Crain's New York Business

MEET THE 50 FASTEST-GROWING COMPANIES IN NEW YORK CITY

For the past few years a big question mark has presided over the city’s business community. In its latest installment of Fast 50, Crain’s is keeping track of the companies that have not only weathered the Covid-19 storm, but enjoyed explosive growth during a particularly trying time. e list, which measures growth in revenue from 2018 to 2021, is impressive. On average, the companies on the list grew by 515%—a more than vefold increase. Across the listed companies, the average revenue is $889 million. e companies are forces in the local economy, employing nearly 7,000 local workers and more than 42,000 people across the entities’ total footprint. ey span industries from food and beverage to e-commerce, dentistry and real estate. A common thread among the smattering of sectors is that these companies help people navigate our new world. e fastest-growing company, Capital Rx, which has grown by 9,888% in just a few years, helps employers manage pharmacy bene ts. Progny (No. 13) allows employers to o er their workforce fertility bene ts in a competitive job market. Etsy (No. 18) and Squarespace (No. 35) create marketplaces where small businesses that were thrust into the digital world are given a place to thrive. Check out the full list, starting on p. 17.

—AMANDA GLODOWSKI

BY ROSS BARKAN

For more than a decade, New Yorkers have grown used to sleepy, noncompetitive gubernatorial races.

Eliot Spitzer won in a landslide in 2006. Andrew Cuomo steamrolled with ease to three terms, swatting away far-right and moderate Republicans alike. As far as the House of Representatives goes, Republicans will always be competitive, but the Democratic enrollment advantage has meant statewide victories are all but impossible for the GOP.

George Pataki, the last Republican governor of New York, won his nal term in 2002.

Will this year be any di erent? At

rst blush, no. Kathy Hochul, the Democratic incumbent seeking her rst full term after replacing Cuomo last year, has raised funds even more aggressively than her scandal-scarred predecessor, amassing

a treasury close to $11 million with less than a month to go in the election. She has the backing of every major elected o cial and labor union in the state, and she has already poured tens of millions of

dollars into the race.

Yet her Republican opponent, Rep. Lee Zeldin, thinks he can do what no other New York Republican has done in 20 years.

“ ere’s some parts of this state where people are very conservative, they’ll vote for us—it’s about turning out the vote,” Zeldin, who represents parts of Long Island, told Crain’s. “You see in New York City, we’ll do well on Staten Island, we’ll do well in Bay Ridge and Brighton Beach and Middle Village and elsewhere. But then it’s about spending time with individual communities. I’ve done many dozens of events with the Asian American community. I’ve spent a lot of time working closely with the His-

panic community, the Jewish community, with the Black community. We need people to get registered to vote and then actually vote.”

Polls show Zeldin signi cantly trailing Hochul, but there are reasons to believe this election will be, at the very minimum, much narrower than Cuomo’s 24-point victory in 2018. Traditionally, the party out of power performs very well in midterms, and national trends have ltered down to New York. Stubbornly high in ation and fears over rising crime—shootings and murders are down in the ve boroughs, but other kinds of crime are occurring at signi cantly elevated rates

HOCHUL

ZELDIN

Mayor enlists 50 business owners for group advising him on how to fix policies, cut red tape

BY CARA EISENPRESS

A

group of nearly 50 small-business owners and leaders will have the mayor’s ear to share their input on policies, laws, regulations, rules, fines, fees and violations.

How the city incorporates the feedback will help answer the ques tion of whether Eric Adams can de liver on repeated promises to make doing business easier in New York City.

The Small Business Advisory Commission met for the first time last Thursday, the New York City Department of Small Business Ser

next level,” Commissioner Kevin D. Kim of the city Department of Small Business Services said regarding the commission’s action plan.

Campaign promises

Adams created the commission via an executive order that followed the rollout of a broader economic plan known as “A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery.” It also builds on earlier promises. During his primary and general election campaigns in 2020 and 2021, Adams courted small busi nesses, especially those in the outer boroughs, by explaining how he would take their operating and reg ulatory concerns to heart in directing policy.

“WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT tHE BIG COMPLAINtS FROM SMALL-BUSINESS OWNERS”

vices announced. Its members are representative of the five boroughs and industries common to small-business ownership, such as the hospitality and retail sectors.

“From improving inspection pro cesses to analyzing rules and regu lations, we are eager to take our ef forts to overhaul how city government interacts with the small-business community to the

In January, as one of his first acts as mayor, he vowed to cut red tape, ask ing city agencies to identify the 25 violations responsi ble for the greatest proportion of summonses and fines. In May the city announced it would repeal or reduce penalties on, or add firsttime warnings to, 118 rules by the end of this year.

Now Adams hopes that the direct feedback from owners can inform policy and regulation that works with small businesses rather than

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

against them.

“What I want to work on is the feeling that the city is there to work for you,” said Jeffrey Gar cia, owner of Mon Amour Cof fee & Wine and a member of the commission. “In spectors’ focus should be that you stay open. You shouldn’t have your first thought be: ‘They’re going to shut me down.’ ”

Commission members

More than 140 businesses were nominated to join the commission. Senior members from the four divi sions of SBS created a rubric to cat egorize nominee profiles, taking into account the number of years in business, location and sector.

Commission members include Angela Yee, radio personality and owner of Bed-Stuy café Coffee Up lifts People; Brandon Adams of Lloyd’s Carrot Cake in the Bronx; Erika Faust, an orthodontist at Mid town’s Elite Orthodontics; and Nal lely De Jesus of Fine Fare Super

markets. The heads of the chambers of commerce on Staten Island and in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn will also serve, as will New York City Hospitality Alliance leader Andrew Rigie.

Dawn Kelly, owner of the Nour ish Spot in Jamaica, Queens, and another commission member, said she planned to emphasize focus and methodology at commission meetings.

“We should be looking across the board at the big complaints from small-business owners,” she said.

“What are the complaints we get? We should pick out the top three or five and focus on those.”

This is not the first administra tion to ask small businesses to weigh in on policy through com missions and industry groups. In 2015 Mayor Bill de Blasio enacted Small Business First, which, simi larly, intended to reduce the regu latory burden on businesses. He also brought together business owners in April 2020 specifically to help lead recovery efforts, but by October of that year, Gotham Ga zette reported that the small-busi ness advisory council hadn’t met in months

Adams’ commission will con vene monthly, the Department of Small Business Services said. ■

A parking space at this new Chelsea building could set you back half a million dollars

BY AARON ELSTEIN

In St. Louis, $500,000 will buy you a four-bedroom, three-bath room house with hardwood floors and a whirlpool bath in the master suite.

building and drive their vehicle into a box that places it wherever a space is available.

TRANSPORTATION FORUM

How to get around is top-of-mind for all New Yorkers, from trains to planes to cars and Citi Bikes. Finding ways to efficiently move so many people with such little space and an oftenaging infrastructure is an enormous and evolving challenge. At this event, Crain’s will talk to policymakers and transportation experts to discuss innovation in public transportation and the future of getting around in New York City.

Or you could use that money for a parking space at a new Chelsea condominium.

Parking has become some of the most desirable real estate in the city because more New Yorkers have bought cars in the past few years while restaurants, bike-docking stations and delivery trucks fight for precious street space. With sup ply so limited, developer HAP In vestments thinks the market can bear a half-million-dollar parking space. “The demand, I think, is there,” Deirdre Carson, an attorney for the developer, said at a commu nity board meeting last month.

Residents of HAP’s West 28th Street condo, Maverick Chelsea, would be sold a 99-year lease for parking underneath the 87-unit

“It’s like a vending machine,” HAP Chief Executive Eran Polack explained to the community board, adding his firm might reduce its asking price for parking.

The city says off-street parking spaces must measure at least 153 square feet but be no larger than 300. If Maverick’s spaces are on the small end, they would cost almost $3,300 per square foot, or double the median cost of $1,618 per square foot for actual living space in Manhattan, research firm Miller Samuel found. But if the parking spots are big, then the cost would be closer to the asking prices for Maverick apartments, which are around $2,200 per square foot.

Parking is a key selling point for many new buildings, Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller said.

“It’s a significant and limited amenity,” he said.

The $500,000 figure isn’t a record

asking price for Manhattan park ing. In 2014 a 10-unit building in SoHo sought $1 million per space. But Miller said he didn’t think any sold for that price.

HAP has permission to construct 44 parking spaces underneath two neighboring buildings, according to city regulations. It petitioned the community board for a special per mit to build 77 spaces, five of which would be reserved for retail ten ants. The developer would collect

an additional $16.5 million in pro ceeds if all the extra spaces were sold.

The community board’s land-use committee denied the special per mit in a 9-0 vote. Members said they didn’t want to encourage more car traffic in a neighborhood well served by public transportation. The matter goes next before the City Planning Commission.

Representatives for HAP didn’t respond to requests for comment. ■

BUCK ENNIS

MAVERICK CHELSEA

JAMAICA

BUCK

Red Hook’s Hoek Home wants to make furniture assembly a snap

Co-founders Brian Chu and Conor Coghlan’s patented technology allows pieces to be put together in minutes

The upstart: Hoek Home

In 2020 Brian Chu and Conor Coghlan’s custom fabrication business was ourishing. e two designers were building and installing furniture and display projects for architects, artists and retailers all over town. “We had 10 jobs going on in the city. We were very, very busy,” Coghlan says. “And then the pandemic hit, and nine of those jobs were canceled.”

Soon after that they started hearing complaints from pals about the furniture they were buying to furnish their new home o ces. “Our friends were like, ‘I can’t assemble this Ikea desk! I can’t assemble this West Elm thing! ere’s a million nuts and bolts. It’s impossible!’” Coghlan says.

ey saw an opportunity—they envisioned a new furniture line, scaled for small apartments, featuring pieces that could be at-packed and assembled quickly without any tools.

e result is Hoek Home. e name is pronounced “hook,” and it refers to the original Dutch spelling of Red Hook, the Brooklyn neighborhood where the company operates out of a 19th-century former coffee warehouse overlooking New York Harbor.

($40.7 billion) in sales in scal 2021.

How to slay the giant

Hoek started with some built-in advantages, says Ben Uyeda, a designer and tech investor who took a small equity stake in the company early on. It typically takes a big upfront investment to launch a manufacturing company. But thanks to experience doing custom jobs, the Hoek team was already familiar with an on-demand, low-inventory manufacturing strategy. It was also employing sophisticated robotic fabrication technology, allowing it to operate with a small number of highly skilled employees. And thanks to global supply-chain issues, domestic furniture makers have the advantage these days when it comes to delivery, Uyeda says. Hoek customers receive their made-to-order furniture within weeks rather than months.

ANNE KADET

Hoek, funded by a $600,000 pre-seed round that closed in January, is doing roughly $30,000 a month in sales of its small line of midcentury modern desks, tables, benches, stools and side tables that are made to order from recycled plastic and plywood. anks to the company’s patented snap-lock technology, the pieces can be assembled and disassembled in minutes, packed at or stored on a hook on the wall. Prices range from $195 for a side table to $1,295 for a dining set.

The reigning Goliath: Ikea

Sweden-based Ikea, founded in 1953, is the world’s largest furniture retailer, with 225,00 employees and €41.9 billion

Still, the leap from one-o custom jobs to larger-scale production was a huge challenge, the co-founders say. ey are glad that instead of launching direct to consumers, they tested the waters in October 2020 with a Kickstarter campaign, o ering furniture in exchange for a “pledge.”

“It’s an easier place to start,” says Coghlan, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “If we went straight to direct-to-consumer e-commerce, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. Because we didn’t know what we were doing!” e Kickstarter campaign raised $45,000—three times the goal—and provided proof of demand.

More importantly, this rst set of customers was willing to be patient with the company’s growing pains, of which there were many. “We’re really good at making very complex things, so we said, ‘ is is going to be a piece of cake,’” Coghlan says.

“But when you have to do it 200 times, e ciently, it’s not a piece of cake. We learned that the hard way.”

eir rst $15,000 order of recycled plastic, for example, arrived slightly wider than they had expected. After the team cut hundreds of legs, they discovered the appendages didn’t click snugly into the table top joints. “I had a frickin’ meltdown,” Coghlan says.

ey also learned the value of customer feedback. Upon receiving their orders, many customers inserted the legs facing inward rather than outward, resulting in wobbly desks and tables. e Hoek team redesigned the joints so that the proper assembly method was more obvious.

Having worked out the production kinks, the company released its latest line of furniture this year. Now the new challenge is to re ne its marketing strategy. Hoek is now leaning more on social media in uencers who can explain the line’s unique features. e company collaborated with a high-prole designer, Shantell Martin, to produce a limited-edition line of furniture and accessories. e move won Hoek a lot of design world press, exposing it to a new audience.

The next challenge

To grow its market share, Uyeda, the Hoek investor, suggests the company could expand to beyond its current midcentury styling, which has limited appeal. “Maybe 10%-20% want modern furniture. Others might want farmhouse chic,” he says.

Chu and Coghlan say the company is prototyping a number of new products, including a line of outdoor appliances and a furniture line for children.

Based on what he’s seen so far, Uyeda is optimistic. “If they continue to innovate at this rate,” he says, “they’ll have incredibly bright futures.”

Anne Kadet is the creator of Café Anne, a weekly newsletter with a New York City focus. She previously was the city business and trends columnist for e Wall Street Journal.

HOEK HOME co-founders Brian Chu (left) and Conor Coghlan

Late cartoonist’s family lists Lincoln Square home

BY C. J. HUGHES

Ranan Lurie, a political cari caturist who was prolific with his pen, had a livework arrangement that some artists might find enviable.

Home for Lurie was an apart ment at the luxury high-rise 15 Central Park West. Work took place right around the corner in the Lin coln Square neighborhood, inside yet another luxury apartment in the former Time Warner Center tower.

Last year Lurie sold that art stu dio, which was a two-bedroom unit on the 63rd floor of the building, now known as the Deutsche Bank Center. The sale took place just a few months before Lurie died, on June 8, at 90.

Now his family has listed his city

$28M

LISTING PRICE for unit 36D at 15 Central Park West

dorf family and partners that was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Ar chitects. A decade ago the building, which was a magnet for VIP types, set a sales record for one of its pent houses, which traded for $88 mil lion, a mark that has since been eclipsed.

LURIE AS THE MOStSYNDICAtED CARTOONIST

home, the condo at 15 Central Park West, which features three bed rooms, tall windows and sweeping park views. It’s being offered for $28 million.

Lurie, recognized by Guinness World Records in the 1980s for be ing the most-syndicated cartoon ist—his sketches of Middle Eastern prime ministers and U.S. presidents appeared in 1,000 publications in 100 countries—bought the apart ment, No. 36D, for $11.5 million in 2008, records show. The unit in cludes three and a half baths, 11foot ceilings and a library.

The caricaturist has been the only owner of the unit, which is in a building developed by the Zecken

When Lurie marketed the other apartment, his studio, he used his artwork to his advantage. Carica tures of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, among other world leaders, were featured prominently in listing photos. One photo even showed Lurie him self standing at an easel and drawing one of his daugh ters, Danielle Lurie, who was also the unit’s listing agent.

Still, that apart ment, which cost Lurie $2.9 million in 2006, struggled to sell amid the pandemic. In January 2020 it was listed at $4.9 million, but it was tak en off the market for months when the pandemic shut down the city. It ultimately sold for $4.2 million in November 2021, records show.

This time around at 15 Central Park West, the walls are mostly bare, although there is a tall portrait of a woman resting on an easel. She’s Lurie’s widow, Tamar, a top real estate agent in Greenwich, Connecticut. Danielle Lurie, who’s again acting as the listing agent, suggested that her father’s creative streak extended to home design.

“While the original layout was

sectioned off with walls, my father replaced all the walls in the east wing of the home with glass so that you essentially step into Central Park immediately upon entering,” she told Crain’s. “I am so looking

forward to meeting the next owner who will appreciate it like my par ents did.”

Besides being the most volumi nous cartoonist, Lurie held other superlatives. His family was related

to the prophet Isaiah, a biography claimed, which made him part of “the oldest family in the world,” Lurie once said.

Felix Mendelssohn and Sigmund Freud were also relatives. ■

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

The City Council has released a preliminary list of 10 current ly vacant hotels that could be used to house migrants seeking asy lum amid the shelter crisis.

The council is looking to find space for up to 500 migrants to use not as temporary shelters but as in take and relief centers, Speaker Adrienne Adams announced re cently. All the properties are in Manhattan and comprise nearly

4,000 hotel rooms, but not all of those rooms will need to be used.

Mayor Eric Adams declared the migrant situation a state of emer gency on Oct. 7.

The council speaker also called on the mayor’s administration to reverse homeless services policies that she said create shelter shortages, such as the require ment for homeless New Yorkers to spend at least 90 days in a shelter be fore being eligible for a rental voucher.

She added that the vacant hotels could be used for potential housing conversions. “Our purpose for iden tifying an even larger set of closed

hotels was to highlight a trend and broad landscape of buildings po tentially available to the city for sup portive housing conversion to re lieve another of the stresses on our shelter system—the lack of perma nent affordable housing.”

These are the hotels the City Council proposed to help alleviate the migrant crisis.

Hilton

Famous political caricaturist Ranan Lurie lived in a luxury three-bedroom condo at 15 Central Park West

15 CENTRAL PARK WEST, NO. 36D, is a three-bedroom condo that features sweeping views of the park and tall windows.

BlackRock puts hiring on pause after bear market devours more than $2 trillion worth of assets

BlackRock froze most hiring after disclosing last ursday that more than $2 trillion worth of assets at the world’s largest asset management rm vaporized during the bear market.

“ is market environment may require a di erent playbook,” Chief Financial O cer Gary Shedlin said on a conference call.

BlackRock is “pausing the balance of our hiring plans for the remainder of 2022” as it begins to “more aggressively manage” certain discretionary spending, Shedlin said. Jobs deemed critical will still be lled.

agement than at the start of the year, BlackRock still has almost $8 trillion. O cials noted that even with stock and bond markets everywhere getting thumped, the rm still pulled in $17 billion in net in ows last quarter.

“Nowhere to really hide in this tape, but [they] did the best they could” was the assessment of Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr.

AARON ELSTEIN

Assets under management fell by 16% in the third quarter, to $7.9 trillion, and operating income dropped a bit more. Most of the decline was due to falling values for stocks and bonds. Currency uctuations were also a factor.

BlackRock didn’t back away from growth plans when markets nosedived in the spring of 2020. But the situation today requires a di erent approach, Shedlin said, because the “recovery phase could have a longer duration.”

Even with $2 trillion fewer assets under man-

$7.9T

REMAINING

BlackRock’s assets under management

BlackRock grew during the long bull market from an obscure bond-trading shop to a global giant that offers every type of investment imaginable. Headcount reached 18,000 employees heading into this year. e rm is relocating its headquarters to Hudson Yards. ■

POLITICS

Elected of cials nally require af uent areas to build housing

It may be simple to reduce development battles to a contest of NIMBYs vs. YIMBYs— those saying “not in my backyard” to new construction pitted against those who favor far more of it. Liberals and conservatives sort along both lines. Opposing new housing construction is generally wrongheaded, but not all developments make sense—and many builders should be pressured to provide far more a ordable housing than they do.

But the housing crisis has created acute pressures on a city that is nearing 9 million people, its homeless population ballooning again, thanks to an in ux of migrants. Short-term answers are unsatisfactory, but long-term solutions are clear: Create more housing. And it appears, nally, New York’s elected o cials are ghting for new housing supply instead of bowing to community pressure, especially in more a uent areas that were passed over for development.

Recently the City Council reached a deal to rezone stretches of Bruckner Boulevard in the leafy

Bronx neighborhood of roggs Neck. e rezoning is modest in scope: four new buildings with 349 apartment units, 168 of which will be income-restricted to those earning below a certain threshold, and a new grocery store. For months the rezoning was blocked by the local City Council member, Marjorie Velázquez. In recent days she agreed to the proposal, after the carpenters’ union was locked in for one of the developments and more apartments were set aside for local military veterans. Velázquez had said the matter was the source of her opposition to the proposal.

But that argument was only partially true. Local opposition to the rezoning was incredibly erce. Velázquez was following her constituents. Neighborhood residents, particularly longtime homeowners, believed the suburban character of their community could be under assault and their property values could decrease. As with any anger over new a ordable housing, a disturbing racial tinge accompanied the ferocity.

Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, were in favor of the rezoning and would have potentially pushed it over Velázquez’s opposition if she had continued to hold out. Credit goes to both the speaker and the mayor (no relation) for applying pressure and getting the rezoning done. It also matters that rezonings are now being pushed in neighborhoods that never, until now, had to share in the burden of redevelopment.

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor, forced through many rezonings in his 12 years at City Hall, but his targets were almost always working-class neighborhoods facing down the threat of full-scale gentri cation. Bloomberg and the City Council transformed the Williamsburg and Long Island City waterfronts, adding massive new condominiums, and remade Downtown Brooklyn with the Barclays Center and attendant housing developments.

Bloomberg was right to build higher: e city badly needed a new housing supply with a growing population, and today’s rents would probably be even worse without it. But he cared little about

forcing developers to include income-restricted units in these new developments. ey became, instead, market-rate playgrounds for the a uent.

Bloomberg selectively downzoned outer-borough neighborhoods that tended to be whiter and wealthier. If an area was suburban enough, it deserved, in the eyes of the former mayor, to have its aesthetic preserved. Bill de Blasio, who cared more about a ordability than Bloomberg did, also rarely challenged moneyed communities with new building.

Adams is badly lagging de Blasio’s pace on housing construction and has struggled mightily to ll vacancies in many key city agencies.

He is, however, aware that housing construction can’t only happen in

the South Bronx or East Harlem. roggs Neck will have a role to play. e housing crisis is everyone’s crisis. All neighborhoods should pitch in.

Quick takes

● A migrant center on Randall’s Island is as terrible an idea as a migrant center in an Orchard Beach parking lot. Mayor Eric Adams should nd vacant hotels for the new refugees.

● New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy could get congestion pricing killed at the federal level by appealing to Joe Biden himself. Murphy, ghting for automobiles, is on the wrong end of a transit justice issue. ■

Ross Barkan is an author and journalist in New York City.

really

the

BLOOMBERG greeting the crowd along the route of the Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Mount Sinai residents say the system classifies them as students so they’re ineligible for bonuses

BY JACQUELINE NEBER

Medical residents rotat ing at New York City Health + Hospitals/El mhurst say Mount Si nai is classifying them as students, not health care workers, making them wrongfully ineligible for bo nuses.

New York’s fiscal 2023 budget in cludes $1.2 billion in funding for bonuses for certain frontline health care workers who are part of Medic aid-enrolled health systems such as Mount Sinai through the state Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program. Medical fellows and residents are included on the list of employee titles eligible for the $3,000 bonuses. The guide lines were issued in August. H+H/ Elmhurst residents said they have not received bonuses because they’re classified as part of the edu cation sector, not the health care sector.

H+H/Elmhurst residents deliv ered a petition Sept. 29 to Mount Sinai, arguing for the health system to file claims for their bonuses Oct. 1, when the portal reopened.

“Mount Sinai has maintained

that its Elmhurst Hospital residents and fellows are employed by an ed ucational sector employer, and not a Medicaid-enrolled provider in the health care sector, despite contrary registration information it filed with the state,” the petition reads.

“While we support our peers work ing in the educational sector … it is baffling to suggest that we are in the same sector as postdocs, teachers and school nurses, who do import ant, but very different, work.”

The petition mentioned that many H+H/Elmhurst resi dents identify as immi grants and minorities, dis proportionately more than at other Mount Sinai rota tion sites.

“Icahn School of Medi cine at Mount Sinai’s failure to recognize its status as a Medicaid-enrolled health care pro vider is a demonstration of how mi norities are inadvertently left be hind in our country,” the petition reads. “Why do we, and we alone, have to wait for guidance for educa tional sector workers, while we work every day in the health care sector?”

member of the interns and resi dents committee at the Service Em ployees International Union. He said bonuses are especially critical for residents and fellows because their salaries can work out to as lit tle as $14 per hour for 80-hour workweeks.

Forgotton frontline workers

“We are not paid the ‘doctor sala ry,’” Kajornsakchai said. “Workers within the institutions who may be making more than us that are not

thing was shut down. We remained open. We residents are generally the first line to see [Covid-19] pa tients,” he added. “We were named heroes of the pandemic. Denying us this—I don’t think it’s ethical. Just calling us heroes isn’t going to help us keep fighting the fight.”

Other Mount Sinai residents, in cluding those rotating at Mount Si nai West and Mount Sinai Beth Is rael, are classified correctly and eligible for bonuses, he said.

“WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIt WHEN WE WORK EVERY DAY IN THE HeALtH cAre SECTOR?”

A doctor who serves on the SEIU interns and residents com mittee who asked that her name not be used said she believes her residency loca tion and the population H+H/Elmhurst serves might be factors in getting excluded from the bonus.

that much more important.

Mount Sinai administrators maintain that residents should be classified as students, however. The health system has a history of classifying some residents as stu dents rather than workers. In a spr ing 2014 SEIU interns commit tee report, then-President Sepideh S edgh detailed how 142 H+H/Elm hurst residents won the right to unionize, despite Mount Sinai ar guing that they were “more akin to graduate students” than employ ees.

When asked about the situation, H+H spokesman Christopher Mill er said Mount Sinai is the only enti ty making decisions about how res idents are classified.

physicians do get those bonuses. And they excluded residents and fellows.”

He said residents have reached out to Mount Sinai’s head of gradu ate medical education and dean about the issue.

“Residents who work on the Manhattan campuses [got the bonus], and we didn’t,” she said.

Necessary support

$0

Dr. Tanathun Kajornsakchai, a resident at H+H/Elmhurst, is a

“We were the front lines of the Covid pandemic when 2020 hap pened. We were there when every

Residents typically make $70,000 to $80,000 per year, she said, and due to the city’s high cost of living, many of them struggle to pay en trance fees for their licensing board exams, making the $3,000 bonus

Monica Pomeroy, a spokeswom an at the state Department of Health, pointed Crain’s to the state’s health care worker bonus docu mentation, which includes resi dents and fellows on the list of eligi ble workers.

Kajornsakchai said residents are discussing how to press the issue until their needs are met.

Mount Sinai representatives did not respond to requests for com ment.

■

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When it comes to freeing up housing, city must do more than look for volunteers

As asylum seekers pour into the city, sent here from the southern border, a renewed spotlight is shining on the capacity limits of the local shelter system. Freeing up shelter space for migrant families requires moving those in the system into more permanent housing that they can a ord and that will provide them with appropriate social services to keep them from cycling back through the system.

As Crain’s reported last week, Adolfo Carrión Jr., commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, sent a letter to a ordable housing developers Oct. 7, asking them to

“We are asking you to remove your a ordable units from the housing lottery and o er them up for homeless placements,” Carrión wrote. “We ask you to make this new commitment on top of any homeless set-aside requirement, as a voluntary contribution to this humanitarian crisis.”

Two developers Crain’s spoke to seemed amenable to the plan.

“ is is de nitely easier said than done,” said one, Aaron Ko man, president of the Hudson Cos. “But it’s doable.”

HOPEFULLY LAWMAKERS

RENEWED FOCUS ON

take part in a voluntary program to move eligible individuals out of the shelter system and into a ordable housing by raising the number of units they reserve each year for homeless New Yorkers in their buildings.

OP-ED

But here’s the thing: For better or worse, the development of a ordable housing is a business. e expectation that developers and landlords should voluntarily change the way they do business is shortsighted. What would be better is a forward-looking plan that actually addresses New York’s a ordable housing needs in the long term. Because the current migrant crisis did not create a need to shepherd homeless New Yorkers out of the shelter system and into homes they can a ord.

Earlier this year New York state let its 421-a tax incentive for

a ordable housing construction expire. One of the main criticisms of the program was that the housing it created wasn’t actually a ordable for residents with a lower income. Instead of reforming the program, the state chose to throw the baby out with the bathwater. And now, when shovels could be hitting the ground to help stem the a ordability crisis, lawmakers are asking for volunteers willing to forgo pro ts because it would be the right thing to do.

Hopefully after Election Day and during the upcoming legislative session, lawmakers put renewed focus on nding a suitable replacement for 421-a, although some initial Crain’s reporting shows this could be a long shot. But giving developers an incentive to build a ordable housing will carry us past the present migrant crisis and into a future in which everyone has access to a home across income levels, no matter where they’re from. ■

By investing in human capital, New York can become the country’s top life sciences hub

BY JOHN EBEID

New York City is challenging Boston and San Francisco to become the nation’s leading biotech hub. It has added more than 150,000 jobs in the sector, leased more than 433,000 square feet of life sciences–related real estate and made substantial public investments in the industry.

But the work cannot stop there. If the Big Apple continues to ascend in this space, it will be because the city overcomes the erce labor shortage a icting the industry and creates a sustainable pipeline of life sciences talent. Doing so would set New York’s economy up to be prosperous and durable in the long term.

Poised for the challenge

e good news is that the New York metropolitan area is already poised for the challenge. It is home to one of the country’s largest and most diverse workforces, which includes more than 500,000 health

care workers, 7,000 graduate and postdoctoral students, and 1 million college students. For the life sciences industry, the talent pool is an incredible attraction.

Research from Randstad USA found that even before the Covid19 pandemic, 85% of executives in life sciences ranked talent scarcity among their biggest worries. Since the pandemic began, demand for the industry has skyrocketed, but the labor pool has not kept up— mostly because of the intense training and certi cations required to succeed in the eld.

Overcoming that challenge will mean continued investment in workforce development and training from both the public and private sectors.

New York has laid the groundwork with its LifeSci NYC initiative, a $1 billion public investment in talent and technology from the New York City Economic Development Corp., in addition to new academic centers focused on the life sciences.

Private companies should follow suit by o ering upskilling opportunities to their employees, as well as to potential new hires, that help them nd new certi cations and develop skills for the future as the industry continues to digitize.

O ering such career development opportunities can create a clear advantage in keeping biotech and other life sciences personnel up to date with their skills as well as positively impacting retention rates.

Tap into new talent pools

Another data point from Randstad shows that turnover in the industry is high, with some 30% of employees reporting that they looked for a new job in 2020 and 20% changing jobs the year prior.

Workers are newly focused on career development and upskilling opportunities now: 75% of employees rate the programs as very important. About 88% of American workers say they would pursue learning and development oppor-

tunities if o ered them.

For rapidly growing industries such as life sciences—which already have sta ng shortages— skills programs and professional development are imperative for companies looking to di erentiate themselves from the competition.

What’s more, companies in New York should consider tapping into new talent pools, like contingent labor, to ll the gaps, on top of those people coming out of New York City’s prestigious universities and the LifeSci NYC internship program.

New York’s investment in the life sciences is a promising start, and the private sector has followed suit with some real achievements. But if the city is truly going to become the nation’s leading life sciences hub, it must continue to invest in its human capital to cultivate the seeds that have been planted—a win for every New Yorker. ■

John Ebeid is senior vice president at Randstad Life Sciences.

president & ceo K.C. Crain group publisher Jim Kirk publisher/executive editor Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

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chairman Keith E. Crain vice chairman Mary Kay Crain president & ceo K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain editor-in-chief emeritus Rance Crain chief nancial of cer Robert Recchia founder G.D. Crain Jr. [1885-1973] chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. [1911-1996]

CARRIÓN

HOCHUL

Clearing up confusion about new 9/11 victim compensation laws

SIGNED INTO LAW two measures that change how the state’s Surrogate’s Court will handle the probate process for two types of death claims filed by families of 9/11 victims. Many news articles, however, conflated the authority of the New York Surrogate’s Courts’ oversight over the estates of New York decedents with the authority of the Department of Justice to administer the Victim’s Compensa tion Fund to 9/11 victims and their families.

Crain’s article, “As 9/11 victims face compensation delays, new state law offers limited relief,” added another layer of confla tion—that the new laws were an attempt by the governor to shorten wait times for the World Trade Center Health Program’s medical appointments.

“Lawyers and other New Yorkers familiar with the VCF have expressed confusion over the law because the U.S. Department of Justice administers money through the fund, not the state,” the article said.

That’s true—the state can’t require the federal government to do anything, but the lawyers and other New Yorkers who drew conclusions about the law either did not read it or did not under stand it.

The laws have absolutely nothing to do with the WTC Health Program or even directly with the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Instead, they modify laws govern ing Surrogate’s Court to help claimants move faster through the probate process and allow the VCF to issue payments faster.

Our law firm, along with our colleagues at the 9/11 victim compensation firm of Pitta & Baione, our affiliated government relations firm, Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno, and legislative sponsors, drafted the laws.

Our involvement in drafting the laws stemmed from our experience

handling a claim for Ray Chase, a first responder who died of a rare 9/11-related cancer. While working with his brother-in-law, Robert Bishop, to navigate the VCF legal process, he was surprised to learn that, after the VCF process would be completed, we would then need a compromise proceeding in Surrogate’s Court.

Generally, a compromise proceeding is needed for tradition al wrongful- death lawsuits and can take up to one year. Since the VCF is an alternative to litigation, he felt there should be a simpler model applied to VCF claims.

So we drafted two bills to save two types of VCF death claims from compromise proceedings: those filed on behalf of victims of 9/11-related illnesses who died from unrelated causes, and wrongful-death claims that included only noneconomic (pain and suffering) losses.

The new legislation will remove barriers and benefit all parties involved—the claimant, the VCF and Surrogate’s Court.

Claimants benefit from a shorter, less-complicated Surro gate’s Court process, which can also be costly.

The VCF benefits from shorter processing times: The VCF will no longer need to cease processing the claim twice—once while the claimant seeks continued court permission to prosecute the claim after an eligibility determination is made, and again when an award is issued while the claimant waits for the compromise proceeding to be completed.

Finally, the Surrogate’s Courts, which are still digging themselves out of Covid backlogs, benefit from having to be less involved in these types of VCF claims.

We hope this letter serves to dispel misinformation for the 9/11 community.

VITO R. PITTA MATTHEW J. BAIONE

Write us: Crain’s welcomes submissions to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@CrainsNewYork.com. Send op-eds of 500 words or fewer to opinion@CrainsNewYork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. Crain’s reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity.

Rather than scrap the Open Restaurants program, the city should rethink it

I LIVE ABOVE TWO SIDEWALK DINING SHEDS that were some of the first to pop up in the summer of 2020. Two years later, serving food and beverages from lunch until sometimes 4 a.m., they are still going strong, and I hope they continue to do that for as long as possible.

Overnight, the city has radically transitioned from almost 100% indoor dining to supporting a new way to use its public spaces. What took Paris and Rome, the city’s global counterparts, centuries to refine happened here in a New York minute.

Two years later, lawsuits are pending against restaurateurs, and residents are asking for the City Council to overturn or dramatically alter the Open Restaurants program, as reporter Shelby Rosen berg recently noted (“Speaker Adams wants dining sheds to depart the ‘curb lane’ and move back to sidewalks”).

We should remember that this legislation was passed quickly to help restaurants and bars weather the pandemic. Rather than scrap the program altogether, we need to rethink it and offer guidance on how these structures can be built with integrity and how they can coexist with those who work and live near them.

Our streets were once devoted to the car; private vehicles freeloaded off 200-foot-wide roads, taking up

scarce and valuable real estate. Now our neighborhood mom-andpop restaurants can pay us residents for the use of the same spaces through permits and taxes—adding jobs and eyes on our streets and sidewalks.

Open Restaurants and outdoor dining have been invaluable for additional reasons. The structures, the lights and the gatherings of customers and staff remind us that New York remains alive and well. Serving as a beacon to the streets at night, the sheds also provide safety and community, which

many of us feel have been missing. With solid support from Mayor Eric Adams’ Department of Transportation and members of the City Council, more time and more rigorous construction efforts, the two little shanties under my window will become more resistant to pests and sounds, their denizens will be more respectful of my need to sleep, and New York will show Paris a thing or two about how cool a sidewalk café can be!

JONATHAN MARVEL Lower Manhattan

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL RECENTLY

TOP MANHATTAN RETAIL LEASES

Madison Ave.

Upper West SideNew lease

Midtown New lease

New lease

Gramercy Park New lease

SoHo Renewal

Upper West SideNew lease

LANDLORD/SUBLANDLORD

lease

New lease

lease

Upper West SideNew lease

New

TENANT

MOST

PEOPLE

FINANCE

TriState Capital Bank

Paul Verdi has joined TriState Capital as senior vice president, relationship manager, of the commercial real estate team. In this role, Verdi is responsible for new business development and market growth in the middle market space in the New York area. Verdi comes to TriState Capital from Capital One, where he was senior vice president of commercial real estate for 12 years. Prior to that, he held various management roles throughout his 20-plus-year career.

HEALTH CARE

Sunrise Senior Living

Tom Cana assumes the role of General Manager of Sunrise Senior Living’s two Manhattan communities: The Apsley and Sunrise at East 56th. Starting as a volunteer at Sunrise Senior Living more than a decade ago, Tom has worked in many departments at Sunrise and champions quality of care for residents while creating an authentic community. He is a graduate of William Paterson University.

LAW

Latham & Watkins LLP

Christopher L. Garcia has joined the New York of ce of Latham & Watkins as a partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice. He focuses on defending clients in regulatory and criminal investigations, conducting internal investigations, and litigating securities class actions. Garcia also counsels boards of directors, executives, brokerdealers, and investment advisers on a variety of issues, including securities matters, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance.

HEALTH CARE

Sunrise Senior Living

HEALTH CARE

MetroPlusHealth

MetroPlusHealth announces the appointment of Lila Benayoun as Chief Operating Of cer, reporting to Talya Schwartz, MD, President and CEO. She will provide the leadership, management, and vision necessary to ensure MetroPlusHealth has the proper operating systems and controls, administrative and reporting procedures and people systems.

Lila has 20+ years of leadership experience in leading new managed care markets, product launches, and advancing operational excellence and service experiences.

Dani Greene joins Sunrise Senior Living as Executive Director at Sunrise at East 56th. Dani has nearly 10 years of experience in the Assisted Living industry and was the recipient of the 2022 Administrator of the Year Award from New York State Center of Assisted Living. She earned her B.S. at SUNY Oneonta and her MSW from Touro College. She is a board member of NYSCAL and East Midtown Partnership.

Kevin Brendlen returns to Sunrise Senior Living as the Executive Director of The Apsley, Sunrise’s second Manhattan community, opening in 2023.

Kevin previously served at VP of Strategic Partnerships at Van Dyk Health Care.

LAW Latham & Watkins LLP

Raquel Kellert has joined the New York of ce of Latham & Watkins as a partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice and member of the Litigation & Trial Department. She defends corporations and individuals, and represents companies, boards, and executives, in criminal, civil, and regulatory enforcement matters involving the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures and Trading Commission, and other government agencies.

HEALTH CARE

MetroPlusHealth

MetroPlusHealth announces the appointment of Erin M. Drinkwater as its rst Chief of Government Relations & Strategic Partnerships, reporting to Talya Schwartz, MD, President and CEO. In her role, she will be responsible for developing relationships with local and state elected of cials and other external stakeholders to advance MetroPlusHealth’s mission. With over two decades in government and nonpro ts, Erin dedicates her career to public service as a strategist, activist and change-maker.

LAW Blank Rome LLP

Josh Reisberg has joined Blank Rome’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice group as a partner in the New York of ce.

Josh is a seasoned trial attorney who focuses his practice on all facets of IP litigation, with broad experience in life sciences and technology patent litigation. Josh represents companies in the pharmaceutical, consumer electronics, software, plastics technologies, semiconductors, fashion, and publishing industries. He joins Blank Rome from Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider.

Greene Brendlen

ALICE ELLIOT The Elliot Group

Food is the central theme of Alice Elliot’s work, but her abiding passion for the hospitality industry has to do with the people who lead it. Her three-decadeold, 45-person firm, The Elliot Group, is often on retainer, placing mostly C-suite-level staff at many of New York City’s top restaurants and brands as well as inside hotels and eateries all over the world. To help clients and talent succeed, Elliot prides herself on nurturing relationships through trainings, events and coaching. Outside of talent placement, she also works closely with financial institutions that invest in hospitality businesses in some way.

Is New York still the center of the restaurant industry?

New York continues to be one of the most sought out places in the country for innovation, progressiveness and really being the epicenter of how people think about food and restaurants. It’s one of the most welcoming from a culinary stance and from a curiosity stance. People are always willing to try new foods, so chefs, restaurants and businesspeople are eager to hone their craft here. But it has certainly become more challenging.

Can you unpack those challenges?

The costs and accessibility of real estate, and the ability to attract and retain labor at all levels in a city that is still reemerging from a challenging period—it’s

DOSSIER

BORN Bayside, Queens

RESIDES Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in history, University of Colorado

X’S AND O’S Elliot puts stock in relationships. When her firm hosts an event, she and her staff greet everyone with hugs and kisses. “I didn’t come from the industry,” she said, “so I always vowed that if I ever became anyone, I’d treat everyone as special.”

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS Elliot has eaten at the best spots the world over.

When the restaurant choice is up to her, she picks Italian. “You’ll never dissuade me from having a great Italian meal with a glass of red wine.”

FULL CIRCLE One key measure of success is when leaders she has coached throughout their career are in a position to retain her firm.

“They become clients,” she said.

increasingly difficult. Still it is a misnomer that New York is the be all and end all, because in no way, shape or form is it. There are a lot of places in this great country where there are places to go eat and have a wonderful experience from a culinary stance.

What’s challenging about rising through the ranks in the hospitality industry?

I don’t know that people realize and understand how hard people work in the industry. I marvel at it. When the world is playing, you are working. The guest expectation is so high. They could be at home watching a cooking show or cooking at home or ordering delivery.

How can those high expectations be met?

In the restaurant industry, it’s experiential, so there is a high cost of doing business. You can’t be in it if you’re not committed and you don’t have passion and the financial resources to give the experience you are capable of giving. A lot of chains and concepts have taken in investment from private equity firms. The guest might not be aware of it, but then that kind of restaurant has a little more of a financial cushion as they grow.

Private equity investment. So someone some where thinks restaurants are a good bet? Yes, they do.

What are the telltale signs of a restaurant with solid leadership?

It’s so seamless. You’d be mesmerized as to what goes on behind the scenes. There is just a fastidiousness, discipline, methodology and a spirit of execution and creative change. In fine dining, it’s about not staying stagnant with the menu and always being on top of culinary trends as well as refurbishing the restaurants. It’s also about making new and regular guests feel they are having an exceptional experience. ■

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR

Crain’s is bringing together leaders in transportation to go inside what’s next for getting around in NYC. In this conversation we’ll talk to policymakers and transportation experts about the future of planes, trains, automobiles, as well as innovation in public transportation.

DEREK

RUTH FASOLDT Lyft

How a local avor-maker keeps up with fast-changing tastes

BY AARON ELSTEIN

Even the most dedicated home cooks seldom make ice cream because the tasty stu in the store’s freezer case is di cult to reproduce. Getting the texture right requires adding stabilizers that “solubilize” with milk and eggs to keep fat particles small and entrap air, according to a recent publication from the Institute of Food Technologists.

Sometimes those stabilizers are made by Manhattan-based International Flavors & Fragrances, which is one of the 50 fastest-growing companies in the city and showed the most revenue growth of any rm there, according to Crain’s research.

Flavorings, either natural or synthetic, are the fourth-most common food ingredient listed on food labels. IFF produces thousands of them to season or color food and other household items. e rm, a leader in this corner of the food business for many years, merged with DuPont’s nutrition and biosciences division for $7.3 billion last year.

IFF has bene ted from the surge in food choices. e average supermarket stocks four times more items, or “stock keeping units,” than

prise contrasts to some of the growing pains experienced recently by upstarts on the Fast 50 list.

Medley Health, No. 3 on the list, laid o approximately two-thirds of its sta of 1,900 during the summer, according to a lawsuit from ex-workers who claim they weren’t given proper notice. Compass, a residential real estate broker, has undergone two rounds of layo s, and its stock has lost more than 80% of its value since going public last year.

erences by making products less sweet or salty. Ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup have been replaced by sugar in some prepared foods. In October 2021 the Food and Drug Administration released new guidance on sodium reduction in 163 categories of commercially prepared foods, with an eye toward reducing intake by 12% by 2024.

e trick for manufacturers and the IFFs of the world is to come up with ways to ensure the products don’t lose the taste that made them popular. In addition, they must nd a way to satisfy the growing group of shoppers seeking natural-

ly avored foods.

It’s not always easy for consumers to gure out which avorings are “natural” and which are articial because avor manufacturers aren’t required to disclose the ingredients they use. e FDA denes natural avorings as those that derive their avor from plant or animal sources that are distilled, fermented or otherwise manipulated in a lab.

A diverse portfolio

“Natural is a euphemism for mixtures of extracted chemicals,” said Marion Nestle, a professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies and pub-

QUICK STATS 60

$7.3B

in the 1970s. Heinz sells 19 kinds of ketchup, and Ben & Jerry’s has more than 60 avors of ice cream, including a new one made with cold-brew co ee and marshmallow swirls.

More than ever, food manufacturers rely on outside help to develop new products.

While keeping their list of clients to themselves, IFF o cials say they’re here to help get new stu on the shelves fast.

“Speed comes into play,” CEO Frank Clyburn said last month at an investor conference, because working with IFF “allows for our customers to innovate more quickly than what they were able to do in the past.”

IFF traces its roots to a rm founded in 1749 to distill peppermint, lavender and chamomile. e success of this old-school enter-

IFF is a leader in a global business dominated by a handful of rms with combined revenue estimated at $20 billion.

Menachem Genack, CEO of Orthodox Union Kosher Division, the nation’s leading kosher-certi cation agency, said his group keeps track of 1 million items on its Ingredient Approval Registry.

“It’s growing all the time,” he said.

The big business of avors

Flavorings aren’t only a big business in food. Vaping took o after Juul added salts containing up to three times more nicotine than previous e-cigarettes. e salts, developed by tobacco companies decades ago, contain softening agents so customers don’t burn their throat when taking a pu .

But for IFF, the biggest opportunity is in food.

Manufacturers are trying to keep up with changing consumer pref-

IFF ranked as number 29 on this year’s list of the 50 fastest growing companies in the city. The company also has the highest revenue on the list, nearly $12 billion for 2021.

lic health at New York University.

Yet Wall Street analysts think IFF has some powerful tailwinds. e product diversity in supermarkets’ middle aisles and frozen-food cases is coming to the butcher’s section as consumers embrace plant-based meats made from bran, oat, soy and pea protein.

“Typically [they] don’t have the same taste, texture, shelf life and cookability as the foods they are intended to replace,” Credit Suisse analyst John Roberts said in an August report to clients. “ is usually requires more specialty ingredients, both natural and synthetic, in which IFF is a leader.” ■

BUCK ENNIS

DIFFERENT FLAVORS of ice cream sold by Ben & Jerry’s

MERGER involving IFF and DuPont’s nutrition and bioscience division that took place last year

IFF WAS FOUNDED in New York in 1833

HR LEADERS

AMERICAN ECONOMIST JOHN COMMONS is said to have coined the term “human resource” in his 1893 book, e Distribution of Wealth. In the ensuing decades, formal departments focused on sta ng and employees began forming at organizations to ful ll people-centric mandates that encompassed diverse issues including recruitment, training, compensation and process design.

To address the recent seismic shifts in the way work is done, HR executives have needed extra doses of dexterity and imagination. Where, how and with whom employees perform their duties are only a portion of the variables. Also thrown into the mix are new technologies, each of which requires organizational integration.

Could there be a more appropriate time to salute HR professionals who have helped businesses respond to the challenges?

Crain’s set out to identify HR leaders across industries and rms notable for their successes and their ability to power change. e 62 individuals who made the grade are an accomplished cohort.

To qualify, nominees were required to be based in the New York metropolitan area and to serve in a senior role in an HR department or at a company involved in HR-related services such as recruiting, bene ts and administration, or HR-speci c software. Crain’s sought professionals whose work surpasses the expected and whose accomplishments are both transformative and innovative.

Read their bios to learn how these HR captains are helping organizations navigate the brave new world of work.

JULIE BANK

Chief people of cer | Brighton Health Plan Solutions

Recruitment, talent management, labor relations, leadership development, employee engagement and employee communications are among Julie Bank’s responsibilities at Brighton Health Plan Solutions. She has worked to eliminate the disconnect between how company leaders and team members view operational areas. Achieving board buy-in and executive team support for diversity, equity and inclusion e orts, Bank has centered energy on a Day of Understanding at Brighton—an event highlighting the varied experiences of employees, especially minorities, in the workplace. She is speaker and co-chair for DisruptHR, and a 2021 recipient of the OnCon Icon Award, an accolade in the human resources industry.

KERRY BESSEY

Senior vice president and chief human resources of cer | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Kerry Bessey leads all human resources-related e orts at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. e work includes talent strategy, recruitment, development, employee engagement, diversity and equity and inclusion initiatives. Since 2020, it also has included pandemic response and recovery e orts such as policy and legal guidance, implementation of a vaccine mandate and the redeployment of sta . Under Bessey’s leadership, Memorial Sloan Kettering has overhauled its learning programs, embracing a virtual model that has improved reach and impact. She has enhanced access to mental health care for employees to reduce burnout, redesigned the center’s wellness program and created a remote new-employee orientation process.

NAVEEN BHATEJA

Executive vice president and chief people of cer | Medidata Solutions

Medidata Solutions is aiding the digital transformation of life sciences by generating insights for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and diagnostic companies. As its executive vice president and chief people o cer, Naveen Bhateja leads the global employee function. He is responsible for the recruitment and retention of talent, employee programs related to leadership and development, diversity, equity and inclusion e orts, and corporate social responsibility. During the pandemic, Bhateja found innovative ways to attract talent through virtual processes, hiring and onboarding more than 2,000 professionals. He led Medidata’s Social Innovation Lab, an internal think tank and volunteer program that pairs employees with nonpro t partners to advance key issues.

DEBRA BIERMAN

Vice president and people team leader | Optum

At the health services company Optum, Debra Bierman coordinates human resource functions for 2,100 providers representing 70 medical specialties and working in 360 medical practices and 55 urgent care locations across New York, New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Focusing on the people side of management, Optum’s vice president people team leader is responsible for employee recruitment, onboarding, o boarding, development and engagement. Bierman and her team have successfully integrated three people teams under a tristate umbrella, and they have assisted in the acquisition and integration of additional medical practices. roughout her human resources work, she has worked to foster an environment of inclusion and diversity, with particular success in placing women into management positions.

KATIE BROWN

Vice president of people | Sharebite

Katie Brown joined Sharebite, a food ordering platform for hybrid workforces, in April. e vice president of people leads strategic human resources programs, including organizational development, talent acquisition and management, workforce planning and retention. Brown has aligned people strategies with business initiatives, helped strengthen company culture, and introduced initiatives for greater engagement and e ciency among employees and the leadership team. In her more than 15 years of experience in the industry, she has designed HR campaigns for early-stage tech companies to help them adapt during periods of rapid growth. Brown previously was head of HR at ServiceChannel.

MAXINE CARRINGTON

Senior vice president and chief people officer

Northwell Health

Maxine Carrington has helped establish Northwell Health’s people framework by driving its engagement, development and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Carrington’s responsibilities include team-member experience, career and performance development, change management, compensation and corporate social responsibility. The senior vice president and chief people officer has expanded the diversity of leadership, created an unbiased talent assessment process and built an inclusive company culture. In addition, she launched the Women in Healthcare Business Employee Resource Group at Northwell and developed Inclusion Academy, a DEI center that teaches about unconscious bias and allyship. Carrington is on the board of the Interfaith Nutrition Network.

ANGELA COLONMAHONEY

Vice president of people and business services Otsuka Pharmaceuticals North America

Angela Colon-Mahoney leads the human resources function, language services and information resources centers at Otsuka. Colon-Mahoney started a diversity, equity and inclusion program that opened avenues for the increased presence of employee resource groups and talent acquisition partnerships focused on pipeline diversity and manager training. The vice president of people and business services recently implemented a talent-acquisition program to target historically Black colleges and universities for recruitment. She helped launch a peer-topeer mental wellness group for those within the Otsuka community. Colon-Mahoney is involved with Hour Child, a nonprofit in Queens that helps incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children rejoin communities.

PATRICK COLVIN

Chief diversity officer, Americas Societe Generale

As head of talent for the Americas for multinational financial services leader Societe Generale, Patrick Colvin is the primary architect of the organization’s strategic diversity vision for the region. Colvin strives to ensure the development of a comprehensive human capital strategy that embeds diversity, equity and inclusion principles in all management and organizational practices. He framed and designed the SG Americas Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Roadmap, which provided a comprehensive path for achieving the firm’s DEI aspirations. Colvin’s insights have been featured by Forbes, Fast Company, Yahoo Finance and Entrepreneur magazine. He has been a featured speaker at conferences presented by the Society for Human Resource Management.

AMY COSTA

Chief people officer Bachrach Group

Amy Costa is responsible for human resources and wellness at the Bachrach Group, a recruiting firm where she also oversees talent acquisition. Costa has been involved in conflict resolution and training, has enhanced social media initiatives and has helped establish forward-thinking hiring. She encourages the talent acquisition team to focus on diverse recruitment. She has initiated wellness and fun programs—including TBG Family Feud and TBG Rap Battle—and developed internal structures and programs for onboarding employees. Costa is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. At the Bachrach Group, she has worked on charitable endeavors.

KAREN NIOVITCH DAVIS

Partner and chief human resources officer Prosek Partners

At marketing and communications firm Prosek Partners, Karen Niovitch Davis is charged with leading end-to-end human resources strategy. She drives original programming that enhances company culture and improves employee performance. Thanks in part to Niovitch Davis’ efforts, Prosek Partners was named among Observer’s Best PR Firms in America and PRovoke Media’s 2022 North American Agency of the Year. She is sponsor and champion of the organization’s culture, diversity and belonging committee, which works to foster inclusion through internal and external speakers, newsletters and online courses. Davis is a member of the New York chapter of Peer 150, which provides networking opportunities for HR leaders.

IN A SURVEY OF HR PROFESSIONALS, 7 IN 10 SAID 2021 WAS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING YEARS OF THEIR CAREER.

—PAYCHEX

LIVIA DE BASTOS MARTINI

Chief people officer Gympass

Gympass is a corporate wellness platform intended to make well-being universal. Ensuring that the company walks its talk internally is Lívia de Bastos Martini. From the recruitment and retention of employees to upskilling leadership and helping reduce worker burnout, Gympass’ chief people officer works to ensure its global team of more than 2,000 feels supported by the company.

Despite a volatile job market and the realities of the Great Resignation, de Bastos Martini added 400 employees to Gympass’ staff in 12 months.

Owing in part to her efforts, the company received Comparably’s Best Career Growth and Best Global Culture awards this year.

NATALIE DIAZ

Chief of staff Time Equities

At Time Equities, a diversified investment, development and asset management company, Natalie Diaz oversees non–real estate and nonfinancial functions including human resources, public relations and marketing, and the asset management of TEI’s only hospitality property. Diaz developed and implemented the firm’s first parental-leave and short-term-disability policies, was involved with pandemic response initiatives, and held conversations with Black colleagues in response to the racial reckoning of recent years. She supports Future Now, and she is on the board of advisers for the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice.

JAVIER EVANS

Chief human resources officer Webster Bank

At Webster Bank, Javier Evans is responsible for the strategic direction and development of its human capital management practices. That includes talent management, leadership development, succession planning, compensation, payroll and talent acquisition. Evans was involved with the recent merging of Sterling National and Webster banks. He formulated a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy that aligned multiple employee resource groups across the organization. Evans holds positions at the National Association for African Americans in HR and United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island, among several other organizations.

SARAH FORSYTH Director of HR

LMC Certified Public Accountants

Sarah Forsyth has spearheaded initiatives that led LMC to be recognized by Crain’s as a top place to work in New York City this year. Forsyth created a training and development program, LMC University, that provides employees with an efficient way to earn continuing-education credits. In addition, she has worked to create a positive business culture and improve employee engagement, retention, recruitment and productivity. She led the firm’s charitable initiative to support the people of Ukraine, coordinating employees’ donations of money, food, goods and clothing.

MELANIE FOSS Chief human resources officer Citrin Cooperman

A number of human capital functions rest with Melanie Foss at accounting firm Citrin Cooperman. They range from operations, employee engagement and conflict resolution to talent management, talent acquisition, performance management and benefits administration. She recommends and implements legally sound HR practices and policies including auxiliary staffing, salary administration, employee relations and employee health and wellness.

Foss manages a team of HR generalists and specialists across the organization. She was involved in the development of CC Inspire, a program that enhances the firm’s ability to attract, develop and maintain talent in a way that enhances the client experience.

JEN GARRISON

Chief people officer Onbe

Jen Garrison leverages more than 15 years of experience in building and developing top-performing teams. At Onbe, which manages disbursements for corporate clients, Garrison guides talent acquisition, employee development, people operations, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, she leads the project management office and real estate teams. In recent months, she championed a “work from anywhere” policy to promote employee well-being while creating a twice-yearly in-person meeting for all employees. She has standardized practices, enabled succession planning and formed a mentorship program involving Onbe executives and the senior leadership team.

DIANA GETCHIUS

Vice president of human resources Union Square Hospitality Group

Diana Getchius oversees total rewards, payroll and human resources teams for the Union Square Hospitality Group. Following a 90% staff reduction in 2020, Getchius helped the company return to its 2019 staffing levels in 18 months while she supported new hires, revamped onboarding and training and worked to improve benefits offerings. The vice president of human resources also tracked wage parity among employees, leading the restaurant group to earn recognition from One Fair Wage as a leader in the industry.

Getchius has measured and published companywide diversity numbers, restructured the organization’s HR department and led the implementation of a vaccine program.

LINDSAY GRENAWALT

Chief people officer Cockroach Labs

At software development company Cockroach Labs, Lindsay Grenawalt oversees all human resources functions including employee development and talent acquisition. Grenawalt has been instrumental in defining the organization’s core values, culture-first mentality and diversity-led recruitment strategies. She led Cockroach Labs’ return-to-office strategy this year, ensuring that employee choice and flexibility were priorities. Under her direction, the company recently expanded its New York City headquarters, investing in a space that offers employees a media studio and an outdoor space. Grenawalt previously was vice president of people operations at technology company Yext.

MARSHEILA HAYES

Vice president of diversity

Fox News Media

Marsheila Hayes and her team provide governance and work with business units to scale out inclusion and employee resource group initiatives

across Fox News Media. Hayes has established diverse talent pipelines through partnerships

with the Emma Bowen Foundation, the T. Howard Foundation and the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication at Florida International University. She helped launch the first diversity, equity and inclusion council at Fox and initiated mentoring programs. At the USA Today Network, she won the 2016 Employee of the Year Award for the human resources division.

RICHARD HINTON

Director of people strategies, New York metropolitan region Shawmut Design and Construction

Shawmut’s Richard Hinton develops and implements talent strategies that align with business goals for the company’s New York metropolitan region.

Hinton’s key responsibilities include talent

management, onboarding, driving company culture, advising executives and fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment. He drives strategy aimed at advancing diversity, equity and inclusion through training, organization memberships, panels and events. The director of people strategies leads the New York Regional Diversity Leadership Council in eminence building and philanthropy, and he co-leads the nonprofit Diversity and Inclusion in Construction and Engineering, a national peer collaboration group of leaders advocating change in the industry.

BAD INTERVIEWS MAKE 83% OF CANDIDATES LOSE INTEREST.

—TEAMSTAGE

ANNIE HOFFNUNG

Chief human resources officer Joele Frank

At Joele Frank, a strategic financial communications and investor relations firm, Annie Hoffnung oversees all human resources functions and supports the company’s strategic direction in talent and performance management, training and development, and compensation. Hoffnung was instrumental in developing the firm’s pandemic response, implementing a hybrid work structure and unrolling a training program for new and seasoned employees alike. She created a diversity and inclusion road map for the company, which was originally founded as a minority- and women-owned business. Hoffnung mentors employees at all levels and volunteers for the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale’s Meals on Wheels program.

CHANTAL INNOCENT

Vice president of human resources and employee experience Amida Care

At Amida Care, the largest Medicaid managed care special-needs health plan in New York state, Chantal Innocent oversees all aspects of employee relations, including hiring and promotions, benefits, and employee wellness and training. Innocent created and leads committees at the organization, including those dedicated to wellness, diversity and inclusion, and “fun at work.”

The vice president of human resources and employee experience is also co-chair of the Racial Equity and Inclusion Work Group, which has accomplished key goals as part of its three-year strategic plan.

The goals include a revised tuition reimbursement policy, a pay-equity study, enhanced candidate selection strategies and career advancement opportunities.

NANCY JACOB

Chief human resources officer Family Service League

Nancy Jacob is responsible for the strategic planning, development and implementation of human resources services, policies and procedures at the Family Service League. Jacob ensures that the social services agency provides an employee-oriented, high performance environment in compliance with federal, state and local laws. She has expertise in succession planning, compensation, talent acquisition, employee relations and compliance. She introduced an employee orientation program to help new staff members become acclimated to organizational policies and culture. During the pandemic, Jacob has led initiatives to ensure the safety of employees and clients. Jacob is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, and she is involved with the nonprofits Long Island Cares and Alternatives Counseling Services.

MONIQUE JEFFERSON

Chief people officer

Community Preservation Corp.

Community Preservation is a nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company. Monique Jefferson leads its human resources function and serves as a senior business adviser. She implements programs, policies and initiatives that advance the organization’s growth-centric culture, from employee engagement and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to career development and mentorship programs. Jefferson previously was chief human resources officer at New York Public Radio, where she led the development and implementation of recruiting and employee onboarding playbooks, revamped the internship program and streamlined promotion processes. She is a board member of the Calibr Global Leadership Network, which is dedicated to the career advancement of Black executives.

SUVARNA JOSHI

Head of people Meetup

Suvarna Joshi leads all peoplerelated functions for social network Meetup. Joshi’s duties include compliance, employee benefits, employee well-being, hiring

processes, employee coaching and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She has worked to increase employee engagement and helped Meetup’s employee retention rate reach 97% this year. She started the company’s People Manager Coaching Series for middle managers, and she is credited with a weekly internal newsletter. She oversees weekly pulse surveys and quarterly and employee net promoter scores. Joshi is a member of the Indian American Cultural Society, where she volunteers as a dance instructor for children.

MICHAEL KATZAB

Chief human resources officer

NYC Health + Hospitals

Michael Katzab oversees human resources operations for the corporate, clinical and nonclinical business units at Health + Hospitals.

Katzab’s responsibilities include recruitment and onboarding, employee engagement and relations, performance management and compliance. The chief human resources officer provides counsel to senior leadership and supervises a team of dozens of HR support staff. He oversaw all hiring and HR operations for H+H’s Covid-19 Test & Trace program, and he has implemented community-based recruitment events to support talent acquisition strategy. He also piloted a workforce action request system that reduces paper usage.

OLIVIA KELLY

Chief administrative officer

Douglaston Cos.

At Douglaston, a group of companies that provide services in real estate development, construction management and property management, Olivia Kelly is responsible for building out strategic human resources initiatives, overseeing recruitment and talent retention and leading policy review and implementation. As chief administrative officer, Kelly oversees benefits, compensation, compliance initiatives and professional development while she supervises the information technology and marketing departments. She recently led an internship program in partnership with the Real Estate Board of New York and the nonprofit Project Destined, which works to turn minority youth into owners and stakeholders in their communities.

SHEILA KURMAN

Chief human resources officer

Prager Metis

Sheila Kurman is responsible for all facets of human resources strategy at Prager Metis. Kurman’s work revolves around mentoring, talent

acquisition, employee retention, culture initiatives and a range of process improvements. In addition, she manages a team dedicated to onboarding, learning and development, and benefits. In the past year, she led the implementation of the firm’s alternate staffing model, which has included global remote hiring and the opening and staffing of an office in India. She has worked on the incorporation of diversity, equity and inclusion principles in hiring processes, and she implemented Prager Metis’ employee wellness program.

ADAM LEWIS

Founder and CEO Apploi

Under Adam Lewis’ direction, Apploi has become a leading human capital management platform for health care employers. The organization has been making impressive strides: Last year Inc. magazine ranked it No. 1 for software in New York and identified it as the 19th-fastestgrowing private software company in the country. Lewis, who began his career as a management consultant at Accenture, has been working in the human resources tech startup ecosystem since 2010. Apploi’s CEO has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and on Bloomberg TV and ABC News, among other media outlets. He is involved in multiple charitable initiatives.

NAMI LIBERBOIM

Vice president of human resources Hines

Nami Liberboim supports more than 650 employees on strategic talent initiatives as a vice president and human resources business partner in the East region for Hines, a global real estate investment, development and management company. Liberboim has evolved the HR model at the firm to help employees grow and develop, spearheading initiatives that foster employee engagement and company culture. She successfully led the East region in recruiting diverse external talent, navigating economic challenges and improving employee retention. Liberboim previously worked for McKinsey & Co. as an engagement manager and as manager of culture and operations with Teach for America.

THE MEDIAN SALARY FOR HR SPECIALISTS IN

U.S.

JAMES MARCOLIN

Founder and CEO Persone NYC

James Marcolin sought to improve the hiring process for New York City’s hospitality industry by incorporating a personal connection between employers and employees.

As a result, in 2016 he founded Persone, a boutique hospitality recruiting firm, where he now serves as CEO. The company searches, filters, screens and interviews potential candidates before connecting them with employers, ensuring that they can offer useful skills to clients.

In particular, Marcolin aims to reduce inefficient practices. Marcolin is a proud activist for small businesses, equal rights and climate change. He is involved with a number of organizations and charities including Immigration Equality.

JULIETTE MARSHALL

Senior vice president of human resources

L+M Development Partners

At real estate development firm L+M, Juliette Marshall leads the team responsible for recruiting, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, payroll and training and development. Marshall

launched a pay-equity project that established compensation guidelines, and she created a salary-band structure to foster employee growth. The senior vice president of human resources focuses on staff development, identifying high performers and providing them with the tools to grow and succeed. The civically engaged Marshall has spent more than two decades mentoring youth and adults through the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. She is an executive network member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

ILANA MAUSKOPF

Director of talent and people operations

Nava Benefits

Ilana Mauskopf is responsible for recruitment and retention, employment policies and benefits at Nava, an employee benefits brokerage. Mauskopf developed and expanded the company’s employment and human resources processes, including the launch of an employee engagement and satisfaction survey. The director of talent and people operations has planned off-site meetings to allow employees of the all-remote company to gather, and she helped land the company on Inc. magazine’s Best Workplaces list. Mauskopf previously built people operations in the technology and education industries, and she created and led public webinars for HR professionals. Racial equity and women’s health are among the social issues to which she is committed.

COLLEEN MCAULIFFE

Vice president of human resources

Phipps Houses and Phipps Neighborhoods

Colleen McAuliffe has broad expertise in benefits administration, recruitment and labor relations.

McAuliffe oversees human resources and payroll functions for real estate organization

Phipps Houses, its affiliates and client entities in the affordable housing space. The vice president of human resources recently focused on streamlining recruiting, hiring, onboarding and day-to-day management to meet increasing staffing demands. During the pandemic, she has led efforts to ensure worker safety and well-being. McAuliffe previously was on the board of directors for the New York Personnel Management Association and for the New York City chapter of the National Association of Insurance Women.

PAUL MCCARTHY

Chief people officer SevenRooms

SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform aimed at helping hospitality operators build relationships and gain reliable customers. Paul McCarthy is responsible for the company’s culture, talent acquisition, development and people management. McCarthy is involved in expanding the scope of investments in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, employee resource groups, talent acquisition, benefits offerings, training and perks. He has led the expansion of interview processes and interviewer training courses to eliminate biases. McCarthy is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, a networking group for seniorlevel HR professionals.

REINALDA MEDINA

Associate vice president of human resources

New York Hall of Science

Reinalda Medina is responsible for the operation of the human capital agenda at the New York Hall of Science.

Working closely with senior leadership, Medina prioritizes business goals, optimizes employee retention and ensures effective organizational structure. She develops and implements policies and procedures, oversees hiring practices and coaches employees. When New York City’s cultural institutions convened because of the Covid-19 pandemic to share resources and provide mutual support, Medina co-chaired the HR committee and created an HR consortium to guide more than 200 smaller organizations. It wasn’t her only time stepping up during a crisis. When heavy rains destroyed employee files, she introduced a cloud-based personnel document management system.

ABE MONZON

Director of talent

Union Square Hospitality Group

Abe Monzon works alongside the Union Square Hospitality Group’s human resources team to help source and hire employees. Leading recruiting practices across 20 unique businesses, Monzon continued hiring during the pandemic while ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion goals were met. He has built and strengthened partnerships with universities and organizations, and he re-established USHG’s summer internship program, matching interns across the marketing, human resources and operations departments. He previously was associate director of recruiting for Whole Foods Market, director of recruitment for casual-wear retailer Uniqlo and head of global talent acquisition at chocolatier Godiva.

MICHELE PINDER MOORMAN

Vice president of people

Resilience Lab

Michele Pinder Moorman leads corporate recruiting, talent and performance management at Resilience Lab, a collective of New York–based therapists. Moorman advises the executive team on human resources and internal communications, and she leads diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for the company. She is implementing HR structures to support the company’s next growth phase. Pinder Moorman has a separate career: She coaches businesspeople, specializing in helping executives with career transitions. Pinder Moorman, who has spoken at events held by the New York City Bar Association and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, is on the advisory board of the New York Urban League.

SAHANA MUKHERJEE

Global head of HR for wealth technology Citigroup

At Citigroup, Sahana Mukherjee’s responsibilities are as extensive as her formal title: global head of human resources for the wealth technology and the engineering and architecture practices across personal banking and wealth manage ment technology. Mukherjee, who focuses on strategic talent management, organizational capability and culture, has led efforts to define talent strategy and pioneered initiatives that focus on operationalizing broad concepts into day-to-day actions to be incorporated into operating models. She has guided human capital strategy across sectors and industries, including for operations and technology groups at Citigroup and for business units at electronics manufacturing firm TE Connectivity. Mukherjee is on the Forbes Human Resources Council.

MARK NEAL

Chief people officer

New York City Department of Social Services

At the New York Department of Social Services, Mark Neal provides human resources oversight for the Office of Human Resources Solutions, the Office of Labor Relations and the Office of Emergency

Management. Neal led a team of human resources and labor relations professionals in championing a compressed workweek program for DSS staff, leading the agency to become one of the city’s first to successfully negotiate a policy of that sort with a municipal union. In addition, he guided the creation of the agency’s first diversity, equity and inclusion council, coordinated the recruitment of diverse staff to sit on the council and provided guidance on agency efforts.

As Global Head of Human Resources at Blackstone, Paige Ross is a champion of creating a culture where everyone can win. Developing talent and driving efforts around diversity, equity & inclusion are at the heart of this mission. The investment management firm achieved 49% racially diverse representation in the U.S., and 41% representation globally among its 2021 analyst class—in a year when headcount grew 20%. Blackstone is known as an employer of choice. The firm received more than 29,000 applications for 103 full-time starting analyst positions in 2021 alone.

To achieve diversity benchmarks like this, Ross and her team have cast a wide net, recruiting at 44 colleges (compared to nine in 2015)—among them eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Blackstone partners with several external organizations, including Girls Who Invest, Year Up and SEO Career, to recruit candidates from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds. In doing so, she taps experience that includes serving as managing director of talent management at Centerbridge Partners and VP of human resources at Pfizer.

Crain’s Content Studio recently spoke with Ross about her approach to HR.

CRAIN’S: What got you interested in a human resources career?

ROSS: I’ve always been interested in what motivates people—and what make them thrive. This was a primary focus during my time at Hofstra University, where I graduated with both my MA and PhD in Applied Organizational Psychology. Now, at Blackstone, the most interesting part of my job is thinking about how we can be strategic in recruiting, developing, rewarding and advancing our people, while cultivating an environment for growing long-term careers.

CRAIN’S: You’ve worked in talent management for more than three decades. What are the most significant changes you’ve seen in human resources in recent years?

ROSS: In this time, I’ve seen HR evolve into the true intersection of people and business. In financial services, HR has an important seat at the table, now more than ever. This enables us to advise senior management in how to optimize team performance, drive productivity and equip leaders with the tools and training needed to best develop our talent. Having the right

leadership, in a culture where everyone can thrive, is crucial to any firm’s success, so managerial development is among our primary focuses.

CRAIN’S: Can you share some of the approaches that have been most effective for Blackstone’s approach to DE&I?

ROSS: While there’s always more to be done, we’ve expanded our efforts to attract strong applicants from the widest funnel, actively recruiting from 44 colleges, including 8 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Additionally, we provide access and early education opportunities through our Future Women and Diverse Leaders programming and partnerships with organizations such as Girls Who Invest, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and YearUp.

CRAIN’S: You integrated HR professionals into each of Blackstone’s business units. Can you tell us about the thinking behind that strategy and what results you have seen?

ROSS: Our leadership is hyper-focused on culture and talent–so to support

this, we need HR leaders embedded in our business units as “quarterbacks,” if you will, to usher in the right resources from our HR centers of excellence. These HR business partners need to be experts in the business and people strategy alike, while operating as trusted advisors in driving the group’s bottom line.

CRAIN’S: What are your goals for the next year?

ROSS: As Blackstone grows, we must, one, continue to transform our HR function, striking the right balance between the strategic and the executional. Two, develop our talent across all levels and locations; with each new office, for example, we bring in local hires, while moving over experienced employees who exemplify our values. And three, maintain our performance-based culture. Above all, it comes down to talent management. As in a chess game, every move has a purpose!

A seasoned HR leader recruits and develops diverse talent, with measurable results in a performance-based culture

NOTABLE Q&A with Paige Ross

DAWN PERRI

Partner PKF O’Connor Davies

Dawn Perri puts more than a quarter-century’s worth of human resources experience to work as a partner at accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies. To recruit and retain talent, Perri has implemented programs and policies to improve the firm’s work culture, such as increased paid parental leave, an employee referral bonus and an enhanced benefits program. She collaborates with senior leadership to ensure optimal firmwide practices, and she has been involved in reconstructing a learning and development program. Perri received the 2021 Ovation Award from the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants for her diversity and inclusion work. She is on the board of the nonprofit White Plains Youth Bureau.

NEELA PERSAUD

Director of human resources and benefits

Duval & Stachenfeld

At law firm Duval & Stachenfeld, Neela Persaud develops, directs and implements strategic planning related to the firm’s people and overall culture. Persaud revamped the firm’s performancereview process, negotiated savings for annual benefits renewals and introduced flexible policies to attract and retain talent. The director of human resources and benefits chairs the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, and she has hosted sessions aimed at educating employees on how to foster a safe, diverse workplace. Persaud is a member of the New York City and Long Island chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management.

CASSANDRA PRATT

Senior vice president of people Progyny

Cassandra Pratt oversees talent recruitment, development and employee retention at fertility benefits and insurance company Progyny. Pratt is involved in the implemen tation of several employee resource groups, and she has led efforts to build scalable processes that contribute to worker satisfaction. In addition, she brought in a financial services team to conduct one-on-one meetings with employees to help them gain financial security and understand their benefits packages. She has led town halls that provide updates on efforts to recruit diverse talent. Pratt supports Together We Rise, a charity that works to improve the lives of children in foster care.

LAUREN PREVOST

Corporate senior human resources

generalist

Propark Mobility

Lauren Prevost oversees more than 1,000 employees, field managers and executives based in New York and New Jersey for Propark Mobility, a national parking management company. Prevost is responsible for managing human resources functions including hiring, unemployment oversight, investigations and mentoring. Prevost, a corporate senior HR generalist, regularly manages translation services in New York City, and she has helped Propark develop an electronic onboarding process.

As the company’s affirmative action and equal employment opportunity officer, she has led initiatives aimed at creating employee advancement opportunities, including the Circle of Excellence and Rockstar Employee of the Month programs.

SAMIRAT RIVERS

Vice president and chief people officer

LiveOnNY

At LiveOnNY, an organprocurement nonprofit serving the New York metropolitan area, Samirat Rivers oversees human resources, education, training, organizational culture and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Rivers is committed to building a culture of diversity, acceptance and support, and she works to align executive leadership and staff with community values and representation. She designs and leads employee-focused initiatives. She was involved in transitioning staff to a remotework model in response to the pandemic. Rivers previously was an HR business partner and director of operations and marketing at Fortune Franchise.

PATRICIA ROBINSON

Chief administrative officer

Greater Jamaica Development

At Greater Jamaica Development, Patricia Robinson collaborates with executives on operational planning, budgeting and organizational matters.

Robinson participates in business and strategic planning, developing goals for departments and individual managers, and coordinating operations within departments. She is also a college educator, mentor and public speaker who makes herself accessible through panels and in schools. She previously was director of community outreach for Colin Kaepernick and a member of the board of directors for the Jamaica Performing Arts Center Black Spectrum Theatre. Robinson is on the advisory committee for the New York Association for Training Employment Professionals.

TAMI ROSEN

Chief people officer

Pagaya

As the first C-suite executive hired at software company Pagaya, and its first chief people officer, Tami Rosen is responsible for the recruitment, development, engagement and retention of the company’s talent. Rosen created Pagaya’s first Continuous Learning Cycle program, a team model that sets expectations between managers and employees through two-way discussions. She helped Pagaya scale from 200 employees to more than 800 around the globe, and she is credited with transforming the company’s work culture into one fueled by diversity, creative thinking and partnership. Rosen has engaged employees through initiatives that embrace the inclusion and empowerment of women and LGBTQ+ individuals.

PAIGE ROSS

Global head of human resources Blackstone

Paige Ross has expanded efforts to attract top talent to Blackstone. The investment firm is recruiting from more than 40 colleges, including historically Black universities. In addition, Ross introduced a multilevel onboarding process and implemented the Future Women Leaders Program. Blackstone was named a top U.S. employer by LinkedIn, and under Ross’ leadership it has partnered with Girls Who Invest, Year Up, SEO Career and other programs to recruit candidates from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds. Ross is on the board of directors at Bottomless Closet, a nonprofit that supports under-resourced women in New York City looking to enter the workforce.

TANYA SAFFADI

Chief human resources officer

Kushner

At real estate developer Kushner, Tanya Saffadi is an adviser and a resource on organizational design, employee development, recruitment, talent retention, compensation and employee relations. Saffadi organized an internship program across multiple departments, added a tuition and loan reimbursement program, partnered with individual managers to localize recruitment, and led a leadership summit in partnership with the chief operations officer and the training team. Kushner’s chief human resources officer has organized virtual companywide seminars with experts focused on mental health, fitness, financial wellness and stress management. Saffadi is a former member of the dean’s advisory board at William Paterson University’s humanities and social sciences college.

CAROL SCHIANO

Assistant vice president of talent management

NYU Langone Health

Carol Schiano oversees talent acquisition, internal career planning, employee recognition, human resources communica tions, and immigration services at NYU Langone. As assistant vice president of talent management, she mentors more than 60 professionals and works with senior and executive leadership. Schiano has created and developed the medical center’s career website, in-house temp program, sourcing team and internal career planning team. She chairs committees related to diverse talent, career options and fun and wellness. She has organized internal career fairs and held writing workshops. Schiano is part of the executive network of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Sponsored Content

NOTABLE Q&A with Monique Jefferson

CRAIN’S: What areas of HR are most exciting to you right now?

The Community Preservation Corporation’s recently appointed chief people officer, Monique Jefferson runs the organization’s programs policies and initiatives to advance the organization’s people, passion and growth-centric culture. A key part of her work at the nonprofit affordable housing and community revitalization finance company is building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves. That work extends to employee engagement, career development and company culture.

Jefferson has deep experience to tap. She was previously HR officer for New York Public Radio, where she created a recruiting and hiring playbook, conducted a pay equity and benchmarking study, and implemented the Bravely on-demand coaching platform, among many other contributions. She previously served as head of HR, Americas Business Services and Global HRPB for Hogan Lovells, an international law firm. At Hogan Lovells, she was instrumental in including the business services employees in the firm’s diversity and inclusion action plan. Crain’s Content Studio caught up with Jefferson recently to gather insights on the future of work and HR.

JEFFERSON: As HR leaders we have an opportunity to help shape the future of work. It’s not just about figuring out where or when people perform their jobs, but how they perform their jobs and what are the skills and competencies required for them to do their best work. Another area where there has been a tremendous amount of focus is on the impact remote work has on an employee’s mental health and wellbeing.

CRAIN’S: What strategies are you using to maintain an environment where great people want to work— and stay?

JEFFERSON: I believe that many nonprofits, like CPC, are uniquely positioned to attract and retain talent in this market. Employees come to work and stay because they have a sense of purpose and are connected to the work we do. Additionally, we recognize the importance of their personal commitments outside of work. So, while we work hard, we

also play hard and allow them the flexibility to take time to disconnect, recharge and refresh.

CRAIN’S: How has the role of a chief people officer changed in the past few years? And how do you expect it to continue to change?

JEFFERSON: With more companies doing hybrid or remote work, chief human resource officers and chief people officers have had to think differently about culture. Over the next three years I see the role requiring more of a reliance on data and talent analytics, direct responsibility for an employee’s overall well-being at work, and talent acquisition with respect to tapping into broader, alternative or non-traditional talent pools (such as neurodiverse employees).

CRAIN’S: For many employees, learning and development is a priority. What plans do you have in the works when it comes to career development for your new team?

JEFFERSON: At CPC, we’re in the process of implementing a training program for all of our managers

around how to effectively lead hybrid teams. Not only are they being asked to manage teams that are geographically dispersed, but many of these teams are diverse, and managers need to lead inclusively, make intentional decisions and understand the impact of their actions on underrepresented and marginalized employees.

CRAIN’S: How can business leaders identify gaps in their own diversity & inclusion efforts?

JEFFERSON: Leaders should look at their own teams and ask themselves if they are diverse. Then they should ask if their teams are inclusive in how employees behave and operate. If the answer to either question is no, they should reflect on why that is. Managers need to talk with their employees, listen and not be afraid to ask the tough, uncomfortable questions. Part of employees feeling included starts with knowing they’ve been seen and heard.

How an innovator in diversity and inclusion is shaping the future of work

CHRIS SCHRAMEL

Director of people

OkCupid

At OkCupid, an international online dating app and social networking website, Chris Schramel oversees the company’s first fully designated human resources department, leading all recruitment and facilities functions.

Schramel has been involved in opening and welcoming workers into OkCupid’s new New York City office. The director of people has closed out all open roles and worked to keep up employee engagement. In the wake of the pandemic, Schramel, who joined the company in August 2020, has helped develop and implement a hybrid working environment and transformed onboarding, offboarding and overall recruitment processes.

DINA SIMON-LEROY

Senior adviser of human resources New York City Department of Social Services

Dina Simon Leroy advises commissioners and senior executives regarding daily operations, strategic policy initiatives and change management at the New York Department of Social Services.

Simon Leroy has created equitable recruitment and workforce sustainability processes and developed accountability systems for pay equity across city government agencies. She has guided conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion in city government. She previously was appointed chief executive of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hurricane Recovery and Resilience Task Force. In that role she produced a report on the impact of hurricanes and provided related recommendations. Simon Leroy is on the board of directors at the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy.

—PRIMEPAY

COLLEEN SLATTERY

Vice president of human resources

Real Estate Board of New York

At the Real Estate Board of New York, a trade association representing property owners, builders, managers, investors, brokers, banks and corporations, Colleen Slattery drives human resources operational initiatives and solutions.

Staffing, performance management, compensation, succession planning, organizational effectiveness, labor relations and employee communications all fall under the her purview. Since joining REBNY, Slattery has worked closely with leadership to improve diversity within the association’s professional staff.

She ensures that hiring efforts align with long term goals and workforce needs, collaborating with leadership on such efforts.

While working previously for The Related Cos., Slattery oversaw talent acquisition at its management division and at Hudson Yards.

SHAUN SMITH

Group senior vice president and chief people and culture officer New York–Presbyterian Hospital

Shaun Smith is responsible for leading all aspects of human resources operations at New York–Presbyterian, including talent acquisition, training and organizational development, compensation and benefit services, and workforce health and safety services. During the hectic stages of the pandemic, Smith mobilized institutional resources to provide frontline workers with temporary housing, transportation, meals and mental health services. He also developed a multifaceted approach to address the shortage of qualified medical personnel.

Smith is on the board of the Rogosin Institute, a kidney care center in Manhattan.

STEPHANIE SOLOMON

Global chief talent officer Initiative

Aligning talent with business goals, Stephanie Solomon oversees talent management, retention, performance and compensation at media agency Initiative. Solomon is a strategic adviser to national and international C-suite executives. She is involved with diversity, equity and inclusion goals, including programs that attract diverse talent and foster a sense of identity. She has helped onboard more than 200 employees since the Great Resignation, and she has created pathways for historically marginalized groups to join the agency. She has succeeded through partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities and organizations centered on people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Solomon previously was a mentor for She Runs It, a nonprofit that seeks to uplift women of all backgrounds in the marketing industry.

LILLIANA SOTO

Human resources manager

BEB Capital

Lilliana Soto focuses on employee engagement and leads recruitment processes at real estate firm BEB Capital. She oversees onboarding, performance management, compliance and management of HR information systems. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Soto helped create and implement safety policies and procedures for adapting to work. Last year BEB’s executive leadership bestowed upon her its Most Valuable Player Award, and Real Estate Weekly recognized her as part of its Leading Ladies series. Soto supports Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Long Island and the Lupus Foundation.

—LEARNSHIP

JONATHAN STARLING

Vice president of talent development

Integral Ad Science

Focused on employee retention, engagement and performance management, Jonathan Starling creates sustainable programs that contribute to employee and company growth at media company Integral Ad Science.

Starling developed an

IAS leadership program that led to numerous promotions within the organization, and he created an LGBTQ+ employee resources group. In 2019 the Women’s Empowerment Institute recognized him for his diversity, equity and inclusion work. Starling brings experience to the workplace; he was head of learning and development at The Knot Worldwide, a global technology media company. He recently was involved with voter education efforts in Brooklyn.

KRISTIN TAYLOR

U.S. manager of broker recruitment and engagement Colliers

At professional services and investment management company Colliers, Kristin Taylor oversees change management, process improvement, and nationwide diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in broker recruitment and engagement. As manager of broker recruitment and engagement in the U.S., Taylor leads talent-acquisition initiatives. She focuses on recruiting people and partnering with market leaders to achieve data-driven goals. Taylor, who advises senior leadership, is founder and executive leader of the employee resource group Pillar. She led the launch of the company’s employee resource groups for veterans, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, working caregivers and Black professionals, among others.

WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL

Congratulates Our Esteemed Colleague

Diane M. Woolley SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER

on being recognized as a Crain’s New York Business 2022 Notable HR Leader

IN THE AFTERMATH OF SEVERAL STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER CO. IN 1901 CREATED WHAT IT CONSIDERED TO BE THE FIRST HR DEPARTMENT, THEN CALLED “PERSONNEL.”

JENIFER THOMA

Executive vice president and chief human resources of cer

Lakeland Bank

Jenifer oma leads Lakeland Bank’s human resource strategy, which includes talent management, organizational development, compensation, employee relations, payroll and HR information systems. She encourages the growth, advancement and inclusion of associates. During the pandemic, oma has helped to ensure a safely distanced working environment, and she helped launch the Leader Engagement and Development Program—in which she was a mentor—to help colleagues foster their leadership abilities.

oma is a member of the board of directors for the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges. She is on its human resource and risk committees.

GINA THOMAS

Executive director of talent acquisition Regeneron

Gina omas is responsible for leading recruitment—which encompasses university relations, pipeline and sourcing, and candidate experience—for biotechnology company Regeneron. She leads e orts to revamp and streamline Regeneron’s recruitment processes and improve career development. She recently led the talent-acquisition team in lling more than 2,000 positions globally while prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion. Her civic work includes a decade as president of the Stanhope, N.J., school board. She has partnered with women’s shelters to prepare women to re-enter the workforce.

THE NUMBER OF U.S. HR AND BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESSES HAS GROWN 5% ANNUALLY SINCE 2017.

—IBIS WORLD

JESSICA VANROSSEM

Director of human resources

Grassi Advisors & Accountants

Jessica VanRossem specializes in employee relations, performance management, sta resource allocation and professional development programs.

At Grassi, VanRossem recently helped launch a system that improved onboarding and o boarding

e orts, seamlessly integrating the human resources, payroll and information technology functions. She has helped create programs promoting employee engagement and well-being, including an enhanced maternity-paternity policy.

Under VanRossem’s leadership, the HR department introduced several initiatives to promote equity, diversity and inclusion, such as the formation of a formal DEI council, relaunching a women’s council and holding monthly educational programs. She is co-founder of the Grassi Gives Back volunteering program.

DIANE WOOLLEY

Senior vice president and chief human resources of cer White Plains Hospital

Diane Woolley oversees recruiting, talent retention and labor relations at White Plains Hospital.

Woolley’s leadership has helped the hospital attract top health care and administrative personnel from medical facilities nationwide. She has developed partnerships with local educational institutions and nonpro ts to expand programs and bene ts while she has supported employee mental and physical well-being and engagement. She addresses talent gaps through the Earn While You Learn program, which allows employees to pursue certi cations for advanced roles during paid hours. Woolley is on the Perkins advisory board at Westchester Community College, where she helps students develop résumé writing and interview skills.

York City Economic Development Corp.,

stage by Crain’s New York Business

Cory Schouten.

agency

Andrew Kimball

RACE

—may potentially turn large swaths of suburban and upstate voters against Democratic candidates, Hochul in particular. Automobile-centric voters on Long Island and in Westchester County could reject Hochul because New York is on the verge of implementing congestion pricing, tolling vehicles for entering Manhattan below 60th Street.

ere’s another factor, for Republicans at least, that makes Hochul vulnerable: She isn’t Cuomo. Imperious and polarizing, Cuomo nevertheless had a strong base of support in the vote-rich ve boroughs, especially in the Black neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. Hochul hails from the Buffalo area.

Zeldin’s allies say he has had a far easier time meeting with community groups that would have been too loyal to Cuomo—or too terri ed of his reprisals—to give the Long Island lawmaker the time of day.

“He’s laid the groundwork to get entrée into some of these places where team Cuomo would’ve shut it down,” said Joe Borelli, a Republican city councilman who supports Zeldin.

Any chance of a Zeldin victory rests on holding down Hochul’s margin in heavily Democratic New York City, winning big in the sub-

which Trumpism has taken over the Republican Party of New York state,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, a Democrat attempting to organize votes for the statewide ticket, which includes Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader. “[Hochul is] running against an opponent who wants to ban abortion, an opponent who showed no backbone in standing up to Trump.”

Since Roe’s fall, abortion has loomed large in the race. New York Democrats codi ed the rights of the Supreme Court decision into state law several years ago, but Hochul has gone further to protect abortion rights, authorizing funding to help pregnant women traveling from states where abortion is banned or strictly limited. In her television ads and public remarks, Hochul has attacked Zeldin repeatedly for his anti-abortion votes in Congress. Zeldin, in turn, has sought to downplay his record—as recently as the spring he supported the idea of appointing a “pro-life” health commissioner for New York state—and said he wouldn’t weaken any of the laws enacted by the Democratic Legislature if he were elected governor.

INSIDE THE MONEY RACE FOR GOVERNOR

BY BRIAN PASCUS

Deep-pocketed Democrats and the city’s business elite have fueled Gov. Kathy Hochul’s record-setting fundraising machine. Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, however, has relied mostly on smaller donations and a cadre of wealthy conservative donors in his attempt to unseat Hochul in the state’s race for governor.

Updated Oct. 7 campaign nance records, released 32 days before the Nov. 8 general election, revealed a familiar pattern of support for the two sides: a governor who has relied on big-money Democrats, old guard city real estate developers and even organized labor; and a conservative Republican who has leaned on small-dollar amounts and the national GOP donor class from other states to keep pace.

Hochul raised $11.1 million between July and October and has $10.9 million on hand; Zeldin garnered $6.4 million in the same period and enters the race’s nal month with more than $4.5 million, according to campaign nance data.

ed. “It’s the Ron Lauders, the big national Republican fundraisers.”

Familiar faces

Hochul’s nancial advantage stands on the support of the upper echelons of the city’s business community, most notably real estate developers. Douglas and David Steiner of Steiner Studios in Brooklyn donated $60,000; Marc Holliday of SL Green Realty donated more than $31,000; John Catsimatidis of Red Apple Group donated $25,000; Jerry Speyer, founder of Tishman Speyer, donated nearly $20,000; and Long Island developer George Filopoulos and his wife contributed $94,200, according to lings.

IT’S STILL UNCLEAR WHAT HOCHUL WANTS TO DO WITH A FULL MANDATE

urbs, and running well ahead of the governor upstate. With independent voters now outnumbering Republicans statewide, Zeldin will need to signi cantly lead Hochul with independents. He’s still struggling to raise his name recognition with voters beyond Nassau and Suffolk counties. Outside cash may help: Right-wing megadonor Ronald Lauder has seeded two Zeldin-aligned political action committees with at least $4.45 million in recent months.

“ ere’s a very short period of time left to change the dynamics for Zeldin,” said Steve Greenberg, a Siena College pollster. “It is hard to become known to voters. at’s what makes Zeldin’s challenge that much harder.”

Zeldin’s platform

What may hold Zeldin back ultimately is that he represents more the median Republican in Congress than a median candidate for a state that hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984. Zeldin is a proud Donald Trump supporter who voted to decertify the 2020 election. He supported the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. e Republicans who have won in New York, historically, have been moderates: relative social liberals who also embrace, when necessary, government spending.

Zeldin may have only so much crossover appeal.

“I don’t think the average New Yorker appreciates the extent to

Zeldin’s actual platform amounts to a mix of conventional Republican stands and a few olive branches to moderates. Like previous GOP candidates, he supports raising the statewide cap on charter schools. He wants term limits for state elected o cials. He wants to strengthen New York’s Freedom of Information Law. Despite his vows to spur housing development to alleviate the a ordability crisis, he was a erce opponent of Hochul’s attempt to allow for more apartment development in single-family suburban towns.

Although Hochul herself forced through a partial rollback of bail reforms enacted in 2019, Zeldin has called for a fully restoring cash bail and reverting to an old law that allowed minors to be charged as adults. He has attacked left-leaning district attorneys, promising to remove Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg from o ce if he wins. He has blamed Hochul, without much evidence, for an increase in the crime rate.

Hochul’s camp paints Zeldin as a politician who could radically transform New York for the worse. But as governor. Zeldin would inevitably confront what no other modern Republican has had to contend with: a state Legislature entirely controlled by Democrats. For most of the past half-century, Republicans held a majority in the state Senate, o ering leverage for Republican governors such as Nelson Rockefeller and Pataki. Democrats are forecast to hold the Senate in this election, and they have not sat as

“You might call her fundraising portfolio, to use the nance analogy, a diversi ed portfolio,” said Bruce Gyory, a longtime Albany analyst. “She’s been able to raise money from women’s’ groups, issue-based money around pro-choice and the environmental front, and she’s done very well with the business community.

“Zeldin seems particularly dependent on independent expenditures coming through,” Gyory add-

the Assembly minority since the 1970s.

is wall of Democratic opposition would blunt much of Zeldin’s ability to pass conservative legislation. He could, as governor, frustrate Democratic aims, and his budgetary powers would be formidable. If he’s austerity-minded, he could force funding cuts to education, housing and transportation.

Hochul’s vision is vague

More crucial, probably, is what Hochul wants to do with a full four years. Even a nailbiter win is still a win. In all the pomp of the campaign and the stumping Hochul has done, it’s still somewhat unclear what she wants to do with a full mandate, beyond halt a potential Republican takeover of the gover-

Others who have provided Hochul with near or exact maximum donation amounts of $69,700 in the past 14 months include Stephen Ross of e Related Cos., Rob Speyer and Sheryl Tishman of Tishman Speyer, Winston Fisher of Fisher Brothers, Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, Steven Roth of Vornado, Lloyd Goldman of BLDG Management, Steve and Alexandra Cohen of the New York Mets baseball team, and various members of the Tisch family of the Loews Corporation.

“Real estate, in general, needs an advocate in Albany,” said John Tomlin, managing director at Actum, a political strategy rm. “ ey want to make sure they’re supporting someone who at least will listen to their side. And that’s not to say she’ll give away the store, but clearly they at least feel she’s

nor’s mansion. Hochul’s campaign messaging has been more anti-Zeldin than anything particularly a rmative. e vision for the future is vague.

How will she x the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will face down enormous budget gaps when federal aid dries up and pre-pandemic ridership doesn’t quite come back? How will she address the urban and suburban housing crisis, spurring new housing development over entrenched political opposition? How will she help tenants who, in the short term, are facing crushing rents in the ve boroughs? Will a version of the 421a tax break be renewed? What are her big ideas, overall, for the future?

Speci c answers, during the campaign season at least, are not

forthcoming, and it’s worth wondering how much more vulnerable Hochul would be if the Supreme Court hadn’t overturned Roe. ere are enough New Yorkers willing to vote for Hochul and the rest of the ticket because the Democratic Party is the only party invested in safeguarding abortion, which a majority of Americans want legalized. e right-wing Supreme Court, at a minimum, has lent Hochul a significant cushion.

“Since taking o ce, Gov. Hochul has worked tirelessly to deliver results to New Yorkers. e governor looks forward to serving a full term in o ce and continuing her e orts to make our communities safer, expand access to housing, lower costs for working families, and protect New Yorkers’ fundamental rights,” said Jen Goodman, a Hochul campaign representative.

Hochul has immediate successes that she can tout. With the help of the state Legislature, she lured Micron Technology, a semiconductor manufacturer, to Syracuse, and celebrated the victory with President Joe Biden, who has made domestic semiconductor chip production a top priority. Upstate economic development projects—Cuomo’s bailiwick, although some of the initiatives were embroiled in enough scandal to almost undo his administration—will probably be Hochul’s calling card too.

If the next few weeks will be trying for Hochul as she faces the Nov. 8 election, the hardest part is yet to come. A recession could batter New York, federal aid is disappearing fast, and the Legislature will be restive.

e platitudes of the campaign season will only go so far when January rolls around.

Hochul has pulled in big money from Manhattan CEOs and out-of-state

someone they can talk to.”

In November 2021 Hochul announced her support for the $10 billion, 18 millionsquare-foot real estate project to build 10 o ce towers in Midtown to fund the rebuilding of Penn Station.

Wealthy Democratic Party donors from other states have also found their way to support Hochul in the home stretch. e 32-day pre-general ling showed donations from non-New Yorkers such as Ronald C. Conway and his wife, Gayle ($94,200); Patricia A. Stryker (47,100); Steven Spielberg ($47,100); Je rey Katzenberg ($25,000); and Michael Eisner ($10,000)

On the heels of Hochul advancing legalized mobile sports betting and three downstate casino licenses that are expected to touch the city, gaming and entertainment magnates such as Neil Bluhm of Midwest Gaming & Entertainment and Edward M. Tracy and James. F. Allen of Hard Rock International have each donated tens of thousands of dollars to her election e orts since January.

e governor has also relied on money from local unions such as District Council 37, the Public Employees Federation in Albany, the General Contractors Association of New York, the New York City District Council of Carpenters, Building and Trades

Council, and the New York Hotel Trades Council.

Only 60% of Hochul’s individual donations between July and October were less than $200, according to campaign gures.

Red money

By comparison, Zeldin’s 32-day pre-general ling report shows a campaign fueled by small-dollar donations: Since July 91% of his donations were $200 or less, with 70% of his individual donations coming in under $50, according to campaign gures.

But he’s also been supported by wealthy GOP donors, notably two families from Long Island.

Zeldin’s deepest nancial lifeline comes from the Bruderman family of Locust Valley on Long Island. eir professional network, led by Matthew and Kerri Beth Bruderman, includes investment banking, asset management and merchant banking operations. e Brudermans held a Nassau County fundraiser for Zeldin in February, and di erent family members contributed $332,000 to his election e orts.

Lynda Lomangino and her husband, Anthony, the founder and former chairman of Southern Waste Systems, are another wealthy Long Island couple providing support. e Lomanginos hosted an

April 1 fundraiser for Zeldin at former President Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

A mid-September Siena College poll of 655 New Yorkers found Zeldin trailing Hochul by 17 percentage points (54%-37%).

But huge sums of independent expenditures to political action committees seek to keep Zeldin competitive in a race that could hinge on whether he draws support from independents and disa ected city Democrats, especially for his tough-on-crime message.

PEAK FUNDING $45M

HOCHUL’S fundraising has set records, as has Zeldin’s $19.6M for a GOP candidate

91%

9 IN 10 donations to Zeldin since July were for less than $200

Billionaire conservative Ron Lauder’s Save Our State PAC pulled in more than $2.12 million since early September for Zeldin; Lauder’s Safe Together New York PAC took in $8.4 million, almost exclusively from Lauder, since its formation in October 2020, according to state campaign nance records. e two PACs have funded statewide ads attacking Hochul, said City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli, a Zeldin ally.

Billionaires and out-of-state Republicans have also chosen to contribute to his

election fund directly. ey include billionaire Kenneth Langone (nearly $70,000 in July), Lauder ($60,000 in June), and Lewis and Margaret Topper of Florida, GOP donors who the Palm Beach Post reported made $700,000 in donations to Republican candidates and committees in the 2018 election cycle. e Toppers gave Zeldin $40,000 this year, according to campaign lings.

ere’s also the Brodie family of Pennsylvania. John and Steven Brodie of Generational Capital Partners in Radnor, Pennsylvania, provided Zeldin with $70,000 in July; Elizabeth Brodie gave the Long Island congressman $47,100 in September. Much of the Brodie family wealth comes from Purolite, a chemical manufacturing company founded by brothers Steve and Don Brodie in 1980.

“ e question is, how much do they give and how long does it stay up?” Gyory, the Albany analyst, said of pro-Zeldin messaging. “Is Hochul in position to grind it down over the last month? Does the message in your ads resonate with people?” ■

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City asks affordable housing developers to shift units out of lottery program to house homeless

BY BRIAN PASCUS

The city is making moves on multiple fronts to shore up an overburdened home less shelter system as waves of migrants arrive. The Ad ams administration has asked de velopers of affordable housing to shift units from the city’s housing lottery to clear shelters, and the City Council wants to amend exist ing homeless policy to make more room for migrants.

The city is experiencing an un precedented immigration surge. Mayor Eric Adams recently de clared a state of emergency and said that more than 17,000 mi grants, mainly from South America, have been bused into the city this year. Adams said the city’s shelter system has reached capacity at 61,000 people, and he added that the city is expected to spend $1 bil lion in the current fiscal year to tend to the migrant crisis.

The mayor warned that the shel ter census would reach 100,000 if the current trend continues.

“This is unsustainable,” Adams said. “New York City is doing all we

BY THE NUMBERS 17,000

MIGRANTS have been bused into the city so far this year 6,173

APPLICANTS approved for newly constructed units via the affordable housing lottery in the fiscal year that began in July 2021

housing by increasing the number of units they reserve each year for homeless New Yorkers in their buildings.

“We are asking you to remove your affordable units from the housing lottery and offer them up for homeless placements,” Carrion wrote. “We ask you to make this new commitment on top of any homeless set-aside require ment, as a volun tary contribution to this humanitarian crisis.”

constructed units through the af fordable housing lotteries; the De partment of Housing Preservation and Development moved 1,600 homeless households into newly constructed units and 603 home less households into re-rental units, according to data from the 2022 Mayor’s Management Report.

The city is now asking developers to change their modus operandi and upend the existing lottery sys tem by taking in more homeless households than other eligible groups.

with a higher homeless unit setaside require more social services and thus more subsidy money from the city.

Even with so many uncertainties, Weiss said he expected a strong re sponse from his fellow developers

“The infrastructure is already in place: Most buildings have social services and the homeless setaside,” he said. “There’s a popula tion that needs housing, and that’s the backbone of what my industry is all about.”

can, but we are reaching the outer limit of our ability to help.”

A chance for housing

The Adams administration has turned to the private sector for im mediate support.

Adolfo Carrión Jr., commissioner of the Department of Housing Pres ervation and Development, sent a letter to affordable housing devel opers and members of the business community on Oct. 7, asking them to take part in a voluntary program to move more eligible households and individuals out of the city’s shelter system and into affordable

Each year the city subsidizes the construction of thousands of af fordable housing units built by the private sector. Many are set aside for a lottery system used to place individuals and families in afford able housing based on specific city-sponsored programs, such as for those with an extremely low in come, seniors and the mentally ill. New Yorkers leaving the city’s homeless shelter system under the CityFHEPS voucher program also take part in the placement.

In the fiscal year that began in July 2021, 6,173 applicants (house holds) were approved for newly

“Obviously this is a crisis that’s risen to the level of focus of the mayor and the commissioner of housing and not some typical Tues day afternoon,” said Eli Weiss, prin cipal of Joy Construction, an afford able housing developer. “They’re tr ying to respond to it quickly to the point that they’re willing to change the standard operating procedures of the housing lottery.”

Weiss said the main question was how much the new process initiated by the city would change the typical homeless unit set-aside in affordable buildings (usually pegged at 15% to 30%, according to HPD, and if that would rise closer to 70%. He noted that buildings

But Aaron Koffman, president of the Hudson Cos. and a supporter of the proposal, noted that the policy could come into conflict with com munity board set-asides. Each af fordable housing project is ap proved by communities with a strict understanding of how many units will be reserved for those leaving the shelter system, and the social service requirements for these units affect financing costs for the developer, he explained.

“This is definitely easier said than done,” Koffman said. “But it’s do able.”

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development said there were no incentives in place and would not give a firm

BLOOMBERG

timeline of how long the proposed changes to the housing lottery sys tem were expected to last.

“We’ve received a positive re sponse from many of our partners already,” said William Fowler, a de partment spokesman. “This is an emergency and the city, HPD and our partners are treating it as one.”

More room

The City Council has also sought immediate changes to homeless services protocol to make more room for migrants in the shelters.

Recently Speaker Adrienne Ad ams demanded that the Adams ad ministration eliminate a rule that requires those in the shelter system to remain in it for 90 days before they are eligible for CityFHEPS, the city’s rental voucher program.

“That’s a vestige of the cruel Gi uliani era of ‘You need shelter? Prove it,’ ” said Christine Quinn, for mer City Council speaker and pres ident and CEO of Win, a family homeless services provider. “We should eliminate it and allow peo ple to apply for housing vouchers and NYCHA on day one,” she said, referring to the New York City Housing Authority.

The City Council requested that the mayor adequately staff the De partment of Social Services, which was found to have a 17% employee vacancy rate in June. Homeless ser vices advocates have complained that a lack of staffing at the depart ment has contributed to the census backlog.

“Vouchers allow people to rent in the community, and there are back logs in processing the applications and processing the approvals of the payments to go to the building owners,” said Shelly Nortz, deputy executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “People actually lose apartments because the city isn’t moving quickly enough to help them get approved for units that they do find.

“Helping people exit shelters to ease the capacity problem—that’s at the crux of all of this,” Nortz added. ■

Kips Bay getting $1.6 billion life science campus

BY JACQUELINE NEBER

A$1.6 billion campus dedicat ed to life sciences will open in Kips Bay in the next few years, cementing the neighbor hood’s status as the industry’s cen ter of life science innovation in the city, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced last Thurs day.

The science park and research campus, or SPARC, will offer degree and continuing education pro grams in public health and medical research for 4,500 City University of New York students, as well as a New

York City Health + Hospitals/Bellev ue ambulatory care center and an H+H simulation center that will al low students to practice procedures.

CUNY is partnering with the city and the state on the project, and it will be jointly funded by the two with additional investments from the private life science sector.

The campus will span 1.5 million square feet and be built on Hunter College’s existing Brookdale cam pus at First Avenue and 25th Street.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026 and be completed by 2031, the mayor’s office said.

SPARC Kips Bay is expected to

generate $25 billion in economic impact in the next 30 years by creat ing 10,000 jobs, including 2,000 per manent roles in the commercial lab space.

Laying the groundwork

The new facility helps cement Kips Bay as one of the city’s life sci ence hubs. Together with the Alex andria Center for Life Sciences, the two campuses are puzzle pieces that help complete the city’s overall life science structure, said Maria Gotsch, chief executive of the Part nership Fund for New York City.

“Locating the training and the

academic portion in the middle of the commercial health care corri dor makes a lot of sense because it makes things like internships easy,” she said. “It just makes the flow of communication much easier if ev erything is co-located.”

The two campuses have key dif ferences, she added, because SPARC will focus on cultivating emerging talent while the Alexan dria Center focuses on providing lab space for for-profit commercial life science firms.

Gotsch said the public-private SPARC partnership sends a strong signal to the private life science sec

tor about New York’s commitment to the industry.

“It’s been a little bit of a rough time for the life sciences in the last year from a funding perspective,” she said. “But I would say that this is actually the time when you want to make an investment like this, in anticipation of coming out of the cycle to a more robust time.”

New York’s life science industry has had a tough year so far, with few companies going public and many investors spending cautiously. But despite a potential recession, exec utives are confident in the sector’s durability.

“WE ARE REACHING THE OUtER LIMIt OF OUR ABILITY TO HELP”

HOLLY

LEICHT

A passion for preserving the past

Madison Square Park Conservancy chief eyes improvements, sustainability

BY BRIAN PASCUS

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in English, Yale; J.D., Northwestern Law School

FAMILY LIFE Leicht is married and has two stepchildren.

ADORES THE OUTDOORS

Leicht is on the board of the Palisades Park Conservancy. She often hikes in the 130,000acre network of Hudson River parks on weekends.

GREAT GETAWAYS During the pandemic, she explored upstate New York, taking road trips to the Finger Lakes and kayaking in the Buffalo River with her nephew.

SECRET SAUCE Leicht says she is an expert at picking out the best bourbon and barbecue places. “I think that my hidden talent is I was a very early devotee of bourbon before it became popular,” she said.

Holly Leicht remembers when she rst fell in love with preserving history.

Her family took her to visit omas Je erson’s home of Monticello in Virginia when she was in sixth grade. She became obsessed with the building and made her parents take the tour three times in a row so she could memorize it—before she recited it to them as they drove back to St. Louis.

“I just connected to this old home and kept thinking about the history of it,” she said.

Today she’s able to preserve the history of New York City as the executive director of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, a nonpro t dedicated to improving and sustaining one of New York’s most beloved parks, which opened in May 1847. Leicht began her role leading a team of 31 employees in September, following more than 25 years in urban

planning, land use and a ordable housing development.

Her journey to Madison Square Park began shortly after she graduated from Northwestern Law School in 1997, when she joined the Municipal Art Society as its in-house counsel. ere she spearheaded the organization’s legal and preservation e orts in the realms of urban planning, zoning and open space.

“At the Municipal Art Society, I was exposed to all these other urban issues, in addition to historic preservation, and that’s what expanded my horizons,” she recalled. “One thing led to another as I got to know New York City, and that’s how my passion grew.”

She joined the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. following the Sept. 11 terror attacks, with the goal of nding ways to revitalize the neighborhood, mainly through mixed-use real estate development.

She then joined the Bloomberg administration in 2004, and her

work at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development made an impression on the agency’s leader, Shaun Donovan, a future cabinet secretary for President Barack Obama.

Donovan took charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and he asked Leicht to join him as the agency’s regional administrator for New York and New Jersey following Superstorm Sandy. She was tasked with untangling a complex web of $15 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency aid and community development block grants amid di ering local relief programs.

After three years in the federal government, Leicht returned to her roots of historic preservation when she joined Empire State Development Corp. in 2017. Her biggest project was turning an aging post o ce in Midtown into a 21st-century train depot.

“ e historic preservation chal-

lenge in New York is, how do you take things that are outdated for their original use and nd adaptable reuses?” she said. “For Moynihan Station, it was just such a good marriage of a new use that we needed with a building that outlived its original use.”

Next generation

Now Leicht is ready to maintain Madison Square Park for the next generation. Her rst order of business at the conservancy, which has an annual budget of about $4.5 million, is guring out how to make the park an emblem of sustainability by improving the public space to the west of it.

“What gets me excited is when people can come into a space from all walks of life and feel like they are part of that space and feel ownership and accountability for it,” she said. “I’m interested in creating a space that’s part of the larger community.”

BUCK ENNIS

BORN St. Louis, Missouri RESIDES Spuyten Duyvil, the Bronx

LEICHT became the leader of the conservancy in September.