Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED Sunset Park BID chief on the issues with land-use reviews PAGE 7

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NOVEMBER 30, 2020

PHILANTHROPY

BANKROLLING BLACK CHARITIES After ignoring minority communities for years, New York foundations are opening their wallets to nonprofits dedicated to helping people of color

W

BY GWEN EVERETT hen Jerelyn Rodriguez helped launch The Knowledge House in 2014, she often found herself defending the concept to donors, who were skeptical of a nonprofit dedicated to training Bronx residents for technology jobs.

Winning over benefactors matters for any nonprofit, because philanthropists and foundations are vital for providing the grants that grow and sustain an organization. But donors told Rodriguez she did not have a strong enough personal brand. They also said her nonprofit—which has placed graduates at Bloomberg,

BUCK ENNIS

RODRIGUEZ says that in the early years of her nonprofit, The Knowledge House, she had trouble attracting financial support.

See CHARITIES on page 42 MORE See lists of top nonprofits and foundations, page 13

POLITICS

How the Left was won

As Socialists gain office, they vie with moderates for the soul of the Democratic Party

BY BRIAN PASCUS

N

o political group in the city has drawn more attention in recent years than the Democratic Socialists of America—a far-left political organization that has won races at nearly every level of govern-

NEWSPAPER

VOL. 36, NO. 41

ment, including congressional seats in Queens and the Bronx and state Senate and Assembly districts in three boroughs. Now the Democratic Socialists have their sights set on creating a voting bloc in City Hall.

Next year 35 of 51 City Council seats open up due to term limits, with DSA candidates

© 2020 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

set to win as many as six.

“There’s a reason why their ideas are resonating, and the Democratic Party needs to do some soul-searching and understand why that’s the case,” said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, a candidate for Manhattan borough president. “They stand for something, and voters

GOTHAM GIGS

SHOWING WOMEN WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY’RE EXPECTING PAGE 43

are hungry for new ideas.”

The rise of Democratic Socialism in New York began two years ago with the surprise primary victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in a district that straddles the Bronx and Queens. It was a major blow to mainstream Democrats, and See SOCIALISTS on page 3

2020

Giving PAGE 31 PAGE 15

Guide

REAL ESTATE

NY legislators call rent relief inadequate, ask Cuomo for more aid It is just the latest round of criticism for the state’s $100 million program, which rent-relief launched during the summer and was administered by the Division of Homes and Community Renewal.

Housing advocacy groups argued then that the amount of funding and outreach efforts were inadequate and people did not have enough time to apply.

HCR released a report about its program at the end of last month, saying it had rejected more than half of the roughly 94,000 applicants for not meeting eligibility requirements. Overall, as of late last month, the program had distributed about $23.2 million to about 9,600 households and had $16.8 million in pending payments to distribute to 5,400 households, according to the report.

Crain’s had reported in October that HCR had distributed about $12 million in rent relief to about 6,000 applicants. The agency disputed those figures but did not provide its own data at the time.

HCR’s report showed that staff members struggled to implement the program. The “inability to spend the money it has been allocated reveals that they do not fully understand the urgency and fear

T

he rollout of the state’s beleaguered Covid-19 rent-relief program was poorly planned, according to a letter 41 members of the Legislature sent last Monday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

The Assembly members and state senators who signed the letter blasted the rent-relief program for helping a “shockingly low” number of New Yorkers, and they advocated for a new program that could reach more tenants, including those who are undocumented. The program ideally would be established by early next year, said Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, who helped spear-

“IT’S UNCONSCIONABLE THAT THERE’S $60 MILLION LEFT UNSPENT” head the effort.

“The overly complicated application process, a poorly designed and managed website, lack of language access and a short window in which to apply meant that many did not get aid,” the letter read.

Cousins and Cuomo did not respond to requests for comment.

HCR declined to provide its own comment on the letter, referring instead to remarks top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa made about the rent-relief program at a press conference.

“We’re not sitting on the money.

We want the money to go out to people who need it most,” DeRosa said.

“We are going to reevaluate what the parameters are that the Legislature put into law to see if there’s anything we can do to get more money out to the people who need it.”

A spokesman for Heastie said the EPSTEIN speaker fully supports providing rental assistance to those affected Epstein also has advocated for by Covid-19.

“He supports expanding and enreducing rent across the board to 30% of a tenant’s income. hancing the rental-assistance program so that more people can be ‘We must tackle this’ assisted, including those who were Other New York City representa- not eligible because they were retives who signed the letter were ceiving enhanced unemployment Sen. Julia Salazar of Brooklyn and benefits,” said spokesman Mike Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal Whyland. of Manhattan.

The Assembly is not in session, “It’s unconscionable that there’s but Heastie can call members back $60 million left unspent when we anytime. Epstein said he expects know the need is enormous across that to happen before the end of the state,” Rosenthal said. The letter the year. “is just to amplify what a lot of peo“I look forward to going back into ple have been saying but to bring it session to strengthen the program up to a higher level and say: ‘We that tenants need to stave off their must tackle this. We can’t just pre- evictions and keep them in their homes during this pandemic,” Eptend this doesn’t exist.’ ” Representatives for Stewart-­ stein said. ■ NEWSCOM

BY EDDIE SMALL

that is felt by our constituents,” the letter read. “All told, thousands of families have been left in limbo, and millions more who need aid are not getting it. It is clear that action from the state Legislature is needed.”

The letter did not delve too deeply into what a new rent-relief program would look like, but it did say that it should protect undocumented residents and prioritize small landlords, nonprofit landlords and public housing agencies. The burden to apply for relief should be on landlords instead of tenants, it said, and applications should be open for a reasonable amount of time and available in all languages spoken in the city.

City Council to fight ruling that green-lit Two Bridges towers

SHOP ARCHITECTS/JDS DEVELOPMENT

T

he City Council is not done fighting the controversial quartet of towers that a group of developers wants to bring to Lower Manhattan, even though it lost its case against them during the summer.

“We’re appealing directly to the New York Court of Appeals,” said Jennifer Fermino, spokeswoman for City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

The council and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer had brought a case against projects planned for Lower Manhattan’s Two Bridges neighborhood by JDS Development Group, Starrett Development, L&M Development Partners and CIM Group, arguing that the City Planning Commission should not have approved their applications and the City Council needed to review the projects first.

Judge Arthur Engoron of state Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled in their favor in February, but the Appellate Division unanimously reversed his decision in August, al-

lowing the projects to move forward.

It is typically harder to successfully appeal a ruling from the Appellate Division when the decision is unanimous. The New York Court of Appeals last Monday declined to hear an appeal of the division’s unanimous ruling that reinstated the Inwood rezoning. The council

also previously tried to appeal the Two Bridges ruling to the Court of Appeals through the Appellate Division, but the division denied its motion earlier this month.

Forging ahead But Brewer and the council are forging ahead with their effort and have until Dec. 10 to file an appeal.

The Two Bridges developments would bring about 3,000 housing units to the neighborhood.

City planners had grouped the projects together and ruled that the developers could build them as of right, meaning they would not need to go through the city’s arduous land-use review process. The firms won over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration with promises to include roughly 700 units of affordable housing in the projects and to commit $40 million in upgrades to the East Broadway subway stop and $15 million to upgrade three neighborhood playgrounds.

“The August court decision made clear that these projects were lawfully approved and comply with zoning that’s been in place for more than 30 years,” James Yolles, a spokesman for the developers, said in a statement. “We appreciated the Appellate Division’s careful review of these issues and are confident its ruling will stand.”

—E.S.

WEBCAST CALLOUT

DEC. 3 CRAIN’S BEST PLACES TO WORK IN NYC The Crain’s New York Business Best Places to Work ranking is one of the most highly anticipated features of the year. To compile our list of the 100 best workplaces in the city, Crain’s again partnered with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm. Join us at the virtual event Dec. 3 as we announce the official list live! Then read all about the companies in Crain’s Dec. 7 issue.

VIRTUAL EVENT Time: 4 to 5 p.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/bestplaces2020

Vol. 36, No. 41, November 30, 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 30, 2020

Ruptures in the party Not all Democrats view the elevation of Democratic Socialists to the city’s government as a good thing.

Nationally, Democrats are discussing the progressive group’s message following congressional losses by moderates in California, for example, where suburban voters apparently were turned off by DSA messaging about defunding the police and canceling rent debt.

Many rank-and-file Democrats abhor the DSA’s platform. The website for the New York DSA chapter features policy planks that include decriminalizing sex work, decriminalizing all recreational drugs, ending the statewide cap on local property taxes, instituting universal rent

OCASIO-CORTEZ

the platform and understand what it is advocating.

“People that support them are not paying attention to the specifics of what they want,” he said. “What they are saying has unintended consequences that they choose not to recognize.”

DSA candidates who have won elections reject that assessment, however. Assemblyman-elect Zohran Mamdani prevailed in his June primary against a 10-year incumbent and compet- CABAN ed unopposed in November.

Mamdani, who will represent Long Island City, said he believes the DSA platform is winning elections because voters are hungry for legislative change.

“No one voted socialist by accident,” he said. “We said what we believed, and it resonated.”

He said he is not expecting the implementation of a DSA agenda to happen overnight, but he does imagine the moderates in the state Democratic Party will recognize the intensity behind his caucus’s movement and eventually capitulate.

“In politics there are some people you have to persuade and some people you have to defeat,” he said.

“Some Democrats are afraid of their own shadow. DSA candidates are not.”

Some elected New York Democrats—including Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who describes himself as “a progressive grounded in reality”—are wary of the “my way or the highway,” liberal-purity doctrine espoused by the DSA platform.

“We can’t always just assume everything is absolute,” Carroll said, adding, “It’s easy to be righteous on Twitter.”

He emphasized that he wants to work with the DSA on criminal justice reform and climate change, but

control, ending the expansion of charter schools, extending labor rights to undocumented immigrants and advocating foreign policy principles such as anti-imperialism and eco-socialism.

“Their policies are so ridiculous,” said James Mallios, owner of restaurants in Manhattan. “I’d like to live in Smurf Village, as well. I’ve wondered what it’s like to live in Utopia.”

Local Democratic leaders are noting the reactions of working-class voters.

“The policies they are promoting, if adopted by the city, would emp- JACOBS ty the city out, and you’d have no resources and no tax base to do any of the things we need to get done,” said Jay Jacobs of Long Island, state Democratic Party chairman. “It would be destructive.”

Jacobs questioned if most people would continue to support the DSA agenda if they took the time to read

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE

“THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE SHOULD COME BEFORE THE PROFITS OF CORPORATIONS”

he said government sometimes works incrementally and involves compromises.

“That’s the essence of lawmaking and politics,” he said.

The DSA’s New York organization defends its values and says it represents forgotten elements of the electorate, mainly the city’s minorities, tenants and small-business owners and workers who would benefit from a Medicarefor-all health care approach.

“We believe the needs of the people should come before the needs and the profits of corporations,” said Chi Anunwa, co-chairwoman of the DSA’s New York City chapter.

“Our economic system has it backward.”

NEWSCOM

perhaps a wake-up call, that a 28-year-old political neophyte running as a Democratic Socialist was able to unseat a 10-term incumbent.

History repeated itself this year, when school principal Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic Socialist, defeated 16-term incumbent Elliot Engel, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.

The congressional victories came in tandem with two DSA state Senate victories in Brooklyn, by Julia Salazar in 2018 and Jabari Brisport this year.

“They’ve shown the ability to win elections that typically people in the past thought insurgents couldn’t win,” said John DeSio, former spokesman for Bronx Borough President Rubin Diaz Jr. “The second thing they’ve done is push a lot of elected officials to the left with them.”

BLOOMBERG

FROM PAGE 1

City Hall in sight Regardless of the debate the DSA has ignited in the Democratic Party locally and nationally, all six candidates the organization is running next year for City Council are likely to win.

The biggest name on the DSA ticket is Tiffany Cabán, a career public defender who nearly upset Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in a race last year for Queens district attorney—a race Cabán lost by fewer than 100 votes of more than 91,000 cast. Cabán is viewed as a front-runner in her City Council race and would represent Astoria and Jackson Heights.

The other Democratic Socialist running in Queens, Jaslin Kaur, might have a tougher time trying to win her seat in eastern Queens, which includes Bayside Hills, Glen Oaks and New Hyde Park. There are thousands of co-op apartments in eastern Queens, along with many more private homes and homeownership in general. It lacks both the youthful constituency found in DSA strongholds and the type of voters who are willing to accept tax hikes.

“The Mississippi River of Queens is the Van Wyck Expressway,” said Evan Stavisky, Democratic strategist at the Parkside Group. “East of the Van Wyck it’s been more modest and moderate.”

In the East Tremont and Fordham neighborhoods of the Bronx,

Adolfo Abreu is likely to prevail in his race. Abreu has been active in Bronx politics and political organizing for 15 years. When he was 16, he helped lead the fight against Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s attempt to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall. All five candidates for the district seat are Dominican-American. They include nonprofit executive Haile Rivera; Pierina Sanchez, former Bronx community board member; and Yudelka Tapia, former senior auditor in the city comptroller’s office.

Brooklyn is where the DSA expects to have its greatest success. Michael Hollingsworth looks to succeed progressive stalwart Laurie Cumbo in the sprawling district that includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Downtown Brooklyn. It’s a district that proved its DSA creden- CARROLL tials by choosing Brisport for state Senate.

Further south in Brooklyn are two areas that are likely to select DSA candidates. Alexa Aviles seeks to succeed Carlos Menchaca in Sunset Park’s district, in which Democratic Socialist Marcela Mitaynes knocked off longtime Assemblyman Felix Ortiz in the July primary. In Park Slope’s district, Brandon West is looking to win the council seat previously held by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“That’s been one of the more progressive centers of the city for 30 years,” Stavisky said.

More concerns Although the DSA might win all those races, the platform many of the candidates signed in order to run under the party banner presents complications. No issue has proved more controversial than the Israel portion of the DSA’s questionnaire for 2021 candidates.

In a foreign-policy section, the questionnaire asked for a pledge “not to travel to Israel if elected to City Council” and asks, “Do you support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement” against Israel?

“It is disturbing,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights organization with 150,000 members in the tristate area. “It would be very important

for the Jewish community to have its eyes wide open and for progressive Jews to take the lead in denouncing this type of commentary.”

Cooper, who grew up in Flatbush, said he understands the appeal of a new political movement that casts itself as a protest vote against the status quo, but he wonders if New Yorkers voting for DSA candidates are aware of the history behind the movement.

“Maybe a lot of young people don’t know the history of socialism and communism,” he said.

Business owners in the city also are wary of parts of the DSA’s platform, notably its hostility toward the real estate industry and calls to further regulate businesses.

There’s also the fact that many DSA elected officials are between the ages of 30 and 45.

“They’re ideologues, and that’s what worries me,” said Mallios, the restaurant owner. “People who run the city need to be able to manage a complex organization. [DSA ideologues have] never been accountable to a budget in their lives.”

Some of the DSA candidates who won races this year previously worked as public defenders, counselors, grassroots organizers and tenant rights activists. They are unapologetic about their hostility to the business community as a whole, especially real estate developers and large-scale property owners.

“This is not a platform that is friendly to the interest of real estate at large,” said Mamdani, who used to be a foreclosure-prevention counselor.

“We have to be honest about that.”

Phara Souffrant Forrest, who won an Assembly seat in the Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill district, worked as a nurse and a tenant rights activist when she ran on a platform of defunding the NYPD and canceling rent obligations.

“The real estate community, the big-time financiers, it’s time for you to understand it’s people before profits,” Souffrant Forrest said.

“Sorry, honey, it’s not your time now.”

DSA leadership acknowledges that most, if not all, of their plans and programs rely on changing the tax code to funnel money away from the top 5%.

Mamdani characterizes the policy as a way to bring a 20th-century tax code into the 21st century, while Souffrant-Forrest argues it’s simply time to tax the rich. DSA leadership is more diplomatic.

“We think it’s fair to ask corporations and the highest income earners to pay more,” said Cea Weaver, leader of the DSA’s housing working group.

Although Anunwa said she believes the DSA’s policies such as single-payer health insurance and tenant rights are appealing to working-class voters, she understands that the group might never be welcomed by the business sector and other parts of New York’s electorate.

“We recognize there are many people who will never be open to a socialist message,” she said. “That’s just the way it is.” ■ NEWSCOM

SOCIALISTS

November 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

TECHNOLOGY

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

T

he pandemic has exacerbated a digital divide between white and Black New Yorkers, with disparities in access to speedy internet that hurt families and small businesses, according to a report released Nov. 23.

About 58% of Black New Yorkers have access to home broadband, compared with 82% of white residents, data published by the New York Urban League found. Nearly a

access in response to the pandemic.

“What we already knew as the digital divide has become a chasm,” said Arva Rice, president and CEO of the New York Urban League.

She said the city must prioritize broadband expansion and work to make devices available to families with schoolchildren. Some households are trying to help their kids through remote schooling with only one computer, Rice said. That creates an impossible balancing act for households with multiple children plus, potentially, parents working from home.

Access to broadband is a long-running problem. Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged since he entered office in 2014 to hold companies accountable for internet service disparities. Still, a report last year by Comptroller Scott Stringer found that 917,239 households, about 29% of the city, lacked broadband access. The mayor has blamed Optimum, Spectrum, Verizon and other telecommunications companies for their failure to expand, while the companies have pushed for the city to make more public infrastructure available for broadband equipment.

A LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS HURTS JOB-SEEKERS, WHO OFTEN MUST APPLY ONLINE quarter of Black residents can access the internet only through their smartphone, making it difficult to attend classes or work remotely.

And Black workers hold only 7% of jobs in fast-growing tech industries.

The findings were published in State of Black New York, a 58-page report with a focus on economics, health care, education and civic engagement. It dedicates a section to the digital divide and the need for the city to take action on closing gaps in computer and broadband

The mayor last week announced a settlement with Verizon that will require the firm to connect 500,000 households with broadband by 2023, prioritizing New York’s least-connected areas (see below).

In an Internet Master Plan released at the start of this year, the de Blasio administration pledged to open up public spaces for broadband equipment and let companies compete for access. The full cost of the project—through public and private funds—is estimated to be $2.1 billion, and it is likely to play out over years, not months. The mayor pledged in July to accelerate part of the process, spending $157 million to bring internet access to 600,000 underserved city residents by the end of next year.

Rice called for greater urgency in addressing the crisis.

“This needs to be the No. 1 priority,” she said. “There are just too many communities where access to high-speed broadband is pathetic.”

Hot spots needed A lack of internet access hurts

ISTOCK

Pandemic intensifying digital divide for Black New Yorkers, study finds

job-seekers, who often must apply and interview online. Many small businesses, Rice added, need a strong connection as they attempt to move operations online for the first time amid pandemic restrictions.

Rice said the city should consider flooding areas without broadband with hot spots that follow social-distancing guidelines.

Laura Feyer, spokeswoman for

the mayor’s office, said the city will announce partnerships to deploy reduced-cost broadband to New York City Housing Authority residents before the end of the year.

John Paul Farmer, the mayor’s chief technology officer, said at a City Council hearing last month that the city would soon release a request for proposals for a partner company to coordinate the universal broadband access plan. ■

Verizon agrees to expand broadband to 500K city homes under court settlement

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

A

legal settlement between the city and Verizon will bring broadband internet to 500,000 households, Mayor Bill de Blasio said last week.

The telecommunications company will prioritize the least-connected parts of the city, including all New York City Housing Authority residential buildings, the mayor said.

The de Blasio administration sued Verizon in 2017, charging that the company had failed to live up

everyone has equal access.”

Early in his first term, de Blasio put Verizon on notice, requiring all city contracts involving the company to be reviewed by his counsel, Maya Wiley, who is now running for mayor.

Service expansion Verizon spokesman Rich Young said last Tuesday that the company is “grateful for the opportunity” to expand on the services it provides to 2.5 million businesses and families in the city.

“This agreement builds upon Verizon’s base and will make this premier broadband service available to even more consumers,” Young said.

Verizon argued in a 2017 court filing that it spent nearly $4 billion building a broadband network in the city and fulfilled its obligations under the 2008 deal. The company said it had reached its goal for laying broadband wire in the city but struggled to get connected to all buildings, blaming uncooperative landlords for slowing progress.

“Rather than acknowledge that reality and work with Verizon to overcome the obstacles, the city has chosen to file this litigation,”

to a 2008 deal with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to bring its high-speed Fios service to every household in the five boroughs by 2014. A report last year by Comptroller Scott Stringer found that 917,239 households, about 29% of the city, still lacked broadband access.

“We have had huge disparities in who gets access to the internet and who doesn’t,” de Blasio said. “More and more we understand that we have to create a society in which

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | November 30, 2020

BLOOMBERG

“WE HAVE TO CREATE A SOCIETY IN WHICH EVERYONE HAS EQUAL ACCESS”

500,000 households with Fios by 2023, starting with a minimum of 225,000 households in the first half of next year.

The settlement requires an appraisal by the city’s Franchise and Review Commission and the state Public Service Commission.

The settlement could help close part of a digital divide between New York’s richest and poorest. Wealthier neighborhoods now are more likely to have strong internet access.

The divide also can be seen along racial lines: Only 58% of Black New Yorkers have access to high-speed broadband, compared with 82% of white New Yorkers, according to a report released by the New York Urban League (see above).

The deal with Verizon still won’t provide the city with universal broadband access, however. That is the goal of a master plan the mayor’s office released in January. The plan calls for opening up wide swaths of the city’s public infrastructure—roofs and telephone poles—for bidding to install broadband equipment.

The mayor’s office plans to release a request for proposals on that project by the end of this year. ■

Verizon wrote in its legal response.

The company even criticized the mayor’s timing for the lawsuit, filed days before a major snowstorm hit in March.

The legal settlement requires Verizon to report quarterly on its progress in connection with the half-million households, said James Johnson, corporation coun-

sel for the city. Adding Verizon coverage also will provide a second option for many homes that currently have only one internet provider to choose from, typically Optimum or Spectrum.

Under the settlement, the expansion timeline will be added to Verizon’s franchise agreement with the city. The company must reach the

REAL ESTATE

BY EDDIE SMALL AND NATALIE SACHMECHI

A

battle between an Inwood community group and the de Blasio administration is officially over. The state Court of Appeals has declined to hear a case that could have overturned the Inwood rezoning.

A state Supreme Court judge had annulled the rezoning last December, but the state Appellate Division reinstated it in July. Inwood Legal Action appealed that decision on

“THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR INWOOD AND FOR THE ENTIRE CITY” behalf of the Northern Manhattan Is Not for Sale coalition, but the highest court in the state has declined to hear the case.

“It’s reassuring to see that the highest courts in New York have affirmed that the Inwood rezoning was conducted properly and in accordance with all regulations and statutes,” said Joy Construction’s Eli

Weiss, who is working on a major development in the neighborhood.

Inwood Legal Action was optimistic that the state Court of Appeals would hear it out after the Appellate Division ruling. The organization suggested that the project would displace Black, Asian, Dominican and other Latino residents and small-business owners.

“In asking the state’s highest court to rehear our case, we had hopes in their understanding of and sensitivity to the history of the nation’s racist housing and land-use policies,” Cheryl Pahaham, co-chair of Inwood Legal Action, said in a statement. “With all that has been going on recently—police murders of Black and brown people, the massive mobilization of Black Lives Matter and a president who supports and mobilizes white supremacists—we had some expectation that the judges would be thinking about inequality and what it might mean in the context of the Inwood rezoning.”

The de Blasio administration had made the plan to rezone the northern Manhattan neighborhood part of its strategy to help resolve the

city’s affordable housing crisis. It launched the rezoning process to build 5,000 units in the neighborhood.

Developers including Taconic Partners had been planning to create more than 700 mixed-income apartments. A joint venture of Maddd Equities and Joy Construction planned to add 614 affordable units. The initial ruling against the rezoning had those projects being reconsidered.

“The Appellate Division properly applied long-standing principles of law regarding the environmental review of land-use actions by the city, and there was no need for the Court of Appeals to review that decision,” said Richard Leland, a land-use lawyer at Akerman who represents Maddd and Taconic.

Socioeconomic impact Justice Verna Saunders of the state Supreme Court had ruled in December that the city did not take

BUCK ENNIS

State’s highest court lets Inwood rezoning proceed

a thorough enough look at the rezoning’s potential socioeconomic impact. The Appellate Division, however, overturned her ruling in a unanimous verdict July 23, saying that the city had in fact thoroughly examined all required issues throughout its rezoning process.

“This is good news for Inwood and for the entire city,” said James Whelan, president of the Real Es-

tate Board of New York. “The thoughtful, community-driven Inwood rezoning plan will produce or preserve approximately 5,000 below-market-rate homes, create ­ thousands of good jobs, strengthen the neighborhood and spark much-needed economic activity as New York City continues to confront unprecedented economic challenges.” ■

Manhattan homebuyers often unmoved by low mortgage rates

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

H

Redefining what you should

BLOOMBERG

omebuyers don’t think twice about mortgage rates when looking to put down roots in Manhattan, according to an UrbanDigs analysis.

The report, which looked at whether the number of signed contracts in the borough moved up or down in correlation with mortgage rates since 2008, found that there was no relationship between the two.

In the city’s wealthiest borough, there’s little need to borrow, and even if buyers do take out a loan, the mortgage rate, whether it’s below 3% or above 6%, hardly makes a difference, said UrbanDigs co-founder John Walkup, who authored the report.

“There’s a lot put on low rates,” Walkup said. “Intuitively, it makes sense. If rates go down, you would expect that to push volume through the roof.” But for Manhattan, he said, that’s just not the case.

Even with today’s record-low rates—about 2.7% for a 30-year loan—buyers are still not flooding the market to pick up a property, thanks to uncertainty surrounding the economy and swaths of people opting to stay away from the city, he said.

Signed contracts in Manhattan are at just 28% of 2019 levels, but sales in Brooklyn are picking up as buyers gravitate toward larger spaces for less money, according to an

Elliman report last month. The lowest price points in Brooklyn showed the highest increase in sales.

“People have a herd mentality,” Walkup said. “They want to buy when other people buy.” Savvy buyers also want to make sure their investment will be worth more several years from now should they decide to unload it.

“Those factors trump the mortgage rate variable,” Walkup said.

Cash is king Some of the city’s priciest homes, which attract investors and buyers looking for a second home or piedà-terre—many from abroad—are sold in all-cash deals.

During the past decade, 41% of all house, condo and co-op purchases in the city were made in cash, according to the Center for New York Neighborhoods. Cash

buyers were most active in Manhattan, the center said. The share of cash deals peaked at 45% in 2015.

“When you look at or above a certain price level, the number of properties purchased with a mortgage drops significantly,” Walkup said. Even at price points below $750,000—which includes most one-bedroom and studio apartments—mortgage rates don’t have much of an impact, he added.

When buyers start seriously looking to strike a deal again, it won’t necessarily be because of low rates, he said.

Right now, he said, homeowners are taking their units off the market, planning to wait until next year to try to snag a better price. When potential buyers notice properties being taken off the market, that could prompt a renewed sense of urgency, he said. ■

expect from your accountant. grassicpas.com

November 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

IN THE MARKETS

Tech entrepreneur accused of duping two New York VCs Andrew Chapin allegedly lied to obtain investor money

“WE CANNOT ALLOW TECH FINANCING TO BECOME A LEMON’S MARKET”

lar Valuation.” He was named “One of 100 People to Watch in Blockchain” in 2017, according to his website.

That same year he got the attention of XRC Labs, a New York firm that runs an accelerator where startups get funding and business guidance.

XRC managing partner Pano Anthos, a shareholder in Chapin’s company, declined to comment.

In 2018 Chapin launched digital advertising firm, Benja, to help retailers sell overstock. He said Fanatics, Nike and Patagonia were clients. They weren’t, according to authorities. He claimed Benja had $13.5 million in revenue last year.

In fact, the ad business was generating almost no revenue, prosecutors said.

Phony references This past spring Chapin asked for money from New York VC firm Empowerment Capital, which wasn’t named by the government but was identified by Benja’s chief financial officer in an affidavit filed in a Missouri state court.

Empowerment sensibly asked to speak to references before invest-

“Every minute counts,” he said in an email solicitation.

The money went to a creditor.

AMOUNT VC firm Last month Empowerment Benja filed for invested in Benja bankruptcy. in June.

Chapin got arrested at his San Francisco home last MonAMOUNT Chapin day. The Secusecured from XRC rities and ExLabs, ostensibly c h a n g e for working Commission capital. It was filed a parallel allegedly used to civil action. pay a creditor.

An attorney for Chapin did not respond to a request for comment.

“We cannot allow tech financing to become a lemon’s market,” said David Anderson, U.S. attorney for San Francisco.

That’s exactly the point. If the socalled smart money doesn’t recognize a private-market lemon when it sees one, what chance do the rest of us have? ■

FOLLOW THE L00T

$1M

TWITTER

F

ederal prosecutors last week lowing 401(k) investors to direct accused tech entrepreneur some of their retirement money Andrew Chapin of wildly into funds that go to private compaoverstating revenue at his nies. digital-advertising startInvestor advocates expect the administration of up and charged him with President-elect Joe Biden three counts of fraud. He is alleged to have duped to walk that idea back. several parties who “It is likely that in a should been savvy Biden administration the enough to see through his guidance will be withruse, including two New drawn and revised to betYork venture-capital inter reflect the costs and vestors. risks of private equity inThe Chapin case is AARON ELSTEIN vestments,” said Barbara Roper, director of investor timely because it’s a reprotection at the Conminder that investing in private markets is full of risks that sumer Federation of America. even sophisticated outsiders someThe Chapin case underscores the times fail to grasp. Exhibit A: Fideli- risks inherent in private-market investing.

Chapin, 32, was a skier, marathoner and Vermont vodka-dealer who found his way into New York’s booming startup scene a few years ago. To ty and T. Rowe Price were share- get his name out he wrote articles holders in WeWork. Yet during the on observer.com with headlines summer U.S. Labor Secretary Eu- such as “Unicorn Delusion: The gene Scalia approved guidance al- Dark Side of Seeking a Billion-Dol-

ANDREW CHAPIN ing, so Chapin passed along what he said were the phone numbers of Nike and Fanatics executives. The numbers actually belonged to Benja employees posing as the executives, according to FBI special agent Alexandra Bryant. In June, Empowerment invested $1 million in exchange for a 1.5% share of Benja’s revenue.

The firm did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Chapin in September secured $500,000 from XRC Labs, saying he needed the money to hire software developers and buy ad space on TikTok.

$500K

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Bronx mall owner taking tenants to court over $2.6 million in unpaid rent

S

am Shalem of Prestige Properties and Development took a risk when he built the Mall at Bay Plaza in 2014 amid a retail apocalypse.

Six years and one pandemic later, the developer is battling his tenants over more than $2.6 million in unpaid rent at the Bronx shopping center, according to a series of lawsuits filed recently in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The 780,000-square-foot project houses nearly 100 retailers. At least seven of them, including Gap, Old Navy and Subway, have come up short on their payments. Shalem is demanding the money plus attorney’s fees.

“While we have been able to come to agreement with almost all of our tenants, and just about all of them are open and operating, there are still a handful of tenants with whom we’re still negotiating,” said Joseph Comparetto, senior vice president at Prestige. Some are in litigation, he added.

Old Navy and Gap, both owned by parent company Gap Inc., collectively owe nearly $1.4 million, according to a complaint.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the retail industry, and like many retailers, Gap Inc. was forced to close its North American stores to our customers for months due to the pandemic,” said Justine Jordan, a spokeswoman for Gap. “Upon the reopening of our stores, we have been subject to restrictions that no one foresaw before the closures, much less when the leases were entered.”

The company stopped paying rent to its landlords while stores were closed, she added, but began paying when they reopened. “As we work through remaining negotiations with landlords to equitably share the burden caused by the pandemic, we’ve paid what we believe to be fair rent under the evolving circumstances,” she said.

Gap Inc. announced during the summer that it would close more than 225 Gap and Banana Republic

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | November 30, 2020

ban-style mall in New York City in four decades. It took two years and $300 million to build. Its anchor retail tenants include a 1 6 0 , 0 0 0 -s q u a re foot Macy’s that is almost entirely run

by Bronx residents, according to a company announcement.

By 2012 mall owners were already worried the end was nigh for them, as more shoppers were placing orders online than walking into stores. The pandemic, which has kept shoppers home, is putting even more stress on retailers. Leasing in the industry is at record lows.

About 2.7 million square feet of Manhattan retail space was leased last quarter, according to a CBRE report, the lowest total since at least the first quarter of 2017. There were 254 available ground-floor retail spots during the quarter, a record high since the second quarter of 2014, when CBRE began keeping track of such spaces.

BAY PLAZA RENDERING

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

locations this year, and it expects to close 350 by 2023 in a push to reduce its presence in malls. Such stores, the company said, are hemorrhaging cash thanks to declining foot traffic.

Dallas BBQ is on the hook for a half-million dollars, one lawsuit showed. Fast-food joints Subway and Dairy Queen are in arrears on at least $180,000 each. An optometry office and clothier Against All Odds also were sued.

End is nigh?

Shalem announced plans for the mall in 2012, the first indoor, subur-

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered all indoor malls to shut their doors in mid-March, Bay Plaza followed suit, Comparetto said, as did other city malls, including the Shops at Columbus Circle and the mall at Hudson Yards, which are both owned by Stephen Ross’s Related Cos. Six months later Cuomo gave them the green light to reopen, but the fanfare was met with depressed rent collections from stores that had been starved of shoppers for an entire season. Also, mall spaces were allowed to accommodate only half their usual wave of shoppers in order to comply with social-distancing requirements.

Related last month filed a series of lawsuits against its luxury tenants, seeking more than $6 million in rent arrears. Brands such as Cole Haan and Michael Kors hadn’t paid any rent since at least March, according to the complaints.

Hudson Yards’ own anchor store, the bankrupt Neiman Marcus, announced it would be leaving its space. The developer is planning to convert the store to offices.

The retailers named in the lawsuits did not respond to requests for comment. ■

ASKED & ANSWERED Sunset Park Business Improvement District INTERVIEW BY BRIAN PASCUS

A

s the executive director of the Sunset Park Business Improvement District, David Estrada is the neighborhood’s liaison to city government. Every week the 34-year Brooklyn resident interprets city codes and department inspections for merchants east and west of Third Avenue, even going door to door to explain new legislation such as the plastic bag ban. Last year Estrada found himself at the center of the biggest controversy concerning Sunset Park in decades: the rezoning proposal for Industry City. He was part of the community group that fought to keep the rezoning from moving forward.

What did the fight against rezoning Industry City mean for Sunset Park?

It certainly was a platform for a lot of people who are strong advocates against gentrification and in favor of long-term stability. They pointed out that there’s something broken in how communities interact with the land-use processes. It’s universally acknowledged that the land-use process was skewed highly against those who live in the neighborhood and favored developers.

What in particular outraged the community?

There were absurd conclusions in the environmental impact statement, like that there would be no significant

WHO HE IS Executive director, Sunset Park Business Improvement District AGE 59

displacement along economic and racial lines. We know that large land-use changes very typically displace Black and brown people en masse, but an environmental impact statement is written in such a way that it turns a blind eye to that topic. It might be the way the city has conducted land-use processes over generations, but it just doesn’t work anymore.

What has been the effect of the pandemic on the neighborhood?

GREW UP Southern California RESIDES Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn EDUCATION Bachelor’s in theater arts, California State University, Long Beach CHANGE OF SCENERY Estrada moved to Brooklyn in 1986. He came to the city as a tourist, fell in love and never went back.

FAMILY MAN Estrada and his wife, Aimee, have two children: Olai, 5, and Nilah, 4.

GOOD EATS Estrada’s favorite restaurant in Sunset Park is Calato Brooklyn Kitchen, at 508 55th St. BIKE FAN Cycling is his main hobby.

He has logged more than 20 longdistance cycling trips to European alpine regions.

impact on traffic or safety. Often the highest priorities in local communities are affordable housing, transit, street safety and

First and foremost, Sunset Park is a very vulnerable population. We have immigrant populations, often non-English-speaking. We have very severe housing issues and crowded, multigenerational households. This is the same population that often doesn’t have access to health care or is fearful of going to hospitals because of immigration status. I think the pandemic has pulled back the layers that cover the long-standing issues that people in communities like Sunset Park face.

And its biggest impact?

The biggest was the direct impact of sickness and death on households, families and small-business operations.

It’s followed closely by the complete disruption of being able to send your kids to school and staying open for business. Our vacancy rate is up; new business starts are down. When the school system started to offer meals, the lines were around the block.

What is the future of Sunset Park?

We’re at a crossroads. I see the success of the neighborhood long term in the preservation of the industrial and maritime nature of the south Brooklyn waterfront. We can preserve these magnificent spaces for future uses or we can give them over and have them look like Williamsburg or Long Island City. ■

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November 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

BUCK ENNIS

DAVID ESTRADA

DOSSIER

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Don’t rush marijuana legislation just because of potential tax revenue once said that legalizing recreational marijuana is one of the most complicated issues he has faced in office. That’s understandable.

Let’s start with the trade-off between tax revenues and public health. Proponents point out that pot is not as harmful as alcohol, but should society encourage people to partake in an activity that might lead to more serious drug use and more traffic accidents and emergency room visits?

How do you construct a bill that attracts entrepreneurs and customers to the market while raising enough tax revenue to make the whole effort worthwhile? If the tax rate is too high relative to that of nearby states, businesses will gravitate to those states to set up shop, and customers will follow.

Another drawback of setting too high a rate is allowing unlicensed, illegal purveyors of pot to significantly undercut the legal market price.

In addition, there are social concerns attached to such legislation. Progressive elected officials, for example, want guarantees that minority commu-

THE PROSPECT OF TAXING A NEW INDUSTRY HAS OFFICIALS LICKING THEIR CHOPS real, but legalizing marijuana is a major step that should not be taken lightly. There is more to consider than just tax revenue. In fact, the negative repercussions and unintended consequences of such a move could outweigh the tax benefits.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly

N

editor Robert Hordt assistant managing editors Telisha Bryan,

Janon Fisher Gabriella Iannetta associate editor Lizeth Beltran 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

nities, which historically were victimized by racially driven marijuana arrests, will reap rewards from the state’s cannabis industry.

Then there is the issue of timing.

Cuomo and others appear to want to fast-track marijuana legislation, pointing to the urgent need for revenue. But in other states, it has taken up to four years from the time a bill was passed to when meaningful revenue started flowing into government coffers.

The plain truth is that a marijuana bill is not going to provide any

revenue to New York in time to help plug the budget holes left by the pandemic.

Once officials acknowledge that, it will be easier to take a more measured approach to discussing the issue’s pros and cons and building in as many safeguards as necessary if the state eventually decides to make pot legal. New Yorkers should not feel that such a proposal is being rammed down their throat in the interest of budget concerns. If we are going to do it—and that’s still a big if— let’s get it right. ■

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Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork REPRINTS

Now is the time for nonprofits to shine onprofits, your time has come.

With corporations waking up to the concept that companies should have a purpose, the nation’s citizens becoming aware of systemic racism and corporate leaders—including top CEOs of the Business Roundtable—declaring that Milton Friedman’s belief that a company’s only goal is to turn a profit is passé, it’s as if the entire world has learned what nonprofit workers have long known: A greater-good mission is the lifeblood of truly profitable work.

I’ve always abhorred the term “nonprofit.” To paraphrase the Bard of Massapequa, Jerry Seinfeld: A business called a nonprofit doesn’t sound like much of a business. To me, any industry whose name leads with a negative prefix projects aspirations of failure or, at the very least, insecurity, its sycophantic first cousin. And how insecure this work makes us all. Begging for money during the

EDITORIAL

audience & analytics manager

OP-ED

BY JAYME KOSZYN

associate publisher Lisa Rudy

BUCK ENNIS

L

egalizing recreational marijuana has moved front and center in New York with a new urgency.

Not surprisingly, the focus is on tax revenue. Both the state and the city are facing billion-dollar budget gaps because of Covid-19, and the prospect of taxing a new industry has officials licking their chops. Estimates are that the state could reap more than $400 million annually and the city could get $336 million per year.

Those in favor of moving quickly point out that New Jersey voters just decided to legalize recreational pot in the Garden State, so time is of the essence.

The desire to find revenue is

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

Covid-19 pandemic, when donors themselves are out of sorts, would breed self-abnegation in Zeus.

But that depends on how you define the word “profit.” What kind of profit, and for whom?

Of course it’s financial profit that the phrase “nonprofit” negates. Friedman warned in a 1970 New York Times Magazine essay: Don’t you dare get any ideas about expanding the term beyond financial. “These businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned ‘merely’ with profit but also with promoting desirable ‘social’ ends; that business has a ‘social conscience.’ … In fact, they are preaching pure and unadulterated socialism,” the economist wrote.

But what about the “profit” to society that nurtures and amplifies human values like social, racial and economic justice; inspires and promotes education; expands scientific research; and guarantees that art and culture thrive? Are these not profits for all of us?

Maybe the term should be “worth.” For now, finding the worth of all our endeavors is a struggle, as basic rights are stripped even more heinously during the Covid era. How do you define worth when so many are struggling?

That is the reason that your time has come, nonprofits. Nonprofit professionals have never been more fundamental to healing the ruptures and societal fault lines than right now.

Supremely flexible To the Fortune 500 CEOs of the Roundtable who incorporated into their 2019 mission statement that “Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to gain success through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity”—thank you for the insight! One delivered by the boy who raises his hand a lot to get called on for the answers that, all the while, the humble girl student—the nonprofit world in this analogy—has already come up with, written an essay on and pub-

lished in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

So, nonprofits, no more insecurity. Own this time. Lead us out of it.

You’ve learned that problems are limited yet solutions are infinite.

You are industry’s contortionists— so supremely flexible at generating options and excavating ways to save your institutions through eons of near-misses, mishaps, neardeaths followed by full resurrections that “Covid-era thinking” is second nature. You have entered a period rich with potential and so must seize this time to accomplish your finest work and create your widest impact. And nonprofit leaders, with your doctorates in reinvention and adaptability, you’re trained to carry us through this devastating era of change.

Now go out there and raise more money than you ever have before, because you and your missions are … worthy. ■ Jayme Koszyn is the founder and principal for Koszyn & Co. and a former Brooklyn Academy of Music executive.

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8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | NOVEMBER 30, 2020

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11/25/20 3:06 PM

OP-ED

Rezoning SoHo will make New York more equitable

M

ayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of a plan to rezone SoHo—a wealthy, amenity-rich neighborhood—is welcome news. It should be the first of many such plans in the future, as it will reverse restrictive zoning practices that keep far too many neighborhoods unaffordable and overwhelmingly white.

Although we must keep investing in low-income neighborhoods, we also need an aggressive effort to create affordable housing opportunities in each community, including our most expensive enclaves, to help desegregate New York. The proposal to rezone SoHo is a first step in that process.

The SoHo plans are a significant departure for the de Blasio administration, which has thus far implemented affordable housing rezon-

of reach for everyday New Yorkers.

If implemented, rezoning SoHo could begin the process of change.

Early projections show that as many as 800 new, permanently affordable homes could be created between Houston and Canal streets—the first time the neighborhood will get a significant injection of affordable housing since artists started converting lofts in the 1970s.

A better life That’s not all. Improving neighborhood accessibility has profound generational impacts: a 2015 National Bureau of Economic Research study found that a child whose family moves from a high-poverty area to a low-poverty one will earn $302,000 more in their lifetime.

In other words, exclusionary zoning in neighborhoods like SoHo is a barrier to better life outcomes for New Yorkers who can’t afford $4,000 in monthly rent.

But even as the de Blasio administration embraces the strategy, more needs to be done.

The stakes are too high for some residents to stand in the way with typical NIMBY objections.

For example, some critics are calling for the rezoning to feature 100% affordable housing, but this is

THE SOHO PLANS ARE A SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURE FOR THE DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION ings exclusively in lower-income neighborhoods, predominantly those whose residents are people of color. This has limited affordable housing development in areas like SoHo and contributed to its average monthly rent of $4,159, putting it out

BUCK ENNIS

BY RACHEL FEE

a smokescreen intended to squash the upzoning entirely. High land costs in SoHo make this vision unrealistic—and also mean it is exactly the kind of neighborhood conducive to the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing program, which requires 25% to 30% of units to be permanently affordable. By allowing greater density, MIH will leverage the private market to pay for permanently affordable units, not taxpayer subsidies.

And we can’t stop there. In Gowanus, Brooklyn, months of meetings and community consul-

tation have resulted in residents supporting a rezoning to increase density, provided the city funds local public housing capital improvements and other investments. It is an example of how we can turn theory into practice.

New York’s failure to address these issues in the past has accelerated a housing crisis and made it one of the most segregated cities in America. The city studied the cause of this segregation in its commendable Where We Live NYC initiative, which sought to affirmatively further fair housing.

Now is the time to support those lessons with real action and learn from past mistakes.

We cannot afford more of the same when it comes to housing policy, which makes it especially encouraging to see plans to proceed in SoHo and Gowanus. The next step is to make these proposals a reality and collectively create an equitable New York that aligns with our values. ■ Rachel Fee is the executive director of the New York Housing Conference.

OP-ED

To speed the Bronx’s recovery, support female entrepreneurs

O

ne of the starkest realities of the pandemic and the subsequent recession is that those most heavily affected by job and health care losses are women.

At the same time, businesses owned by women and people of color are closing at a higher rate than others.

The racial impact of the pandemic is deeply rooted in historic, ongoing social and economic injustices.

There is no part of the city where the injustices will have a heavier toll than in the Bronx, where nearly

in the country. The inequality has been an utter failure of our city, but it is something we can finally turn around.

One ridiculously antiquated barrier for establishing a business in New York is the requirement to have a notice of your business’s formation in two newspapers. That’s on top of other costs, which disproportionately affect businesses in low-income areas. It could mean up to $2,000 to a new business—which is unrealistic for so many. Either there needs to be a policy change or the city should offset the costs to support entrepreneurship in the outer boroughs.

The Bronx also suffers from a lack of affordable, flexible and secure work spaces. The borough holds significantly fewer coworking sites than the others do, hovering in the single digits while Manhattan has more than 200.

Developers and nonprofits should consider building innovation hubs within the Bronx. Social innovation hubs where resources can be freely shared and that foster spontaneous collaborations and meetings are important.

Additionally, to ensure the Bronx’s equitable recovery, we need to en-

THE INEQUALITY HAS BEEN AN UTTER FAILURE OF OUR CITY one-third of households have a female head—twice the citywide rate.

Half of those households include at least one child.

After generations of overlooking the Bronx, the city has an opportunity to finally provide equitable support and investment in the borough, which, in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, holds one of the poorest congressional districts

courage growth and opportunity within the borough. The Bronx has a rich entrepreneurial spirit and is brimming with untapped potential, but it has a frighteningly low number of programs that cater to entrepreneurs.

Resources and funding Our path to recovery is through investments in local entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship programs run by the local community that support the growth of small businesses.

Through programs and accelerators aimed at helping change-makers in the Bronx—especially entrepreneurs who are women and people of color—we can finally give Bronx businesses equal footing to succeed and flourish.

Take Bronx entrepreneur Amber Peters as an example. She had an innovative idea to bring accessible college information and resources to public school students in the borough through her free mobile app, On Track for College.

A schoolteacher by trade, Peters initially did not have the resources or funding to realize her idea until she was connected to a community of fellow Bronx social entrepreneurs and received a funding grant through my organization, one of

BEATRICE UGHI, founder and owner of Gustiamo in the Bronx

the few Bronx-focused accelerator programs. Since receiving the proper resources this year to help grow her business, Peters has helped more than 450 students.

New York City—and the Bronx in particular—is hurting right now.

The city will recover, but if we want to finally achieve the true potential of New York, we cannot leave businesses run by women and people of color out of the economic revival.

In fact, they need to be central to it. If we do not support them with critical social-impact programs now, we will further exacerbate the social and economic inequalities in our city, and we will drag out the recession. ■ Esmeralda Herrera is director of programs and community relations at Communitas America, a social impact organization.

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

BUCK ENNIS

BY ESMERALDA HERRERA

TECHNOLOGY

Startup bets high-tech hotel will beckon pandemic-era business travelers

F

ew industries have been harder hit by Covid-19 than business travel, yet a New York startup is betting it can lure corporate road warriors with a newly redesigned downtown hotel.

Mint House, a Midtown-based hospitality startup, launched its first New York hotel Nov. 20 at 70 Pine St., near Wall Street. The company is taking over operations from another hospitality startup, Lyric, and revamping the hotel for travel in the pandemic era.

A smartphone app checks in guests and unlocks the door. Visitors can preselect groceries for the fridge and full kitchen in each suite.

Mint House said many of the suites will come with workout equipment made by Mirror, the Lululemonowned Peloton competitor.

“We are offering as many services as we can for guests who don’t want to leave their suite,” said Alex Herrity, chief product officer for Mint House.

The company is promoting its cleaning procedures, which were designed with help from Ron Klain,

the Ebola czar for President Barack Obama and the newly named chief of staff for President-elect Joe Biden.

Klain is vice president at venture capital firm Revolution, one of Mint House’s investors.

The U.S. Travel Association projects spending on business travel will drop 55% this year and still be at least 10% below 2019 levels in 2024.

Amid that landscape, analysts expect hotels to increasingly adopt technology to limit interaction between workers and guests. Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham have pledged in recent months to expand contactless check-in and entry options.

“These types of technologies have gone from a convenience to a necessity,” said Emily Weiss, leader of the global travel industry practice for consulting firm Accenture.

Hotels also are turning their attention away from providing lobbies, gyms and other spaces where people traditionally gathered.

“Hotels are facing a new trend I am calling hypersolo, where business travelers want to be alone or with only their colleague or group,” said Chekitan Dev, a professor in

the hospitality school at Cornell University.

The changes could sound alarms for workers in the industry, which has endured mass layoffs in recent months. Automation could accelerate the long-term loss of hospitality jobs, though Weiss said new opportunities could open through providing services to guests outside of traditional check-ins.

Mint House said it will employ 12 people to watch over the 70 Pine hotel’s 132 suites. The suites range from 500 to 1,200 square feet, on three floors of the 67-story tower, which otherwise houses apartments but was once the headquarters of Citgo and then AIG. Mint House did not disclose the terms of its deal to take over the hotel’s management. Lyric said it is shifting its focus to hospitality software.

A different type of visitor Founded in 2017, Mint House has raised about $15 million from investors. The firm manages about 500 hotel rooms in Denver, Nashville, Miami and Minneapolis and hopes to grow to as many as 2,000

THE HOTEL at 70 Pine St.

MINT HOUSE

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

rooms by the end of next year, including more in New York.

In recent months the company has been advertising to traveling nurses and government workers as well as white-collar employees seeking a work space away from home.

After hotel occupancy plummeted in March and early April, levels recovered to about 80% during the summer, and they have hovered there since, Herrity said.

Although Zoom and other teleconferencing platforms likely will eliminate some types of business travel, Mint House is betting remote work will create demand for hotels from far-flung workers who need to visit the office.

That type of traveler will stay longer, “want more space and would rather use DoorDash than hotel room service,” Herrity said. “We think we are getting ahead of that trend.” ■

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SMALL BUSINESS

Here’s an under-the-radar government loan program that could save your small business

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isa Lindo needed a strategy and, most of all, money to transform her corporate-event catering business.

Coming up with a plan wasn’t hard: She would pivot to teaching people to mix cocktails at home using kits with glasses and shakers sent in the mail. But coming up with the money to pay for the kits was difficult. Federal small-business assistance is all but tapped out, and online lenders touting their eagerness to help didn’t respond to Lindo’s pleas for aid.

Desperate and exasperated, she applied for a state program that she saw in a newsletter. The program promised low-interest loans and no principal due for a year. It felt like

Nov. 1—just as companies started making plans for remote holiday parties with their staff.

Lindo is getting about five orders each day for her cocktail kits. She was able to rehire her assistant.

She describes the revival of Open Bar Hospitality as something like a miracle.

“Sometimes God arrives at just the right time,” she said.

A lifeline Lindo’s lifeline came from the New York Forward Loan Fund, a pool of $150 million in public and private capital to support small businesses. The fund is open to businesses with 20 or fewer employees that received less than $50,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program or $10,000 from the federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Landlords who own fewer than 200 units are eligible as well.

The interest rate is 2% for nonprofits and 3% for for-profit enterprises. Loans mature in five years.

Ann Finnegan, a director at the

“THIS PROGRAM OFFERS A YEAR OF RUNWAY TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST” another waste of time, but to her surprise, $50,000 landed in her bank account two days later, on

LINDO

COURTESY OF LINDO

BY AARON ELSTEIN

National Development Council, a nonprofit that helps small businesses with financing, said the loan program is the most attractive package available for small businesses at a time when federal relief has run dry and Washington has been unable to agree on further assistance.

“Until Congress gets its act together, this is it,” Finnegan said.

“This program offers a year of runway to the people who need it most.”

Rise in activity The Forward Loan program is a fraction of the size of the PPP, which provided nearly $40 billion to small and midsize businesses in New York. But plenty of entrepreneurs missed out on PPP assistance be-

cause they didn’t have a close relationship with a bank or couldn’t keep their business alive long enough. Lindo didn’t apply for PPP money because the proceeds had to be used to pay staff, and her employees are freelancers.

About $20 million in loans have been made under the Forward Loan program, at an average of $50,000 each, according to Calvert Impact Capital, one of the program’s supporters. Sixty-five percent of borrowers are minority- or woman-owned businesses.

The program was unveiled in July. After a slow start, lending activity has tripled since late September, NDC officials said.

Michelle Bishop, executive director of Harlem Needle Arts, said her $54,000 loan helps her nonprofit support artists whose textile work is meant for public display. She said she’ll use some of the proceeds to produce videos so their art can be experienced remotely.

Bishop said she applied for the loan because she recognizes the city won’t be equipped to support public art the way it used to.

“I understand there may be bigger fish to fry,” she said. ■

Panelists:

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Financial executives weigh in on what lies ahead for New York City

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INSTANT EXPERT

How New York can take on Big Tech THE ISSUE

THE PLAYERS

1

2

WHAT’S NEXT?

5

James has promised to wrap up her office’s investigation of Google soon, and the Facebook case might not be far behind.

Gianaris’ antitrust bill faces a longer path. The Legislature will need to address a massive budget gap next year. Action on the bill could come during the budget negotiations in April or through the completion of the omnibus legislation in June.

The bill is currently with the Senate’s consumer protection committee.

State Attorney General Letitia James is leading multistate investigations into Facebook and Google. The Facebook investigation, launched last fall with the backing of 47 attorneys general, is foGIANARIS cused on whether the social media giant’s power puts JAMES user privacy at risk and limits consumer choices.

James said Oct. 20 that the investigation was expected to conclude within weeks and could be folded into the federal lawsuit against the search giant.

The AG is backing the antitrust legislation in the state Legislature, sponsored by Sen. Michael Gianaris of Queens. Gianaris earned the nickname Amazon Slayer after he opposed the retail giant’s Long Island City headquarters plan because of its reliance on state subsidies.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo sets the legislative priorities in his budget. After Gianaris sank the Cuomo-led Amazon plan, the senator is unlikely to get help from the governor.

Cuomo led an antitrust lawsuit against Intel as New York’s attorney general in 2009, but lately he has shown little enmity toward tech. In fact, he leaned on former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to coordinate parts of the state’s Covid-19 response in the spring.

Google plans to defend itself against the federal case by pointing out its services are mostly free and used by billions of people. The company has called the antitrust case “deeply flawed.”

GOOGLE PLANS TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST THE FEDERAL CASE BY POINTING OUT ITS SERVICES ARE MOSTLY FREE AND USED

BY BILLIONS

BLOOMBERG

Trust-busting is back in vogue in the U.S.—and New York wants in on the action.

The Department of Justice last month sued Google, accusing the company of abusing its dominance in the online search market. The case is the largest against a tech company since Microsoft 20 years ago. But more might be on the way. A report in October from House Democrats recommended that the government also check the power of Apple, Amazon and Facebook to create a fairer internet.

A bill in the state Legislature could give New York a central role in cracking down on the so-called Big Four technology firms. The legislation would update New York’s antitrust laws and adopt a standard for market abuse similar to that of Europe, where Google has faced $9 billion in fines in the past two years.

YEAH, BUT …

3

Wall Street dominates New York’s economy, but don’t sleep on the Big Apple as a tech hub. About 270,000 people work in technology-related jobs in the city, up 20% from 2015, according to real estate brokerage CBRE. Although headquartered out west, tech’s Big Four have a large corporate presence here. Google employs about 10,000 New Yorkers at offices in Hudson Square and Chelsea.

Tech:NYC, a lobbying group whose founding members include Google and Facebook, warned at a hearing this month that stricter antitrust laws in New York could slow big technology companies from expanding here.

There is support within tech for a crackdown, however. At a September hearing for New York’s bill, Yelp’s policy chief, Luther Lowe, testified that his company’s small-business listings are tucked beneath Google’s pages on most search results.

SOME BACKGROUND

4

Google’s rise to dominance can be traced back partly to Manhattan and its early Silicon Alley tech hub. Google was a rapidly growing search company—but not yet a corporate giant—in 2007, when it purchased Flatiron-based DoubleClick for $3 billion.

DoubleClick gave Google a foothold in the digital advertising market, and it has since become the most lucrative part of Google’s business.

During the July hearings in Washington on tech dominance, Democratic Rep. Val Demings of Florida criticized Google for integrating DoubleClick data with Google data such as Gmail accounts. The company initially pledged to keep the marketing and user data separate, but it integrated them a decade later. Demings accused Google of, by integrating the data, “effectively destroying anonymity on the internet.”

12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | November 30, 2020

BUCK ENNIS

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

THE LIST LARGEST NONPROFITS New York-area organizations ranked by total operating expenses

ORGANIZATION

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

PHONE/ WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE/ TITLE/ 2019 COMPENSATION 1

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES IN 2019/ 2018 (IN MILLIONS)

% OF EXPENSES ALLOCATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES

% OF EXPENSES USED FOR FUNDRAISING

2019 TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME (IN MILLIONS)

% OF INCOME FROM PRIVATE SUPPORT

International Rescue Committee Inc. 122 E. 42nd St. New York, NY 10168

212-551-3000 rescue.org

David Miliband President, chief executive $1,019,636

$773.5 $728.2

87.1%

5.0%

$785.4

41.3%

Catholic Medical Mission Board Inc. 100 Wall St. New York, NY 10005

212-242-7757 cmmb.org

Mary Beth Powers President, chief executive

$592.4 $636.0

n/d

1.0%

$439.1

97.8%

United States Fund for UNICEF 125 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038

212-686-5522 unicefusa.org

Michael Nyenhuis President, chief executive

$543.8 $573.4

88.0%

8.0%

$567.6

99.0%

Jewish Communal Fund 575 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10022

212-752-8277 jcfny.org

Susan Dickman Executive vice president, chief executive $657,340

$466.5 $445.7

97.5%

0.4%

$822.2

100.0%

Doctors Without Borders USA Inc. 40 Rector St. New York, NY 10006

212-679-6800 dwb.org

Avril Benoit Executive director $126,105 2

$454.3 $428.9

85.3%

13.7%

$439.5

94.9%

The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10028

212-535-7710 metmuseum.org

Daniel Weiss President, chief executive $1,250,670

$387.2 $388.6

87.7%

5.1%

$378.4

17.6%

Orbis International 520 Eighth Ave. New York, NY 10018

646-674-5500 orbis.org

Derek Hodkey President, chief executive

$376.4 $241.1

95.8%

2.4%

$376.0

12.3%

New York Blood Center 310 E. 67th St. New York, NY 10065

212-570-3100 nybloodcenter.org

Christopher Hillyer President, chief executive $1,791,197

$375.5 $351.0

92.9%

0.0%

$391.2

0.3%

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc. 3 International Drive, Suite 200 Rye Brook, NY 10573

914-949-5213 lls.org

Louis DeGennaro President, chief executive $823,602

$367.3 $356.5

72.6%

13.2%

$396.2

100.0%

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc. 220 E. 42nd St. New York, NY 10017

212-687-6200 jdc.org

Darrell Friedman Interim chief executive

$328.5 $320.6

88.7%

4.3%

$333.8

82.0%

Institute of International Education One World Trade Center, 36th floor New York, NY 10007

212-883-8200 iie.org

Allan Goodman President, chief executive $695,316

$324.9 $352.3

90.3%

0.6%

$331.1

24.5%

Metropolitan Opera Association Inc. 30 Lincoln Center New York, NY 10023

212-799-3100 metopera.org

Peter Gelb General manager $2,025,791

$302.4 $284.9

92.0%

3.7%

$307.5

56.6%

Legal Aid Society 199 Water St. New York, NY 10038

212-577-3300 legalaidnyc.org

Janet Sabel Attorney-in-chief, chief executive

$294.1 $272.0

93.0%

0.4%

$304.1

5.8%

Teach for America Inc. 25 Broadway New York, NY 10004

212-279-2080 teachforamerica.org

Elisa Villaneuva Beard Chief executive $504,176

$292.3 $277.9

75.0%

10.0%

$291.0

83.0%

Wildlife Conservation Society 2300 Southern Blvd.

Bronx, NY 10460

718-220-5100 wcs.org

Cristián Samper President, chief executive $1,305,650

$262.1 $256.1

95.8%

4.4%

$263.9

23.1%

SCO Family of Services 1 Alexander Place Glen Cove, NY 11542

516-671-1253 sco.org

Keith Little President, chief executive $335,114

$254.2 $244.4

91.8%

0.5%

$252.5

3.5%

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 424 E. 92nd St. New York, NY 10128

212-876-7700 aspca.org

Matthew Bershadker President, chief executive $769,526 3

$250.8 $240.0

77.0%

19.2%

$272.0

n/d

UJA-Federation of New York 130 E. 59th St. New York, NY 10022

212-980-1000 ujafedny.org

Eric Goldstein Chief executive $855,000

$246.0 $235.0

76.8%

13.4%

$276.2

66.8%

Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services Inc. 135 W. 50th St. New York, NY 10020

212-582-9100 jewishboard.org

John Kastan Chief executive $347,577 4

$241.5 $219.5

89.0%

1.0%

$226.2

11.0%

Public Health Solutions 40 Worth St. New York, NY 10013

646-619-6400 healthsolutions.org

Lisa David President, chief executive $370,201 3

$240.1 $268.3

96.9%

0.2%

$242.2

4.2%

- /3 *(%7 %-0 2'(1 *(12 *(12 -0& ,(8 2(-,1 +312 !$ 2 6 $6$+.2 " ,-,.0-%(21 5(2' '$ #/3 02$01 (, 2'$ $5 -0) 0$ '(1 (,"*3#$1 $5 -0) (27 ,# 11 3 3%%-*) ,# $12"'$12$0 "-3,2($1 (, $5 -0) ,# $0&$, 11$6 3#1-, ,# ,(-, "-3,2($1 (, $5 $01$7

31$1 12 %% 0$1$ 0"' $62$,1(4$ 1304$71 ,# 2'$ +-12 "300$,2 0$%$0$,"$1 4 (* !*$ 2- .0-#3"$ (21 *(121 !32 2'$0$ (1 ,- &3 0 ,2$$ 2' 2 2'$ *(12(,&1 0$ "-+.*$2$ ,(4$01(2($1 "-**$&$1 *(!0 0($1 '-1.(2 *1 '$ *2' " 0$ (,12(232(-,1 +$#(" * .0 "2("$ &0-3.1 ,# 0$1$ 0"' (,12(232(-,1 0$ $6"*3#$# ,%-0+ 2(-, (1 %0-+ 2'$ %-3,# 2(-,1 %-3,# 2(-, 5$!1(2$1 -0+1 ,# %(, ,"( * 12 2$+$,21 , # -2 #(1"*-1$# $,# %$$#! ") 20$1$ 0"'$0 "0 (,1,$57-0) "-+ 1 ,"*3#$1 "-+.$,1 2(-, "-,20(!32(-,1 2- $+.*-7$$ !$,$%(2 .* ,1 ,# #$%$00$# "-+.$,1 2(-, -+.$,1 2(-, %-0 0$"$,2*7 '(0$# $6$"32(4$1 (1 ,-2 *(12$# 2 $,-(2 5 1 .0-+-2$# 2- $6$"32(4$ #(0$"2-0 (, +(# 1'$ .0$4(-31*7 1$04$# 1 #(0$"2-0 -% "-++3,(" 2(-,1 ,# %3,#0 (1(,& 3 0-+ -0+ 4 12 , 1$04$# 1 "'($% .0-&0 + -%%("$0 2'0-3&' 2'$ $5(1' - 0# 1 %(1" * 7$ 0 ,# 5 1 , +$# (,2$0(+ "'($% $6$"32(4$ (, 3*7 November 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 13

THE LIST LARGEST FOUNDATIONS New York-area charities ranked by total assets

2019 CONTRIBUTIONS (IN MILLIONS)/ % CHANGE FROM 2018

PHONE/ WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE(S)/ TITLE

The Ford Foundation 320 E. 43rd St. New York, NY 10017

212-573-5000 fordfoundation.org

Darren Walker President

$14,230.5 +2.9%

$518.9 Blue Meridian Partners, $100 million; -2.4% Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, $45 million (two grants)

Civic engagement and government

1936

Foundation to Promote Open Society 1 224 W. 57th St. New York, NY 10019

212-548-0600 George Soros opensocietyfoundations.org Chair

$10,358.7 -3.9%

$493.7 Human Rights Watch Inc., $10.2 million (three +0.6% grants); Soros Economic Development Fund, $8.8 million

Transparency and public accountability

2008

Bloomberg Philanthropies 25 E. 78th St. New York, NY 10075

212-205-0100 bloomberg.org

Patricia E. Harris Chief executive

$8,651.4 -3.4%

$3,309.0 2 Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, +331.4% $3,350,000; C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, $3,225,000

Education; public health; environment

2006

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 140 E. 62nd St. New York, NY 10065

212-838-8400 mellon.org

Elizabeth Alexander President

$6,993.7 +6.7%

$318.0 American Council of Learned Societies, $6.8 +2.0% million; Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, $4.5 million

Arts and culture, public knowledge, higher learning

1969

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust 230 Park Ave. New York, NY 10169

212-679-3600 helmsleytrust.org

Stephanie Cuskley Chief executive

$6,066.9 +2.7%

$279.0 Sunset Park Health Council Inc., $375,000; +13.4% Fund for Public Housing, $400,000

Severe chronic diseases; select place-based initiatives

1999 3

Rockefeller Foundation 420 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10018

212-852-8361 rockfound.org

Rajiv J. Shah President

$4,929.9 +10.9%

$150.5 United States Fund for UNICEF, $15 million; +48.7% Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, $12 million

Equitable global health systems

1913

JPB Foundation 875 Third Ave. New York, NY 10022

212-935-9860 jpbfoundation.org

Barbara Picower President

$4,382.5 +10.8%

$261.9 Fund for Public Health in New York Inc., $1.8 +14.3% million; Harlem Children's Zone Inc., $4.5 million

Poverty; environmental; medical research

2011

Simons Foundation 160 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10010

646-654-0066 simonsfoundation.org

Marilyn H. Simons President

$4,000.0 +9.2%

$296.0 n/d +16.1%

Research in mathematics, physical sciences, computer science, life and autism sciences

1994

Open Society Institute 1 224 W. 57th St. New York, NY 10019

212-548-0600 George Soros opensocietyfoundations.org Chair

$3,477.9 -6.6%

$21.0 Institute for New Economic Thinking, $6.25 -18.5% million; Alliance for Open Society International, $1.3 million (three grants)

Transparency and public accountability

1993

Carnegie Corp. of New York 437 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10022

212-371-3200 carnegie.org

Vartan Gregorian President

$3,440.2 -3.9%

$152.0 n/d -1.0%

International peace and security; K-16 education; democracy

1911

The New York Community Trust 909 Third Ave. New York, NY 10022

212-686-0010 nycommunitytrust.org

Lorie A. Slutsky President

$2,910.0 +13.3%

$173.0 New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, +6.8% $690,000; VOCAL-NY, $90,000

Education, arts and culture, human services

1924

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 630 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10111

212-649-1649 sloan.org

Adam F. Falk President

$1,952.1 +11.3%

$97.3 New York University, $2 million; Columbia +15.8% University, $1.5 million

Scientific research; tech development for research, public science engagement

1934

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation 650 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10019

212-974-7000 ddcf.org

Edward P. Henry President, chief executive

$1,930.5 +8.9%

Medical research, performing arts, environment

1996

The Wallace Foundation 140 Broadway New York, NY 10005

212-251-9700 wallacefoundation.org

Will Miller President

$1,634.6 +11.7%

$44.5 The Leadership Academy Inc., $1.4 million; -18.9% ExpandED Schools Inc., $410,000

Education leadership; learning and enrichment; arts

1965

The Starr Foundation 4 399 Park Ave. New York, NY 10022

212-909-3600 starrfoundation.org

Florence A. Davis President

$1,463.4 +1.0%

$101.5 Weill Cornell Medicine, $90 million; Rockefeller +23.9% University, $50 million 5

Health and medicine; education; human needs

1955

The Commonwealth Fund One E. 75th St. New York, NY 10021

212-606-3800 commonwealthfund.org

David Blumenthal President

$754.9 -1.8%

Health care coverage, access, tracking; delivery reform; international health policy and practice

1918

The John A. Hartford Foundation 55 E. 59th St. New York, NY 10022

212-832-7788 johnahartford.org

Terry Fulmer President

$602.0

Age-friendly health systems, family caregiving, serious illness/end of life care

1929

Atlantic Philanthropies 10 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020

212-916-7300 atlanticphilanthropies.org

Christopher G. Oechsli President, chief executive

$373.0 -37.3%

Social, racial, economic and health equity

1982

FOUNDATION

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

2019 ASSETS (IN MILLIONS)/ % CHANGE FROM 2018

2019 NOTABLE GRANTS TO NYC ORGANIZATIONS

$92.5 n/d -3.5%

$21.0 New York University, $206,926; NYC Health +6.7% and Hospitals Corp., $209,000

n/d n/d

$211.5 Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity at Columbia +60.0% University, $6.3 million

TOP GIVING AREAS

YEAR FOUNDED

/ 15!,)&9 &/2 4()3 ,)34 ,)34 /2'!.):!4)/.3 -534 "% (%!$15!24%2%$ ). 4(% %7 /2+ !2%! 7()#( ).#,5$%3 %7 /2+ )49 !.$ !33!5 5&&/,+ !.$ %34#(%34%2 #/5.4)%3 ). %7 /2+ !.$ %2'%. 33%8 5$3/. !.$ .)/. #/5.4)%3 ). %7 %23%9

53%3 34!&& 2%3%!2#( 3526%93 !.$ 4(% -/34 #522%.4 2%&%2%.#%3 !6!),!",% 4/ 02/$5#% )43 ,)343 "54 4(%2% )3 ./ '5!2!.4%% 4(!4 4(% ,)34).'3 !2% #/-0,%4% .&/2-!4)/. )3 &2/- 4(% &/5.$!4)/.3 &/5.$!4)/. 7%"3)4%3 /2-3 !.$ &).!.#)!, 34!4%-%.43 %.$ &%%$"!#+ 4/ 2%3%!2#(%2 #2!).3.%79/2+ #/- 1 33%4 !.$ #/.42)"54)/. $!4! !2% &2/- !.$ /2-3 2 (% -!*/2)49 /& 4()3 ).#2%!3% )3 2%,!4%$ 4/ ! ,!2'% ')&4 -!$% 4/ /(. /0+).3 .)6%23)49 3 #4)6% '2!.4-!+).' "%'!. ).

4 !33%4 %.$/7-%.4 !.$ #/.42)"54)/. 4/4!,3 !2% %34)-!4%3 &2/- 4(% &/5.$!4)/. 5 %),, /2.%,, %$)#).% 2%#%)6%$ ! 9%!2 '2!.4 3500/24).' 3#(/,!23()03 /#+%&%,,%2 .)6%23)49 2%#%)6%$ ! &)6% 9%!2 '2!.4 4/ %.$/7 4(% !52)#% !.$ /2)..% 2%%."%2' %.4%2 &/2 4(% 45$9 /& .&,!--!4)/. )#2/")/-% !.$ %4!"/,)3- !.$ 4/ %34!",)3( 4(% 4!22 %.4%2 &/2 /-054!4)/.!, !.$ 5!.4)4!4)6% #)%.#% 14 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | November 30, 2020

CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS

A Special section in partnership with NewYorkCIO

The 2020 NewYorkCIO of the Year® ORBIE® Awards program honors chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership. Winners in the Super Global, Global, Large Enterprise, Enterprise, Corporate and Healthcare categories will be announced December 4 at the virtual NewYorkCIO Awards.

FROM OUR CHAIR STEW GIBSON

KEYNOTE SPEAKER THADDEUS ARROYO

LEADERSHIP AWARD HARRY MOSELEY

PAGE S3 CIOs Enable Largest Remote Work Experiment in History

PAGE S4 From Closing the Digital Divide to Rethinking Entertainment, This CIO Is On the Cutting Edge of Change

PAGE S5 When Zoom Became a Household Name, This Veteran CIO Was Ready to Scale Up SPONSORED CONTENT FOR CRAIN'S NEW YORK BUSINESS | S1

P015_XXX_CNY_20201130.indd 15

11/18/20 12:51 PM

CONGRATULATIONS 2020 NEWYORKCIO ORBIE® NOMINEES PARAG AGRAWAL Chobani

DR. SAM AMIRFAR

BEN FRIED Google

STEFANO GAGGION

The Brooklyn Hospital Center

CHANEL North America

ROBERT ANSELMO

MICHELLE GARVEY

UBS Financial

STEVE LORD The Hartford

UDAY MADASU

Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services

PAUL MARABELLA

J Crew

K. Hovnanian Enterprises

CHETAN BADIANI

CHRISTOPHER GIBBONS

PAUL MCEWEN

LISA BALDWIN

STEWART GIBSON

New York City Economic Development Corporation

Prudential

Tiffany & Co.

USI Insurance Services

DANIEL BARCHI

SCOTT GILBERT

New York Presbyterian Hosptial

Marsh & McLennan

ROBERT BASTIAN

MICHAEL GIOJA

Prudential

SUVAJIT BASU

Vineyard Vines

Hughes Hubbard & Reed

LORI BEER

STACEY GOODMAN

HarperCollins Publishers

RAJ BHATTI

Newmark Knight Frank

DOUGLAS BLACKWELL

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ

SCOTT BLANDFORD TIAA

BETH BOUCHER Sirius Group

JOHN BRESNEY

Selective Insurance

ERIC BRUNNETT

The Trump Organization

MIKE BUTLER Chubb

Prudential

MARC GORDON American Express

DAVE GORDON Realogy

MILT HALLAS

BBDO Worldwide

ROBERT HARPEL

SAL CUCCHIARA Morgan Stanley

CRAIG CUYAR Omnicom Group

NICHOLAS DAFFAN

AAC-BITS LLC

JASON PELKEY Gilbane

GERARD PENTO Wilson Elser

FLETCHER PREVIN IBM

STEVE RANDICH FINRA

LINDA REED

JOHN REPKO

United Nations

SEAN HORGAN

Major League Baseball Players Association

DAVID HUNTER AMC Networks

RAJAT JAIN

AIG

ANDY RHODES UNICEF USA

MICHAEL SALAS

SUEZ North America

MICHAEL SMITH

The Children’s Place Inc

The Estee Lauder Companies

DR. CLAUS T. JENSEN

DAVE SMITHERS

MICHAEL JONES

JOHN STECHER

Chubb

Otterbourg P. C.

RYAN PATRICK

LAMBERT HOGENHOUT

WILLIAM CHOI

LEONARD CRISTINO

Broadridge

St. Joseph’s Healthcare System

Mount Sinai Health System Cahill Gordon & Reindel

JAMIE NELSON

Fitch Ratings

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

KUMAR CHATANI

ADP, LLC

JOHN OLIVERI

KAREN BEEBE

MATTHEW BENNETT

VIPUL NAGRATH

STEPHEN GOLD

LEON GOLSTEIN

Vice Media

iHeartMedia

Hospital for Special Surgery

Hudson’s Bay Company

RALPH BELLANDI

STEVE MILLS

Paychex

Goya Foods Inc

JPMorgan Chase

UBS Financial

LARRY JONES

Johnson & Johnson

AMY KLEINBERG Alice & Olivia

SWAMY KOCHERLAKOTA S&P Global

NICK KRISHNANI

IDB Bank

Blackstone Group

SCOTT STRICKLAND

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

EASH SUNDARAM JetBlue Airways

JESSICA TISCHE

City of New York, NY

Verisk Analytics

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

URVASHI TYAGI

THOMAS DEBOW

Turner Construction Company

PAWAN VERMA

Alphadyne Asset Management

JOHN ELBASAN

Willkie Farr & Gallagher

WARREN KUDMAN ARNOLD LEAP

1-800-FLOWERS.COM. Inc.

ADP, LLC

Foot Locker

VIC VERMA

International Flavors & Fragrances

BRIDGET ENGLE

JULIANNE LEBLANC

LOOKMAN FAZAL

MOJGAN LEFEBVRE

Bristol-Myers Squibb

New Jersey Transit

Travelers Companies

YONY FENG

SEAN LENNON

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Peloton

Medtronic

CINDY FINKELMAN

THOMAS LICCIARDELLO

BNY Mellon

Legrand North America

FactSet Research Systems

New York eHealth Collaborative

LIDIA FONSECA

CARMINE LIZZA

JEFF FRANCHETTI

GASPARE LODUCA

Pfizer Inc

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

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Lazard Group

Columbia University

PAUL VON AUTENRIED JONATHAN WERBELL DAVID WILLIAMS Merck & Co.

GABRIELLE WOLFSON Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories

SIGAL ZARMI Morgan Stanley

11/18/20 12:51 PM

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CIOs ENABLE LARGEST REMOTE WORK EXPERIMENT IN HISTORY in the history of the world.

Thanks to cloud-first systems, tools and services created by technology innovators we have held virtual meetings, had food and goods delivered to our doors, and remained connected to colleagues, friends and loved ones. We have adapted, survived and adjusted to our new abnormal.

2020 CIO CHAIR STEW GIBSON

Chair, NewYorkCIO SVP & CIO, USI Insurance Services

At the beginning of 2020, no one could have imagined the enormous change we would all experience in the first year of this new decade.

By mid-March, chief information officers everywhere realized their systems and teams would be stretched beyond belief in the largest work-from-home experiment

CIOs are leading this overnight virtual transformation from office-based to remote work.

Without their planning and implementation of the systems and services to support remote work, conducting business would be impossible under these circumstances. Due to COVID-19, there’s greater appreciation for CIOs and the technological sophistication required to provide secure, available and scalable systems to enable digital business.

NewYorkCIO is an executive peer leadership network focused on helping CIOs maximize their leadership effectiveness, create value, reduce risk and share

success. Convening New York City’s leading CIOs in memberled, non-commercial programs, CIOs build meaningful professional relationships with colleagues facing similar challenges, solving problems and avoiding pitfalls.

From the beginning of this crisis, NewYorkCIO members have participated in regular local ZOOM collaborations and national ZOOM calls featuring CIOs from industry, higher education, healthcare and technology. In any gathering of CIOs, the answer is in the room. The challenge one CIO is facing has likely been solved by another CIO. What was their experience? What did they learn? What would they do differently? How could other CIOs benefit from sharing their experiences?

Peer-based leadership groups have incredible ROI when leaders share a common problem set. The vertical/ industry and size/scale may be different, but similar

CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS approaches to effective leadership and problem solving are transferrable. Every leader’s perspective is valuable and contributes to the conversation and everyone wins when leaders engage, share ideas, experiences and best practices.

For over twenty years, InspireCIO has been inspiring CIO success through the annual CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards – but this is just the tip of the iceberg. By joining NewYorkCIO, technology executives take their leadership to the next level through year-round, member-led programs and interaction.

The power of CIOs working together – across public and private business, government, education, healthcare and nonprofit organizations – creates enormous value for everyone.

Together, we are transforming our organizations with technology and enriching our region and our world. On behalf of NewYorkCIO, congratulations to the nominees and finalists on their accomplishments and thank you to the sponsors, underwriters and staff who make the ORBIE Awards possible.

Sincerely,

Stew Gibson

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Build your digital foundation on VMware.

Congratulations

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VMware congratulates the New York CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award winners and nominees. We are pleased to honor these individuals who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership.

vmware.com/possible VMware is part of Dell Technologies. © 2020 VMware, Inc. VMware and Realize What’s Possible are trademarks of VMware, Inc.

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CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER THADDEUS ARROYO

FROM CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE TO RETHINKING ENTERTAINMENT, THIS CIO IS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF CHANGE Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO at AT&T Consumer, has always been passionate about technology. Based in Dallas, Arroyo started his career at Southwestern Bell—now a subsidiary of AT&T—after earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University.

wireless, home internet and entertainment services,” Arroyo said.

In response, AT&T Global Network now carries more than 391.8 petabytes of data traffic on an average day—up nearly 20% compared to pre-pandemic figures, Arroyo noted.

The company expects to see continued growth, with the virtual school year in full swing and telework environments going strong across the country, Arroyo said. “The future of connectivity was built for this moment in time, and we will continue to be there for our customers,” he said.

After rising through the industry and becoming chief information officer at Cingular Wireless, Arroyo joined AT&T as CIO in 2014.

With leaders in many parts of the country intent on closing the digital divide, Arroyo devotes considerable attention to increasing wireless access. AT&T supports the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to expand broadband access to many parts of rural America through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and Digital Opportunity Data Collection, he noted.

CEO AT&T Business

"I learned early in my career that technology offers businesses a tremendous ability to innovate by serving customers in new and exciting ways by making companies more efficient and allowing for the creation of new products and services,” Arroyo said.

In his current role as CEO of AT&T Consumer, Arroyo— keynote speaker at the 2020 New York CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards in December—has been on the front lines of today’s most significant tech trends. With more consumers using wireless technology for work, school and entertainment during the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for AT&T’s services has skyrocketed. “It’s creating an enhanced relevancy for our

“We know connectivity is an increasingly important part of how we live, and we’re continuing to see a surge in demand for bandwidth throughout the pandemic,” said Arroyo. “We’re consistently working to expand our network and provide service to all those who want it.”

The company is also committed to growing its AT&T fiber base, where it is accelerating its investment and penetrating a larger fiber footprint, he added. It has invested more than $125 billion in its U.S. wireless, including 5G, and wireline networks over the past five years, according to Arroyo. “This puts us in a position to deliver connectivity anywhere and everywhere for our customers,” he said.

Arroyo is also excited about the evolution of other forms of connectivity such as high-speed, fiber-based wired connections in the home. “When you couple 5G with inhome fiber-based internet connectivity, you create an alwaysconnected world capable of supporting all-new experiences,” he said.

The merger of connectivity with entertainment has been another key focus for Arroyo. One example is the Holovision experience powered by 5G, used for broadcasts of sports interviews at the NBA playoff bubble in Orlando.

With streaming services seeing a huge uptick in demand, AT&T launched HBO Max in partnership with WarnerMedia, effectively establishing a new distribution framework for WarnerMedia during the pandemic. "We're confident HBO Max is the premier streaming service in the marketplace and that it will continue to be a value add and differentiator for us," said Arroyo.

What’s ahead? AT&T has the fastest nationwide 5G network according to the latest results from a broadband speed test

by Ookla, he noted. “5G will continue to make virtually everything we do even better as the ecosystem capabilities and corresponding innovations evolve in the years to come,” he said.

Arroyo looks forward to keeping pace as technology transforms his industry. “The telecommunications space is one that is always evolving and requires you to continually advance your mindset in order to succeed,” he said.

#1 Cybersecurity Company in the World Leading Every Evolution of Cybersecurity Most Deployed Most Validated Most Patented Broadest Portfolio

www.fortinet.com

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WHEN ZOOM BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME, THIS VETERAN CIO WAS READY TO SCALE UP For Harry D. Moseley, global CIO of Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM), 2020 was a particularly eventful year.

LEADERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT HARRY MOSELEY

Zoom went from 10 million daily meeting participants in December 2019 to more than 300 million as everything from school lessons to family celebrations moved to the videoconferencing platform.

It now supports over 3 trillion annualized meeting minutes.

“Talk about growth—that’s mega-growth,” said Moseley, speaking from his home in Scarsdale, N.Y. over— you guessed it—Zoom, accompanied by Hershey, a Goldendoodle he and his wife Rachel adopted in April. The couple has three grown children.

Global CIO Zoom Video Communications

“The way I characterize it is most companies would like to go through that growth in a two-year period,” he added. “We did that in months. We became a bigger company, and we became a more critical company. Most analysts say that the videoconference was nice to have—now it’s mission-critical.”

Zoom, headquartered in San Jose, Calif., also expanded its global footprint. “Now every kindergartner—everyone in the

world knows Zoom. It doesn’t matter where you live on the planet,” Moseley said.

“We want the virtual experience to be better than the in-person experience,” Moseley said.

Moseley, a 2020 New York CIO of the Year ORBIE Leadership Award Recipient, is no stranger to running large operations. He previously served as CIO of KPMG, Blackstone, Credit Suisse and UBS.

What does “better” look like? Moseley recounted a call with a colleague in October to discuss a strategic plan that had been shared with him. “I was able to mark up the plan right here on my Zoom for Home,” he said. “We both agreed that the collaboration effort was a better experience than if we had met in an office.”

Moseley joined Zoom in 2018, after Zoom CEO Eric Yuan persuaded him to come on board. He’d begun the process of retiring from KPMG earlier that year.

His leadership experience came in handy as the company scaled up almost overnight. With its customer base exploding, Zoom had to expand its executive team and add personnel in sales, customer support, client success and sales engineering.

And, as it gave its software away to schools for free (“Education is a fundamental right for all people,” said Moseley), the company had to shore up security to prevent disruptions.

Zoom quickly changed its default features to add passcodes and waiting rooms.

Since then, the company has continued to innovate. At the event Zoomtopia in October, the platform announced new developments such as OnZoom, an event platform to host free, paid and fundraising events; an end-to-end encryption offering, and platform enhancements such as immersive scenes with embedded videos; a Zoom for Home product; contactless collaboration using voice communication; and enhancements to its white-boarding feature. Zoom also announced Zoom apps, third-party applications that users can deploy within a Zoom meeting to handle tasks like scheduling and sending invitations.

Moseley is just as dependent on Zoom as his customers. PreCOVID-19, he took three or four flights a week. Now he works mainly from home. “My last flight was Feb. 25,” he said. “I haven’t been on a plane since then.”

To keep his eye on what customers want, Moseley spends much of his time speaking with them and other key stakeholders about Zoom and its offerings—virtually, of course.

“One of the things we saw the first half of this year is how many different organizations gravitated to the Zoom platform—yoga classes, schools of music, opera singers, cake-making classes,” he said. “People were being creative about how to continue their businesses. One of the analysts referred to Zoom as the next biggest thing in the gig economy, like ride-sharing 10 years ago.”

And that’s the kind of thing that keeps him going. Said Moseley, “Our vision of video communication is empowering people to accomplish more.”

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CIO OF THE YEAR

SUPER GLOBAL FINALISTS

AWARDS

Over $20 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations

LORI BEER Global CIO JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lori joined the firm in 2014 and was most recently the Chief Information Officer for the Corporate & Investment Bank. Prior to joining the firm, Lori was Executive Vice President of Specialty Businesses and Information Technology for WellPoint, responsible for a $10 billion business unit which included its Specialty Products.

SAL CUCCHIARA CIO Morgan Stanley

Our journey is not yet complete, but my team has accomplished so much: digitizing our platform, launching our robo-advisor, building a self-directed brokerage platform, driving cloud-based solutions, and enabling our advisors and clients to thrive under any circumstance.

But more than anything, I’m proud of the trust I’ve built with my team, my business partners, and my peers across the firm over the last four years – and I believe that trust is attributable to the strong culture at Morgan Stanley and our deep appreciation of diversity of thought, culture, and experience that allows us to improve every day.

LIDIA FONSECA Chief Digital & Technology Officer, EVP Pfizer Inc.

Since joining Pfizer, we embarked on a digital transformation to enable our purpose: Breakthroughs that Change Patients’ Lives. We are enhancing every aspect of our business – how we discover and develop medicines, how we enhance patient and customer experiences to improve health outcomes, and how we make our work faster and easier through automation. I am honored to lead Digital in our efforts to accelerate our COVID-19 vaccine development; Pfizer is on track to do in one year what typically takes several years. We are driving innovation and new ways of working that will last well beyond the pandemic.

CONGRATULATIONS

DAVID HUNTER

NEW YORK CIO OF THE YEAR “ORBIE” AWARD FINALIST

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STEVE LORD CIO, Global Specialty The Hartford

I have been privileged to have been able to lead the team executing the IT integration of Navigators Group into the newly-formed Global Specialty unit within The Hartford, and while doing so, spearheading The Hartford’s transformational journey to the cloud, by migrating all Navigators applications to AWS—the first time in The Hartford's history that production transactional applications will be served from the cloud. We’re rationalizing our newly-combined Global Specialty platform, lowering our run costs, boosting IT’s agility, and setting the stage for access to state-of-the-art cloudnative services—all at the same time!

FLETCHER PREVIN CIO IBM

I approach IT by leading with empathy and designing from the user experience in rather than the IT department out—always prioritizing the user experience. Agile is our way of working, OKRs provide focus and clarity, and design and user experience drives digital transformation. We've made it possible for our employees to choose between Apple, PC, or Linux; have a best-in-class zero-touch device setup process; a white glove help desk experience; and transformed virtually all aspects of the IBM employee experience.

GLOBAL FINALISTS

Over $1.5 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations BETH BOUCHER SVP & CIO Sirius Group

As the first Sirius CIO, I implemented a plan to address deficiencies and to self-fund investments needed to enable business growth and profitability. Reflecting on my one year milestone I am proud to recognize that we have delivered significant savings, mitigated critical risks, improved cyber security, restructured global technology and realized a 10x increase in our product delivery timelines. I also provided leadership direction for a cybersecurity breach and responded to COVID-19 enabling a fully remote workforce supporting business continuity.

Manage business today.

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CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS

GLOBAL FINALISTS

(CONTINUED)

Over $1.5 billion annual revenue & multi-national operations

NICHOLAS DAFFAN EVP & CIO Verisk

In my four years as Verisk’s CIO, I’m proud that my team has evolved from a pure support function that “keeps the lights on,” to become a strategic and forward-thinking business partner that drives outcomes. This mind shift has had a crucial impact on the company’s migration to the cloud from an antiquated system that dates back three decades; the research and development of Verisk’s AI and machine learning product offerings; as well as the creation of a data fabric that makes it easier for Verisk’s 15 businesses to exchange information.

CARMINE LIZZA CIO, Managing Director & Global Head of Tech Lazard

My greatest accomplishment as CIO of Lazard has been supporting Lazard’s global businesses and corporate functions through a digital transformation with secure cloud technologies. Conducting business on a global basis has always required highly resilient, scalable solutions. The added expectation for consumer-like solutions, rapidly increasing business demands and the imperative to ensure data security and confidentiality has been at the center of our digital transformation.

VIPUL NAGRATH SVP of Development ADP, Inc.

My team and I work closely with ADP’s senior business leaders to execute ADP’s business strategy and identify, prioritize and execute technology solutions that are cost effective, efficient and scalable globally. The focus of my organization is to work collaboratively across the organization to ensure that we build strategic capabilities that support an excellent service experience for our clients and associates.

Come see our

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PAWAN VERMA EVP, Chief Information & Customer Connectivity Officer Foot Locker, Inc.

Congratulations to Sirius Group CIO, Beth Boucher, for her well-deserved recognition as a 2020 Finalist for New York CIO of the Year!

Prior to Foot Locker, I served as VP of Digital and Marketing Technology at Target Corporation, leading Mobility, Data, Cloud Engineering, Business Capabilities and API Platforms and Mobile Development. I also led multiple Engineering, Web, Mobile, Product Development and Technology Strategy teams in my leadership role at Verizon Wireless exemplifying the work beyond the retail industry, which also includes past leadership roles in the Networking, Media and LifeSciences industries as well.

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CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS

LARGE ENTERPRISE FINALISTS Over $2 billion annual revenue

RAJ BHATTI CIO Newmark Knight Frank

Mr. Bhatti is a hands-on executive skilled in bridging the gap between the business and technology sides of an organization. He has led programs aimed at improving service delivery, enhancing infrastructure and integrating innovative technology. His responsibilities include managing and growing client and external strategic technology partner relationships.Â

MICHELLE GARVEY EVP & CIO J Crew

Transformation of our ecommerce technology stack to ensure that our dominant channel has the right capabilities is a top priority, and over the last year our work has delivered both a stronger foundation and an improved customer experience. Our transition from homegrown and end-of-life systems to modern technologies has been delivered smoothly and seamlessly to our business teams and without customer interruption, and I am very proud of this. However, my proudest accomplishment is the development of the team that has delivered these results. They are deeply talented and highly integrated, aligned with our business and committed to success.

IMPOSSIBLE DOES NOT C O M P U T E. Technology that turns ideas into reality.

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STEWART GIBSON SVP & CIO USI Insurance Services

As CIO, my top 3 strategic objectives are Organic Growth, Client Retention, and Accretive Acquisitions. While these don't sound much like IT objectives, I believe that to be successful, my team and I must be business people first, and technology people second. And, technology and innovation are at the heart of achieving these objectives. Whether we are implementing AI to better profile prospective clients and contacts for our sales teams, delivering a great customer experience in our personal risk client mobile app, or working to integrate an acquisition in under 6 weeks; technology is the key to delivering business results.

DAVID HUNTER CIO AMC Networks

I am thrilled to work at a time of tremendous opportunity and evolution in the technology that drives our media and entertainment, creating the flexible infrastructure needed to deliver content to audiences on the devices and platforms they want, whenever they want. Together, my team is developing innovative ways to bring our content to over 100 platforms – from cable/satellite and digital apps to emerging offerings like Reddit and Twitch, to premium subscription bundles like AMC+.

Leading the technology services of one of the most celebrated entertainment companies through this industry-wide digital transformation has been a real highlight for my career.

STEVE MILLS CIO iHeartMedia, Inc.

My greatest success as iHeart CIO has been leading our digital transformation. iHeart is the number one audio company in the U.S., reaching over 90% of Americans every month. Our ad capabilities now include broadcast, streaming audio, podcasting and web display, and we’ve built capabilities that allow us to deliver ad campaigns across our own platforms plus third-party digital platforms, including social and OTT video. This extensive business transformation has been powered by technology, resulting in platforms that are inherently digital and enable us to accommodate listener and advertiser preferences for streaming, podcasting and on-demand audio.

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CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS PARAG AGRAWAL CIO Chobani

ENTERPRISE FINALISTS Over $1 billion annual revenue

On the backend, we're moving into public cloud for all of our corporate systems, based on our single cloud strategy.

SUVAJIT BASU Head of IT Goya Foods Inc

CINDY FINKELMAN SVP & CIO FactSet Research Systems

We are on a business transformation journey for the last 2 years. We are nearing the end of phase 2 of the 3 phase transformation journey. We are transforming the front-end and back-end technologies and our business processes. As part of the front-end transformation, we have brought all the supply chain, sales and finance functions on to a single platform. This has also helped us in unifying the data and now we are generating insights in much more meaningful manner.

In over 10 years at Goya, my greatest accomplishment is to lead Goya technology in its continuous modernization efforts. By taking a long-term, humanoriented approach, the Goya IT team has shown incredible team spirit and boldness. Every day we live by our credo - If It's Goya, It Has to Be Good!

By taking a bold and visionary approach in 2019, Goya implemented a “zero trust”, remote application delivery capability which enabled “work from anywhere” and increased safety during the pandemic, while fulfilling sudden high demands for food. I feel proud about this “will to do good” as we all suddenly became “essential workers” in 2020.

My greatest pride is witnessing the impact of my influence on a diverse group of talented future leaders. My conversation starter – “What have you done to develop yourself? And what have you done to develop others” – drives the discussion of developing one’s own “bag of tricks” and the creation of a culture of paying it forward in the community.

When I reflect upon my life’s greatest achievements, I find myself replaying exchanges where I’ve learned that someone has taken my advice and changed because of it. Mentorship has changed my life, and if I’m lucky enough will be my legacy.

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INSPIRECIO

LEADERSHIP NETWORK

InspireCIO is the preeminent executive peer leadership organization of chief information officers. Local chapters convene leading CIOs and foster meaningful relationships by hosting non-commercial, member-led programs – helping CIOs gain leadership advantage.

NEWYORKCIO

Servic

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ARNIE LEAP CIO 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.

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At 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., my team and I built an intuitive hybrid platform that leverages the company’s portfolio of 12+ brands and provides customers with a single destination for all gifting occasions. Customers can now take care of multiple shopping needs through one platform as part of one customer journey – while accessing the entire family of brands, including 1-800-Flowers.com®, Harry & David®, Cheryl’s Cookies® and more. Additionally, with this agile multi-brand platform, we now have a formula for seamlessly ingesting new updates as needed (hourly if necessary); a framework used in integrating the company’s newest brands such as Shari’s Berries.

MICHAEL SALAS SVP, Chief Information & Digital Officer SUEZ North America

The Business Technology Services Team (aka IT department) at SUEZ North America had to make sure all systems continued to operate and provide a safe, reliable water supply during COVID-19. This involved planning for essential workers on-site, operating our plants and fixing any issues while enabling our support and customer service staff to work from home in areas deeply affected by COVID-19. Our digital transformation over the past three years paid off by keeping our business running, and kept the water flowing for our customers throughout COVID-19. Linking our customers, employees, suppliers and Iot together digitally, supported our customer centricity, growth and optimization business strategic goals.

Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution Welcome to Lumen.

Network. Edge Cloud. Security. Collaboration.

Services not available everywhere. ©2020 Lumen Technologies. All Rights Reserved.

THE PLATFORM FOR AMAZING THINGS lumen.com

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Services not available everywhere. ©2020 Lumen Technologies. All Rights Reserved.

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FINRA celebrates CIO Steve Randich on his nomination for the 2020 New York CIO ORBIE Award, and congratulates the many trailblazers also selected!

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. We oversee the 3,500 securities brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States and the 625,000 registered individuals who work for them. Our oversight fosters investor confidence in the markets and a vibrant securities industry, both of which contribute to the strength of the U.S. economy.

Advanced technology is essential to FINRA’s work, and Steve’s leadership in this area is highly visible and valued both inside and outside of FINRA – he is considered a true pioneer in the use of cloud computing in financial regulation.

Steve Randich, FINRA Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer

We at FINRA congratulate all the trailblazers who have been selected as finalists for this year’s New York CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards, and celebrate Steve’s placement as a Corporate Finalist!

driving innovation

and continuing to transform our organization SUEZ has demonstrated excellence in innovation and technology leadership by investing in IT projects and change management capabilities that enable us to deliver multiple solutions in parallel.

We are grateful to NewYorkCIO for recognizing everything we have done to improve the customer experience and create business value through innovative technology solutions.

www.suez-na.com

CORPORATE FINALISTS

Up to $1 billion annual revenue KAREN BEEBE CIO & SVP, Operations and Ecommerce Vineyard Vines

As a CIO, my success is my team. Over the past 25 years, I have had the opportunity to mentor, inspire and build high performing and extremely talented teams. These teams create, develop and transform their ideas and work into products and services that provide value to our internal and external clients.

Having the opportunity to lead these teams and be a part of their success is the greatest reward and accomplishment for me. We are better together - now more than ever.

GERARD PENTO CIO Wilson Elser

Created strategic technology road map across 7 strategic themes and built business cases to secure investment funding that was several orders of magnitude greater than the 3 years prior to me joining the firm. Personally acted in product owner/executive solution delivery leader role implementing 100+ major initiatives, including firm-wide network re-platform, build-out for 35 regional offices, Citrix and VPN remote access, desktop hardware refresh, Microsoft Windows and Office upgrades, VoIP telephone system, enterprise storage replacement, server virtualization, unified communications platform, cyber program and Security Operations Center, firm-wide Intranet, client extranet, client budgeting, documentation management system, and mobile timekeeping.

STEVE RANDICH EVP & CIO FINRA

FINRA processes large volume of data for market surveillance, recent peak of 275 billion market event records (orders, quotes, trades, etc.) in a single day.

My greatest accomplishment, as CIO, is the aggressive and pioneering migration of our entire application portfolio and data to the public cloud 2013-2020. The results have been amazing -cost, speed, automation, performance, and reliability. As a result, 200+ firms have sent CIO, CISO and technology leaders to come visit us at FINRA to learn from our experience, proving yet again that we are market leaders and have the Technology team to back up our initiatives.

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ANDY RHODES CIO UNICEF USA

In two and a half years, we delivered a complete digital and data transformation that enables UNICEF to impact more kids lives than ever before. However, this is an organizational accomplishment that reflects the skills, dedication and resilience of the Technology Division and a UNICEF USA workforce that will stop at nothing to ensure that every child has a chance to thrive.

CIO OF THE YEAR

AWARDS

HEALTHCARE FINALISTS Hospitals & healthcare organizations DR. SAM AMIRFAR SVP, CIO & CMIO The Brooklyn Hospital Center

Our hospital relies on data that is fast, secure, and reliable so that the best decisions are made at the right time by our clinicians. Our limited resources need to be used to ensure that the hospital's information infrastructure incorporates modern tools and grows within the boundaries of the hospital’s mission and vision.

To this end, one of our greatest innovative efforts has been our development of a home-made, machine-learning algorithm that predict patients who are getting sicker in the hospital even before the physician realizes it. For the first time, hospitals will have an inexpensive, nerve center.

DANIEL J. BARCHI Group SVP & CIO NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Conceiving/implementing IT strategy integral to NYP’s successful clinical response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Components included: • 24x7 Virtual enterprise-wide Command Center for clinical, logistic, supply, and technical operations • Expanded capacity/digital tools to treat COVID-19 patient surge • Doubled ICU capacity • Increased telemedicine capability by 5,000% • Remote monitoring allowing physicians to send patients home safely with SpO2 monitoring/ supplemental oxygen • Set national standard for coordinated clinical care with Tumor Board Rooms offering audio-visual equipment, digital microscopes, and imaging system interfaces • Leveraged standardized EMR, for safer patient flow and check-in • Extensive communication nationally/internationally about NYC’s Covid status

DR. CLAUS JENSEN Chief Digital & Technology Officer Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Navigating the combination of running the hospital during COVID-19, doing things better and differently (TeleMedicine, at-home monitoring) and doing new things at the beginning of our digital transformation journey (for example, new cancer related services reaching more people).

Healthcare is at a crossroad. We have the ability to not only treat disease, but through the fusion of physical and digital resources meet the needs of the whole human. This requires a new platform based approach to treatment, to care, to service, to consumer engagement, and to producing data driven insight.

Telling that story, turning vision into digital action, is my greatest accomplishment.

UDAY MADASU CIO Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services

My greatest accomplishment is implementing a Digital Transformation Strategy led by a modern electronic health record with features including clinical decision support, analytics, interoperability and client engagement. I also take great pride in building a strong team that is truly committed to working collaboratively to implement digital solutions that help deliver a higher quality of care and improve client outcomes. My team is able to leverage a state of the art IT infrastructure that is resilient, reliable, scalable and secure to ensure that we are always prepared to offer digital solutions to complex problems and use technology for good.

JAMIE NELSON SVP & CIO Hospital for Special Surgery

The greatest accomplishment as HSS CIO was implementing Epic as our EMR at a nationally recognized level of success. HSS was recognized by Epic as in the top 6% of successful EMR implementations, achieved HIMSS 7, a recognition shared by 5% of hospitals in the U.S. and the prestigious HIMSS Davies Award. However, this accomplishment was eclipsed by our work during the COVID-19 pandemic to implement technologies needed to convert our orthopedic hospital to care critically ill ICU patients from other overburdened hospitals, build infrastructure to support a 1000% increase in Telehealth visits and 10x increase in staff working remotely.

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NEWYORKCIO

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MEDIA SPONSOR

NATIONAL PARTNER

INSPIRE YOUR TEAM InspireCIO is launching the first cohort of a new talent development program called Next Gen Leader, an exclusive benefit of NewYorkCIO membership.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

2020

Giving Guide

A season of giving IN A YEAR OF UNPRECEDENTED economic uncertainty, charitable giving has never been more important.

In the pages that follow, you’ll meet some of the nonprofits that are preserving the fabric of life in New York City and beyond.

With the global coronarvirus pandemic battering the economy, many New Yorkers are out of work. They are losing their homes, facing food insecurity and struggling to make sure their children have access to a high-quality education.

Who are they? Among them, you’ll find the educational charities Art of Problem Solving and Genesys Works New York City; the private child-welfare nonprofit Children’s Aid; and the Bowery Residents’ Committee, which fights homelessness.

Fortunately, many donors, well aware of the toll the crisis has taken, are increasing their charitable giving. Nearly 2 in 5 consumers said they planned to give more this year, according to a survey by the fundraising platform Classy on why Americans give. With social justice top of mind, 42% of respondents said they planned to give to a nonprofit in this area.

While the pandemic is upending the status quo in the five boroughs and the surrounding communities, these organizations are making a real difference in the lives of New Yorkers.

CRAIN’SCONTENTSTUDIO NEW YORK

COVID-19 IMPACT AND RESPONSE The pandemic has accelerated and worsened economic inequality, making it harder for students of color to access postsecondary education and training.

WHAT WE DO Genesys Works is a nonprofit social enterprise that partners with corporate America to #EmployChange, because we believe opportunity should be about talent, not ZIP codes.

Genesys Works helps level the playing field for hardworking and dedicated high school seniors from under-resourced communities by providing skills training, professional development and meaningful internships early in their academic careers. In turn, we empower young adults to succeed on a pathway to career readiness and upward economic mobility. Together with our corporate partners, we create a more productive and inclusive workforce and build stronger communities that work for all.

Systems are stretched thin trying to support underserved students. Programs such as Genesys Works are needed to help promising high school students from Bronx neighborhoodss hardest hit by the virus access the skills, networks, and meaningful experiences they need to prepare for college and career.

At Genesys Works, we are working hard every day to support our students, which includes pivoting to virtual technical and soft skills training.

Our corporate partners are working with us to close the digital and economic divide by offering

remote internships to our young professionals, opening doors to innovation and adding more skilled and diverse candidates to their talent pipelines.

On average, students earn $14,000 per year from their Genesys Works internships, which has a substantive impact, given the median income of a family of four in the Bronx is $38,000 per year.

Mission Genesys Works provides pathways to career success for high school students in underserved communities through skills training, meaningful work experiences and impactful relationships.

Our track record 90% of our high school students enroll in college after completing internships.

On average, our program alumni earn $45,000 to $50,000 a year.

For every dollar invested in our students, $13 is returned to the community.

How we do it Genesys Works trains ambitious high school students from under-resourced Bronx neighborhoods in professional and technical skills, then places them in yearlong paid internships with top New York City employers, including JPMorgan Chase, Kirkland & Ellis and Salesforce.

Most Genesys Works students are trained for internships in IT, while others may support companies’ business operations, or accounting needs.

There are thousands of New York City high school students looking for meaningful work opportunities such as those offered through Genesys Works. The only limit to meeting this need is the number of internship opportunities that corporations will offer students. We are calling on more companies to #EmployChange by opening their doors to hardworking, talented youth.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Take meaningful steps to #EmployChange in your company by partnering with Genesys Works to give talented, hardworking high school students from underinvested communities equal access to the tools and meaningful work experiences that are needed for success. Together, we can open doors of opportunity for promising young professionals, fuel an equitable recovery and build a brighter future for all of New York City.

Visit, genesysworks.org/newyork to donate, partner and learn more.

To learn more about #EmployChange, visit genesysworks.org/employ-change.

We are a corporate workforce solution. Genesys Works handles student recruitment, screening, training, hiring, wages and taxes, then invoices companies for the services provided.

FUNDRAISING Earned revenue

Working in partnership with corporate America, we provide students a life-changing opportunity to close the skill, talent and inequality gaps that limit innovation and slow economic growth.

67%

Foundations

17%

FAST FACTS LEADERSHIP

Calendar year 2019

13%

Corporations

3%

Individual gifts

NYC program

3 employees

$1.2 million annual revenue

Year established: 2019

Nationally

125 employees

$26.7 million annual revenue

Year established: 2002

BOARD MEMBERS

CONTACT

Haley Coller, Goldman Sachs

Jennifer Selig, Kirkland & Ellis

Melissa Goldman, JPMorgan Chase

Jennie Soler-Macintosh, New Visions for Public Schools

Andrea Ianniello, LMRKTS Scott Lebovitz, Goldman Sachs Wileeta McGee, Capital One

Mike Gross Executive director

G2

Genesys Works students have higher rates of college enrollment and completion, and a greater ability to obtain meaningful employment given their internship experiences.

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Ronald Taylor, Mizuho Americas

ADDRESS 55 Exchange Place, Suite 503 New York, NY 10005 PHONE 917-771-2421 WEBSITE genesysworks.org/newyork EMAIL info.nyc@genesysworks.org NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 32

Be a Catalyst for Change Real, sustainable change can only occur when all young adults have equitable access to the opportunities that create economic mobility.

Every day, Genesys Works young professionals build momentum toward achieving their goals and preparing for the workforce. And every day, Genesys Works matches that ambition by partnering with top employers to employ change, creating more access to the tools and opportunities students need to achieve their dream of a professional career.

You can be a catalyst for change by joining our movement to provide pathways to career success for high school students from underserved communities.

Together, we can open doors of opportunity that create a better tomorrow for all.

“There are so many ambitious high school students, like me, who are just looking for a chance to succeed. Genesys Works helped change the trajectory of my life when it offered me the opportunity to develop the hard and soft skills needed to earn a career and use my professional experience to pay it forward.�

Haley Coller Senior Analyst at Goldman Sachs Genesys Works alum and Genesys Works National Board Member

Host an Intern. Donate. Volunteer. Learn more at genesysworks.org/newyork

#EmployChange. Visit genesysworks.org/ employ-change

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Providing care to a youth at our Dunlevy Milbank Community Center’s health clinic in Harlem.

A girl in our early childhood program enjoys produce from an emergency hunger relief package.

WHAT WE DO Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics creates pathways for students from low-income and historically marginalized communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers and programmers. Starting in the sixth grade and continuing through college, our students learn advanced math and make friends with others who love math.

Low-income students and people of color face multiple barriers to achievement in science, technology, engineering and math, with math often the biggest barrier.

While affluent students have access to programs that build their interest and help them explore deeper topics in STEM, children in lower-income communities—especially Black and Latinx students—have no such access. Consider this: Only 30% of schools where at least three-fourths of students are Black and Latinx offer calculus. The U.S. secretary of education has said that students of color are “not getting the same opportunity to learn” as their white classmates.

BEAM provides those opportunities by supporting students for 10 years to help them achieve their dreams in math and science. At BEAM, math is fun, engaging and deep.

In middle school, students attend intensive summer programs that often challenge them in math for the first time.

For our middle- and high-school students, we offer math enrichment and life-skills classes, advising, field trips and the like. In college, BEAM provides students with mentoring to help them navigate everything from prerequisites to financial aid to internships.

In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, BEAM’s work is more important than ever. While many affluent schools have transitioned successfully to online learning, under-resourced schools and the families that depend on them are struggling.

BEAM has stepped up to face this moment. We are distributing aid directly to families. During the spring, we began moving all our programming online. To make sure students could connect to our summer programs, we provided each student with a 2-in-1 laptop, stylus, headset and internet connection. Our teacher-to-student ratio was 1-to-4. The results? More students joined our summer programs than ever before, and attendance was above 90%.

Students, moreover, had real mathematical insights and made significant gains. (Students are now using their computers to connect to school.)

After the summer, Jailyn told us: “This program has given me so much! I met new friends that I’ll know for a lifetime!

I learned new fun and interesting math that I would not have learned at school. Most importantly, this amazing opportunity opened many other paths to other amazing opportunities!”

FAST FACTS

HOW YOU CAN HELP Underserved students—especially those in Black and Latinx communities—don’t have access to the same STEM opportunities as their more affluent peers. Your donation can change their trajectory. From hiring exceptional STEM educators to providing special field trips for summer programs to helping students secure spots at great colleges with strong financial aid, your gift helps support the entire 10-year pathway of a BEAM student.

We invest deeply in the success of our students. We couldn’t do it without support from individuals like you.

We know that what we do works because we have seen the results. Almost 70% of BEAM students attend colleges ranked “very competitive” or higher by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges. During the spring, BEAM students were admitted to highly selective colleges, including Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard and the University of Chicago.

All BEAM programs are completely free to students and their families. The students we serve are overwhelmingly low-income children, with a median household income of $28,000. More than 70% will be the first in their families to go to college; 80% of our students are Black and Latinx.

Thanks to $670,000 in matching funds from BEAM’s board of directors, all donations until Dec. 31 will be multiplied by pi. (Well . . . 3.14159 to be exact.) In addition, all donations of $10 or more from new donors will receive an additional $100 added to the match. Therefore, a new donation of $100 would be worth $414 to BEAM. A new donation of $1,000

BEAM has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and GuideStar’s Gold Seal of Transparency for 2020 (under our parent organization, the Art of Problem Solving Initiative Inc.).

Total 2019 revenue: $4.7 million

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ERIN PATRICE O’BRIEN

If you would like to give through a donor-advised fund, BEAM is run by the Art of Problem Solving Initiative Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations to AoPSI support BEAM’s work. Our employer identification number is 20-1239616.

Companies interested in exploring a partnership may reach out to info@beammath.org or call 888-264-2793. BEAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Year established: 2011

CONTACT

Richard Rusczyk, President

Kristin Kearns-Jordan

Darryl Hill, Secretary

Kiran Kedlaya

Nanayaa Dadson, Treasurer

Sandor Lehoczky

Ken Baron

Paul Sherman

Edray Goins

Susan Schwartz Wildstrom

Jeff Hoffman

Daniel Zaharopol CEO

G4

To donate online, visit www.beammath.org/donatenow.

If you wish to donate by check, please make your check out to BEAM and send it to us at: P.O. Box 4499, New York, NY 10163.

In addition, BEAM welcomes volunteers to work with students on everything from math to college essays.

Individuals may apply at www.beammath.org/volunteer.

Employees: 24

LEADERSHIP

would be worth $3,241 to BEAM.

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COMPANY NAME Art of Problem Solving Initiative Inc. ADDRESS P.O Box 4499 PHONE 888-264-2793 WEBSITE beammath.org/crains

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 34

Gaps in access to advanced STEM work start early and have serious consequences. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 1.78% of Black 8th graders and 3.63% of Hispanic 8th graders score at the “Advanced” level in math, versus 12.93% of white 8th graders and 31.89% of Asian 8th graders.

3 We understand the STEM pathway because we have walked it ourselves: 25% of our program staff members have STEM PhDs and 83% have STEM Bachelor’s degrees or higher. We search the country for exceptional educators in whom our students can see themselves represented. Our instructors are college professors and K-12 teachers who design their own classes.

CN019976.indd 1

We partner with schools in New York City and Los Angeles that serve low-income and historically marginalized communities, looking for students with high potential and interest in math; grades and test scores are not a barrier. By going directly to schools, we go the extra mile to reach, enroll, and support families who are not “plugged in.”

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COVID-19 IMPACT AND RESPONSE As New York City’s children living in poverty progress throughout the school year with in-person and remote learning, they continue to grapple with hunger, homelessness and limited access to technology while they try to catch up in their academics.

To meet the basic necessities, we’re providing food boxes to hungry families and advocating for those who are at risk for homelessness.

In school, we’re offering supplemental instruction, tutoring and academic enrichment, and we’re

WHAT WE DO

distributing remote devices to students who need them.

For children with limited health care access, our health clinics provide testing for Covid-19 and remote mental health counseling to deal with anxiety and stress.

Despite being the financial capital of the world’s wealthiest country, New York City has an alarming child poverty rate.

Among our city’s youth, more than 1 in 4 are born into poverty, and 1 in 7 will experience homelessness before their teenage years. When the time comes to begin college or career, half of the young people growing up in poverty won’t even graduate from high school on time.

Our mission is to help 50,000 of our city’s children and their family members living in poverty to succeed and thrive. Our vision is for all children to have access to the opportunities and the support they need to realize their fullest potential and lead successful, healthy and productive lives. To achieve this, we offer more than 100 programs at community schools and centers in low-income neighborhoods across the city, addressing all areas of development for young people up to age 24.

OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE CHILDREN: LEARN: We equip them with the tools they need to succeed in school and in life by supporting academic achievement through Head Start programs, tutoring, after-school programs and college preparatory interventions. We provide career training, internship placements and social-emotional growth opportunities.

GROW: We offer them high-quality, comprehensive physical, dental and mental health care at our school and center-based clinics, ensuring that they enjoy a lifetime of health and wellness. Our nutrition programs and activities instill a love for healthy eating and a healthful lifestyle - from a young age to adulthood.

LEAD: We make sure they have strong, stable families so they grow to lead their lives and their communities.

We do this by partnering with families to prevent separation, providing foster care services, engaging parents and caregivers, facilitating community building and advocating policies that benefit children and families. We counsel nonprofit and government partners around the globe to implement our innovative child welfare models.

Providing care to a youth at our Dunlevy Milbank Community Center’s health clinic in Harlem.

A girl in our early childhood program enjoys produce from an emergency hunger relief package.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Our greatest need right now is for financial support to help fund our health centers, hunger relief, remote learning programs and other Covid-19 relief interventions.

Please visit Donate.ChildrensAidNYC.org to make a one-time or monthly gift, especially on #GivingTuesday, Dec. 1, when all donations will be matched. If you are a New York City public school parent, you can use your P-EBT card to purchase food for our kids experiencing hunger by visiting any online retailer, ordering nonperishables, and selecting delivery to 219 W. 135th St., New York, NY 10030. Please notify us of the order.

You can also host peer-to-peer fundraisers. Please contact us at the phone number below or at giving@ChildrensAidNYC.org to create your own customized fundraising page with a goal and running supporter list. We also have rewarding volunteer options for corporate partners supporting at the $5,000+ giving level.

FUND RAISING ANNUAL BENEFIT: Join us October 21, 2021 for our most celebrated night of the year: our annual benefit in which we honor business and community leaders, hear from our young people and enjoy student performances.

GOLF CLASSIC: Our annual Golf Classic has raised millions of dollars in support of New York City’s children, youth and families. Next year it takes place on July 19, 2021 at the Baltusrol Golf Club.

FUNDING SOURCES Government contracts

67%

Contributions Board-approved use of reserves Fees and other income

16% 11% 5% 1%

Net assets released

FAST FACTS

Employees: 2098

LEADERSHIP

G6

Phoebe C. Boyer, President and CEO

Amy Engel Scharf Chair, board of trustees

Georgia Boothe, executive vice president Rhonda Braxton, vice president of health and wellness

Drema Brown, vice president of education and head of school Moria Cappio, vice president of early childhood programs

Sandra Escamilla-Davies, executive vice president Abe Fernández, vice president of Collective Impact and director of the National Center for Community Schools Caroline Gallagher, chief development officer Michael Greenberg, chief financial officer Courtenaye Jackson, general counsel Anthony Ramos, vice president, marketing and communications Don Shacknai, chief operating officer Ali Tan, chief of staff

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Total 2019 revenue: $128.4 million

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Carllene Brooks-Oden

Vanessa Melendez

Russell Diamond

Jay S. Nydick

Richard Edelman

Jill J. Olson

Russell W. Horwitz

Tom Reynolds

Ellen Jewett

Eren Rosenfeld

Linda Kao

Lauren Razook Roth

Alan E. Katz

Sandra G. Serrant

Dr. Gregory E. Kerr

Brad I. Silver

Christopher R. Lawrence

Andrea K. Wahlquist

Beth Leventhal

Year established: 1853

CONTACT ADDRESS 117 W. 124th St. Fifth floor New York, NY 10027 PHONE 212-949-4936 WEBSITE ChildrensAidNYC.org

Peter Wallace Suzanne Waltman

Janine E. Luke Rick McNabb NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 36

The 50,000 NYC children and families we serve face daily challenges – food insecurity, the digital divide, education inequity. When you compound these with a global pandemic – and lay bare the painful realities of systemic racism – our communities were devastated.

At Children’s Aid, we pivoted to address emerging needs – making sure our families had food and access to health care. We also placed 100 foster kids in loving homes.

We rebuilt the trust that’s been lost among families in our hardest hit communities.

Thank you to all our Children’s Aid families and to our family of supporters.

Learn. Grow. Lead.

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WHAT WE DO BRC is among New York City’s leading nonprofit organizations in providing care and services to New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. We serve 8,500 clients a year and operate 30 programs, among them unsheltered homeless outreach, shelter and stabilization facilities, transitional and permanent housing, substance abuse treatment, mental and physical health services, workforce development and senior services.

BRC’s evidence-based practices distinguish it as one of the city’s most innovative service providers, helping individuals find a path to long-term stability. BRC uses an analytical management approach to identify and address unmet client needs and to tailor our services to individual clients. The approach relies on data-driven decision-making to improve program effectiveness.

Innovating to address NYC’s homelessness crisis BRC created the “Homestretch” housing model, an entirely new way to build affordable rental housing for very lowincome New Yorkers. This model, piloted at BRC’s Landing Road site and funded through public-private partnership, creates purpose-built shelters for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness while simultaneously increasing the stock of critically needed affordable housing. Revenue received from operating the shelter is reinvested into housing operations, subsidizing the associated permanent housing. This innovation makes it possible for BRC to charge a rent that our clients can afford, and it saves the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in housing subsidies.

BRC pioneered the “Safe Haven” model, which enables service-resistant New Yorkers to enter shelters without traditional barriers, such as sobriety and curfew restrictions, so they can begin connecting with life-saving services. This low-threshold program has been replicated by service providers throughout the city and shelters more than 1,000 New Yorkers each night.

BRC has remained nimble in the face of pandemic-related challenges, from leading overnight subway outreach to adapting our substance abuse and detoxification programs to telehealth, we continue to pursue the most effective ways to serve our clients.

FAST FACTS LEADERSHIP

BRC clients building professional skills in the Horizons Workforce Development Program

COVID-19 IMPACT AND RESPONSE BRC continues to provide daily life-saving services to more than 3,000 of New York City’s most vulnerable. Our heroic front-line workers—doctors and nurses, outreach workers and case managers, cooks and porters—are still helping New Yorkers reclaim lives around the clock.

Despite the challenges of this extraordinary time, BRC’s team of more than 200 outreach workers have been operating every hour of every day, providing targeted outreach to New York’s unsheltered in the transit system and on the streets. Our residential programs remain fully

operational, housing on average more than 2,300 people per night. More than 280 clients have moved into more independent housing since the start of the pandemic, and more than 350 individuals continue to receive treatment through BRC’s substance abuse treatment programs.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Your donations help BRC to remain caring, effective and present for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness during these extraordinary times.

With your support, we can: Pursue innovative shelter and housing solutions that result in more effective services and greater affordable housing, at a lower cost to the city.

Provide financial support, such as rent forbearance, for clients at risk of losing their housing because of pandemic-related income loss.

Expand enhanced programming, such as workforce development training and substance abuse services, for those disproportionately affected by social and economic disruption.

Visit www.brc.org/donate to support BRC’s work.

Employees: 1,020

Reaching New Heights Residence and Apartments at Landing Road in Bronx, NY

Year established: 1971

Total 2019 revenue: $92.4 million

FUNDRAISING

CONTACT

Covid-19 response Support services for our clients, such as rent forbearance for those who face pandemic-related income loss; essential supplies, training and benefits for our heroic front-line staff.

The Way Home Fund Muzzy Rosenblatt CEO & President

G8

The Way Home Fund addresses the challenges of homelessness and housing inequity by supporting “Homestretch” replication and shelter-only and housingonly development projects. The fund is a revolving pool of working capital that provides critical predevelopment funds

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for real estate projects that, at closing, will be recycled to fund the next project in the pipeline.

Horizons workforce development BRC’s workforce development program offers individualized career counseling, training and support focused on helping clients find and maintain employment. As a privately funded program, $2,500 funds a full scholarship for a client to use Horizons’ services.

COMPANY NAME Bowery Residents’ Committee or BRC PHONE 212-803-5700 WEBSITE www.brc.org

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 38

Through innovative solutions that center our clients, and with the support of public and private partners, BRC is eectively helping New Yorkers ďŹ nd their path from homelessness to home.

Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing Development

Support BRC today at brc.org/give.

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LAST CALL - JOIN US THURSDAY!

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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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11/23/20 3:52 PM

Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS

To place a classified ad, Call 212-210-0189 or Email: jbarbieri@crainsnewyork.com

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 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 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 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.

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 MOB Builders LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 7/21/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 4610 Crane St, #401, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: any lawful act 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.

WEALTH PLANNING ADVISORS, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1 0/19/2020. Office loc: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Alexander J. Mele, 555 West 23rd Street Apt. N6M, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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.

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 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 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 FORMATION OF: Meridian Healing Services LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/25/2020.

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: BUSINESS FILINGS INCORPORATED 187 WOLF ROAD SUITE 101 ALBANY, NY 12205. The principal business address of the LLC is 1177 Avenue of Americas, 5th Floor 10036 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 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 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.

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.

Notice of Qualification of MARC JONES CONSTRUCTION, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/04/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Louisiana (LA) on 07/20/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. LA addr. of LLC: 22171 McH Rd., Mandeville, LA 70471. Cert. of Form. filed with LA Secy. of State, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809. Purpose: Sales and installation of residential/ commercial photovoltaic systems including all electrical wiring. Residential energy efficiency grading & upgrades.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF MOVING BODIES FORWARD, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/27/20. 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: United States Corporation Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 78717.

The principal business address of the is 315 E86th Street #16DE, New York, NY, 10028.

David Sable, LLC, Arts of Org. filed SSNY 2/10/20. Office: NY Co. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to David Sable, 201 West 70th St., 11HI, NY, NY 10023. General Purpose.

POSITION AVAILABLE 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 Pilgrim & Associates Law Arbitration & Mediation LLC (LLC). Articles of Organization filed by the NY Secretary of State (SSNY) on 08/21/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. Post Office address where SSNY shall mail copy of any process against the LLC served upon it is c/o Pilgrim & Associates, 301 W 110th Street, NY, NY 10026. Purpose of LLC: to conduct any lawful act or activity. Street address of LLC is c/o Pilgrim & Associates, 301 W 110th Street, NY, NY 10026.

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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.

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Notice of Formation of GRIT PICTURES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/ 14/20. Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Wendy Heller C/O Heller Law Group, 1800 Century Park East, Ste 400, Los Angeles, CA 90067. Purpose: any lawful activities.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

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 ROUND SHRUB PRODUCTIONS, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/30/20. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/19/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Paracorp Incorporated, 2804 Gateway Oaks Dr., Ste. 100, Sacramento, CA 95833. Address to be maintained in DE: 2140 South Dupont Hwy., Camden, DE 19934. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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Notice of Qual. of 502 PARK HOLDINGS, LLC, Authority filed with the SSNY on 09/04/2020. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 04/ 01/2019. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 233 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 850, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Address required to be maintained in DE: CSC, 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington DE 19808.

Cert of Formation filed with DE Div. of Corps, 401 Federal St., Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 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.

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.

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CHARITIES

BAGLEY

Torres-Springer, its vice president for U.S. programs.

The focus on racial justice is something of a departure from philanthropy’s typical modus operandi. For all its efforts to do good, philanthropy has historically shied away from issues of race. Just a quarter of family-led foundations incorporate diversity and inclusion goals into their giving strategies, according to the National Center for Family Philanthropy.

That avoidance has produced jarring financial consequences. An August study from the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy found that across 25 foundations, an average of just 1% of grants were specifically designated for Black communities. Meanwhile, unrestricted assets, seen as the holy grail of donations because nonprofits rather than donors can determine how to spend them, are 76% smaller at Black-led organizations compared to white-led ones, according to a report from the Bridgespan Group, a management consulting firm for nonprofits. Despite such documentation, little has moved the needle.

“AMERICA IS GOING THROUGH A LONG-OVERDUE RECKONING WITH RACISM” national spotlight, New York City’s philanthropies are opening up their wallets, hoping to bankroll racial justice programs. The list is long. In Midtown, the Ford Foundation has committed $330 million to U.S. racial justice nonprofits through next year. On the Upper East Side, Bloomberg Philanthropies made a $100 million commitment to reduce student debt at historically Black medical schools as part of its Greenwood Initiative, a project dedicated to racial justice.

“America is going through a long-overdue reckoning with racism and injustice, and the Ford Foundation is committed to supporting organizations at the forefront of this movement,” said Maria

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42 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | November 30, 2020

EZEDIARO

That might be changing.

“There is some renewed energy in the philanthropic sector,” said Garnesha Ezediaro, program lead for the Greenwood Initiative.

Philanthropies and companies that had minimal engagement with racial justice issues began to re-examine that this year, said Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference.

“They began to look at themselves,” Dukes said, “and step up to the plate.”

Systemic inequities New York Cares, a Bronx-based nonprofit dedicated to deploying volunteers across the city, is feeling the shift. Donors are increasingly receptive to programming with a racial justice bent, says Gary Bagley, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The organization decided last year to focus more of its resources on the neighborhoods most affected by systemic inequities. Not all

donors understood at first.

“Engaging a donor in a conversation about social justice, why we had chosen the neighborhoods we had chosen, I’d almost say it was more educational. You had to really explain why you were doing this,” Bagley said.

During a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color in the city and after a summer of demonstrations against racial injustice, Bagley described a different landscape. Donors “have all responded really well to the message of our getting help to those most affected by systemic inequality,” he said. “That neighborhood focus seems to make donors feel good about where their dollars are going.”

It remains to be seen whether philanthropy’s newfound interest in social justice amounts to a true turnaround.

“The verdict is out to really understand if folks are responding just in this moment, to say Black Lives

REAL ESTATE

‘Corporate mitosis’ thwarts Century 21 lease renewal

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

A

t a time when retail landlords are desperate for tenants, Century 21’s Financial District landlord says the retailer is no longer welcome at the building, according to a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The partnership that owns 22 Cortlandt St., a 30-story office building where the Gindi family’s now-bankrupt department store chain took the lowest six floors, is led by real estate investor Moshe Drizin. After the retailer asked to keep the first three floors of the space last month amid liquidation sales and closures at other New York City locations, the landlord blocked the lease renewal by setting up an alternative set of requirements.

If the discount retailer wants to stay in the space, it has to take all six floors, per their agreement, but the landlord is refusing to give the Gindis a lease for the six floors because Century 21’s retail business had been split from its real estate holdings or, as the landlord called it, “corporate mitosis,” according to the complaint.

“We all know that landlords are

under no obligation to renew commercial leases,” said Howard Kingsley, a real estate lawyer at Rosenberg & Estis.

Now that the retail portion of Century 21 is going through bankruptcy proceedings and is controlled by the bankruptcy court, it can’t be recombined with the other entity to comply with the lease agreement, according to court papers.

“The company has presumably breached their lease,” Kingsley said.

It’s possible that Drizin has other parties interested in taking over the retail space, he added. “Why should [the landlord] allow someone to be there who can inhibit a future deal?”

Planning time Although it has proved difficult for other retail landlords to fill their empty storefronts with tenants, Century 21’s lease still has more than a year left before the retailer has to move out, giving Drizin time to market the space and secure a new tenant in a hopefully post-pandemic New York.

In another recent suit against the family, billionaire real estate investor Ben Ashkenazy, who is also a

BUCK ENNIS

Microsoft and other notable firms— should focus on information-technology training instead of coding.

“I saw other, white leaders being funded just for ideas, while I had already built an earned-revenue stream that was helping us grow,” she said. “I had already served hundreds of students, and it was still harder for me to get funding than other folks. Obviously, funders were just used to investing in these types of leaders. But also, these leaders had connections.”

She forged ahead despite the barriers. Then, this year, a different kind of grant came her way: Rodriguez secured $450,000 from the Robin Hood Foundation’s Power Fund, a program the downtown philanthropy launched to invest in nonprofit leaders of color. It currently stands at $16 million.

After a year that put racism in the

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Matter and be on trend, or if this has really seeped deep inside the institutional values,” said Edgar Villanueva, an Andrus Family Fund board member and author of a book that investigated problems in the philanthropic world. “Philanthropy has for a long time been this space where it was almost taboo to criticize or to call out. It has an extreme culture of politeness and an assumption that everyone is just good people doing good things.”

Permanent change might require foundations not only to make large gifts but also to examine their own practices that lead to unequal outcomes.

Although any nonprofit can fill out a grant application, winning a grant—and securing it in a timely manner—is often a matter of having access to the right people. Knowing just who to call, or having a friend who can make a connection, can make all the difference, according to another Bridgespan report. Those informal elements often favor white nonprofit leaders, the report said.

Foundations, meanwhile, insist that this time really is different.

Robin Hood is looking at ways that philanthropy’s norms quietly have produced inequities, said Samantha Tweedy, chief partnerships and impact officer.

“We understand, as a poverty-fighting institution, you can’t be serious about economic mobility if you are not serious about addressing systemic racism,” Tweedy said.

“What we know is that we have to not just take small steps; we have to not just acknowledge it. We have to actually build systems that will hard-wire this change for good. And I think that’s what we’re seeing.” ■

creditor in Century 21, claimed the Gindis were using company assets for their own personal gain and were trying to hide assets from lenders during bankruptcy proceedings.

The building went through its own bankruptcy in 2003 after the 9/11 attacks purged Lower Manhattan of office tenants, The Real Deal reported. In 2012 Drizin secured a $65 million loan on the property from New York Community Bank— which was then replaced by a $75 million loan from the same lender in 2018, according to property records.

Drizin and Raymond Gindi did not respond to requests for comment. A representative for Drizin declined to comment. ■

GOTHAM GIGS

JANELLE BENDYCKI

NICKERSON (second from right) with members of the Oula team

ADRIANNE NICKERSON AGE 34 GREW UP Middletown, R.I. RESIDES Park Slope EDUCATION Bachelor’s in biology, Columbia University; master’s in global health, Harvard University FAMILY FOCUS Nickerson is married and planning a family.

JUST FOR FUN In her spare time, she enjoys running, baking and salsa dancing.

WHAT’S IN A NAME “We wanted to pay homage to doulas with the name Oula, as they are entirely focused on the needs of the birthing person,” she said.

RECENT INSPIRATION She admires Kamala Harris and was excited by her election to be the next vice president.

GIRL POWER Nickerson says one of her proudest achievements is having raised seed capital with an all-female founding team.

Taking guesswork out of childbirth

Brooklyn startup co-founder looks to help new moms learn what to expect

BY SHUAN SIM

T

hough she never saw herself as a company founder, Adrianne Nickerson was so invested in women’s health care that she took a big leap. In October 2019 she co-founded Oula, a Brooklyn Heights–based midwifery and maternity health company.

She originally thought she would enter the women’s health landscape by working gradually within the system. She took a consulting job with Deloitte and eventually worked with startup accelerators Blueprint Health and Northwell Ventures.

Her stint at Northwell Ventures opened her eyes to the role she really wanted to play in the industry.

“I could see more innovation happening in small startups rather than a large corporation,” she said.

Normally risk-averse, she grappled with the idea of going out on her own. Eventually convinced she wouldn’t starve, she left Northwell

Ventures in 2015.

Her first effort as a health startup co-founder was Robin Care, a cancer care tech firm in Palo Alto, Calif.

It taught her a lot about growing a company, but its focus wasn’t her passion.

With that experience under her belt, she was ready to dive into the women’s health space. She thought up Oula with her friend Elaine Purcell as they began talking about one day starting a family.

“It’s such a huge, transformational moment when a woman chooses to have a kid, and I want to be a part of improving the experience,” Nickerson said.

Because pregnant women don’t have their first prenatal visit until the eight-week mark, many expectant mothers find themselves searching for information on their own at first. They are faced with the choice of delivering at a hospital or having a home birth with a midwife and doula. Oula aims to inform

pregnant women about both options and help them personalize the process. The firm offers prenatal to postpartum services through an app that helps mothers build a care plan and a team of clinicians for education, checkups and delivery.

Oula has raised $3.2 million in seed funding, Nickerson noted, which will help it launch telehealth in New York this December and open a clinic in Brooklyn Heights in February. The facility will be staffed with more than 30 clinicians, and the team is expected to assist with 700 deliveries next year, both in the clinic and home births.

The effort is especially important now, because the pandemic has highlighted the differences in maternal health outcomes for people of color and lower-income communities, Nickerson said.

“It has fueled us to build this faster, and I’m excited to have built this incredible team to redefine the maternity experience,” she said. ■

“IT’S SUCH A HUGE MOMENT WHEN A WOMAN CHOOSES TO HAVE A KID, AND I WANT TO BE A PART OF IMPROVING THE EXPERIENCE”

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 43

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