Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED How masks provided an “on ramp” for new Etsy shoppers PAGE 15

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A LOOK AT REZONING The reasons building regulations lead to so many battles PAGE 3

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

SMALL BUSINESS

STILLMAN says Quality Branded is still hoping to open around 10 restaurants in the next few years.

Cuomo’s virus restrictions chafe biz owners Curfews imposed on bars, restaurants and gyms as virus spikes

BY BRIAN PASCUS

G

ov. Andrew Cuomo’s latest Covid-19 restrictions could push small businesses in the city past their breaking point.

“Are we heading toward full shutdown and this is just a precursor, or are we doing a more targeted approach to containment?” asked Randy Peers, president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s not clear.”

The governor on Wednesday announced that all bars, restaurants and gyms must close at 10 p.m., with enforcement beginning last Friday.

Private parties of more than 10 people are restricted as New York attempts to slow COVID-19 is on the rising inthe rise across fection rate. the five boroughs State health officials reported last week that New York’s infection rate had risen to nearly 3%, with 1,628 hospitalizations and 21 Covid-19 deaths.

New York City’s seven-day average infection rate as of last Thursday was 2.42%, with 5,830 cases, 363 hospitalizations and 58 deaths in that period.

Although New York’s numbers are nowhere near their spring peak,

7-DAY AVERAGE INFECTION RATE

2.83%

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

BUCK ENNIS

BETTING BIG N ON RETAIL Amid the real estate downturn, some stores are aiming to expand

BY EDDIE SMALL VOL. 36, NO. 39

NEWSPAPER

ew York’s retail landscape may seem bleak right now, but some local businesses are not ready to write it off. In fact, with commercial rents hitting record lows, many national retailers in retreat and an abiding belief that the city will make a comeback, some say it’s a good time to expand.

“I believe in the draw of New See RETAIL on page 19

© 2020 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

See SHUTDOWN on page 4

GOTHAM GIGS

THE LIST

PAGE 23

PAGE 10

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER HELPS TERRACES, ROOFS BLOSSOM

The metro area’s largest physician groups

TECHNOLOGY

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

cerned about the time and cost of enforcing the measure as the city faces a huge budget gap.

But the shift to remote work driven by Covid-19 has made the legislation even more needed, said Brooklyn Councilwoman Alicka Ampry-Samuel, a sponsor of the bill.

“There will be no going back to our pre-Covid world, so relief efforts must work in tandem with longterm economic goals,” Ampry-Samuel said. “Many of the remote practices that seemed to be quick fixes will likely become commonplace.”

W

ith almost all hiring taking place online, employers are increasingly adopting automated technology to navigate large applicant pools.

Software companies are lining up with promises that artificial intelligence can make hiring quicker and driven less by potentially biased human impulses. The problem, members of the City Council fear, is that machines could introduce racial and gender biases of their own if not carefully regulated.

A City Council bill could require that any “automated employment

Moving toward data New York would be the first city or state to regulate AI hiring tools against bias. The measure would require that applicants be notified when companies use screening tools.

The city’s Commission on Human Rights would enforce the measure and set the standards for the bias audits.

Hiring technologies include HireVue, a video-interviewing platform that uses a facial-scanning algorithm that analyzes facial movements and word choice during an interview. Software from Ideal can scan and identify potential candi-

“ENSURING THERE ARE REGULATIONS FOR AUDITING SYSTEMS IS IMPORTANT” decision tool” used by firms first be audited for bias. Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, the bill’s sponsor, said at a hearing Friday that automated hiring technologies are already influencing how New York employers fill jobs.

Representatives from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said the administration supports the bill but is con-

dates from thousands of resumes in seconds. In the early stages of the hiring process, LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter use AI to recommend potential candidates to recruiters or to highlight jobs for top applicants.

Those technologies are growing alongside a “seismic shift” toward video interviewing that will carry beyond the pandemic, said Gary Friedman, chair of Weil law firm’s Employment Litigation Group.

Friedman added, however, that Covid-19 is not the only factor driving the increased use of artificial intelligence in hiring.

“With both the Me Too and the Black Lives Matter movements, there is much more of a focus among employers on eliminating unconscious bias,” Friedman said.

“The priorities are shifting from cost savings to eliminating biases.”

Employers hope automation technology can move past human judgments to ones driven by data.

But that hasn’t always proved easy.

There is a paradox, noted Cornell University professor Ifeoma Ajunwa, in that companies using software to prevent discrimination could introduce new biases.

“Ensuring there are regulations for the auditing of these systems is important to ensuring that these anti-bias interventions don’t backfire and cause more harm than

ISTOCK

City looks to crack down on bias in hiring software

good,” said Ajunwa, who has studied the issue extensively for Cornell’s Industrial and Labor Relations School.

Little proof In one high-profile example in 2018, Amazon scrapped a resumescanning tool after it found the system gave male candidates an advantage.

“You have every algorithm tool out there saying, ‘We are unbiased; we are unbiased,’ but there is no proof of that,” said Frida Polli, CEO of Pymetrics, a Midtown startup that provides hiring assessments. “It is like when organic foods were still

REAL ESTATE

unregulated. Maybe this is an organic potato or maybe it is full of pesticides. You can’t know.”

Pymetrics, which was founded in 2013, provides hiring recommendations through computer games based on neuroscience. Its clients include Unilever, Accenture and Tesla. Polli said Pymetrics audits its system twice a year for any signs of bias. She supports the bill.

It is not possible to predict how much a bias audit would cost without knowing the city’s criteria, Polli said, “but as a 120-person company, if we can do this regularly, I don’t think [audits] are prohibitively expensive for anyone.” ■

WEBCAST CALLOUT

New York has now lost $1.4B in tax revenue from real estate deals

BY EDDIE SMALL

BLOOMBERG

S

harp declines in real estate activity have caused the city and the state to lose $1.4 billion in taxes so far this year, according to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York.

The report, released last Thursday, found that commercial and residential property sales have dropped by 34% from October 2019 to October of this year, and the tax revenue from those sales has dropped by 57% year over year.

Overall in 2020, New York has seen $34.5 billion worth of commercial and residential sales, a 50% decline compared to last year that has sparked a 39% drop in tax revenue, the report found.

The lost tax revenue is a clear sign the federal government needs to pass a new economic stimulus package, REBNY President James Whelan said.

“This $1.4 billion in lost tax revenue represents another 1.4 billion reasons why the federal govern-

ment must deliver a new stimulus package to help address New York’s economic crisis,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he would be open to passing another stimulus package before the end of the year that would include aid for hard-hit cities such as New York.

The city is generally expected to have a better chance of receiving federal aid under the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden than under President Donald Trump.

Despite the dire tax numbers, the real estate sector showed some signs of life.

Commercial and residential sales volume increased for the second month in a row to $4.6 billion in October, up 33% from September. This included a 4% increase in commercial sales volume, to $1.74 billion, and a 61% increase in residential sales volume, to $2.8 billion. Tax revenue also went up month over month to $108 million, a 51% increase.

Commercial sales, however, are still down 52% year over year, and residential sales are down 14%, the report said.

Tale of transactions Transaction volume told a similar story. The number of commer-

cial deals in October increased by 20%, to 234, compared to September, and the number of residential deals increased by 71%, to 2,975, according to the report. Commercial transactions dropped by 8%, however, and residential transactions dropped by 16% compared to last year.

REBNY has been collecting monthly data on real estate sales and tax revenue since March, when the pandemic initially transformed life in New York. September’s report found that sales of commercial and residential properties were down by 45%, leading to a $755 million drop in tax revenue year over year. The organization started incorporating collections of mortgage recording taxes into its statistics for the October report.

Real estate is the largest driver of tax revenue for the city by a wide margin. The sector generated 53% of taxes for New York in the previous fiscal year, while personal income taxes came in a distant second place at 21%, REBNY said. ■

NOV. 18 CRAIN’S BUSINESS FORUM FEATURING SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER During the pandemic, New York’s senior senator, Chuck Schumer, has fought doggedly to secure federal funding for small businesses, the MTA, local hospitals, schools and more—while still focusing on major projects like the Gateway tunnel. Join Crain’s Nov. 18 to hear the Brooklyn-born legislator talk about some of the battles he’s waged and what’s to come with the presidential election behind us.

VIRTUAL EVENT Time: 4 to 5 p.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/NovBusinessForum

Vol. 36, No. 39, November 16, 2020—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for bimonthly in January, July and August and the last issue in December, by Crain Communications Inc., 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017.

Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Crain’s New York Business, Circulation Department, PO Box 433279, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9681. For subscriber service: call 877-824-9379; fax 313-446-6777. $3.00 a copy; $129.00 per year. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contents copyright 2020 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

REAL ESTATE

GETTY IMAGES

AT 792 FEET, the Woolworth Building was the tallest in the world in 1913.

MUCH ADO ABOUT ZONING

Regulating the size, purpose and location of buildings in New York goes back to the early 20th century, and even then it could be contentious

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

N

ew York is famous for its rezoning battles in which neighborhood groups square off against well-heeled developers in prolonged and expensive public-relations campaigns.

Now rezoning is coming up more often as the city’s real estate industry grapples with an affordable housing crisis and a pandemic that's called into question the need for offices and hotels.

“A significant part of the city’s recovery depends on real es-

tate’s ability to be adaptable to market trends and evolving public needs,” said Michael Keane, an adjunct professor of urban planning at New York University. He gave as an example taking a failing hotel or an abandoned warehouse and turning it into homes for New Yorkers.

Sensible as it seems, it’s not as simple as taking a building and repurposing it, lamented Carl Weisbrod, former chairman of the New York City Planning Commission.

Developers are beholden to a set of rules that govern what

can be built and where, which has killed many a profitable project, but the developers weren’t always faced with the strict zoning laws they always seem to be battling today.

Early development Until 1916 the city was a builder’s paradise. Commercial developers could build as high as they wanted anywhere they See REZONING on page 20 NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

REAL ESTATE

Pricey neighborhoods now see deep discounts on homes

C

ovid-19-related discounts in some of the city’s priciest neighborhoods, such as SoHo and Tribeca, are signaling to home shoppers that it’s the time to buy.

Buyers are scooping up multimillion-dollar apartments in the coveted neighborhoods at up to 10% below the asking price now that they’re packing more negotiating power thanks to a major market slowdown, according to StreetEasy data.

Of the nearly 7,000 deals that closed on homes in the city be-

With softening prices, nearly 20% of buyers were planning to move within the city to take advantage of the discounts, the data showed, with a diverse group of neighborhoods reporting the highest discounts.

Below asking Midtown saw the steepest price cuts of any area in the city, with a 12.4% discount, now that the demand for homes near office buildings has shrunk because of people working from home.

“It may be causing some to second-guess the value of living in Manhattan’s most central neighborhoods,” StreetEasy economist Nancy Wu said.

A number of the city’s pricier areas also made the list of the most heavily discounted neighborhoods, including Jamaica Estates, where discounts hovered around 11%; Tribeca, with a discount of 10%; Flatiron, Dyker Heights and SoHo, in the low 8% range; and Brighton Beach, at 7.6%.

“PROPERTY OWNERS KNOW THEY WILL HAVE TO OFFER SOME INCENTIVES” tween March and September, more than 5,000, or 74%, were sold below the asking price. During the same period in 2019, 71% of homes closed below the asking price, as did 64.5% of homes in 2018.

BLOOMBERG

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

The median sale price in both SoHo and Brighton Beach was $2.1 million. Tribeca homes fetched $3.9 million on average.

More than 82% of Flatiron and Tribeca homes sold below the asking price, as did 90% of Jamaica Estates homes and 92.3% of Brighton Beach listings.

“Buyers are flocking toward deals where they have more nego-

tiating power,” Wu said.

The neighborhoods with less demand and, therefore, higher discounts were closer to Manhattan.

Expensive areas weren’t the only ones to see the highest discounts, the data showed. Three spots on the list were taken by neighborhoods with sale prices below the citywide median: Jamaica, Elmhurst and Sunset Park.

SHUTDOWN FROM PAGE 1

Cuomo has said the rising rates in surrounding states have given him the greatest cause for alarm. New Jersey has a 5.8% infection rate; Connecticut, a 4% infection rate; and Pennsylvania, an 18.3% infection rate, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

“I need the local governments to enforce this. We went through this with bars and restaurants once before if you remember,” he said. “We will watch the numbers. We will continue to adjust as the facts adjust.”

Although Cuomo may be acting in the interest of public health, small businesses across the city are viewing his latest lockdown measures as nothing short of a death knell for local economies, with no sector viewing the latest orders with more concern than the beleaguered hospitality industry.

“Why are they picking on us?” asked Tareq Ahmed, owner of Café Guy & Gallard and Black Iron Burger. “If you look around, people are gathering everywhere. They are be-

BLOOMBERG

Superspreaders

sense of normalcy. Businesses made investments in winter dining infrastructure such as heat lamps to continue to support outdoor dining.

The industry anticipated a Nov. 1 announcement from Cuomo on whether 50% capacity indoors would be allowed.

But that never came, and last Wednesday’s announcement all but shattered restaurant owners’ earlier momentum.

“These new restrictions should be publicly justified with contact-tracing data because they will make it even more difficult for these small businesses to survive,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York Hospitality Alliance.

“PEOPLE ARE GATHERING EVERYWHERE. THEY ARE BEING TOO ROUGH ON US” ing too rough on us.”

On Sept. 30, city restaurants resumed seating patrons indoors at 25% total capacity, a change that brought increased commerce and a

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

“We demand that our elected leaders provide financial support to our city’s restaurants and bars before they permanently shutter and put tens of thousands of New Yorkers out of work.”

News of the new restrictions came without warning, the hospitality chief said.

Rigie estimated that more than 24,000 restaurants in the city are in financial straits and more than 300,000 industry workers are at risk of losing their jobs.

“Restaurants are done in Manhattan, and the only ones still open are in the good graces of their landlord,” said Jeffrey Bank, CEO of the Alicart Restaurant Group.

A whopping 88% of bars and restaurants could not pay their full

rent in October, according to a survey of more than 400 establishments by the New York Hospitality Alliance. About 60% of tenants’ landlords did not waive or reduce rent, according to the survey.

“What other industry was shut down for months but then asked to stay open to support everyone else and hasn’t been given any support?” Bank asked. “I’ve never seen an industry treated so poorly.”

Crushing blow Restaurants are not the only small businesses affected by Cuomo’s latest restrictions. Robert Schwartz, owner of 111-year-old Eneslow Shoes and Orthotics, said his business in Manhattan is down 70% on the year, and the latest re-

Elmhurst was one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, according to city data, which could have made people more reluctant to move there.

“Property owners know they will have to offer some incentives because of Covid-19,” Wu said.

Another reason discounts were high in these areas could be that people looking to move farther away from central office areas are overlooking some of these outerborough neighborhoods in between.

“There are very few neighborhoods experiencing bidding wars in New York City,” said Wu, “and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”

Only five neighborhoods in the city reported sales over the asking price, thanks to their affordability and spaciousness: Downtown Brooklyn, Flatbush, Gowanus, Greenwood and South Jamaica.

These were buyers who might have been looking to buy in Manhattan before the pandemic, but they chose instead to invest in these neighborhoods, where there are new developments and some highly desirable properties, Wu said. ■ strictions are just more of the same—salt in the wound.

“There’s no end in sight,” he said.

“This is about dog eat dog. When you and your landlord are fighting for your last dollar, we’re just destroying each other. I can’t pay you the rent, and you can’t pay your taxes.”

Schwartz has described Midtown as a ghost town, with small businesses closing daily, and Target, Home Depot and Trader Joe’s replacing them.

“The people who worked in Manhattan are gone,” he said. “Now you take those workers below those workers, who serve them breakfast, lunch and dinner, they’re not here.

The little guy is getting crushed.”

More than anything else, small businesses and their respective associations bemoan the lack of federal support during the Covid-19 crisis. No federal rescue package for small businesses has been passed since the Cares Act in April, which allocated hundreds of billions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program assistance.

“It’s very difficult for these businesses with only three days’ notice to change their strategies and to pivot,” said Helana Natt, executive director of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce. “I really do believe the city and the state and federal government need to have a stimulus plan.”

As the holiday sales season approaches, an impending shutdown with extended closures could put thousands of retailers out of business, especially if there is not an extension of billions in federal aid.

“We’ve gotten no money since April,” Schwartz said. “It’s crazy.” ■

POLITICS

Schumer to discuss New York’s future at Crain’s forum

I

KRAWCHECK

BUCK ENNIS

t’s been a wild two weeks for everyone, but maybe more so for Sen. Chuck Schumer.

The Senate minority leader, a tireless advocate for New York and a strident Democratic counterpoint to President Donald Trump, has gone from nervous anticipation to public jubilation and now back to nervous anticipation.

Somewhere in there, he was also the target of a death threat.

Crain’s New York Business on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 4 to 5 p.m. will host a discussion with the Brooklyn-born sena- SCHUMER tor regarding the nation’s roller-coaster ride following the election and his plan for tackling the pandemic and the economic crisis.

Unanswered questions

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

‘Don’t marry your first husband’ and other advice

BY COLIN KERN

TIGHE

BUCK ENNIS

BUCK ENNIS

D

on’t marry your first husband.

That is the advice Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck offered to her younger self at the Crain’s Powerful Women Summit last week.

“Who you’re married to—what’s going on in the home—makes a tremendous difference in the workplace,” the co-founder of the women-centric investment firm said.

Krawcheck and Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York tristate region of CBRE, kicked off the four-day conference on local women in business. Tighe and Krawcheck discussed challenges and tips for

women achieve success in the workplace that women need to be aware of. “The problem is, while we were playing the game as individual contributors, the men were playing the game as a team sport,” Krawcheck said.

That mentality, she argued, comes from the perception that only a limited number of women are welcome at the top of a company, and women often feel competitive with the lone “queen bee” who sits on top with the men.

“Now I think those days are moving on,” Krawcheck said. “But there was a time where there was a view of a fixed number of seats [for women].”

“THE ONE THING YOU HAVE TO BE IS TRUE TO WHATEVER IT IS YOU ARE” women navigating the business world at all stages of their career.

“I am worried sick about this pandemic, which literally is taking women back years, if not decades, economically and financially,” Krawcheck said. “While I joke, ‘Don’t marry that first husband,’ I would say, ‘Get to that second husband,’ where we had worked out the family issues, you know, every day and all along.”

To Krawcheck, there are key differences between the way men and

Mentorship Both Krawcheck and Tighe emphasized the crucial role women need to take in elevating one another in the workplace—often

through mentorship.

“Without mentorship, there are no great women a n y t h i n g ,” Tighe said.

“Trace any successful career—male or female—back WANG to its roots [and] you will find a tree of mentors along the way.”

Although 70% of Fortune 500 companies offer some sort of mentor program, Tighe said, the most fruitful of those relationships are organic and should be requested.

“In fact, the more specific your request to a prospective mentor, the better,” Tighe said. “Your query will define where you are in your career. And they will suggest whether you and your prospect are well matched.”

The two businesswomen noted that networking is important for finding mentors, but women should not feel inclined to go golfing or watch sports if it is not something that is enjoyable.

“The one thing you have to be is true to whatever it is you are,” Tighe said, “because if you’re not a golfer, there’s no faking it.”

The Crain's Powerful Women Business Summit also featured speakers Pat Wang, Lisa Donahue, Julie Mascari and Janet Woods. ■

The future of the city's recovery and Schumer’s place in the Washington, D.C., hierarchy were to have been decided earlier this month. But questions whether he will replace Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell as the majority leader and whether Democrats will control both houses of Congress as well as the White House remain unanswered. Two too-close-to-call Senate races in Georgia will not be decided until after the Jan. 5 runoffs.

Their outcome will decide how much federal support the Big Apple

can expect.

One of Schumer’s signature issues, the $11.6 billion Gateway tunnel, which would provide an additional access point between New York and New Jersey, was held up under the Trump administration because of a stalled environmental review. The president-elect, former Vice President Joe Biden, has signaled that he supports investment in infrastructure, including a high-speed rail link between New York and D.C. It would appear that the only hurdle left depends on control of the Senate.

Both the city and the state are looking at long-range gaps in their budgets and an extended recession if federal relief funds are not forthcoming.

Democrats were able to pass a $2 trillion bailout plan, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to support it. With Schumer as the leader of the upper chamber, federal funding most likely would flow to New York.

Questions also linger about how the outcome of the Georgia races will determine the Biden administration’s agenda. Democratic infighting has erupted over how progressive the party can be while still winning elections. ■ BLOOMBERG

BY JANON FISHER

Register for the forum at CrainsNewYork.com/ NovBusinessForum.

Morgan Stanley is a proud sponsor of

Crain’s Most Powerful Women Summit A special congratulations to all the incredible women being honored this year. www.morganstanley.com/wealth Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a business of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. © 2020 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. SUP001 CS 9933045 11/20

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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11/11/20 1:03 PM

IN THE MARKETS

Purdue Pharma seeks a second dose of bankruptcy bonuses

A month after pleading guilty to three felonies, drug firm wants to give CEO $3.5 million

P

down in September by a Delaware bankruptcy judge.

“It seems offensive to give senior executives bonuses,” she said, noting that Hertz had awarded bonuses just before filing for Chapter 11.

Damaged lives More often than not, bankruptcy bonuses get waved through, though.

Indeed, Drain, the judge, approved part of Purdue’s request for about an additional $10 million worth of bonuses last month after the firm lowered the sums involved by $400,000.

Only the CEO’s potential $3.5 million bonus and up to $1 million for the chief financial officer remain to be determined at the next hearing.

Nancy Rapoport, a professor at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas’ Boyd School of Law, said the judge should refuse to sign off on the payouts, even if it means risking that the executives jump ship.

“Is it really the case that the employees are so necessary that the money needs to go to them, rather than to the people whose lives have been damaged by the company’s pre-bankruptcy actions?” she asked. ■

AP PHOTO

urdue Pharma has devel- and an entirely inappropriate exeroped a habit that’s hard to cise, given the impact of Purdue’s quit: paying out bankruptcy continued recklessness,” Richard Blumenthal, Joe Manchin, Tammy bonuses to top executives.

The company at the heart of the Baldwin and two other Democratic opioid crisis got the go-ahead to senators said in a September letter to Drain. “While we agree pay executives $38 milthat appropriate compenlion in bonuses after filing sation is a necessary feafor Chapter 11 bankruptture of sustainable busicy protection last year. ness practices, no Now, a month after pleadbusiness should seek to ing guilty to three felonies reward any employee that and agreeing to pay $8.3 has engaged in criminal billion in penalties over practices.” how it marketed OxyConThe Justice Department tin, Purdue wants to pay has argued that the bonus CEO Craig Landau a bomoney should go to vicnus of up to $3.5 million.

AARON ELSTEIN tims and creditors inJudge Robert Drain will stead. decide whether Landau “The facts and circumstances do pockets the bonus at a hearing Nov. 17 in Bankruptcy Court in White not justify the payment of additionPlains. The payout is described by al bonuses,” trustee William Harthe company as an incentive to rington wrote.

Purdue did not respond to restick around while it turns itself into a public-benefit corporation. Ex- quests for comment. perts say Purdue’s second dip into the bonus pool represents a first in ‘Continued motivation’ the annals of bankruptcy.

In a court filing written by law“Someone there has got a lot of yers at Davis Polk & Wardwell, the imagination,” said Karen Cordry, company said the second round of bankruptcy counsel for the Nation- bonuses is necessary “to ensure the al Association of Attorneys General. continued motivation, engagement “When a company in bankruptcy and retention of their invaluable files a bonus plan, the plan normal- workforce and the maximization of ly lasts for the duration of the bank- the value of the debtors’ estate.” ruptcy.”

Before the opioid crisis, Purdue’s Congress and the Justice Depart- owners, members of the Sackler ment are outraged. family, were a major force in New “This proposed incentive struc- York philanthropy. There was the ture represents an affront to the Sackler Wing at the Metropolitan thousands of families that have Museum of Art and the Sackler Inbeen harmed by the opioid crisis, stitute at Columbia University. They

were big donors at the Guggenheim Museum, the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Opera. Most, if not all, of those

it was their bad decisions that led them to bankruptcy. About 80 firms have asked a judge to approve bankruptcy bonuses this year, according to bankruptcydata .com, a service of New Generation Research. They include the owners of Lord & Taylor, New York Sports Club, Modell’s Sporting Goods and Fairway Market.

But some judges are getting fed up with bankrupt companies shelling out bonuses during a pandemic. Hertz Global Holdings’ request to pay up to $14.6 million was shot

SOME JUDGES ARE FED UP WITH BANKRUPT COMPANIES SHELLING OUT BONUSES institutions have cut ties publicly.

Struggling companies routinely dole out millions in bonuses just before or shortly after filing for Chapter 11 protection, arguing that their executives’ expertise is needed even if

REAL ESTATE

Consulting firm inks five-year lease renewal at Vornado’s 888 Seventh Ave.

V

ornado Realty Trust will keep one of its office tenants at 888 Seventh Ave. for at least five more years under a deal that includes almost a year’s worth of concessions.

Consulting firm Protiviti has renewed its roughly 38,000-squarefoot lease at the Midtown property in a five-year deal, a source familiar with the transaction said. Pricing was in the low $70s per square foot, and the deal included a substantial amount of free rent, a sign of the newfound leverage the pandemic has given many office tenants in negotiations with their landlords.

Mike Higgins and Bill Korchak of JLL represented Protiviti in the transaction. Vornado was represented in-house.

Higgins and Korchak declined to comment on the deal. Representa-

tives for Vornado and Protiviti did not respond to requests for comment.

Ups and downs Vornado has gone through several ups and downs since the onset of the pandemic. Shares in the company shot up by about 30% last week after Pfizer reported that the Covid-19 vaccine it is developing was 90% effective.

And Vornado landed one of the few marquee office transactions of the pandemic when Facebook completed a deal

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

VORNADO REALTY TRUST

BY EDDIE SMALL

for 730,000 square feet at the firm’s Farley Building by Penn Station in August.

But Vornado's rental revenues still dropped by 25% year over year during the third quarter, falling to

$322 million from $428 million, and it has sued multiple tenants over missing rent, including Planet Hollywood and retailer U.S. Polo Assn. in Times Square.

New York’s office market has weakened significantly since the onset of the pandemic, and a recent survey from the Partnership for New York City found that just 15% of New Yorkers are expected back at their desks by the end of the year.

The average Manhattan asking rent in October declined to $76.20 per square foot, and the availability rate increased to 12.9%, the highest it has been since 2004, according to a report from Colliers.

Brokerages previously have told Crain’s that the pandemic has made short-term lease renewals an increasingly popular option for companies looking to avoid dealing with the unprecedented office market. ■

HEALTH CARE

City launches pilot program to let medical experts respond to mental health emergency calls

T

he city is set to pilot a program that for the first time will see medical experts become the default responders to 911 calls dealing with mental health issues, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week.

The initiative, slated to start in February in two high-need communities, comes at a time when more mental health services are necessary due to new stresses introduced by the pandemic, de Blasio and health leaders said.

The initial geographic areas of focus will be finalized during a planning period that will begin immediately.

involved or whether there is an imminent risk of violence, the mayor’s office noted. In the pilot program, new teams of health professionals and crisis workers from FDNY emergency medical services will take over the response to mental health emergencies.

“It’s really a wonderful step in the right direction,” said Amy Dorin, president and CEO of the Coalition for Behavioral Health. “If it’s as successful as some of us think it will be, it will become the standard of care.”

Avoiding a crisis Crises responded to through the new program may involve suicide attempts, substance misuse and issues of serious mental illness as well as physical health problems, which can be exacerbated by or mask mental health problems, the mayor’s office said. New York City Health and Hospitals will train and provide ongoing assistance and support for the pilot.

Having a mental health professional respond right away will help to provide a clinical assessment of

MORE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ARE NECESSARY DUE TO NEW STRESSES Currently NYPD officers and FDNY emergency medical technicians respond to nearly all mental health–related 911 calls, regardless of the severity, whether a crime is

GETTY IMAGES

BY JENNIFER HENDERSON

the issues and the best source of treatment, said Dr. Charles Barron, deputy chief medical officer and director of the Office of Behavioral Health at Health and Hospitals.

“Many people may not even need to go to an emergency room,” Barron said. They may be able to receive follow-up care in their home or community. The goal is for people to be able to receive the right level of services as quickly as possi-

ble, he added. “This can potentially help to avoid a much more serious mental health crisis.”

The FDNY will prioritize staffing the team with professionals experienced with mental health crises, the mayor’s office said. In emergency situations involving a weapon or imminent risk of harm, the new team will respond along with NYPD officers.

The pilot is a collective effort be-

tween the FDNY, Health and Hospitals, the city Health Department and the NYPD. The Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC will provide programmatic oversight. The city declined to disclose the cost of implementing the program.

Other cities that have recently started similar programs include Eugene, Ore., as well as Albuquerque, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. ■

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NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

president K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain group publisher Mary Kramer

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

One pandemic bright spot: Small retailers can finally get their foot in the door gain. Smaller companies and mom-and-pop shops that couldn’t afford a storefront thanks to the rents driven sky-high during the past few years are now finding that landlords are willing to work with them on more reasonable leases.

Small-business owners finally have leverage, seeing as landlords would rather have their space filled than have it sit idle until the economy picks back up.

One longtime city restaurateur, Michael Stillman, CEO of Smith & Wollensky operator Quality Branded, even thinks the changing retail landscape could lead to opportunities for artists and interactive retail concepts, and decreasing upfront costs could benefit first-time business owners looking to set up shop here.

“Those upfront costs are dramatically less, and granted, you’re going to have a number of years where the [revenues] are dramatically less,” he said. “But smart landlords will be creative with you, so that’s a huge advantage.”

For many years, it’s become rote for New Yorkers to lament the “Disneyfication” of the city.

Big-name national chains have

LANDLORDS WOULD RATHER HAVE THEIR SPACE FILLED THAN HAVE IT SIT IDLE nine-year low—$659 per square foot—in the third quarter, a recent CBRE report shows.

However, as senior reporter Eddie Small discovered in this week’s cover feature, one business owner’s loss can be another one’s

associate publisher Lisa Rudy EDITORIAL editor Robert Hordt assistant managing editors Telisha Bryan,

Janon Fisher audience & analytics manager

Gabriella Iannetta associate editor Lizeth Beltran data editor Gerald Schifman art director Carolyn McClain photographer Buck Ennis senior reporters Aaron Elstein, Eddie Small reporters Ryan Deffenbaugh,

Jennifer Henderson, Brian Pascus, Natalie Sachmechi, Shuan Sim executive assistant Devin Cavallo to contact the newsroom:

www.crainsnewyork.com/staff 212.210.0100 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4024 BLOOMBERG

T

he pandemic continues to take a massive toll on the city, with Covid-19 cases again on the rise and no clear time frame for when life will get back to normal.

As workers stay out of office buildings, local retailers lose out on the revenue they spend on lunches, after-work drinks, even trips to the drugstore. The downturn has led many businesses, especially larger national chains, to stop paying rent or close up shop altogether, leaving the city’s commercial real estate market reeling.

The number of retail leases in Manhattan has dropped for five quarters in a row, and the borough’s average retail rent hit a

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

ADVERTISING

www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise senior account managers Roland Espinosa,

Stuart Smilowitz, Tori Weil

caused New York to lose its local charm, they’d tsk. And even though large retailers have added large amounts of money to the city’s coffers over the years, and that revenue will be sorely missed as the city gets back on its feet, there is something to be said for small-business owners now having a chance to shoot their shot.

Morris Sabbagh, co-founder of Kassin Sabbagh Realty, said that local business owners are really stepping in to fill the vacancies.

“The tenancies may not be the prettiest,” he said, with many of

the storefronts being taken by bodegas. “But at the end of the day, there’s activity.”

So maybe when office workers finally return, they’ll be getting their prescriptions filled at a brand-new mom-and-pop pharmacy and their coffee at a hyperlocal shop.

New York is a city where everyone is said to get a fair chance to make it. Here’s hoping more local entrepreneurs get a foot in the door to do just that so they can continue to help make the best of a bad situation. ■

people on the move manager Debora Stein,

dstein@crain.com CUSTOM CONTENT director of custom content

Patty Oppenheimer, 212.210.0711, poppenheimer@crainsnewyork.com senior manager, custom content

Sophia Juarez, sophia.juarez@crainsnewyork.com EVENTS

www.crainsnewyork.com/events events and marketing manager

Michelle Sustar, mstustar@crain.com manager of conferences & events

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork

OP-ED

REPRINTS

We’re sticking with New York

director, reprints & licensing Lauren Melesio,

212.210.0707, lmelesio@crain.com PRODUCTION production and pre-press director

BY FRIDA POLLI AND PHIL SHAWE

W

e have never believed in New York more than we do now. As business owners, founders and entrepreneurs, we have no intention of leaving.

Despite some news outlets breathlessly writing about the supposed mass exodus to the suburbs, we still believe that this city will continue to be the center of the universe and the country’s economic engine.

We couldn’t have built our businesses without this city. We doubt any other urban area—much less a suburb—would have provided the network necessary to find and foster the talent needed to succeed.

Indeed, simply living in the city can be fraught with risks and difficult decisions. People who live here are making a very conscious decision to do so. By and large, they appreciate the challenge and the rewards that come from embracing such an energetic and hectic environment. It’s exactly the type of individual needed to build a business and break into industries that otherwise would be hap-

py to maintain the status quo.

And it’s why few other cities can support the different types of businesses we run—an artificial intelligence hiring platform and a legal translation service. Such innovative and different kinds of companies are rarely headquartered within a few blocks of one another.

Encouraging signs So, despite the city going through an excruciating period in its history, we continue to be encouraged by the indelible spirit that makes New York so special.

We are witnessing this with the response to Covid. We all have experienced New Yorkers putting up their masks out of the concern for keeping a passing stranger safe.

Likewise, we are encouraged that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have already heeded the call of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Health by downloading the Covid Alert NY app. We hope more folks follow suit and take the simple step of adding it to their phones—particularly with positive rates once again on the rise

and causing the potential for mass closures of businesses.

And, of course, the fact that New York is among the leaders in testing is yet another testament to the city’s commitment to stopping the spread throughout the community.

But, equally important, we also see this spirit in terms of civic engagement.

First, during the height of the pandemic, many New Yorkers of all stripes stood with one another in solidarity for racial justice. Second, New York exceeded both other cities and even its pre-Covid estimations for census response rates. Residents here understood the need to be counted for the sake of receiving much-needed federal funding and the long-term health of our neighborhoods. And third, we saw historic voter turnout, especially during the early voting period, where New York voters waited in hours-long lines to make their voices heard. And it’s now clear that New York City had historically high turnout.

These acts may seem far removed from our companies’ missions and

our efforts to grow. But they are part and parcel of why we believed being based in New York—and staying here—is such an important business decision. We need coworkers and employees who are active in the community and who believe in something bigger than themselves.

The alternative is passivity and small thinking. And that leads to failure. We don’t want that for the city or our companies.

New York’s recovery will be a multiyear, grueling effort. We recognize that the two of us, much less the whole city, will not agree on every last policy point. The process is too important and too complex for there to be unanimity.

But believing in New York and understanding that we all want what’s best for the city is essential.

It’s a foundation and a good-faith agreement to pursue a shared goal—and it’s far more than what we can say for our national politics and culture. ■

Simone Pryce media services manager Nicole Spell SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE

www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe customerservice@crainsnewyork.com 877.824.9379 (in the U.S. and Canada). $3.00 a copy for the print edition; or $129.00 one year, for print subscriptions with digital access.

Entire contents ©copyright 2020 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. ©CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement.

CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. chairman Keith E. Crain vice chairman Mary Kay Crain president K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong editor-in-chief emeritus Rance Crain chief financial officer Robert Recchia founder G.D. Crain Jr. [1885-1973] chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. [1911-1996]

Frida Polli is co-founder and CEO of Pymetrics. Phil Shawe is founder and CEO of Transperfect.

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

P008_CN_20201116.indd 8

11/13/20 2:58 PM

OP-ED

Time for Stringer to Public space can bridge gap come clean on the between office and home pension shortfall

BY JAMES METTHAM, PETER KNUTSON AND DAG FOLGER

T

BY J. G. COLLINS

Taxpayers foot the bill Since the city alone is accountable for our public employee pensions, the comptroller can choose any CAGR he likes; any shortfall will be billed to the taxpayers. (Good luck to his successor in meeting our pension liabilities in this crisis when the city can barely make payroll for current employees.)

But Stringer’s rate sophistry gets even worse.

While private pension funds are required to use the yield of the “top three levels of investment-grade bonds” (that is, AAa, AA1 and AA2 for the Moody’s rating service mentioned earlier), the city pension

FLICKR/GRACELINKS

R

ecently city Comptroller Scott Stringer released his comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30 that included an estimate of the city’s liability for its employees’ pensions.

For the past several years, Stringer has assumed that the city’s pensions will earn a 7% return per year every year—what Wall Street calls a compounded annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 7%—for the foreseeable future.

But in 2012, when the 10-year Treasury yield was around 2%, Mayor Michael Bloomberg—no stranger to investments and Wall Street—said that assuming a 7% CAGR was “indefensible.”

“If somebody offers you a guaranteed 7% or 8% on your money for the rest of your life,” Bloomberg said, “you take it and just make sure the guy’s name is not Madoff,” referring to the architect of the infamous Ponzi scheme that bankrupted thousands.

The 10-year is less than 1% today.

By comparison, pension plans of private employers are required to set their CAGR based on an average of the yield on the top three highest rating levels of investment-grade corporate bonds (that is, AAa, AA1 and AA2 by Moody’s rating service).

That rate is currently around just 3%, 4 percentage points lower than Stringer’s assumed CAGR. The restricted lower rate is required because pensions of private companies are insured and regulated by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., much like bank accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. When the federal government has skin in the game, it requires prudence, fiscal responsibility and accountability from private pension managers.

That’s not the case in the New York City pension plans.

There is no federal guarantee. The only backstop for our city’s pension shortfalls is city taxpayers because, and only because, the state constitution doesn’t permit pension benefits to “be diminished or impaired.”

STRINGER

funds can invest in any bond considered investment grade by the rating agencies. That includes bonds rated all the way down to Baa3—just one level above junk.

Thus, the comptroller is free to chase his ridiculous 7% CAGR in some of the riskiest of investment-grade bonds in the market.

(Baa3 bonds, while investment grade, are fully seven grades below the lowest grade of bonds that the Treasury uses to set the CAGR rate for private pensions.)

Enormous risk Even novice investors know that to get a higher yield, you need to accept a higher risk. The difference between Stringer’s 7% CAGR and the sub 1% Treasury rate—called the risk premium—is now more than 6 percentage points. It’s about 4 percentage points above what private pensions are required to use.

That’s an enormous level of risk for a pension fund that is already gravely underfunded.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, the city reportedly earned only 4.44% on its pension assets.

Stringer says the city will need to boost annual pension contributions by an additional $400 million in the next three fiscal years to cover the shortfall.

But those estimates are just more sophistry.

The contributions should be made, for sure. But it will do nearly nothing to address the systemic shortfall in our pension liabilities and the risk to pension assets from Stringer’s unrealistic rate. Those issues can be fixed only by adopting a more reasonable estimate of the CAGR—something closer to the 3% rate used by private pensions.

The quotation is of dubious provenance, but the message is clear: “The first step in resolving any problem is acknowledging that there is one.”

Acknowledge the problem, Mr. Stringer. And come clean. ■ J.G. Collins is the managing director of the Stuyvesant Square Consultancy, a business advisory, economic and political consulting firm.

he pandemic has challenged how and where a great number of us work, with entire companies and sectors of the economy transitioning staff away from the office.

Eight months into this dramatic shift, which many thought would be temporary, only 10% of white-collar Manhattan has returned to the office.

Many claim to be just as productive, if not more so, while working from home. This has led to speculation that the primacy of the office is over—that business districts that rely on a daily influx of office workers to catalyze economic activity are likely never to recover.

This is a misreading of the moment.

The lesson to mine from this moment is that many office workers can work from anywhere. Vibrant neighborhoods that offer amenities that enhance daily work will be at an advantage going forward.

Neighborhoods’ opportunity With smaller office footprints, companies may have more neighborhoods to choose from. The neighborhoods that thrive will be those that offer amenities that enhance work. That doesn’t just mean restaurants or cultural experiences that simply offer a break or

a distraction, but amenities that actively support the workday.

That is why we’re bullish on the future of the Flatiron and NoMad neighborhoods, and other areas throughout the city should feel good about their prospects for a strong recovery too.

The pandemic has fostered creative approaches on how the public realm can support socially distanced activities, including business support.

We have embraced initiatives that reallocate streets to create more open space for pedestrians and allow restaurants to use sidewalks, curbsides and roadbeds to

the area.

But it’s only the beginning.

Anticipatory amenities Home is working in a pinch, but we’re all still deeply social. In the future, where we work will be unbound by convention and technology (to a degree—we’ll still need strong internet connection). Instead, where we work will be driven by the relationships and the environments that make us good at our work. Amenities that anticipate the needs of working parents (including women who are pregnant or nursing), differently abled employees, those balancing caregiving or other domestic responsibilities and those from a variety of economic and cultural backgrounds will allow employees to focus more on the job and less on the roadblocks to collaboration and productivity.

Where we work may become a choice, not an expectation. Workplaces will not be where we have to be but where we want to be. In the future, the cities and neighborhoods that create places where people want to go to work will thrive. ■

HOME IS WORKING IN A PINCH, BUT WE’RE ALL STILL DEEPLY SOCIAL seat customers.

We are continuing to look for creative and flexible streetscape amenities in Flatiron and NoMad that build off the success of the city’s Open Streets and outdoordining initiatives. We encourage the city to play a proactive role in helping coordinate planning between public and private actors.

These are all examples of how neighborhoods are evolving to create a welcoming environment that reduces stress and offers reasons for people to spend time in

James Mettham is the executive director of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership. Peter Knutson is the chief of strategy for and Dag Folger is the co-founder of Architecture Plus Information.

At home, online, or in the office, now more than ever, our 160 years of experience matters.

commercial real estate

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

1 1 1

THE LIST LARGEST PHYSICIAN GROUPS Ranked by number of New York–area doctors GROUP NAME/ ADDRESS/ AFFILIATION

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA DOCTORS

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA EMPLOYEES

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA LOCATIONS

YEAR ESTABLISHED

Ira Nash Executive director

3,939

10,493

720

2009

212-263-2672 nyulangone.org

Andrew Rubin Senior vice president, clinical affairs and ambulatory care

3,250

6,000

354

1982

Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice 5 E. 98th St. New York, NY 10029 Mount Sinai Health System

866-674-3721 mountsinaidoctors.org

Burton Drayer Chief executive

2,500

4,000

n/d

1986

Montefiore Physician Group 111 E. 210th St. Bronx, NY 10467 Montefiore Health System

800-636-6683 montefiore.org

Andrew Racine System senior vice president, chief medical officer Jeff Short Vice president, Montefiore Faculty Practice Matthew McDonough Vice president, Montefiore Medical Group

2,450

6,200

200

1947

5

ColumbiaDoctors 630 W. 168th St. New York, NY 10032 Columbia University Medical Center/ New York–Presbyterian

877-426-5637 columbiadoctors.org

Jack Cioffi President

1,800

n/d

n/d

n/d

6

Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Organization 1300 York Ave. New York, NY 10022 New York–Presbyterian

212-746-5454 weill.cornell.edu

Robert Min President, chief executive

1,677

n/d

64

1996

7

Stony Brook Clinical Practice Management Plan 101 Nicolls Road Stony Brook, NY 11794 Stony Brook Medicine

631-689-8333 stonybrookphysicians.com

Mark Talamini Chairman

1,478 1

n/d

n/d

1977

8

Summit CityMD 1345 Sixth Ave. New York, NY 10105 Warburg Pincus

212-913-0828 citymd.com

Jeffrey Le Benger Chief executive Rob Connor President

1,400 2

n/d

n/d

2019

9

Hackensack Meridian Health Medical Group 343 Thornall St. Edison, NJ 08837 Hackensack Meridian Health

848-888-4400 hmhmedicalgroup.org

Dean Lin President, physician services division and care transformation

1,000

n/d

300

n/d

Atlantic Medical Group 465 South St. Morristown, NJ 07960 Atlantic Health System

844-264-2250 atlanticmedicalgroup.org

Steven Sheris President

785

3,000

315

2014

CareMount Medical 480 Bedford Road Chappaqua, NY 10514 Physician-owned

914-241-1050 caremountmedical.com

Scott Hayworth President, chief executive Richard Morel Chief physician executive

650

3,200

45

1946

RWJ Barnabas Health Medical Group 95 Old Short Hills Road West Orange, NJ 07052 RWJBarnabas Health

732-369-5994 rwjbh.org/our-doctors/ medical-group/barnabashealth-medical-group

Andy Anderson President, chief executive

538 1

n/d

n/d

1994

Englewood Health Physician Network 350 Engle St. Englewood, NJ 07631 Englewood Health

201-894-3000 Stephen Brunnquell englewoodhealthphysicians.org President

502

n/d

n/d

2011

AdvantageCare Physicians 55 Water St. New York, NY 10041 Physician-owned

646-680-4227 acpny.com

Navarra Rodriguez President, chief medical officer

446 1

n/d

n/d

2013

15

University Physicians of Brooklyn 450 Clarkson Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11203 SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

718-270-8105 downstate.edu/physicians

Lori Donnell Executive director

413

n/d

n/d

1993

318

678

44

2011

16

White Plains Hospital Physician 914-681-1081 Susan Fox Associates & Scarsdale Medical Group wphphysicianassociates.org President and chief executive, 170 Maple Ave. White Plains Hospital White Plains, NY 10601 WANT MORE OF CRAIN’S EXCLUSIVE DATA? VISIT White Plains Hospital/ Montefiore Health System

RANK

1 2 3 4

10 11 12 13 14

PHONE NUMBER/ WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE(S)

Northwell Health Physician Partners 600 Community Drive Manhasset, NY 11030 Northwell Health

516-823-8336 northwell.edu

NYU Langone Faculty Group Practice 550 First Ave. New York, NY 10016 NYU Langone Health

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

17

Westmed Medical Group 800 Westchester Ave. Rye Brook, NY 10573 Physician-owned

914-681-3110 westmedgroup.com

Anthony Viceroy Chief executive Steven Meixler Medical director Karen Dolman Chief operating officer

1

RAN

11 2 1 3 1 4 1 52

6

8

9

1 1 1 1 1

1

1

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/LISTS. 299

7

n/d

n/d

1996

1

HED

009

982

986

947

n/d

996

977

019

n/d

014

946

994

011

013

993

011

12 13 14 15 RANK

116 2 17 3 18 4 19 520

538 1

n/d

n/d

1994

201-894-3000 Stephen Brunnquell englewoodhealthphysicians.org President

502

n/d

n/d

2011

AdvantageCare Physicians 55 Water St. New York, NY 10041 Physician-owned

646-680-4227 acpny.com

Navarra Rodriguez President, chief medical officer

446 1

n/d

n/d

2013

University Physicians of Brooklyn 450 Clarkson Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11203 GROUP NAME/ ADDRESS/ SUNY Downstate Health Sciences AFFILIATION University

718-270-8105 downstate.edu/physicians

Lori Donnell Executive director

413

n/d

n/d

1993

PHONE NUMBER/ WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE(S)

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA DOCTORS

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA EMPLOYEES

TOTAL NEW YORK–AREA LOCATIONS

YEAR ESTABLISHED

Northwell Health Physician Partners White Plains Hospital Physician 600 Community Drive Medical Group Associates & Scarsdale Manhasset, NY 11030 170 Maple Ave. Northwell Health White Plains, NY 10601 White Plains Hospital/ Montefiore Health System NYU Langone Faculty Group Practice 550 First Ave. Westmed New York, Medical NY 10016Group 800 Langone Westchester Ave. NYU Health Rye Brook, NY 10573 Physician-owned Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice 5 E. 98th St. New York, NY 10029 Mount Sinai Health System ENT and Allergy Associates

516-823-8336 914-681-1081 northwell.edu wphphysicianassociates.org

Ira Nash Susan Fox Executive President director and chief executive, White Plains Hospital

3,939 318

10,493 678

720 44

2009 2011

212-263-2672 nyulangone.org 914-681-3110 westmedgroup.com

Andrew Rubin Senior vice president, clinical affairs and Anthony Viceroy ambulatory care Chief executive Steven Meixler Medical director Burton Drayer Karen Dolman Chief executive Chief operating officer

3,250

6,000

354

1982

299

n/d

n/d

1996

2,500

4,000

n/d

1986

171

n/d

32

1998

2,450

6,200

200

1947

150

n/d

n/d

2006

RWJ Barnabas Health Medical Group 95 Old Short Hills Road West Orange, NJ 07052 RWJBarnabas Health

732-369-5994 rwjbh.org/our-doctors/ medical-group/barnabashealth-medical-group

Englewood Health Physician Network 350 Engle St. Englewood, NJ 07631 Englewood Health

660 White Plains Road Montefiore Tarrytown, NYPhysician 10591 Group 111 E. 210th St. Physician-owned Bronx, NY 10467 Montefiore Health Group System Allied Physicians 3 Huntington Quadrangle Melville, NY 11747 Physician-owned

866-674-3721 mountsinaidoctors.org 914-333-5801 entandallergy.com 800-636-6683 montefiore.org 866-621-2769 alliedphysiciansgroup.com

Andy Anderson President, chief executive

Robert Glazer Chief executive Andrew Racine Robert Green System Presidentsenior vice president, chief medical officer Jeff KerryShort Fierstein Vice Chiefpresident, executive Montefiore Faculty Practice Matthew McDonough Vice president, Montefiore Medical Group

ColumbiaDoctors One 630 Medical W. 168th St. 129 29th New W. York, NY St. 10032 New York, University NY 10001Medical Center/ Columbia Publicly owned New York–Presbyterian

877-426-5637 888-663-6331 columbiadoctors.org onemedical.com

Jack Cioffi Amir Rubin President Chair, chief executive, president

1,800 3 96

n/d n/d

n/d 16

n/d 2007

Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Organization

212-746-5454 weill.cornell.edu

Robert Min President, chief executive

1,677

n/d

64

1996

Stony Brook Clinical Practice Management Plan 101 Nicolls Road Stony Brook, NY 11794 Stony Brook Medicine

631-689-8333 stonybrookphysicians.com

Mark Talamini Chairman

1,478 1

n/d

n/d

1977

8

Summit CityMD 1345 Sixth Ave. New York, NY 10105 Warburg Pincus

212-913-0828 citymd.com

Jeffrey Le Benger Chief executive Rob Connor President

1,400 2

n/d

n/d

2019

9

Hackensack Meridian Health Medical Group 343 Thornall St. Edison, NJ 08837 Hackensack Meridian Health

848-888-4400 hmhmedicalgroup.org

Dean Lin President, physician services division and care transformation

1,000

n/d

300

n/d

Atlantic Medical Group 465 South St. Morristown, NJ 07960 Atlantic Health System

844-264-2250 atlanticmedicalgroup.org

Steven Sheris President

785

3,000

315

2014

CareMount Medical 480 Bedford Road Chappaqua, NY 10514 Physician-owned

914-241-1050 caremountmedical.com

Scott Hayworth President, chief executive Richard Morel Chief physician executive

650

3,200

45

1946

RWJ Barnabas Health Medical Group 95 Old Short Hills Road West Orange, NJ 07052 RWJBarnabas Health

732-369-5994 rwjbh.org/our-doctors/ medical-group/barnabashealth-medical-group

Andy Anderson President, chief executive

538 1

n/d

n/d

1994

Englewood Health Physician Network 350 Engle St. Englewood, NJ 07631 Englewood Health

201-894-3000 Stephen Brunnquell englewoodhealthphysicians.org President

n/d

n/d

2011

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The recent global pandemic has challenged organizations all over the world to Michael Rudin Abdelrahman Salloum Sarah Welton 2013 AdvantageCare Physicians 646-680-4227 446 1 n/d n/d rethink everything—from how they prepare for an emergency andNavarra cleanRodriguez their Portfolio Efficiency Engineer Vice President, Commercial 55 Water St. acpny.com President, chief medical officer Senior Vice President Rudin Management Company Clarion Partners International WELL o ces, toNew stakeholder engagement and communications few of these York, NY 10041 Physician-owned Building Institute organizations were ahead of the curve, already prioritizing building safety preventative measures did this preventative approach support companies University PhysiciansHow of Brooklyn 718-270-8105 Lori Donnell 413 n/d n/d 1993 Register at CrainsNewYork.com/buildingsafety 450 Clarkson director in their response toAve. Covid-19 and how willdownstate.edu/physicians it help them in the longExecutive run? Join our Brooklyn, NY 11203 panel of experts as they share strategies and suggestions for prioritizing health SUNY Downstate Health Sciences and safetyUniversity in buildings during ovid and beyond

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INSTANT EXPERT

How to stabilize the taxi industry THE PLAYERS

1

2

The city’s taxi industry is failing. The value of each cab is tied to the value of its medallion, the city-issued permit used to regulate the industry.

Medallion values increased 500% between 2001 and 2013, and the average medallion price reached $1.1 million in 2014. But since the emergence of ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft in the early 2010s, the average value of a taxi medallion plunged to a median price of less than $150,000, leaving many drivers destitute and in debt.

No arm of the city is more responsible for the medallion industry than its regulator, the Taxi and Limousine Commission. By not regulating the growth of Uber and Lyft as they came into the market, the TLC allowed more than 120,000 ride-share vehicles to enter the streets by 2018.

There are now too many cars on the road and not enough business for the 13,500 medallion owners to pay off their loans.

5

The task force recommended the city institute a debt purchase and modification program, ensure free legal advice for those owners going through bankruptcy, initiate new lender-borrower regulations to avoid the extension of risky loans and create a variety of regulatory and technological mechanisms to allow yellow cabs to compete with ride-share companies.

So far, no new laws have been enacted.

Aside from Torres, 18 City Council members still support his Medallion Asset Relief Program. If the city receives a federal bailout, there may be enough money to make a start.

Torres estimated his program would cost the city $20 million over five years while it created $1.4 billion in equity for the medallion owners.

There’s also the legal dynamic. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the TLC of committing fraud for what she claimed was the artificial inflation of medallion values between 2004 and 2017. James is demanding $810 million from the city in damages to compensate the drivers and the medallion owners, but the city may fight her allegations.

12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

THERE ARE NOW TOO MANY CARS ON THE ROAD AND NOT ENOUGH BUSINESS FOR 13,500 MEDALLIONS

Immigrants drive 95% of all the taxi cabs in the city.

For many of these drivers, owning a taxi medallion was their first great investment in the American dream. As its value crashed, so did their lives and savings. The situation got so desperate that some drivers killed themselves.

TORRES Marblegate Asset Management owns more than 4,300 medallions and loans. This year the firm began the process of writing down its loans and gave owners a payment holiday starting in March. The firm said it has forgiven $70 million of the $215 million in outstanding debt attached to the medallion loans and has sought a $300,000 debt ceiling.

Councilman Ritchie Torres, who is headed to Congress, had been spearheading the effort to help medallion owners. Along with 18 City Council members, he called for a Medallion Asset Relief Program to reset the value of 6,250 medallions and create a price floor of $250,000 for each one. This backstop would bring down the interest rates and allow indebted drivers to make payments in a protected manner.

With Torres heading to Washington, it’s unclear who will lead the charge at City Hall.

YEAH, BUT

3

While Mayor Bill de Blasio is sympathetic to the plight of medallion owners and taxi drivers, his administration has been adamant that it is unable to fund any recovery initiative until the city overcomes its fiscal crisis. De Blasio is seeking billions in federal aid from Washington, but there’s no guarantee that he will get the money. Even if he does, it is unknown how much he can use to help the taxi industry.

The Taxi Medallion Tax Force was formed in 2018. The task force, led by City Council members Ydanis Rodriguez and Stephen T. Levin, offered a number of conclusions on how to help medallion owners, but it’s not clear if any of them will be taken up.

Before this year, taxi drivers were struggling to gain market share against the ride-share behemoths, but the pandemic has accelerated their decline. A lack of customers and a shattered city economy have eroded their consumer base and hastened the medallion’s falling value.

SOME BACKGROUND

4

The taxi medallion has been part of the city since the 1930s. There are either individual medallions or a fleet of corporate medallions that can be bought, sold or traded. Since 1971 the TLC has been the city’s regulatory body. As the yellow cab became an enduring symbol of New York, the medallion system grew to be one of the safest investments and a consistent revenue generator for the city. By 2014 the highest auction price of an independent medallion reached nearly $1 million.

But the TLC allowed app companies to enter the market completely unfettered during the 2010s.

Consumers grew comfortable tapping their app rather than waiting on the curb for a yellow cab to drive by. By March 2019 the for-hire vehicle industry made 24 million citywide trips alone, while taxi trips fell by half during that time.

BUCK ENNIS

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BUCK ENNIS

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BUCK ENNIS

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REAL ESTATE

Flushing waterfront developers grilled on affordable housing plan

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

T

he City Council last week pushed for more affordable housing in the 29-acre Special Flushing Waterfront District development plan, which will build more than 1,700 apartments but only 90 affordable units.

“We’re living in a city that has an incredibly high housing crisis,” Councilman Francisco Moya said, adding that it can be problematic that “these big developments come in and we see the low levels of affordable housing there.”

Moya suggested the project wasn’t going far enough to ease the city’s housing shortage and grilled

are good-paying jobs with dignity, deep affordability on housing and maximizing the number of those affordable units,” the councilman told Crain’s. “As chair, I have asked for more affordable housing on the Flushing waterfront.”

Councilman Peter Koo, who represents the Queens district the project lives in and supports its development, also suggested that the units at the site should all be affordable.

The developers said that their affordability target was on par with what the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing program mandates. Only one of the four sites at the waterfront is proposing an increase in density and changing its use to mixed-use from manufacturing, according to Ross Moskowitz, a lawyer for the developers. Under the current rules, the project is only required to install affordable housing at that site.

“By law, you’re absolutely right,” said Councilman Antonio Reynoso, adding that “at this point, this project doesn’t seem to serve a purpose in assisting us with getting out of

THE PROJECT WOULD INCLUDE A CLEANUP OF THE POLLUTED INDUSTRIAL SITE the consortium of developers behind the project, Richard Siu of F&T Group, John Liang of Young Nian Group LLC and William Xu of United Construction & Development Group, on why it hadn’t considered adding more affordable units.

“My priorities with all rezonings

SMALL BUSINESS

this hole that is affordable housing in New York.”

The developers proposed two options for including affordable units for the City Council to choose from.

The first option will provide 75 units, while the second would create 90. The rest of the apartments built across the other three sites would be condominium units.

Holistic view Given the other benefits of the project to the community, the development must be looked at holistically, Moskowitz said. The project would create 3,716 permanent jobs and employ more than 6,000 construction workers, where 58% are expected to be Flushing residents.

It would also take an underused part of the neighborhood and create clean, open public space available for locals to enjoy.

The City Planning Commission voted overwhelmingly to approve the project Nov. 4.

Opponents of the proposal include Chhaya Community Development Corporation, Minkwon Center for Community Action and the Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, which cited concerns over rising rents and gentrification

of the area.

The project’s affordable housing plan “failed to meet the needs of the community,” according to a lawsuit they filed against the Department of City Planning and the City Planning Commission in June, adding that a luxury development boom is hurting poor residents.

The lawsuit also called on the city to conduct a full environmental review, citing concerns over the fragile waterfront, though the developers claimed there wouldn’t be a negative environmental impact and

asked the judge to dismiss the suit.

The project would include a cleanup of the polluted industrial site and better sewage systems, plus more green space and green roofs to mitigate storm runoff and sewer floods thanks to new buildings including apartments, hotels commercial space, as well as parks, said Chris Vitolano, a principal at Langan Engineering who is involved in the project. Building permits won’t be issued until the cleanup plan for the area has been reviewed by the city. ■

EAST WILLIAMSBURG

BLOOMBERG

Maryland firm scoops up Brooklyn property for $28M

BY EDDIE SMALL

BLOOMBERG GOV. ANDREW CUOMO’S restrictions on indoor restaurant dining in New York City were upheld by a state court judge after a challenge from restaurant owners on Staten Island who said the limits will force them to go out of business.

Two eateries, Bocelli Ristorante and Joyce’s Tavern, sued the state in September over Cuomo’s decision to limit indoor dining at city restaurants to 25% capacity. They argued that, because Staten Island is more suburban than other parts of New York City, they should be able to operate at 50% capacity, like restaurants located elsewhere in the state.

On Nov. 9 Judge Thomas P. Aliotta rejected the restaurants’ bid for a preliminary injunction, saying the limits have a “real and substantial

relation to public health and safety within the city of New York” and that the state was within its rights to pass quarantine laws to protect the public from the pandemic.

The decision came just as Cuomo said the state is focusing on new Covid-19 coronavirus hot spots, including Staten Island.

‘Treated equally’ The restaurants “are not similarly situated to restaurant and bar owners in Westchester or Long Island based upon the demographics of the populations being similar, i.e., middle class suburbia,” Aliotta said.

“The 25% rule applies to Staten Island based on its population density, myriad connections to and geographical location within the City of New York. All five counties have been treated equally.” ■

14 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

GOOGLE MAPS

Restaurants fail to upend Cuomo rules on indoor dining

T

he deals for industrial real estate in the city keep on rolling in.

Realterm, an Annapolis, Maryland-based firm focusing on transportation industry logistics, has purchased 235 Gardner Ave. in East Williamsburg for $28 million, according to property records. The industrial property stands five stories tall and spans 50,500 square feet. Realterm is buying the property from Manya Operating Corp., a firm based in Rockland County, according to the city.

Realterm did not respond to a request for comment.

Weathering the pandemic Realterm has properties across the country, including in Westchester County, Chicago, Texas and California. The company also purchased the former Modell's Bronx warehouse at 1500 Bassett Ave. for $115 million in 2019. In August the warehouse was reported to have been leased by Amazon, according to the New York Business Journal. The warehouse spans 366,000 square feet.

Industrial real estate has been one of the few bright spots for New York’s real estate market, especially as sectors such as office and retail struggle with the impact of the

pandemic. Leasing activity for industrial properties surged by more than 70% during the third quarter, and the availability rate and aver-

New York's industrial market were made during the third quarter. The sales span more than 1 million square feet, an increase of about 77% compared to the second quarter, according to the report.

Other recent industrial deals in the city have included Traub Capital’s $75 million purchase of 27-11 49th Ave. in Long Island City and Dune Real Estate Partners’ $32.5 million purchase of 920 E. 149th St. in the South Bronx. ■

INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FEW BRIGHT SPOTS age asking rent held steady at 8% and $22.98 per square foot, a CBRE report found.

Seventeen investment sales in

ASKED & ANSWERED

RACHEL GLASER Etsy INTERVIEW BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

W

hen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all Americans wear a mask to curb the spread of Covid-19, Etsy called on its millions of individual sellers: If you have the supplies, the Brooklyn company said, start sewing. Those crafters have since shipped more than $600 million worth of face coverings, propelling the company’s stock market value up about 200% from the start of the year. But Chief Financial Officer Rachel Glaser stresses that there is much more behind the company’s recent boom.

How did Etsy become a leader in the masks market?

Before Covid, if someone was searching for face masks on Etsy, they probably wanted a Halloween costume.

But as soon as the CDC said, yes, everybody better be wearing face masks, we had a lot of collaboration and coordination amongst our sellers and our product team to turn on a dime. We put out a call to action to the sellers, and I think it showed how nimble we can be.

We don't know, of course, how long we will need to wear masks. How does the company account for that in its strategy and planning?

Masks were about 11% of our total sales last quarter, down 14% from the second quarter, so we are already seeing that deceleration. Unfortunately, masks are probably with us for a long time—so I hope everyone

Outside of masks, what are Etsy's best-performing categories right now?

DOSSIER

Etsy’s nonmask business is up 93% from last quarter.

Our top category has been housewares and home goods.

WHO SHE IS Chief financial officer, Etsy AGE 59

There was some pushback earlier this year when Etsy asked vendors to offer more free-shipping options. Have more vendors done so?

GREW UP Northern California RESIDES Chelsea EDUCATION Bachelor’s in psychology, University of California, Berkeley; MBA, University of Southern California

We wanted to be rid of egregiously high shipping costs. We succeeded in that. Close to 50% of vendors have free shipping if the cost of the order is above $35. What buyers really care about is the fulfillment experience: When can I expect to get this item?

FRONT-PAGE NEWS Glaser is on The New York Times’ board of directors.

What are going to be the major challenges for the upcoming holiday season across e-commerce?

ETSY’S Q3 REVENUE $452 million

Many traditional retailers have faced supplychain issues that don’t impact Etsy, as we don’t rely on central warehouses. And many shoppers will be relying on e-commerce more heavily or even for the first time this holiday season. Some buyers won’t be comfortable lining up for Black Friday sales, for example, so they may shop online instead.

This could extend the holiday shopping period.

OFF HOURS When not on the clock, Glaser is a home cook and steady reader. She recommends The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

STAYING HOME Etsy’s HQ in Dumbo has been closed since Feb. 28, with only a small group of volunteers working there at this point.

Now that more purchases are happening online, how can companies stand out?

As people are becoming more comfortable shopping online, they’re likely finding an e-commerce market crowded with platforms selling the same, mass-produced inventory.

Buyers crave connectivity, and they’re actively looking to support microentrepreneurs and small businesses. The opportunity to support small businesses, whether in their community or in a place that is impossible to visit right now, can be very meaningful. ■

has at least a dozen—but you can now find them anywhere. But 38% of our new buyers who purchased a mask from us have come back to make a nonmask purchase. This is an on ramp for people who hadn’t considered us before.

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

M

anhattan real estate has taken a huge hit during the pandemic shutdown, but Rob Speyer is banking on his family name and his faith that the market will rebound.

One of real estate’s newest blankcheck companies, TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp., a Tishman Speyer-backed special purpose acquisition company, made its debut on the Nasdaq on Nov. 10 amid a struggling real estate market that

$25,000, or $0.003 a share; 30 million shares were offered to the public at $10 a pop, which experts say is industry standard.

“We believe that the breadth of the Tishman Speyer platform and the collective expertise of our management team will allow us to identify numerous potential acquisition targets,” the company said in its filing.

The shares, however, won’t vest until a successful merger is made.

David Feldman, a securities lawyer at Hiller PC, said this type of risk-reward ratio is not unusual for SPACs. “They say they’re entitled to more compensation because they take the most risk,” he said.

Tishman Speyer declined to comment due to SEC regulations.

The special-purpose acquisition company, dubbed TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp., will focus on mergers and acquisitions of proptech companies, or technology businesses focused on the real es-

SPEYER CONTROLS AN ENTITY THAT PURCHASED AROUND 8.6 MILLION SHARES OR ABOUT 22%, OF THE COMPANY has other publicly traded real estate firms hanging well below their pre-pandemic levels.

Speyer controls an entity that purchased around 8.6 million shares, or about 22%, of the company before it went public for a total of about

tate industry.

Tishman Speyer also invested $8 million in commitments to purchase stock once a deal is made. If they don’t close on one within a specified period of time, those stock options, or warrants, expire and it loses its investment. If a deal does close and share prices rise, the Speyers will get to buy those shares at $11.50 apiece, no matter their market price.

Once that happens, however, shares become diluted and investors will earn less per share.

“The warrant money is really a risk,” Feldman said, “not the sponsor money.” That investment is really used to cover the formation and maintenance expenses of the company until it completes a merger, said Douglas Ellenoff, a securities lawyer at Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole.

Opportune time With the market soaring on the news of a Covid-19 vaccine, including shares of real estate investment trusts, they said this was an opportune time for Tishman Speyer to take the SPAC public.

“It’s a good time in the market, but

there are definitely a large number of SPACs looking for interesting deal opportunities,” Feldman said, adding that the SPEYER company is in better shape than if there were many other real estate SPACs to compete with.

CBRE, the largest commercial real estate firm in the world, on Nov. 9 filed plans for a $400 million SPAC with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CBRE Acquisition Holdings will be led by CEO Bob Sulentic and global group President William Concannon.

This company will focus on commercial real estate businesses that “provide products or services to CBRE’s client base,” according to the filing.

So far for the year, 172 blankcheck companies have already gone

JOIN

BUCK ENNIS

Tishman Speyer SPAC goes public in a good week for real estate

public, raising more than $63 billion. The average amount these companies raised was about $370 million, SPACInsider found.

Only time will tell whether these SPACs make it or dissolve because they didn’t find good deals to make, but last week will have made it clear whether Tishman Speyer’s investors see a future.

“In the end, good or bad,” Feldman said, “IPOs live or die on market conditions in the week that their underwriters take them out.” ■

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POLITICS

‘Pragmatic problem solver’ freshman Rep. Torres seeks to distinguish himself from AOC

BY BRIAN PASCUS

R

itchie Torres believes he’s walking along the right path.

For Torres, a 32-year-old incoming freshman representative in the Bronx’s 15th Congressional District, the jump from City Hall to Capitol Hill is not so much a leap as it is an expected step along the same road.

“Congress is a natural progression from the New York City Council,” he said. “Much of what we do at a state and local level is the administration of federal programs and priorities. What I bring to D.C. is an on-the-ground knowledge of how federal policies operate at a local level.”

TORRES

As a Bronx native who grew up in public housing, Torres experienced living in impoverished conditions firsthand, and that formed his politics. His main domestic priority in Congress will be public housing on a national level.

“My passion for public housing is deeply rooted in my experience in growing up and living in conditions of mold, mildew, leaks, lead, and unreliable heat and hot water in winter,” Torres said. “I think policy is inevitably informed by the personal.”

During his six years on the City Council, Torres was the chairman of the public housing committee, where his work helped shine a light on the dilapidated conditions of the city’s public-housing stock. As an openly gay man of Afro-Latino heritage, his personal experiences have given him the requisite empathy to understand vulnerable populations.

Once in Washington, Torres will seek to reinvest funding into public

AP PHOTO

Focus on housing

Aside from these legislative goals, Torres is looking at joining the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform during his term.

“Congress is both a legislature and an oversight institution,” he said. “I have an obligation to play both, to be an advocate for the interests of the South Bronx and New York City but also to play a role in the oversight of the institution.”

As a city councilman, Torres recently outed the commander of the Police Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity Division for making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks in The Rant, a law enforcement chat group. He played an outsize role in bringing to light abuses upon taxi medallion owners in the city from unscrupulous lending practices attached to the sale of expensive medallions regulated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. This issue remains with him. Even though he is leaving for Washington, Torres said, he doesn’t want the plight of medallion owners to be forgotten or his Medallion Affordable Refinancing Program to languish in City Hall.

“I’d love to pursue nationally the plan I’ve introduced locally. There should be a federal backdrop for medallion owners,” he said. “A government guarantee would have the stabilizing effect of a bailout without the prohibitive cost.”

“IT’S FAIR TO SAY I WILL NEVER IDENTIFY MYSELF AS A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST” housing for what he says are $40 billion in capital needs. He wants to change the 4% low-income housing tax credit from a variable rate into a fixed rate to unlock that funding.

He wants to expand housing vouchers so poor families spend no more than 30% of their income on rent.

More than anything, Torres wants to expand the child tax credit to cut child poverty by 40%, a tall task that would cost the federal government $200 billion but one Torres views as necessary to allow an additional one-third of American families to access the credit.

“The challenges affecting vulnerable communities are not abstractions to me,” he said. “These are struggles I’ve lived in my own life and will motivate me to fight my heart out in Washington, D.C.”

Rhetoric and socialism Although it might seem as though Torres, by joining Congress

at such a young age, is following in the footsteps of another New York City millennial politician, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the 14th District in Queens, the Bronx representative is quick to cut off any comparison.

“It’s fair to say I will never identify myself as a democratic socialist,” he said. “I am a pragmatic problem solver.”

Torres is concerned that the Democrats’ association with “defund the police” rhetoric and socialism hurt the party on Election Day. He said certain politicians in blue districts have no idea how to represent voters in purple districts.

“We have to be smarter and more strategic in our messaging without compromising the core convictions of the party,” he said, noting a $15-an-hour minimum wage passed in Florida, a state won

by President Donald Trump. “The contradictions between the two tells me the Democratic platform is more popular than the Democrats who ran.”

As he prepares to enter Congress, Torres is reminded of why he ran. He recalls the older Latinas and African American women who served as his base, the essential workers who disproportionately represent his constituency in the Bronx and Jimmy Vacca, the former city councilman from the 13th District who was his political mentor. “ ‘Never forget where you come from. Never forget the people you represent,’ ” Torres recalled Vacca telling him. “For Jimmy, constituent service was the highest service.

No matter how high you rise in politics, you can never forget the district you represent.” ■

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FROM PAGE 1

York City. I believe that Broadway and all the other things you see are going to come back,” said Quality Branded CEO Michael Stillman, whose firm operates such popular Manhattan restaurants as Smith & Wollensky and Quality Meats. “So we’re not at all afraid of Midtown.

It’s somewhere that we’ve always had strength.”

The amount of retail leases in Manhattan has dropped for five quarters in a row, and the borough’s average retail rent hit a nine-year low of $659 per square foot in the third quarter, a CBRE report found. While the brutal economics of the pandemic have made expansion impossible for some businesses, those that have been able to hang on should be eager to explore opportunities for new locations, said Steve Soutendijk, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield Retail Services.

“If they have a memory of 2009– 2010, they will remember how affordable rents got,” he said, “and how either they were thrilled that they signed long-term leases before the boom or they were regretful that they missed out.”

The pandemic arguably has hurt New York’s restaurant industry even more than other segments of its retail market. Eateries were not allowed to resume indoor dining until Sept. 30 and at just 25% capacity, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said they had to start closing at 10 p.m. as of last Friday. Quality Branded has not been immune to these struggles. The virus forced the company to permanently close some of its restaurants, and Stillman acknowledged that it will remain difficult to open a new one until at least the summer.

But Quality Branded still hopes to open 10 to 12 restaurants, largely within the city, in the next few years. The pandemic’s impact on real estate has enabled the firm to enjoy more leverage in its negotiations, particularly when it comes to seeking lower rents and greater flexibility, and Stillman remains confident that investing in the city is a wise move.

“I still feel very strongly that the long-term value of being in New York City is extraordinarily high,” he said.

Stillman predicts that the rapidly shifting retail landscape could lead to opportunities for partnerships with artists and interactive retail concepts, and the decreasing upfront costs could spark more opportunities for first-time business owners to set up shop in the city.

“Those upfront costs are dramatically less, and, granted, you’re going to have a number of years where the numbers are dramatically less,” he said. “But smart landlords will be creative with you, so that’s a huge advantage.”

Strengths and weaknesses Quality Branded is not the only business looking to grow in the city.

Kassin Sabbagh Realty, a Manhattan-based real estate firm focused on commercial properties, is back to brokering about six to eight leases per week, which is in line with the amount of business it was

doing before the pandemic hit, co-founder Morris Sabbagh said.

The deals driving the market today may be a far cry from Apple’s launching of an iconic, award-winning store on Fifth Avenue. The only national retailers Sabbagh mentioned that might still have an eye on expanding in New York in the current environment were Target, Five Below and CVS. The less glamorous deals, however, are keeping the beleaguered sector afloat, particularly in the outer boroughs, he said.

“It took awhile to realize what was happening, and now we’re seeing that what’s happening is locals are stepping up,” he said. “The tenancies may not be the prettiest tenancies—all these deli grocery markets, they’re signing everywhere—but at the end of the day, there’s activity.”

Tim King, a managing partner at CPEX Real Estate, echoed this point, saying he is seeing local companies take the lead as larger ones fall back.

“This is kind of like a tale of two tenants, where all of the activity that we’re seeing is in the smaller neighborhood mom-and-pop-type businesses,” he said. “There’s no in-

BUCK ENNIS

RETAIL

and contributed $27 billion to the city’s GDP last year, according to the New York City Economic Development Corp. The sector lost 36,900 jobs from February to September, the agency said.

The sector is unlikely to make a more thorough comeback until office workers and the customer base they represent return to the city in greater numbers, said Ariel Schuster, a Newmark retail broker.

That appears unlikely to happen soon; a recent survey from the Partnership for New York City found that only 15% of the city’s office workers are expected back by the end of the year.

“My office in Grand Central, I’m here five days a week, and I go to

“THE LONG-TERM VALUE OF BEING IN NEW YORK CITY IS EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH” stitutional or national tenant activity taking place.”

Orthodontics firm Diamond Braces, for instance, recently signed leases for new branches at 615 10th Ave. in Hell’s Kitchen and 132 E. Fordham Road and 27 W. Fordham Road in the Bronx, said broker Albert Manopla of Kassin Sabbagh Realty. It has leases out at three more locations that are not yet completed, he said.

“These opportunities are a good time to expand because you have more availability,” said Dr. Oleg Drut, Diamond Braces’ clinical director. “Smart landlords are giving many more concessions than before Covid-19.”

JEM Realty, which has properties throughout the city, has been willing to be flexible with retailers on issues such as rent on a case-bycase basis, company President Alan Jemal said. The firm has managed to keep busy during the pandemic despite the weak retail market.

“We’ve got to hold on and keep our spaces filled,” he said. “We can’t get every last dollar, but there’s always tomorrow. As long as you retain your properties, there’s always tomorrow.”

Stories of local retailers stepping up do not mean the sector is thriving as a whole, particularly in Manhattan. The borough still had 254 ground-floor retail spaces available during the third quarter, a record high dating to 2014, when CBRE first started tracking the data, the company’s report said.

Overall activity also remains low, with retailers leasing about 2.7 million square feet of space in the 16 Manhattan retail corridors that CBRE tracks. This marks the lowest total since at least the first quarter of 2017, the brokerage said.

Retail employed 344,300 workers

lunch, and I’m the only person in line,” Schuster said. “From a sales perspective, there are so many headwinds that are not going to go away.”

Essential versus nonessential Even when landlords and retailers are looking to make a deal, standard haggling over price points can still get in the way. If landlords are not ready to give up on the rents they were able to get before the pandemic, this can be too much to ask of tenants with their minds set on landing a uniquely great deal.

Soutendijk of Cushman & Wakefield divided the fate of the city’s retail sector less between national and local stores and more between essential and nonessential stores.

“Basically, any essential retailer that was open and operating

during March, April and May in New York City has arguably been successful enough throughout this to warrant potentially expanding,” he said.

The sector still has its problems, but Cushman & Wakefield shifted recently from trying to salvage existing tenancies to showing new spaces, Soutendijk said. Tenants, in general, are hoping for a discount between 15% and 20%, which represents a pretty rare opportunity that “savvy operators who remember that New York always comes back” won’t want to pass up, he said.

“We are all, as a brokerage community, really optimistic,” Soutendijk said. “We are hopeful that the pricing shift generates a lot of activity and a lot of velocity, and things start to rent.” ■

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NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 19

REZONING pleased with respect to fire and safety codes, and the city’s growth as a financial center put more office building projects in the pipeline as companies looked for more space.

By 1913 about 93,000 buildings protruded from Manhattan’s bedrock. The tallest reached only 55 stories, and 99% of them were 10 or fewer stories. The Woolworth Building, at 792 feet, had just taken the title as the world’s tallest building. The taller the buildings grew, however, the more residents complained about light and air being blocked from their windows.

In a report that year, Edward M. Bassett, chairman of the Heights of Buildings Commission, wrote: “On New Street and Exchange Place where the office buildings range from 10 to 22 stories high, on a bright sunny day at noon in midsummer it was found that in almost all of the street rooms artificial light was being used next to the windows.”

It took one massive shadow two years later to send residents of Lower Manhattan into a frenzy that would ultimately lay down the law on the state of anarchy in commercial real estate.

Equitable Building When it was completed in 1915, 120 Broadway, also known as the new Equitable Building, became the largest office building in the world at 1.2 million square feet.

The 545-foot structure, now owned by Silverstein Properties, was built on the site of the previous Equitable Building, which was de-

GETTY IMAGES, WIKIPEDIA

FROM PAGE 3

THE ORIGINAL EQUITABLE BUILDING (far left) circa 1870 was replaced in 1915 (middle) and has undergone several renovations. The building (right) as it looked in 2010.

Residents who had been fighting the construction of the building before its inception were outraged and demanded that the city officially control the sizes of new buildings.

Zoning resolution By that time, the city was long overdue for someone to decide what was getting built and where.

Rapid industrial expansion and influxes of immigrants meant factories were pumping out toxic fumes next to overcrowded tenement buildings, and warehouses were getting too close for comfort in retail districts.

The Fifth Avenue Association complained of congestion and declining land values, and it became clear that there needed to be a physical separation between buildings with different uses.

In 1912 Manhattan Borough President George McAneny submitted a report to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to enact controls on building heights. He was appointed chairman of the new Committee on City Planning, and another committee was created to divide the city into land use districts, led by Bassett.

Together, they became the driving forces behind the 1916 Zoning Resolution—the first document of its kind produced in the city that would legally protect land use and control the heights and facades of buildings.

Under the new rules, milk-bot-

“HISTORICALLY, ZONING HAS BEEN PART OF THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR OUR CITY” stroyed in a fire. The new one was lauded for its advanced elevator system and fireproof construction.

But the Ernest Graham-designed tower was so bulky relative to surrounding buildings that it cast a 7-acre shadow over them.

“It was said that the Equitable blocked ventilation, dumped 13,000 users onto nearby sidewalks, choked the local transit facilities and created potential problems for firemen,” recalled Sally A. Kitt Chappell, an architectural historian in a report.

tling and horseshoeing facilities were not allowed in business districts, and office buildings were not allowed in residential zones. The manufacturing industry was given pockets of its own, away from homes to protect residents’ health, and plans for towers with the floor-area ratios similar to the Equitable Building’s didn’t stand a chance.

“Historically, zoning has been part of the keys to success for our city,” said Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York region of CBRE, the real estate investment firm. But its inflexibility can be a problem for an evolving city with ever-changing needs, she added.

The resolution itself is a living document in that amendments are constantly added to it, but some key laws have been around for decades and changing them is no easy feat.

Time for an update More than four decades later, the city adopted the 1961 Zoning Resolution as an overhaul of the original zoning bible, which the city found to be outdated.

New provisions included reducing residential densities along the edges of the city in neighborhoods such as Chelsea because of congestion issues, and thanks to the rise of automobiles, addressing land use for parking allowances.

More important, the new version made it clear that zoning laws were a powerful, transactional tool for passing public policy measures, said Keane, the NYU urban planning professor.

The new resolution contained language that allowed developers to build higher in exchange for incorporating open space, or plazas for public use, into their new projects.

Even today if a developer applies to rezone an area to build residential apartments, a portion of those apartments must be offered as affordable housing, because of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2016 mandatory inclusionary housing program.

Now that 60 years have gone by, Keane said, the city is due for another update. But like they did more than a century ago, Tighe said, community groups can make new development a difficult process when a project requires changes in zoning laws to accommodate new uses.

Tough road ahead Today’s largest, most complex rezoning proposals have been killed

by City Council members whose constituencies opposed the changes.

Almost all large rezoning projects throughout the area are controversial because people are fearful of change, said Weisbrod, the former Planning Commission chairman.

“Many people in opposition kill a project by prolonging that [review] period because they know there’s a moment when the developer will throw its hands in the air and give up,” Tighe said, as was the case for Industry City in Sunset Park and Amazon HQ2 in Long Island City.

For Weisbrod, the most complex rezoning he’s seen in his career was a 1981 law that allowed lofts, or

manufacturing buildings in areas such as SoHo and Chelsea, to be used for housing.

“In part, that was a reaction to the fact that people were already living illegally in lofts where housing was not permitted,” he said. “In part, it was proactive because it opened up large parts of Lower Manhattan to housing that hadn’t been available before.”

Talk of converting distressed hotels into affordable housing has arisen now that the pandemic has shut down tourism in the city, but such a conversion is impossible under current laws for hotels in manufacturing districts. That restriction was implemented to protect the health and safety of residents from toxic factory emissions, Weisbrod said, but manufacturing today is not the kind of unhealthful activity it might have been 100 years ago.

In a building zoned for manufacturing in which the activity, such as 3D printing, isn’t toxic or loud, there absolutely could be residential apartments, Keane said.

“We should be more flexible about it, but it brings a lot of different considerations into play,” said Weisbrod, including whether the city should allow residential development to outbid manufacturing for land and space.

Even so, given that rezoning can take so long, the market may have changed by the time it is allowed, and at that point rezoning may no longer be needed, Tighe said.

“In the game of rezoning, one key component of it is time,” she said, and “time kills all deals. ■

GETTY IMAGES,

THE LOWER MANHATTAN skyline as it looked in the mid-1900s from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River

20 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 16, 2020

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Notice of Formation of ELMWOOD SQUARE HOUSING DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, 19th Fl., NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Law Office of Alexandra Bonacarti. Articles of Organization filed with the SSNY on 7/27/20. Office location: New York County.SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the PLLC served upon hi m/her is: One Liberty Plaza, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10006. The principal business address of the PLLC is: One Liberty Plaza, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10006. Purpose:any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LuLaLoCDC, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/11/2020. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: 210 W. 101st Street, Suite 6G. The principal business address of the LLC is: 210 W. 101st Street, Suite 6G.Purpose: any lawful act or activity Notice of Formation of HC HOLDCO IV LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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31 TMH Realty LLC. Appl. for Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/09/20. Off. loc.: NY Co. Orig. juris.: DE. SSNY des. as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, c/o Allison Young, 31 West 89th Street, New York, NY 10024. Purpose: General.

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SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 13 W 13th St Apt 2EN, New York, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful activity BALTIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/01/20. Office: New York County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty St New York, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Elam Professional Industrial Cleaning Services LLC. filed with SSNY on 09/16/2020. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent for process and shall mail copy to: 300 West 145 Street, #6T, New York, NY 10039. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Highlands Investments LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Secretary of State ("SSNY") on 4/8/20. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon it is: 385 1st ave, Apt 4B, New York, NY, 10010. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of SCHICKLER KAYE LLP Cert. of Reg. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/25/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLP: One Rockefeller Plaza, 11th Fl., NY, NY 10020.

SSNY designated as agent of LLP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLP at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Profession of law.

Notice of Qualification of UNDERBITE DENTAL BRANDS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/25/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/22/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 230 W. 41st St., Second Fl., NY, NY 10036. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of ELMWOOD SQUARE HOUSING CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, 19th Fl., NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HC HOLDCO V LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Timothy P. Terry, 667 Madison Ave., 24th Fl., NY, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CALIBRANT WOODLAND I, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/13/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/24/20. Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c /o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of WangaWoman, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State NY (SSNY) on 10/14/2020. Office Location: NY County. SSNY is designated as an agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail a copy of the process against LLC to PO Box #2003, New York, NY 10159.

Notice of Qualification of CALIBRANT TE DEVELOPMENT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/13/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/24/20. Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/ o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of ELMWOOD SQUARE HOUSING GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, 19th Fl., NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HC HOLDCO III LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/30/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Timothy P. Terry, 667 Madison Ave., 24th Fl., NY, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of LEWIS ALAN REALTY, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Lewis Plosky, 25 West 31st St., NY, NY 10001. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of Prithvi Ventures, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/20.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/ 08/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Registered Agents Inc., 90 State St., STE 700 Office 40, Albany, NY 12207. Address to be maintained in DE: c/o Harvard Business Services, Inc., 16192 Coastal Hwy., Lewes, DE 19958. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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Notice of Formation of EVENFEEL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/27/20. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 3587 Hammock St., Las Vegas, NV 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to U.S. Corp. Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice is hereby given that a license, number ("Pending") for beer, cider, and wine has been applied for by the undersigned* to sell beer, cider and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 64 Second Avenue, New York, NY for on premises consumption. *The Bronx Brewery, LLC

Notice of Formation of CNYM RISK MANAGEMENT, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/27/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Michael Feldman, 254 W. 31st. St., 6th Fl., NY, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of XAVIER DEVAUGHN LLC. Arts of Org filed with SoS of New York (SSNY) on 6/23/20. Office location: NY County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: 33W 19th St., 4th Fl, NY, NY 10011. R/A: US Corp Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave, #202, BK, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice is hereby given that a license, number (Pending) for beer, cider, wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, cider, wine at retail in a tavern under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 146 East 49th Street, New York, NY 10017 for on premises consumption. Manhattan Espresso Ltd. (DBA) Manhattan Espresso Cafe.

Notice of formation of RokoPack LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/08/2020. Location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process on LLC. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: RokoPack LLC 210 east 15th Street 5L NY, NY 10003 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification for Public Sphere LLC. Authority filed with the Sec’y of State of New York (SSNY) on 3/4/20. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in NJ on 5/1/19. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and mailed to: The LLC, PO Box 1144, Hoboken, NJ 07030. LLC filed with NJ Dept of Treasury, 225 W State Street, Trenton, NJ 08625. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of FEDLAND, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of WVA Service LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on September 21, 2020. Office: BX County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 1015 Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY 10462. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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Notice of Formation of KW Media Partners, LLC. Arts of Org filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 7/16/20. Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 5 W 37th St., Ste. 501, NY, NY 10018. Princ. Bus. Addr: 248 E. 31st St., Unit 4B, NY, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful act.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) The name of the LLC is: JACKSON TERRACE PRESERVATION, LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) office on October 7, 2020. The County in which the Office is to be located: New York County, NY. The SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC: 200 VESEY STREET, 24TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10281. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of The Law Office of Kaitlin Rolston, PLLC. The Articles of Organization field with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on September 10, 2020 in New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the PLLC served upon it is 43 West 43rd Street, Suite 275, New York, NY 10036. The principal place of business for the PLLC is 43 West 43rd Street, Suite 275, New York, NY 10036.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Zemi Beauty LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/08/2020. Office location and principal business address: 50 W 112th St., APT 1B, New York, NY 10026. SSNY is designated as agent for service of process. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any service of process against the LLC is: 606 W 57th St., APT 2603, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of CALIBRANT WOODLAND II, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/13/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/24/20. Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., NY, NY 10019.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c /o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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GOTHAM GIGS

BUCK ENNIS

HAIMAN’S clients want a peaceful place to entertain guests outdoors.

TODD HAIMAN AGE 60 GREW UP Mill Basin, Brooklyn RESIDES South Street Seaport EDUCATION Bachelor’s in English and art history, SUNY Albany; master’s in landscape design, Columbia University GIVING BACK Haiman has donated his services to synagogues in the city in need of some sprucing up.

BASKETBALL FEVER When he was a teenager, Haiman loved the Knicks so much, he took a job at Madison Square Garden selling sodas during basketball games. He dreamed of being the team’s point guard.

QUIRKY COLLECTION Haiman has a collection of nearly 100 vintage lunch boxes, including one featuring the Beatles and another emblazoned with Roy Rogers. His collection was bigger, but many were lost when his apartment was flooded by Superstorm Sandy.

Making the concrete jungle bloom A landscape designer turns New Yorkers’ outdoor spaces into gardens

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

F

or more than a decade, Todd Haiman has been designing gardens for New York’s terraces, roofs and backyards.

With everyone spending more time at home and taking stock of their space during the pandemic, more city residents are calling on him to beautify their outdoor areas and make them functional. He is currently working on 14 projects.

“Because of Covid-19, people want to have a connection with the outdoor environment,” Haiman said.

Many of his clients seek to use their outside space to entertain as well as to escape into a peaceful environment while staying home.

His eponymous firm’s 24 clients can be found all over the city, in areas including Park Slope, SoHo and Queens. He can landscape spaces as small as 300 square feet as well as sprawling, 2,500-square-foot areas,

he said. Clients pay five to six figures for his work, depending on the size and complexity of the project.

And in May the developers of new Tribeca condo building 30 Warren asked Haiman to be the building’s resident landscape designer.

Before discovering his passion for bringing greenery to the concrete jungle, Haiman was a photographer who worked on ad campaigns. After investing in a condo building with a few others, he decided to build a rooftop garden at the property.

He started small, growing basil and tomatoes, though at the time he had no experience with plants.

“I grew up in Brooklyn,” he said.

“If I wanted green, I went to Prospect Park.”

Eventually, he installed an irrigation system, then took classes at the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture.

From there he got a master’s in landscape design at Columbia.

“I just thrived in it,” he said.

The pandemic isn’t the first time Haiman has had to navigate a tough economy. He got his master’s in 2009, at the peak of the financial crisis, and couldn’t land a job. He decided to go off on his own and got his first gig designing a garden in Brooklyn for someone on the board of his childhood synagogue.

Sustainability is at the crux of Haiman’s business. He uses nontoxic materials that won’t hurt humans or bees and as many sustainable plants as possible.

In September lawmakers called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to offer a tax abatement for property owners who install greenery on their building’s rooftop. So-called green roofs help the city by capturing stormwater runoff, reducing the risk of flooding and helping cool buildings during sweltering temperatures.

“When we create gardens, we create a sense of order and stability,” Haiman said. “Nature is a great way of healing.” ■

“WHEN WE CREATE GARDENS, WE CREATE A SENSE OF ORDER AND STABILITY”

NOVEMBER 16, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

JOIN US AT THE EVENT AS WE ANNOUNCE THE RANKINGS LIVE! 7Park Data Accern AdTheorent Allison+Partners AlphaSights Altfest Personal Wealth Management American Arbitration Association Anchin Atrium Attune Insurance Baker Tilly US, LLP Beeswax Benhar Office Interiors Better.com Bitly Bluecore Bombas Braze Button Captivate Catalyst Software CBIZ Clune Construction Cockroach Labs Columbia Property Trust Cooley Dataprise Digital Remedy Direct Agents Dots Dynamic Yield Evoke Extensis Group Fenwick & West LLP

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In a time where organizations are struggling to stay afloat, these companies are pressing forward. Join us at the virtual event on Dec. 3 as we celebrate the 2020 Best Places to Work and announce the rankings live in three categories: small, mid-size and large, based on the number of New York-area employees.

Thursday, December 3, 2020 | 4 - 5 PM

REGISTRATION IS LIVE: CrainsNewYork.com/bestplaces2020 Midsize Category Sponsor

Supporting Sponsors

Event questions: crainsevents@crainsnewyork.com Sponsorship opportunities: lrudy@crain.com

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