sounded very much like some-

one considering a run, weighing both the advantages – “I don’t have to resign my seat to run” – and the challenges – “the Republican brand right now in the city of New York is at an all-time low.” Republican campaign consultant E. O’Brien Murray agreed that a Republican would “absolutely” have a chance in a crowded field. “That kind of equation points to an opportunity for a Republican to win,” he said. As for whether Ulrich could be that winner, Murray said it’s too early to tell. “It’s got to be a Republican that can energize the grass roots behind them and energize the base,” said Murray, who isn’t working for any candidate in the race. Ulrich said the city’s five Republican county chairs met the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to talk strategy and hoped to limit the field to just one GOP candidate, whether or not Ulrich decides to run. That’s a time-honored strategy for New York Republicans to give the underdogs the best possible shot in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 7 to 1. Michael Bloomberg, who was always somewhat divorced from the Republican Party because of his idiosyncratic views and personal wealth, ran on the Republican line for mayor three times and won as recently as 2009. But the party’s recent history is bleaker. The 2017 Republican mayoral candidate, Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, got just 28 percent of the vote while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio earned more than 66 percent on his way to re-election. But if a Republican could come close to Malliotakis’ showing by monopolizing GOP voters, while a handful of Democratic elected officials split up the remaining two-thirds of the electorate, one could easily imagine that Republican winning. Unlike in typi-

City & State New York

ecutive and a fellow New York Republican: President Donald Trump. Ulrich’s “Never Trump” position could dampen excitement among the 19 percent of New Yorkers who, according to a March Quinnipiac University poll, approve of Trump’s job performance. At the same time, any Republican is unlikely to win over the 76 percent of New York City voters in that same poll who don’t approve of the president and will have more than 10 Trump critics to choose from on the ballot. Yet experts said that the math could work out. “In theory, yes,” campaign consultant Jerry Skurnik told City & State. “If there are multiple candidates, double digits, theoretically you could win with 15, 20 percent of the vote. But in reality, those kind of elections very, very rarely happen. Even if a lot of candidates run, voters at some point decide that only three or four of them are viable and that’s who is going to get the votes.” This could already be happening, even before the race was announced, with Democrats like New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams and Assemblyman Michael Blake already basking in attention and endorsements that lesser-known challengers are missing out on. It’s easy to imagine voters being guided toward a select few candidates because of key endorsements from labor unions and editorial boards. Skurnik said a best-case scenario for Ulrich would be “as many candidates as possible. None of them Republicans, and all way to the left of him.” But Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College, doesn’t like Ulrich’s chances. “The odds of a Republican winning that seat are between slim and none,” Muzzio said. “He’s not going to win.” Ulrich isn’t the problem, Muzzio clarified. It’s just that New One of the few York “is the bluest of blue cities.” Republicans on But there is some precedent. Hawaii, one of the most liberal the New York City states in the country, elected a Republican to Congress in 2010 Council, Eric Ulrich hopes the Demwhen Charles Djou beat two Democrats who split the rest of ocrats will cancel the vote in the special election. There’s no direct comparison each other out. in New York, as this will be the first citywide special election. But some have pointed to Andrew Eristoff’s 1993 victory in the race for an Upper East Side seat in the New York City cal citywide elections, where there’s a runoff if no candidate gets Council. The Republican beat out six Democrats in a February 40 percent of the vote, the top vote-getter in the public advocate’s special election that year, winning with just 31 percent of the vote. “Obviously some things have changed” in the past 25 years, Eristrace would win the office, no matter how low the percentage. But Malliotakis’ campaign is also a reminder of a potential ob- off told City & State in a phone interview. “I like and respect Eric, but stacle to Ulrich’s hopes of uniting his party: He backed indepen- this situation is different. We had a functioning Republican organization in Manhattan,” with the GOP holding seats in the state Senate, Assembly and City Council in the borough. In 2018, the party doesn’t hold a single seat on the island. Still, the former councilman wouldn’t rule out Ulrich. “He’s a moderate,” Eristoff said. “He’s respected and intelligent. And if the Democrats are so foolish as to be unable to set aside individual ambitions, who knows?” Eristoff won a full term in the general election later in 1993, and earned another term in 1997. He stayed in politics, work– for m er cit y cou nci lm a n a n dr ew er istoff ing for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. It could be an inspiring tale for a candidate like Ulrich, eager to dent candidate Bo Dietl in the mayor’s race over Malliotakis, and the two elected officials still have bad blood between them, as ev- move up in politics. But Ulrich seemed well aware of the challenge idenced by a testy Twitter exchange last month in which Mallio- that could face him in February – let alone what a challenge it would be to win again in November, when the public advocate will takis said Ulrich “has no influence in this city.” Ulrich said he would run to be a check on de Blasio, standing up to have to run in a traditional race with party primaries. “Let that the mayor and holding him accountable on issues like mismanage- be the least of my problems. One race at a time,” he said. “I’m not ment of public housing and failing to do enough to fix the subways. going to presume that I’m going to come out on top on this. I know But Ulrich is known in Republican circles for opposing another ex- how difficult it is.”

“If the Democrats are so foolish as to be unable to set aside individual ambitions, who knows?” NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

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DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T BECOME AN

Y AN B AL WAMP S RE U T A CRE

December 3, 2018

The Capitol has twisted many politicians, but it’s not too late for freshman lawmakers! By Bill Hammond

IGOR SAMOILIK, SPORT08/SHUTTERSTOCK

EW YORK VOTERS, in their wisdom, have put the state Senate in the hands of beginners. There will be a remarkable 15 freshmen in the Senate’s forthcoming 39-member Democratic majority. Many of them have little or no experience with the state Capitol and its byzantine, sleazy ways. They will be answering to leaders who are relative novices in their own right, having been shut out of real power – and the temptations that go with it – for most of their careers. The newcomers will arrive with high hopes and progressive ideals. But, if they’re not careful, judging from past experience, some could well leave in handcuffs. Here’s some nonpartisan advice for Albany’s Class of 2018 on how it can avoid getting sucked into the swamp – and maybe leave state government in better shape than they found it.

DANCE LIKE NOBODY’S WATCHING; LEGISLATE AS IF YOU’RE ON A WIRE

You probably see yourself as an honest, law-abiding person – but that’s before a party leader has leaned on you to do a favor for a big-bucks donor, or a colleague has

City & State New York

explained a clever way to pad your expense account. Few, if any, politicians enter the state Legislature intending to break the law, but too many of them ultimately do. That’s how a culture of corruption works. A handy trick for keeping yourself honest is to assume that every phone call is being recorded and every person you talk to – including fellow lawmakers – is an FBI informant. It just might be true.

REFORM STARTS AT HOME

It’s not good enough to support clean government while continuing to practice slimy business as usual. If you think it’s wrong to exploit the so-called LLC loophole – which allows wealthy interests to disguise their identities while making virtually unlimited campaign donations – then leave that money on the table. Yes, it’s unilateral disarmament. But you and your colleagues now have the power to level the playing field by changing the law. The fact that your political enemies are continuing to rake in LLC cash will motivate you to get the job done sooner.

PICK A LEADER, NOT A BOSS

Electing a party leader is usually the very first vote that new legislators cast – and the beginning of the end of their independence as elected officials. As things stand now, Albany’s legislative leaders hoard too much power to themselves – the power to hire and fire committee chairs, to grant or withhold office budgets, to determine which bills come to a vote and, above all, to write a $168 billion budget in secret negotiations with the governor. State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins will make history as the first woman to hold one of these top jobs, but that’s no reason to keep a dysfunctional status quo. Members should demand that she cede some of the bossist trappings – by switching to elected committee chairs, giving all members an equal office budget and hashing out new laws and spending decisions in the light of day.

TAKE LEGISLATING SERIOUSLY

Central to boss rule is the willingness of too many Albany lawmakers to cede the details of legislating to party leaders, staff and lobbyists, and then vote as they’re told.

To be truly functional and effective lawmakers, you need to grab the nitty-gritty back for yourself. Learn the issues you care about. Study the existing laws and their history. Read the bill language. Measure its stated goals against its real effects. Know that unintended consequences are inevitable. Hold public hearings so stakeholders and experts can give you the benefit of their expertise and perspective. Listen to lobbyists, but be skeptical of self-serving claims.

KEEP A SHARP EYE FOR RENT SEEKERS

In Albany, special interests come in all shapes, sizes and ideological persuasions. Groups to beware of include, of course, landlords, tobacco manufacturers, casino operators and other Rich Uncle Pennybags types – especially if they come bearing gifts. But some of the most powerful lobbies in Albany represent generally well-liked and sympathetic groups, such as health care workers and teachers. It’s important to keep in mind that they and their labor unions also have self-serving agendas that can conflict with the best interests of the public. For many of you, members of these and other unions have been friends, colleagues, mentors and trusted campaign allies. But as soon as you take the oath of office, you become management – and you need to act the part. Whether it’s regulating Wall Street or establishing retirement benefits for public employees, your duty is to watch out for ordinary New Yorkers who can’t afford a full-time lobbying team at the Capitol. If you don’t speak up for them, who will?

STAY IN THE FRIEND ZONE

It’s worth remembering that a sizable fraction of Albany scandals have involved not money, but sex. The safest course is to stick with romantic partners who have nothing to do with state government. And if you need to be told that interns are off-limits, you don’t belong in public office.

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Bill Hammond, a former longtime journalist covering the state Capitol, is the director of health policy at the Empire Center for Public Policy.

CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018

A I R P OR T S P OR T S

AND

T E RM I NA L S

HERE ARE MANY FACTORS behind New York City’s status as the nation’s financial and economic capital, but historically it has been driven by its unique geography. The enormous New York Harbor is a natural seaport that developed into a global shipping hub, and the Erie Canal opened an indispensable link to the Great Lakes and the country’s interior. No longer a leader in shipping today, New York remains one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. But the transportation systems underpinning trade and travel in and out of the city are bursting at the seams. In this special section, we look at efforts to upgrade and expand New York’s critical infrastructure – and whether they’re adequate.

An advocacy campaign including City & State First Read provides a targeted way to reach decision makers in New York government and politics.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo has rolled out one marquee project after another. But has he neglected the state’s less flashy infrastructure needs?

December 3, 2018

TEP RIGHT UP ladies and gentle‑ men, to see the unstoppable con‑ struction governor in action! See Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a tunnel under the Hudson River, kicking with his work boots at metal cor‑ roded by flooding from Superstorm Sandy! Watch him drive President Franklin Del‑ ano Roosevelt’s 1932 Packard across a new bridge with colored lights! See him driving the Packard across another magnificent new bridge, this one named for his father! Ring in the new year with the governor in a gleaming new subway station! See him break ground at the site of a solar panel facto‑ ry in South Buffalo! Posing atop a trucked‑in pile of dirt on the tarmac at LaGuardia Air‑ port, his elegantly shod foot on a shovel!

By Sarah Goodyear

PHILIP KAMRASS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

THE GREAT EST SHOW MAN

Cuomo is kicking off his third term armed with a thick portfolio of photo ops like these and an agenda for more of the same. More than any New York chief ex‑ ecutive in recent memory, he has embraced the role of builder, repeatedly throwing his considerable political muscle behind big‑ticket items. His determination to build a record of achievement cast in concrete and steel, in the face of ongoing federal disinvestment, has won him approval from some corners. “The business community is definitely en‑ thusiastic about the governor’s priorities,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “He definitely has their support when it comes to his infrastructure programs.”

December 3, 2018

Vice President Joe Biden famously said infrastructure agenda and funding for it,” was reminiscent of “some Third World Wylde said. “Unlike some in public office, country” – that’s already underway. He’s he has enormous respect for government pushing for an AirTrain to LaGuardia from and what it can accomplish.” Not everyone is dazzled by Cuomo’s apthe subway and Long Island Rail Road in Queens. Also in progress? The $1.6 billion proach to public works, however. His crittransformation of the old James A. Farley ics charge he has often neglected the nuts Post Office into the Moynihan Train Hall, and bolts maintenance of complex systems, a grand new entrance for Penn Station in such as with the New York State Thruway Manhattan and a $1.5 billion revamping of or the subway system in favor of glitzy construction projects that are easier to define the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. All this, even as the Trump adminis- and win. “He’s building a lot of big, excittration has failed to deliver on campaign ing projects around the state,” said Michael promises to rebuild and improve Ameri- Elmendorf, president and CEO of the Ascan infrastructure. “The governor’s ac- sociated General Contractors of New York State. “When you move betions are a stark contrast to yond the big, exciting projects, (the) total failure of the federal Gov. Andrew though, there is maybe less of a government to put forward an Cuomo opened the first span of the new Kosciuszko Bridge with a light show synchronized to music.

GORODENKOFF/SHUTTERSTOCK

“It’s kind of remarkable just what a high priority it is to him, how he wants to see himself in the history of New York,” said Tom Wright, president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association. “It’s becoming a stronger and stronger argument for him as he builds up the legacy of the projects.” That legacy now includes the completion of the first phase of the long-delayed Second Avenue subway, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to replace the Tappan Zee, and the new Kosciuszko Bridge on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (that’s the one with the pretty lights). For his next act, Cuomo is gearing up for a $13 billion renovation of JFK Airport to go along with the $8 billion redo of LaGuardia Airport – the airport then-

City & State New York

CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018

stellar record in terms of focusing on the mundane, boring stuff in between.” Nick Sifuentes, executive director of the advocacy group Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said, “In order to have an unalloyed reputation as the governor who rebuilt New York, those projects need to be the exact right projects, and I think some of them just aren’t.” Sifuentes cites the LaGuardia AirTrain as one project that could go on the chopping block. The governor should be focusing instead, Sifuentes said, on fixing the subways, improving commuter rail service and figuring out how to fund the long-delayed Gateway rail tunnel project underneath the Hudson River. “At the end of the day, the average New Yorker is using the subways and commuter rail much, much more than airports,” he said. John Kaehny, executive director of watchdog group Reinvent Albany, is harsher in his assessment of Cuomo’s approach to infrastructure over the past eight years. “The governor is enamored of marquee projects and pushing them along,” Kaehny said. “But when you talk about a policy, you’re talking about a plan, and people to execute it, the funding to execute it. And as far as I can tell, there is no abiding philosophy or plan or policy here.”

O HEAR THE governor tell it, of course, there’s a very coherent policy in place, one to which he is devoting significant financial resources and political capital. And he’s boasting about its benefits. When announcing Amazon’s choice of Long Island City, Queens, as one of two locations for its second headquarters – a prize for which the state offered up to $1.7 billion in tax breaks and cash grants – Cuomo said, “Amazon talked about the infrastructure and improving infrastructure. No state and no city is improving infrastructure as much as New York state and New York City or as quickly.” That’s an impossible claim to check, in part because New York City and the surrounding region has certain infrastructure that, while struggling, unreliable and even crumbling in some places, is still the best in the nation – in particular, with the country’s most extensive subway and commuter rail system. No doubt that rail access was a draw to Amazon – but is it fair to say the subway system and LIRR are improving? The term “infrastructure” also encompasses the enormous network of less discussed underpinnings of modern life that we take for granted, unless something goes terribly wrong: water and sewer systems; the energy grid, power plants, hydroelectric dams and transmission lines; roads, sidewalks, bridges, tunnels; airports, seaports, freight rail lines, public school buildings

“We can make Penn Station pretty, but that will not solve the actual problem we have now with capacity.” – n Ic k sI fu en t es, t r i-stat e t r a nsp ortat io n ca m pa ig n e x e c u t i v e di r e c t or

and libraries; and much more. The sums of money involved are equally hard to fathom. In June, Cuomo announced a five-year, $150 billion infrastructure investment plan that included $66 billion for transportation; $32 billion for environmental facilities, parks and clean energy; $11 billion for economic development; $9 billion for affordable housing; $19 billion for schools; and $13 billion for SUNY and CUNY facilities. Like the $100 billion plan that preceded it and is ongoing, Cuomo’s latest infrastructure wish list sprinkles spending upstate and downstate, rewarding all regions and, presumably, aiming to please as many voters as possible. There are certain projects, however, that are personal for the governor. One of these was the $4 billion twin-span bridge over the Hudson that replaced the dangerously decaying Tappan Zee, which Cuomo named after his father. The bridge opened in September, amid much hoopla, under charges that Cuomo rushed construction in order to have the bridge debut days before his primary with Cynthia Nixon, which the Cuomo administration denies. Philip Plotch, a transportation planner and now professor at St. Peter’s University in New Jersey, had been studying the protracted Tappan Zee planning process for his doctorate when Cuomo brought his weight to bear on the project. “To me it was really fascinating to watch how he completely took over that project,” said Plotch, who published a book on the bridge in 2015, “Politics Across the Hudson: The Tappan Zee Megaproject.” “He finalized

EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT

December 3, 2018

City & State New York

Critics say Penn Station’s upgrade will look prettier for affluent business travelers, but won’t fix much for everyday commuters.

the study, got things moving, got construction underway before the end of his first term, and got it finished before the end of his second term. It was totally him.” When Cuomo took office in 2011, New York had come to seem like a state where big projects were planned, debated and litigated for years, but rarely completed. That led to dangerous decay and obsolescence in major parts of the state’s physical plant, which Cuomo approached both as a challenge and an opportunity. “Infrastructure is something that has to be done continuously, and if you take a 10-year hiatus, you create an enormous backlog which is then harder to deal with,” said Wright, from the Regional Plan Association. “In some ways, the governor has been dealing with a backlog from prior administrations and prior times, and he’s managing both to finish projects and tee new ones up at a pretty impressive clip.” Making that happen has required the governor to use all the tools at his disposal. Kaehny pointed out that many of Cuomo’s signature projects were financed through the state’s authorities, which he controls and which exist outside of the legislative budgeting process. “By funding stuff outside of (the) budget via authorities, he’s able to get away with acting unilaterally,” Kaehny said. “Because the governor is extremely adept at using the levers of power, extremely confident about using power, he doesn’t even worry about what his own appointed boards think about stuff. Unilateralism, lack of planning, lack of consensus is the hallmark of Cuomo.

Democracy is messy and consensus-building is messy, but it has a lot of benefits.” Plotch is now working on another book, about the completion of the first phase of the Second Avenue subway, the long-stymied project that the governor muscled to completion in time for a festive New Year’s 2017 ribbon-cutting. Plotch sees parallels in the way Cuomo handled those two tasks – and in the price paid in the process. “He changed the priorities of both the Thruway Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to get those things done,” Plotch said. “He poured resources into those projects and took them away from other things. He takes the focus of people’s attention from a much broader aspect of what they need to do to focus on what his goal was. There’s repercussions that happen when you take all those people and start focusing somewhere else.”

ICHAEL ELMENDORF SAID you will rattle over those repercussions as you drive down the New York State Thruway. Elmendorf, who is based in Albany, drives the Thruway all the time. He appreciates the governor’s determination to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge, as well as his commitment to a cashless tolling system on the Thruway, scheduled for full implementation by 2020. That doesn’t obviate the need, Elmendorf cautioned, for routine maintenance on the state’s highway system. “There were billions of dollars invested in the Tap-

pan Zee Bridge, which needed to be done,” Elmendorf said. “But you’ve got pavement conditions along the rest of the Thruway declining fairly substantially.” Elmendorf pointed to numbers from the state Department of Transportation that showed a dramatic change in the state of repair on the Thruway. Ten years ago, 90 percent of the system’s 570 miles were in excellent or good condition, and only 10 percent were in fair or poor condition. Now, those numbers have almost flipped: Only 38 percent of the roadways are in excellent or good condition, while 62 percent are rated fair or poor. The percentage of roads rated poor or worse has ballooned from less than 1 percent to 34 percent. This fall, a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers rated New York among the 10 worst states for its road conditions. “Pavement does not just hold up on hopes and good thoughts; it lasts a finite amount of time,” said Elmendorf, who added that paving material is being literally spread thin over the past several years as the governor has emphasized spending on megaprojects. Elmendorf cautioned that the aging Thruway system needed to be seen as a whole. “Those projects all become a lot less exciting if the Thruway on either end of the Tappan Zee Bridge is falling apart,” he said. “High-speed electronic tolling becomes less exciting if you can’t travel at full speed on the Thruway.” In a written response, Thruway Authority acting Executive Director Matthew Driscoll said big upgrades like the Cuomo Bridge and cashless tolling haven’t short-

CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018

“It’s kind of remarkable just what a high priority it is to him, how he wants to see himself in the history of New York.” – t om w r igh t, r e gio na l pl a n a ss o c i at io n pr esi de n t a n d c e o

changed the rest of the system. “Infrastructure investment is not a zero-sum game,” he wrote. “Investing in the future does not mean sacrificing the present. We have systematically funded our transportation infrastructure across New York, everything from our roads to our bridges, our airports to our canals. The Thruway Authority alone has reinvested more than $2.3 billion into its 570-mile system in the last ten years.”

HE GOVERNOR HIMSELF is often soaring thousands of feet above the Thruway, which may be one reason that he seems particularly enamored of airport projects. “The governor’s obsession is with airports and aircraft,” said Kaehny, of Reinvent Albany. “The governor flies everywhere all the time, in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that are at his disposal. The governor has airplane perspective.” Perhaps that “airplane perspective” explains Cuomo’s seeming obliviousness or indifference to the way some working-class or middle-class New Yorkers might feel about the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, being promised a helipad as part of the deal to attract Amazon – while they’re sitting on a stalled No. 7 train that struggles to make it from Queens to Manhattan. Or maybe it’s a different kind of elevated viewpoint. “If Cuomoism is anything, it’s the idea of the imperial governor that has no oversight,” Kaehny said. “Part of Cuomo’s greatness is his grandiosity. He’s not afraid.” Cuomo isn’t the only one who flies a lot more – and takes the subway a lot less –

than the average New Yorker: So do wealthy business executives. Many among them welcome the attention to modernizing New York’s airports, which – like Penn Station – have long been unpleasantly chaotic and cramped. The renovations of the airports, again like the Penn Station project, will improve the aesthetic experience of affluent business travelers and suburbanites without delivering much in the way of daily service improvements for the vast majority of middle-class and lower-income New Yorkers. “I would say that for the business community, LaGuardia Airport and Kennedy Airport coming up were absolutely top priority,” Wylde said. “We did a survey a few years ago that demonstrated the number of people not taking a business trip to or from New York because of the condition of our airports was very high. For a business traveler, who’s flying often several times a week, having airports that are in terrible condition, planes that are chronically late, congested skies – it ends up making a very big deficit in the regional economy.” In his Amazon announcement remarks, Cuomo proudly referred to JFK as “the first international new airport in this country in 25 years.” The governor’s JFK plan, however, conspicuously shies away from an airport’s most important feature: runway capacity. JFK, which served nearly 60 million passengers last year, has one of the worst records in the nation for delays. The airport’s position in the marshlands of southern Queens, immediately adjacent to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, makes any runway ex-

PORT AUTHORITY

Cuomo’s plan for JFK includes new terminals and reconfigured roadways, but shies away from adding runway capacity.

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pansion problematic. The Regional Plan Association’s plan to upgrade the airport proposed a compromise, whereby runway expansion would be offset by restoration of wetlands in other parts of the refuge. Cuomo’s plan forgoes new runways altogether, focusing instead on new terminals, reconfigured roadways, enhancement of existing taxiways and new aircraft landing systems technology. According to Benjamin Branham, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport, the governor’s plan will increase the airport’s capacity by 15 million passengers a year without building new runways. “That capacity will be realized through an increase in the number and size of gates and an array of airside taxiway improvements that together will allow for bigger planes and reduced gate congestion,” Branham wrote in an email. Wright, of the Regional Plan Association, sees the Cuomo project as necessary and achievable, and potentially part of a longer game. “Eventually, improvements at Kennedy need to include runways and runway capacity,” Wright said. “I think to be critical about the way the governor goes about this misses the point that sometimes you have to take these first steps to tee up those later ones.” Critics argue, however, that Cuomo has a general tendency to make things look spiffy without sufficiently expanding capacity. The Moynihan Train Hall should be a gorgeous public space, for instance, but concerns remain that it won’t fix the underlying problems of inadequate tunnels and operational snafus that regularly make Penn Station a commuter hell. “We can’t just fix things aboveground,” Sifuentes said. “I know that’s the sexy thing that everybody sees. But the critical thing is the underground infrastructure as well. We can make Penn Station pretty, but that will not solve the actual problem we have now with capacity and the growth we can expect over the next 10 to 20 years coming across the Hudson.”

N ORDER TO BE remembered as the governor who rebuilt New York after decades of neglect, new bridges aren’t going to be enough. Even new roads and airports won’t suffice. Although he has tried to avoid it for as long as possible, Andrew Cuomo is going to have to figure out how to fix the New York City subway and bus system. And that will be a bigger job than any bridge or tunnel. In 2017, after a derailment in Harlem, Cuomo declared a state of emergency in the subway system, and has shown a new willingness to tackle the problem. He hired Andy Byford, an administrator with a track record of improving troubled systems in Toronto and London, to head

December 3, 2018

New York City Transit, and Byford’s Fast Forward plan has drawn measured praise from advocates and business leaders. “I think Cuomo’s got the best team we’ve ever seen at the MTA,” said Wylde, of the Partnership for New York City. “They are absolutely committed to restoring the highest quality of service, and in fact surpassing anything they’ve done before.” Yet the perception that Cuomo isn’t fully invested in what happens to the subway lingers. “What I think is frustrating to transit riders to this day is that I think the governor isn’t quite sure how closely he wants to be associated with the subway,” said Danny Pearlstein, of the Riders Alliance – which in 2015 went so far as to carry a cardboard cutout of the governor around the system for riders to vent their frustrations to, not the kind of photo op Cuomo usually seeks out. “Whether that’s because he has doubts about his own ability to fix it, or about anyone’s ability to fix it, or about the Legislature’s willingness to fund it – that’s a huge cause for concern.” The agency’s modernization plan, which doesn’t even include many desirable expansions or added features, would cost an estimated $40 billion over 10 years. (Meanwhile, Cuomo’s appointees to the MTA board have, according to critics, spent too much on cosmetic enhancements to stations instead of service-related needs like signal modernization or disability access.) Even Cuomo’s preferred revenue generator, a congestion pricing system for cars entering Manhattan’s central business district, won’t be enough. Cuomo hasn’t put any muscle yet into whipping the votes among suburban state legislators needed to pass congestion pricing, and many of the other options, including a millionaires tax and a commuter tax, he either dismisses as unrealistic or seems unlikely to embrace. He also has remained notably silent on reforming the bloated costs of construction at the MTA, even though he effectively controls the agency. In October, when he was announcing his grand plan for JFK, Cuomo took some time to address the subway issue. He insisted then that it was within his power to get the job done, if the state Legislature would only help him come up with $33 billion. “If we get the funding, we will get it done,” he said. Where will the money come from? The governor joked that one option would be that “God is going to send down $33 billion and it is going to descend from the clouds.” He then acknowledged that God is unlikely to come up with the cash. The question is, will Andrew Cuomo?

■

Sarah Goodyear is a freelance journalist.

ARLIER THIS YEAR, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a fiveyear, $150 billion plan to improve New York’s infrastructure, the bulk of which would target travel by plane, train and automobile. “After a half century of neglect and inaction, New York is once again building for the future, and our infrastructure investments are already creating hundreds of thousands of jobs,” he said in an announcement in June. LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy Airport and Penn Station are among the biggest redevelopment projects. All three are overcrowded, and the two airports have dismal customer satisfaction ratings, based on flight delays, difficulty commuting to the airports and limited parking availability. Penn Station, which is owned by Amtrak, is plagued with delays and congestion due to its aging and crumbling infrastructure. Here are the changes city travelers can expect to see at the three transportation hubs, and just how much each transformation will cost.

PORT AUTHORITY

RQUEE December 3, 2018

City & State New York

By Christina Saint Louis

ATTRACTIONS LAGUARDIA AIRPORT

COST: $8 billion PROJECTED COMPLETION: 2022 As it stands, LaGuardia Airport has four distinct terminals with varying gate capacities. Terminal B has 38 gates; Terminal A has six gates; Terminal C has 32 gates; and Terminal D, which is connected to Terminal C by a pedestrian bridge, has 11 gates. The redevelopment plan is to demolish Terminal B and build a new, more linear one in its place that connects to Terminals C and D. Terminal A, also known as the Marine Air Terminal, will not be integrated with the unified airport because it is over a mile away from the others. Nonetheless, it will undergo modernization as well. In addition to unifying the terminals, the project also includes adding two new concourses, an AirTrain and parking garages.

JOHN F. KENNEDY AIRPORT

COST: $13 billion PROJECTED COMPLETION: 2025 Similar to LaGuardia, the plan for JFK is to unify its eight separate terminals and create an interconnected airport. According to an October announcement from the governor’s office, the plan envisions two new “world-class” terminals, one on the airport’s south side and one on its north side. Cuomo’s plan also calls for a 50 percent increase to AirTrain rider capacity and an expansion of the roads leading into JFK.

PENN STATION

COST: $1.6 billion PROJECTED COMPLETION: 2020 Under the governor’s infrastructure plan, Penn Station is expanding into the neighboring James A. Farley Post Office, which will be developed into the Moynihan Train Hall and house tracks and ticketing for Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road. The rest of the post office will be used for administrative offices. Construction for the train hall has already begun, and the hall is set to open in 2020.

CityAndStateNY.com

GETTING LEFT

December 3, 2018

BEHIND

LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

December 3, 2018

The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the last remnant of New York City’s bad old days. Will it ever be replaced? By Frank G. Runyeon

City & State New York

HE $110 MILLION PLAN to update and renovate the little-loved Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan is chugging merrily along its bureaucratic way as the giant public benefit corporation seeks a way to best replace the overwhelmed transit hub. The bus terminal, which straddles 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, is forecasted to see up to a 50 percent increase in passengers during the evening rush hour or 337,000 passengers daily by 2040, according to official estimates. The agency has been seeking a solution that would appease local residents and meet the growing need.

“It’s a mid-20th century bus terminal trying to meet mid-21st century needs,” said Robert Paaswell, a civil engineer who helped select designs for the new station. “You’ve got a structure that’s deteriorating. In some places rebar is showing through. People are worried about the long term – I don’t want to say safety but – integrity of the structure,” Paaswell said. “That’s why it’s so important that they do something soon. But they better make up their minds and do something.” The real challenge behind this expensive and complex project, he said, is how to keep the transit hub going and change it at the same time.

GORODENKOFF/SHUTTERSTOCK

Commuters were trapped in the Port Authority Bus Terminal last month when unexpected snow crippled traffic across the city.

CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018

In recent days, Port Authority officials cir- environmental review and public input, most beneficial solution for all stakeholdculated a 60-page “draft scoping document” Port Authority board members will make ers,” a spokesman for the Port Authority to local elected leaders and will soon send it the final decision on a plan, which will said in a statement. In the meantime, the Port Authority will to the Federal Transit Administration for need to be again approved by federal auapproval. The document, an official said, de- thorities. Then, construction crews can spend $110 million on its Quality of Commute program to address “critical customer scribes a series of possible plans, including break ground. experience issues” throughone to “build in place” – in out the aging facility. New fact, literally build on top of bathrooms, new ceilings, new the existing station – that is lighting, new escalators and favored by residents in the an upgrade of retail tenant surrounding area. Officials spaces are on their way. In adstress that they are years away dition, the authority is installfrom completing the planning ing new clocks and developand review processes and that ing a “visual paging system” there is no target date to begin to provide information on construction, much less comdelays, weather and other isplete the replacement project. sues via the MyTerminal app. The scoping document Those improvements will be will be released for pub– r obert pa a sw el l, c i v i l e ngi n e e r w ho completed by the end of the lic review and comment in year, a spokesman said. January or February, an auh e l pe d se l e c t desig ns f or a n ew t e r m i na l Despite the plodding pace thority official said. Then, of the replacement project, a two-year environmental local community board memreview process will begin “We are working closely with New York bers are happy with how things are going. In under contracts with consultants WSP and AKRF, which they hope to complete City, elected officials from New York and the past two years, Port Authority officials before 2021. By then, the Port Authori- New Jersey, as well as the community in have taken tours of the neighborhood with ty hopes to know what, exactly, it should general to ensure that, through the envi- community board members and have been build to replace the bus station. After the ronmental review process, we develop the engaged in conversations about future plans.

“You’ve got a structure that’s deteriorating. In some places rebar is showing through.”

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December 3, 2018

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The relationship wasn’t always so collegial. In 2016, the Port Authority released a plan that included tearing down older buildings west of Ninth Avenue, including Metro Baptist Church, social services agencies and an affordable housing office. Community board members were blindsided by the news. Hundreds showed up at a meeting to protest the plan to bulldoze neighborhood buildings. New York City Councilman Corey Johnson, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and others backed the community board. The Port Authority backed off that plan. The build in place option, which Port Authority officials had deemed impractical, was added to the list of possibilities. “The history of (the) Port Authority of New York (and) New Jersey in this district in the last 50 or 60 years has been one of devastation,” said Jean-Daniel Noland, a member of Manhattan Community Board 4, referring to the many buildings demolished for the Lincoln Tunnel and other major Port Authority projects. “Since we had a meeting at the Metro Baptist Church two years ago where the community said, ‘Don’t tear any more of our buildings down,’ the Port Authority has communicated with the community board. It’s night and day. They have so turned around and begun to communicate with us, to sit down with us, to talk with us. It’s been great.” The favored plan for all parties is now to build in place. Local residents, elected officials, and some in the Port Authority have expressed support. Still, the draft scoping document includes several options first identified by a design panel in 2016, that include either building underneath the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center or demolishing buildings west of the current site and building there. The bus terminal was originally built in 1950 and added a north wing in 1979. It currently operates beyond its capacity during peak hours, both in terms of passengers and buses. Inadequate bus parking has been an issue for years, with buses idling on nearby streets in what has become overflow parking, contributing to air pollution. “Currently the air quality is horrible,” said Christine Berthet, another member of Community Board 4. The board’s main goals are preserving existing buildings, removing buses and ensuring cleaner air. “Those three things are very much our focus,” Berthet said. “What are they going to do?” Perhaps the closest recent parallel in New York City is the replacement of the PATH station at the World Trade Center site, which was built alongside the old station – although Paaswell noted that the bus terminal handles far more people and the project will be more complicated. In essence, construction crews would build on top of the existing station and proceed to replace the lower levels piece by piece. While the Port Authority Bus Terminal replacement is certainly necessary, Paaswell said, it is not inspiring. He is frustrated by a lack of ambition and speed in New York City’s current transportation projects, which are overly concerned with costs that could be addressed with more creative taxation. “Think of the period in which we built Rockefeller Center, the GW Bridge and the Empire State Building. It’s all a period of 10 years,” he said. “And everybody got excited that we extended the Second Avenue subway three stations?”

■

Frank G. Runyeon is a freelance investigative reporter in New York City.

BEHIND THE AIRPORT UPGRADES MELINDA KATZ Queens Borough President New York’s busiest airports are undergoing massive transformations – costing an estimated $21 billion combined – and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is confident the efforts to connect the terminals and introduce a new AirTrain will give New York the “top‑rate” airports it deserves. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE REDESIGN AND REDEVELOPMENT OF JFK AND LAGUARDIA AIRPORTS? I was appointed to be part of the redesign commission by Gover‑ nor Cuomo for both LaGuardia and Kennedy. We dealt mostly with LaGuardia Airport. It truly was an airport that was in desperate need of renovation. It’s hard to get to, it didn’t have an AirTrain, you land there and it’s hard to maneuver and get around, getting in and out of the terminals is difficult. I believe that the comprehensive overhaul of the airport was needed. Especially when coming into a first‑class city, like the city of New York, you should have a first‑class airport. WHAT SORTS OF RESPONSES TO THE WORK HAVE YOU HEARD FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS? That the traffic’s bad. It’s hard when you’re renovating major in‑ stitutions like the airports to control the traffic all the time. I think, however, that people in the borough do understand that these overhauls were years in the making. They’re desperately needed. When our constituents’ friends and family come into LaGuardia or Kennedy airports, they want to show pride. SOME CRITICS ARGUE THAT AN AIRTRAIN AT LAGUARDIA WON’T ACTUALLY MINIMIZE DELAYS. DO YOU DISAGREE? I think that every first‑class airport in major cities all over the world has transportation via tracks, via trains, in order to get to major parts of the city. The problem becomes exactly where that AirTrain is placed, and I think that that’s always been an issue. I believe that the AirTrain will help alleviate some of the overcrowd‑ ing from the No. 7 train, but there’s still a lot to be worked out. HOW CAN THE CITY COMBAT POSSIBLE INCREASED CONGESTION WHEN AMAZON MOVES TO LONG ISLAND CITY? Congestion has always (been) a problem in the borough. One of the ways to combat it is the five‑borough ferry, where we have three ferries going out from western Queens, one’s in the Rock‑ aways, and more coming up. Those, the BQX, that’s a lot of what we’re talking about, making a full‑time commuter train from Wil‑ lets Point. We talk about congestion in Manhattan, and I think that that’s right. But there’s also a lot of places in the other bor‑ oughs where there’s a lot of congestion on a daily basis. –Christina Saint Louis

CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018

SHIPPING BY RAIL AND BY SEA IS THERE HOPE FOR THE CROSS HARBOR FREIGHT PROGRAM PLAN TO BUILD A TUNNEL CONNECTING NEW JERSEY AND BROOKLYN? There is! Although this endeavor is being spearheaded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, we absolutely support it.

JAMES PATCHETT President and CEO, New York City Economic Development Corp.

HOW DOES THE NEW YORK CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP.’S FREIGHT NYC PROGRAM COMPARE TO THE CROSS HARBOR FREIGHT PROGRAM, BOTH IN TERMS OF EXECUTION AND RESULTS?

They are great complements of each other, working in tandem to ensure our freight distribution system meets 21st-century demands. And Freight NYC focuses on rail improvements, maritime barging, urban distribution hubs and transload facilities, and clean trucking. It’s important to note that no mayoral administration in recent memory has planned so comprehensively for the city’s long-term supply chain needs.

governments. For example, through Freight NYC we are working with NYC DOT to help strengthen the NYC Smart Truck Management Plan. Some of these other projects include launching NYC Ferry, the new citywide ferry system, developing New York Works, the initiative to create 100,000 good-paying jobs, and planning Sunnyside Yard, the Queens railyard with incredible growth potential. In short, we have no concerns about this.

THE FREIGHT NYC PROGRAM WOULD REQUIRE THE COORDINATION OF MULTIPLE AGENCIES. WILL THAT POSE A CHALLENGE? As the city’s Economic Development Corp., we have a long, proud history of working with other city agencies. In fact, I would be hard-pressed to think of one of our projects that didn’t involve the coordination of multiple agencies, or the state and federal

WILL YOU MAKE YOUR 2027 DEADLINE OR GO OVER YOUR $100 MILLION BUDGET? (The) EDC intends to use both budgeted funds and public-private partnerships to accomplish all of our goals, and we don’t foresee any obstacles at this time. This plan was carefully constructed to meet all of our objectives on an aggressive timeline. –Prachi Bhardwaj

QUEENS' ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE N E E D S E N E R G Y T O M AT C H By THOMAS J. GRECH

mazon’s announcement to bring one of its secondary headquarters to Queens is the latest exciting proof that our Borough is an economic powerhouse.

State Clean Energy Standard, which mandates that 50 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2030. With just 12 years left till the deadline, we have a long way to go.

With Amazon expected to create 25,000 new jobs and LaGuardia and JFK airports currently undergoing major upgrades to better accommodate their 80 million passengers and 50,000 employees, Queens is preparing to support major new development and thousands of new residents.

On top of that, Indian Point’s impending closure in 2021 means the state will need replacement sources for up to 25 percent of New York City’s power supply. The most immediate scalable option is natural gas—but natural gas pipelines have run into roadblocks with state regulators. Meanwhile, renewable project proposals, on a longer timeline, have also met with signiﬁcant local opposition.

For an economic powerhouse to realize its full potential, though, it needs energy production to match. As the City’s largest geographic borough, Queens is the home to more than 50 power plants that produce half of the City’s electricity. The borough has also strengthened its energy infrastructure since the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. But we can’t do it alone. We need the State of New York to expand and modernize its energy portfolio, and do it fast. In addition to the new demands our growth will present, we also must comply with the New York

Unless and until our elected ofﬁcials recognize that economic development requires an equal commitment to energy development, we’ll ﬁnd ourselves stymied by an unreliable and excessively costly power supply.

Thomas J. Grech is President and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and a New York AREA Advisory Board Member.

We need natural gas pipelines and new electricity transmission infrastructure to be approved and ﬁnanced now—or the promise of the great future Queens deserves will go unfulﬁlled. WWW.NYAREA.ORG SPECIAL SPONSORED SECTION

NYCEDC

December 3, 2018

IN Top tech officials, experts and academics gathered at City & State’s Tech in New York conference last month to discuss some of the most pressing tech-related policy issues, from energy innovations and economic development to cybersecurity and government transparency.

NOEL HIDALGO of BetaNYC served as emcee.

JEREMY GOLDBERG, New York City’s deputy chief technology officer and managing director of its NYCx initiative, gave keynote remarks.

SILVINA MOSCHINI, co-founder and president of TransparentBusiness, made a presentation.

ALI GARBER

Civic Hall’s ANDREW RASIEJ (left) moderated a panel on new tech business models with (from left) RODNEY STILES of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, TAYYAB WALKER of the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, and New York City Councilman YDANIS RODRIGUEZ.

CBS News’ ADAM BALKIN and RICHARD JACOBS, assistant special agent in-charge of the cyber branch at the FBI’s New York office

CORDELL SCHACHTER, chief technology officer for the New York City Department of Transportation

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legalnotices@cityandstateny.com Notice of Formation of 4211 REALTY LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/6/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 1353 Bay Ridge Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11219. Purpose: any lawful activity. 3405 FARRAGUT RESIDENCE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 7/19/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1274 49th St. Ste 96 Brooklyn, NY 11219. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of HGC REALTY SERVICES (NY), LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/17/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o HGC Real Estate Advisory Group Inc., 101 Seaport Blvd., Ste. 602, Boston, MA 02210. 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. LION LUXURY BUILDERS LLC, filed with SSNY on 09/05/2018. Office Loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as the agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Astrit Hasanaj, 20 Annadale Street, Armonk, NY 10504. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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Notice of Formation of JANA 2, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/17/18. 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 Davidson, Dawson & Clark LLP, 60 E. 42nd St., 38th Fl., NY, NY 10165. Purpose: Any lawful activity. 880 FIFTH PARKING LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/18/18. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Daniels Norelli Cecere & Tavel, P.C., 272 Duffy Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11801. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM 609 W 232 LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 10/23/2018. Off Loc.: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, c/o Ultimate Tax Preparers Inc., 162 West 56th St., Ste. 507, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of GLOBAL TAXES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/05/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: GLOBAL TAXES LLC, 375 PARK AVE., STE. 2607, NY, NY 10152, U.S.A. Purpose: any lawful activities.

December 3, 2018 Notice of Formation of Ardent NG, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/19/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 551 5th Ave, Ste 2500, NY, NY 10176. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Hub6 LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York S e c y of State (SSNY) o n 8/6/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 3 Times Sq., Fl. 14, NY, NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of NextGen Realty Holdings, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/19/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 551 5th Ave, Ste 2500, NY, NY 10176. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Third Seven Advisors LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 6/21/18. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 9/16/16. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 444 Madison Ave, Ste 8500, NY, NY 10022. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM Notice of Formation of Trinity Tanks Systems, LLC filed with SSNY on August 30, 2018. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 84 Business Park Drive, Suite 302, Armonk, NY. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Qualification of East 60th Bridge Tower L.P. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/3/18. Office location: New York County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 7/24/18. SSNY is designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 152 W. 57th St, Fl. 17, NY, NY 10019 DE address of LP: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. List of names and addresses of all general partners available from SSNY. Cert. of Limited Partnership filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of The Petite Pear Project LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/11/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 238 E. 77th St, Apt 3B, NY, NY 10075. Purpose: any lawful activity. . Notice of Formation of NextGen Investors, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/19/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 551 5th Ave, Ste 2500, NY, NY 10176. Purpose: any lawful activity.

1803 East 16 St, LLC. Notice of formation of limited liability company (LLC). Name: 1803 East 16 ST, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/11/2018. NY office location: Kings County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address agaist the LLC served upon him/ her is Roman Bronnberg, 284 Avenue X, Unit 2F, Brooklyn, NY 11223. Purpose/character of LLC: Any Lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of NextGen Investors Holdings, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/19/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 551 5th Ave, Ste 2500, NY, NY 10176. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Vatine LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/15/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 750 Park Ave, Apt 9B, NY, NY 10021. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of OSB Contracting LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 03/30/2018. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Mikhail Gordon 531 East Lincoln Avenue Ste. 2F, Mount Vernon, NY 10552. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

OFFICE JDY ARCHITECTURE, PLLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/01/2018. Office loc: Kings County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC. Attn: Yannik Neufang, 296 Sterling Pl, 2A, Brooklyn, NY 11238. Purpose: practice of architecture.

Notice of Formation of NextGen RE, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/23/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 551 5th Ave, Ste 2500, NY, NY 10176. Purpose: any lawful activity.

A D V O C A T E GROUP-4 LIFE, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/22/2018. Office loc. Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom against LLC may de served. SSNY shall mail process to: Advocate Group-4 life C/O Linda Griffith, P.P. 1 Pier Pointe St. STE 221, Yonkers 10701

Notice of Qual. of LMI GROUP INTERNATIONAL, INC., SPV NUMBER 1018 LLC, Authority filed with the SSNY on 10/11/2018. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 10/08/2018. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: C/O LMI Group International, Inc. 228 Park Avenue South, #18311, NY, NY 10003, Attn: Lawrence M. Shindell. Address required to be maintained in DE: 160 Greentree Drive, Ste 101 Dover DE 19904. Cert of Formation filed with DE Div. of Corps, 401 Federal St., Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of Serenity by Mina LLC Art. Of Org. filed with SSNY on October 4th, 2018. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 11 Oakbrook Road, Ossining, NY 10562, Purpose: any lawful purpose. ACQUORS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/18/18. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Holm & O’Hara LLP, 3 West 35th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10001-2204. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Notice of formation of EJS Future

LLC.

Organization the

SSNY

Articles filed

of with

September

25, 2018. Office located in New

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

has

York been

County.

SSNY

designated

for

service of process. SSNY shall

mail

copy

any

process served against the LLC to 2925 East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of PB Court Square LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/19/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 14 W. 23rd St, Fl. 5, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Candle Café Creations, LLC filed with SSNY on October 4, 2018. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: Lisa M. Lyles, 98 Vaughn Avenue, New Rochelle, NY, 10801. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Herbalist Witch LLC. Authority filed SSNY 06/07/18. Office: NY Co. LLC formed DE 12/21/17. Exists in DE: c/o National Registered Agents, Inc., 160 Greentree Dr #101 Dover, DE 19904, also the address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process received. The registered agent, upon whom process against the LLC may be served & mail to: National Registered Agents, Inc., 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011. Cert of Formation Filed: Jeffrey W. Bullock, DE SOS, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. Ste. 3, Dover DE 19901. General Purpose. Notice of Formation of Arena Group Solutions Llc. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/25/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: InCorp Services, Inc., One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave Ste 805A, Albany, NY 122102822, also the registered agent upon whom process may be served. Purpose: any lawful activities.

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

December 3, 2018 Notice of Formation of Churchill-TS Windham, LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/18. Office in NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Churchill Capital Management, 7 Mercer St., 2nd Fl., NY, NY 10013, registered agent upon whom process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful act/activity. BETSY DAITCH MARKETING ADVISORS, LLC filed with SSNY 08/08/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Betsy Daitch Marketing Advisors, LLC, Attn: Betsy Daitch, 527 Third Avenue, Suite 210, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of Cross River Farm LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 11/5/18. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 540 Cross River Road, Katonah, NY 10536. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. ZOE & KATE LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 9/17/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to LLC: 235 East 95th ST, Apt. 34G, NY, NY 10128. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of SOAP BOX CLEANING SERVICE, LLC filed with SSNY on 6/01/18. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 150 Parkway North - Unit 1F, Yonkers, NY 10704. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Holly Corbett Represents LLC. Arts. of org. filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/2018. Office loc : New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/ her is 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11288. The principal business address of the LLC is 420 West 46th st, NY NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful act or activity

Notice of Qualification of Division7, LLC, Fictitious Name: Division7 NY, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/10/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/05/18. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o eResidentAgent, Inc., 99 Washington Ave., Ste. 805A, Albany, NY 12210, also the registered agent upon whom process may be served. Address to be maintained in DE: 1013 Centre Rd., Ste. 403S, Wilmington, DE 19805. Arts of Org. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State - Division of Corporations, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19001. Purpose: any lawful activities. Notice of Formation of Kiamie 44 East, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/29/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 31 E. 32nd St, NY, NY 10016. Purpose: any lawful activity. Accolade HR, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/30/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Elissa P. Domnitz, 80 East End Ave Apt 6F, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose Notice of Qualification of FANATICS RETAIL GROUP FULFILLMENT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/05/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 11/26/08. 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. FL addr. of LLC: 1201 Hays St., Tallahassee, FL 32301. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Clifton Bldg., 2661 Executive Center Circle, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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TROY KRISTENSEN, L.P. (“LP”) filed Certificate of Limited Partnership with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on 11/5/2018. LP office location: Westchester County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against LP may be served. SSNY shall mail process to LP, c/o Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers 1511 Central Park Avenue Yonkers, New York 10710. The name and address of each general partner is available from SSNY. The latest date upon which the LP is to dissolve is 12/31/2099. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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M DeLeo Insurance Agency, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 11/01/2018. Office loc: Richmond County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Maria De Leo, 36 Leggett Place Staten Island N.Y. 10314. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of ATEM LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/18. 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 Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity. TROY KRISTENSEN GP, LLC (“LLC”) filed Articles Of Organization with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on 9/21/2018. LLC office location: Westchester County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: LLC, c/o Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers 1511 Central Park Avenue Yonkers, New York 10710. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1314537 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 175 E 83RD ST AKA 171 E 83RD ST NY, NY 10028. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. BHOG NY LLC.

Notice of Formation of Izoline North America LLC filed with SSNY on 10/29/2018. NY office location: Kings County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Michael Ziskin, 2670 National Drive, Brooklyn, NY, 11234. Purpose of LLC: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Qualification of 3BM1 Restaurant Management, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/25/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 7/5/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 990 Spring Garden St., Ste. 600, Philadelphia, PA 19123, principal business address. DE address of LLC: c/o Universal Registered Agents, Inc., 12 Timber Creek Ln., Newark, DE 19711. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Notice of formation of Eagle Strong Group, LLC was filed with SSNY on March 29, 2018. Office location: Richmond County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to P. O. Box 100372, Staten Island, NY 10310, Attn: Mark Oyelaja. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity. DEVELOPING MINDS ADVENTURE CASTLE, LLC, Arts of Org. filed 9/13/2018. Office Loc. Westchester County, SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Wendy White, 112 Cooper Drive #1A, New Rochelle, NY 10508. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Notice of Formation of Adellis Property Group LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/5/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 300 Park Ave, NY, NY 10038. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice

Formation

DDP1 LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/13/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as

agent

whom

LLC

process

upon against

it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 405 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10174. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HCCI Victory Plaza Member LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/26/18. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc., 256 W. 153rd St., NY, NY 10039, principal business address. Purpose: all lawful purposes. Notice of Formation of DEP International LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/26/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 71 W. 23rd St, Fl. 17, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of NORTHGATE P R E S E R V A T I O N CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. 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 Qualification of NET@WORK CLOUD SOLUTIONS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/12/18. Princ. office of LLC: 575 Eighth Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10018. 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 DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: IT Consulting. Notice of Formation of TUCKERBELL & Company LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on September 28, 2018. Office locations: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall Mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: Johnathan Tucker. The principal business address of the LLC is: 15 Belle Ave 1st Fl, Ossining, NY 10562. Purpose: any lawful act or activity

Notice of Qualification of 632-634 East 11th Street Owner LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/27/18. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Slate Property Group, LLC, 38 East 29th St., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10016, Attn: Martin Nussbaum. Address to be maintained in DE: National Registered Agents, Inc., 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities. NOTICE OF FORMATION of AA 733 Amsterdam LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/9/18. Off. Loc.: NY County. SSNY has been desig. as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy to is: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful act Notice of Qualification of 308 East 38th Street Sole Member LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 8/24/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 152 W. 57 St, Fl. 17, NY, NY 10019. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of 480-4B LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 336 W. 37th St, Ste 200, NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Kaleidoscope Creative Partners LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/9/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 521 5th Ave, Ste 1804, NY, NY 10175. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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AOG Design, LLC Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed New York Sec. of State (“NYSS”) 11/16/2018. Office loc. New York County. NYSS designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. NYSS shall mail a copy of any process to c/o The LLC, 348 West 36th Street, New York, New York 10018. There is no specific date set for dissolution. Purpose: to engage in any lawful activity or act. Name and Business Address of Organizer is John R. Marvin, Esq., 44 West Market Street, P.O. Box 151, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1314754 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 45 RICHARDSON ST BROOKLYN, NY 11211. KINGS COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. SAMPA RESTAURANT LLC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1311413 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 35-01 DITMARS BLVD ASTORIA, NY 11105. QUEENS COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. NINO AQ LLC. Notice of Formation 144 King Street, LLC Arts of Org. Filed with Secy. of State of NY 11/16/18. Ofc Loc.: West Co. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC, 980 Broadway #638, Thornwood, NY. Purpose: Any lawful activity. NOTICE OF FORMATION Strategic Intelligence LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 7/25/18. Location: Westchester. SSNY designated as agent for service of process on LLC. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: LLC, 62 Frederick Ln, Scarsdale, NY 10583. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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Notice of Formation of ZHPH LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Philip J. Michaels, c/o Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, 1301 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of WEST 30TH SERVICES MANAGEMENT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 208 W. 30th St., Ste. 701, NY, NY 10001. 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 SABAL CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/31/15. Princ. office of LLC: 4 Park Plaza, Ste. 2000, Irvine, CA 92614. 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: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Commercial real estate mortgage loan origination. PUBLIC NOTICE AT&T proposes to collocate antennas on the buildings at 43 Essex St (tip heights (TH) 70’) (20182116), 318 East 15th Street (TH 113’) (20182110), 16-18 2nd Ave (TH 85’) (20182115), 38 Greene St (TH 78.4’ & 96.6’) (20182152), and 104 Second Ave (TH 94’) (20182139), New York, NY. Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-809-1202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

December 3, 2018 Notice of Formation of Vatine LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/15/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 750 Park Ave, Apt 9B, NY, NY 10021. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of FIFTH AVENUE CAPITAL V LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/14/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 521 5th Ave, Ste 1804, NY, NY 10175. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of JL HAMBURG 1301, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/15/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/13/18. 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. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of LUMINARY PRODUCTIONS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. 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

FORMATION

of NYC Ferry Fleet, LLC filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/30/18. Office location: New

York

County.

The

principal business address of the LLC is: 110 William Street, New York, New York 10038. SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may

LITTLE BLACK BARN FARM, LLC, Art. of Org. filed with SSNY 11/27/2018. Office loc: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Andrew B. Christopherson, Esq., 111 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1800, Milwaukee, WI 53202 Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

be served. SSNY shall mail service of process (SOP) to c/o New York City Economic Development 110 York,

William New

Corporation, Street, York

New 10038.

BEAR MOUNTAIN MANAGEMENT, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with S S N Y 10/09/2018. Office loc: NY Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Alicia Crawford, 100 S Bedford Road, Suite 340, Mount Kisco, NY 10549, Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1314937 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 134 W BROADWAY NY, NY 10013. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION.

Notice of Formation of 43 Kingston Avenue Investors LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 64 2nd Ave., 2nd Fl., NY, NY 10003. Purpose: any lawful activities.

WB CAFÉ INC.

Notice of Formation of 43 Kingston Avenue HPG Sponsor LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 64 2nd Ave., 2nd Fl., NY, NY 10003. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of Parcel B West Affordable Opportunity Zone Fund LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/9/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 777 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 11/7/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc., 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Corporation

is designated as agent for SOP at 110 William Street, New York, New York 10038. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

PEACH AND BLUP, LLC, filed with SSNY 8/6/2018. Office loc: Richmond County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: United States Corp. Agent, Inc., 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228

Notice of Qualification of Parcel B West Moderate Income LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/9/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 777 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 11/7/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc., 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

New York City Economic Development

KH AGC Holding LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/18/2018. Office loc: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, Attn: Adam Brodsky, 3 W 57th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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December 3, 2018

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December 3, 2018

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

Who was up and who was down last week

LOSERS

PRODUCTION Art Director Andrew Horton, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Junior Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton, Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi, Digital Content Coordinator Ariel Tu 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, Junior Sales Executive Shakirah Gittens

CLAUDIA TENNEY Rep. Claudia Tenney officially became the third New York Republican to lose a House seat this cycle when she conceded her race against Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi. It was not only a rebuke of the Oneida County conservative firebrand but also President Donald Trump, whose support she had heavily courted by railing against the “deep state” and “fake news” and touting Trump’s greatness. Only time will tell whether Trump will help her realize her newfound dream to be a U.S. attorney.

EVENTS events@cityandstateny.com Sales Director Lissa Blake, Events Manager Sharon Nazarzadeh, Senior Events Coordinator Alexis Arsenault, Marketing & Events Coordinator Jamie Servidio, Director of Events Research & Development Bryan Terry

Vol. 7 Issue 46 December 3, 2018

THE REST OF THE WORST

VADIM BARBAROVICH

MICHAEL COHEN

This NYC marshal raked in $1.7M shaking people down for cash owed to loan sharks.

Admitting he lied to Congress about Russia means bad news for this bozo.

UCTIO N

CAME STARRING THE NEW

DEMOCRAT

WITH A MANDAT

THE BEST OF THE REST

SENATE PROD

IT A NEW YORK

MAJORITY

E FOR ENDING

WHEN LOBBYISTS ATTACK!

MURKY LEGISLATION!

GRIDLOCK

BUT CAVENTHTHEEYSWAMP? SURVI

CUOMO’S PROJECTS WORLD WONDERS OR WINDOW DRESSING? CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

December 3, 2018

MARGARET CHIN

CARMEN FARIÑA

Cover design Andrew Horton

MARGARET GARNETT

GEORGE LATIMER

Cover elements Barandash Karandashich, JHK2303, Nelson Antoine/AP/Shutterstock

TOM REED

STEVE & JOHN SQUITIERI

A jail won’t come to her district, after all. Hopefully voters forget the whole mess? At least Mark Peters’ replacement isn’t pals with the mayor, which made things weird. His bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus means this House Republican still has sway.

Retirement doesn’t mean you can’t get called out for $20M in reckless spending. Westchester’s AAA bond rating got downgraded on the county exec’s watch. It only took a couple fatalities for their trash hauling license to get thrown away.

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.

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 ©2018, City & State NY, LLC

U.S. HOUSE

HAKEEM JEFFRIES Rep. Hakeem Jeffries won a close vote to become the chairman of the House Democratic caucus. While that post is No. 5 in the party pecking order in the House, it means that the Brooklyn congressman is positioned to move up through a party leadership dominated by septuagenarians. If he ever becomes the first black speaker in the history of the House, then he might need to send something special to Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who took Rep. Joe Crowley out of the way.

OUR PICK

WINNERS

It was a great week to be a New York City biker, whether you’re the young, virile exerciser that Mayor Bill de Blasio emulates at the Park Slope Y in the middle of the workday or the reckless, illegal food delivery worker he vilifies. Yes, despite the mayor’s concerns, the City Council is moving forward on legalizing electric bikes and e-scooters. City Hall is also announcing a massive expansion of Citi Bike at minimal public cost, bringing New Amsterdam one pedal closer to old Amsterdam.

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, Digital Director Derek Evers devers@ cityandstateny.com, Copy Editor Eric Holmberg, Staff Reporter Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Zach Williams zwilliams@cityandstateny.com, Editorial Assistant Rebecca C. Lewis rlewis@cityandstateny.com

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