Crain's New York Business

LOVE FOR ABOVE A design engineer looks to revamp local rooftops PAGE 3

ASKED & ANSWERED A tech recruiter on why it’s tough to get an entry-level job PAGE 7

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

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JUNE 7, 2021

ECONOMY

As city springs to life, Midtown and FiDi still struggle

Businesses that depend on office workers yet to rebound

The pandemic hasn’t diminished the enthusiasm these companies have for the city’s future PAGE 13

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH AND AMANDA GLODOWSKI

T

he vaccine rollout and easing of pandemic restrictions are bringing much of the city back to life. But foot-traffic data indicates that some Manhattan neighborhoods are still struggling as many workers have yet to return to the office.

Daily foot traffic across the city had recovered to 92% of its prepandemic average as of May 8, according to an analysis by Flatiron District PERCENTAGE startup Fourof prepandemic square. Yet in foot traffic that Midtown and had returned to the Financial Midtown and District, daily FiDi as of May foot traffic is still 8, according to h o v e r i n g Foursquare. around 50% of its February 2020 volume.

“If you look closely at places like restaurants, salons, any type of venue in a more business-based district, foot traffic does not seem to be recovering at the same pace,” said Emily Owayni, an insights analyst at Foursquare. “And that is largely due to the fact that less people are

50%

2021

Tech companies are leading the way as the city gets back on its feet BUCK ENNIS

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See TRAFFIC on page 43

NEWSPAPER

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REAL ESTATE

ICAHN GETS CREATIVE TO OFFLOAD MIDTOWN DUPLEX PAGE 4

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Crain’s Concerned by high care costs, 32BJ names new editor severs ties with New York-Presbyterian HEALTH CARE

T

he 32BJ Health Fund, the insurance plan of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, announced last Thursday that as of Jan. 1, New York-Presbyterian will no longer be an in-network medical provider for its members.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield, 32BJ Health Fund’s third-party network administrator, had told the health plan that its administration agreement would be affected following the resolution of Empire’s own contract dispute with New

Due to its higher cost, the health system had been on the union’s list of nonpreferred providers, said Kyle Bragg, president of the union and chair of the Health Fund.

New York-Presbyterian and Empire had been locked in a contract dispute over payment rates, and their contract was set to expire May 31, Crain’s had reported. Empire said April 30 that the two had worked out an agreement.

A spokeswoman from Anthem, Empire's parent company, said the negotiation with New York-Presbyterian was in good faith.

“We respect 32BJ’s decision to address their own needs specifically,” she said.

NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN

BUCK ENNIS

BY SHUAN SIM

MUBASHAR CHAUDHRY

CORY SCHOUTEN has been named editor-in-chief of Crain’s New York Business.

Schouten, 39, joins Crain’s from The Wall Street Journal, where he led a team responsible for newsletters, email alerts, a live Q&A platform, rankings and e-books. Schouten is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Columbia University School of Journalism, where he is teaching a course on the media business.

Schouten, who begins June 15, replaces Robert Hordt, 66, who is retiring.

“Cory will play a pivotal role in developing and leading a premium content strategy that will engage new and existing users,” said Frederick P. Gabriel Jr., Crain’s publisher and executive editor. “He will also work with me and Crain leadership to identify new products and opportunities to grow our digital footprint here in New York City.”

Before joining the Journal, Schouten was a senior editor at the Columbia Journalism Review and a Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia. He has been a reporter and managing editor at the Indianapolis Business Journal and a reporter at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and The Arizona Republic. ■

than three times that of Medicare’s for the same procedures, Bragg said, as well as generally higher rates compared to other city hospitals. For example, a colonoscopy at New York-Presbyterian cost the health plan more than double the average of other hospitals, and delivering a baby was about 40% more expensive at the health system, according to a Health Fund analysis.

“We are happy to come to the bargaining table to keep New York-­ Presbyterian within our network,” Bragg said, “but it cannot be under Higher rates the onerous terms we have current“The cost of seeking care at New ly been laden with.”

York-Presbyterian is higher than The various health programs what others charge, and every dol- from 32BJ Health Fund, such as lar paid for a more expensive ser- those for bariatric surgery, joint revice is taken directly away from our placement and maternity care and members,” said Bragg. deliveries, would not have been The health plan paid New York-­ able to continue with zero copays, Presbyterian rates that were more Rothstein says Empire had told the

“EVERY DOLLAR PAID FOR A MORE EXPENSIVE SERVICE IS TAKEN FROM OUR MEMBERS” York-Presbyterian, said Sara Rothstein, director of 32BJ Health Fund.

The union pays Empire a flat fee for its administration services, regardless of the claims 32BJ Health Fund pays out, she said.

The result of the resolution meant the Health Fund was unable to maintain its listing of preferred and nonpreferred providers, with its current copays, and it wouldn’t be able to continue offering several health programs, she said.

REAL ESTATE

Health Fund. The plan also would have been unable to develop future programs had New York-Presbyterian been kept in the network, she added.

“Should the union’s leadership move forward with this decision, it would be unfortunate for its members and their families, who would lose access to the exceptional care from our hospitals and clinicians,” a New York-Presbyterian spokesman said.

Affected members The decision to remove the health system from the labor union’s network will affect about 23,000 members who use its services. The union, whose members include cleaners, doormen and security guards, provides benefits to 135,000 New Yorkers. The Health Fund will be actively reaching out to members who use New York-Presbyterian services to inform them of the change to avoid surprise bills, Rothstein said.

Because all of the downstate health systems, including NYC Health + Hospitals, Mount Sinai Health System and NYU Langone, are in-network, members will still be able to seek care from them.

“I’m 100% confident that our network, even without New York-Presbyterian, will meet the needs of our members, geographically and clinically,” Rothstein said. ■

WEBCAST CALLOUT

Firm behind Wildflower Studios buys Bronx industrial site for $11 million

BY EDDIE SMALL

W

WILDFLOWER LTD/BJARKE INGELS GROUP

ildflower Ltd., a frequent lessor to Amazon and the company behind Robert De Niro’s Wildflower Studios project in Queens, has purchased an industrial site in the South Bronx for about $11 million.

Wildflower bought the adjacent properties, at 1340 Lafayette Ave., 749 Whittier St. and 745 Whittier St. in Hunts Point, from a Long Island– based limited liability company. It had bought the sites for about $2.3 million in 2003, according to sources and property records. The lots span 55,000 square feet and include 110,000 buildable square feet.

Wildflower Managing Partner Adam Gordon declined to get into the specifics of the company’s plans for the Bronx site, but he indicated that the firm could use it for a logistics facility, noting that Wildflower “continues to be very active in the logistics business,”

WILDFLOWER STUDIOS

and Hunts Point is “one of the most desirable logistics locations in serving New York City.”

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen many new entrants coming into the marketplace and acquiring sites, most of which are unsuitable for logistics use,” he said. “Not all sites and locations are equal, and we’ll likely see a trend of more discrimination in acquisitions as the

market identifies suitable sites and other sites continue to sit vacant.”

Robert Khodadadian and Daniel Shirazi of Skyline Properties brokered the deal for both sides. They declined to comment on the transaction.

Other purchases Wildflower focuses on e-commerce and self-storage, in addition

to logistics. Its other major project is Wildflower Studios, a $400 million vertical film studio based in Astoria, designed by superstar architect Bjarke Ingels and made in partnership with De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal. The actor’s son Raphael De Niro is a company partner at Wildflower.

The company signed a 211,000-square-foot lease with Amazon in November for a delivery station at 12555 Flatlands Ave. in East New York, a development known as the Brooklyn Logistics Center. Wildflower purchased it for $25.3 million in 2018.

Other recent local investment sales include a Mount Vernon– based LLC’s $14.5 million purchase of a school bus company’s headquarters at 450 Zerega Ave. in Castle Hill and Dynamic Star’s $21 million purchase of a concrete plant site along the Major Deegan Expressway, which is part of its ambitious $3.5 billion Fordham Landing project in University Heights. ■

JUNE 24 Join Crain’s to celebrate this year’s list of notable LGBTQ+ Leaders and Executives. The event will open with a keynote address from Maeve DuVally, a communications executive at Goldman Sachs, who will walk us through her inspiring gender transition journey and address the challenges and reactions of her coworkers and associates. In the workplace, the LGBTQ+ community often face inequality harassment and an inability to advance. They can fear expressing their true selves, resulting in poor job satisfaction and quality of life.

VIRTUAL EVENT Time: 4 to 5 p.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/NetworkWithPride

Vol. 37, No. 22, June 7, 2021—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for no issue on 1/4/21 and 12/27/21, and combined issues on 6/28/21, 7/12/21, 7/26/21, and 8/9/21 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 2021 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 7, 2021

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REAL ESTATE

BUCK ENNIS

ADLER wants to turn the city’s rooftops into usable spaces.

RESCUING ROOFTOPS

A Harvard-trained design engineer is out to liberate the city’s treasured oases from obscurity

BY AARON ELSTEIN

T

he pandemic changed New York in so many ways.

Restaurant menus migrated to phones. There was always a seat on the disconcertingly clean subways. And the most desirable amenities in apartments changed from bottom to top.

“People don’t care anymore about a doorman, a beautiful lobby or a gym,” said Brooklyn landlord Todd Rose. “Now they want a nice home office, a washer/dryer and outdoor space.”

It so happens that atop Rose’s prewar Brooklyn Heights building, there is 300 square feet on which to bask in the unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline and harbor. But the space has been officially off limits forever.

Not for much longer, though. The rooftop will open after work is completed this summer by Top Yard, a firm started six months ago by Nicki Adler, a 29-year-old with a master’s degree in design engineering from Harvard. She spent the pan-

demic immersing herself in building codes and emerged with a business plan to turn these mostly wasted spaces into places more New Yorkers can enjoy.

“EVERYONE IN NEW YORK WANTS A ROOFTOP. IT IS THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE IN THE CITY” “Everyone who lives in New York wants a rooftop,” she said.

“It is the most underutilized resource in the city."

Three issues can render building tops unusable: lack of access, safety concerns and unsightly equipment. For the latter, blame Superstorm Sandy. After it, the city decreed all electri-

cal equipment be removed from flood-prone basements. The unfortunate result is that bulkheads, the structures that house the gadgets delivering the fastest internet, the coolest central air and the sleekest elevators, are now sprawling all over rooftops. Once built to recall Renaissance campaniles, most 21st-century versions have all the architectural flourishes of a toaster.

Retrofitting rooftops “The world’s greatest city has the world’s ugliest rooftops,” Stephen Varone, president of Rand Engineering & Architecture, said with a groan.

Ugly or not, the city doesn’t track how many of its more than 1 million rooftops are accessible, although evidence suggests only a sliver. Shortly before the pandemic, the city boosted tax breaks so rooftops could be retrofitted to better See ROOFTOPS on page 41 JUNE 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

A dealmaker gets creative

Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn’s penthouse apartment keeps him tied to New York DESPITE A FLURRY OF REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY, THE LUXURY SECTOR REMAINS SLUGGISH

BY C. J. HUGHES

A

lthough he moved his business to Florida last year, fueling concerns about a city in decline, Carl Icahn, 85, a billionaire investor from Queens, is finding it hard to cut all ties to New York.

Icahn’s Midtown home—a 14,000-square-foot duplex penthouse at 15 W. 53rd St. that’s made up of three combined units—has struggled to find a buyer since hitting the market for $35 million in 2019.

A price cut in June 2020, to $30 million, did not do the trick. Now there comes a new strategy from Icahn, who built his fortune on picking undervalued stocks.

As of May the apartment, in the 52-story Museum Tower high-rise next to the Museum of Modern Art, has been offered as two smaller units. Buyers can purchase penthouse apartments B and C for $20 million or penthouse A for $10 million, although the original three-inone option is still a choice.

Split decision Despite being combined since 2018, the apartments seem somewhat easily separated. For instance, there is a kitchen in penthouse B

$6.5 million, Douglas Elliman found. Inventory increased by 15% in the same period, the brokerage said.

SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

E pluribus unum

and C with stainless-steel appliances and a blue tile floor. Penthouse A’s is white-toned, with a rangetopped island.

But only the penthouse B and C

buyer will end up with the library, which is lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and has one of eight wood-burning fireplaces.

Despite a flurry of real estate deal

activity this year, the luxury sector remains sluggish. The average sale price in the sector—the top 10% of the market—fell 15% in the first quarter versus the previous year, to

But Icahn, who is worth $15 billion, may do well when his former home trades. His first apartment, penthouse B, which he purchased from the sponsor in 1986, a year after Museum Tower opened, cost $3.5 million, according to filings.

Next came penthouse C, which Icahn bought in 1994 from American Express for $11 million. Completing the three was penthouse A, which Icahn bought for $9 million in 2018 from the estate of Jerry Perenchio, the former chief executive of the network Univision.

Roberta Golubock, the Sotheby’s agent with both listings, had no comment. ■

REPUBLICAN MAYORAL DEBATE

Republican candidates call for a return of stop-and-frisk and end to M/WBE preferences

BY BRIAN PASCUS

C

alls to bring back stopand-frisk and end city contracting policies for minority- and women-owned business enterprises were highlights of a fiery debate, held last Tuesday by Crain’s New York Business, between Republican mayoral candidates Curtis Sliwa and Fernando Mateo.

The stunning policy pronouncements from Guardian Angels founder Sliwa and entrepreneur Mateo came with the June 22 primary vote only weeks away.

“Bill de Blasio belongs in jail for

needs to accept responsibility and refund the underwater owners and drivers “every penny” between the value of the medallion today and what they paid for it.

Sliwa avoided supporting an industrywide bailout and appeared to promote a hands-off approach to the role of city government. He argued for cutting the growing budget, suspending small-business licensing fees for one year and ending the commercial rent tax below 96th Street. Sliwa also spoke against advancing the de Blasio administration contracting policies for M/WBEs, which have seen certifications increase by nearly 7,000 since 2014 and the total contracting amount reach $17.6 billion.

“You don’t want to impose any kind of quotas on business,” he said. “I believe in capitalism. When you’re in the private sector, you need to compete against your adversaries in the local and global economy. It still needs to be based on merit.”

In one of the few moments of agreement between the bombastic rivals, Mateo said the city shouldn’t take contracts away from what he

“YOU DON’T WANT TO IMPOSE ANY KIND OF QUOTAS ON BUSINESS” what he did to these cab drivers,” said Mateo after being asked how he’d address the taxi medallion crisis if elected. “He basically tricked them and sold them an overvalued piece of tin for a lot of money knowing this piece of tin would be worthless in a few years.”

Mateo emphasized that the city

called majority “usually whiteowned firms” and give them to a Black-owned business in order to meet a targeted quota.

“As a minority and as a minority-owned-business man, I’ve never believed in taking anything because of my race, gender or color,” Mateo said. “You need to earn it.”

But Mateo also seconded Sliwa’s calls for smaller city government when he promised to eliminate 6,000 rules and regulations, which he did not name or define but claimed are used to hurt small-business owners.

“City agencies are working against small businesses,” he said.

“You need to take power away from city agencies so they don’t abuse power against small business.”

Money for police Crime was the topic that elicited the most passion from both candidates, though. Both Sliwa and Mateo advocated for policies to bring back more money and manpower to the New York Police Department, which saw its budget cut by $1 billion this fiscal year “I was the first candidate to say, ‘Refund the police and hire more police and make the police more proactive rather than reactive,’ ”

MATEO

SLIWA

­ liwa said. “Without public safety, S the recovery of New York City will be slow and always be jeopardized.”

Sliwa said he plans to pay for an increase of 3,000 officers to the NYPD by imposing property tax charges on presently exempted entities such as Columbia University, New York University and Madison Square Garden.

Both Republicans even called for the return of stop-and-frisk, the controversial policing method that declined to the point of elimination under de Blasio and remains extremely unpopular with the city’s Democratic voting base.

“I would bring back the anticrime unit, and I would bring back whatever it takes to make our city safe, even if it means stop-and-frisk,” Mateo said. “Whatever it takes to make sure we don’t have 30 or 50 shoot-

ings a week in New York.”

Sliwa blamed the rise in crime on the City Council’s and the mayor’s decision to disband the NYPD’s homeless outreach unit last summer and said stop-and-frisk was best used when there was probable cause.

“You can use it as it was created,” he said. “It was used long before Rudy Giuliani, and it is constitutional.”

Despite certain points of agreement, the candidates differed on the topic of post-primary support. The end of the debate featured Sliwa and Mateo exchanging harsh words. Sliwa promised he would back Mateo if the businessman won the primary, but Mateo questioned if Sliwa could even be considered a Republican due to his previous support for de Blasio.

“I’ll tell you this, Fernando, as much as you insult me, I will support you,” Sliwa said. “Republicans need to unite."

Mateo would not promise Sliwa the same.

“Curtis, in my eyes, you aren’t a Republican. You have never been a Republican,” he responded. “You lie so well. When you stop lying about facts, I will answer whether or not I will support you.” ■

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REAL ESTATE

Broker confidence surges as city shows signs of recovery from pandemic

B

rokers are getting their groove back following one of the worst years for New York’s real estate industry in recent history.

Broker confidence in the market increased for the second quarter in a row after hitting record lows during the peak of the pandemic, according to the latest confidence index report from the Real Estate Board of New York. Brokers’ overall confidence during the first quarter of the year was about 6.7 out of 10, a 53% jump from the fourth quarter of 2020 and a 79% increase year over year, the report said.

This is also the highest confidence index since the fourth quarter of 2019–the last quarter when the real estate industry did not ex-

three consecutive record lows during the first, second and third quarters of 2020, bottoming out around 3.1 during the third quarter, REBNY found. They ticked back up to about 4.4 during the fourth quarter of 2020 as New York began its vaccine rollout.

But the industry is not out of the

woods yet when it comes to dealing with the impact of the pandemic.

Another recent REBNY report found that plans for new construction projects in the city were at their lowest level in more than 10 years during the first quarter of this year, spanning only about 5.4 million square feet total. ■

BLOOMBERG

BY EDDIE SMALL

218

WEST 40TH

“COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL MARKET ACTIVITY ARE EXHIBITING MOMENTUM” perience at least some impact from the pandemic.

The future broker confidence index was even greater, about 7.7, the highest it has been since the third quarter of 2015, a strong sign that brokers are feeling good about the direction of the market and its prospects for a more complete recovery.

“This surge in broker confidence is happening alongside encouraging signs in our city, the overall economy and particularly the real estate market, where commercial and residential market activity are exhibiting clear signs of momentum,” REBNY President James Whelan said in a statement.

A great Q1 The commercial broker confidence index increased by 96% quarter over quarter to hit about 5.7, its highest mark since the fourth quarter of 2019, the report said. REBNY pointed to an increase in commercial leasing activity during the first quarter of the year as a reason for this, citing CBRE data that found the city saw 2.9 million square feet of commercial space leased during the first quarter of the year, marking its best quarter since the pandemic began.

The confidence index among residential brokers increased to about 7.7 during the first quarter, the highest level since the first quarter of 2016 and an 82% increase year over year. A recent Douglas Elliman report found that new Manhattan leases increased 89% year over year in March, which has given residential brokers high hopes for a rebound, according to the report.

Broker confidence levels hit June 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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IN THE MARKETS

Shareholders rise up to give Sterling Bancorp CEO’s pay the thumbs-down A record 3.1% of U.S. companies have had their executive pay plans shot down

T

“IN THE CONTEXT OF 2020 … WE HAVE TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT THAT”

KOPNISKY

BUCK ENNIS

he pay is too darn high at said Rosanna Weaver, who tracks Sterling Bancorp. So say in- pay at shareholder advocacy group vestors who recently re- As You Sow. At $5.5 million, Kopnisky’s total jected the compensation compensation is smaller package awarded to Chief than at many other comExecutive Jack Kopnisky, panies where pay got the whose salary and cash thumbs-down. But invesbonus rose last year even tors were irked over the as the pandemic took a numerous steps taken by nearly 50% bite out of the Sterling board to keep earnings. pay up even as earnings The Sterling shareholdsank by nearly half. er uprising adds to the reAfter the pandemic hit, cord 3.1% of U.S. companies whose executive pay AARON ELSTEIN the board eliminated its target for earnings growth plans have been shot and took the liberty to indown this year. Others include AT&T, General Electric and crease the number of shares grantStarbucks, consulting firm Semler ed to top executives. It also granted stock-based pay for this year in late Brossy said.

2020.

In a filing, Sterling said the changes were made to recognize “solid performance in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and supRockland County–based Sterling port the retention and motivation is the second bank in the country to of key talent.”

The bank didn’t respond to a rejoin the list.

“In the context of 2020, when a quest for comment.

Shifting the goalposts didn’t sit board says it wouldn’t be ‘fair’ if an executive didn’t get a bonus, we well with Institutional Shareholder have to take a hard look at that,” Services, which described the move

as “problematic” and said “a pay-for-performance misalignment exists.” Egan-Jones Proxy Services urged investors to reject Sterling’s pay practices and unseat board members, including compensation committee chair Patricia Nazemetz, a former Xerox human resources executive, and former

Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.

Back to the drawing board?

In the end, more than 60% of the shareholders voted against Sterling executives’ pay at the annual meeting and re-elected all the directors.

Although the so-called say-on-pay

vote is nonbinding, negative outcomes can embarrass directors and force them back to the drawing board.

It’s unclear if that will happen in this case, however. Sterling agreed in April to merge with Webster Bank of Connecticut in a $10 billion deal. ■

FINANCE

Midtown investment firm launches first U.S. psychedelics and marijuana fund

F

or investors who can’t decide which company in the fledgling psychedelics and medical marijuana field to invest in, Defiance ETFs recently listed a new fund comprising a grab bag of such companies.

The Midtown-based sponsor of exchange-traded funds launched the Defiance Next Gen Altered Experience ETF on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol $PSY. The fund is a first in the U.S. and comprises companies developing psychedelics, medical marijuana, ketamine and other schedule-controlled drug treatments. The first ever in North America was the Psychedelics Stock Index ETF from Toronto-based Horizons ETF. “If you were to think of different ways to slice traditional sectors for investors, psychedelics is a great way to get into the biotech space,” said Paul Dellaquila, president of Defiance.

The fund is weighted across 20 companies in the holdings to mitigate the risk of overexposure to any single firm and follows the rules of

the BITA Medical Psychedelics, Cannabis and Ketamine Index. To be included in the holdings, companies had to have a minimum market capitalization of $75 million and be listed on U.S. and Canadian stock exchanges. As more startups meet the criteria over time, they can be added to the list, Dellaquila said.

Local players Several local drug developers were included in the fund. World Trade Center–based MindMed, a developer of LSD and psychedelics-based treatment, holds a weight of 5.24%; Midtown-based Seelos Therapeutics, whose pipeline includes ketamine for depression, is weighted at 4.58%; and Kips Bay– based FieldTripHealth, a medically assisted psychedelics therapy clinic, carries 4.17%.

The expense ratio—the amount an investment company charges to manage the portfolio—of $PSY is 0.75%, which is the highest among the firm’s various ETFs, ranging from 0.3% to 0.45%.

Dellaquila said there are more costs associated with this fund.

Trading those small market capitalization companies is more expen-

FIELDTRIPHEALTH, a psychedelics clinic, was one of the local companies included in Defiance ETFs’ new fund.

sive, and Defiance needed an outside legal counsel for the fund, he explained.

“However, [the expense ratio] is in line with market rates,” he noted.

In comparison, the Canadian psychedelics ETF’s management

fee is 0.85%.

Next-gen tech Defiance was founded in 2018 and specializes in ETFs focused on next-generation technologies. In October it launched a first-of-its-

FIELDTRIPHEALTH

BY SHUAN SIM

kind fund focused on special-purpose acquisition companies, also known as SPACs or blank-check companies, and it has funds with holdings in 5G telecommunications technology, hydrogen fuel and quantum computing. ■

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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6/4/21 5:31 PM

ASKED & ANSWERED WHO SHE IS Founder of Clutch Talent

INTERVIEW BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

C

AGE 44

lutch Talent, a boutique recruitment firm, was founded by Jovena Natal in the Flatiron District in 2012 to help connect startups with local tech workers.

Job openings in New York’s technology industry outpaced those of all other sectors during the pandemic, according to a recent report from the Center for an Urban Future. The availabilities are driven not just by giant firms but also by local startups, which last year raised $16.2 billion from investors to fuel new hires. But even though hiring is up—and degree requirements have loosened—Natal says, entry-level jobs in the field might not be as easy to come by.

How has the local tech scene changed in the past decade?

Tech has gone from a minor, budding industry for New York City to one of the primary job sectors. When I first started the business, New York was competitive with other markets but not yet with the compensation levels you find at San Francisco companies. Now New York is pretty much on par with San Francisco.

Have certain segments of the industry held up better than others, in terms of hiring, during the pandemic?

Yes, and some were even propelled by the pandemic.

Health tech boomed during the pandemic. Companies building technology that helps people connect virtually

GREW UP Southern California RESIDES Inwood EDUCATION Bachelor’s in business and entrepreneurship, American University STARTING OUT Natal’s professional career started with a bookkeeping business she launched at 21.

TECH TIPS She recommends the app Headspace for taking meditation breaks between Zoom meetings.

GOING REMOTE Clutch Talent itself has ditched its Flatiron office in response to the pandemic. “We will still use coworking spaces, but we prefer to meet over lunch than have people in the office anyway.”

also did very well. There are also some more niche markets that did well too. The corporate response to the Black Lives Matter movement fueled growth for a client of ours that provides software that analyzes pay equity.

After more than a year of remote hiring, are companies starting to require that workers live close enough that they can come into the office?

At first our clients were all telling us they intended to reopen their office and that they only wanted to

hire people in New York City. Gradually, they became more open to someone who is far enough outside the city that they wouldn’t want to commute every day. Now they’re open to remote workers or if they’re not entirely remote, they are planning to open up hubs in different cities.

What technology skills are most in demand right now?

For software engineers, the highest demand is for those that have experience already working on a high-quality team. Having experience at a company known for having smart engineering is what is most valuable on your resume.

What does that mean for entry-level hiring?

It’s tough right now. A company needs people on the team that can mentor you as a junior engineer. It takes more resources to bring a new engineer up to speed. As companies are forming and growing after the shakeup of the pandemic, it’s hard for them to take the risk of bringing on entry-level employees.

A big question with tech is, how do you get more New Yorkers connected to these jobs? Do you have to have a four-year degree and above? Or can you learn skills through a boot camp or apprenticeship and get hired?

There has been a big shift in the time that I have been in business from companies having either a requirement or a very strong preference for computer science degrees to realizing that it does not matter.

There is value to the computer science fundamentals in an undergraduate program. But someone who can pick up a coding language and learn engineering practices can hit the ground running out of a boot camp. ■

BUCK ENNIS

JOVENA NATAL Clutch Talent

DOSSIER

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6/4/21 5:29 PM

chief executive officer K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain

EDITORIAL

group publisher Jim Kirk publisher/executive editor

Wealthy neighborhoods must bear the burden of development

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. EDITORIAL editor Robert Hordt assistant managing editors Telisha Bryan,

Janon Fisher

I

challenges have been successful, but most have not.

Now comes two rezonings in the NoHo-SoHo area and the Upper East Side.

Once an abandoned factory district, the NoHo-SoHo neighborhoods have become among the most expensive and fashionable ZIP codes in the city with little affordable housing stock.

Now that this wealthy enclave has been asked to bear the burden of more development so that the city can be affordable overall, they mask not-in-my-backyard resistance behind dubious claims that new, taller buildings would ruin the historic nature of the neighborhood.

On the Upper East Side, a THE ONLY WAY TO DRIVE DOWN planned redevelopment of the THE COST OF HOUSING IN THE New York Blood CITY IS TO CREATE MORE OF IT Center research lab has faced stiff community resistance because it to allow more and higher buildwould cast a shadow on a ings have met fierce resistance neighborhood park. Opponents across the five boroughs. also protest a midblock rezoning Rezonings in middle- and that would result in a 16-story lower-income areas such as building. The Blood Center needs Inwood, East Harlem, Bushwick only 5 floors; the rest would be and East New York have all been leased out to other life sciences subject to community resistance firms so that the developer can and litigation; some of the court

deputy digital editor, audience & analytics

t’s time for New York’s wealthier neighborhoods to do their part to make the city better for everyone.

The fact of the matter is some neighborhoods have borne the cost of progress and affordability more than others.

It’s unanimously agreed upon that to lower housing costs there needs to be more development.

Along the same lines, for the city to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the fast-growing field of life sciences, more lab space needs to be built.

The problem: No one in the city seems to want the developments to achieve their ends.

Efforts to rezone neighborhoods

Jennifer Samuels associate editor Lizeth Beltran art director Carolyn McClain photographer Buck Ennis data editor Amanda Glodowski senior reporters Cara Eisenpress,

Aaron Elstein, Eddie Small reporters Ryan Deffenbaugh, Maya Kaufman,

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

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make money. It’s hard to believe that the Upper East Siders are protesting someone making a buck on an investment.

We get it. Development is loud and dirty. It brings density and change, things New Yorkers fear.

But the city is facing shortages that development can solve.

Rents are still too high, aggravating inequality and sowing racial and class conflicts.

It’s a no-brainer that the only way to drive down the cost of housing in the city is to create more of it. The conventional

wisdom has been that community groups, which tend to be ultra-progressive, are taking the self-defeating stance of blocking development in low-income neighborhoods, thereby limiting the housing stock and spurring higher rents.

SoHo, NoHo and the Upper East Side cannot hide behind progressive ideology for their resistance.

These neighborhoods have benefited from the best the city has to offer. It’s time they get out of the way and let others benefit as well. ■

account executives Kelly Maier,

Courtney McCombs, Christine Rozmanich, Laura Warren people on the move manager Debora Stein,

dstein@crain.com CUSTOM CONTENT senior manager, custom content

Sophia Juarez, sophia.juarez@crainsnewyork.com EVENTS

www.crainsnewyork.com/events manager of conferences & events

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork REPRINTS

OP-ED

director, reprints & licensing Lauren Melesio,

An affordable housing boom will spark New York’s comeback

BY KATHRYN GARCIA

W

ith hundreds of thousands at risk of eviction, it’s no surprise that a recent poll put housing and homelessness at the top of the next mayor's to-do list. For nearly 1.5 million households that struggled to pay rent before the pandemic and that have since faced widespread job losses, the rent is still too high. Meanwhile, homeownership is out of reach for most New York families, with the median home price in Brooklyn now above $900,000 (a fact that came as a surprise to most of my opponents).

Housing affordability is an existential crisis for the city. It affects all of us, how we live, how we create and what we do. It can change the type of city we live in.

As an experienced crisis manager, I’m the right candidate to solve our housing problems.

To fix our housing crisis, we need to build more homes. For decades, we’ve built less housing per

capita than almost any other major city in America, and in many of our highest-demand neighborhoods, we’ve actually lost housing. An outdated zoning code and a bureaucratic, unpredictable permitting process have made housing scarce and expensive to build, a cost that all New Yorkers bear.

Supply and demand To reduce housing costs, we must first increase supply. As mayor, I will build new housing affordable to a range of New Yorkers, including 50,000 homes that are affordable to those struggling the most to make ends meet.

We would need to use every tool in the city's tool kit to build enough housing to lower the rent. We’ll promote affordable housing growth citywide, starting with zoning reform that allows for more density in high-cost, transit-oriented neighborhoods such as SoHo and Gowanus. We’ll legalize backyard homes, basement units and small-scale apartment buildings,

creating more affordable housing for middle-class New Yorkers.

We also need to remove the bureaucratic roadblocks to affordable housing. I’ll boldly take on the special interests and create a fast lane for permitting affordable and mixed-income housing projects.

The government must do its part. The private sector alone cannot entirely meet the needs of lower-income New Yorkers or solve homelessness.

My administration will fully fund the right to counsel, a successful effort that is reducing evictions and homelessness. We’ll expand and simplify rental assistance programs and close loopholes in voucher discrimination laws, so the homeless can rapidly access clean, stable housing and fewer New Yorkers will be homeless in the first place.

By purchasing empty commercial spaces and converting them into 10,000 permanent supportive housing units, we’ll shift our city’s response to homelessness from a failing shelter strategy to an im-

pactful housing strategy.

When new housing brings new people to the neighborhood, our small businesses gain customers.

When artists and other creative people can afford to live in the city, we stay the cultural capital of the world. When rents take less of a bite out of paychecks, more money is spent in restaurants and entertainment venues. When our city’s construction sites hum with activity, we create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. And when young families—from all income levels, ethnicities and walks of life—can afford high-opportunity neighborhoods with good schools and jobs, they can confidently build a great life in New York for generations.

Many have called the housing crisis an intractable issue, but I’m running for mayor to solve hard problems. Put me to work and, together, we’ll build a New York everyone can afford. ■

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

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

Kathryn Garcia is a Democratic candidate for mayor of New York.

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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OP-ED

BY MATTHEW ARACICH

A

carbon-free future is now both a moral imperative and a legal requirement, but it is equally critical for the state to move toward this goal in a deliberate manner that does not sacrifice reliability.

Recent events in Texas and California demonstrate the pitfalls of failing to carefully manage the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Yet a number of advocates and elected officials appear unwilling to heed these important lessons and are pushing for a moratorium on construction of any new fossil fuel facilities—including the repowering of existing plants.

While there is an understandable desire to speed up the state’s renewable energy investments, such a moratorium is bad policy, essentially tying the hands of regulators charged with assuring the state has sufficient energy to meet demand, and it could jeopardize grid reliability.

Fossil fuel-powered resources— particularly natural gas—are required until newer, cleaner technologies are capable of delivering the same flexibility necessary for reliability. Limiting options at the start of the transition to a zero-emissions grid could have the

exact opposite effect advocates hope to accomplish, locking in higher emissions from older, inefficient power plants and stifling progress on achieving the ambitious goals laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Alternative energy This moratorium has been recommended to achieve 100% zero-emissions electricity by 2040, as the climate act mandates. Separately, the Legislature is considering a bill that would enshrine in statute a moratorium on any facility powered even in part by any fossil fuel, unless the need exists and there’s no alternative available.

We already know the need exists.

The recent shutdown of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, for example, will increase the state’s reliance on natural gas until a number of big-ticket renewable projects— including a major wind farm off the Long Island coast—come online.

But the reality is that they rely on intermittent energy sources (sun and wind) that require careful management and backup plans to ensure that reliability is not compromised. That means relying on fossil fuels in the near term, until investments in new and emerging technologies bear fruit.

The New York Independent System Operator has put together a road map to potential natural gas replacements—including green hydrogen, which can be used as a method of storing energy and is made by electrolyzing water using renewable energy. Unlike batteries, which work best as short-term storage vessels, hydrogen can be stored for months or years and then used when needed to fuel electricity supply.

Earlier this year, Plug Power announced plans to move forward with a $209 million green hydrogen plant in Genesee County, which is to produce 45 metric tons of liquid hydrogen per day. The electricity will come from hydropower, making the manufacturing process greenhouse gas-free. Construction of the plant is to get underway in the summer and conclude late next year.

The development of cutting-edge alternatives to fossil fuels such as Plug Power’s plan takes time, as will the construction of new wind and solar farms that will help the state realize its climate change goals.

Rolling the dice Although we are all eager to reach the mandates in the Climate Leadership and Community Pro-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Don’t gamble with reliability in the transition to a carbon-free future

tection Act, a well-planned phaseout of dirty fuel sources—as called for by the legislation—is the safest and smartest way forward. Any effort to expedite that process through restrictions threatens the success of this critical undertaking.

There is never a good time to gamble with reliability—particularly as the state continues to recover from the pandemic-induced economic downturn. We will not be able to support existing businesses and residents or attract new

ones if we cannot guarantee with as much certainty as possible that they will be able to access the power they need when they need it. If New York is to succeed in reaching its ambitious carbon-free targets, it’s critical that state policymakers stay the course and not rush the process. ■ Matthew Aracich is president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

OP-ED

BY JOLIE MILSTEIN

W

hen independent experts analyze the cost of the Gateway Project, they inevitably come to understand what the affordable housing community and many others have known for years: The archaic Scaffold Law stands between New Yorkers and the high-quality, modern infrastructure they deserve.

Unfortunately, while Washington can use common sense to supersede this specific law for federal projects, local officials do not have the same power. This is just one more example of how the twisting labyrinth of New York’s regulatory framework often exacerbates the many challenges facing residents rather than helping to solve them.

Everyday New Yorkers understand all too well the negative implications of this Byzantine system and its contributions to the high cost of living across the state. Even before the pandemic caused many to flee New York, nearly 60% of residents said they would leave the state for a “better economic opportunity,” and just 45% said they could afford to live in one of the five boroughs.

The state needs to engage in

some serious soul-searching following the social and economic devastation of the pandemic, which underscored the fragility of the housing situation in the state.

Now, more than ever, New York should take steps to make it more affordable to live here.

Reforming the Scaffold Law—so that the actions of all parties involved are considered in determining liability—is a good place to start. New York first enacted the law when Grover Cleveland lived in the White House. A lot has changed in the past 136 years, and this outdated statute simply doesn’t make sense for the contemporary construction landscape.

Backward law In the Gilded Age, when construction lacked modern technology and safety precautions, it was reasonable to impose a draconian standard of “absolute liability” on site owners. This protected workers who were injured while conducting any elevation-related injuries, regardless of the circumstance, and served as an important counterweight to the influential robber barons.

That, of course, is no longer the

case. The city alone has implemented more than 25 laws to increase worker safety just since 2007, and more than 100,000 workers have received new training since 2017— and this does not even consider the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which did not exist in 1885.

This is not just another example of a backward New York law from an earlier era, though: It has real-life consequences for the lowand middle-income households that form the backbone of the Empire State. Analysis shows that the Scaffold Law drives up construction costs as much as 7% on a given project; without it, New York could have created and preserved an additional 12,600 affordable homes in the past five years alone.

This is unconscionable to the vulnerable families who lack modern, safe housing. According to a 2019 report from Apartment List, the city permitted an average of just two new housing units per 1,000 residents in that year, even as it added four jobs per 1,000 residents.

This is not an aberration: In the past decade New York’s private-sector workforce grew 22% while the housing stock increased just 4%.

Is it any wonder, then, that New

BUCK ENNIS

New York’s Scaffold Law is holding back affordable housing

York is so unaffordable?

We are in the throes of a housing and social justice crisis. New Yorkers without access to secure, affordable housing suffered most throughout the pandemic, and communities of color paid a disproportionate price both financially and physically. While temporary stopgaps such as rent relief and eviction moratoria can help in the short term, we cannot truly address these intractable problems without meaningful and long-term solutions.

New York simply cannot wait.

We need to make it cost-effective and easier to build housing across the state. Changes in zoning, land use and financing are complicated and politically fraught, often taking years to accomplish. Reform of a law first enacted a decade before the Bronx joined New York City should be simple.

We just have to have the will and the conviction to finally do it. ■ Jolie Milstein is the president and CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing.

June 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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6/3/21 4:22 PM

CRAIN’S WEBCAST

Building a Network with Pride THURSDAY, JUNE 24 | 4 – 5 P.M.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER The LGBTQ+ community can face a wide range of inequality in the workplace, including harassment, an inability to advance, and fear to express their true selves resulting in poor job satisfaction and quality of life.

Join Crain’s to celebrate this year’s list of notable LGBTQ+ Leaders and Executives.

The event will open with a keynote address from Maeve DuVally, a communications executive at Goldman Sachs, who will walk us through her inspiring gender transition journey and address the reactions and challenges of her co-workers and professional associates.

Close out the conference by making some new connections with Crain’s face-to-face “speed meeting.” During the networking session, you will be randomly placed in groups of 6 people to network. Be sure to have your camera and microphone on.

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CN020269.indd 1

6/3/21 4:40 PM

Building on Our Legacy: NYC’s Greatest Comeback WELCOME Dear fellow New Yorkers, For 125 years, the real estate industry has come together to celebrate the City that we love at the Real Estate Board of New York’s Annual Banquet. After a year of unprecedented hardship for so many, we are excited to hold our 125th Annual Banquet virtually on June 10 where we will focus on looking forward and how REBNY can build on our legacy as New York City’s key civic partner to propel the City towards our greatest comeback yet.

Real estate understands the critical role it plays in making this comeback happen. Our City and industry are intrinsically linked and share the same metrics for success. We love this City and are committed to doing our part rebounding and rebuilding through leadership and collaboration.

In fact, real estate stepped up when crisis hit and came to the aid of our City and fellow New Yorkers.

REBNY quickly recognized last March that we needed to help our fellow New Yorkers as the stay-at-home emergency order went into effect. Our members responded immediately by announcing a voluntary eviction moratorium – before government took any such step – to help keep residents safely housed.

Over the past year, REBNY also helped lead Project Parachute, a collaborative effort between partners in the real estate and nonprofit communities, which has raised over $12 million and

aided thousands of vulnerable renters, particularly undocumented New Yorkers, since launching last August.

future. We now need to continue building on this momentum as the City’s economic engine to pave the way for a full recovery.

Collaboration between the public and private sectors will be key to New York’s recovery.

We have heard time and time again that our City was in decline. It was heard after 9/11 and the Great Recession. Every time, the City has come back. The same will be said for our beloved New York after these unprecedented times. New Yorkers are tough – we will come back stronger than ever. REBNY promises to build on our legacy to make that happen.

Together, it is vital that the public and private sector advance data-driven policies that support a strong recovery. That means prioritizing policies that create good jobs, produce much-needed housing, encourage private sector involvement, and stimulate economic activity. Essential to a full recovery will be placing a larger focus on maintaining quality of life and reducing crime to revive tourism, bring workers back to the office and bring riders back our mass transit system.

Partnering with government and supporting its response to the crisis was a top priority of ours this past year, as we offered space for surge hospitals and storing medical supplies and worked with State officials to provide space for rapid-testing sites as part of efforts to safely reopen businesses.

Moving forward, this partnership will need to continue. We will advocate for policies that will build more housing, kickstart the construction and development industries and create thousands of good jobs for New Yorkers.

Jim Whelan, President, Real Estate Board of New York

We have seen promising signs in market activity, indicating a strong future for real estate. And that is great news for the City’s

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Douglas Durst, Chairman, Real Estate Board of New York

June 7, 2021 S1 6/3/21 9:06 AM

Announcing the Honorees of The Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award

R

Th

BESS FREEDMAN Chief Executive Officer Brown Harris Stevens

The firm’s first Chief Executive Officer, Bess Freedman has grown Brown Harris Stevens into one of the largest and most successful privately held real estate companies in the United States. Bess oversees Brown Harris Stevens’ 55 offices and more than 2,300 agents across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida. Under her leadership, Brown Harris Stevens has grown into one of the largest and most successful privately held real estate companies in the United States. She is deeply committed to creating a culture-first firm for the future while staying true to Brown Harris Stevens’ unique history and brand. Before entering real estate, Freedman practiced law as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, and also worked at Legal Aid as an attorney. Bess is a member of the Florida, Washington, D.C. and Maryland Bar, and worked in New York pro hac vice. She is an active member of REBNY and supports several charities. She also serves as an advocate for the Kalief Browder Foundation, named for the Bronx man who took his own life at age 22 after awaiting trial for three years on Rikers Island on charges of stealing a backpack.

The George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award KEVIN MCCANN

Senior Managing Director of Global Occupier Services Cushman & Wakefield

Kevin McCann began his career at Cushman & Wakefield in 1976, serving as Chief Engineer at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, a 1.8 million GSF office tower in Midtown Manhattan. In his career at Cushman & Wakefield, McCann has been responsible for opening and commissioning several major office towers, including American Express Tower, 60 Wall Street, and 75 Wall Street, and the NYMEX headquarters at the World Financial Center. McCann is currently responsible for Cushman & Wakefield’s Downtown Manhattan office, where he oversees in excess of 24 million GSF of commercial office space. In addition, he is directly responsible for the UBS North American portfolio, which encompasses approximately 6.5 million square feet of commercial office property in the tri-state area and Chicago. Prior to his employment at Cushman & Wakefield, McCann worked at Forest City Ratner and Tishman Speyer Properties. At Tishman Speyer, Kevin commissioned 520 Madison Ave. At Forest City Ratner, he had responsibility for property management at the Metro-Tech development in downtown Brooklyn, a multi-property campus style development totaling eight million gross square feet of office and data center space. McCann is a Trustee of the New York City Master Plumbing Licensing Board.

The Louis Smadbeck Memorial Broker Recognition Award GREGG L. SCHENKER

President and Co-Managing Partner ABS Partners Real Estate

Gregg L. Schenker is President and Co-Managing Partner of ABS Partners Real Estate. His responsibilities include overseeing the company’s business activities, providing real estate and advisory services to the clients of the firm, long-term strategic planning for generational minded families, and organizing partnerships for the purpose of owning real estate. He is a partner in many real estate ventures owning office, hotel, retail, and multifamily properties. Under the leadership of Gregg and the other ABS Partners, the ABS firm quickly became well known for its expertise in handling real estate matters for property owners and successfully organizing ventures to own real estate. Schenker consistently focused upon the benefits of long-term investing, the conservative use of leverage, and the importance of maintaining well capitalized entities. Having fared well through many business cycles, the firm continues to participate in many of its early partnerships. Additionally, each year the firm organizes new partnerships with a growing base of investors, real estate holdings, and prominent clients who own real estate and utilize the services of the firm.

S2 June 7, 2021 P011_014_CN_20210607.indd 12

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ADV

of

REBNY’s 125th Annual Banquet The Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award ROBERT M. SHAPIRO Executive Managing Director Cushman & Wakefield

Robert Shapiro is an executive managing director and member of the leadership team of the Capital Markets Group of Cushman & Wakefield, where he has focused on investment sales for the past 20 years. To date, he has facilitated the sale of over 400 investment properties in all five boroughs of New York City for an aggregate value of over $2.4 billion. Shapiro began his career in 2001 at Massey Knakal Realty Services, which was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield on December 31, 2014. His clients range from institutional investors, universities, long-time owners, non-profits, and religious organizations, all of whom choose to work with Shapiro for his in-depth market knowledge and tremendous work ethic. Robert is a former chairman of the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association (YM/ WREA), member of REBNY, Advisory Board Member of Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) and board member of Art Bridge.

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We are pleased to join REBNY in recognizing our honorees for their outstanding contributions to the real estate industry Robert M. Shapiro

Executive Managing Director Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award

Senior Managing Director, Global Occupier Services George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award

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June 7, 2021

S3

6/3/21 9:33 AM

Announcing the Honorees of REBNY’s 125th Annual Banquet The Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award ALAN WIENER

Group Head Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital

Throughout his career, Alan Wiener has focused on housing and community development in both the public and private sectors.

Before joining Wells Fargo, he was the chairman and director of American Property Financing Inc., which he founded in 1991 and was acquired in May 2006 by Wachovia, a Wells Fargo predecessor. He has helped build Wells Fargo into the top multifamily lender in New York with a loan portfolio that surpassed $9 billion. Alan has also had a distinguished career in public service, serving as the New York director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1978 to 1981. During his tenure, the New York office insured and funded more than 50,000 new and rehab multifamily units, financed hospitals and nursing homes, insured more than 40,000 single-family units, and dispensed and supervised more than $500 million annually in Community Development Block Grant funds. In 1978 he received an award from the President of the United States for outstanding performance. From 1976 to 1978, he also served as an assistant to the mayor of the City of New York in the field of housing, neighborhood and land-use planning community and economic development, and real estate.

The Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award LAURIE ZUCKER

Vice Chairwoman Donald Zucker Company & Manhattan Skyline Mgt. Corp

As Vice Chairwoman of The Zucker Organization, Laurie Zucker plays an active role in all aspects of Zucker-related properties, which encompasses more than 2,100 residential rental apartments in New York City and numerous retail locations throughout the New York region and across the East Coast. A longtime active member of REBNY, Zucker is currently a member of REBNY’s Board of Governors, the Board of Directors of its Residential Listing Service, and its Residential Management Council. Zucker also serves on the Boards of the Rent Stabilization Association and the Residential Division of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, Inc. Zucker has long been an ardent supporter of New York’s leading civic and philanthropic institutions. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) and Lenox Hill Hospital.

The John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award Essential Workers in New York City Real Estate This year’s award recognizes the contributions of essential workers in the real estate industry who continue to play a pivotal role in helping the industry and our City manage through and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The recipients of this year’s award lead labor organizations that represent many of our industry’s essential workers.

These organizations are 32BJ SEIU,: International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94, The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York Even during the darkest days of the pandemic, the men and women of these organizations – and all essential workers – continued to go above and beyond to keep New Yorkers safe and our economy moving.

Whether it was the construction worker who helped complete a muchneeded affordable housing development, a building service worker who made sure residential and commercial buildings were clean and safe, or a building engineer who kept our buildings operating, the City would not have been able to get through the pandemic without the contributions of these and other essential workers in the real estate industry.

S4 June 7, 2021 P011_014_CN_20210607.indd 14

KYLE BRAGG President 32BJ SEIU

KUBA J. BROWN

Business Manager and Financial Secretary International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94

GARY LABARBERA President The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York

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REAL ESTATE

BLOOMBERG

Manhattan office vacancies reach new heights; may keep rents low in future

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

TECHNOLOGY

5 things to know about $3B Midtown startup Sprinklr as it plots an IPO

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

M

idtown-based startup Sprinklr is poised to be the next New York technology company to make its public debut—less than a year after raising $200 million in private capital—at a $2.7 billion valuation.

The company has made public its plans to debut on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks, filing prospectus documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the Friday before the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

Although details on how Sprinklr will price its shares are still pending, here are five things to know about the company ahead of its initial public offering.

MODERN-DAY FEEDBACK: Sprinklr describes its software as a customer experience management platform, helping companies monitor online

lects from corporations for use of its software.

That includes some big fish. More than half of the Fortune 100 companies, including McDonald’s, Honda and Samsung, use Sprinklr’s software in some capacity, according to the company’s prospectus filing.

The firm has more than 1,000 individual clients, but half of its subscription revenue is driven by about 70 customers, who pay $1 million or more each year for the software, according to Sprinklr’s SEC filing.

Despite the revenue boost, Sprinklr’s net loss climbed slightly, from $39 million in 2019 to $41 million last year. Its SEC filing said the company would keep spending big on marketing and improving its technology, which could continue to eat up profits.

ORIGIN STORY: Like Apple touting its beginnings in Steve Jobs’ garage, Sprinklr plays up its origin story— founded in 2009 out of the spare bedroom in Thomas’ New Jersey home. The company now employs more than 2,000 workers, headquartered in a 32,000-square-foot office in Midtown.

Thomas was previously the president of marketing firm Epsilon Interactive Services.

He serves on the board of technology industry group Tech:NYC. CASHING IN: San Francisco–based private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman holds the largest stake in Sprinklr following its $200 million investment last fall. Sprinklr’s other backers include Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings, Battery Ventures and Iconiq Capital. The company has raised about $430 million from investors in its 12 years in business.

NEXT IN LINE: The market for technology companies going public has been strong for the past 12 months—particularly those making software for businesses. Sprinklr is the latest New York firm to cash in, following the debuts of Squarespace, UIPath, DigitalOcean, Olo and Oscar Health. New York firms made nine initial public offerings in 2020—three were from technology companies. New York is outpacing that number this year. ■

T

he amount of empty office space in Manhattan is continuing to grow, reaching a record 17.1% in May, according to a report from Colliers International.

The trend could keep rents from going back to prepandemic levels if demand doesn’t get a boost.

The rate is up from 16.5% in April and 10.3% a year ago even as some companies have started easing employees back into the office and more of the city’s population is getting vaccinated.

There’s about 92 million square feet of space that’s yearning for tenants, the report said, and despite 1.5 million square feet of leasing activity in April, that glut is going to keep bogging down prices, said Frank Wallach, a senior managing director of research at the real estate services firm.

Falling Midtown rents Overall, prices rose by 0.4% in Manhattan from April to May, but that’s thanks to two buildings that are charging higher-than-average rents: 295 Fifth Ave. and 360 Park Ave. South. But in Midtown, asking rents continued to fall, to $79.69 per square foot, and farther downtown they dropped to $60.09 per square foot.

“The overall rise in prices is not because of some dynamic shift in the market,” Wallach said. For that to happen, demand is going to have to meet the massive supply that’s on the market, he said.

Leasing activity has shown promise—demand has grown by 56% since April—but it’s not enough.

The two Midtown South properties also played a role in the availability rate growing because of tenants that moved out of the buildings.

Reed Elsevier, a British analytics firm now known as RELX, gave up 459,000 square feet at 360 Park Ave. South, and 673,000 became available at 295 Fifth Ave. Sublet space was also added to the market, but overall sublet availability decreased by 200,000 square feet, the report said. That’s the second consecutive month of decreasing sublease space, which Wallach said was a good sign because it usually is leased at a discount, which pushes prices down further.

But the availability of space that will continue to bog down the market isn’t only a sign of firms ditching the city or relocating. It’s also thanks to new construction coming on the market, Wallach said.

“There’s still millions of square feet of new construction in the pipeline,” he said, “and that’s more space that comes into our availability.”

Downtown departures But availability in Manhattan was highest in the downtown submarket at 18%, according to the report.

That’s because tenants are leaving behind their massive Wall Street buildings and consolidating in other parts of the city, Wallach said.

Deutsche Bank is giving up its space at 60 Wall St. to move into more than 1 million square feet at the Time Warner Center, which was recently renamed the Deutsche Bank Center, at 1 Columbus Circle this year.

Insurance giant AIG announced it is moving its corporate headquarters from 175 Water St. in the Financial District to 1271 Sixth Ave. and will split its remaining office space in the area between Lower Manhattan and Jersey City.

And the HSBC Building, also known as 140 Broadway, is marketing the space where anchor tenant Brown Brothers Harriman occupies more than 400,000 square feet, according to its website. ■

IDEAL LAST MILE DELIVERY SITE

FOR LEASE

MORE THAN HALF OF THE FORTUNE 100 USE THE FIRM’S SOFTWARE feedback and coordinate responses.

CXM will be its trading ticker.

In addition, it assists with marketing. Sprinklr helped Chick-fil-A monitor online backlash in 2016, after a switch from its original barbecue sauce to a smokehouse barbecue–flavored condiment left the chain’s loyal fans outraged. Petitions circulated online around the trend #BringBackTheBBQ. Chickfil-A, indeed, brought it back and used Sprinklr’s software to coordinate a marketing campaign around its return, including outreach to hundreds of customers directly.

Firms are struggling to monitor the dozens of outlets where customers leave feedback or ask questions, Sprinklr CEO Ragy Thomas wrote in the prospectus filing, creating an opportunity for the company.

REVENUE BOOST: Sprinklr’s revenue reached $387 million last year, up 20% from its 2019 total, according to the firm’s IPO prospectus filing. The bulk of that revenue comes from the subscription fees it col-

Brookfield Properties is marketing about 1.5 million square feet at its Hudson Yards development 2 Manhattan West. Then there’s Tishman Speyer’s new development in the neighborhood, the Spiral, which has more than 1 million square feet available.

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I

N THIS, OUR SECOND EDITION OF NEW YORK NOW, we turn our attention to technology.

As reporter Ryan Deffenbaugh notes in our lead story (Page 14), during the initial stage of the pandemic, the tech industry feared that startups would run out of money within weeks, and venture capitalists warned that they should prepare for hard times.

Were they ever wrong.

By almost any measure, the tech industry has thrived in the past 15 months, raising new levels of capital, racking up impressive revenue gains and watching valuations soar. In a period of economic stagnation for many business sectors, tech has been the city’s indisputable star.

Not there aren’t other signs of life in the city. Quite the contrary.

With mask requirements recently lifted, the pace of New York’s street life is quickening—and that’s good news for restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues.

Case in point: Madison Avenue is coming to life again with new flagship stores and retail expansions (Page 18).

In an effort to stimulate ideas for New York’s recovery, Crain’s convened a think tank recently, bringing together some of the city’s brightest thought leaders (Pages 26-27). As you’ll see, they provide a cornucopia of ideas on what’s needed to get the city back on track.

And finally, if you are interested in reading more New York Now stories, visit CrainsNewYork.com/ New-York-Now. —Robert Hordt, Editor PHOTOGRAPHY BUCK ENNIS

JUNE 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17

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LET’S DO A DEAL

$26B

AMOUNT INVESTED in New York City startups from April 2020 to March 2021.

1,500 NUMBER OF New York City startups that were funded from April 2020 to March 2021.

Wa

BUCK ENNIS

KINARIWALA said Capsule benefited from the pandemic as people moved their prescriptions online.

Th amo Cha “Th to b earl Ven city N

WHY THE TECH BOOM C HAVE HAPPENED IN N The city’s access to software, finance and marketing talent is responsible for building a thriving industry

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

I

n March 2020, the outlook for the city’s technology startups was bleak.

The venture-capital investors who fuel young firms warned founders to hunker down, as the Covid-19 pandemic sunk the stock market. A survey of the local industry warned that startups would run out of cash within weeks.

Now, however, venture investment is at record levels, and big tech is doubling down on New York office space. Billion-dollar Big Apple startups are going public at rates previously unseen.

That adds up to a local tech industry hiring talent faster than any other sector since the onset of the pandemic.

Questions remain about how quickly tech workers will return to the office—and how more New Yorkers can share in the industry’s prosperity—but tech overall has remained resilient in a city that lost 600,000 jobs during the past year.

“Resilient is not even the right word—the right word is booming,” said Kevin Ryan, a technology investor with AlleyCorp and

18 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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U.S. ley, rang Th fina from cess prob G nan offic up: N Gol prov gov

co-founder of MongoDB, Nomad Health, Zola and other companies.

Acceleration

BUCK ENNIS

Wall Street and pizza There is no consistent theme or focus among city startups, technology investor Charlie O’Donnell said—except for one.

“These are founders and workers who want to be in New York,” said O’Donnell, who runs early-stage-investment firm Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and is a longtime booster for the city’s tech scene.

New York has become the second-largest

SMITH of Praxis Labs offers diversity training via virtual reality.

BUCK ENNIS

Many city technology companies were given the opportunity to prove their value because of the pandemic. One example is Capsule. When Covid-19 shut down the city, people who were trapped at home rushed toward the online pharmacy network. The number of people transferring their prescriptions to Capsule increased five times over within a month.

“Capsule suddenly went from a convenience for people to something that was absolutely essential,” said Eric Kinariwala, who founded the company as a 31-year-old Manhattanite in 2015.

Capsule joined the ranks of unicorns— startups valued at $1 billion or more— through a $300 million investment round it received in April. The company expanded to five additional cities and has doubled its employee roster to more than 1,000 in the past year.

People were already beginning to transition from picking up prescriptions at a pharmacy to ordering them online, but the move was accelerated during the pandemic, Kinariwala said.

One term you hear often from tech industry folks these days is accelerated. The economy has become more and more tech-driven in the past two decades, but Covid-19 turbocharged everything including online food-ordering, telehealth and virtual currencies.

For every market trend, a New York startup appeared ready to pounce. That’s how those firms raised $26 billion from investors between April 2020 and March 2021 across 1,500 deals, a nearly 40% increase in investment from the same period a year earlier.

The city’s publicly traded firms were boosted as well. Just four years ago, New York had not launched a single technology company with a stock market value above $5 billion, AlleyCorp’s Ryan noted. Now there are four with valuations greater than $15 billion: Datadog, Etsy, MongoDB and Peloton.

As of last month, there were 36 unicorn startups based in New York, according to a list kept by CB Insights, compared with 16 at the end of 2019.

site for loan applications or online license renewals. That became a critical tool as initiatives such as the federal Paycheck Protection Program required banks and other financial institutions to launch web applications rapidly.

To build its staff, the company has benefited from a mix of software development and Wall Street experience, which Hoberman said does not exist elsewhere.

“If you take everyone out of the banking system alone, the bureaucracy of that company might cause it to stagnate,” he said. “But you add to that the people from the startup world, who understand the latest technology, and you have this great diversity of thought.”

Flatiron-based Slice, which in April raised $40 million from investors, was launched from an industry even more New York than Wall Street: pizza.

Founder and CEO Ilir Sela said his grandfather, father and uncle all worked in and owned pizza shops before he launched Slice, which provides marketing and online ordering services to pizzerias.

ech how try’s ned ring

—the n, a and

survey of tech firms by real estate service company Savills, which found 70% of companies plan to require employees to spend at least three days per week in the office.

Addressing diversity Another issue that tech needs to address if it wants to lead the city’s recovery is the lack of diversity in its ranks. A 2018 survey of New York’s tech workforce by the Community Service Society found that Black and Hispanic workers hold 18% of tech jobs, compared with 43% of all non-tech jobs in the city.

Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Spotify and other major tech employers in the city have promised to address the issue, in part by offering new pathways into the industry for New Yorkers. That includes skills training and apprenticeship programs through the city government, as well as Per Scholas, Pursuit and other nonprofits.

New York startup Praxis Labs has built its business by helping major corporations create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

Founded in 2019, it has run workplace training for Amazon, Google and Uber that uses virtual reality to address prejudice in the workplace.

Through a headset, employees experience what it’s like to face bias and discrimination at work, paired with training that teaches how best to respond.

“Immersive experiences are incredibly visceral,” said CEO Elise Smith. “We’ve heard from people that this felt very personal.”

The company in February raised $3.2 million in seed funding from a group of backers that includes SoftBank’s Opportunity Fund.

Praxis Labs is operating remotely, with about 10 employees. Smith said the startup will ramp up hiring this year, and it plans to launch a new office, most likely in Brooklyn.

The company has said it hopes to harness the technology industry’s power for innovation to drive more opportunities for people who are marginalized.

“Our solution is powered through technology, but we are also a justice and learning company,” Smith said. “It feels like there is this next generation of leaders within the space who are putting diversity, equity, inclusion and justice at the forefront of what they do.” ■

“SOME STAY FOREVER, BUT SOME LEAVE AND GO WORK AT A SMALLER STARTUP”

M COULD ONLY N NEW YORK U.S. technology market outside Silicon Valley, he said, because it is home to a wide range of talents and expertise.

That’s driven in part by historic strengths in finance, marketing and health care. People from those industries have launched successful technology companies that address problems in their sector.

Gary Hoberman spent two decades in finance, rising to become chief information officer at MetLife, before founding his startup: Unqork.

Now valued at more than $2 billion by Goldman Sachs and other investors, Unqork provides no-code software that banks and governments can easily plug into their web-

Yards and at the Farley Building on the West Side.

After dropping a plan to build a second headquarters in Long Island City, Amazon last year purchased the 660,000-square-foot Lord & Taylor building in Midtown and in 2019 leased 335,000 square feet of office space on the West Side.

Apple last year leased 220,000 square feet for an office at Penn Plaza.

Google is building a new office building in Hudson Square that is expected to add 1.2

“This is a $47 billion industry that runs through 77,000 businesses,” Sela said. “And the needs of a pizza shop are really different from that of a coffee shop.”

Sela was able to lean on his industry experience, plus a city full of pizza joints, to launch a platform that has grown in the past 10 years to include 15,000 pizzerias nationally—a larger portfolio than Domino’s.

Big tech The growth of city startups comes as the big four technology companies are plotting major expansions of their New York offices.

Facebook has signed on for about 2.2 million square feet of office space in Hudson

million square feet to its already significant corporate presence in Chelsea.

The companies are betting that the city can provide access to the talent required to fill tens of thousands of jobs in engineering, sales and marketing during the next decade.

Big technology firms often seed startups, Julie Samuels, executive director of Tech:NYC, a city-focused business group, said.

“They hire a lot of young employees, who get really great training,” Samuels said. “Some stay forever, but some leave and go work at a smaller startup or start their own company.

That is how you get a really dynamic ecosystem.”

WFH forever?

The question now is how fast tech jobs— whether at Google or a startup—return to city office buildings, benefiting not just commercial landlords but also neighborhood small businesses. Tech firms especially have learned how to operate through Slack and Zoom during the pandemic.

As more workers are vaccinated, there is a consensus forming in the industry that workers should spend time in the office, Ryan said, even if the terms are more flexible than before the pandemic.

“If you work at AlleyCorp, I expect you to spend at least three days in the office—which means you have to live in New York,” Ryan said.

That sentiment is backed up by a national

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2021

Crain’s readers expect employees to return to the office

SURVEY SAYS

Nearly 45% believe employers should force workers to be vaccinated

68%

BY BRIAN PASCUS

G

etting New York back to work means getting back to the office.

More than half of the 377 respondents in a Crain's survey expect workers to be back in the office for most of the workweek, a sign that post-pandemic work life will look much as it did before the outbreak.

Almost 80% say most New Yorkers will return to their offices within the next year.

“I don’t think they’re as productive. I was always a big office proponent,” said Alan Goldstein, an accountant and consultant.

“There’s nothing like huddling in the halls.”

Crain’s readers from across a variety of professions answered questions in the latest online New York Now survey, which touched on the economic recovery, the vaccination rollout, city and state politics, and new legislation from Albany.

More than half—55%—of those surveyed are working at home full time, and 27% are splitting time between home and office—a sign that returning to the office would be a major transition.

“Lots of employees like the fact they’re not commuting,” Goldstein added. “They picked up a couple hours a day to their life.”

About 43% of those surveyed say companies should force their employees to undergo mandatory vaccinations in order to return to work; 38% say some exceptions should be made for religious or medical reasons but support return-to-work vaccinations.

“I don’t think vaccinations should be made mandatory, and I don’t think any company should force their employees to get any vaccinations, not just Covid,” said Gian A. Jones, a real estate investment professional. “Adult vaccinations should be optional.”

SAY THE CITY is going to recover to where it was before the pandemic, but most think that a full recovery will take until 2023.

49%

BELIEVE THAT most employers will eventually require employees to return to the workplace for most of the workweek.

94%

HAVE RECEIVED at least one vaccine dose, or plan to get vaccinated.

Focus on vaccinations Almost 94% of all survey respondents say they have either been vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated soon.

The focus on vaccinations and the im-

GETTING BACK TO THE WORKPLACE

proved rollout of Covid-19 vaccines under the Biden administration appear to have changed New Yorkers’ outlook on when the city will get back to normal.

Nearly 70% of those taking the survey say the city will recover to where it was before the pandemic, basically the same level of optimism expressed by those surveyed when Crain’s asked the same question at the start of the year.

But the outlook toward when exactly the city will return to full strength is far different from what it was earlier in the year.

Most Crain’s readers—about 77%—say the recovery will occur in 2022 or 2023, a 13% increase since February. To further demonstrate their optimism, only 21% of those surveyed in the second quarter say full recovery will happen after 2023, compared with 33% who answered this same way earlier in the year.

“I’ve been working in the city since 1991 and I’ve got 30 years in watching these downturns and seeing them be cyclical,” said Jeffrey Cohen, a senior editor in corporate communications. “With the allure of New York, it always comes back. It’s amorphous, it moves around, but the constant is it always comes back.”

Nothing is as tied to the city’s recovery as the reopening of its economy, namely the restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that make New York what it is. Slightly more than half of the respondents say the gradually reopening has been “just right” while 37% say the loosening of restrictions has been “too slow.”

“I’m a little pessimistic for no other reason than the large amount of real estate that has been built is now empty, and it’s not good for the city. Vacant space doesn’t pay taxes,” said Billy Fitzgerald, an independent tutor in math and finance. “This makes me a little cautious about New York City’s immediate future.”

New legislation passed by Democrats in Albany garnered some attention. Slightly more than 40% of readers surveyed say they

do not support the New York Health and Essential Rights Act. The NY Hero Act makes permanent new safety regulations on small businesses.

The measure, which aims to prevent the further spread of Covid-19 and other airborne diseases, was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 6.

Pushing people out?

The tax increases on wealthy New Yorkers in the latest budget drew the attention of those surveyed. Fifty-two percent say the tax increases will cause significant numbers of wealthy New Yorkers to leave the state for good.

“Having the proposed highest tax rate in the county will just push more and more people out,” Goldstein said.

The wealth tax may have been passed, in part, because of the weakened position of the governor, who faces allegations of workplace sexual harassment. Roughly 19% of those surveyed say the governor should not resign at all over sexual harassment allegations; 62% say he should resign, but only if he is found to have broken the law.

“I don’t think he should resign, and I do think we should wait to see if laws were broken,” Jones said of Cuomo, adding, “With that being said, this whole thing with sexual harassment has gotten way out of control. We’ve gotten very far from the center of what sexual harassment really is.”

Investigations into Cuomo’s behavior by the attorney general’s office and the Assembly Judiciary Committee are underway.

Finally, the June 22 Democratic primary for mayor will offer the surest indicator of who will succeed Bill de Blasio, but 35% of those surveyed say they have no idea who that person will be.

Of the candidates, only entrepreneur Andrew Yang and investment banker Ray McGuire received double-digit endorsements in terms of viability—22% of readers say Yang will be the next mayor; 12% say McGuire will live in Gracie Mansion. ■

WE SURVEYED 377 Crain’s readers last month about their current work situation and what the city’s recovery will look like. Here’s what they said:

A CONSERVATIVE PACE

WFH PERSISTS

RETURNING TO THE OFFICE BY FALL

VACCINE REQUIREMENTS AT WORK

Only 11% of respondents think that reopening is happening too fast.

While more than a quarter of respondents have moved to a hybrid model, over half are still working exclusively from home.

Most respondents think that most workers will be able to return to their offices by September 2021.

Respondents were split on whether employers should allow employees to opt-out of getting vaccinated based on health or religious reasons.

How would you describe the pace of reopening?

Where are you working now?

When do you think most workers will be able to return to their offices?

48%

Do you think employers should require workers returning to the workplace to be vaccinated?

52% 37%

11%

Too slow

Just right

Too fast

Working from the office all the time

31% 19% 27% Hybrid work model

43% Yes

55% Working from home all the time 1% Earlier than June 2021

9%

5% June 2021

September January 2021 2022

June 2022

38%

6% Later than June 2022

5% I’m not sure

14% No

Yes, with exceptions for health, religion, etc.

20 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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We have one mission.

Empire is here to materially and measurably improve the whole health and well-being of all New Yorkers.

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© 2021 Empire. Services provided by Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc. and/or Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Serving residents and businesses in the 28 eastern and southeastern counties of New York State.

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OTHER VOICES

WE CAN DO MORE TO HELP BUSINESSES OWNED BY WOMEN AND MINORITIES THRIVE

2021

DURING THE WINTER, when the

MAGALIE DESROCHES AUSTIN

New Yorkers.

We didn’t bring in a massive, international construction firm to build the site. Instead we turned to Barbara Armand, CEO of Armand Corp.—a proud minority- and woman-owned business that has served the greater New York City area on construction projects, large and small, for 30 years.

Armand’s team moved quickly and efficiently. Her workers, many from the community, knew the area and were ready on day one. In a matter of weeks, she and her team turned the city’s baseball cathedral into a site where thousands of people were protected every day.

This is only one story. But it is emblematic of what I see every day. As the director of the Mayor’s Office of Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises, I know that M/WBEs are the backbone of the city’s economy. They make our neighborhoods the beautiful mosaics they are—restaurants, shops, manufacturing firms. They bring jobs to communities, especially communities of color, that have been underserved for too long.

They are, in fact, the quintessential New York story: a place where anyone can follow an entrepreneurial dream.

As we ensure a recovery for all New Yorkers, we must keep fighting for them as a major part of our economic recovery. That means, first and foremost, ensuring M/WBEs have fair access to opportunities.

From the beginning of the pandemic, our office has proactively reached out to M/WBEs by making them aware of city contracting opportunities they may not have seen and helping them apply for them. We established a chief diversity M/WBE officer in every

YANKEE STADIUM

GOVERNORANDREWCUOMO/FLICKR

M/WBES BRING JOBS TO COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, THAT HAVE BEEN UNDERSERVED FOR TOO LONG

city was in the darkest days of the pandemic, we began preparing for the first real doses of hope our city had seen in some time: the arrival of vaccines that would protect our people.

In the Bronx, once one of the epicenters of this crisis, we set out to do something ambitious: create a mega-vaccination site at Yankee Stadium to vaccinate tens of thousands of

city agency—meaning these businesses will have a permanent voice and advocate across our government. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order in July that massively expanded the number of city contracts M/WBEs could compete for.

Now is the time to go even further.

Through our new mentorship program, we are connecting M/ WBE entrepreneurs with those who helped pave the way. We are working with partners in the state Legislature to double the city’s discretionary spending limit—giving our agencies more chances to contract goods and services from new and more M/WBE contractors.

With Albany’s help, we can go even further by incentivizing diverse business practices among the city’s contractors. In addition, we can cover our insurance costs more effectively and remove the burden of high-cost policies that often hinder our M/WBEs. M/WBEs are vital to our economy, our communities and our people. This recovery is a chance to put them first—and build a stronger, fairer, more equitable city. ■ Magalie Desroches Austin is the director of the Mayor’s Office of Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises.

OTHER VOICES

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE the lifeblood of the city’s economy, and

their owners are the model of urban grit—pouring passion and sweat equity into their dream ventures every day.

As we open the door to spring weather, new beginnings and our favorite neighborhood businesses, the Department of Small Business Services is recruiting every city dweller to help support them.

New Yorkers love a challenge, so we created a worthwhile one: Take a break from big-box stores and commit to buying local. In February the Shop Your City: Be NYC campaign launched. It urged New Yorkers to shop at the city’s Black-owned businesses. Now JONNEL DORIS you can share photos of your favorite small businesses on social media using #ShopYourCity.

Even before the pandemic, city government was stepping in to help mom-and-pops navigate one of the most complex cities in the world, access critical dollars to start and grow a business, and ensure that this help was reaching minority- and immigrant-owned businesses equitably. After all, they built the character and diversity of the neighborhoods we love.

Then our world was upended, and the needs of entrepreneurs became more specific and acute. Business owners were asked to navigate an ever-changing regulatory landscape that attempted to balance health and commerce. They needed cash for basic expenses just to keep their doors open—and to keep their hurting staff employed. Businesses that were deemed essential were suddenly forced to multiply their supply chain at dizzying speeds and offer newly hard-to-find products, such as personal protection equipment and toilet paper.

It’s no secret that mom-and-pop shops had the hardest time accessing the first rounds of federal relief, so we launched Fair Share NYC, a targeted campaign to connect small-business owners to federal funds that helped more than 4,000 businesses connect to nearly $300 million in Payroll Protection Program funds.

In addition, we launched a hotline that has fielded more than 60,000 calls with questions about reopening, financing and legal assistance.

Our Commercial Lease Assistance program helped more than 200 business owners negotiate leases to keep their doors open.

Furthermore, we connected more than 5,000 business owners to over $142 million in city, state federal and philanthropic financing, including emergency funding when vandalism rocked their storefronts.

The work of preserving small businesses is more important than ever and requires all of us to participate.

In the past year, many of us were tethered to our neighborhoods in a new way. We missed our “extended family” around us—our local bookstores, hair salons, dry cleaners, and restaurants serving cuisine from every corner of the world.

We are at a tipping point now. With vaccination rates climbing and infection rates dropping, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every day, new announcements are signaling the city’s rapid and imminent reopening.

“Shopping your city” is one way we can keep the momentum going. ■

ISTOCK

TAKE A BREAK FROM THE BIG BOXES AND BUY LOCAL

Jonnel Doris is commissioner of the city Department of Small Business Services.

22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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© 2021 Ernst & Young LLP. All Rights Reserved. ED None.

How can reskilling NY rebuild NY? Working together to reframe the future of New York. ey.com/NextYorkCity

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2021

LIZZIE TISCH opened a shop on on Madison and 69th Street in the old Cartier boutique.

BUCK ENNIS

“IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET BUSIER WHEN MORE PEOPLE MOVE BACK TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND TOURISM RETURNS”

Luxury never goes out of style on Madison Avenue

Retailers expanding or opening flagship stores along the shopping mecca

BY DIANE HESS

A

s New Yorkers step out of their sweatpants and into suits and skirts again, luxury brands and real estate developers are doubling down on Madison Avenue.

The “shopping capital of the world” is readying for a vigorous post-pandemic comeback, with several retailers snapping up flagship sites or expanding along the avenue.

Manolo Blahnik will debut in June its marquee location at 717 Madison Ave., a five-story, 1920s-era landmark building. Montblanc opened an experiential store in April on 59th Street and Madison Avenue, where foot traffic has been strong.

“New York is a key city for any worldwide brand,” said Sylvain Costof, president of Montblanc North America. “We are happy to have established a flagship here.”

The retail vacancy rate in the shopping corridor from 57th Street to 86th Street is 19%, the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District has found, a historically high figure, but it’s lower than in other parts of the city. In SoHo, for example, the vacancy rate is 33%.

“The Upper East Side community is loyal to neighborhood stores,” said Matthew Bauer, president of the Madison Avenue BID. “When you open on Madison, you are part of an ecosystem of experiences, from restaurants to salons.”

Area attractions The majority of retailers on Madison Avenue are in mixed-use residential buildings.

Many of their best customers live “upstairs.”

With cities back on leisure tourism plans, the area’s museums, notably the newly opened Frick Madison, are attracting a growing number of visitors. Not to mention Central Park,

MADISON FIGURES

we’ve seen, and I have spoken to which is only one block from the friends and colleagues around the avenue. world who are investing in Lon“We have many hospitals nearby, don, Paris and Rome—cities like and people are coming for second New York, where people appreciate opinions,” Bauer said. “We also architecture and will gather in muhave a number of luxury hotels.”

RETAIL vacancy seums, restaurants and the theater Real estate developer SL Green rate on Madison once the fear is gone.” has teamed up with the Armani Avenue from 57th Group to redevelop the Italian deto 85th streets.

Local support signer’s boutique at 760 Madison Ave. The reimagined space will Filling a void of food stores in the house a new flagship and 19 luxury area, Butterfield Market opened in residences designed by Giorgio ArSeptember in the former Dean & mani.

DeLuca space on 85th Street and NUMBER of The iconic Paris brand Hermes is Madison. Amid public health conluxury residences moving its flagship to a five-story cerns, the gourmet food purveyor being designed building at 706 Madison Ave., took numerous precautions. The

by Giorgio Armani across the street from its current location is recording more than in the same building as its store. Brunello Cucinelli, Fendi, 2,000 register rings per day, in line flagship store.

Graff Diamonds and Akris also are with pre-pandemic expectations. expanding on the avenue.

“We’ve had so much support In 2020 the Naftali Group opened from the local community,” said Jothe sales office for its newest luxury condo- elle Obsatz, owner of Butterfield Market. “It’s minium on 79th Street and Madison Avenue. only going to get busier when more people It posted a giant billboard on the under-con- move back to the neighborhood and tourism struction development with an image of Jerry returns fully.”

Seinfeld’s New York Times op-ed from AuSaddened by closings on Madison Avenue, gust, “New York is not dead.” By December such as Barneys, retail entrepreneur Lizzie the 15-unit building had $100 million in sales, Tisch opened a multiple-brand boutique in including its $35 million penthouse, for December in the former Cartier on 69th which there were multiple bids.

Street. When she found the empty store, it reSince January, sales of luxury real estate sembled a construction site. have outpaced the overall market. Data from Tisch kept it raw for her first collaboration Olshan Realty shows that apartments priced called “Don’t Wreck the Holidays,” with the above $4 million have sold at an aggregate theme of “Rebuild, Restore, Recover.” The value of more than $2.5 billion. The Naftali spring motif is about growth, and the newly Group has begun construction on a property renovated space is appointed with lush at 86th Street and Madison Avenue. greenery.

“It’s very clear that New York isn’t just “Madison Avenue has forever been a ‘maybe coming back,’ it’s coming back big- neighborhood street with luxury boutiques,” time,” said Miki Naftali, chairman and CEO of Tisch said. “It will always have the cachet that the Naftali Group. “The proof is in the activity it’s where you want to be.” ■

19% 19

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Gates-backed biotech firm finds a home in Hudson Yards

2021

c16 Biosciences is latest life sciences firm to put roots down in Manhattan

W

hile the city is emerging from the pandemic as a hub for life sciences companies, real estate developers are racing to keep up with demand for pre-built labs.

Taconic Partners and Silverstein Properties announced in April that Bill Gates-backed c16 Biosciences Inc. will establish its executive headquarters and research lab at Hudson Research Center, a 320,000-square-foot, mixed-use building at 619 W. 54th St. “Combining the city’s focus on biotechnology with the fact that most of the world’s major consumer brands have headquarters here, I believe NYC is the new consumer biotech capital of the world,” said Shara Ticku, co-founder and CEO of c16 Biosciences.

As a biomanufacturing company, c16 Biosciences uses microbiology to brew sustainable alternatives to palm oil. The current production for palm oil—a $61 billion industry—carries negative environmental consequences. During the summer, c16 Biosciences will move into a 20,000-square-foot space on the seventh floor of the center. The company is moving from the NYU Langone biotech coworking space in Soho after having completed a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Gates’ Breakthrough Energy venture.

“Hudson Research Center’s pre-built lab is perfectly suited for what we do and where our company is headed,” said Ticku. “Its location, flexible lab spaces and amenities made the building an ideal fit for our team.

“New York has a hustle and energy like no other city in the United States,” Ticku said, “and if you want to build something big and

disruptive—like we do, by ending deforestation—New York is the best place in the world to do it.”

“IF YOU WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING BIG AND DISRUPTIVE, NEW YORK IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO DO IT”

Momentum The company joins life science tenants Hibercell and the New York Stem Cell Foundation at the Hudson Research Center.

The developers expect the building to be fully occupied in the next year.

“There is incredible momentum in the life sciences sector and a severe lack of ready-to-go labs,” said Matthew Weir, executive vice president at Taconic Partners. “I wish we could build these labs faster—that is how active things are right now.”

The presence of worldclass academic institutions, nearby pharmaceutical companies and an incredible talent pool are fueling the biotech field in the city, experts say. Because labs are in such short supply, pricing is at a premium to office rentals, a trend that could persist for some time.

“At the moment, close to half of our commercial activity is in life sciences,” Weir said.

“I think it will be that way moving forward.”

In March the Icahn School of Medicine at

SHARA TICKU of c16 Biosciences said the space was ideal.

BUCK ENNIS

BY DIANE HESS

Mount Sinai purchased 165,000 square feet for a life-sciences hub at 787 11th Ave. on the Far West Side, which is evolving as a biotech cluster. Taconic recently began construction on a 400,000- square-foot building at 125 West End Ave. The developer expects it to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. ■

City’s talent pool was a draw for Noom’s CEO In middle of pandemic, Saeju Jeong announced plans to locate headquarters in Big Apple

BY DIANE HESS

Europe, Asia and all over the world, because it invites top-tier professionals.”

Jeong came to New York on the advice of his father, who was a high-profile physician in South Korea. Before he died at a young age from lung cancer, Jeong’s father encouraged him to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams in the United States.

S

Won over by culture, diversity

SAEJU JEONG, Noom’s CEO, said diversity and lifestyle are unique in city.

In its search, Noom looked for a location that would house its staff on the same floor.

“A lot of other companies break into different floors, but we didn’t want that,” Jeong said. “It creates a communication gap.”

Noom, launched in 2016, uses artificial intelligence and behavioral and cognitive psychology, to create customized digital health plans for clients. Its more than 45 million users track what they eat, their weight loss and

their personal goals on its app, and they receive human advice. The company employs 3,000 coaches and support staff.

In the past five years, Noom has achieved exponential results, booking sales of $400 million in 2020, double its 2019 revenue.

“What we promise is very personal, and for this noble mission, I need the best talent in the world,” Jeong said. “New York City is internationally friendly—people come from

BUCK ENNIS

aeju Jeong, the CEO and co-founder of Noom, the hugely popular weight loss app, is as enthusiastic about New York City today as he was 16 years ago when he first came to the United States from his hometown of Yeosu, South Korea.

“The main reason I came to this country is because I love New York City,” said Jeong.

“The diversity and lifestyle are unique, and while it might take some time for the city to recover, it will come back and won’t lose its iconic charm.”

In the midst of the pandemic, Noom announced in November that it had signed a deal for 113,000 square feet on the 11th floor of 5 Manhattan West in Hudson Yards for its headquarters. The health-and-wellness startup is subleasing the space from advertising agency R/GA. The company previously had been based in Chelsea. With the new location, Noom plans to add 100 employees to its 200-member workforce in the city.

Noom joins Facebook, Amazon and Peloton, which also have taken leases in the past 18 months at Hudson Yards.

“It’s a highly regarded location—a lot of tech companies have moved there—and talent appreciates that,” Jeong said.

The company is renovating the office space and planning a grand opening in the fall.

Jeong will be there on the first day to greet employees.

When Jeong came to America, he investigated the startup ecosystems of Los Angeles; San Francisco; Palo Alto, California; and Boston. In the end it was New York City—where he met his co-founder, Artem Petakov, a former Google engineer—that won Jeong’s heart and soul.

“New York City had culture—not only were there clubs, but you could choose a club based on preferred music genre,” said Jeong, who founded a heavy-metal record label in a previous career. “The fact that there are fewer tech companies here than in other cities is a plus, as is the diversity.”

The passionate New Yorker has stayed in the city during the pandemic.

“When New York City was covered with hospital tents and people thought it was doomed, I told my team and my family that it would come back,” Jeong said. “Seven months ago, it was eerie, but now I see hope and planning—people come here to build something meaningful, and that’s what I believe we have done.” ■ JUNE 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 25

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OTHER VOICES

MTA NYCTRANSIT/FLICKR

SOME CRIME NUMBERS ARE UP, AND 75% OF CUSTOMERS IN RECENT SURVEYS RANKED SAFETY AS THEIR NO. 1 CONCERN IN RETURNING TO THE SYSTEM

AS A LIFELONG NEW YORKER, I’m bullish on New York’s recovery from the pandemic.

We’ve heard skepticism from some after every crisis—the financial calamities of the 1970s and ’80s, 9/11 and the Great Recession—and the doubters have never once been right. Our region has come back stronger each time, and I expect New York’s post-pandemic revival will be just as strong as the others have been. I expect it to be PATRICK FOYE a revival robustly felt in all communities.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be there to kick-start the economy and bring millions back to school, work, restaurants and cultural centers in the crucial weeks and months ahead—just as we’ve been here all along, carrying essential workers and first responders through the pandemic.

It already feels like a new day in New York.

At the time of this writing, early May, nearly 60% of adult New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose; the rate of infection has dropped to levels not seen since last year; offices are opening; restrictions on bars and restaurants have been lifted; nightlife is returning; and live sports are back.

All of this allowed us to reopen the subways 24/7 on May 17, another major step toward reawakening the City That Never Sleeps.

In short, we’re living in a region on the rebound.

But if we're going to make sure that continues, New Yorkers must feel safe when returning to mass transit. To be clear, the subways are safer than they were 10 or 20 years ago. But some crime numbers are up, and 75% of our customers in recent surveys ranked safety as their No. 1 concern in returning to the system.

As such, we continue to call on the city to step up and deploy additional New York Police Department and mental health resources to provide better support to people experiencing homelessness and mental health crises in our system. Increasing the police presence underground is another key priority, and we are working with the NYPD on that front.

It’s important to note that when it comes to the coronavirus, no outbreaks have been linked to public transportation here or anywhere else in the world. For the past year we’ve been executing the most ambitious disinfecting program in agency history, and we will continue to make cleaning a priority now that the subways are open around the clock.

Our systemwide mask mandate remains in place in the inter-

MTA NYCTRANSIT/FLICKR

RIDERS MUST FEEL SAFE ON MASS TRANSIT BEFORE THE CITY CAN FULLY RECOVER

2021

est of public health, consistent with federal guidance for transit, and we have spare masks available for free at stations and on buses, which has helped us to achieve near universal mask usage.

But beyond masks, information is the most valuable tool we can provide for our riders. That’s why we’ve introduced the live subway map and capacity-tracking features on our buses, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road apps.

I strongly believe it’s a matter of when, not if, customers return to mass transit in even greater numbers. Our system is still the safest, quickest and most convenient way to get around.

New Yorkers know this, and the proof is in the OMNY taps and MetroCard swipes: The subway now regularly carries more than 2 million riders per weekday—the highest number of riders since the beginning of the pandemic—with buses serving more than 1 million customers.

The LIRR and Metro-North continue to show increases, particularly on the weekends, signaling that when more offices are ready for workers to return, so will our customers.

We want to keep this momentum going. So take the train and bus—we’re waiting to serve you. ■ Patrick Foye is chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

OTHER VOICES

NEW YORKERS HAVE PROVED their resilience in the face of a global pandemic that hit our region earlier and harder than anywhere else in North America. As Covid-19 restrictions continue to be lifted, our recovery is underway.

Recent polling by the Regional Plan Association and Global Strategy Group found a majority of tristate residents think the worst of the pandemic is over and quality of life will improve. But a strong recovery must include federal investments in transportation, housing and climate change resilience.

The good news is the Biden administration is already promoting TOM WRIGHT the American Jobs Plan. That and local commitments such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $51 billion, five-year capital plan may be our best opportunity to address structural inequality and climate change while modernizing our infrastructure.

Unlike previous recoveries, we don’t have to worry about finding shovel-ready projects. The MTA, NJ Transit, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the city and its Housing Authority all have ambitious capital plans—with about 80% of the projects having detailed plans and approvals in place.

This includes long-delayed priorities such as removing lead from public housing and modernizing subway signals. If fully funded, these plans would generate an estimated 263,000 jobs per year from construction, purchases of materials and services, and increased purchasing power from those employed.

Not all of these projects are transportation-related. The federal government must commit to fully funding lead remediation in all our public housing, and New York state must do its part by establishing the New York City Housing Authority Preservation Trust. This will allow NYCHA to complete the work more rapidly and provide residents with a healthy living environment as soon as possible.

Efforts such as the New York City Inclusive Growth Initiative, among others, are needed to ensure investments provide everyone in the region with access to

GETTY IMAGES

A STRONG RECOVERY MUST INCLUDE FEDERAL INVESTMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

good-paying jobs, affordable housing and economic opportunity.

The federal government should provide approvals and funding to expedite transformational projects for our region, such as building the Hudson River Tunnel project, implementing congestion pricing, expediting offshore wind developments and restarting the Army Corps of Engineers’ resilience study in New York Harbor.

Regional economies are the engines that drive national wealth. They support communities and connect people to jobs and opportunities. The federal government can be a partner to these communities by providing funding that addresses long-standing infrastructure, housing and climate-related problems.

During the 1930s, a combination of shovel-ready projects and federal funding lifted the New York region out of the Great Depression. As the infrastructure projects of the ’30s structured how our region looks and operates today, the projects we carry out now will determine how our region looks and operates for decades to come. ■ Tom Wright is president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association.

26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 7, 2021

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CRAIN’S WEBCAST

Thursday, July 15 | 3:30 - 5 p.m.

Crain’s first annual Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Awards, a component of Crain’s 2021 All Together commitment, will celebrate New York City individuals and businesses that are leading by example and holding themselves and others accountable for diversity and inclusion initiatives.

This 90-minute awards program focuses on four key themes: n Recruitment n Training n Retention n Belonging and Equality

REGISTER TODAY:

CrainsNewYork.com/DiversityEvent

CELEBRATE WITH YOUR TEAM

Toast to your team’s success at Crain’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards event! The celebratory event will feature a live unveil of the 2021 D&I Award winners, celebratory videos and a keynote speech from a D&I leader.

Purchase your Company Package or Individual Ticket today! *You must be pre-registered to attend. No refunds are permitted.

For event questions: Ana Jimenez | crainsevents@crainsnewyork.com For sponsorship opportunities: Kate Van Etten | kvanetten@crain.com

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THINK TANK

2021

Tourism has to come back, and central to that is making sure that Times Square and the city are safe. We also need a critical mass of office workers to come back.”

—Charlotte St. Martin, president, Broadway League

Elected officials have to address crime and harassment on the subways. That will encourage ridership and the reopening of the city, which creates a virtuous circle.”

—Patrick Foye, chairman, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Crain’s recently brought some of New York City’s business, government and nonprofit leaders together to talk about what should be done to help the city recover from the pandemic. Here’s some of what they said.

We need a city administration that is well run regarding quality of life and a state administration that wants to encourage investment.

Getting the Biden plan done would be a tremendous boost.”

—James Whelan, president, Real Estate Board of New York

Since the top 5% of New York City’s earners pay 60% of the income taxes, their return is critical. We are at a very fragile moment.”

—Kathryn Wilde, president and CEO, the Partnership for New York City

New York City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is important for job creation and innovation, and we have to provide entrepreneurs with greater support.”

—Herb Engert, New York office managing partner, Ernst & Young

There is no performance management in city government to speak of. We have to make government accountable for delivering results.”

—Andrew Rein, president, Citizens Budget Commission

To replace the Black- and brown-owned businesses that closed, we need restart capital with different underwriting standards.”

—Randy Peers, president and CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce

If corporate and long-haul international travelers don’t feel confident that New York is open, they won’t come.”

—Rahsaan Johnson, managing director of sponsorships and inclusive partnerships, United Airlines

Doubling the city’s investment in affordable housing will create not only housing but jobs and economic stimulus.”

—Rachel Fee, executive director, New York Housing Conference

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d 2021

To build back better, people have to feel safe, we have to be more inclusive, and there must be more common sense requirements for small businesses—and all of that must be done with intention.”

—Melva Miller, CEO, Citizens for a Better New York

The foundation of the recovery lies in educating all our communities about health care and wellness, and about them having access to and trust in that health care.”

—Alan Murray, president and CEO, Empire BlueCross BlueShield

New Yorkers in technology see themselves as New Yorkers first, not as tech people first. If we want them to come, stay and contribute to the city’s growth—and not leave, as they are [doing] in San Francisco—we have to focus on schools, public safety and homelessness.”

—Julie Samuels, founder and executive director, Tech:NYC

We have to revitalize the real estate construction industry.”

—Lou Coletti, president, Building Trades Employers’ Association

Public-private partnerships are incredibly important, and we have to strengthen them and build new ones.”

—Michael Littlejohn, managing director, Ernst & Young

We need to rethink education, double down on tourism and become the greenest city on the planet.”

—John Calvelli, executive vice president, Wildlife Conservation Society

The state has to amend liquor laws in light of the Open Restaurants program and the rise in takeout dining.”

—Andrew Rigie, executive director, New York City Hospitality Alliance

Vaccination and people feeling safe will be the ultimate determinants of recovery. Recent research of seven of our hubs shows New York to be on the best path toward full vaccination.”

—Pat Ryan, director of research, analytics and campaign operations, United Airlines

BUCK ENNIS, MARC A. HERMANN/MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT, PETER VIDOR, ISTOCK

Safety, cleanliness and homelessness must be addressed. London and Paris have far fewer homeless as a percentage of their population than we do.”

—Vijay Dandapani, CEO, Hotel Association of New York City

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The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project documents some 350 locations around New York City related to its LGBTQ community and history.

The project is an eclectic registry across the five boroughs of theaters, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, parks and plazas. Of streets, stores, office and government buildings, hotels and schools. Of single-family homes and apartment buildings, cemeteries and houses of worship. It is an impressive list, reflecting the centuries-long impact and never-ending struggle of this vibrant demographic.

The breadth and depth of this eye-opening collection aligns especially well with the 58 honorees on Crain’s second annual list of Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives. They are a diverse group of enterprising and accomplished individuals who represent a remarkably wide range of organizations, industries and occupations. They are the salaried embodiment of the LGBTQ community’s vital role in the New York metropolitan area’s economic and civic workings.

To find this year’s honorees, Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the LGBTQ and general business communities.

Firms or individuals headquartered in or having a major influence on the metropolitan area submitted nominations. Crain’s then carefully vetted those nominations.

Ultimately, the notable LGBTQ leaders and executives were selected for their career achievements, their mentorship of others and their involvement in community and industry organizations.

Discover how the people honored in this roll call of success have contributed to this great city.

ERIK ALICEA

LINDSAY ANGELILLO

No matter how chaotic and challenging the situation, Erik Alicea is always looking for ways to help people in need. With 10 years’ experience in HR, the director of human resources at Acacia Network, a human services agency, has developed a particular expertise in anticipating problems for vulnerable people and communities. Exhibit A: During the early months of the pandemic, he partnered with Out of My Closet, a nonprofit that supports homeless and under-resourced LGBTQ+ youth, to host an online fundraiser. Alicea is a source of support and guidance for many leaders within Acacia and its network, which provides integrated, culturally competent and trauma-informed services to more than 150,000 individuals annually in New York, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Connecticut and Puerto Rico.

Throughout her professional life, Lindsay Angelillo has made helping under-represented groups achieve success her main goal. As a director at Daversa Partners, a head-hunting firm specializing in growth-stage and venture-­ backed companies, she has used her perch to place women, LGBTQ people and other underrepresented individuals into positions of power, often in business areas that are traditionally male-dominated, such as products and engineering. Angelillo excels in building executive technology leadership teams for innovative consumer and enterprise software companies. Not yet 30 years old, she has placed a diverse group of more than 100 executives into vice president and C-level positions.

Director of human resources Acacia Network

ALI ARAIN

Director Daversa Partners

Partner, securities litigation and enforcement; financial services litigation Jenner & Block LLP

Ali Arain uses his vast litigation experience to represent high-­ profile clients at Jenner & Block—and to give back to underserved communities and individuals.

The Jenner & Block partner, who served as lead trial counsel in a constitutional challenge to state reproductive rights laws, has co-authored nine articles on the Cares Act and related government stimulus legislation since March 2020. He is a leader of Jenner & Block’s Covid-19 rapid response team, which supports clients as they navigate the pandemic. For his pro bono legal work assisting victims of Superstorm Sandy, Arain received the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution of Public Service. He participates in his firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives by mentoring diverse lawyers and law students.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profi­les were drawn from submitted nomination materials. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review, plus after Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the LGBTQ and general business communities. To qualify for this list, nominees had to self-identify as LGBTQ and serve in a senior-level role. In addition, executives must have made significant contributions to advancing equality within the workplace and assumed a leadership position outside of the their own organization or company, including for professional organizations and civic/community service initiatives.

V c U

W p R

A d d U p h d t n d w i h c a C B L h

VALERIE BERLIN

BARBARA BILELLO

A

Wealth adviser RegentAtlantic

P H

Described as one of the most influential leaders of 2020 in no fewer than four rankings, Valerie Berlin supports all manner of people and communities through her professional and philanthropic works. The co-founder of BerlinRosen provides strategic communications counsel with a focus on public affairs, social impact, philanthropy and campaigns/elections. She and a notably diverse team at BerlinRosen have participated in successful communications campaigns related to racial and criminal justice, women’s health and immigration reform. Berlin works to support homeless families and children who are aging out of the city’s foster care system.

Recognizing that high-net-worth individuals and families have unique wealth-management priorities, Barbara Bilello formulates customized strategies to help clients crystallize and pursue those goals. Bilello, a wealth adviser at investment advisory firm RegentAtlantic, is trailblazing inclusion efforts in and out of her firm. She was instrumental in the launch of RegentAtlantic’s first diversity, equity and inclusion task force. Bilello, who is expected to host an upcoming webinar series on DEI in the financial services sector, is frequently asked to speak for LGBTQ and women’s organizations. She has been on the board of directors of Leading for Children, which works to provide quality learning experiences for young children.

Bilello also volunteers with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

A v m d

Principal, co-founder BerlinRosen

SIX PERCENT OF NEW YORK’S WORKFORCE IDENTIFIES AS LGBTQ. THAT’S 588,000 WORKERS. —MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT PROJECT 30 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 7, 2021

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MARSHA R. BONNER

BLAKE CALLAWAY

With innovative programs, policies and procedures, Marsha R. Bonner has been bettering the human resources functions of organizations from The New York Times to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for more than two decades. Bonner is vice president of people and culture at the Urban Resource Institute, a provider of services for the homeless and victims of domestic violence that concentrates on empowering communities of color and other disenfranchised groups. She is well suited for the role, considering that she also works as a human resources senior consultant on diversity, equity and inclusion matters at MRW Consulting Group International.

Bonner is active in various LGBTQ, social justice and humanitarian initiatives.

As the general manager of BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV at AMC Networks, Blake Callaway defines each channel’s brand direction, and he plays a pivotal role in its inclusivity efforts. His keen eye for pop culture–defining content and branding has helped these networks succeed as businesses and earn numerous awards for their content. In 2020 Callaway was instrumental in developing AMC Networks’ response to the pandemic and developed “We’re With You,” a multiple-network public service announcement and content campaign that helps to educate and build communities. He is executive champion of AMC Networks’ resource group, Plus, which is a community of LGBTQ employees that supports diverse hiring and community outreach. Callaway is a member of AMC Networks’ diversity, equity and inclusion branding task force.

Vice president of people and culture Urban Resource Institute

General manager of BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV AMC Networks

ROSE CHRIST

ROY COHEN

Rose Christ is more than a strong leader; she’s a strong leader who can juggle.

Christ holds numerous leadership positions in LGBTQ nonprofit organizations while she works as a principal at Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies. She leads a seven-figure book of businesses advocating within government for a diverse selection of institutions, with a focus on nonprofits. Christ is president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, which works to enact state legislation supporting the LGBTQ community. She volunteers for Drag Queen Story Hour, helping to triple the nonprofit’s government funding, and sits on the Queens district attorney’s LGBT Criminal Justice Task Force.

Roy Cohen believes everyone deserves a fair chance to achieve professional success, regardless of background, sexual orientation, age, gender or race.

Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, is especially passionate about sharing his insights regarding successful career management in the financial services with members of the LGBTQ community. He does so through his private and corporate career-coaching businesses, Roy Cohen Career Management, which he launched after more than 14 years as a career coach at Goldman Sachs. Cohen’s community-mindedness also comes into play in his role on the board of the South Fork Bakery, a not-for-profit that trains and employs young adults with special needs.

Senior principal of government affairs Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

Career and executive coach Roy Cohen Career Management

KELLEY CORNISH

Partner Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

Kelley Cornish has long shown the ability to lead and empower.

As a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, she puts that aptitude to use.

Cornish, who received a basketball scholarship at Penn State, manages teams, guides company directors and achieves consensus between unaligned parties. In one notable instance, she represented the restructuring subcommittee of Sears’ board of directors in that company’s Chapter 11 cases. At Paul, Weiss, Cornish is co-chair of the firm’s partnership committee and an inaugural member of its Inclusion Task Force. She helped lead a program related to day care arrangements for new mothers.

Industry publications routinely name Cornish a top restructuring attorney.

THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF MALE-MALE GAY COUPLES IN 2019 WAS $114,182.

—STATISTA

ALPHONSO DAVID

President Human Rights Campaign

Alphonso David has been at the vanguard of the LGBTQ equality movement for more than a decade. As president of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy and political lobbying group, David has led numerous initiatives aimed at empowering marginalized communities. Those initiatives have included efforts to protect voting rights and secure transgender justice.

David, a civil rights attorney, previously was counsel to the governor of New York. In that role, he managed legal and policy deliberations and drafted the state’s marriage equality law.

In addition, he was deputy secretary and counsel for civil rights in the governor’s cabinet.

David has received numerous awards for his work and has been featured in national media outlets.

MAEVE C. DUVALLY

HERB ENGERT

RICK EVANS

JULIE FINK

Maeve C. DuVally has made significant strides as a communications professional since she began her career as a financial journalist and editor at Bridge News, where she was employed for almost 15 years.

She next worked in media relations at Merrill Lynch, and in 2004 she joined Goldman Sachs as a vice president. DuVally is now a managing director in corporate communications at the investment bank. She serves on the structured products committee and the Americas regional vetting group. In addition, she is a member of the advisory board of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship, which provides journalists with opportunities to improve their knowledge of business and economics, and the community board of LGBTQ health provider Anchor Health Initiative.

It’s no surprise: Herb Engert, the first publicly identified LGBTQ person to serve as office managing partner of Ernst & Young’s New York City office, sets a very high standard for inclusion. In his position at the professional services network, Engert is responsible for leading 10,000 diverse professionals in the delivery of services to both massive businesses and promising startups across various sectors. He boasts more than three decades’ experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, public company spin-offs, initial public offerings and securities offerings. In the turbulence of the past year, Engert led Ernst & Young’s donation of personal protective equipment to several city agencies and arranged forums for employees to share their perspectives on the nation’s racial reckoning.

Rick Evans is a recognized thought leader on a range of health care topics, from patient experience and health care leadership to uniform access and diversity and inclusion.

As senior vice president and chief experience officer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, he oversees efforts to enhance the patient and family experience and improve health care access across 11 facilities. Evans’ efforts have borne fruit: Patient experience scores have improved annually under his direction. Throughout his career, Evans has championed inclusion for LGBTQ individuals and for people of all religions and races. He is a founding member of the Patient Experience Policy Forum, which advocates for policies that improve the health care experience.

Julie Fink was an important member of the team that defended Edith Windsor in the landmark Supreme Court case U.S. v. Windsor, which helped to propel marriage equality nationwide. It’s an achievement very much reflecting Fink’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. As managing partner at the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink, she leads commercial and public interest litigation and manages the company’s growth and strategic planning. With her partners, Fink has built a law firm in which more than three-quarters of the attorneys identify as women, people of color, LGBTQ+ or some combination.

In her public interest litigation practice, she has represented women facing defamation lawsuits following the publicization of their #MeToo experiences. Fink has collected numerous industry awards.

Managing director, corporate communications Goldman Sachs

Office managing partner Ernst & Young

Senior vice president, chief experience officer New York-Presbyterian Hospital

Managing partner, co-founder Kaplan Hecker & Fink

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EDWARD FRASER

JOHN GALLAGHER

STEVEN GARIBELL

Since joining Northwell Health in 2006, Edward Fraser has worked in human resources, nursing education and community relations. These days Fraser is vice president of community relations for the health system and co-chair of its Expressions Business Employee Resource Group, an alliance of more than 500 employees who identify as members or allies of the LGBTQIA+ community. His work in this area helped DiversityInc to name Northwell a top health system for diversity.

Fraser, active in community associations, is a board member of the Islip Chamber of Commerce and Islip Food for Hope, among several other organizations.

At the global public strategy firm Mercury, partner John Gallagher has been engrossed lately in crisis communications projects manifesting from the pandemic.

Crisis management is an area in which he’s quite practiced: In the aftermath of 9/11, Gallagher led plans to rebuild Lower Manhattan while employed at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

At Mercury, he specializes in strategic and crisis communications and media relations, providing services to leaders in the real estate, construction and development industries.

Gallagher previously was first deputy press secretary for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He sits on the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

Steven Garibell is driving a community-based approach to banking. As TD Bank’s vice president of LGBTQ2+ Business Development, he has played a crucial role in connecting LGBTQ businesses with the resources, tools and services they need to grow. As part of this work, Garibell has formed close working relationships with, among others, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, where he is a member of the committee that certifies businesses as LGBTQ-owned and -operated. Garibell volunteers with Destination Tomorrow, a Bronx-based LGBTQ community center, among other organizations.

Vice president of community relations Northwell Health

Partner Mercury

Vice president of LGBTQ2+ Business Development TD Bank

ETHAN GETO

ROCCO GIANNETTI

For four decades Ethan Geto, principal at the public affairs firm Geto & de Milly, has been advising Fortune 500 companies, advocacy coalitions, nonprofits and industry associations on public relations, government affairs, crisis management and community relations. But that’s not all Geto is known for: He’s been a leader in the gay rights movement since 1970, advocating for acceptance and fair treatment for LGBTQ individuals in New York and elsewhere. He was a founding member of several major gay rights organizations, such as Parents of Gays (which grew into Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Human Rights Campaign. Geto provides pro bono public relations services to LGBTQ organizations. He has received numerous awards for his work on behalf of that community.

Rocco Giannetti is leading the charge at Gensler, the world’s largest architecture and design firm, to harness the power of design to create a more equitable world. As principal and managing director, Giannetti co-leads the firm’s New York office. He is an embodiment of the firm’s inclusive culture.

Giannetti is a trusted adviser to JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, among other clients. He has led his office in mission-driven work, such as the renovation of the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. Giannetti, an inaugural member of the firm’s Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee, is involved in Gensler’s partnership with Build Out Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes LGBTQ individuals in the building, design and construction industries.

Principal Geto & de Milly

Principal and managing director Gensler

JUST ONE IN FIVE AMERICAN COMPANIES PROVIDES LGBTQ EMPLOYEES WITH PAID FAMILY LEAVE. —MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT PROJECT

EMILY GISKE

Senior partner Bolton-St. Johns

Emily Giske, a senior partner at the government relations and public affairs firm Bolton-St. Johns, has been involved in several major legislative successes. Giske proved instrumental to New York’s 2011 passage of the Marriage Equality Act and the legalization of gestational surrogacy in 2020. The ardent champion of progressive causes has been a lead lobbyist for LGBTQ rights coalitions. In addition, Giske has worked on several immigration rights issues. She is the vice chair of the state Democratic Party, and she has represented the state as a delegate at several Democratic National Conventions. The New York Times described Giske, who has been recognized as a notable leader by several publications, as “one of the best-connected and most popular lobbyists at City Hall and in Albany.”

JULIE HARRIS

Global head of asset and wealth management operations and administration JPMorgan Chase

More than 5,000 employees answer to Julie Harris, who is the global head of asset and wealth management operations and administration at JPMorgan Chase. Since taking on that role in 2017, Harris has revolutionized the investment banking titan’s operations by implementing smarter solutions for previously onerous tasks. This is hardly Harris’ first time bearing a high-ranking title at an industry giant. She was a partner at Goldman Sachs and a senior partner at Diamond Technology Partners, now part of PwC. Harris was on the board of directors of the LGBT+ Community Center in New York City for eight years. She has been deeply involved in Cycle for the Cause, which raises funds and awareness to end HIV/AIDS, for just as long.

IRFAN HASAN

ANTHONY HAYES

Amid the havoc brought by the pandemic, Irfan Hasan championed a $43 million philanthropic response at the New York Community Trust to support human services.

That effort saw Hasan promoted to deputy vice president for grants at the foundation, which focuses its charitable giving on New York City and its environs. Hasan, who concentrates on health care- and LGBTQ-related giving, is responsible for a $10 million portfolio covering biomedical research, health policy and behavioral health. His efforts to help the LGBTQ community have included supporting the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center as it improved its youth substance treatment program and helping the Rainbow Heights Club connect providers of mental health services and LGBTQ agencies.

After working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, Anthony Hayes launched his eponymous public affairs firm, the Hayes Initiative, in 2017.

With nearly two decades of experience with communications and political and legislative campaigns under his belt, Hayes helps clients across the business, nonprofit and political sectors with their public affairs and media relations. During the pandemic, Hayes offered pro bono crisis-management support to nonprofits and small businesses in New York City—in addition to the pro bono services he routinely provides to professionals who are Black, indigenous and people of color.

He previously was vice president of public affairs and policy at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, an organization that strives to end the AIDS epidemic and help those affected.

Deputy vice president for grants New York Community Trust

THE NEW YORK CITY-BASED LESLIELOHMAN MUSEUM OF ART IS THE ONLY MUSEUM WORLDWIDE WHOSE MISSION IS TO EXHIBIT LGBTQ ART AND PROMOTE LGBTQ ARTISTS. —LESLIE LOHMAN MUSEUM OF ART

Founder, president Hayes Initiative

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CONGRATULATIONS

JULIE HARRIS Global Head of Asset & Wealth Management Operations & Administration JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Congratulations Julie! From leading the charge on our Cycle for the Cause team to your integral work in furthering the firm’s commitment to advance equity for the LGBTQ+ community, you are a true role model to us all. Thank you for leading by example, bringing your whole self to work and for your impact on JPMorgan Chase.

Thank you for all that you do!

© 2021 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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RACHEL HODGDON

President, chief executive officer International WELL Building Institute

Rachel Hodgdon is passionate about rectifying inequities—and she works toward that goal every day as president and chief executive officer of the International WELL Building Institute, whose mission is to promote health and wellness in buildings and communities around the world.

Hodgdon leads strategies toward that end, such as the recent launch of the WELL Health-Safety Rating, an evidence-based rating that attests to the prioritization of health within particular buildings. This initiative has helped organizations get back to business in recent months.

Hodgdon, who is committed to advocating for underserved populations, facilitates conversations on equity topics between various organizations in New York. She is on the Urban Land Institute’s Advisory for Health and Social Equity, among several other boards.

JAMES HYER

Administrative law judge for the Westchester County Human Rights Commission; corporation counsel for the Legal Aid Society of Westchester

James Hyer wields his legal expertise to provide solutions for underrepresented individuals.

Hyer is an administrative law judge for the Westchester County Human Rights Commission and a corporation counsel for the Legal Aid Society of Westchester, roles in which he helps clients with legal matters from criminal defense to trusts and estates to guardianship law. Hyer has advocated for the LGBTQ community in his professional capacity and in advocacy efforts through community organizations. He has provided free seminars to LGBTQ groups to ensure they are aware of their rights.

Hyer, a recipient of numerous law industry awards, is president of the Westchester County Bar Association.

JAMES LIMA

GLENN D. MAGPANTAY

James Lima has dedicated his career to creating more vibrant and resilient cities. As president of James Lima Planning + Development, which offers real estate development, urban planning and economic development services, he aligns the often disparate interests of public and private parties toward major redevelopment projects in New York and elsewhere. Time and again, Lima has succeeded at focusing on public benefit while enabling private-sector actors to meet their objectives. Mayor Michael Bloomberg selected him to be president of the entity that converted Governors Island from a military installation into a popular public park. Lima has worked on efforts to construct thousands of affordable housing units throughout New York City.

Glenn Magpantay wears many hats: nonprofit executive, civil rights attorney, teacher, LGBTQ rights activist and advocate for the Asian-American community. In his day job, Magpantay is principal at the nonprofit management and legal services consulting firm Magpantay & Associates, where he advises organizations on diversity, equity and inclusion matters; hate crimes; pro bono volunteering programs; and measures to combat anti-Asian violence. He has been involved in lobbying efforts related to several anti-violence acts, and he has worked to ensure that the city Board of Elections provided bilingual ballots and interpreters for Chinese, Korean and South Asian citizens. Magpantay chairs the LGBT committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

President James Lima Planning + Development

THE CUMULATIVE ANNUAL EARNINGS OF LGBTQ-CERTIFIED BUSINESS OWNERS IN AMERICA IS MORE THAN $1.15 BILLION. — NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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Principal Magpantay & Associates

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PROUD OF OUR OWN

BLAKE CALLAWAY

GM - IFC, SUNDANCE TV & BBC AMERICA

CONGRATS TO ALL THE 2021 CRAIN’S NOTABLE LGBTQ LEADERS & EXECUTIVES

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MICHAEL MELTZER

NANCY MERTZEL

JOSEPH MILIZIO

Michael Meltzer is an investment adviser par excellence. As a portfolio manager at Tocqueville Asset Management, which works with high-net-worth individuals and their families, Meltzer is responsible for asset allocation, fixed-income portfolio analysis and trading, tax management and client services.

In addition, he contributes thought leadership to the space, co-presenting as a faculty member of the Hawaii Tax Institute and publishing articles pertaining to estate and tax planning—and at times how they relate to same-sex couples.

Meltzer was instrumental in forming the foundation Maya’s Hope, which provides access to health care and education to hundreds of children in developing countries.

Nancy Mertzel is an expert at protecting brand names, products, content and technology. As managing partner at Mertzel Law, a boutique intellectual property law firm, she attends to matters of copyright, trademark, trade dress, unfair competition and trade secret disputes.

Mertzel has been a trustee of the Copyright Society of the USA, and she was elected to the board of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. She is co-chair of the Legal Industry Council of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, where she helps develop programs beneficial to LGBT attorneys nationwide. Mertzel is a committed ally of racial minorities and the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Joseph Milizio is credited with founding the LGBTQ representation practice—among the first in the nation—at the law firm Vishnick McGovern Milizio. As the firm’s managing partner, he provides counsel and representation to LGBTQ individuals on matters related to discrimination, estate planning and family law. But that’s hardly Milizio’s sole area of expertise: He also provides legal services related to business and transactional law, exit planning, and surrogacy and adoption. Milizio is involved in the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy and lobbying group. He is the founder of the Long Island chapter of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce .

Portfolio manager Tocqueville Asset Management

Managing partner Mertzel Law

Managing partner Vishnick McGovern Milizio

DONNA MIS

MATTHEW MORNINGSTAR

For more than three decades Donna Mis has proved a boon to the organizations for which she’s worked, leveraging her business development, marketing, underwriting and human resources skills.

Two of those decades have been spent at RMS Insurance Brokerage, where she is vice president of business development. Mis has established insurance programs for McDonald’s, among other household brands, and built hospitality programs for bars, nightclubs and restaurants nationwide. In her off hours, she trains at-risk dogs at Last Hope Animal Rescue and helps the organization find them new homes. Mis is active in the New York Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

A team of 11 lawyers and paralegals reports to Matthew Morningstar, who is head of litigation and regulatory enforcement in the investment management division of Morgan Stanley.

Morningstar addresses marquee litigation and regulatory matters, often advising senior business executives on complex legal issues. In those efforts, he focuses on evaluating risks, proposing solutions and achieving consensus among various parties. Morningstar maintains a robust commitment to diversity and inclusion. In addition to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within Morgan Stanley, Morningstar co-chairs the New York City Bar Association’s committee on DEI. He is a former board member of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms and past vice chair of the board of directors at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

Vice president of business development RMS Insurance Brokerage

Head of litigation and regulatory enforcement Morgan Stanley

The entire Bolton-St. Johns team offers warm congratulations to our friend and colleague Emily Giske on her recognition of her invaluable leadership in the LGBTQ community in Crain’s 2021 Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives List.

We are tremendously proud of Emily’s storied career, but particularly her instrumental work in the passage of New York’s Marriage equality law in 2011, as well as the legalization to legalize gestational surrogacy, allowing all New Yorkers to create a family no matter who they love. We know Emily will continue this important advocacy as she and her team currently work to pass the Equality Act in Congress.

Thank you for your endless good will, and unwavering advocacy for our clients, staff, and fellow New Yorkers.

From the proud Partners and team at Bolton-St. Johns.

Bolton-St Johns has been a top ranked government affairs firm in New York for over 20 years, leading many of the most impactful policy campaigns across the state.

For your public affairs and policy needs, contact our talented and diverse team of professionals.

www.BoltonStJohns.com

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ALAN MUCATEL

TREY PATTERSON

RONALD E. RICHTER

KARL RIEHL

RUTH RO

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Galvanized by the belief that all children and families deserve equal opportunities to thrive, Alan Mucatel is doing incredible things at Rising Ground, a New York City-based human services organization.

The nonprofit offers a suite of services from foster care and gender-based violence support to special education and services for the developmentally disabled. Under Mucatel’s direction, the organization has more than doubled in size, to 1,600 employees. Mucatel founded the Collaborative for Children and Families, which provides more than 30 organizations with children’s health home services. He is the treasurer of the Interagency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies. As a vocal proponent of diversity and inclusion, Mucatel has implemented anti-racism and LGBTQ work groups at Rising Ground.

Trey Patterson has done a lot at KPMG since joining the professional services network 16 years ago. He has conducted large global internal audits, helped clients with their compliance and risk mitigation efforts, and embedded various technology components. As a managing director, Patterson oversees multidisciplinary teams and has consistently worked to form diverse and inclusive workforces. Notably, he was a member of the team that established KPMG’s first diversity conference for its LGBTQ employee resource group. Patterson represents the company in external LGBTQ organizations, including Open Finance, which works to drive LGBTQ equality in the financial services sector, and Out Leadership, which strives to make LGBTQ inclusion a priority in C-suites.

At-risk children and families have always been at the center of Ronald E. Richter’s career. Richter is chief executive officer at JCCA, formerly the Jewish Child Care Association, which provides quality child welfare and mental health services to those in need. Through Richter’s strategic planning, the organization has expanded its scope and impact, developing Medicaid-funded care management services, preventive behavioral health offerings, and educational and vocational programs. For Richter, this all comes on the heels of decades of related work. He formerly served as commissioner of the city’s Administration for Children’s Services under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a role in which he helped families avoid foster care placement, recover from trauma and spend less time in the child welfare system. Richter is now on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board. He is an advocate of the rights of LGBTQ adoptive and foster parents.

When Karl Riehl was recently named president-elect of the National Association for Law Placement, an association of legal professionals who advise law students, law offices and lawyers around the nation, it was a well-deserved honor.

Riehl is the director of practice management for the employment, labor and workforce management practice as well as the litigation practice at the law firm Epstein Becker Green, where he is known for his professional development, recruiting, and expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion.

He previously was president of LeGaL, one of the largest LGBTQ bar associations, where he worked to ensure full equality for members of that community and helped LGBTQ attorneys advance in their profession.

A commonality unites Ruth Ro’s undertakings as associate principal at Dattner Architects: a consistent push for increased diversity and inclusion. Ro is credited with founding its diversity, equity and inclusion group, which addresses issues facing minority employees, and she has led various LGBTQ initiatives at Dattner. Ro’s passion for these matters has taken her efforts further afield. She is a prominent voice on the diversity and inclusion committee of the American Institute of Architects New York. In addition, she is a board member of Build Out Alliance, which supports LGBTQ individuals in the design and construction industries. Ro has led several architectural projects that have expanded access to affordable housing and public infrastructure in minority communities.

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Chief executive officer Rising Ground

Managing director KPMG

Chief executive officer JCCA

Director of practice management Epstein Becker Green

a t a I h m h e s u o W w t M I T

Congratulations to Rick Evans, our Senior Vice President and Chief Experience Officer We applaud you on being named to Crain’s inaugural list of Notable LGBTQ+ Leaders and Executives. Thank you for your dedication and contributions to NewYork-Presbyterian and our patients.

©

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ANN ROLLAND Partner FXCollaborative

Motivated by the understanding that children’s lives can profoundly change when they feel safe in their learning environments and enjoy their schooling, Ann Rolland has dedicated her career to designing urban schools.

She is a partner at FXCollaborative, an architecture and interior design firm, and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Rolland has consistently pushed for a more equitable environment at her firm, participating in employee resource groups that support women, LGBTQ individuals and racial minorities. She is on the board of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, where in 2019 she moderated the panel discussion: “Identity Matters: How Bias and the Influence of Heteronormativity Translates in the Workplace.”

ANDREW RUBIN

HOWARD SACAROB

JEAN ANN SALISBURY

ANGEL SANTINI

Andrew Rubin, a frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, CNN and Fox News, is a respected voice on matters related to the business of health care. As senior vice president for clinical affairs and ambulatory care at NYU Langone Health, Rubin oversees its physician organization— more than 3,300 doctors and over $2 billion in annual revenue—as well as the academic medical center’s contracts with the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. In hosting the weekly HealthCare Connect program on SiriusXM, Rubin sheds light on the complexities of the health care industry. He has supported several events that benefit LGBTQ youth, families and advocacy organizations, and he has pushed for better access to care for LGBTQ patients.

In his two decades at the Royal Bank of Canada, Howard Sacarob has assembled a high-performing corporate tax department. As head of U.S. tax, vice president and managing director at the financial services company, he calls upon his legal, accounting and finance background to advise senior executives across the firm.

What’s more, Sacarob capitalizes on his senior position to drive progress on the inclusion front, propelling the company to champion LGBTQ employees and the broader LGBTQ community. He is an executive sponsor of the firm’s Proud RBC Individuals for Diversity and Equality group. Sacarob chairs the tax committee of the Institute of International Bankers.

Professionals across the investment and energy industries routinely turn to Jean Ann Salisbury for her expert analysis. As a senior vice president and senior research analyst covering U.S. natural gas and master limited partnerships at the asset management firm AllianceBernstein, Salisbury provides thought leadership and research on these topics. She often appears in the media to provide her views on the natural gas and energy sector, and she has been asked to present before the Department of Energy. Salisbury is recognized as a top sell-side energy analyst—all the more notable with the dearth of women and LGBTQ individuals at the intersection of energy and finance. She is a leader of AB Out, an employee resource group for LBGTQ employees at AllianceBernstein.

Angel Santini’s love for his native Puerto Rico comes through in his commitment to preserving its arts and culture and in his efforts to promote programs that benefit Hispanic and Puerto Rican communities generally. As vice president of special projects, events and cultural programs at the human services organization Acacia Network, Santini oversees planning for cultural programming and regional projects across upstate New York and Puerto Rico. He has been instrumental in Acacia Network’s efforts to provide assistance in the pandemic and after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017. Santini has worked on various initiatives aimed at fostering LGBTQ inclusion at the organization.

Senior vice president for clinical affairs and ambulatory care NYU Langone Health

Head of U.S. tax, vice president, managing director Royal Bank of Canada

Congratulations to our friend and colleague Rose Christ, one of Crain’s 2021 Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives.

Senior vice president, senior research analyst AllianceBernstein

Vice president of special projects, events and cultural programs Acacia Network

Stuart A. Shorenstein Chair, New York Public Strategies (212) 883-4923 | sshorenstein@cozen.com

Kenneth K. Fisher Member, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (212) 883-4962 | kfisher@cozen.com

Katie Schwab Practice Director, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (212) 883-4913 | kschwab@cozen.com

cozen.com | copublicstrategies.com

© 2021 Cozen O’Connor

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TODD SEARS

JAY SHOCKLEY

CRAIG SMITH

ROBYN STREISAND

When it comes to charting LGBTQ progress, Todd Sears is credited with two firsts: He convened the largest corporate statement of transgender support, and he created the formal LGBTQ equality conversation at the Davos World Economic Forum. Sears is the founder and chief executive officer of Out Leadership, an LGBTQ business network that plans events and formulates insights that help businesses realize the economic dividends of inclusion. In 2019 Sears launched the Business Equality Index for LGBT+ Equality for all 50 states, a tool kit that helps business executives advance LGBTQ equality at their organizations. He is on the board of Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization with a focus on LGBTQ issues. Sears has received numerous awards for his work.

Jay Shockley has long been involved in the stewardship of historic sites throughout New York City. From 1979 to 2015, he was senior historian at the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, where he wrote reports on the city’s architectural, social and cultural history.

Shockley now looks at history through a more focused lens as co-director of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, which documents sites related to the LGBTQ community citywide; he works to secure historic landmark designation for those sites.

He has written book chapters, led panel programs and created maps related to such efforts.

Shockley has been in leadership roles for the Stonewall 50 Coalition and the New York chapter of the Victorian Society.

When Craig Smith co-founded Tiedemann Advisors more than two decades ago, he brought his expertise to the table as both a trust and estate attorney and a wealth and family adviser.

As president at the wealth management firm, he oversees investment, planning and philanthropic services. Smith has proved instrumental in Tiedemann’s growth—with $25 billion in assets managed, it’s among the largest independent firms of its kind nationwide. He is a passionate promoter of diversity and inclusion efforts. Smith sits on the advisory board of the Ali Forney Center, which works to protect LGBTQ youth from homelessness and empower them to live independently.

Since founding the marketing agency The Mixx a quarter-century ago, Robyn Streisand has served Mercedes-Benz USA, Disney and Deloitte, among other clients.

Streisand, the chief executive officer, and her team offer top-level strategies and execution to Fortune 500 companies and regional businesses. In addition, Streisand is the founder and CEO of Titanium Worldwide, a collective of certified-diverse agencies that offers integrated business solutions in communications, marketing and media.

She is a co-founder of the New York branch of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

In 2020 Adweek recognized her as a “pride star” for promoting several LGBTQ-related marketing campaigns.

Founder, chief executive officer Out Leadership

Co-director NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project

President Tiedemann Advisors

Chief executive officer The Mixx; Titanium Worldwide

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KIM SURKO

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In four years, Kim Surko helped Bluecore increase its recurring revenue by 286%. That’s the sort of success Surko routinely delivers at the marketing technology company, where she is senior vice president of customer success and services.

She leads a team of customer success managers, forward-deployed engineers and other professionals in efforts to ensure customers’ aims are achieved— and her work has proved critical to the success of many retailers throughout the pandemic. Surko also started the diversity, equity and inclusion group at Bluecore and organized the firm’s racial justice response in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. She is involved in the Lesbian Bar Project, which works to preserve the 15 remaining lesbian bars in the U.S.

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Executive vice president, chief corporate affairs officer Pfizer

Never has the world been as indebted to Manhattan-based Pfizer as it has been this past year—in part because of the efforts of Sally Susman, the pharmaceutical giant’s executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer. In those roles, Susman leads Pfizer’s engagement with external stakeholders and oversees global policy, communications, government and investor relations, and corporate responsibility. Susman, the most senior LGBTQ individual working at the company, communicated Pfizer’s efforts to address Covid-19 worldwide by launching the “Science Will Win” campaign to inspire hope that the pandemic would indeed end. She is co-chair of the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid organization.

LINDA SWARTZ

Partner, chair of the tax group Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft

Linda Swartz is a leader within the legal industry in two distinct areas: tax law along with diversity, equity and inclusion.

As partner and chair of the tax group at the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Swartz works on complex global mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs, joint ventures, restructurings and foreign tax planning. She advises major corporations, financial institutions and investment managers on large-scale transactions. For her high-powered work, Swartz has received several awards. She founded Cadwalader’s Civil Rights Series, a year-round program highlighting important social justice issues, and the Cadwalader Task Force for the Advancement of Women. Swartz is a partner sponsor of the firm’s LGBTQ affinity network.

ANTHONY THOMPSON Senior financial adviser Bernstein Private Wealth Management

As a senior financial adviser at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, the boutique arm of the asset management firm AllianceBernstein, Anthony Thompson perceives his mandate is to shed light on the murky minutiae of markets, risk and strategic planning.

More specifically, Thompson advises clients and their accounting and legal professionals on estates, trusts, structured gifts and concentrated stock positions. He leads the LGBTQ employee resource group for parent company AllianceBernstein, and he has been crucial to its LGBTQ recruiting efforts.

Thompson is the treasurer of the Estée Lauder Foundation, where he works to improve life for the world’s most vulnerable people.

He sits on the board of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, whose music comforts Alzheimer’s patients.

CHRISTINA TRAVERS

JENNIFER TRUSCOTT

Chief financial officer Working Solutions

Christina Travers has had a long and fruitful career in the community development financial institution space, working to serve low-income individuals traditionally excluded from mainstream financial systems. As the chief financial officer at Working Solutions, a nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area, she uses an innovative approach to financial structuring that has opened new resources for many in low- and moderate-income communities.

Travers is a board member of the Opportunity Finance Network, a national association of CDFIs that provides capital and advocates for its network members. She is the board treasurer of the YWCA Brooklyn, a women’s social justice organization that combats racism and empowers women.

Senior vice president, chief of operations EmblemHealth

Jennifer Truscott, a senior vice president and the chief of operations at EmblemHealth, is responsible for its claim, membership and service-delivery operations and general operational performance.

Truscott was among the first publicly gay senior executives at the not-for-profit health insurance giant. Aware of her unique position, she has worked to foster a culture of well-being and sensitivity at Emblem.

Truscott is co-founder at the Bold Collective, which empowers women at the organization, and is a member of Prism, which does similar work for Emblem’s LGBTQ employees. She is a member of the American Heart Association’s executive leadership team.

Congratulations

RONALD E. RICHTER

Crain’s New York Business NOTABLE LGBTQ LEADERS & EXECUTIVES

Thank you for your vision, dedication, and leadership on behalf of the young people of New York City, their families, and all people who share our commitment to repair the world, child by child.

From the Trustees and Staff of

June 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 39

PREM TUMKOSIT

Managing director Merck Global Health Innovation Fund

Prem Tumkosit is the youngest managing director at the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, the digital health and health care information technology investment arm of Merck & Co. Tumkosit is passionate about transforming health care offerings into improved access and outcomes. He leads GHI’s “next horizon” investment area, which focuses on disruptive health care breakthroughs in cancer precision medicine, quantum computing and synthetic biology. Tumkosit leads the LGBTQ New York alumni group for the Yale School of Management. As a venture adviser to the Merck for Mothers initiative, he coaches women’s health startups that focus on maternal health in developing nations. In 2020 Tumkosit made Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list in health care.

ALAN VAN CAPELLE

President, chief executive officer Educational Alliance

Alan van Capelle is a social justice leader committed to bringing change to communities that need it most. As president and chief executive officer at Educational Alliance, he oversees a collection of community centers. These centers provide Lower Manhattanites with quality programs and services to improve their well-being and socioeconomic opportunities. Van Capelle previously was executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. In that position he helped secure significant victories for the LBGTQ cause.

Van Capelle is the treasurer of the board for the Association for a Better New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed him to the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Committee. For his work, van Capelle has received multiple awards.

ANDREW VAN DEGNA Vice president treasury Fidelity Investments

Money movement, strategy, product development, business analysis, process improvement, client communication and service recovery—Andrew Van Degna has excelled in these areas in his 16 years in the financial industry. At Fidelity Investments, where he is vice president treasury, he has been recognized for his outstanding work with the President’s Circle Award. Van Degna is on the development committee of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, which collects funds to support health and wellness, housing, immigration, workforce development and racial justice for LGBTQ individuals. He previously was the treasurer of the Swish Ally Fund, a gay-straight alliance.

EVAN WOLFSON Senior counsel Dentons US

Civil rights attorney Evan Wolfson, senior counsel at the law firm Dentons US, founded the Freedom to Marry campaign, which contributed to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States.

That’s hardly the only push Wolfson has made in the crusade for LGBTQ equality. He wrote his Harvard Law School thesis on gay marriage, served as co-counsel in a landmark Hawaii marriage case, and has fought for gay people’s rights to marry in South Africa, Australia, Ireland, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Japan, Panama and Peru. In recognition of his efforts, Wolfson has received almost 50 awards.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR PRESIDENT AND CEO

ALAN VAN CAPELLE

YOU HAVE SPENT YOUR CAREER FIGHTING TO MAKE OUR WORLD A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE KNOWS THEY TRULY BELONG. OUR DEEPEST CONGRATULATIONS ALSO GO TO MATT MORNINGSTAR, ALAN’S HUSBAND, AND ALL OF THE 2021 CRAIN’S NOTABLE LGBTQ LEADERS ON THIS WELL-DESERVED RECOGNITION.

40 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 7, 2021

MARCO ZIEGLER Senior managing director

Accenture

At Accenture, Marco Ziegler is leading the charge to make the consulting behemoth the most diverse company on the planet.

As a senior managing director, Ziegler oversees relationships with Fortune 100 companies in the consumer products, retail and health industries. In addition, he is the executive sponsor of its global Pride network. Ziegler manages Accenture’s partnership with CVS Health, and he recently led efforts to jointly launch a speaker series focused on health equity for LGBTQ individuals.

Ziegler has partnered on events with Shiseido and Phluid, among other leading beauty brands, to explore how the beauty industry has been in the forefront of gender diversity and inclusion.

ROOFTOPS FROM PAGE 3

absorb rain or produce electricity, such as through solar panels. Advocates hope the incentives will motivate landlords to conduct renovations and at the same time make rooftops accessible to tenants.

That would be especially helpful in Bronx and Queens neighborhoods where parks are few and far between.

“The past year has shown everyone the importance of open space,” said Adam Ganser, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks. “Rooftops are a huge opportunity.”

Up on the roof

THE MAVERICK offers residents panoramic views from the roof.

BUCK ENNIS

New Yorkers’ love affair with rooftops dates back to well before the 1962 song by Brill Building songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, whose lyrics go, “Right smack dab in the middle of town, I found a paradise that’s trouble-proof./And if this world starts getting you down, there’s room enough for two up on the roof.”

Rooftop bars became popular at the same time skyscrapers were constructed in the 1890s, and rooftop theaters were once common.

Around 1910 public library branches on the Lower East Side offered rooftop readings to children. Sadly, any love cultivated for outdoor reading was no match for reform-minded adults wielding budget documents.

“It probably didn’t make sense to staff readings on rooftops after day camps started opening and the first playgrounds were built,” research librarian Nora Dolliver said.

In its wisdom, the library has chosen to turn back time and plans to open its rooftop on the renovated mid-Manhattan branch soon.

For most of the past 100 years,

rooftops were usually no more than a place to hang a TV antenna or laundry line. People seeking fresh air went to their stoops, the streets or parks, said Alan Burchell, founder of rooftop-renovation specialist Urbanstrong.

“It was out of sight, out of mind when it came to rooftops,” he said. “Today people really value private outdoor space, and the pandemic accelerated that.”

The zeitgeist had started to change by 2000 and a famous “Sex and the City” episode centered

on “flirtinis” at a rooftop party. Yet even as accessible rooftops multiplied, they grew less attractive.

The Maverick, a new apartment building rising over West 28th Street, offers residents panoramic views all the way south to the Statue of Liberty and west to Hudson Yards. The bulkhead, however, is a white metal cube. A more ornate structure had been envisioned, but the developer insisted on “value engineering.”

Making the best of it, Wayne Norbeck, co-founder of architect DXA studio, said Maverick’s bulky bulkhead reminds him of the New Museum, the boxy building on Bowery. Why, he was asked, couldn’t a nicer-looking bulkhead be installed like the one down the street with gothic arches at Kheel Tower, a condo built in 1925.

“I hear you,” Norbeck said.

Happily, some builders are starting to see the virtues of an aesthetically pleasing bulkhead.

A new condo on East End Avenue is topped by an eye-catching one made with rows and rows of aluminum louvers. Scott Avram, senior vice president at developer Lightstone Group, noted that the building was designed by Deborah Berke, dean of the Yale School of Architecture.

“She lives down the street,” Avram explained, “and wanted something nice to look at.”

Older buildings typically aren’t engineered to support more than 30 pounds per square foot on the roof, only enough to hold snow or rain.

Rooftops reachable by a ladder or hatch are costly to make accessible for everyone. And sometimes visitors misbehave or even make tragic mistakes.

At an East Village rooftop party in 2013 an NYU student fell down three floors after the stairs collapsed either because they were decrepit or were jumped on, depending on which lawsuit you read. A state appellate court ruled the student had a negligence case, and the landlord settled for an undisclosed sum. In May a 23-year-old died after she fell seven floors during an

permit,” Rose said.

If Adler’s idea gains traction it could open the door to more of the 2.6 million square feet of rooftops under which New Yorkers live. One question is whether her promising enterprise can survive the soaring cost of raw materials such as aluminum and steel. And how many coop boards will want to spend the money?

Paying a premium “Steel beams long enough to span a roof aren’t cheap,” said Burchell of Urbanstrong. Yet for many building owners, the price will be worth paying if they conclude tenants will continue paying a premium for outdoor space.

That’s not a bad bet, because rooftops are hard to give up once people get a taste.

Retired schoolteacher Pat DeMarco discovered she could get to the roof of her prewar building near Washington Square Park after a contractor left the door unlocked.

During the pandemic she and neighbor Monika Hankova practiced yoga for an hour or two every morning on the rooftop, which has exquisite views of the World Trade Center and Empire State Building.

Their landlord recently locked the door.

“I don’t know how I would have gotten through the last year without the rooftop,” said Hankova, a historian who in an Untapped Cities essay described rooftops not just as places to have fun but “where community got together in an act of goodwill.”

“We’d meet at sunset and have a glass of wine,” DeMarco said. “I flew my kite.”

“I won’t forget that kite,” Hankova replied.

“We saw birds mating,” DeMarco added. “And we got really nice tans.” ■

“IT WAS OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND WHEN IT CAME TO ROOFTOPS”

NICKI ADLER

Democratizing rooftops

ADLER’S design model relies on metal parts for a rooftop’s foundation.

Prettier bulkheads atop the new towers will certainly improve the city’s skyline, but Adler’s goal is closer to earth. She wants to open up the rooftops on hundreds of thousands of low-rise buildings where they’re off limits.

“Rooftops shouldn’t be a luxury item,” she said.

Barriers to nirvana are many.

East Village rooftop party. City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera has introduced bills to rein in the revelers.

“Even if you can afford the cost of retrofitting the roof, the liability-insurance costs are big,” Varone said.

Adler’s solution at Top Yard is to rest metal beams on the parapets, using the strength of the building walls to support a noncombustible platform sturdy enough to hold tables, chairs and plants.

The platform is fabricated offsite and clicks together like Legos, which saves on labor, and can be customized to accommodate wherever the vents, walls or stairs may be.

Adler said installing Top Yard’s product costs “significantly less” than the $100,000-and-up price tag for a traditional roof rebuild.

“She’s a one-stop shop, doesn’t cut corners and knows how to get a

JUNE 7, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 41

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PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF FORMATION of Essential Absolutely LLC. Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 1/05/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and mail copy of process against the LLC to 1200 East 53rd Street, #6F, Brooklyn, NY 11234. Purpose: any lawful act.

REXUAN Properties New York LLC filed w/ SSNY on 4/23/21. Office: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 40 W 116th St., #A712, NY, NY 10026. Purpose: any lawful.

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Notice of Formation of ROSS VALLEY VENTURES, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/16/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Philip R. Rupprecht, Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold, 1850 N. Central Ave., #1800, Phoenix, AZ 85004-4561.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of CHERRY GARDEN DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/08/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001.

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.

Folium Ware LLC. Articles Of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/12/21. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 118W 123rd St Apt 31, New York, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of KAMSKY CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/13/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 563 Park Ave., NY, NY 10065. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Michael Kamsky at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Securities brokerage and related services.

DFI Services LLC, Arts of Org. filed SSNY 03/12/21. Office: NY Co. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to National Registered Agents, Inc., 28 Liberty St., NY, NY 10005, also the registered agent upon whom process may be served. General Purpose.

LTN1 LAFAYETTE LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/17/2021.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Eric D. Sherman, Esq. C/O Pryor Cashman LLP, 7 Times Square, NY, NY 10036.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

FELICE HUDSON, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/28/2021.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: SA Hospitality Group LLC, 950 Third AvenueSuite 500, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of LCT3, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: Tyler Haydell, 9 W. 31st St., Apt. 36F, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of B9 HUNTERS POINT OWNER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/07/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/05/21. 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., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of VALENTINA KOVA HQ, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/02/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/30/21. 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 DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Synceed LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/12/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to R/A: Inc Authority RA, 42 Broadway, fl.12-200, New York, NY10004. Purpose: any lawful act.

FORIGRIS LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/01/2021. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1 Columbus Place, Apt N40D, NY, NY 10019. Reg Agent: U.S. Corp.

Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave., Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of SRJ Beauty, LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/11/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 1 River Place, Apt # 1121, New York , NY 10036.

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Notice of Formation of Krieger Capital, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/24/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Robert Krieger, 228 East 45th St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10017. Purpose: any lawful activities.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Belock Design Studio LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/28/2021. 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: 215 W 84th St #207 New York, NY 10024.

The principal business address of the LLC is: 215 W 84th St #207 New York, NY 10024. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of KMH WORKS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/25/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 79 Laight St., #6D, NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office.

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Notice of Formation of LOKI HOSPITALITY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/11/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Manuel Coccaro, 1275 Valley Brook Ave., Lyndhurst, NJ 07071. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF KOHOKUKU LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/01/2021. 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: 5501 JUNCTION BLVD ELMHURST, NY 11373. The principal business address of the LLC is: 709 9TH AVE NEW YORK NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful act or activity

Notice of Formation of GRCC 107th Street LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/02/21. 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 Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave., NY, NY 10024. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Sela Group 12 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/23/2021. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 404, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of JAMES 555 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/28/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 555 W. 23rd St., Apt. S-3E, NY, NY 10011. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of MAROON PEAK ENERGY RESOURCES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/26/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/20/21. 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. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

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C

TRAFFIC FROM PAGE 1

going into the office.”

Total average daily visits to city venues other than offices—restaurants, shops, salons—have recovered throughout the city, Foursquare found, but average visits to office buildings had reached about two-thirds of prepandemic levels as of early May. That has slowed the recovery of visitor traffic in the Financial District and Midtown—markets that faced a double whammy of lost tourists and office workers at the start of the pandemic. By April 2020, average daily foot traffic was down 80% in both neighborhoods compared with two months prior.

Overall foot traffic in the city bottomed out at a little more than half of prepandemic levels.

Some business leaders preached patience in the return to work, saying overall activity has picked up in the past few months. Some major banks and technology employers have indicated they are planning to return employees either this summer or by September.

Rob Brynes, president of the East Midtown Partnership business improvement district, said these days

“WE ARE TELLING EVERYONE IN OUR RESTAURANTS TO GET READY FOR A SEPTEMBER BOOM”

AS CITY FOOT TRAFFIC REBOUNDS, BUSINESS-BASED DISTRICTS LAG BEHIND Indexed foot traffic in New York City City overall

120

Financial District

Midtown 92

100 80 57

“Parts of Queens and Brooklyn are probably around prepandemic sales,” Pelekanos said. “Neighborhoods like Astoria, Long Island City, Park Slope, Cobble Hill and restaurants in Westchester rebounded even quicker. But other pockets are probably down 50% still: Financial District, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown.”

Workers who used to buy lunch at one of Bareburger’s Manhattan locations are now instead buying burgers in places like Astoria and Montclair, N.J. Bareburger is betting its business-focused locations will see a return to normalcy by the end of the summer.

“We are telling everyone in our restaurants to get ready for a September boom,” Pelekanos said.

“Schools will be back. We’ve been reading about companies wanting people back to [the] office, so we think by September we will have a semblance of normalcy.” ■

60 40

45

20 0 02/19/2020

05/08/2021

SOURCE: Foursquare

he is no longer the only person in line at Just Salad for lunch.

“It’s still pretty quiet, but we’re showing signs of life,” said Brynes.

Rockefeller Center was noticeably busier after Memorial Day weekend with both visitors and workers, noted David Garten, a senior vice president with RXR Realty, which owns the 75 Rockefeller office tower.

“The vaccine has been an abso-

lute game changer,” Garten said.

“We are hearing more and more of our tenants planning their return and people getting more comfortable returning.”

Residential rebound Foursquare’s data indicates the workers who are returning to the office are spending less time there.

About 30% are spending one to three hours at the office on average,

up from 24% before the pandemic.

They’re also heading in earlier, with an uptick of travel at 7 and 8 a.m., potentially to avoid a crowded commute.

That’s bad news for the lunch crowd. For the Bareburger restaurant group, there is a clear line in revenue between residential locations and storefronts near office districts, said CEO Euripides Pelekanos.

REAL ESTATE

Homeless residents sheltering at Upper West Side’s Lucerne Hotel lose appeal, face relocation

A

fter an eight-month court battle, the homeless men sheltered in the Upper West Side’s Lucerne Hotel are being moved to another facility.

A New York state Supreme court appellate panel last Thursday ruled to dismiss the appeal filed by three of the men to stop the city’s efforts to move them to the Radisson Hotel downtown amid complaints from neighborhood residents.

Now that all three have already transitioned to permanent housing, their efforts to keep the others in the Lucerne became moot, and the city is now allowed to evict the rest of the homeless men from the building, the justices decided.

“Hotels are not shelters,” said Melinda Thaler, who represents the West Side Community Organization, one of the parties in the case in favor of the move. “We must do better, and doing better requires that the right to housing does not supersede the right to safety—safety of both the shelter clients and the surrounding community. We can find appropriate housing for those in need without putting neighborhoods at risk.”

Temporary use The city announced in the summer of 2020 that it would try to move the men, and those living in other hotel shelters, back into traditional shelters. The effort was met with backlash from homeless advocacy groups and the Legal Aid Society, which threatened to take the matter to court.

“We continue to believe that the individuals residing at this location will be best served in the longer term by residing closer to the services they may rely on, like medical care,” said Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the Department of Social Services, adding that the men will be phased out of the Lucerne and directly back into shelters rather than into another temporary hotel.

“As we have said throughout the pandemic, the temporary use of emergency relocation hotels was always intended to be temporary and not intended to be used in this way on an ongoing basis,” he said.

Throughout the pandemic, 67 hotels were being used to house ­a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10,000 homeless men to protect them from overcrowding and the risk of exposure to Covid-19 in shelters. Before the pandemic, 3,500 homeless single adults were living in commercial hotels.

“HOTELS ARE NOT SHELTERS. DOING BETTER REQUIRES THAT THE RIGHT TO HOUSING DOES NOT SUPERSEDE SAFETY”

LUCERNE HOTEL

lawyer and his client, a NIMBY group which included a lot of racist voices,” said Joshua Goldfein, an attorney at Legal Aid who specializes in homeless rights.

Petition to stay

BLOOMBERG

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

But residents living near the temporary shelters complained of increased crime and litter in their neighborhoods, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to consider moving them. The West Side Community

Organization supported de Blasio’s plan.

“The mayor did the wrong thing from the start here by threatening to move these men in response to the complaints of a well-connected

During the fall, three of the homeless residents, Ramone Buford, Larry Thomas and Travis Trammell, filed a petition to stay at the Lucerne. They argued that a move would cause them irreparable harm by disrupting their mental health and substance-abuse recovery programs.

Justice Debra James denied their petition, allowing the city to relocate them downtown, but that was appealed by the residents and by Downtown New Yorkers, a neighborhood safety group that opposed the move to their community.

The appellate panel said that although it was deciding the case, it would allow those who wanted to go to the Radisson to do so and allow the men who wanted to stay at the Lucerne to remain there.

The homeless residents are being notified of the result of the case and their impending move from the property and back into shelters. ■

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“Banking with First Republic saves me a great deal of time.

Wherever I am in the world, they take care of what I need.”

DAVI D H O, M . D.

Virologist, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

(855) 886-4824 | firstrepublic.com | New York Stock Exchange symbol: FRC MEMBER FDIC AND EQUAL HOUSING LENDER

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200 Mbps

FASTER SPEEDS. BETTER FEATURES.

BEST VALUE.

49

200Mbps INTERNET

$

99 /mo. when bundled for 1 year*

19

BUSINESS PHONE

+

$

99

/mo. per line when bundled with Internet for 1 year**

Offer Good Through 7/30/21

NO ADDED TAXES. NO HIDDEN FEES. NO CONTRACTS.  Business Customers  who switch to Spectrum could cut their bill in half.^ Claim your special offer today. Promo code A26N.

855-607-8889 Business.Spectrum.com

200 Mbps

GET MORE DONE WITH

FASTER INTERNET

49

200Mbps BUSINESS INTERNET OVER

99.9% NETWORK RELIABILITY§

99

$

/mo. when bundled for 1 year*

Now Available:

Add Wireless Internet Backup for Constant Connectivity◊◊

Offer Good Through 7/30/21

NO CONTRACTS Speed is just the beginning with these valuable FREE features worth over $50/mo.=

FREE Modem

FREE Desktop Security

FREE Email Addresses

FREE Domain Name

Spectrum Business offers the fastest, most consistent download speeds.°

Limited-time offer; subject to change. Qualified new business customers only. Must not have subscribed to applicable services w/ in the last 30 days & have no outstanding obligation to Charter. *$49.99 Internet offer is for 12 mos. when bundled w/ TV or Voice & incl. Spectrum Business Internet starting speeds. Spectrum Internet modem is req'd & included in price. Internet speeds may not be avail. in all areas. Actual speeds may vary. Speed based on download speed on wired connection. Wireless Internet speeds may vary. ◊◊Wireless Internet Backup offer is available for $20/month and requires a subscription to Spectrum Business Internet, and Static IP or Business WiFi services. Supports up to 4 devices and includes download speed up to 10Mbps, with 8-hour battery backup. LTE modem is required & included in price. Internet speeds may be limited when connected to the LTE Modem. Not available with Spectrum Business Internet Gig. Static IP and Business WiFi not supported when Wireless Internet Backup service is engaged. **$19.99 Voice offer is for 12 mos. when bundled with Internet & incl. one business phone line w/ unlimited local & long distance w/ in the U.S., Puerto Rico, & Canada plus 2,000 long-distance minutes to Mexico. Includes phone taxes, charges and fees. Other telephone services may have corresponding taxes and rates. ^Based on average savings with Spectrum Business promo rates vs. competitors' non-promo rates for Internet & 2 phone lines. Actual savings may vary. =Value based on retail price for comparable services. §99.9% network reliability based on average HFC Availability, Jan 2019 - Feb 2021. Visit business.spectrum.com/network-reliability for more details. ˚Spectrum Business offers download speeds up to 1 Gig; Gig service requires Spectrum D3.1 2.5G modem. Most consistent speeds claim based on latest FCC Measuring Broadband America Report. Standard pricing applies after promo. period. Services subject to all applicable service terms & conditions, which are subject to change. Services & promo. offers not avail. in all areas. Installation & other equipment taxes & fees may apply. Restrictions apply. Call for details. © 2021 Charter Communications, Inc.

DIAL UP THE VALUE WITH

MORE PHONE FEATURES

19

BUSINESS PHONE

NO

Added Taxes

NO

Hidden Fees

$

99

/mo. per line when bundled with Internet for 1 year**

Keep your existing phone number and equipment

Offer Good Through 7/30/21

NO CONTRACTS Help your business stay connected with 35+ FREE advanced calling features.

FREE 3-Way Calling

FREE Voicemail to Email

Stuck in a contract?

We’ll buy you out of your current contract up to $500.◊

FREE

Call Forwarding

FREE Call Transfer

855-607-8889 Business.Spectrum.com

Limited-time offer; subject to change. Qualified new business customers only. Must not have subscribed to applicable services w/ in the last 30 days & have no outstanding obligation to Charter. *$49.99 Internet offer is for 12 mos. when bundled w/ TV or Voice & incl. Spectrum Business Internet starting speeds. Spectrum Internet modem is req'd & included in price. Internet speed may not be avail. in all areas. Actual speeds may vary. Speed based on download speed on wired connection. Wireless Internet speeds may vary. **$19.99 Voice offer is for 12 mos. when bundled with Internet & incl. one business phone line w/ unlimited local & long distance w/ in the U.S., Puerto Rico, & Canada plus 2,000 long-distance minutes to Mexico. Includes phone taxes, charges and fees. Other telephone services may have corresponding taxes and rates. °Spectrum Business offers download speeds up to 1 Gig; Gig service requires Spectrum D3.1 2.5G modem. Most consistent speeds claim based on latest FCC Measuring Broadband America Report. ^Based on average savings with Spectrum Business promo rates vs. competitors' non-promo rates for Internet & 2 phone lines. Actual savings may vary. §99.9% network reliability based on average HFC Availability, Jan 2019 - Feb 2021. Visit business.spectrum.com/network-reliability for more details. +Based on the most annual `Best Protection' AV-TEST awards, industry-leading advanced attacks detection capabilities confirmed by MITRE ATT&CK® evaluations, and 2020 Customers' Choice for Vulnerability Assessment in Gartner Peer Insights. ◊Contract Buyout offer is valid up to $500. Visit Business.Spectrum.com/contractbuyout for details. Standard pricing applies after promo. period. Services subject to all applicable service terms & conditions, which are subject to change. Services & promo. offers not avail. in all areas. Installation & other equipment taxes & fees may apply. Restrictions apply. Call for details. © 2021 Charter Communications, Inc.

SPECTRUM BUSINESS

GIVES YOU MORE. Fastest, most consistent download speeds°

Keep your existing phone number and equipment

No data caps or throttling

35+ business calling features

Award-winning desktop security+

Over 99.9% network reliability§

200Mbps INTERNET

49

$

99 /mo. when bundled for 1 year*

BUSINESS PHONE

+

$

19

99

/mo. per line when bundled with Internet for 1 year**

Offer Good Through 7/30/21

NO ADDED TAXES. NO HIDDEN FEES. NO CONTRACTS.

Customers who switch to Spectrum Business could cut their bill in half.^ Claim your special offer today. Promo code A26N.

855-607-8889

SMB-GEN200-0607

Business.Spectrum.com